(L) Kokoro Connect [anime]

[Utsuro no Hako]

Originally Posted by zeniselv

still its not something you openly admit, you wouldnt want people thinking you masturbate to your female friends, thats the kind of things people can assume but not prove,

That depends entirely upon the type of girls you hang out with. There were some I knew in high school who thought nothing of asking guys who they whacked-off to -- in some cases literally going up to someone in the hall and asking as an ice-breaker.

Originally Posted by Haak

This may just be me being optimistic but I think the way a lot of this resembles a typical harem VN right now (White knight male lead, goofy side kick, multiple girls with serious issues) is actually intentional and they plan to subvert the hell out of it. There are definitely more than enough hints to suggest all is not fine and dandy after all.

Yeah, in my experience LN heroes who are surrounded by screwed-up girls always turn out to be screwed up themselves. I'd be very surprised if he didn't turn out to have a deep dark secret or two.

I mean, how many episodes of Durarara did it take before Mikado revealed that he wasn't just a naive little country mouse?

[LKK]

Originally Posted by Jmko

^
http://notredreviews.wordpress.com/2...okoro-connect/

Thank you for the link. The blackboard comments were fascinating to read.

[Kirito]

Originally Posted by Utsuro no Hako

That depends entirely upon the type of girls you hang out with. There were some I knew in high school who thought nothing of asking guys who they whacked-off to -- in some cases literally going up to someone in the hall and asking as an ice-breaker.

Yeah, in my experience LN heroes who are surrounded by screwed-up girls always turn out to be screwed up themselves. I'd be very surprised if he didn't turn out to have a deep dark secret or two.

That's what makes it funny because I never expected Himeko to admit something like that. Aoki yes, for Taichi, it depends on the pretext of the situation that was present between him and Himeko. Sure there are people, girls and boys, who are open about that but it's still weird to me for Himeko to admit that because she seems the type to keep certain things to herself, but she took Taichi's confession to the said act pretty well.

During the confession scene it looked like he was going to reveal something a little dark than masturbating to a girl and admitting it to said character you thought of during the act. Taichi's actions at least to me, are incomprehensible. He's unique, but there at least has to be a reason for him being the selfless freak that he is, and it'll be interesting to see what they are.

[Alhazred]

Originally Posted by LKK

Thank you for the link. The blackboard comments were fascinating to read.

It should be noted on Taichi's board that 'warau' which is translated as 'laugh' can also be translated as 'smile.' With all of his white knighting, i'd nearly forgotten that at the start of the series Taichi was noted as being someone who never smiles honestly; he supposedly always has that sort of 'Kyon'-style deadpan/cynical thing going. We've seen that much less than advertised, i think, but i wonder if that might figure into whatever his 'issue' is...

[hoshino_crimsonwings]

Does Nagase actually jump next episode? :/

[Flawfinder]

Originally Posted by Sackett

I disagree with that.

These are exactly the kinds of conversations you have with a close and intimate friend.

The main reason people pay psychologists to listen to them is because they don't have a friend like Taichi that they trust sufficiently to talk about what they are really thinking and feeling.

All that's happening here is that people are taking off their masks and showing what is inside. Nor do I think it's over, I think Yui, Iroi, and Inaba still have additional issues that they are still hiding.

I'm curious to see what is under Aoki's mask.

That wasn't exactly my problem with this episode. It wasn't Taichi getting Inaba to open up by saying something stupid that was the problem.

My problem is with the actual dialogue itself. The dialogue in this episode is that godawful Boondock Saints, Burn Notice, Uncharted, smart-ass, self-aware, Hollywood dialogue that I can't stand, but a lot of people think is funny. You could argue it was a mistranslation, but it's clear from the voice acting and animation that the dialogue was supposed to be self-aware smugness. Hate, hate, hate that kind of dialogue.

[EroKing]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Another problem I have with it is that it makes it seem like Taichi has no real issues (other than, perhaps, excessive selflessness).

But he does. It doesn't get worse than being a John Cena fan

[D-Gold]

Originally Posted by hoshino_crimsonwings

Does Nagase actually jump next episode? :/

I place my bets on it being a dream/day dream.

[Silvance]

Good episode. The part where Iori said that she's having identity problems was really tense... I'm rather worried about the fact that Taichi swore that he'll know her no matter what. Looking at how much she trusted Taichi in that scene, I can't imagine how much damage it'll leave on her if he ever makes a mistake.

As for Inaba... That was unexpected kind of declaration. lol. Taichi's expression was priceless too. The scene made me laugh like a mad man.

[zeniselv]

Originally Posted by Utsuro no Hako

That depends entirely upon the type of girls you hang out with. There were some I knew in high school who thought nothing of asking guys who they whacked-off to -- in some cases literally going up to someone in the hall and asking as an ice-breaker.

i think we have to focus too on the age of the characters, this wouldn't be something that weird in an adult conversation, but as highschoolers its more of a deal, at that time that can have a more serious meaning, also in japan the repitation you have can stigmatize people a lot more, anyways that girl you mantion i dont think the was considered normal in you highschool, was she?

[novalysis]

If the preview is what I think it is, and not a giant piece of trolling, human waste will soon hit a revolving blade by next episode....

[Pocari_Sweat]

My thoughts after ep4:

Firstly, I would like to congratulate Kokoro Connect for being BOLD. As funny as this sounds, the more I watch Kokoro Connect, the more I akin it to Wandering son from a year and a half ago in that it tries to take ambitious "awkward" teenage topics and instead of ridiculing them for the sake of comedy, it's trying to take a serious approach to it. I am completely suprised and pleased at this drastic change in approach compared to the first episode. Ever since then, it's becoming more and more "substantial" and "purposeful" instead of body swapping romcom shenenigans. Of course, there's plenty of lighthearted moments here - just this episode had me loling at two different moments when both Taichi and Himeko admitted to fapping over each other .

However, the comparisons end there as I think it's not comparable in execution of Wandering Son (which for those who don't know is about a series that deal with gender identity and teenage "puppy love" and all the baggage it carries). There were indeed moments of mood whiplash. The two characters admitting they were fapping over each other for one, and the conversation between Iori and Taichi. The topic at hand was far too "serious business" given the atmosphere that was set up prior to it. I don't know, but I can't quite put a finger on why I thought the episode was not as good as it could be, but something definitely felt off due it being "more serious business" somewhat abruptly than I wanted it to be.

And then we have the PV of next episode. Now, if this was a PA Works production or something I'll just laugh it off (since they are almost always trolls), but considering it isn't I'm hesitant. If I think that is what I saw, then it appears it goes full out melodrama with Iori jumping off what I think is a bridge. I am mixed at this perceived and speculative development.

Otherwise, overall excellent episode. Once again bravos to Kokoro Connect in being bold and ambitious which alone puts its better than 90% of slice of life animes out there.

[Qilin]

I really didn't expect the series to breeze through everyone's problems so quickly. As a result, the revelation of Iori's trauma felt somewhat underwhelming. Maybe it could have been better with a bit more showing as opposed to the load of exposition we've had so far.

I'd say that Himeko actually has the most natural reaction of the lot. I mean, I can totally understand the guilt that comes with distrusting those who place their trust in you. Still, she probably took it to heart a lot more than most would have.

As I feared, it really is looking like this show is painting Taichi into the knight in shining armor, the "selfless freak". I'm not liking this development one bit, especially if you add that to Taichi's bland personality. In fact, I'm not liking how this show is treating its male cast so far.

As for that revelation in the end, I just know that it'd spur a lot of reactions in a certain place, so I'm a bit scared.

[novalysis]

The PV Suggest that Taichi hasn't solved their problems. At most, there has been substantial progress towards their resolution, that is not equated with resolution.

[Kismet-chan]

Spoiler for Nyantype scan:

[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by Haak

This may just be me being optimistic but I think the way a lot of this resembles a typical harem VN right now (White knight male lead, goofy side kick, multiple girls with serious issues) is actually intentional and they plan to subvert the hell out of it. There are definitely more than enough hints to suggest all is not fine and dandy after all.

Yeah I totally felt what you felt here.

I kind of wonder of some of the criticisms here are a bit of jumping the gun and not giving the series the benefit of the doubt.

Assuming things like the guys don't have any issues I think is folly, we're only 4 episodes in! I am pretty sure our guys are not as perfect as they seem, but I think at the very least it deserves the benefit of the doubt for now.

Also a lot of people are presuming way too freaking much. Nothing about the girls recovering from their traumas was ever established. I am fully certain they haven't in fact and there's no indication that they truly have. Taichi didn't fix anything yet.

So yeah the story might have felt like the typical VN/harem setup where Taichi solves everybody's problems in checklist format, but who is to say he actually succeeded ? I think we should let the story develop a little more before saying anything like this.

I didn't like this episode as much as episode 3, but that was mostly because I felt the transition to each girl telling their story wasn't as smooth as it could be, slight execution issues there. I liked how they handled it last episode better.

[Elestia]

I didn't mind this episode, I mean, we're only 4 episodes into the series. I didn't feel like any of the character's actually had any of their problems solved more like gradually fleshed out than anything. The problem still remains at each character's core and their simply taking small steps into addressing them. Although, I do have to admit the dialogue itself was kind excessive and uninspired, but it was saved much in thanks to the actors outstanding performance.

[SPARTAN 119]

I see that episode is still generating plenty of discussion.

Just stopping by with the question over as to whether or not Inaban was just making stuff up just to troll Taichi when she made that confession or not?

Then again, this is anime...

[Pocari_Sweat]

Originally Posted by SPARTAN 119

Then again, this is anime...

Yep. Anime takes every small teen issue thing as serious business or has a lot of blushing involved if somethign is slightly out of the "innocent" category

Such as contrast from say, Western teen movies/dramas where the humour can be so juvenile at times (e.g. Hey, you see that chick over there. I'ma try and get laid by her etc. etc.)

Cant we get a healthy in between?

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by SPARTAN 119

Just stopping by with the question over as to whether or not Inaban was just making stuff up to mess with Taichi when she made that confession or not?

That's the thing, there's no way to know for sure so take it however you want