2016-12-08, 12:31
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Link #861 |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2008
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Such an emotional roller coaster for Kumiko and now Reina wants to prolong the ride. Not sure about that... would like to focus on band preparations for nationals given there are episodes left.
And I'm just rolling my eyes whenever they show Kumiko and Shuuichi. They really are trying their best to stretch this tension going on between them which should have been solved last season. It's just so annoying by now given this has been running for 2 seasons already.
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2016-12-08, 14:17
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Link #862 |
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Les Pays Bass
Join Date: Jun 2011
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Wow, killin two birds with one stone in this episode. I don't know where to begin.
Asuka, once again, laid the law down on Kumiko and her seemingly "observant" role in most of these arcs so far. Once again, she was very intense and downright scary. But what Kumiko did afterwards was what made everything worth while. Calling Asuka out like that and putting her heart on her sleeve for this very decisive moment was such a good scene. In the end, it didn't make much of a difference, in my opinion, if Asuka was planning on using her fuckin amazing top 30 national status against her mom to play band again. If anything, Asuka was assured by Kumiko's sincerity was that at least ONE person in the band really cared for her and wanted her to play at the most basic level. They kept it real. And Natsuki comin in hot and hammering that nail so hard when Asuka came back at the end and said that she was waiting for her.....stay amazing, Natsuki. Stay absolutely amazing. And I'm glad that Mamiko made up with her parents off-screen? If we can assume that Mamiko really did quit college, then she's trying to get into cosmetology like she mentioned before? Kumiko crying about it in the train was really endearing. |
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2016-12-08, 18:20
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Link #863 | |
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Who has the most fun wins
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Canada
Age: 32
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Quote:
Kumiko and Reina indeed very close, but there's also in a way more of a divide there, because they're very different people. |
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2016-12-08, 21:48
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Link #867 | |
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Who has the most fun wins
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Canada
Age: 32
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I don't know if there's more to that than we know right now, but I'm definitely happy about it. I was worried she was going to just vanish after she quit, but then we saw her again late in S1, then all these times here as well. Hopefully she comes to the performance like Mamiko is, and Azusa as well. |
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2016-12-08, 21:54
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Link #868 |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
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I'd like to think Saori Hayami coached Tomoyo Kurosawa for that scene. I mean She was responsible for doing this all in one cut.
https://youtu.be/nHd3xfDzTg8 |
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2016-12-09, 02:23
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Link #869 | |
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Math Ninja
 Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Ventura County CA
Age: 59
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Yes, we saw Reina staring at Kumiko at the end of the episode. But we saw Reina staring oddly at Kumiko many times last year. It's a Reina thing. It's what she does. Yes, she's been absent from Kumiko's life lately, but we haven't been shown a single thing that would indicate she's upset or angry, let alone that it's about Kumiko getting rides from Taki-sensei or anything else. So this line of thinking is either based on a bunch of made-up stuff or it's based on things people know from the novels, and either way that's out of bounds. Apologies for sounding grumpy, but this show has felt increasingly flat to me these past few weeks. I can appreciate that it's well-made and I can see what others like about it, but the story just hasn't gone in a direction that interests me, and I'm kind of bummed about that. 
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2016-12-09, 04:49
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Link #871 |
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Sekiroad-Idols Sing Twice
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Blooming Blue Rose
Age: 33
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Did Kyoto "baiting" Animation just build a beautiful friendship between two ilk who keep their distance from everyone without it crossing into proto-romantic territory? All that can be said is "you did good for once!" The train scene with the flashbacks is also precise and refreshingly unceremonious, not to mention Kumiko and Mamiko actually act like siblings their age would...act
What's going on with Reina though...
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2016-12-09, 08:50
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Link #873 | ||
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Philippines
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Quote:
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2016-12-09, 08:55
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Link #874 | |
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Sekiroad-Idols Sing Twice
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Blooming Blue Rose
Age: 33
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Quote:
They're shooting themselves in the foot
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2016-12-09, 11:17
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Link #876 | |
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Math Ninja
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Ventura County CA
Age: 59
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 )I wouldn't put it quite that harshly, but you do have a point. One of the things I've realized about this story over the course of this season is that it's Kumiko's journey, going from one character to another, one case of band drama to another. Those who pointed out the significance of her "being a euphonium," i.e. providing support to the other instruments around her, completely nailed it. That's what the story is. But the thing is, the way they handled Reina's part of the story last year gave the wrong impression. It was so well done and so well received that it looked like the two of them together were at the focus of the story, when really Reina was just one person in the sequence Kumiko goes through. At least that was the way I took it. For whatever reason, be it "yuri baiting" or good source material or just dumb luck, the Kumiko-Reina part of the story stood out from the rest and gave the appearance of being the whole story, when really it was just part of the larger story. It just happened to be the part of the story I was most interested in, though, so I'm having a bit of a letdown now that I can see the bigger picture. But that's just me. |
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2016-12-09, 11:29
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Link #877 | |
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Banned
Join Date: Apr 2016
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Maybe Reina is finally going to confess to Taki so she can get a straight answer from him? Obviously the role Kumiko is going to play is related to how she can support both of them especially after the details she knows about Taki sensei, personally I really doubt there will be more development between them thanks to the age gap but I guess there is still some hope like when Reina finally reach 18-19? @Akuma Kousaka Shooting themselves in the foot? did you forget the yuribait what was ruined the experience of season 1 and this same forum is the proof of that? If there is something well done on season 2 is how Kyoani toned down the yuribait so the story is more enjoyable and focused on what's important. Detailed explanations and comparisons with the books were already done here so there is no point on doing it again, to be honest seems like yuri fans will never accept that. |
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2016-12-09, 11:46
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Link #878 | |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Spain
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2016-12-09, 13:56
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Link #879 |
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Did nothing wrong
Author
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Not here
Age: 40
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What are you people even talking about? Given that Kumiko and Reina have been getting so close together, but Kumiko had the nerve to defy Taki-sama's directives as well as not letting Reina hog all the screen time means that there is only one possible way this can end.
Spoiler:
It was truly inevitable. Prepare for the dramatic end.
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2016-12-09, 13:57
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Link #880 | |
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Orthodox Haruhiist
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Making metal ... for fish
Age: 44
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I mean, let's look back at the first series. We have inscrutable, adorkably awkward, Kumiko, who tends to go along with whatever life currents happen to sweep her up. We have wannabe-snowflake Reina, who knows what she wants to be; but has approximately zero social skills whatsoever. If there's one recurring theme in this show, it's that personal development is hard. This is signified by Kumiko thinking she's really pissed off Reina in middle school, and avoiding her for the early part of the school year. It takes her a while to understand that Reina's not pissed off, but rather, intrigued by Kumiko's combination of unplanned frankness, and deliberate cool distance. Also, they may be attracted to each other. A strong case could be made for Kumiko being attracted to women as much, if not more, than she's attracted to men. It comes to a head when Kumiko accidentally invites Kumiko to the festival; and Reina takes them up a mountain. She declares her "love" for Kumiko, but it shouldn't be taken as a literal declaration of romantic love. It's the same teasing, not-really-sincere declaration of love that vitriolic best buds Natsuki and Yuuko share. Still, Reina's drawn to Kumiko; and Kumiko can't help but be swept up in it ... this is, after all, a defining trait in her early characterization. We quickly learn that Reina is actually quite attracted to Taki-sensei. She tells Kumiko that she loves him. But we get hints that Taki means something to her before this moment. She snaps at Shuuichi and Kumiko when she thinks they're badmouthing Taki, for example. Events in the first series conspire to push Reina and Kumiko closer together. Kumiko backs Reina in her quest for the trumpet solo. She's come to respect Reina's drive and passion, and her declaration of love for Reina comes across as far more genuine than Reina's did for her. However, remember that Reina's been in love with Taki since before high school. Kumiko knows this. Whatever she feels for Reina, she's still the cool, distant, Kumiko from the first series. Remember what Asuka says about her ... she's curious, but she deliberately establishes boundaries and refuses to get too close. So Kumiko's declaration of love, though genuine, is meant to be strictly platonic. Kumiko doesn't want to interfere with Reina's pursuit of Taki. Kumiko doesn't want to be hurt by exposing too much of her inner heart to Reina. This fits the show's overall theme of personal development being difficult. In the first series, Kumiko keeps everyone at arms-length, and she's really stubborn about it. Her poor brother-by-another-mother Shuuichi suffers from Kumiko's stubbornness all throughout the show. She leaves things wishy-washy with Reina too; although it's not super-obvious in the first series, because events surrounding them serve to push Kumiko and Reina together. The second series picks up, literally, minutes after the first series leaves off (except for that apparent flash-forward to winter that starts the series.) Kumiko hasn't had a chance to progress from where she left off at the end of the first series. However, after the local competition, the outside pressures pushing Kumiko and Reina together evaporate. Reina's cemented her position in the band, and Kumiko's rediscovered her love of music. So with the outside pressure off, we're free to see that things between Kumiko and Reina weren't as they first appeared. I will take an aside to say: The easy solution would've been for Reina to realize that her love of her teacher is untenable, and Kumiko to realize that holding people at arms-length is going to lead to a lot of mixed messages; and so they should explore their relationship further and see if there's a foundation to be built past intrigue and chemistry. However, remember that this show abhors easy solutions. Kumiko and Reina flirt. They tease each other. They go to another summer festival. Reina shuts down Shuuichi and bashes him. Kumiko simply accepts this, because this is just what Kumiko does. However, in the same scene, Reina complains about Kumiko's apparent emotional distance. Right after this, their relationship comes out of focus, because the dramatic focus shifts to the whole Nozomi/Mizore/Natsuki/Yuuko love-rhombus. It serves to show us that the only thing that Kumiko has really learned is that she loves the euphonium. She shows passion in little fits and starts, but still prefers her emotional distance. She still prefers to leave things wishy-washy ... never taking a gamble and really putting herself out there. It's clear, at this point, that one of the things Kumiko leaves wishy-washy is her friendship with Reina. She doesn't really appear to include Reina when she's off advancing the show's plot by being in places. She's blandly supportive of Reina, when Reina first sees Taki's hot female college chum. She holds back when she learns the truth about Taki's situation. She's basically doing the same thing to Reina that she ultimately does to Nozomi and Mizore ... i.e. she watches from a safe distance. This has consequences ... the warmth of their friendship seen at the start of the series cools off. Apart from little moments, they start to drift away from each other. Kumiko's relationship with Reina starts to resemble her relationship with other people that she was close to ... like Shuuichi, and her sister Mamiko. However, Shuuichi and Mamiko are family (more or less) to Kumiko, so they take her in stride. I was one of those who complained that KyoAni was going to try to shoehorn a Shuuichi/Kumiko pairing by the end of the series, in spite of giving him no screentime whatsoever. However, I'm now thinking that what they did, keeping him silently in the wings, works perfectly with the show's central premise ... that personal development is hard. Things aren't just going to be handed to you. Shuuichi cares a great deal for Kumiko, but he's not going to ride in like a white knight; not when such a gesture would be a total waste of effort. However, Kumiko is developing. In fits and starts. Falling in with Reina, she learns what it means to have goal and have something to be passionate about. In witnessing the Nozomi/Mizore thing, she sees an example of the consequences of not communicating. In seeing her sister's struggles, she sees what happens to those who just accept where the currents of life happen to take them. So the events of the two series have primed her, but she hadn't really made the connection yet. Remember, personal development is hard. Even right before Kumiko's date with destiny, it's quite telling that ... when Reina asks Kumiko what she really thought of their chances to reach Nationals, Kumiko still holds back for fear of hurting Reina's feelings. In fact, she has to get savaged by Asuka, before she finally connects the dots and realizes that sometimes she has to roll the hard-six. Sometimes she has to go all-in and put herself on the line to accomplish something. It's not enough to have a goal, or passion. It's not enough to be someone that people find easy to talk to. She has to put her own heart into things and make her own way. Otherwise she'll end up like Mamiko. Otherwise she'll let those who are important to her simply slip away. However, this show doesn't like easy solutions. Her previous missteps have consequences. Like Asuka said: How does she know that people are telling her the truth? Why would people truly want to open up to someone who won't be there when it's time to lay the cards down? Reina x Kumiko or Shuuichi x Kumiko are easy solutions. And Kumiko's kinda pissed away both. It seems like Kumiko's day of reckoning with Reina comes next episode. The question that will be asked is if Kumiko's actually learned anything this series ... how is she going to navigate her own past mistakes? What is going to be left for her to pick up? Will she just accept it, like she's always done; or will she decide to forge her own path?
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