2006-05-30, 23:34 | Link #81 | |
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2007-08-27, 19:36 | Link #84 |
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Belgium
Age: 35
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I just watched the serie today and at the end I really had twisted emotions. I am happy for Mitsuki, but I really felt sorry for haruka. I mean, ok she wrote her book and she said goodbye, but she was crying when she said goodbye so basically she really felt pain herself. Also the whole taking advantage of the situation thing of Mitsuki made me so mad although I can kinda understand that people can fall in love with people that have a girlfriend. The book Haruka wrote was also nice because basically it was like her lifestory and she hopes (like me) everybody can be friends again and live a happy life
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2007-08-28, 11:08 | Link #85 |
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Location: In line to confess his sins.
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I was quite happy for Haruka. I had hoped she'd the be the one to end up with Takayuki, but she did manage to recover from a terribly traumatic event and get her life back on track. To be able to successfully write a book and have it published after that shows great character, and I'm sure she'll find someone to share her days with.
Things didn't turn out too bad for her, despite losing Takayuki.
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2007-09-07, 04:33 | Link #86 |
Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
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The most interesting thing I've learnt from reading these threads on KGNE is that Western attitudes towards best friends and romance is subtly different from what I'm familiar with here in East Asia.
Most of the anger against Mitsuki seems to stem from the opinion that it is wrong to poach your best friend's boy/girl-friend. More specifically, that it is somehow wrong for Mitsuki to develop romantic feelings for Takayuki because he is supposed to be reserved for Haruka, her best friend. I haven't noticed this strand of opinion before until I've watched other teenage romance anime, where the dubbed English dialogue differs very significantly from the Japanese original. Specifically, I'm thinking of a scene in Whisper of the Heart where a boy confessed that he liked the story's heroine. In Japanese, the girl felt awkward about the confession, and rejected the boy because she didn't have any romantic feelings for him. In English however, she rejected him because she knew her best friend liked the boy instead. To be sure, I never quite understood the criticisms levelled at Mitsuki's supposed "betrayal". In my opinion, Mitsuki had behaved as best as she could have as a friend, given the circumstances, and it seems unfair to blame her for "poaching" Takayuki, when in truth, Haruka was already as good as dead at the time. How much longer was she supposed to wait? As such, I wonder if Mitsuki has been indicted by a Western prejudice towards how such relationships should be handled. Culture plays a large role in how we approach our everyday affairs, and I wonder if it plays a role in understanding how events turned out in KGNE. |
2007-09-07, 11:33 | Link #87 | |
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What do I think? I did not interpreted it as betrayal. Even for American standards, let's think about this from Mitsuki's perspective. Your best friend is still dating the guy you like, but she's in a coma without any signs of when she will wake up. Meanwhile the guy is depressed and is also one of your good friends. Nothing you do can cheer him up, so as a last resort.... In the end I'd rather be called someone who betrayed his/her best friend than let one of my close friends commit suicide out of depression. The cost is to lose your best friend, but time here is a factor. If she wants to be lovesick for all three years (and maybe longer, who knows?) so that she can retain her best friend and support their relationship, then that's good for her. In reality I don't imagine myself or most people doing that. What Mitsuki did might have been selfish, but it's not unreasonable. She doesn't know when Haruka will wake up or if Takayuki will do something stupid (like have a high fever and die). I think that alone can justify her actions, and the ending says it all. This anime is one of the first romance/drama with some traces of reality in it:
People who think that Takayuki is an asshole, do you really want him to be depressed some more until Haruka wakes up? What do you think could have happened to him if Mitsuki didn't step in? There's a time for grief and a time for moving on. What if Takayuki didn't date Mitsuki but another girl? Would you guys hate him still? Let's just put Mitsuki out of the argument and focus on Takayuki and Haruka. You guys really agree that Takayuki should beat himself up for all three years waiting for Haruka to wake up? My personal thoughts on the anime: Person I wanted Takayuki to end up with: Haruka Favorite character: Akane Least favorite character: Ayu (She's not funny, just annoying IMO. Comic relief is good, but too much in a serious drama can be out of place) Least favorite aspect: Hotaru (the young nurse)...what happened to her? I'm sure there's a good explanation in the game but nothing in the anime Ranking on Top Ten List: #1
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2007-09-07, 16:08 | Link #88 |
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Join Date: Sep 2007
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I've just finished watching the series, and this is my first post here, but the moment I came on I encountered all this tendency of people to obsess over Haruka while hating Mitsuki, and sometimes Takayuki too. I can't say that's something I appreciate.
And so, the first thing I'm going to say is, beatiful post, KholdStare. And going back to the first few pages, Perishthethought has some brilliant ones too. When Mitsuki got together with Takayuki, no-one had any idea when, or even *if*, Haruka would wake up... Despite that, Mitsuki spent almost a year looking after Takayuki, getting nothing in return.. Surely that is demonstration of her worth? As for Takayuki himself, well, he spent a year by Haruka's side before he was kicked out by her parents. That's an entire year of his life, down the drain. That devotion is worthy of great credit, surely you can't ask for more? When Haruka woke up, a couple of things were made pretty clear:- 1) She needed Takayuki to aid her recovery. 2) She wasn't in any condition to handle the truth. As a result, Takayuki tried to help her recovery, and at the time she thought she was still in a relationship with him, making things very difficult. Had Takayuki been forced to choose, isn't it clear that he couldn't have chosen Mitsuki for fear of doing great damage to Haruka's psyche? His hands were tied. Of course, at this time we realise Mitsuki can't handle Takayuki giving his attention to Haruka also. Takayuki tries to stop seeing Haruka for Mitsuki's sake, but he can't give up his duty for fear of what might happen to Haruka. Now we see just how weak Mitsuki really is - she goes into a depressive spiral. Even then, however, we see that she still has it in her to come back and look after Takayuki. Not only that, but she even managed to confess what she did, and dump Takayuki. At this point, you really have to give credit to Mitsuki for being able to do that. She proves to us that she isn't as weak as she seemed just before. An even greater moment for her is when she goes to see Haruka, and denies her feelings for Takayuki, all for Haruka's sake. As for Haruka, she has finally reached a moment where she can handle the truth. I must say that it is at this point, and only this point, that Takayuki is really free to make a choice for himself. His obligation to Haruka when she was still trapped in the past was far too great. It is here that we see Haruka's own strength, when she pushes herself into recovery, although we can see that she is doing it for Takayuki. Then we come to the final episode, which begins with the greatest moment for both Haruka and Takayuki. Takayuki comes out with it and admits to Haruka just what Mitsuki means to him, and how he regrets making her suffer. I guess we can call this Takayuki's final choice, if there is anything at all we can add that label to - the choice was really made for him. As for Haruka, she manages to let go of Takayuki, and she's doing it for his sake, and Mitsuki's too - it's clear she does still really love him. In part, she's returning the favour Mitsuki tried to do her, with interest. However, the main part is probably that Haruka realises that it's really Mitsuki that Takayuki wants to be with. In the end, then we see that Haruka was truly stronger than Mitsuki - she even returned to a proper life, and may even have rejoined her friends. While it does seem that Mitsuki could manage on her own too, we don't see real proof. As such, I think the ending worked out best for everyone - Haruka was more able to handle leaving Takayuki than Mitsuki was, after all. It was certainly the closest thing to a happy ending that could've happened. Last edited by lackofcheese; 2007-09-07 at 18:17. |
2007-09-09, 02:29 | Link #89 |
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: UC San Diego
Age: 34
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I believe it is implied that she died due to her bad heath. It was explained in.. I think episode 11 that she quitted her job as a nurse due to her health and have to receive medical treatments. In the last episode, the older nurse said "Amakawa must be happy as well" (or something along the line) when Haruka finally gets out of the hospital. It is kind of vague, but that is what I think happened to her.
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2007-09-10, 14:59 | Link #90 |
Weirdo in the Bush!!
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: GREAT Britian
Age: 34
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@lackofcheese thanx, now youve brought up all of that i feel like i did when i watched the thing. Its a great anime but it hits hard and close to home in certain situations which cant help but bring up emotions. I cannot think of anyone who could watch this series and be emotionally unscaved. As all good TV when you start routing for fictional characters.
However, i wouldve liked to see Haruka put up even a little fight for Takayuki. I understand that she liked him but was being a good friend. BUT feelings dont just go away, especially if your in a coma for a few years and wake up believing its been less than a month. The angle this series took was very realistic and i believe that the character acted as most people would put in that position. Personally i was a Haruka fan. I wouldve liked a Haruka ending. I saw the book reading ending and it had me feeling that i had my heart ripped out but i felt Haruka shouldve done something. If i had to put myself in that position. I understand friends mean alot but love in my opinion is something to fight for, love grows over time as it does fade. The end where she was under the tree. hmmmm. I always interpeted it as her going there and looking back on her memories. Memories of them all enjoying themselves together. Saying something like even though she lost Takayuki and Mitsuki she will always have the memories of the time they spent together. I believe she still lives in that world which brightens my day up , Because when we grow up we slowly begin to lose the pure happiness that we experience as a child. I think that would be acceptable as an ending lol (P.s please dont destroy my dreams, its taken 2 years of therapy to undo the damage this anime caused) have fun with my babbling and interpretations |
2007-09-17, 18:16 | Link #91 |
Boo!
Join Date: Oct 2004
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Just finished watching this anime and i know I'm a few years late into joining any discussions lol. Personally, I didn't find this show all that sad at all. I don't get why people would cry over the ending either. Sure there are a few sad parts, but not enough for me to cry. I can see why some people are upset if they are favoring Haruka. While, myself has been remaining pretty neutral for the whole show. Realistically, Takayuki made the right choice for choosing Mitsuki. Since, Mitsuki has spent 3 years taking care of him like, getting his life back on track after the accident. On the other hand, Takayuki only dated Haruka for only like a few weeks, so it's doubtful a few weeks of love can>3 years of love. I think the ending is a happy ending, since everyone got what they wanted. Haruka gets to publish her books, Mitsuki ends up back with Takayuki, Shinji continues to date his girl and etc... Everything is resolved and back to normal. Tell me why some of you people think it's sad cause i just don't get it. >__< Maybe it would work on me if the show was strongly focused on Haruka. I also felt something was missing, I think it could be because the show was too short, but i also know it could be extremely boring when these types of show drag on.
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2007-12-08, 21:46 | Link #92 |
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I finished watching this series today. This was probably the second saddest series I have ever seen (Losing only to Kanon). The artwork was fair, but the storyline more than made up for it.
But I have to agree with Mitsuki. She looked much better with short hair than with long hair. I'm just surprised Haruka's parents let her hair grow so long if it could have been a trigger to her realization of the 3 years.
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2007-12-13, 14:03 | Link #93 | |
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2007-12-13, 18:14 | Link #94 | |
~ You're dead ^__^* ~
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2007-12-13, 22:01 | Link #95 | |
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as for Hotaru, you will need to play the game to find out Spoiler:
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2007-12-13, 23:50 | Link #96 |
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Hm, what do you mean by that? Did you want him to wait longer or move on earlier? I personally wanted him to move on earlier but remember that his girlfriend didn't just get into an accident, he blames himself for her accident. I can understand him being depressed for 3 years.
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2007-12-14, 22:01 | Link #97 | |
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2007-12-15, 15:53 | Link #98 |
Lost in my dreams...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Age: 37
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Excuse me, an ass because it was hard for him to move on ? I would much sooner call him an ass if it was easy for him to move on. Emotional attachment to some person (love +guilt issues over the accident) don't go away with a snap of fingers and simply saying "oh well, its unlikely she will wake up anyway", unless the bond they shared was very superficial ...which it wasn't. It doesn't make him an ass because of his attachment to this situation - it makes him human. It might be easy for an outsider to say "just drop it and go away", but for someone emotionally entangled in such situation it is not a possibility, and calling him an ass because of it is a needless and undeserved insult in his direction.
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2007-12-16, 03:54 | Link #99 |
Snape: "I hate Potter!"
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Australia
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lol gotta agree with Skyfall, in that situation, you can't expect that person to think logically. I can see where you are going with the coma thing but it's not always an easy thing to accept.
Also reguarding Takayuki being an ass, well which sentence do think sounds worse: 1. Oh no! Haruka is in a coma and unlikely to wake up, I think i'll go hook up with her best friend the day after. 2. Noooo my girlfriend is in a coma and I feel responsible. I don't think i'm ready for another relationship soon because I loved her and there is a chance she might wake up. (crawls to a corner and becomes a mess) I'll let you decide ( I personally go for number 2 as a better and more human response in that situation).
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2007-12-22, 03:27 | Link #100 |
Casting a spell on you...
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I can't really call him an ass either.
Though what really got to me was that Takayuki didn't have any other real support from anyone during the emotional ordeal after the car crash, which would conveniently make Mitsuki = total emotional confidant. While this is well and good, all I'm wondering is why they didn't get him some trauma counseling or at least reassured him of his inability to prevent said event? I dunno, there was pretty much an environment set up so that his ONLY outlet for human comfort was Mitsuki. People gave up on him? My how convenient. Mitsuki = only source of comfort? Again way too convenient. (although I'm not faulting her for being there for a friend.) The only person willing to whether the storm with him JUST HAPPENS to be the girl who totally has the hots for him and whose rival is K.O. 'ed for a good long while. Also, even in the beginning, I have to admit it was only a few weeks prior to the accident that Takayuki was even sparking an ember of true love for Haruka. If anyone thought she had even a small chance after she woke up from her coma, they'd be a bit delusional. In the end of the show however, I just wished they would have had a normal friendship, with an understandable grace period after this drama subsided. As a Haruka fan, that was something I truly wished for. If anything left me sour, it was that this game of love was a bit too one sided. Haruka had lost even before she had begun to play unfortunately. Something I've realized after a lot of thinking on this show, is that after the accident it was almost all paint by numbers. But still, I did enjoy the ride it gave me. |
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