AnimeSuki Forum - View Single Post - KgNE Final Thoughts and Ending Interpretation

Perishthethought · 2006-04-03, 02:14

When you look at the game's ending for Mitsuki's path, and you look at precisely what wasn't shown, you begin to realise that the door really is left open for another difficult scenario of choosing. Ask yourself this question;

Why are we not shown that they have now have kids? Why was this taken out of the game's ending where Takayuki ends up with Mitsuki? Why are we not shown her reading the book to her kids?

Simple enough, but it is enough to absolve Takayuki of the ultimate excuse to stay with Mitsuki if they all did meet again. I don't hate Mitsuki, nor do I think Takayuki should stay with Haruka truth be told, I think they have as much claim to him as each other. The interesting thing is that there are a number of serious contradictions between what Haruka says and her final beach scene, and then the very ending scene.

Firstly, the night before they leave each other. She is laying in bed, hitting the hell out of her non-moving legs, saying to herself 'How can I tell you I want you by my side like this?!' - in effect, should WANTS Takayuki by her side the night before she lets him go. Not only that, she wants to get better to absolve him of the obligation side of their relationship so he can make a decision on who he should be with without feeling any guilt or remorse over Haruka's condition. Consider how they are getting on up until that point - the 3 years makes no difference to their love of one another (even if it is based upon the false pretense that 3 years have not passed). It IS as though time has stood still and Takayuki knows it. He falls for Haruka again and she has absolutely NO qualms about his behaviour, and even wants him to stay and tell her about the 3 years on the implied condition that he isn't with another girl.

When they're at the beach, her behaviour with him is consistent to that of her wanting to be with him from then on UNTIL he actually tells her 'I like Mitsuki'. She does a number of things - after Takayuki formally apologises for the 'affair' (inflammatory language, but think of it in Haruka's perspective), she gets out of the chair and makes the move for the beach. In doing so, she is saying to him 'You don't HAVE to stay with me, I'll be alright'. That is vastly different to 'I don't love you'. It is when he collects her on the beach that things really start to change between them. She goes to kiss him, but he is completely unresponsive for the first time. For Takayuki, there is no response, no passion there. Look at his face - he's not kissing back. She certainly is. She's going for broke at that point. In realising that Takayuki actually WANTS Mitsuki from now on (or has decided he wants her), Haruka knows then that she can't be around them any more. "I thought we'd be friends no matter what happened - I realise now that was overdoing it". She can't be around Mitsuki (because of her percieved betrayal) and she can't be around Takayuki (because of her love for him). It would be a bad idea because the more Taka is with Haruka the more he'll end up falling for her again, and so she with him.

Everyone credits Haruka with letting Taka get on with his life, but it is actually Taka who makes the decision and actually Taka who makes the effort to tell Haruka (as he damn well should have done beforehand - only being worried about upsetting her). The story about saying farewell is the logical extension of a process Taka has begun by saying he wants to find Mitsuki and "heal her wounds" (wounds he knows he has, in part, caused) no matter how long it takes. This is interesting because he never says he loves her or wants to be with her, he only says that he wants to 'help' her. He does tell her he loves her when they meet face to face, but that seems more for her benefit and he's in full-on convincing mode then. It seems Taka goes wherever he sees greatest obligation - and now it's with Mitsuki, which is NOT the same as not loving Haruka, but instead a recognition on his part that Mitsuki needs him and he has to go to her. He had that decided BEFORE she got out of the chair. Her getting out of the chair did her absolutely no good because it was another nail in the coffin of him staying behind with her. Nevertheless, even if she had stayed in the chair I don't think that would have made much difference.

They do formally say goodbye, crucially Taka first, because they simply CAN'T be around each other. They DO both love each other at that point. Haruka's excuses that he is not the man of 3 years ago are true to the extent that he now has Mitsuki in his life but it does not mean his fundamental character has changed to a great extent, and certainly not enough to stop them from getting on like a house on fire up until this point. They are to absolve him of any guilt and make their separation easier. This is her kindness, her selflessness, in giving him up because it's trying to say 'Well, I don't love you anymore', something which is plainly not true. Do not forget that the very night before she wants to be with him. The revelation that he is going to go after Mitsuki is what means their relationship cannot go on. While Taka, for now, has chosen based PURELY on his obligation to her ("She was there for me, and if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here now"). In response, Haruka cannot be near him, cannot see him or Mitsuki, and cannot stand the pain of being in their presence purely because of the fact she loves Taka too much. Taka can say goodbye now, because he's stronger and has made a decision. Look at how the goodbye is choreographed - Haruka is looking at Taka as he walks away (he, of course, doesn't). This is certainly not a demonstration of resolve on Haruka's part... it demonstrates longing. She's given him up and she's not happy about it. Neither is he, but at least he has something he has to go and do and that's find Mitsuki and "heal her wounds". Haruka, now, has nothing, and like what Mitsuki said beforehand, she's lost it all (at least in terms of her friends/lover).

Just look at this scene and what it is trying to say - they simply CANNOT be friends because of their love for each other. Haruka CANNOT be 'just friends' with Taka (at the time, at least). That much is a given. However, it does not say she does not love him anymore. Being together and being in love are two different things, and their separation is a symptom of this. It is interesting to note that Taka NEVER has two women on the boil at once. The minute he falls for Haruka again, he cannot answer and reassure Mitsuki that he is not going to end up with her - so Mitsuki leaves. Taka does not stay with Mitsuki under a false pretense, and he does not talk to her again until after she has been Shinji'd and he ends up ill. Mitsuki will not wait around while Taka is chasing Haruka - she gets the hell out (and seriously buggers up her life for a bit in the process, but then at least finds some of what she thinks is resolve). After she thinks she has lost Taka, she just wanders around jobless and, on a sentimental whim, goes up to the hill. It is there where Taka intercepts her.

That Haruka is demonstrated as being a loner in Akane Maniax, and wanting the friends again, gives creedence to the idea that she has not got on with her life, at least at the point in which Akane Maniax is set. I think we can conclusively say that she is cut up about the friends being ripped apart, but only because of her love for Taka meaning they cannot be together. She at least recognises the necessity for them to be apart because if they were together, Taka would end up being torn between her and Mitsuki, and not only that, Mitsuki is with Taka now.

This is a completely stark contrast between the '3 years later' ending. Haruka is now broaching the subject of reunion. What has changed in 3 years? Has she got 'over' Taka? How could she be over Taka if she wants the friends together again? Why has she not moved on and found some new ones? What was so special about that group of friends? It seems everybody else has gotten on with their lives except for her. With Mitsuki and Taka moving out and onwards to a new life together, and Shinji getting close to Miki, Haruka is the only one wishing to go back to the past. And it IS a longing for the past, in that she wants the friends together like 'old times' ('napping under the tree'). She may not realise it after three years, she might just be a naive idiot, but if she meets up with Taka again... Bad things will happen. They left each other while still in love. Haruka recognised that she could never be with him, as a friend, while that love existed. Does that mean, in meeting up, the love between them has perished? I don't think so. There is nothing to demonstrate that she does not love him apart from the passing of time (another 3 years, funnily enough), and as we saw with Haruka's accident and Shinji's crush on Mitsuki, this is no barrier to their affection.

Here's a question - does Taka actually love either of the women? What is love for Taka? He ALWAYS seems to go to where he feels greatest obligation - without fail, it is his 'niceness' that makes him end up being with his chosen (for the moment) woman. He experienced inordinate amounts of guilt - Haruka burdens him with her love for him, and he feels obliged to be with her. Mitsuki does the same much later down the line. Does this, however, mean he loves them? I think how Taka feels love is in that he can 'do' something for his woman. In that, he can provide them with something, "heal wounds" as he says. He'd much rather reciprocate love than give it, if that makes any sense. I think that's what Taka derives from a relationship, which is ironic because he takes so much on the practical side of things (he's a lazy dreamer who never lifts a finger around the home). He's not very spontaneous either and has to be forced into actions via a mixture of guilt and obligation. This is his character flaw, yet it is also coincidently why both women ended up falling for him. Taka sees relationships as 100% of what they want, 0% of what he 'wants'. Gouda, from Akane Maniax, on the other hand sees relationships as 100% of what he wants and he doesn't care what they want. The point of both series is that it should be somewhere in the middle. Takayuki couldn't make a decision, Gouda makes them arbitrarily. Gouda is a deluded idiot, Taka an ineffective realist. Neither is necessarily better than the other, and both have sympathetic qualities. You like Gouda for his drive and passion, and you like Taka for his compassion.

2006-04-03, 02:14	Link #34
Perishthethought Member Join Date: Mar 2006	When you look at the game's ending for Mitsuki's path, and you look at precisely what wasn't shown, you begin to realise that the door really is left open for another difficult scenario of choosing. Ask yourself this question; Why are we not shown that they have now have kids? Why was this taken out of the game's ending where Takayuki ends up with Mitsuki? Why are we not shown her reading the book to her kids? Simple enough, but it is enough to absolve Takayuki of the ultimate excuse to stay with Mitsuki if they all did meet again. I don't hate Mitsuki, nor do I think Takayuki should stay with Haruka truth be told, I think they have as much claim to him as each other. The interesting thing is that there are a number of serious contradictions between what Haruka says and her final beach scene, and then the very ending scene. Firstly, the night before they leave each other. She is laying in bed, hitting the hell out of her non-moving legs, saying to herself 'How can I tell you I want you by my side like this?!' - in effect, should WANTS Takayuki by her side the night before she lets him go. Not only that, she wants to get better to absolve him of the obligation side of their relationship so he can make a decision on who he should be with without feeling any guilt or remorse over Haruka's condition. Consider how they are getting on up until that point - the 3 years makes no difference to their love of one another (even if it is based upon the false pretense that 3 years have not passed). It IS as though time has stood still and Takayuki knows it. He falls for Haruka again and she has absolutely NO qualms about his behaviour, and even wants him to stay and tell her about the 3 years on the implied condition that he isn't with another girl. When they're at the beach, her behaviour with him is consistent to that of her wanting to be with him from then on UNTIL he actually tells her 'I like Mitsuki'. She does a number of things - after Takayuki formally apologises for the 'affair' (inflammatory language, but think of it in Haruka's perspective), she gets out of the chair and makes the move for the beach. In doing so, she is saying to him 'You don't HAVE to stay with me, I'll be alright'. That is vastly different to 'I don't love you'. It is when he collects her on the beach that things really start to change between them. She goes to kiss him, but he is completely unresponsive for the first time. For Takayuki, there is no response, no passion there. Look at his face - he's not kissing back. She certainly is. She's going for broke at that point. In realising that Takayuki actually WANTS Mitsuki from now on (or has decided he wants her), Haruka knows then that she can't be around them any more. "I thought we'd be friends no matter what happened - I realise now that was overdoing it". She can't be around Mitsuki (because of her percieved betrayal) and she can't be around Takayuki (because of her love for him). It would be a bad idea because the more Taka is with Haruka the more he'll end up falling for her again, and so she with him. Everyone credits Haruka with letting Taka get on with his life, but it is actually Taka who makes the decision and actually Taka who makes the effort to tell Haruka (as he damn well should have done beforehand - only being worried about upsetting her). The story about saying farewell is the logical extension of a process Taka has begun by saying he wants to find Mitsuki and "heal her wounds" (wounds he knows he has, in part, caused) no matter how long it takes. This is interesting because he never says he loves her or wants to be with her, he only says that he wants to 'help' her. He does tell her he loves her when they meet face to face, but that seems more for her benefit and he's in full-on convincing mode then. It seems Taka goes wherever he sees greatest obligation - and now it's with Mitsuki, which is NOT the same as not loving Haruka, but instead a recognition on his part that Mitsuki needs him and he has to go to her. He had that decided BEFORE she got out of the chair. Her getting out of the chair did her absolutely no good because it was another nail in the coffin of him staying behind with her. Nevertheless, even if she had stayed in the chair I don't think that would have made much difference. They do formally say goodbye, crucially Taka first, because they simply CAN'T be around each other. They DO both love each other at that point. Haruka's excuses that he is not the man of 3 years ago are true to the extent that he now has Mitsuki in his life but it does not mean his fundamental character has changed to a great extent, and certainly not enough to stop them from getting on like a house on fire up until this point. They are to absolve him of any guilt and make their separation easier. This is her kindness, her selflessness, in giving him up because it's trying to say 'Well, I don't love you anymore', something which is plainly not true. Do not forget that the very night before she wants to be with him. The revelation that he is going to go after Mitsuki is what means their relationship cannot go on. While Taka, for now, has chosen based PURELY on his obligation to her ("She was there for me, and if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here now"). In response, Haruka cannot be near him, cannot see him or Mitsuki, and cannot stand the pain of being in their presence purely because of the fact she loves Taka too much. Taka can say goodbye now, because he's stronger and has made a decision. Look at how the goodbye is choreographed - Haruka is looking at Taka as he walks away (he, of course, doesn't). This is certainly not a demonstration of resolve on Haruka's part... it demonstrates longing. She's given him up and she's not happy about it. Neither is he, but at least he has something he has to go and do and that's find Mitsuki and "heal her wounds". Haruka, now, has nothing, and like what Mitsuki said beforehand, she's lost it all (at least in terms of her friends/lover). Just look at this scene and what it is trying to say - they simply CANNOT be friends because of their love for each other. Haruka CANNOT be 'just friends' with Taka (at the time, at least). That much is a given. However, it does not say she does not love him anymore. Being together and being in love are two different things, and their separation is a symptom of this. It is interesting to note that Taka NEVER has two women on the boil at once. The minute he falls for Haruka again, he cannot answer and reassure Mitsuki that he is not going to end up with her - so Mitsuki leaves. Taka does not stay with Mitsuki under a false pretense, and he does not talk to her again until after she has been Shinji'd and he ends up ill. Mitsuki will not wait around while Taka is chasing Haruka - she gets the hell out (and seriously buggers up her life for a bit in the process, but then at least finds some of what she thinks is resolve). After she thinks she has lost Taka, she just wanders around jobless and, on a sentimental whim, goes up to the hill. It is there where Taka intercepts her. That Haruka is demonstrated as being a loner in Akane Maniax, and wanting the friends again, gives creedence to the idea that she has not got on with her life, at least at the point in which Akane Maniax is set. I think we can conclusively say that she is cut up about the friends being ripped apart, but only because of her love for Taka meaning they cannot be together. She at least recognises the necessity for them to be apart because if they were together, Taka would end up being torn between her and Mitsuki, and not only that, Mitsuki is with Taka now. This is a completely stark contrast between the '3 years later' ending. Haruka is now broaching the subject of reunion. What has changed in 3 years? Has she got 'over' Taka? How could she be over Taka if she wants the friends together again? Why has she not moved on and found some new ones? What was so special about that group of friends? It seems everybody else has gotten on with their lives except for her. With Mitsuki and Taka moving out and onwards to a new life together, and Shinji getting close to Miki, Haruka is the only one wishing to go back to the past. And it IS a longing for the past, in that she wants the friends together like 'old times' ('napping under the tree'). She may not realise it after three years, she might just be a naive idiot, but if she meets up with Taka again... Bad things will happen. They left each other while still in love. Haruka recognised that she could never be with him, as a friend, while that love existed. Does that mean, in meeting up, the love between them has perished? I don't think so. There is nothing to demonstrate that she does not love him apart from the passing of time (another 3 years, funnily enough), and as we saw with Haruka's accident and Shinji's crush on Mitsuki, this is no barrier to their affection. Here's a question - does Taka actually love either of the women? What is love for Taka? He ALWAYS seems to go to where he feels greatest obligation - without fail, it is his 'niceness' that makes him end up being with his chosen (for the moment) woman. He experienced inordinate amounts of guilt - Haruka burdens him with her love for him, and he feels obliged to be with her. Mitsuki does the same much later down the line. Does this, however, mean he loves them? I think how Taka feels love is in that he can 'do' something for his woman. In that, he can provide them with something, "heal wounds" as he says. He'd much rather reciprocate love than give it, if that makes any sense. I think that's what Taka derives from a relationship, which is ironic because he takes so much on the practical side of things (he's a lazy dreamer who never lifts a finger around the home). He's not very spontaneous either and has to be forced into actions via a mixture of guilt and obligation. This is his character flaw, yet it is also coincidently why both women ended up falling for him. Taka sees relationships as 100% of what they want, 0% of what he 'wants'. Gouda, from Akane Maniax, on the other hand sees relationships as 100% of what he wants and he doesn't care what they want. The point of both series is that it should be somewhere in the middle. Takayuki couldn't make a decision, Gouda makes them arbitrarily. Gouda is a deluded idiot, Taka an ineffective realist. Neither is necessarily better than the other, and both have sympathetic qualities. You like Gouda for his drive and passion, and you like Taka for his compassion.