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Old 2011-06-20, 18:15   Link #16
viperdk1
The Colour of Magic
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: England
Age: 32
Quote:
Originally Posted by ReddyRedWolf View Post
Spoiler for Might be NSFW:



Dammit Keima is one smooth operator.
Hngh. That is all.



Anyway, for the episode itself...wow. What an incredible rollercoaster of emotions (I sorta predicted in my head that Jun and Keima would share that seat - those must've been wide seats ).

One thing struck me during this episode that I don't think I thought earlier in the series (or in the first series for that matter) - Keima seems to be more than just a god of conquest.

Quite frankly, if it wasn't for the fact that he is a otamegane and was lost in the world of games (thus being so far detached from reality that he'd be in outer space ), he'd be a very good psychologist (seriously, he probably has a better understanding of the human psyche than many people would credit him with - the "people don't like ideal" speech on the basketball courts made me realise this).

Smooth operator doesn't quite cut it. That was genius. He got Jun away from the negative influences that made her doubt her role in life as a teacher and reinforced the notion to her that people should strive for their ideals (which I personally feel is a sound logic). He also managed to (through the instructions he gave to Elsie/Ayumi?/Chihiro?) convince the other people in his class to get behind Jun as a teacher. Perfect score for Keima there.


I fully understand the flaws in Jun's character too (I'm sure if I rewatched the two series' again, I'd be able to pick out the problems in all the other girls - but this one was most evident to me).

Sure, support and help people strive to achieve their ideals by all means (good teachers are capable of this - my maths teacher in high school was brilliant at this and I aced my GCSE...I'm getting off-topic, lol) - but you can't push people too hard towards those ideals.

She pushed the basketball team too hard towards becoming better players, and they quit as a result. She was pushing too hard on the students under her wing too (the marathon thing was possibly a backlash towards what Keima said, but the fact is that it was over the top by a merry distance) - hence those students showed disdain towards her.

Another 'flaw' is that she appears to be too easily knocked back. One word can be said to her to lead her into doubting what she's doing, I feel. I know people like that (I used to be one myself) - and it makes a lot of sense for her character in general. Ideals are intangible - so having those ideals doubted by other people can make you think whether your ideals are worth following.


I was lukewarm about Jun as a character at the start of this arc - but she's probably my favourite female character at the end. Her kissing Keima at the end - perfect end to the arc (the teacher-student relationship here wouldn't be impossible - she's what, 21? He's 17/18? I've seen larger age gaps than that ). Just a shame she won't remember a thing of it


Perfect 10 from me. Excellent episode by all means.
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