2010-08-06, 10:36 | Link #22 | ||
Spoilaphobic
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: USA
Age: 37
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Last edited by DragoZERO; 2010-08-06 at 11:09. |
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2010-08-06, 11:23 | Link #23 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Age: 32
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Uhm uhm uhm, I'd like to guess what kind of final situation will finish this arc.
You know, Haruka and Junichi were alone in a hotel room during Christamas Eve, she with only a towel .. confessing her love, something had to happen. And Ai's arc in Love Goes On! manga finished with something erotically similar, let's hope Kaoru makes a damn good FINALE. |
2010-08-07, 08:17 | Link #27 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
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Ah i1st of august is kaorus's birthday.better late than never i guess...Otanjoubi Omedetou gozaimaisu! kaoru san...
I wonder how she's look like if she's groom herself, comb her hair and dress like like either Haruka or Tsukasa...is there a fan art for that?wait what i am thinking.I like the way she look now..
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2010-08-20, 13:26 | Link #36 | |
Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
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More seriously (I've said this in the ep. 8 thread), the show let me down by not including an explicit connection between Kaoru developing feelings for Junichi and her mother having done the same for another man, like the game does. Spoiler for details:
Speaking of ep. 7, that gave us a better view of Kaoru's character beyond the hair, which regrettably, many get hung up on. She's more than that, someone who loves her father so much that she won't accept substitutes. Last edited by Belmondo; 2010-08-20 at 20:30. Reason: spoilering spoilers to be safe |
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2010-08-20, 16:24 | Link #37 |
~Official Slacker~
Author
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Xanadu
Age: 29
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So what your saying Belmondo is that in the game version, it was more like a confession right off the bat? But in the anime we get to see a better display of Kaoru's personality and character?
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2010-08-20, 20:29 | Link #38 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
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Uh, no. The game spoilers I read said:
Spoiler for details:
But if she wasn't really asleep (doesn't she smile to herself? and why do we hear them speaking just afterward?) this was one final prank and while it may make some viewers rage I guess it was in character. The lack of a proper timeskip still smarts. It's comforting to know that Spoiler for details:
--- General thoughts on her and her arc (Not sure whether it's proper to post on the older episode threads at this point): Episode 5 is mostly concerned with setting up things and the romance plot only gets underway after Junichi says he thought Kaoru was going to confess to him (which did happen, what is this devilry). But we get a great sense of how close the two are even as "just" friends. Physically and emotionally comfortable with each other, getting annoyed at times as friends do. But I was most intrigued by Junichi's private thoughts about Kaoru. That way, even if it's not as deep as true love, he's the first of them to think of the other as more than just a friend. So physical attraction (at least) on his part was latent in him already, and as we see from the pool flashback it didn't just pop in his head that moment. But it seemed to go beyond physical attraction. He's acting all lovestruck while walking to the garden, bumping into Rihoko who notices his face is red. And he overacts while being disappointed that Kaoru wasn't really going to confess. Why then does he say he doesn't like any girls when Kaoru asks him? I figure he was confused or trying to hide it (like her) but it wasn't staged well in episode 6. Coming to episode 6, it's all about them feeling each other out emotionally and physically, with all the awkwardness that brings and it was fun to watch. Her opening bath scene was ironic because Junichi has indeed changed his view of her, though he doesn't admit it. I wish more had been made of Miya seeing them during the belly kiss. Episode 7 was a drastic mood shift and some people didn't like it, but I did. The various flashbacks really give you a sense of how close these two have been through the years. 3 years is short compared to Rihoko being literally the childhood friend, but it feels like they've friends for ages. They shop for clothes together. Good gravy. And of course Junichi's concern is motivated by love though he doesn't know it fully. I've already said a little about Kaoru's attitudes toward her father above. It gave some depth to her besides being a sorta tsundere "bro". She does overreact by going AWOL, but I looked it at through her eyes: - Your dad leaves (more probably dies) and you and your mom go on with their lives but still hold him dear, irreplaceable. You promise each other that you'll work hard to get by on your own, since no one will ever replace your dad. Then suddenly you find out that your mom is thinking of remarriage for a while now, hiding this from you. Dad is going to be replaced! It's too much to take at once. ... Then your closest friend who you think you're in love with comes to snap you out of it, even after you slam him to the ground. He even remembered your favorite seasonal chocolate treat (a poster here pointed out this detail was an unconscious sign of love and I agree). The exchange of "I'm there for you" and "Stay by my side" was heart-swelling. It's also very telling that Junichi is able to pick up and elucidate on what Kaoru can only blurt out after misdirection: that it was love of her dad, not for her own sake, that drove her to near-breakdown. ("It hurts because you treasure the memory of them together more than yourself.") With all this said, episode 7 feels like an extended denouement since we know they love each other already, but when they finally admit it to each other it just feels great. But in this arc's case, the journey was the destination. The omission of the plot point (or plot thread unifier) I mentioned above did not feel great though. Especially since certain mirrored lines (watch her bath and the diner scene again ) looked like they were building it up! --- Kaoru may not be the hottest choice canonically (there's a reason why Haruka is the school idol and keeps popping up, including in Sae's first episode) but she's definitely one of the nicer ones. - invites Junichi over for Christmas after he's stood up (why does he still have a planetarium of depression afterward?) - climbs a tree to get a shuttlecock for random kids - sticks up for Keiko, to the point of getting into fights So it's only fitting that Junichi reciprocate through being there for her when she flips out. Despite some letdowns, the arc was definitely a feel-good one overall. How couples are not only lovers for life but also bros for life? Her arc will be missed. On the bright side, she is still his best friend in all other realities, so she's not going away. (mammoth post, heh) Last edited by Belmondo; 2010-08-21 at 20:52. |
2010-08-22, 14:20 | Link #39 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
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Is posting consecutively fine?
Elsewhere (not here) I've read all these complaints about her and her arc being normal to the point of mundane, due to the far-out Haruka arc airing directly before it. But isn't "normality" the real draw behind Kaoru's story? Her hair, while awesome, is just a hook to draw in people. The "close friends becoming closer lovers" thing is tried and tested, sure. But besides that, the attitudes and situations displayed in the arc were quite down-to-earth, except for the belly kiss. Being from a single-parent family, being a working student to help pay the bills, that's part of life for many. The remarriage drama subplot was nothing out of the ordinary either. Coming to the belly kiss, that level of kinkiness seems to be only there because it's Amagami. It's an arousing hook, I admit. But I found less kinky stuff like mock-married-couple antics, play-biting and tickling much more appealing - stuff that two friends physically comfortable with each other are more likely to do (though there’s a big difference between play-biting and tickling). Compared to others. her arc isn’t that kinky because her character type is the friend by your side, at your back, who messes with you but all in good fun. In other words, a "bro." Weeks ago someplace, people were saying Morishima was like vanilla ice cream while she was like chocolate with toppings. I’d say it’s largely the opposite, character-wise – Kaoru is more like tried-and-tested vanilla, with chocolate sprinkles to represent her playful, even violent side. Or better, she is to Morishima what home cooking is to fine dining, or coffee is to expensive wine. Kaoru is homey, a homie, and because she’s not the school idol, by default more homely. What did people who thought her and her arc were too normal expect? Stuff like the belly kiss multiplied a hundred times while the story remains shallow? Count me out. Last edited by Belmondo; 2010-08-22 at 16:08. |
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