Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Kanon

I'm really liking Rin so far. At first I thought Urushi was reading too much into when she didn't call her President, but it turned out she was totally right and didn't respect her. Because Rin's respect has to be earned. I don't think Takeru will remain "senpai" very long...

The very last minute of the episode...he did not .

[BWTraveller]

Kind of odd that she can't respect someone she's beaten, and yet she decided she couldn't declare her love for the man she respects and admires until she does just that.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by BWTraveller

Kind of odd that she can't respect someone she's beaten, and yet she decided she couldn't declare her love for the man she respects and admires until she does just that.

Maybe not being able to confess kind of pushed her to dismiss her feelings by just not respecting him as much .

[grecefar]

Yeah I like rin a lot too, it's too bad she is in the kind of manga were the winner is declared at the first chapter.

[James Rye]

Rin was really the energy boost this series needed to keep going. I like her a lot because of her straight-forward merit based out-looking character. Too bad she has zero chance, but it seems she is taking it okaish so far? She should have just used the fist time she beat Tanaka in their first shogi match, but I guess she wants to beat him where he is at his best not where he is at his worst or just average.

[FlareKnight]

You know...Rin really is great. A good amount of energy and change added to the mix. She really does suit Ayumu quite a bit. They both ended up on this ridiculous approach of needing to beat the person they want to confess to.

Unfortunately for her that approach will only work out for Ayumu. It would be kind of amusing if they both suffered the same sense of failure and Ayumu never ends up with Urushi. But since she does have feelings for Ayumu that's a mile ahead of where Rin herself was. Honestly it makes me feel bad for her. She's not the main character so despite doing things in almost the exact same way as Ayumu...only one of them will get what they want.

Things still seem tricky though. Considering how he was crushed by Rin in this episode the gap is still pretty imposing. The odds seem better that Urushi will graduate before he actually beats her. Sure he's getting a crash course in shogi and Rin is helping push him along...but it still seems dicey. And the more time that passes the less they'll have before she's graduated. Even Rin was shaken by how fast Ayumu got crushed in this episode.

[BWTraveller]

Well, at least in this series the OTP is given plenty of chemistry and fun and romantic moments. A lot of the time when I end up with a character doomed to unrequited love toward someone who loves and ultimately dates someone else, the author seems to be a little too focused on showing what a great pair the spare makes with their love and doesn't really make the victorious pairing work. Here, I feel a lot for Rin, but I most certainly do buy that Ayumu and Urushi make a great pair.

Well, at least it seems like she's willing to help him out instead. Having someone a little closer to his level (though still thoroughly superior to him) to spar with might help. Not to mention that he might find it easier to do things like see things from his opponent's perspective when he doesn't instead find himself immediately thinking of his opponent's adorable smug face.

[Frontier]

Look at Urushi's face when she thinks Takeru is trying to ask her out for Golden Week! Sure it turned out to be for a group event for the club, but she really seemed into it! She even admits she was disappointed it wasn't going to be a date and she still fixes her hair as if she were on one. Girls got it bad for Ayumu now .

Sakurako's not much for groups, but there's nothing she'd rather do than spend time with Takeru, even if it's hunting for four leaf clovers! But the four leaf clovers brings some luck to her and Takeru's relationship as they fall on each other and get up close and personal, leaving Takeru super flustered and Sakurako more conscious of him than ever .

It was fun to see Urushi's girlfriends, if only briefly, especially to see them in casual clothes. Maki's style is very mature and chic .

Ah yes, nothing better for girls than an excuse to eat as many sweets as possible .

Ah, the arcade! No better place for Urushi to make a fool of herself because of her lack of ability or coordination in anything that doesn't involve shogi! I'm genuinely shocked her forehead didn't have more punching power though .

A shogi-based fixed shooter being the only thing that Urushi can effectively play, and really being the kind of game that would really appeal to people like her, was quite the lucky find. And she still does better than Ayumu in it .

Air hockey! Which Urushi is utterly hopeless at! But she's got Ayumu running a strong defense, even if she's utterly defenseless against his body pressed against hers, or when they're turned around and facing each other so intimately. They may have lost the round, but I think they won in terms of closeness .

Macho Koala Chocolates with lucky Super Swole Koala's is a very...surreal product .

Urushi and Ayumu got to take a couple purikura! And Urushi got to see a picture of Ayumu with a bright smile on his face! It was utterly adorable .

Post-credit scene! Another guy beats Takeru to the punch and confesses to Sakurako, but it takes Takeru talking about what it means to like someone for Sakurako to realize her feelings...and who she truly likes. And that "like" about Takeru explaining it to her was probably meant more as a confession than a statement. We even end on an indirect kiss between the pair! That Swole Koala really is lucky !

[Kanon]

Sakurako and Takeru are the saving grace of this show. They have the most adorable moments, and their relationship is progressing.

I think my main problem with this show is Ayumu. Him being set on not confessing until he beats Urushi fair and square means nothing is ever going to happen until the end. But the main issue is... he's fucking boring. The similarly expressionless Raidou in Aharen-san was great because he had plenty of quirks. Ayumu is completely bland.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Sakurako and Takeru are the saving grace of this show. They have the most adorable moments, and their relationship is progressing.

I think my main problem with this show is Ayumu. Him being set on not confessing until he beats Urushi fair and square means nothing is ever going to happen until the end. But the main issue is... he's fucking boring. The similarly expressionless Raidou in Aharen-san was great because he had plenty of quirks. Ayumu is completely bland.

I don't think his lack of confessing is preventing anything from happening given they seem to be able to do plenty of couple-y stuff even without confessing, which is developing their feelings for each other, and I think the appeal of Ayumu is how he shows his emotions through his stoicism .

[FlareKnight]

Takeru and Sakurako really do save this thing for me. Not that I don't like the main pair. But I just don't like them to the same degree . I'm glad they did get some really good moments in the latest episode. Though it does show Sakurako having been farther away from understanding her own feelings than I thought she was. It took this episode for her to start realizing that she does like Takeru. Of course she has for a long time, but I guess it was mostly on a subconscious level.

They are just a really pleasant pair. And in some ways I get her just naturally being a bit possessive (to the point of hypnotism) to keep Takeru around since she doesn't have that many other friends. Not easy being a generally shy person around most people. At least things are moving nicely. Sakurako is starting to catch up to where Takeru has been for a while so at least there's definitely promising developments there.

Makes sense that she'd talk about her confession with Takeru before giving any kind of response. He's basically her rock in terms of who she can turn to during situations that she can't quite wrap her head around. Not that I think there was a chance she'd say yes while not being sure about her feelings...but thank goodness she did bring it up so things could move in a nice direction (sorry to the unnamed guy).

Originally Posted by Frontier

I don't think his lack of confessing is preventing anything from happening given they seem to be able to do plenty of couple-y stuff even without confessing, which is developing their feelings for each other, and I think the appeal of Ayumu is how he shows his emotions through his stoicism .

Part of me finds that as the saving grace. Since at least things are happening. At the same time it also kind of fuels my frustration with Ayumu . They are already doing all that stuff so there's basically no point to his refusal to confess. Just get to it and keep aiming to beat her at shogi as things go along!

I'm not really that upset with Ayumu. But I get how he could frustrate people a bit. Good guy though.

[BWTraveller]

Yeah, I think Sakurako kind of fits really well with the trope "What is This Thing You Call Love?"

I don't really like the answer to "what is love" including your heart beating faster. That's not always the case. If you're close and secure with someone, you could just feel warm and happy. And if you've been around for a long time, it can be harder for your heart to skip a beat. It's still there, but it's not the same kind of racing you get with a crush, which by its nature doesn't tend to last that long.

Anyway, I have to agree. I love Ayumu and Urushi, but Takeru and Sakurako are far sweeter. Happens sometimes, finding a story where a side romance is just far better than the main. Will be interesting, though, to see if realizing that she loves him will have any effect on how she behaves. Will the strategy to keeping a friend that she wants to stay a friend around be different now that he's a crush that she wants to be her boyfriend?

[Tsundere Louise]

After this episode I want to see a spin-off with Takeru and Sakurako as main characters. I love the chemistry between them and also how she teases him.

[Frontier]

Ayumu may have lost a chance to share umbrella's with Urushi, but protecting her from splashing is a great way to get into her house and wear her dads' clothes (instead of a boyfriend shirt, a dad shirt ?) .

Is that Fumihiko Tachiki as Urushi's dad? I love how he's so tall he keeps hitting his head on the door, poor guy .

"He's my boyfriend!" Wow, very rarely do I see a girl use that excuse in front of their parents. Although it's not like she was wrong from a certain point of view .

Urushi gets along with her dad, and we see later on how much of a doting father he is, but she feels self-conscious around him because of how much she loves shogi and thinking her father has such mixed feelings about it...but Ayumu is there to help bridge the gap .

Sayaka Ohara as Urushi's mom!? Then you already know she's a perfect MILF from the voice alone. And in true anime mom fashion she's already realized her daughter has a thing going on with Ayumu and wastes no time teasing them about it. And she enjoys heckling her husband too .

(Have Sayaka Ohara and Fumihiko Tachiki played a married couple before? I feel like they have).

So the real issue wasn't that Urushi's dad was against her doing shogi...so much so as he never went pro because he felt humiliated when he was "beaten" by his daughter and his dad, Urushi's grandpa, thought she was a better player than him. Rough stuff .

Not only does Ayumu have Urushi's gratefullness for helping her realize the truth about her dad, but her parents seem to approve of him! Nice .

I guess the one bad thing about having a love interest in a different year than you is you don't get to go on the class trip together...and that's true for both Rin and Ayumu .

I love how Ayumu is so honest with wanting Urushi to send pics of her new clothes to him and she actually agrees to it! Well, at least until she realizes she and her gal pals are shopping for underwear. And pretty racy ones at that! Did you see what Maki was considering with that red number ?

Urushi is going to miss Ayumu just like Ayumu will miss her! And she's also a little jealous of the time Ayumu and Rin are spending together. I mean, she even went as far as inviting him to her room! But it shows how much her feelings for him have grown, and she leaves off with a promise to give him a souvenier when she comes back .

[grecefar]

lol that's a long time to still be sulking.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Frontier

Sayaka Ohara as Urushi's mom!? Then you already know she's a perfect MILF from the voice alone. And in true anime mom fashion she's already realized her daughter has a thing going on with Ayumu and wastes no time teasing them about it. And she enjoys heckling her husband too .

So the real issue wasn't that Urushi's dad was against her doing shogi...so much so as he never went pro because he felt humiliated when he was "beaten" by his daughter and his dad, Urushi's grandpa, thought she was a better player than him. Rough stuff .

I'm pretty sure there's a rule in the industry that says that if there's a MILF in your anime, you have to call Ohara. You only give the role to someone else if she declines.

Urushi's dad gave up on becoming a pro before she was born. It was his daughter telling him he sucked at shogi that dealt him a devastating blow and got him to stop playing entirely. As the mother said, he's just been sulking for over a decade.

The misunderstanding between daughter and father was on another level. She wanted to confess she's in the shogi club, but he thought she wanted to tell him she was pregnant and was going to have a shotgun wedding. DUDE.

The episode was really fun thanks to the parents.

[FlareKnight]

I'm kind of impressed by the Dad honestly. He kept up sulking for over a decade. That's not easily done . Although I do get it. Having his Dad and Daughter saying that he sucked would be pretty rough. I'll presume that Urushi was at least right about him having quit chasing the dream to play professionally before she was born. Just that he did actually keep up playing with his father and such up till that "tragic" point.

Honestly I'm surprised the mother didn't reveal the truth earlier. It's not like she couldn't have picked up on the situation going on. Doesn't seem like the type to stay quiet out of respect for her husband's feelings either.

The parents made the episode fun. But...it was also an episode with absolutely no Takeru and Sakurako! Come on! Just because they got a heavier focus last episode doesn't mean they can't show up period!

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Kanon

I'm pretty sure there's a rule in the industry that says that if there's a MILF in your anime, you have to call Ohara. You only give the role to someone else if she declines.

Either her or Kikuko Inoue, although that seems like it's becoming Ai Kayano or Kana Hanazawa's new go-to typecast .

The misunderstanding between daughter and father was on another level. She wanted to confess she's in the shogi club, but he thought she wanted to tell him she was pregnant and was going to have a shotgun wedding. DUDE.

I was half-expecting him to say kissing makes you pregnant .

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Frontier

Either her or Kikuko Inoue, although that seems like it's becoming Ai Kayano or Kana Hanazawa's new go-to typecast .

HanaKana's only played one mom as far as I recall (Akebi's), she's usually been typecast as a teacher those past couple years.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Kanon

HanaKana's only played one mom as far as I recall (Akebi's), she's usually been typecast as a teacher those past couple years.

She was also one in Aquatope, I believe ?