(L) Mashiro-iro Symphony

[Candyshark]

After this episode i'm pretty much satisfied i got what i wished for.

I know that with discussed till exhaustion still seeing girls longing for affection brings the same question i can't find the answer for. What could have they done at least to make Shingo consider them a potential girlfriend? Was it really that slop sided?

Interesting what were the reasons for coupling in VN between differen girls.

[Guardian Enzo]

Heh, Miu-mama is a cougar. Methinks she wants to do some "tutoring" herself.

I loved the way they amped up the sexual tension here, so beautifully realistic. It was always present between Shingo and Miu (the kids, not the kittens) as a sort of background hum, but the acknowledgement of their feelings last week changed the chemistry and now the both of them can't help but think about it. They were awkward, but not comedically so, and the whole thing was very direct and sweet.

As for Sana, she's still playing a dangerous game here. She's very lucky that Shingo is such a classy guy, because with a lesser guy she could have landed herself in a lot of trouble. The shopping, the "what if" game - it's all an exercise in self-denial. But it makes an interesting contrast with Sena, who all but totally disassociates herself from her own feelings for Shingo - maybe because her own mother is so distant and likely didn't offer much emotional support. Airi's "color" is independence - it's everything to her. Independence from her parents, from boys, even from her feelings. Where Sana seeks the comfort of Airi when she grieves over Shingo, Airi comforts Sana as a way of displacing her own grief, and refuses to acknowledge her own.

[Silverwyrm]

Shingo is definitely thinking of mating

......

I meant the cat of course!

[Arya]

Ok, Shingo could be the MC harem of the year, but kudos for Miu with that I haven't changed yet. As I've always thought she is less airhead than it seems

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

[...] Airi's "color" is independence - it's everything to her. Independence from her parents, from boys, even from her feelings. Where Sana seeks the comfort of Airi when she grieves over Shingo, Airi comforts Sana as a way of displacing her own grief, and refuses to acknowledge her own.

I made the same associations, but the word that came up to my mind was something near coldness or, better, detachment instead of independence. Like the snow that softens everything. And so I'd say white is her color.

[xKeir]

Originally Posted by TheEroKing

10/10, just cuz we got 1 more go to

LOL. And i still remember myself saying to u i didn't think it was gonna happen and from ep11 it looks like it is.

/Face palm myself

[Triple_R]

Episode 11 was pretty good, but I had some issues with it.

The blushing was a bit overdone, I felt, although perhaps that was a simple animation issue.

I also wasn't entirely comfortable with how the "romantic losers" were handled. I agree with Chaos2Frozen that their response to not winning over Shingo was overly drastic and harsh. It also felt to me like, to put it in pro wrestling terms, they were simply being used to put Shingo even more "over", and simply put, it wasn't necessary. The Shingo/Miu romance speaks for itself, and says a lot about Shingo in and of itself. I'd rather see Airi and Sana express that they're truly getting over it, not that they're going to give up on romance forever because of one failed crush.


Now, the Shingo/Miu romance itself was nice. I liked it a bit more than similar romantic conclusions in Amagami SS, and the pacing for it was excellent.


One scene that I think is perhaps going a bit unnoticed is the discussion between the adult characters, Airi's mom and Miu's mom. I found that to be a strong and serious scene, with some good dialogue that complimented well the simpler romance that permeated much of the rest of the episode.


All-told, Mashiro-iro Symphony deserves a lot of credit for picking one girl, and sticking with her, and ending on that note. It also deserves considerable credit for not doing anything outlandish in this episode, and sticking to a largely believable narrative. Chances are this will continue to be the case next episode.

On the whole, this has been a mostly pleasant viewing experience, and my rating for Episode 11 is 8/10.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Candyshark

I know that with discussed till exhaustion still seeing girls longing for affection brings the same question i can't find the answer for. What could have they done at least to make Shingo consider them a potential girlfriend? Was it really that slop sided?

Interesting what were the reasons for coupling in VN between differen girls.

That's actually a fairly astute comment, and highlights one of the big differences between the anime and the game.

Spoiler for Comparison between the anime and the game, no future event spoilers:

Basically the big difference between the game and the anime is "Shingo's choice". The game actually had very few choices in it, but the choices you make are extremely important. In the anime, though, they deliberately removed all of Shingo's choices, and he was mostly led around by circumstance.

The biggest example and difference is regards to the club. In the game, Shingo is indeed attracted to Miu to some degree from the get-go, but the big decision happens when she invites him to join the club. If you (make Shingo) choose to help out the club, then you end up down Miu or Sana's path. But if you don't choose to help at that time, then you will end up going down a different path. The whole "saving the club" plot only happens if you already chose to help the club. But here in the anime, they completely removed the choice, but he finds out about the club's dire circumstance by "fate" when he sees Pannya and overhears the conversation in the Principal's office. Now that he knows about the club's dilemma, he feels compelled to join (wasn't a neutral choice anymore), and this naturally brings him closer to Miu. If not for this "fateful" circumstance, he probably would never have joined the club, and thus would have ended up getting closer to one of the other girls.

What brings him close to Airi in the game is basically just continuing to spend time with her and getting to know her better and some of her personal circumstances, and he finds himself falling in love with her. (She's basically the "default choice", or "no choice" heroine.) So just the fate that pushed Shingo to help the club was enough to sway him away from Airi (since, as Hayata said in the anime, Miu had some extra points to start for being "Shingo's type").

As far as Sana goes, in the PSP game only (she has no route in the PC game, which is an important distinction), Shingo has to make two choices between Sana and Miu that directs him towards one girl or another, and these are during Miu's route. Part of the change is that the situation regarding the poster was much more Sana-centric in the game (she's the only one who saw him save the poster, and the one who tended to him after he hurt his hand). So through this he realizes Sana's kindness earlier, and decides to walk home with her where she apologizes and thanks him. So they start understanding each other even sooner before all the club-saving stuff is resolved, and she's not having to play "catch-up" with Miu. The love triangle is avoided entirely in this route. In the anime, of course, everyone discovers the poster-burning, and Miu tends to Shingo's hand. Sana obviously feels badly about it, but doesn't get a chance to really address it with Shingo. So again, fate just leads Shingo a bit closer to Miu than it does to Sana, and that's enough to ruin her chance.

All of the other heroines are chosen based on decisions made even earlier in the game (episode 3 or sooner), some of which related to circumstances that weren't even shown in the anime. So by eliminating those circumstances, they eliminated the choice. The only other choice that was preferred was the "who will you go grocery shopping with" choice in Episode 3, and they didn't even show the result of that one in the anime.

So all that to say, in the anime, Shingo was basically led around by fate/circumstance first to help Airi, then through the situation with Ange, and then towards Miu and saving the club. If circumstances had been slightly different, he could have ended up getting to know any of the heroines better and potentially fallen in love with them. But, as I said, Miu had an innate advantage by being Shingo's type, and fate led him towards her. I'm actually not sure that any of the heroines in the anime could have done anything differently given what we were shown and the way events transpired. If fate were just slightly different, the result might have changed, but things also ended up this way for a reason and obviously tie directly to the message the director and writers wanted to send through this show (which is, again, as much about first love lost as first love found).

Edit:

Originally Posted by Triple_R

I also wasn't entirely comfortable with how the "romantic losers" were handled. I agree with Chaos2Frozen that their response to not winning over Shingo was overly drastic and harsh. It also felt to me like, to put it in pro wrestling terms, they were simply being used to put Shingo even more "over", and simply put, it wasn't necessary. The Shingo/Miu romance speaks for itself, and says a lot about Shingo in and of itself. I'd rather see Airi and Sana express that they're truly getting over it, not that they're going to give up on romance forever because of one failed crush.

I think you're expecting a lot from high school students. I remember my first serious crush that didn't work out, and it sure felt completely devastating at the time. I don't think this is necessarily a life-long resolve, but more a reflection of their current thinking and friendship. They had their first glimpse at romance and it didn't work out, so they're having a hard time imagining what other forms romance could take. I don't think this is really about glorying Shingo as much as it was about over-exaggerating their own "first love" feelings, as teenagers tend to do. I don't think expecting them to "get over it" so quickly is that realistic, but they're on the path. If anything, I thought this more melancholic introspective take is refreshing and more realistic given the impact of what happened thus far in the show, and the main message here was their support for each other.

[hyl]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

That's actually a fairly astute comment, and highlights one of the big differences between the anime and the game.

Spoiler for Comparison between the anime and the game, no future event spoilers:

Basically the big difference between the game and the anime is "Shingo's choice". The game actually had very few choices in it, but the choices you make are extremely important. In the anime, though, they deliberately removed all of Shingo's choices, and he was mostly led around by circumstance.

The biggest example and difference is regards to the club. In the game, Shingo is indeed attracted to Miu to some degree from the get-go, but the big decision happens when she invites him to join the club. If you (make Shingo) choose to help out the club, then you end up down Miu or Sana's path. But if you don't choose to help at that time, then you will end up going down a different path. The whole "saving the club" plot only happens if you already chose to help the club. But here in the anime, they completely removed the choice, but he finds out about the club's dire circumstance by "fate" when he sees Pannya and overhears the conversation in the Principal's office. Now that he knows about the club's dilemma, he feels compelled to join (wasn't a neutral choice anymore), and this naturally brings him closer to Miu. If not for this "fateful" circumstance, he probably would never have joined the club, and thus would have ended up getting closer to one of the other girls.

What brings him close to Airi in the game is basically just continuing to spend time with her and getting to know her better and some of her personal circumstances, and he finds himself falling in love with her. (She's basically the "default choice", or "no choice" heroine.) So just the fate that pushed Shingo to help the club was enough to sway him away from Airi (since, as Hayata said in the anime, Miu had some extra points to start for being "Shingo's type").

As far as Sana goes, in the PSP game only (she has no route in the PC game, which is an important distinction), Shingo has to make two choices between Sana and Miu that directs him towards one girl or another, and these are during Miu's route. Part of the change is that the situation regarding the poster was much more Sana-centric in the game (she's the only one who saw him save the poster, and the one who tended to him after he hurt his hand). So through this he realizes Sana's kindness earlier, and decides to walk home with her where she apologizes and thanks him. So they start understanding each other even sooner before all the club-saving stuff is resolved, and she's not having to play "catch-up" with Miu. The love triangle is avoided entirely in this route. In the anime, of course, everyone discovers the poster-burning, and Miu tends to Shingo's hand. Sana obviously feels badly about it, but doesn't get a chance to really address it with Shingo. So again, fate just leads Shingo a bit closer to Miu than it does to Sana, and that's enough to ruin her chance.

All of the other heroines are chosen based on decisions made even earlier in the game (episode 3 or sooner), some of which related to circumstances that weren't even shown in the anime. So by eliminating those circumstances, they eliminated the choice. The only other choice that was preferred was the "who will you go grocery shopping with" choice in Episode 3, and they didn't even show the result of that one in the anime.

So all that to say, in the anime, Shingo was basically led around by fate/circumstance first to help Airi, then through the situation with Ange, and then towards Miu and saving the club. If circumstances had been slightly different, he could have ended up getting to know any of the heroines better and potentially fallen in love with them. But, as I said, Miu had an innate advantage by being Shingo's type, and fate led him towards her. I'm actually not sure that any of the heroines in the anime could have done anything differently given what we were shown and the way events transpired. If fate were just slightly different, the result might have changed, but things also ended up this way for a reason and obviously tie directly to the message the director and writers wanted to send through this show (which is, again, as much about first love lost as first love found).

Spoiler for analysis and retrospect:

In the VN Shingo had probably no preference for certain types , because at one point in the Miu story Hayata was suprised that Shingo was the kind of person who falls for Onee-san types. But the anime Shingo is at some points different than his VN counterpart.

Airi's biggest mistake was probably not persueing Shingo not actively and fast enough after episode 5. She had in my opinion the advantage over Miu at this point, because Airi and Shingo have gotten quite close to eachother. So much even , that their friends could notice a difference of the atmospher around them (this was also pointed out at the begining of the Airi story in the VN and in the first half of episode 5 before the lunch).

The problem is that Airi wanted to be sure that Shingo was different (from other men) and she pretty much only observed Shingo in episode 5. Like the scene when she was looking at Hayata and Shingo during lunch and confirmed that Shingo was different from Hayata or the scene later after Shingo came out of Ange's room when Airi was waiting for Shingo. She even said that she was waiting for him because he is different.

But I think the odd timing of Ange at the end of episode 5 when she wanted to become Shingo's maid messed up Airi's chances. Because instead of trying to get closer or atleast act normal to Shingo, she became slight jealous and acted cold to Shingo again at the beginning of episode 6. By the time that the Ange's intrusion was over (half way episode 6), Shingo was already become aware of the Nukobu problems and wanted to solve it by helping Miu. Which probably steered him more towards Miu. At the end of episode 6, Airi probably seemed to have given up on Shingo after the bath scene because she realized "what kind of person" Shingo is and that he was not the different kind of person that Airi was seeking, while she secretly thought and hoped that Shingo was the "different" person that she was looking for.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by hyl

Spoiler for analysis and retrospect:

In the VN Shingo had probably no preference for certain types , because at one point in the Miu story Hayata was suprised that Shingo was the kind of person who falls for Onee-san types. But the anime Shingo is at some points different than his VN counterpart.

Spoiler for Comparison to the game:

I'm pretty sure on some of the other routes, Hayata makes the same comment as he makes in the anime... but I'll have to go back through and find the lines and which routes they're in. But in any case, I think Miu has an advantage in the way Shingo was drawn to her during the first encounter and throughout (even in Airi's route, he still looks up to her). But, because the game gives the player the choice about how they respond to this, it does downplay any innate advantage that any heroine may have because, after all, the player is affecting Shingo's decisions.

Anyway, it's probably neither here nor there. In the anime, it's a bit more clear-cut than the game because obviously they removed the element of choice, so they had to give Shingo a bit more bias from the get-go.

[Marina2]

THIS IS THE SECREAT CONVERSATION BETWEEN ANIME DIRECTOR AND BOSS OF GAME COMPANY.
ONLY READ AFTER YOU WATCHED EP 11

In the studio secret room

Anime Director is reading comments from fans who watched ep 10 -11

“Just as Planned!” He said with the evil smile on his face

He picked up his phone and called to Game company.

“Hello”

“You have done well!” said, boss of the game company

“Ha ha ha, Miu’s route is really the best one for adaption,right?” asked, Anime Director

“Yes, not only our most popular character like Inui Sana has a big role in this route, this route’s story is also the most suitable one to make into anime because it’s easy to put all characters on the scene, unlike Airi Sakuno and Ange route.” said, boss of the game company

“So, with this, the popularity of Airi and Sana will increase, right?”

“Yes, Miu already has a lot of fan. By making her “win” girl, it will be a profit for Miu’s fan. As for Airi and Sana’s fans, since their girls lost, they will feel sorry for them and love them even more!”

“In another word, if we release good Airi and Sana- related product, the sale must be really good, right? Ha ha ha”

“Yes, my friend. Just look at Sana nendoroid for example. We just show it to public and many people already interest in it!. BUT Most importantly, our ultimate goal is to sell PSP game.”

“In anime, we have made sure that Sana must looks “pitiful” as much as possible. I hate to admit, but Me and my team cried when we were making the last part of ep.10 People must feel sorry with Sana and try playing a game to see her route”

“But! There is NO Sana route in PC, so they have to buy PSP version!!!!”

“Ha ha ha!!!!!”

“Those Airi and Sana fans have fallen into our miserable trap, HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!”
…………………………………..

In the end it just a business…. LOL ORZ

(I don't have to tell that this is a JOKE, Right?)

[Game8910]

Originally Posted by Marina2

delusions....

But dear Marina...its not a joke, really look at amazon's top PSP games right now

[Marina2]

@Game8910 By joke, I meaned the coversation didn't happen. I know that PSP sell better that's why I put it in conversation.

BUT really, this anime have done a good job for promoting PSP game LOL

[Flower]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

According to the game, Shingo's supposed to be 171 cm (5' 7"), and Miu's supposed to be 146 cm (4' 9 1/2"). So all things considered, it's probably not that far off. They're both probably a bit too tall for their heights in that scene (particularly their legs).

Miu is 4 foot 9 inches?!

Wow ... somehow I didn't imagine her to be so ... small.

Anyhoo ... as regards ep 11 I also think it was very well done. 7.5/10 vote from me.

On a side note I have to agree with one thing relentlessflame pointed out ... when my first crush in high school did not work out I also was rather ... umm ... shattered, I guess. I did not handle it anywhere near as maturely as Sana or even Airi. Curiously I think Sana began handling it a little better, which was kinda surprising for me.

Somewhere in me, though, I felt as if Airi's last semi-tsundere moments of denying being in love were a tiny hint (from the directors maybe?) as to why she was not the chosen girl ... something in her was not quite as "mature" as may have originally seemed - at least to me if no one else.

Gotta give kudos to Sakuno for being such a wonderful and sensitive sister though, and smilingly and discretely quitting the scene of Miu and Shingo, though. She still remains my fave of the 5 girls.

[Zavie]

On a side note I have to agree with one thing relentlessflame pointed out ... when my first crush in high school did not work out I also was rather ... umm ... shattered, I guess. I did not handle it anywhere near as maturely as Sana or even Airi. Curiously I think Sana began handling it a little better, which was kinda surprising for me.

After your crush being shattered, don't you find yourself, for little while, being it one day or one month, not wanting to fall in love? That's how I see the situation with the girls, it's just side effect of those broken hearts.

[Flower]

Originally Posted by Zavie

After your crush being shattered, don't you find yourself, for little while, being it one day or one month, not wanting to fall in love? That's how I see the situation with the girls, it's just side effect of those broken hearts.

Hmm ... tbh I don't remember if I did or not - that was along time ago! But regardless of what I remember with myself I certainly can understand why someone could feel that way.

[Mahou]

But! There is NO Sana route in PC, so they have to buy PSP version!!!!”

“Ha ha ha!!!!!”

“Those Airi and Sana fans have fallen into our miserable trap, HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!”

Ngh, you caught me with this part The must-buy is more than confirmed (though that was a bit before this episode!)

An episode of lovey-dovey moments + a kiss = epic win for me. Yes, I have quite the weak spot for these sugary "story elements".

[hyl]

The next Nuko radio guest is Sakurai Harumi, oddly enough it's not Rikimaru Noriko. But to be honest i don't have ever heard her on any radio shows

[Zavie]

Ngh, you caught me with this part The must-buy is more than confirmed (though that was a bit before this episode!)

An episode of lovey-dovey moments + a kiss = epic win for me. Yes, I have quite the weak spot for these sugary "story elements".

For me, a true romance anime can't be without at least a kiss to make it convincing. That why this, Toradora, Ef are really high regarded in my watched list, even more than Clannad. I hate it when a romance anime ends without any romantic activity. Don't tell me holding hands or hugging each other will do, we're not elementary school kids.

The next Nuko radio guest is Sakurai Harumi, oddly enough it's not Rikimaru Noriko. But to be honest i don't have ever heard her on any radio shows

Seriously, Panya? Lol, I must listen to that.

[cyberdemon]

i really gotta wonder if they will make a future PC remake with Miu's mother as a heroine as well.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Edit: I think you're expecting a lot from high school students.

Well, it kind of goes without saying, but I don't think that this is a lot to expect from high school students.

Many high school students nowadays enter in and out of relationships with some degree of frequency. Most don't swear off love or romance forevermore over one failed crush. And keep in mind that this is all it is: A failed crush, not even a failed romance.

Airi and Sana's reactions would be a bit more understandable to me if they had actually been in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship with Shingo for a few weeks (or longer) but it ended up not working out, and he dumped them. However, they simply had a crush on a guy that never reciprocated their romantic hints (for the most part), and decided on a different girl.

This really is an overreaction to a failed crush, in my view, and I did get the impression it was meant to further glorify Shingo.

Also, honestly, I find Sana's refusal to let go kind of creepy. Guardian Enzo is right, she's playing a dangerous game here.

More to the point, though, you've argued that this anime is as much about love-lost as it is about love-success. If so, doesn't it send a very bad thematic message to implicitly argue that when your first love fails you should give up on romance/love forever more? If Episode 12 doesn't clearly change Airi and Sana's reactions to their failed crush then that is the implicit argument being conveyed here, and it's certainly not one that I agree with.

With this in mind, I hope that Episode 12 will clearly show the girls moving on and being more practical and less extreme in their reactions to a failed crush. If so, I won't care so much about their Episode 11 characterization.

I don't think expecting them to "get over it" so quickly is that realistic, but they're on the path.

It's not that quickly when you consider the passage of time within the episode itself. I wasn't carefully keeping track, but the characters studying for Finals and taking Finals and getting Final marks back all came and went in the space of this one episode, so I'm guessing that two or three weeks came and went here.

If anything, I thought this more melancholic introspective take is refreshing and more realistic given the impact of what happened thus far in the show, and the main message here was their support for each other.

To me, it would be more realistic and refreshing if after that two-to-three weeks of in-canon time passing, Airi and Sana started to truly move on, and get over it, like I think most teenage girls in their shoes would be doing.