AnimeSuki Forums

serenade_beta · 2012-09-23, 00:37

Spoiler for ep12:

Lantern · 2012-09-23, 00:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by s07195

DAT NEW OP.
>.> Two hands are being held now...

Iori holding hands with both Taichi and Inaba. Isn't that a good thing? (Iori and Inaba ship

)

Sumeragi · 2012-09-23, 00:45

I wonder if the ferris wheel will be important..... The appearances in this episode and the ED seem to imply something.

Lantern · 2012-09-23, 00:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

I wonder if the ferris wheel will be important..... The appearances in this episode and the ED seems to imply something.

I've seen discussions about it being a metaphor of 'returning to starting point' or 'a new start' as well as 'high and low points of life', in many literal sense (if you think about what you and I both know that are about to come, it kinda make sense actually.)

Sumeragi · 2012-09-23, 00:51

The funniest thing was I momentarily thought Taichi and Aoki were in the wheel, before I realized they were in a family restaurant. Think about it: Two great friends riding in a ferris wheel together.

Lantern · 2012-09-23, 00:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

The funniest thing was I momentarily thought Taichi and Aoki were in the wheel, before I realized they were in a family restaurant.

*lets his imagination run wild*

HandofFate · 2012-09-23, 00:55

baby Iori was adorable in the beginning.

Yui and Aoki's conclusion was okay. Aoki got to do something. Yui took another step forward. Still don't care much for her.

I assume the match between her and her friend ended with Yui losing? They kind of cut quickly away.

I feel bad for the throwaway characters this episode who was just there as devices. Poor Nana.

I agree that while it seemed like a jerky thing for Aoki to go all the way to his old girlfriend to just say he found something else, but from the girl's reactions, it benefited both. She knows where both stand now, and she can break things cleanly if she did have lingering feelings. Her mentioning having recently cut her hair, and the final sayoanara at the end showed that.

Too bad it seemed they cut a lot out from a few comments here. Never read the LN.

~Yami~ · 2012-09-23, 01:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

The funniest thing was I momentarily thought Taichi and Aoki were in the wheel, before I realized they were in a family restaurant. Think about it: Two great friends riding in a ferris wheel together.

jeez... as expected from animesuki's fujoshi queen

okay! now let's go back to this episode :

new opening

that means this anime still has lots episodes in the future....

umm... I enjoy some little gag in this episode like Yui's sister misunderstanding, Yui's confession, Love Triangle quarrel, Nana's misunderstanding... yea.. that's funny

seems like I understand why Aoki is the only one who can't recognize Yui when he's in child form.. it's because Aoki still thinks about Nana and he will see Nana in Yui's appearance...
this episode solved everything... Both of them already decided to move forward...

Yui also got great development...

since this episode is focused on Aoki-Yui, I think I must say this anime really shared all development to all main character...
and this arc has a great point about dealing with past in the best way!

in next episode's preview, I recognize some Number 2's word about Taichi's failure... ouch! is Inaba managed to push Taichi to talk?? and what the hell is happening with Iori??? she still got many unsolved problems??
should be patient to wait for one week...

Triple_R · 2012-09-23, 01:52

What I liked about Episode 12:

1) It added a lot of depth to both Yui and Aoki's characters. Of the main cast, these two needed added characterization the most, and this episode delivered pretty solidly. Specifically...

2) I like how, for all of her considerable physical strength and occasional verbal hostility, Yui actually has an issue with cowardice. I loved how Aoki was the person to confront her on that. What I particularly love is how this is consistent with how Yui acted in the previous arc (running away from the problem by locking herself in her room for so long), so it makes the broader narrative (and Yui's character) seem nicely coherent and carefully developed.

3) Aoki's clearly stated desire to live a carefree, fun-filled life isn't the most original thing around, but at least the way he arrived at that desire works well and gives his character a greater sense of fullness.

4) Verbal-based comedy in this episode was genuinely very funny. You can tell how the love triangle has put Taichi in a real bind (his reaction to Yui's fake confession was truly hilarious, carrying a clear sense of "Great Heartseed, not you too, Yui! I can't handle any more of this!"

). Him getting flustered over Inaba and Iori's brief romance-based argument was fun too.

5) Inaba carrying baby Iori was very cute.

6) The cliffhanger moment was excellently executed. Oh Taichi, you just had to let it slip, didn't you?

What I didn't like about Episode 12:

1) The classic problem I see in many anime shows - Having a meta-level narrative aim that causes the characters to do things that nobody would actually do in real life (which breaks immersion for me in a bad way). In this case, I get what the narrative was trying to show and accomplish by having Aoki take a trip to Nana's to say what he said to her... but honestly, nobody in real life would take a train trip in the dead of Winter to visit their ex of years ago just to say "I really did love you, but now I love someone else more... ~kthanxbye~!"

Again, I get what the anime is aiming for here, but it's execution is just facepalmingly bad. It would have been much better if Aoki had just casually chit-chatted with Nana for a bit, saying he felt like he wanted to catch up with her for reasons of nostalgia, and maybe then he could have carefully let slip that he has a new girlfriend now that he really loves just to make sure he didn't get Nana's hopes up or anything like that. On the trip home, Aoki could then explain to Taichi "I had to see her again just to make sure that I really do love Yui more. Now after seeing Nana again, I know that for sure." And that much alone would make sense, both at a narrative level and at a "characters acting in a believable way" level.

2) Not showing any of the fight between Yui and her old rival/friend. A nice, little action scene could have really spiced up the episode, and added a different sort of feel to this show. Plus, watching Yui get her ass kicked may well make the viewer feel more sympathy for her which would make the climax of this episode have greater emotional resonance for the viewer.

On the whole, I felt that the episode's strengths outweighed its weaknesses. 8/10 for Episode 12 of Kokoro Connect.

jeroz · 2012-09-23, 02:04

to be honest RRR, i felt like both of your "complaints" are the product of it having to squeeze the arc into 3 episodes.

frivolity · 2012-09-23, 02:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

I wonder if the ferris wheel will be important..... The appearances in this episode and the ED seem to imply something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lantern

I've seen discussions about it being a metaphor of 'returning to starting point' or 'a new start' as well as 'high and low points of life', in many literal sense (if you think about what you and I both know that are about to come, it kinda make sense actually.)

If that's what they're trying to portray, then I think a roller coaster would be more apt, as well as more visually striking. ~~nananana na na...~~

Triple_R · 2012-09-23, 02:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeroz

to be honest RRR, i felt like both of your "complaints" are the product of it having to squeeze the arc into 3 episodes.

You could be right. The source material might have handled this perfectly for all I know, so my complaints aren't saying anything about the source material.

Lantern · 2012-09-23, 02:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by frivolity

If that's what they're trying to portray, then I think a roller coaster would be more apt, as well as more visually striking. ~~nananana na na...~~

Well I see the high and low part in a roller coaster, but for revolving and returning to a new start? Not so much. Not to mention, ferris wheel looks more... atmospheric in this setting anyway. Roller coaster seems a bit too abrupt for that.

frivolity · 2012-09-23, 02:21

It could be a cultural thing as well. The phrase, "life is a roller coaster" is well-known in English, and maybe there's an equivalent one in Japanese?

Snuffle · 2012-09-23, 02:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I get what the narrative was trying to show and accomplish by having Aoki take a trip to Nana's to say what he said to her... but honestly, nobody in real life would take a train trip in the dead of Winter to visit their ex of years ago just to say "I really did love you, but now I love someone else more... ~kthanxbye~!"

Again, I get what the anime is aiming for here, but it's execution is just facepalmingly bad. It would have been much better if Aoki had just casually chit-chatted with Nana for a bit, saying he felt like he wanted to catch up with her for reasons of nostalgia, and maybe then he could have carefully let slip that he has a new girlfriend now that he really loves just to make sure he didn't get Nana's hopes up or anything like that. On the trip home, Aoki could then explain to Taichi "I had to see her again just to make sure that I really do love Yui more. Now after seeing Nana again, I know that for sure." And that much alone would make sense, both at a narrative level and at a "characters acting in a believable way" level.

This is exactly what I was expecting to see when I saw Taichi and Aoki in the train heading out to see Nana, it's just the most believable way of handling that kind of problem. But unfortunately we possibly got the watered down version.

Triple_R · 2012-09-23, 02:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blonto

On one hand it's nice to see Inaba take a bit of initiative with Taichi, not something you see with anime girls who tend to suffer from serious cases of denial, but I really don't get how Iori and Taichi can let her do that.

Honestly, Iori brought this on herself. A couple episodes back she could have said to Inaba "No, Taichi and I are in a serious relationship now. I know that's hard on you, Inaban, but please respect that. I hope you can find love elsewhere."

But instead, Iori basically said "I look forward to competing with my great friend Inaba for my beloved Taichi's affections!"

Iori and Taichi are big softies when it comes to this sort of thing. They just can't bring themselves to firmly turn away someone's romantic love (which is another reason why Taichi was so very stressed at the sight of Yui also confessing to him).

Quote:

I guess I should just assume Iori is out of the game now.

I don't think it means Iori is out of the game. I think it means she's created a game where one wasn't there before.

That being said, yeah, she may well lose this game. My impression is that right now she's losing to Inaba. But since I slightly prefer Taichi/Inaba to Taichi/Iori, I'm cool with that.

I feel a bit sorry for Iori, but she really did bring this on herself.

Quote:

did Taichi really have to escort Aoki? He's like a freakin' camera.

My impression there is that Taichi escorted Aoki just in case Aoki kid-ified during the trip. It struck me as a very sensible precautionary measure. So I didn't mind Taichi tagging along.

Chaos2Frozen · 2012-09-23, 02:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snuffle

Quote:

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I get what the narrative was trying to show and accomplish by having Aoki take a trip to Nana's to say what he said to her... but honestly, nobody in real life would take a train trip in the dead of Winter to visit their ex of years ago just to say "I really did love you, but now I love someone else more... ~kthanxbye~!"

Again, I get what the anime is aiming for here, but it's execution is just facepalmingly bad. It would have been much better if Aoki had just casually chit-chatted with Nana for a bit, saying he felt like he wanted to catch up with her for reasons of nostalgia, and maybe then he could have carefully let slip that he has a new girlfriend now that he really loves just to make sure he didn't get Nana's hopes up or anything like that. On the trip home, Aoki could then explain to Taichi "I had to see her again just to make sure that I really do love Yui more. Now after seeing Nana again, I know that for sure." And that much alone would make sense, both at a narrative level and at a "characters acting in a believable way" level.

This is exactly what I was expecting to see when I saw Taichi and Aoki in the train heading out to see Nana, it's just the most believable way of handling that kind of problem. But unfortunately we possibly got the watered down version.

If you mean expanding the talk a little then yes, but to include additional scenes like that? Then no because the whole point is Aoki does not want to wait any longer with his feelings, hence rushing through the night and even despite Taichi insisting that there's more than enough time, he was racing back to confirm his feelings again to Yui.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Triple_R

My impression there is that Taichi escorted Aoki just in case Aoki kid-ified during the trip. It struck me as a very sensible precautionary measure. So I didn't mind Taichi tagging along.

Indeed, that much was said by Inaba right before they left- I'm not sure why people are still confused by it.

Hiroi Sekai · 2012-09-23, 02:42

New opening was fantastic, loved it. Still an avid supporter of Taichi/Iori, but am a fan of Inaba as a character; she's probably the most rational of the group, but is ironically one of the most unstable as well. It's all quite interesting, and it's great to see Yui and Aoki develop their characters further as well.

There's only 5 remaining episodes, but I had and am still having a blast with this series.

Chaos2Frozen · 2012-09-23, 02:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by papermario13689

There's only 5 remaining episodes, but I had and am still having a blast with this series.

Actually, only one remains for the TV aired episodes

The rest would be like OreImo's True Route and Bakemono's Tsubasa Cat...

Hiroi Sekai · 2012-09-23, 02:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Actually, only one remains for the TV aired episodes

The rest would be like OreImo's True Route and Bakemono's Tsubasa Cat...

To end the arc, yes? I had actually forgotten, thanks for the reminder. I assume the additional episodes MAL records are to be broadcast in a different manner? One more episode seems like it'd make for one hell of a premature ending, after all.

2012-09-23, 00:37	Link #2161
serenade_beta そのおっぱいで13才 Join Date: Dec 2006	Spoiler for ep12: Ahh~~~....! Shoumonainias' OP got...! But the new song (rather singer?) isn't too good... Shoumonai or Poor Singer? A difficult decision... But more importantly, hey hey, Staff-san~? Was the "Shoumonai" statement in the episode previously in the script? Or did you add that as a joke? Very interested to know. Poor Daichi, went with his friend all the way over to Nana and did..................... nothing. Hope the train ticket was compensated. __________________ -Blog --> http://tdnshumi.blogspot.com/ (Mainly about video games) -R.I.P. Hiroshi Yamauchi, Gaming wouldn't have been the same without you (9/19/13)

2012-09-23, 00:55	Link #2167
HandofFate Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006	baby Iori was adorable in the beginning. Yui and Aoki's conclusion was okay. Aoki got to do something. Yui took another step forward. Still don't care much for her. I assume the match between her and her friend ended with Yui losing? They kind of cut quickly away. I feel bad for the throwaway characters this episode who was just there as devices. Poor Nana. I agree that while it seemed like a jerky thing for Aoki to go all the way to his old girlfriend to just say he found something else, but from the girl's reactions, it benefited both. She knows where both stand now, and she can break things cleanly if she did have lingering feelings. Her mentioning having recently cut her hair, and the final sayoanara at the end showed that. Too bad it seemed they cut a lot out from a few comments here. Never read the LN. __________________ ...

2012-09-23, 01:52	Link #2169
Triple_R Senior Member Author Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Age: 42	What I liked about Episode 12: 1) It added a lot of depth to both Yui and Aoki's characters. Of the main cast, these two needed added characterization the most, and this episode delivered pretty solidly. Specifically... 2) I like how, for all of her considerable physical strength and occasional verbal hostility, Yui actually has an issue with cowardice. I loved how Aoki was the person to confront her on that. What I particularly love is how this is consistent with how Yui acted in the previous arc (running away from the problem by locking herself in her room for so long), so it makes the broader narrative (and Yui's character) seem nicely coherent and carefully developed. 3) Aoki's clearly stated desire to live a carefree, fun-filled life isn't the most original thing around, but at least the way he arrived at that desire works well and gives his character a greater sense of fullness. 4) Verbal-based comedy in this episode was genuinely very funny. You can tell how the love triangle has put Taichi in a real bind (his reaction to Yui's fake confession was truly hilarious, carrying a clear sense of "Great Heartseed, not you too, Yui! I can't handle any more of this!" ). Him getting flustered over Inaba and Iori's brief romance-based argument was fun too. 5) Inaba carrying baby Iori was very cute. 6) The cliffhanger moment was excellently executed. Oh Taichi, you just had to let it slip, didn't you? What I didn't like about Episode 12: 1) The classic problem I see in many anime shows - Having a meta-level narrative aim that causes the characters to do things that nobody would actually do in real life (which breaks immersion for me in a bad way). In this case, I get what the narrative was trying to show and accomplish by having Aoki take a trip to Nana's to say what he said to her... but honestly, nobody in real life would take a train trip in the dead of Winter to visit their ex of years ago just to say "I really did love you, but now I love someone else more... *~kthanxbye~!" Again, I get what the anime is aiming for here, but it's execution is just facepalmingly bad. It would have been much better if Aoki had just casually chit-chatted with Nana for a bit, saying he felt like he wanted to catch up with her for reasons of nostalgia, and maybe then he could have carefully let slip that he has a new girlfriend now that he really loves just to make sure he didn't get Nana's hopes up or anything like that. On the trip home, Aoki could then explain to Taichi "I had to see her again just to make sure that I really do love Yui more. Now after seeing Nana again, I know that for sure." And that much alone would make sense, both at a narrative level and* at a "characters acting in a believable way" level. 2) Not showing any of the fight between Yui and her old rival/friend. A nice, little action scene could have really spiced up the episode, and added a different sort of feel to this show. Plus, watching Yui get her ass kicked may well make the viewer feel more sympathy for her which would make the climax of this episode have greater emotional resonance for the viewer. On the whole, I felt that the episode's strengths outweighed its weaknesses. 8/10 for Episode 12 of Kokoro Connect. __________________

2012-09-23, 02:04	Link #2170
jeroz Art Block Specialist Join Date: Jun 2007	to be honest RRR, i felt like both of your "complaints" are the product of it having to squeeze the arc into 3 episodes. __________________ [TAC]

2012-09-23, 00:45	Link #2163
Sumeragi Banned Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Dai Korai Teikoku	I wonder if the ferris wheel will be important..... The appearances in this episode and the ED seem to imply something.

2012-09-23, 00:51	Link #2165
Sumeragi Banned Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Dai Korai Teikoku	The funniest thing was I momentarily thought Taichi and Aoki were in the wheel, before I realized they were in a family restaurant. Think about it: Two great friends riding in a ferris wheel together.

2012-09-23, 02:21	Link #2174
frivolity My posts are frivolous Join Date: Nov 2008 Age: 35	It could be a cultural thing as well. The phrase, "life is a roller coaster" is well-known in English, and maybe there's an equivalent one in Japanese?