That's the first time I've ever seen anybody confess to somebody they masturbated to them. Outside of porn, that is. I was so taken aback I had to rewind to make sure I read the subtitles properly and that it was not a translation error
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Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo
Truth be told, I had some serious issues with this episode.
I admire the fact that Kokoro Connect is setting its sights higher than its competition in many respects. This is a show that’s really trying to tell a serious story, and to craft something that’s both plot and character-driven into a cohesive whole. It isn’t just trying to be fun, or funny, or create a whimsical and relaxing atmosphere of innocent times at school. But the downside to that is that there are times when the show’s reach exceeds its grasp, and this week was definitely rife with examples.
I found the "confessions" to be totally false and artificial - for the most part the situation with Yui last week felt natural and dramatic, but this never moved past the actors reading their lines. They were also way, way too self-aware for most adults, never mind teenagers. The format was also a problem - it had a very "Now, it's Inaba's turn!" feel to it.
I'm also quite dismayed at the gender stereotyping that this episode seems to be setting up. That kind of stuff is one thing for a silly harem comedy, but for a show that has aspirations to be a serious character drama it's totally unacceptable. So the girls are all tortured souls dealing with deep personal traumas. And we have one guy in Aoki who's a straight-up buffoon, and the other who's been set up as a father-confessor who's go-to approach to dealing with deep emotional issues is his junk. Seriously?
I really, really liked episodes 2-3 here - but this one had some serious warts. It's not likely the show is going to step back from the serious issues, so the only hope is that it regains its footing in dealing with them. And getting past the insulting gender stereotypes would be a good start.
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QTF. As good as their seiyuu are -and they are
really good- Iori and Inaba's confessions failed to invoke any kind of emotions from me. The exposition of their respective situations is much too flat and artificial. It doesn't help that Inaba's big problem was very weak compared to the other two girls. She's simply anxious...
I'm also really annoyed that Taichi alone is the one helping the girls with their issues (and as you said, why is it only the girls have issues?), not to mention he is ridiculously good at it. I thought they would all help each other out. I wonder if Aoki is going to play any kind of role... he comes across as a humongous fifth wheel right now.