Final Thoughts & Favorite Character Poll

[Catgirls]

I thought I’d try something a bit different and combine two threads to form the basis for some "end of the show" discussion. I realize we still have one more DVD only episode (Ep. 13 or OVA 1 whichever you prefer) yet to view, but since it’s likely that the DVD only episode won’t be released for quite a while, I think it’s proper at this point to discuss your thoughts on Episodes 1-12.

Of course you may choose to wait until you view the DVD only episode to post concluding thoughts on Kashimashi or you can simple add to your post. Since the AnimeSuki Kashimashi fan-base is small, you may draw on Manga references in your final thoughts, but I would like to ask you to cover them with Spoiler tags for non-Manga readers.

The Manga is ongoing and discussion can be found here.

The poll is multiple choice and while we won’t restrict you from voting for every character, please try to limit your choices to your top 3 or 4 picks if you can. If you like the entire cast equally, then so be it, but if you can narrow it down a bit, then that’s even better. If you like one character the most, then don’t feel the need to vote for anymore.

Please remember that once you make your vote you may not "come back" later to add or change your previous vote(s). So make sure you know all the characters you want to include in your vote before you click the "Vote Now" button.

And of course the vote is public, so your votes will be visible.

Thread Rules

• No campaigning for votes.
  What this means is don't post something like this:
  
  "VOTE FOR HAZUMU!!!" Or…"Tomari>>>>> Yasuna" Or… "DO NOT VOTE FOR YASUNA!!!!111 "
  
  Any post with "Vote for…/Do not vote for..." verbiage will be deleted. Discuss why you do or don’t like characters without campaigning for votes.
  
  
• Do not insult or harass other members for their choices.
  Please remember: this is for fun. Do not take it so seriously that you end up in an argument with another forum member because they express a fondness for a character you loathe. Discussion and good spirited banter is always welcome, but harassing people won’t be tolerated.
  
  
• Have fun, but post intelligently.
  It’s great to have fun, but please try your best to add substance to what you post and make your thoughts interesting for the generation of fans that will follow after you’re long gone and on to watching some other series.

[Sorrow-K]

Kashimashi was an interesting series in that it had flaws throughout the entire thing that, for one reason or another, didn't come to a fore until the final episode. I'm not overly pro-Tomari or anti-Yasuna, but I had real problems with the ending because, as inevitable as it was, it was a sign of weak characters that still hadn't fully dealt with their respective issues.

My review: http://www.nihonreview.com/wordpress...rl-meets-girl/

Just trying to get the ball rolling and the conversation happening. It mightn't have been a brilliant series, but I do think it deserves a little more attention than it ended up getting. As far as the character poll is concerned, if I had to pick a favourite, it's Ayuki... even if she did eventually go against her own mantra of staying an observer.

[Vexx]

I was disappointed in the number of missed opportunities for exploration of "what makes a relationship" though I have to give them points for even trying to explore the idea. Two time-wasters (==cheap not-funny gags) throughout the series were "Dad" and "Sensei": once or twice - funny, time after time? numbing.
I'd have rather seen Asuto and his reaction to his best friend's situation explored a little more seriously as it is in the manga. Yeah, "da funny" with Asuto is okay but him grappling with his feelings made for some interesting opportunity.

I don't have any particular problems with the use of "yuri-vision" to expedite the plot within 12 episodes versus what the manga is using (I actually think the manga device is kind of forced/lame) but it ends up with Hazumi, again, not really making a choice so much as picking the obvious "who needs me more Right Now".
Its another reason I suspect the situation will flip or threesome in the last episode.

Ayuki needed a little more come-uppance than I thought she got - having her fall out of her "observer" role was interesting but she seemed pretty judgemental for someone who has never been "on stage". To some extent, I felt like she was one of those sports couch potatoes who pontificate about a game requiring microsecond decision as they sit - particularly when she jumped all over Hazumi without knowing Yasuna's medical condition. As far as I can tell, her interference really shot Tomari's chances down because Yasuna needed Hazumi more at that instant.

In general, I liked the show --- unusual for me since I don't tend to seek out yuri as such but the premise itself was interesting.

[Pellissier]

It was a bit that I was promising myself to post in this thread, but I just kept forgetting. Now that you guys brought it to light again, I'll take the chance.
I recently finished the series, and it's good use to me to set up a review of what I've seen. I take this as the right place.

I talk ignoring the manga, because I don't know it. My judgement is whole set on the anime.

Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~ was a series with a *really* high potential which indeed was not blatantly wasted (as it was, in example, in "Uta~Kata"), but of which it hasn't been taken total advantage of.

The stronger point of Kashimashi imho has been the high ability to render the romance, to transmit feelings to the viewer. Not many series involved me in certain moments as Kashimashi did. Even though, operation incomplete. The climax felt down in the last episodes. The Yasuna events were too abruptly put on spotlight. The resolution was poorly believable (or too cheap?) and basically creating unsatisfaction in both Tomari fans both Yasuna fans (supposing there were such factions).
Tomari because, how comes it's clearly shown they're probably the best couple who could come out from the whole cast, and then the choice goes to Yasuna instead? So it looks mostly like an obligated choice, and that's why I see as both parts unhappy.

I was more a Tomari-fan, but in a percentage scale it was like 51% Tomari 49% Yasuna, so it basically was the same to me, IF the ending had been more believable.

The choice of making 12 episodes: a total failure. This anime had lots and lots more space for characters' introspections, but since they put even a sort of filler (I can't help but to see the sea episode as a filler, even if something little happened at the end), so it means there probably were not much more to say. I'm disappointed also by this too, and it bonds with the wasted potential pattern.

A nice thing has been the pace. Slow and peaceful but never boring. I appreciated it a lot, as well as some very poetic moments (the kiss scene at the sunset; the bride and the groom; the butterfly metaphor, some of Ayuki's lines in her episode).

Characters: 4 worthy of a role (Hazumu, Tomari, Yasuna, Ayuki) , 1 complement (the alien), 1 complement of the complement (Janpuu), a *potentially* interesting character (Asuta) and then 2 of the silliest and useless persons ever seen in a anime in ages (Hazumu's father and teacher).
The 4 main quite shone. They were rendered magnificently and their feeling almost always felt real (I'm not taking into account the abrupt ending). Mention for Ayuki, I don't remember a single moments of her which didn't bring a benefit for the show.
The aliens, well, their presence was silly in the first place, at least it made some sense in the end. Janpuu was kawaii etc.etc. , yes, but all in all they left me cold.
The presence of Asuta could have been depicted definitely better. At the end, he looked stupid, while he probably wasn't. And his role could have been way more important (and meaningful) than it has been.
And then thumbs down for Hazumu's father and for the Teacher. Already said by Vexx, those gags already stupid to start with. Shown one time they made me laugh, a second time made my smile, from the third and so on made me sick.
So useless.

Rapid comment for the technical themes such as graphics and sound. The arts clearly were quite poor if compared to nowadays anime (think of what KyoAni is doing with Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsuu , or Studio Deen with Fate/stay night and Higurashi). This for character designs. The animations weren't bad instead, I have to say I appreciated the lots of natural backgrounds shown, and some effect was actually good.
As for the sound - well the magnificent trio lead to a magnificent job. Even if Tamura Yukari must have been quite an hard time here, I never heard this range of voice from her. Horie Yui made her extremely moe role, as good as she's capable of. The best perfomance though, belongs to Ueda Kana (almost omnipresent in the current series), really a sweet and pleasurable voice. She was new to me before Kashimashi. A very nice acquaitance.

With all of this said, these are my final ratings, a direct consequence of my thoughts:

Animation: 8
Sound: 10
Story: 8
Characters: 8
Value: 7
Enjoyment: 10

OVERALL : 8,5/10 *

* I'm always very lenient with my ratings (if not, I don't review an anime in the first place), so an 8,5 is ok but not much high for my usual standards. For the aforementioned flaws I'm confident in saying Kashimashi lost 1 whole point in the overall I would have liked to assign it.

As for the poll. Favorite Character. Even with the multiple choice, I decided to go with just one, or to be totally fair I had to vote at least four of them. And so my choice went on Tomari

[Futaba-chan]

Originally Posted by Sorrow-K

it was a sign of weak characters that still hadn't fully dealt with their respective issues.

I disagree -- for me, the fact that the characters haven't dealt with their issues successfully is a sign that they're well-drawn. Too much fiction (not just anime) is too neat; real life is messy, and you don't always have a clue when you're a teenager.

I'll be interested to see if the DVD extra episode deals with any fallout....

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by Futaba-chan

I disagree -- for me, the fact that the characters haven't dealt with their issues successfully is a sign that they're well-drawn. Too much fiction (not just anime) is too neat; real life is messy, and you don't always have a clue when you're a teenager.

I'll be interested to see if the DVD extra episode deals with any fallout....

Agreed. Kashimashi was a great series, and had some solid episodes.

BUT. (Here comes the but-monkey)...

Spoiler:

The ending with Hazumu's choice of Yasuna over Tomari probably left a lot of people upset. Tomari seemed like the obvious choice in many part of the series, and maybe Yasuna needed to realize her she's in the relationship with Hazumu because of the sense of pity or duty that Hazumu needed to be with Yasuna.

But this isn't very different from Tomari's sense of duty to protect Hazumu. Tomari may have been a better pick, because of their solid, but somewhat unstable, relationship. Rather than Yasuna, who has not been in any true relationship with Hazumu besides the whole secret admiror and the only-boy-she-can-see-in-color thing.

But now, Yasuna can see everyone (yay) now that her "yurivision" isn't holding her back, and it would not be hassle for her to date other men.

In all, Hazumu x Tomari FTW. Hopefully there will be something in the long-awaited episode 13.

[Reidlos]

Wow.. This was a random pickup for me for filler between the other 5 im watching, but a few episodes in I was interested. I am truly a fan of interesting and deep story in anime, granted I really don't have a fav genera of anime, but that’s what I like and am proud of, how I have such a large area of interest. If I had to pick something to over throw the rest, it would be plot and I believe Kashimashi had it.

At first I thought this was going to be more focused on the comedy aspect rather then the relationship, I mean come on, very girl boy gets hit with a spaceship and dies, and is recreated as a girl? Boy I was wrong. Overall I liked alot about this series, but there were some things that bugged me:

Spoiler for Series in General:

1. Hazuma, granted, was more girl then boy when he was a male, even in Tomari's flash backs at a young age, he seemed "confused". However after the change he just accepted it far to fast and completely absorbed that nature and characteristics of his female side. While watching, I would randomly be like "oh wait, he usta be a guy? right...eh ya" no big but it seems like the story could have almost functioned (note on almost) with out the Gender change aspect

2. Asuta! no love for my man!, Im hearing he is given more in the manga, have to check it out, but I felt bad for him the entire series. His best friend, the only boy (lol) he seems to be close with in his group, complete changes sides ;p It seems he is just ignored by everyone in the series and although he does develop a additional type of "like" for hazuma, he has been completely abandoned by him/her.

3. I like, but rarely get my win win win endings in anything I watch, yes im a happy ending sap but I admit it, I don't hate iffy or sad endings, just I don't get as much closure from them. Regardless it seems like so many people lost in this ending they gave, Juunpuu had to leave with sora, kinda sad, but then this lead to Namiko continuing her "35 years with out love". Also, granted I felt bad for Yasuna, she technically was the only one that got the good end of the deal, I think Tomari would have been better, granted if there could have been a way to work it out with all of em then woot. As for Asuta see above

In the end I give the series, with out the 13th episode, a 8 out of 10. (May alter slightly after I see what they are adding to the next episode)im holding back my normal -1 point for cliff hangers, I dispise not having closure at the end of anything, I didnt put it because this one is iffy, but the "you know..." at the end would have done it but there is going to be 1 more episode so ill wait. *says nice job in Namiko English*

[Rengemaru]

This series had a very good start, as when Hazumu turned into a girl and how is his/her society's accepting his/her. And adding the relationship factor gave a very nice mix. But sadly, how the story ended or was going in the last episodes totally blew this lead. As everyone stated earlier, the way things were resolved and the uselessness of some characters made it look stupid in the end.
I liked it alot in the first episodes but as it got deeper, things were rather bad. And the ending it had was far worse then many other endings (even worse then evangelion and Ranma1/2)

All in all i'd give it 7/10. But things might change depending on the extra episode, or if they made some OVAs to work things out.

PS: I didn't read the manga so this is anime based only.

[Edite]
And not to mention that it had some cheap fanservice that wasn't funny at all~

[Vexx]

aye... sometimes it makes me think anime producers just can't *tell* shit from gold to be blunt. The "dad gag" was funny about twice...... the teacher gag "fall into hole" wasn't funny more than once, at least not the way they handled it.
Asuto *could* have been very interesting (best friend --> best friend is girl... ummmm) but basically he got the beach episode and then after that hardly anything (even screentime for Hasumi ask him what he thinks would have been nice).

Learning to be a girl was "fanservice"/ecchi-mild with a purpose at least (how the hell do I wear this thing?). Can you imagine her first monthly? (aieeeee, whats going on?)

Ah well.... I give them a lot of points for at least exploring the idea. 7 or 8 for the series depending on my mood. Now that they've licensed the manga... we may have to wait a bit longer now to see how the manga wraps up.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Rengemaru

I liked it alot in the first episodes but as it got deeper, things were rather bad. And the ending it had was far worse then many other endings (even worse then evangelion and Ranma1/2)

Heh... just as a counterweight, I guess, I would have said the exact opposite. I definitely felt the series gained momentum as it went along, and really enjoyed all the episodes leading up to the end (including the current ending, 13th episode notwithstanding of course). I definitely agree that the recurring gags were the show's weakest point, which may be why I felt the show got stronger as those elements faded to the background and the more serious drama took over. I guess that's sort of how I'd "judge" the show - very strong core characters and relationship dynamics, but an under/poorly-used supporting cast. That being said, the core made it work for me, so I'd easily give the show an 8.5+. It hooked me from the start (enough for it to go from unknown to "must purchase"), and I felt it got better as it went along. Actually, the flow of the show reminds me a lot of Da Capo. So, in short, I liked it. I'm looking forward to receiving the last disc in late-October.

[martino]

I wonder why I voted for Tomori...or why is she the most popular character...somehow I can't explain my own choice.

[KaosProphetess]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Learning to be a girl was "fanservice"/ecchi-mild with a purpose at least (how the hell do I wear this thing?). Can you imagine her first monthly? (aieeeee, whats going on?)

I think the 'aieeee whats going on' bit got (token) coverage when Tomori and Ayuki were telling her she needs to carry 'napkins' Tho I guess being told about it doesn't really compare to actually going through it...

Anyway... I do kinda agree with the people who say there should have been more focus on Asuta. I mean, he goes from being Hazumu's best (and only!) male friend to being virtually tossed away. The end made me really sad and wishing for more... and left with the hint of there *being* more (stupid 13th 'only available when we get around to the last DVD' episode ) I'm probably the exception but I actually wish they had dragged it out a bit more Guess I have to try and find the manga now...

OTOH, it was the 'good' kinda sad that keeps me coming back to watch it again, so maybe it was best they didn't drag it to the point where I just lost interest.

Overall I can say that I loved it too much to cheapen it with some numerical rating my feelings can't be quantified like that lol (no offence meant to those who do ratings, thats just my personal feeling.)

[Vexx]

I've heard that Seven Seas has licensed the manga, though I'm not sure when they plan to start releasing it. There is a partial scanlation lurking "out there" but what I've read of it -- there are some significant differences in what pushes the plot along though Asuta gets a bit more time on stage.

I kind of put this in my folder with Petopeto-san. Great concept, great execution of the core thread but some annoying derails that wasted time budget of the plot (which usually means some good character development gets lost) ... and too short. I'm quite fond of both Kashimashi and Petopeto-san but I also warn people that certain aspects may be quite annoying.

oh... thanks for clarifying the "tissue" remark ... I remember watching the sub and listening to the japanese and kind of going... "what?" but the obvious implication skipped by me. Oh and welcome to the forums.

[Catgirls]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I've heard that Seven Seas has licensed the manga, though I'm not sure when they plan to start releasing it.

The first volume is schedule to come out this December. I've got a pre-order in on it.

[rooboy]

The first volume of Kashimashi is due to hit stores on December 15th (or possibly December 25th, sources conflict on this)

Amazon listing.

Drat! Catgirls beat me to it.

[Vexx]

I have a feeling I've been told this before and filed it in my mental /dev/null .. but thanks.... tagged it on my wishlist til my j-culture piggybank recovers from the last ravaging.

[nishisa]

Vote for Hazumu!
Vote for Hazumu!
Vote for Hazumu!
Vote for Hazumu!
Ok!

[kevin13]

Hazumu......

[Zeytoo0]

Hazumu x Tomari <3

Its the relationship that seemed most right from the start and I loved the way that it ended, glad that I could vote for my two favorites :P

[mikesince83]

Looks like no one has been here in quite a while....but I'll post for kicks.

Just when I thought when I'd seen it all with the high school love triangles, I stumble across Kashimashi. I really wasn't sure what to expect, but the first episode quickly established the general premise.

Despite it's potential for originality and ground breaking content, Kashimashi turned out to be remarkably generic. The issue of homosexuality (arguably the defining aspect of the series) was more or less bypassed. Essentially, you could replace Hazumu with any male character without hardly modifying the script at all. Besides this, neither of the girls interest in Hazumu has anything to do with gender. They were both were already in love with his male counterpart making his transformation practically meaningless.

Animation wasn't spectacular, but I don't mind much with a series like Kashimashi. The OAV was interesting to say the least, but honestly felt out of place with far too much crammed into painfully inadequate time space.

All that aside, it was a nice light hearted Yuri romp...if that makes any sense at all.