(CR) Tsuki ga Kirei (The Moon is Beautiful)

[Gan_HOPE326]

Originally Posted by pagan poor

LINE is a huge social networking set up in Japan. Wouldn't be surprised by the product placement. Heard of them when a couple of radio shows I listen to use LINE for people to see videos of them broadcasting and whatever else.

Show isn't slow for me. And lol that whole bookstore visit was the gist of the plot.

Oh, so it's an actual thing? I thought it was a made up brand stand-in for WhatsApp.

[Arya]

I also thought it was a made-up thing. In any case, I liked they focused on it since it added up to the realistic portrayal of the episode as a whole. In the end is one of the bigger recent past changes you can see with a naked eye.

[Ghostfriendly]

"A normal man wouldn't know how women feel...'

Osamu Dazai wasn't normal, and in a bad way. The musings of that nihilistic old pervert are the last thing a healthy young man should be contemplating IMO, considering all the trouble he got into.

But springing such a good 'clever but troubled soul' flag as the first Dazai quote, after half-an-episode of incredibly normal high school life really hooked me. I wasn't bored by this first ep in the least; simple middle school, without wizards or robots, and sweet adolescent embarrassment made for a very good episode. I've seen some complaints about cgi or rotoscoping used for background characters that looks very awkward, though. I didn't notice it myself, but did anyone else? Sorting out subtitles for two mundane family chats in the restaurant was a bit awkward too.

[Guardian Enzo]

I think one of the things that made the episode work especially well was that it wasn't high school - it was middle school. Felt both more fresh and more authentic.

[FredFriendly]

Unlike apparently most people here, I wasn't bothered by or distracted by any of the animation choices. I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode from start to finish.

Akane certainly has a bad case of social anxiety disorder, probably caused by years of her parents embarrassing her in public. I did wonder, though, why she was having such a hard time talking to Kotarou when she was so easily able to talk to that other male classmate that she apparently met for the first time.

Episode 2 preview is out and, if I'm not much mistaken...

Spoiler for speculations:

we're about to get our first bout of real drama: the main dude from the track and field club seems to have staked a claim for Akane. I might be wrong, since it was such a short preview, but if that's the case, then Kotarou will have some pretty stiff competition. The dude's tall, good looking, outgoing, and, as a member of the track and field club, will have ample opportunity to spend precious time with Akane. From what we've seen of him so far, it doesn't look like Kotarou would put up much of a fight for her, if any, and would probably justify his inactions with some Dazai quotes

.

[Arya]

mmm, I don't think she has any disorder. I took it as the normal awkwardness a kid experiences when she/he deals with romantic feelings for the first times. That awkwardness can make you stop thinking straight. That's also why she didn't have problems with others but him.
Adding your parents into the equation it's just like elevating said equation to its n-th power That's where the boy's urge to go for coffee came from too, an attempt to look a grown-up.

[AB079]

Episode 2 was nice and comfy, really like how natural it feels this series.

Now we have someone going for Akane? hmmm this is what I didn't wanted to see, love triangles and drama.

[Stark700]

Episode 2:

This was fun. To see the crowed being so invested into this school competition and the competitors being cheered just made it more exciting.

Some of the girls tease about Akane this episode which isn't too surprising considering that she's getting close to Kotarou. Compared to the first episode, this one had a lot more energy.

I hope this show can keep up the momentum.

[FredFriendly]

Originally Posted by Arya

mmm, I don't think she has any disorder. I took it as the normal awkwardness a kid experiences when she/he deals with romantic feelings for the first times. That awkwardness can make you stop thinking straight. That's also why she didn't have problems with others but him.
Adding your parents into the equation it's just like elevating said equation to its n-th power That's where the boy's urge to go for coffee came from too, an attempt to look a grown-up.

It might have been true that her nervousness was entirely the result of having romantic feelings for the first time if, after she initially saw Kotarou and felt something new, Akane ran out to the nearest store and bought her squeezie toy, but she's been dependent on it for all of the situations that make her nervous long before she saw him for the first time. The 2nd episode further emphasizes that she has some form of anxiety disorder after she lost the squeezie, and it was certainly not related to any budding feelings she may have for Kotarou. Fortunately for Akane, it's not entirely debilitating, as she does not go into a full-blown panic mode.

As for episode 2, it was too short, damn it, and I've gotta wait another whole week for the next episode?!

As expected, Hira from the track team is making a play for Akane, bolstered by her own friends. However, if the ED is any indication, Akane and Kotarou will become a couple towards the end of the series. I just hope that Akane doesn't friend-zone Kotarou in the meantime. I also hope that the series does not go overboard with angsty teen drama.

The after-end credit scenes were a pleasant surpise, but if there is one thing that will turn me off to the series is if there is any hint of actual romantic development between Roman and Ryouko-sensei.

[Flower]

Ep 02

Wow. These first two eps have been really good ... they are even ... beautiful, though in a homespun and unaffected way that only comes across as genuine and endearing for me. The OP and ED really help to weave the overall picture and effect.

Please, please let this series keep to this level up through the end! Definitely my favorite new, non-sequel series airing this season.

[Diluc]

This is so cute, the adolescent of middle schooler grade always cute and naive.
I was surprise with the introduction of three side characters romance especially the teacher x Roman part.
Since the episode count still unknown i wonder how many episode this series will have.
The best for pace should be 12 but i don't mind for two cour (24 episode)

[Kismet-chan]

The second episode was even better than the first. The payoff of Akane and Kotarou connecting over something was very satisfying to see. I also love seeing Kotarou swipe at the light string in his little fits of happiness. It's pretty adorkable.

[bastek66]

Images

Character relations chart

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[Diluc]

Originally Posted by bastek66

Images

Character relations chart

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That chart is not complete yet because Aira x Kaneki is not listed there.

[IceHism]

Yea I prefer this second episode. Though I'm kind of disappointed that the main soon-to-be couple talked to each other so little. The line chat at the end was maximum cute though.

[FredFriendly]

Originally Posted by IceHism

...Though I'm kind of disappointed that the main soon-to-be couple talked to each other so little. The line chat at the end was maximum cute though.

Well, Akane doesn't seem to have any problem talking to guys, even guys she's met for the first time (except Kotarou). I get the impression that Kotarou, on the other hand, has never really interacted with girls before and is simply at a loss for words when confronted by the opposite sex. I don't think that it's because he's shy, just dumbfounded when tête-à-tête with a girl, as witnessed, not only by his interactions with Akane, but with Chinatsu, as well.

Line chatting makes it easier for them both by removing the face-to-face embarrassment of looking into each other's eyes and seeing each other blush like crazy. Line chatting also removes the social pressures and they can say things to each other that they wouldn't say in person, at least not yet.

I am no authority on Japanese customs, but there was one thing in episode 1 that mildly irked me. It seemed pretty rude of Akane that the very first time she talks to Kotarou, she demands that he not speak about the restaurant "incident" at school without even first introducing herself to him. Lucky for her that Kotarou is such a nice guy and not some jerk who would have taken advantage of the situation to manipulate her, as seems to be a favorite trope in so many series.

[Ghostfriendly]

Kotaro was so cute, earnest and breathy talking to Akane, he'll really have to up his game with the other guys after her though. Drama feels very unforced, which is nice. Kotaro's development in this ep was great, he and Akane should just start going out already.

If Dazai had been influenced by other (sensible) people, perhaps it would've turned out better for him.

Skinhead guy in the final short deserves a knee on the groin.

[Verso Sciolto]

Dissociate

[Kakurin]

Music video of the OP song by Tōyama Nao:

YouTube

https://youtu.be/ZGHRRdMWSIw

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[BWTraveller]

Originally Posted by FredFriendly

It might have been true that her nervousness was entirely the result of having romantic feelings for the first time if, after she initially saw Kotarou and felt something new, Akane ran out to the nearest store and bought her squeezie toy, but she's been dependent on it for all of the situations that make her nervous long before she saw him for the first time. The 2nd episode further emphasizes that she has some form of anxiety disorder after she lost the squeezie, and it was certainly not related to any budding feelings she may have for Kotarou. Fortunately for Akane, it's not entirely debilitating, as she does not go into a full-blown panic mode.

As for episode 2, it was too short, damn it, and I've gotta wait another whole week for the next episode?!

As expected, Hira from the track team is making a play for Akane, bolstered by her own friends. However, if the ED is any indication, Akane and Kotarou will become a couple towards the end of the series. I just hope that Akane doesn't friend-zone Kotarou in the meantime. I also hope that the series does not go overboard with angsty teen drama.

The after-end credit scenes were a pleasant surpise, but if there is one thing that will turn me off to the series is if there is any hint of actual romantic development between Roman and Ryouko-sensei.

Give me a break. As someone who has suffered from anxiety and social anxiety problems all my life and has also known people with even bigger problems, I honestly find it ridiculous to call Akane's shyness a "social anxiety disorder".

This is a serious problem these days really. If someone's shy, she has a "social anxiety disorder". If someone's flighty and gets distracted easily she has "attention deficit hyperactive disorder". If someone is moody she has "bipolar disorder". This is not necessarily the case, and labeling anyone who shows the slightest bit of a personality trait associated with a disorder is frankly insulting to both the person and anyone who actually suffers from said disorder.

I'm with other people. Akane is SHY. Maybe she's been embarrassed in her past. Maybe not. It could just be that she's not very good appearing in front of large numbers of people or being thrust into social situations too quickly. With the restaurant, she was all too quickly pushed into associating with the boy she's interested in without her having any say on it, and on top of that her parents and sister were with her saying whatever they pleased, something that would embarrass most teens. And the other times when she got real nervous and embarrassed, she was about to appear in front of a huge group of people while at the same time carrying a certain responsibility for her friends and peers. That's a lot of pressure. She most certainly has stage fright, which would make track meets a scary experience for her, all the more so if she didn't used to take part in such meets. Add to that the fact that her friends and teammates are depending on her, and a miss could cost them dearly as well, and of course she'd be stressed out. That's not a psychological disorder, that's a person facing heavy pressure while out of their element.

And just imagine how much more nervous she'd be if she knew that a lot of the people staring at her were staring at her butt.


On a different note, I didn't really watch the ending that closely in the first episode. Really kind of cool the way it went, slowly drawing the hands together. If that's supposed to be foreshadowing, then I guess they'll only start going out near the end of their school year...


Also, is it a bit of a cliché to have a love rival be in the same club as the heroine? I'd have to dig, but it seems like that's a fairly common setup. Even more so when it's a sports or competitive club. A guy who excels at the sport she loves takes an interest in her, and pushes away the jerk who isn't part of their "world" or maybe even claims that he'll somehow hinder her by taking her away from this. I'm not saying it's a bad cliché; these things become common because they're a good source of conflict.