Haruka or Mitsuki? Why?

[IHaveCrayons]

Originally Posted by DarkCntry

Re-read over a few threads involving Mitsuki's choices and all will be explained as to why she had the fling with Shinji and why Takayuki still got on the receiving end of the punishment.


If you insist on not doing this, let me summarize...

Takayuki pushed Mitsuki away leaving her in a similar place that Takayuki was in during the time Haruka was in the hospital. If you remember when Takayuki snapped and tried to pull the comatose Haruka out of the hospital you will have the same reasoning behind why Mitsuki fled to Shinji.

It was her love for Takayuki that forced Mitsuki towards Shinji and the actions that took place. Your last statement would be a correct one if it were directed at Mitsuki.

As for Haruka, yes, things change when people do age and feelings towards others can, and usually, do change when them. In the space of a few days seeing how Takayuki acted can easily lead a person like Haruka to let him go.

I still don't see the logic in that reasoning. If the same event occurred with me and someone tried to push the blame onto me; that for some impossible, inconceivable reason that they were forced to cheat on me that would be the END of that relationship.

I don't think, under ANY circumstance, that cheating is ok. It is a complete betrayal, an action so malicious anything before it pales in comparison.

I would like to add, I don't see how "love" forces people to sleep with someone's best friend in order to win them back. Even considering such a stance is ridiculous. Seriously, only in anime does sleeping with your boyfriend's best friend ever solve anything. I hope no one tries this in real-life.

[DarkCntry]

Originally Posted by IHaveCrayons

I still don't see the logic in that reasoning. If the same event occurred with me and someone tried to push the blame onto me; that for some impossible, inconceivable reason that they were forced to cheat on me that would be the END of that relationship.

I don't think, under ANY circumstance, that cheating is ok. It is a complete betrayal, an action so malicious anything before it pales in comparison.

I would like to add, I don't see how "love" forces people to sleep with someone's best friend in order to win them back. Even considering such a stance is ridiculous. Seriously, only in anime does sleeping with your boyfriend's best friend ever solve anything. I hope no one tries this in real-life.

It's a simple answer to a pretty simple question...how far can you see yourself spiraling if you were in a similar circumstance and going through the same issues these characters go through? There are people who can relate to how Mitsuki handled herself, even if they don't see the same means to an end, in that she looked for her escape ticket; a way to tell herself that she can move on. She wasn't looking to cheat, per se, but to find an excuse to tell herself that it is over with Takayuki.

The problem is that she couldn't move on, the night she spent with Shinji backfired on her and it only showed her just how much Takayuki meant to her. This was pretty apparent when she regained her composure and came to her senses in how she reacted to the whole situation. The reason Shinji got all defensive about it and lashed out at Takayuki was due to his feelings for Mitsuki and how he felt as if Takayuki was unduly putting extra stress on Mitsuki.

thousandmaster realized what a lot of people do, in that Shinji was with his full faculties to dismiss Mitsuki's advances, it was his repressed feelings (much like Mitsuki's were for Takayuki) that overrode his probable better judgement. What you actually saw was a condensed down example of Takayuki and Mitsuki's relationship...albeit slightly skewed with the reasoning. Now thousandmaster, while there are reasons to be upset with Shinji, he wasn't exactly in his right mind either...take the girl that you've secretly loved through-out your high school years and have the opportunity to actually be with her...it can be an overwhelming experience. And at a few points Shinji showed his original doubts with the whole thing, and when it was over it also showed how involved Shinji was with the event when he attempted to talk to Mitsuki about it.

[IHaveCrayons]

Originally Posted by DarkCntry

It's a simple answer to a pretty simple question...how far can you see yourself spiraling if you were in a similar circumstance and going through the same issues these characters go through? There are people who can relate to how Mitsuki handled herself, even if they don't see the same means to an end, in that she looked for her escape ticket; a way to tell herself that she can move on. She wasn't looking to cheat, per se, but to find an excuse to tell herself that it is over with Takayuki.

The problem is that she couldn't move on, the night she spent with Shinji backfired on her and it only showed her just how much Takayuki meant to her. This was pretty apparent when she regained her composure and came to her senses in how she reacted to the whole situation. The reason Shinji got all defensive about it and lashed out at Takayuki was due to his feelings for Mitsuki and how he felt as if Takayuki was unduly putting extra stress on Mitsuki.

thousandmaster realized what a lot of people do, in that Shinji was with his full faculties to dismiss Mitsuki's advances, it was his repressed feelings (much like Mitsuki's were for Takayuki) that overrode his probable better judgement. What you actually saw was a condensed down example of Takayuki and Mitsuki's relationship...albeit slightly skewed with the reasoning. Now thousandmaster, while there are reasons to be upset with Shinji, he wasn't exactly in his right mind either...take the girl that you've secretly loved through-out your high school years and have the opportunity to actually be with her...it can be an overwhelming experience. And at a few points Shinji showed his original doubts with the whole thing, and when it was over it also showed how involved Shinji was with the event when he attempted to talk to Mitsuki about it.

I agree with most of the points you posted. I think the real strength of KGNE is just how flawed the characters are. They make mistakes and have real problems that are impossible for them to overcome. Furthermore, they lie and cheat in order to secure their means which is normal human behavior. This thread, however, is about Haruka and Mitsuki and I give the edge to Haruka, in terms of likability.

The real problem in cheating lies in betrayal. Two of the supposed strongest bonds in human interaction were broken in that single instant; that of love and that of friendship. It is also true, therein, that the ultimate fault lay with the perpetrators. Any proposal that it was Takayuki's fault, I think, is merely an excuse. If you have ever been cheated on you should understand; people can come up with some rather extravagant excuses and thus I think defending Mitsuki or Shinji in this instance ultimately is to make excuses for their ultimate sin... the Ninth Circle.

[Omegatek2]

I voted Haruka, and I'm a male.


Definitely more attractive personality to me. Mitsuki is actually a very close second, as the assertive-strong types are also very attractive, but Haruka, as she was portrayed in the anime, was a character that either matched or harmonized with a lot of my own interests.

What can I say, I'm a sucker for shy, quiet, hidden-aggressive types :-p

[hanseo]

Mitsuki

because she looks better than haruka and i like the assertive-strong types are also very attractive

[Qwazar]

I'll say this after watching first five eps. I like the anime, like the characters as characters, but I'd hate EVERY character if I met them in real life. Mitsuki, is obviously not the best woman in the world. For reasons we all know. I know that, at this point of storu Haruka has 'no sense of time', but, Hell, if I understand this correctly she just expects for everything to be unchanged in three or whateverlong years, I hate her little sister for messing with other people's bussiness, I REALLY hate Octupus Ball man, for sulking for a year on a girl he went out for not too long, I mean, a month is okay, a year- at his age- get some balls. Even if it was his fault (which I wouldn't agree on). Geez, I even hate Harukas parents for being such goddamn assholes and not letting him see his girl.

On the other hand, themes and story is really quite great in this anime, and as for the actual topic, I'd chose Mitsuki, solely, because I like her type of anime girls SLIGHTLY more than Haruka type.

[ryoma69]

well after watching the whole anime i didnt think mitsuki was such a bad person at all casue she also had feelings for taka at same time haruka did and she decided to let her feelings go casue she wanted haruka to be happy but since the accident doctors said she might never get outta the coma so seriously would u expect to be some one who might never wake up they grew up

in the end i think Mitsuki is the one to go for cause in this anime she was the one who cared for eveyone the most, its just that her emotion got the best of her in the end thats all

[hanseo]

Mitsuki because she cared for everyone the most

[anime ronin]

haruka and respondant is a male

i had to think about it for a while. i was thinking mitsuki but haruka did come first. even though i have to admit mizuki did seem like a better match in the beginning i couldnt chose her because she failed to confess in the beginning.

[Karumi Tao]

I vote for haruka and I´m a girl. I hate mitsuki, she betrayed her friend knowing all of her feelings. Because of she, Haruka ended in coma o.ó. Instead Haruka is a good and kind loving-person : )< that look like sakura XD>That's why I like her x3.

[yezhanquan]

Voted for Haruka and I'm a guy. First of all, Mitsuki did have a hand in creating the scenario. Even so, Takayuki took the coma and the pleas by the parents as a "death sentence". What he could have done is to suck it up, and live his life alone, PROPERLY. That will convince Haruka's parents to let him visit her again. Cue the "daily" routine of bringing flowers to her ward and exchanging it. Then, come the day where she wakes up, his life is in order, and yeah, life goes on, with Haruka in the picture.

[fallin up]

I would love to say Mitsuki because she cared for everyone so deeply. But honestly Haruka is so innocent and i would feel bad leaving her. Haruka seems to have this aura around her that would drag me in. but in the end i would choose mitsuki cause shes got bigger jugs. hahah jk. no really i feel a relationship with Mitsuki would mean more caring on both sides.

[OmegaPhlare]

I'm a male and I vote for Haruka because of her unbelievable nice personality. Anyone who wants to write childrens books (child psychology major?) is probably either a pervert or a saint. To be honest, the first two episodes of this series is not enough time to truthfully know if Haruka is a nice person rather than just a shy person, but this is how I perceive her.

Haruka: Salt of the Earth.

Although, from what I understand, being nice is not reason enough to like someone, so I have decided that I too want to help people. Now we share interests.

[Prov1]

I chose Mitsuki because Mitsuki was such a sad character. She loved her takayuki, and she didn't know how to control her feelings. she stayed with him even though he was going through a rough time. Mitsuki loved takayuki and helped him reshape his life. Mitsuki was scarred and hurt for what she had done. I felt so sad for Mitsuki but Mitsuki is one of my fav characters in anime of all time.

[kamuinoyume]

To be honest before I saw the series I hoped he'd end up with Haruka but after I finished the series I was really glad he chose Mitsuki, although I do feel sorry for Haruka, having to suffer what she did but I feel a lot more sorry for Mitsuki, she didn't deserve to be dumped like that, and I'm glad that Takayuki came to he's senses at the very end, anyway.

[Hitomi_Elric]

Definitely, Haruka.
I just can't get over Mitsuki's betrayal. I know that she liked Takayuki a lot and everything, but as many others said: betrayal is betrayal.

[BetoJR]

I voted for Mitsuki, and I'm male.

Honestly, how can people talk about Mitsuki's betrayal of Haruka, as if she was callously cheating on her best friend? There were LOTS of attenuating circumstances, here... Honestly, I liked Haruka just fine (and my heart nearly broke when I got to the "farewell" scene) but the person who deserved to have the best ending was Mitsuki - even if only for all of her devotion to Takayuki. She did love him, after all. Haruka loved the idea of him.

All in all, loved the series (having finished it just now, in a semi-marathon) - just wished they'd shown more of the couple's life afterwards.

[DN24]

Mitsuki, I liked Mitsuki from the 1st time she appeared.
I think Takayuki started going out with Haruka only because Mitsuki encouraged him,and I don't know how did she betrayed Haruka.Because she had feeling for him later than Haruka doesn't mean she had to give up,yet she tried her best to give up and only decided to confess because she couldn't watch him suffered any longer(they didn't even know if Haruka will ever wake up), so I seriously can't get the betrayal part so many people talk about.Mitsuki deserves her happy ending simply because she truly loves Takayuki and had sacrifice so much for that love that a bad end for her would be too cruel.

[H23]

Mitsuki. Realistically, its easier to relate and like her seeing how she stuck through with Takayuki after he was practically a wreck

[kanedazero]

My post has some SPOILERS in it in case anyone cares (I don't know how to hide the spoilers); although, from reading other posts, it seems that everyone in her has either watched the series or had it spoiled for them already.

I just finished watching this series and I have to say that my vote goes for Mitsuki (I'm male, married and almost 30). This was definitely a heartbreaking series to watch (especially in a marathon sitting), as I was affected by the tragic circumstances into which both Haruka and Mitsuki were thrown. It sucks that Haruka lost three years of her life and the chance to build a strong, lasting relationship with Takayuki. That is definitely one of the tragedies of this show.

As far as what people have been saying about the love Takayuki has for Haruka, I must agree with those posters who state that it is shallow compared to the bond he has with Mitsuki. I honestly had difficulty ascertaining whether the grief and despair he demonstrated following the accident was borne out of his "true love" for Haruka or the immense sense of guilt and shame he was experiencing. He has always been known as the "nice" guy. Based on what other characters say about him, it almost seems as if this were a fundamental aspect of his very being. The fact that he felt responsible for Haruka's accident because he was late for their date...that his actions could cause someone such suffering, was something that he was psychologically unable to take, hence he fell in utter dispair. I'm not saying that this was necessarily the case; however, it is another way to look at the situation.

Now on to Mitsuki who was, by far, my favorite character. I personally feel that the writing for her character (based on the English dub...I know, utter blasphemy...<ducks behind boulder>) was exceptionally well done for an anime series. She was so human. She had so many good qualities and yet so many weaknesses and flaws that I couldn't help but relate to her. I, like others in this forum, also wonder about the ages of the majority of posters for this topic. Mitsuki and Takayuki liked each other in the beginning but were too caught up in their own lives to admit it. When Haruka confessed her interest for Takayuki, Mitsuki relented and decided to help her friend. She placed the happiness of her friend above herself...in my opinion, that is a good friend. If you believe that Haruka and Takayuki were in love during this time, then I believe that they had a great example of young first love. At the time it feels overwhelming and powerful, like you have found your soulmate; however, it seldom survives and in the end, one realizes that it was not as deep as originally envisioned. It would be interesting to see how their relationship would have turned out had the accident not occurred (I personally feel that his suppressed feelings for Mitsuki may have created a complication...since he had a tendency to be late for dates on account of hanging out with Mitsuki).

Anyhow, I don't believe that Mitsuki betrayed her comatose friend at all. She was a good friend during that first year. She helped take care of "Haruka's man" and was was there to support the comatose Haruka in the beginning. She did this for over a year, and when there was no sign that Haruka would awaken, she made a mature, adult decision to try to move on with her life and stop living in the past. She then focused her intentions on helping the man she loved. Now, I personally feel that she could have chosen a better way of doing things; however, the act of sex with Takayuki, and the emotional punch it contained, may have been the only thing raw enough to cause Takayuki to snap out of his funk. I don't think she acted selfishly. She took a big risk. Everything else she had tried over the past year had failed...and to her, this was the only thing she had left. Fortunately, it worked. I believe that act succeeded in awakening the suppressed desire Takayuki had for Mitsuki, the desire he had for her all along (unless Takayuki was just a big man-whore...and that's another discussion). Over the next two years, Mitsuki and Takayuki were able to build a relationship that I feel was based on genuine love. The relationship they built became more real than anything he and Haruka were able to develop. He and Mitsuki had a real relationship with real problems...fear of commitment, co-dependency, jealousy, confusion, uncertainty regarding the future, etc. These are things countless couples deal with and the sign of a mature relationship is the ability to address and work through these problems. I think that they were doing just that...until Haruka woke up.

Haruka waking up...and also the previous run-in with Akane...reawakened one of Takayuki's biggest character flaws, his difficulty in dealing with the past. All of his feelings of guilt resurfaced and his lack of an ability to cope allowed this to poison other aspects of his life. In an attempt to deal with his guilt he began to overcompenate by focusing all of his attention on Haruka to the point where he completely neglected Mitsuki. It was painful to watch what Mitsuki had to endure. The man she loved and to whom she had devoted her life had focused all of his attention on someone else. In the beginning she was suppotive of him...until his obsession crippled his ability to show or express any emotion or feeling toward her. Just as she had done previously, she tried and tried to salvage the relationship and get the emotion she so desperately needed from him. When everything failed, she slipped into a complete breakdown which brings us to one of the reasons why everyone hates Mitsuki.

Let me start off by stating that I do not agree in the least with Mitsuki's infidelity. She made a very bad decision. Cheating is never the answer. That being said, I understand why she did what she did. This was the hardest part of the series and had me yelling "NO!" at my television. Why did she do it? Here's my take: She was hanging on by a thread, she was completely emotionally devastated, she got crappy advice from her coworker and she was inebriated. She so desperately wanted an emotional response from Takayuki, to know that he still cared enough about her to respond at some level. Ideally she wanted that response to be positive...happiness, love, etc; however, when it became clear that he was unable to give that to her at that time, she was willing to take anything...even hatred or anger.

She also makes mention that she was trying to sabotage the relationship because she realized that she had nothing without him. Mitsuki had codependency issues regarding Takayuki (notice how she seems to use sex when she feels the relationship is in danger) and it took this relationship hiccup to make her realize that. She was terrified of her dependency on him, realizing that it was not healthy. It was at that time that she decided that the best thing for her would to end the relationship in order to prove to herself that she could survive without Takayuki, thus breaking the cycle of dependency. The only problem was that she knew she would be unable to end it herself, so she decided to do something so extreme that it would force Takayuki to end the relationship. The morning after the accident is easily the single most painful sequence I have ever witnessed in an anime. She fully realizes the seriousness of what she had done, that she may have irrevocably destroyed the most precious thing in her life, and that even after everything...she still loves Takayuki. I fully believe that she had every intention of trying to work to fix the relationship and not break up with Takayuki after confessing her infidelity...that is until Takayuki failed to deliver any sort of emotional response following her confession (although in his defense, I feel that he was so shocked by the revelation that he did not know how to react). His inability to respond led her to believe that he cared nothing for her, not even enough to be jealous or angry, and that was the final straw that broke the camel's back and pushed her to end the relationship.

Ending the relationship was the catalyst needed to wake Takayuki up and move him to action. Mitsuki and Takayuki had the more mature and realistic relationship of the two. I feel that they were truly in love because of the amount of pain and turmoil that were created by initial collapse of the relationship. Takayuki's distance and lack of emotionality toward Mitsuki following Haruka's awakening does not mean that he did not truly love Mitsuki. Many people, myself included, have placed excessive strain and/or jeopardized a relationship with someone they truly love by becoming caught up in something to the point that it begins to dominate their life.

I believe that Haruka showed incredible maturity and depth by seeing through Mitsuki's lie that her [Mitsuki's] relationship with Takayuki had meant nothing and realizing that during the three years she was asleep, things had indeed changed. She understood that even though she had grown to love Takayuki, he had moved on in his heart but still felt an obligation to her. Because of her love for her friends, things were able to come full circle and she was able to put the happiness of her friend Mitsuki ahead of her own by freeing Takayuki of his sense of obligation so that he could get Mitsuki back before she was able to close the door to her heart on him forever. That is why this series ended so perfectly for me.

I am not looking forward to the alternate "pro-Haruka" OVA that I keep reading about. In my opinion the right girl won and everything turned out the way it should have.


Anyhoo, I'm sorry for rambling on for so long (in fact I may have lost track of the original argument as I was writing this at work and kept getting interrupted). This series just affected me in a completely unexpected way and I felt that I had to put my two cents in. I'm sure that my opinion differs from the majority, but it is what it is. If you read all of this thanks for your patience.