2020-06-20, 23:39
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Link #241 | |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
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But that's just my take.
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2020-06-21, 02:57
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Link #242 |
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Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
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I'm with Frontier on this one.
I disagree that the outcome, with Rikuo ending up with Haru, was "manufactured". There have been hints all along that Rikuo was harbouring feelings for Haru that he was trying to deny. For example, in that episode when he was sorting out his old college photos, he suddenly thought about Haru. And then there was the occasion when Shinako outright asked him why he seemed so reserved when interacting with her, and wondered aloud if it's because of Haru. Very tellingly, Rikuo was at a loss for words, and he didn't deny that accusation. As someone who has been strongly rooting for Rikuo and Shinako from the outset, I get how disappointing the outcome is. To be sure, I was heartbroken when I got to this point in the manga. But I accept it for it is. It's been clear for a while that things were not going well for the both of them. What's not so clear, perhaps, is why it was not going well. Everyone thinks that it's because of Shinako and her indecisiveness. But I've also noticed that the people who feel this way tend to be strong supporters of Haru, so I think it's more than likely that some kind of bias is at work here. But the problem is that it wasn't just Shinako who wasn't being honest with her feelings, but also Rikuo as well. And what we got in the final episode is Rikuo admitting that, in the end, he liked getting attention and kind treatment from female friends. And he wasn't sure whether the emotions he felt as a result was love. Sound familiar? That's the same dilemma that Shinako felt. She knew that she liked Rikuo, but she wasn't sure if that was love. And given that she did want to move on from Yuu, she decided in the end to give it a try. It didn't work out, but at least she gave it an attempt. Many viewers seem to think that was selfish of her. Personally, I don't see why that should be the case. But, of course, I'm probably biased as well. There are so many thoughts that I've been wanting to get off my chest since I finished reading the story two weeks back, and I find that very remarkable. It's been a very long time since an anime has affected me as much as this, to the point where I was depressed for a couple of days, as I mulled over what happened. I would say that the anime handled the story as well as it could. And, if it helps, it's worth noting that the ending here is far from an "ass-pull". It was in fact suggested by Kei Toume herself, when the production staff consulted with her on possible ways to end the anime. Details on this can actually be found on the anime's official website, under the interviews section. It's all in Japanese of course. I read what I could with the help of Google Translate. I would recommend a visit as well, if you've got any burning questions that need answering. |
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2020-06-21, 04:08
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Link #243 | |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Austria
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I'm leaning more towards Enzo's postion, here, though I'm not leaning all in. I agree that it's not coming out of nowhere, but there's something about the ending, for me, that says "too much effort on Rikuo's part in too short a time". I haven't been rooting for Rikuo and Shinako, and I'm not rooting for Rikuo and Haru, either. And as far as I'm concerned, the ending is as much "Rikuo and Haru" as it was "Rikuo and Shinako" when they did get together. That is: it's an open ending. And I'm fine with all that. The problem I have is that to my mind the show did a pretty good job showing how just a couple of years age-difference can make a difference in life style. Haru and Rou are very obviously a romantic developmental stage behind. And the ending, to my mind, just threw all that together in a hot pot without much of a recipee. When Rikuo suddenly and out of nowhere behaves like a giddy teenager (with his older self retreating into a peanut gallery comment track) it comes across more as a romance-defaultist panic button than anything genuine. And I have two issues with this: (a) Haru deserves better and Rikuo should know better, but the narrative is good enough that it could handle this... (b) if it showed any signs that it was aware of the problem and if there was enough time left. It's entirely possible that the episodes still to come will somehow alleviate my concerns, but the damage is done. To be sure, the damage, for me, amounts to little more than a scratch on the surface. <i>Sing Yesterday for Me</i> isn't the sort of show that can get ruined by an ending, but yeah, the ending <i>is</i> a minor blemish for me. It's even worse when we consider Shinako X Rou. I don't think the story set up a romance here, but the framing of that final scene with all the friends talking about romance and us getting to see the drawing, and then the scene cutting off where it did... Together this gives a sort of parallelism that suggests more closure than the narrative supports. Like putting matching ribbons on shoddily wrapped presents because the birthday deadline arrived surprisingly quickly. The scenes in themselves were all fine, for me. |
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2020-06-21, 09:08
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Link #245 |
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Princess or Plunderer?
Join Date: May 2009
Location: the Philippines
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I personally got myself hyped about the series when I learned that it was going to have 18 episodes. That means there's enough runtime to get a nice adaptation going. But the news of that 18 episodes including the already released extras was a big wake-up call. Turns out that the 100+ chapters of the manga would be adapted into your traditional one-cour show, and the series almost struggled to get a satisfying ending in place.
Moving on, during the last episode, I appreciated how Rikuo decided to talk to Shinako and then to Haru about what he truly feels. He truly has moved on from this guy who tries to maintain the status quo even though it has not become helpful for him. Shinako, as she stated before, is still taking things slow. She may still need more time to fully move on from Yuu, and may need a lot more time before she could be ready for genuine romance. Rou? We're not sure if he has really moved on from his crush on Shinako. As for Haru, she not only started to see the warmth of her new family, she has also finally received Rikuo's feelings, feelings that he had felt before but was unsure about how to deal with it. The series was overall frustrating for a handful of reasons, and one such reason (regarding the pacing of the last episode) compelled me to rate it down a bit, sharing the same rating as Just Because. (TBH, Just Because has better pacing, so it edges out this series slightly.) But it wasn't a bad or disappointing show at all; it tackled about relationships in a time before smartphones and social media, and showed how us humans usually miss our moments of character development. It just sucks that it deserved a longer runtime, not only to give the necessary secondary cast their spotlight, but also to give the story some space to develop itself. I'm sure this series could have been a solid 10 if it was given more episodes. ENTRIES #371 and #372 GET.
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2020-06-21, 12:30
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Link #246 | |
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Kana Hanazawa ♥
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: France
Age: 37
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Quote:
Spoiler for Manga comparison:
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Last edited by Kanon; 2020-06-21 at 18:13. Reason: Added spoiler tags |
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2020-06-21, 16:49
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Link #248 | |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
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I think the future of Rikuo and Haru is fairly open-ended as far as the ending...but Haru's reaction to Rikuo's confession and the kiss gives me stronger feelings for it then I had for Rikuo and Shinako's relationship.
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2020-06-21, 18:15
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Link #249 | |
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Kana Hanazawa ♥
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: France
Age: 37
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2020-06-21, 21:47
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Link #251 |
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Eternal Dreamer
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Caladan
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So lover boy Rikuo faced the harsh reality of dating a lady who thinks he's a loser and wouldn't choose him over her boy next door (of course because the lady never really harbored romantic feelings with him to begin with.) So naturally, the guy would prefer to be with a girl who thinks he's hot stuff and kisses the ground he walks on instead of someone who doesn't give two shats about him. He moved like ninja to his bench warmer and told the truth that he came after being dumped by his lady love (which I appreciate the honesty.) But then any girl would want some sweet lies so the girl pressed him to make up some excuses on the spot and he whipped up some bs. I thought his confession was fos but as long as the girl Haru likes it, it's all good. (And here I was hoping she would kick him to the curb but anyways.) That Rikuo boy is shameless and a sleek liar but he's pragmatic. He adapts well. And so they waltz to the sunset. (I laughed.)
I was just thinking that if a better studio worked on this, maybe the show would be coherent and not this bad. I still wouldn't like the art style but at least I may remember the story with some romantic feelings. Even the love story between the electrician and the electric pole is more romantic. |
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2020-06-22, 00:42
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Link #252 |
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Yuuki Aoi
Join Date: Jul 2004
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The rush was the main problem. They needed a few more episodes to make this ending work emotionally, for me.
I did like the way Rikuo led Shinako to admit her unexpected feelings. Pleasantly unusual. And Rikuo's admission that what he really liked was to have a girl like him was real life, although deeper than I could conceive of his character being. Unfortunately, I ended up feeling the characters were pretty well all cardboard, except maybe Haru. I liked seeing past pigtail Haru and present flyaway-hair Haru. That was real life, too, lol. I guess I think of the series as an enjoyable failure.
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2020-06-22, 18:32
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Link #254 | ||
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Austria
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I have no problem seeing it like this. And as far as I remember, we've also been shown (and told) that Rikuo is a person who hesitates a lot, but goes all in once he makes a decision. It's the decision I'm not seeing. I'm certainly seeing a relationship to Haru, but I see nothing at all that makes that relationship romantic (other than a cross-gender-romance-defaultism - I suddenly think of her, therefore romance). Quote:
I find both relationships awkward for different reasons. Haru's reaction to the confession was cute, but I'm just so wary. My issues here didn't even ruin this episode for me, much less the show. But I really do think I'd have enjoyed the show more were the ending even more open, and without such an obvious romantic frame. |
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2020-06-22, 19:50
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Link #255 | |
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Waiting for more taiyuki!
Join Date: Jan 2004
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They both rebounded quickly when they realized they had a better deal elsewhere. Rikou got Haru who was still a better partner than Shinako while all the drama was going on. She still has her house probably so those 2 are set imo. Gotta love that punch that Haru gave him at the bus stop. 
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2020-06-22, 21:42
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Link #256 |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Canada
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I'm in the Frontier / TinyRedLeaft camp in terms of how I perceived this ending.
From my point of view Rikuo and Shinako stayed way too long in the comfortable friend-zone to make the romance work, and Shinako has definitely not graduated from her first love. She valued the family element that Rou (and his father) brought over what Rikuo would bring to their relationship. In fact I'd say that Rikuo and Shinako were too similar to make their relationship work. How do you compromise for someone that has a compromising core attitude? And like many said, throughout the series we were given hints that there was something feasible between Rikuo and Haru. Shinako and Rou as a romatic relationship though, is harder to swallow.
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