AnimeSuki Forums

DragoZERO · 2011-06-23, 10:37

Noe did get the raw end and even though she was a lot of fun and gave life to the series, I am a total Hiromi fan in the end.

I do agree that Noe's actions were because she had no where to turn. It could have been worse though... it could have involved a boat.

erneiz_hyde · 2011-06-23, 14:50

This strikes me as the rare anime where the childhood friend character actually gets it. Not many anime gave such privilege to a childhood friend character.

First of all, True Tears was originally a game. However, when they decided to make anime out of it, somehow they decided to make an entirely new characters and settings. I was rather unsatisfied with the ending and I was in despair when I found out that NOE ROUTE DOESN'T EXIST anywhere, not even in the game. Pity...

Archon_Wing · 2011-06-23, 18:49

MM, yes. The anime has nothing in common with the VN, anime is completely original.

I was having a discussion with a friend lately that we wonder if that hurt sales. Usually sales are boosted by having a brand name (Key herp derp), or having a VN that the anime serves as a advertisement for.

Me thinks a purely anime original from a dark horse studio is quite the underdog here.

Guardian Enzo · 2011-06-23, 19:51

This board should never have been retired, IMHO. There continues to be a steady interest in this series, and it's held in high regard by a ton of fans.

Archon_Wing · 2011-06-23, 19:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

This board should never have been retired, IMHO. There continues to be a steady interest in this series, and it's held in high regard by a ton of fans.

Though neither is relevant to which subforums get created or kept.

Guardian Enzo · 2011-06-24, 00:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archon_Wing

Though neither is relevant to which subforums get created or kept.

Well, I would beg to differ a little. There are lots of shows in the older series section that haven't had anything new for quite a while, yet there they remain. I think the level of continued interest in a show is taken into consideration when retiring it, and it should be.

Triple_R · 2011-06-27, 19:13

It is a shame that True Tears is in the Retired section, yeah. Especially given the similarities between it and the currently airing Hanasaku Iroha.

Maybe we could ask for True Tears to pull a Brett Favre...

Aqua Knight · 2011-08-13, 17:50

One of the best romance series I've ever seen. Happy he ended with Hiromi.

By the way the 3-minute epilogue isn't really the epilogue. In this short 3-minute-video there's still snow, so that indicates that it was before the sakura blossom. Also in 3-min-video Noe's hair is shorter than when sakura blossoms. So real epilogue is just when Noe cries near Jibeta.

10/10

kitten320 · 2012-01-11, 19:43

Just finished the series... can someone explain what the whole obsession is about? I was really into it for the first 3-5 episodes and then it became a huge MEH.
I would enjoy it so much more if those 13 episodes were about Jun/Noe incest or about Miyokichi/Ai.

Truthully Miyokichi and Ai were probably the only characters I liked. though noe started to get plus points from me later. She handled the whole depressing situation quiet well and I don't believe that she had jumped of the tree. She wanted to see everything from above and most likely slipped on the way.

I felt sympathetic towards Hiromi at first, feeling her mistreatment but then she was the I wanted to smack the most. Shinchiro included, at least he still was nice till Noe. Huge problem is how easily he forgot that he is dating Noe... the moment Hiromi became nice and kissed him, he totally forgot who Noe was and never bothered to explain and apologize to her until last episode. Actually he never apologized at all!

Hiromi became a real bastard, her treatment towards Noe who did nothing wrong was a low blow. And she almost killed Noe's brother by forcing him to ride a motorcycle! too bad she came out unscratched, some scratches were totally needed.

Felt bad for Jun, falling for your own sister is harsh but he handled things quiet well. Was willing to sacrifice himself just so she could be happy. Too bad he didn't take Shinchiro's real feelings into account.

And what is wrong with Shinchiro's mother? She was a total ass and then suddenly became all nice? why did she hate the girl in the first place?!

Truthfully, the only characters that didn't annoy me even once are Miyokichi and Ai. Felt seriously bad for Miyokichi who did all his best for Ai and never ever blamed her or Shinchiro.
Felt bad for Ai too, her character was very believable for me. It is hard to fight your feelings, I'm glad that she decided to be honest later on. Good thing she let everything out and finally moved on for real. I can see a bright future for her and Miyokichi.

And don't cry Noe, you'll find a far better guy one day! Besides I duno how long his blind romance with Hiromi will last. Despite living under the same roof, they barely even know each other.

This series were a disappointing for me and won't get more than 6.

DragoZERO · 2012-01-11, 22:09

I think you missed a lot of the nuances and stuff. I'd suggest watch it again but since you didn't like it, I won't.

Hiromi acted that way towards Noe because she was jealous.
Shin's mother changed because she realized she was being a jerk. Adults can do that.
Hiromi and Shin know each other very well, from when they were little in fact.

Try and look at things from the character's perspective, not a viewer.

Archon_Wing · 2012-01-11, 22:39

Shin's mom was a bitch because she suspected cheating was going on in the past. It was done in a rather subtle way, but yes, the sudden rubber band resolution was underwhelming.

Hiromi was hostile to Noe because Noe had rejected her attempt at friendship. Granted, she wasn't completely sincere but it's not like Noe was completely innocent here.

As for Shin basically ditching Noe, I always saw that kind of a pacing problem, but he's definitely the show's weakest link.

True Tears is Noe's story; it's not a simple romance-- that's why it came off as such to make her more sympathetic. Hiromi and Shinchiro were people she affected, but the story will first and foremost be about Noe giving away her tears and eventually having some of her own in the end after so many years.

DragoZERO · 2012-01-11, 23:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Archon_Wing

True Tears is Noe's story.

Which I find hard to believe since Hiromi > Noe.

But yeah, the title is directed at mostly her. She was the driving force behind everything after all.

Archon_Wing · 2012-01-11, 23:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by DragoZERO

Which I find hard to believe since Hiromi > Noe.

But yeah, the title is directed at mostly her. She was the driving force behind everything after all.

I lean towards Hiromi, but that whoever > who has nothing to do with the thematic elements of the story though.

Triple_R · 2012-01-12, 00:32

To be honest, I definitely see where Kitten320 is coming from, and that's as someone who considers True Tears one of his all-time favorites.

What I would say in True Tear's defense, though, is that viewers can sometimes fall into the trap of good characters = good, easily likable people. Certainly the two can and often do go hand-in-hand, but you can have a good character that would still be somebody you'd find considerable fault with in a real life person (and not necessarily even want to associate with).

Hiromi is a very flawed character in my eyes, but she is also a very good character, partly because of how those flaws help to mold and shape the anime that she's in, with a certain degree of dynamism and intensity.

Also, in real life, a love triangle is a nasty thing. Somebody will almost certainly get hurt when one occurs, and often harshly so. True Tears presents it with all of the raw emotional poignancy and drama that it calls for. In real life, somebody in the love triangle gets hurt, and people usually come out of it a bit worse for wear, as hard decisions are made in the pursuit of love and/or in choosing who to love.

I will say, though, that Shin's easy transition from dating Noe to wanting to go back to Hiromi really didn't sit well with me either. I thought that was pretty low of him, and I probably always will. It's why I can't fault Jun for holding a bit of a grudge against Shin. If somebody hurt one of my two sisters that way, I probably would have a hard time letting that go too.

But then, True Tears isn't about idealizing romantic conflicts or the people that are in them, but rather about presenting them with all the drama and emotional intensity that they call for, and perhaps there is some good lessons to be learned from that.

Oh, and Noe > Hiromi.

Noe is the character that made this show really fun and enjoyable during its more upbeat moments, and it's her fall (literal and figurative) that makes this show's commentary on love triangles so emotionally impacting.

~~Pocari_Sweat~~ · 2012-01-12, 00:43

People being disappointed because Noe got shafted. Absolutely nothing new here

.

Anyways, regarding Hiromi being a so called "bitch", she was jealous because Noe was taking Shin away from her. But hey where do you find that kind of realism in potraying jealousy, because I guarantee you, 99% of anime shows these days will show a jealous tsundere bashing the daylights out of the MC for not paying her enough attention. Hiromi was a complex character. She had issues with Shin mother's who thought Hiromi was the illegimate child of her husband. She was popular at school and somewhat outgoing on the outside whilst when really she was feeling really insecure. Every conflict she had with Noe (bar that catfight, which btw Noe initiated), it was handled about in a roundabout way, like when she tried to make friends with her (someone should do a True Tears/Boku wa Tomodachi crossover for luls

) or when she told Noe to leave her and Shin alone. You don't see that kinda subtlety with a character in the anime medium often. A recent character like her was Tusuruko from Ano Hana (which I think is a Hiromi v2.0 really), and funny enough she is completely out-shadowed by the popularity of Menma and Anjou (granted, Anjou was a pretty good tsundere, but is still a tsundere in the end). Guess people prefer the obnoxious character archtypes over the subtle ones, so maybe it's just me.

Regarding Noe, despite me sporting an Hiromi avatar and being a fanboy, liked her too. But in the end she was a "genki girl" with a pure heart, which ultimately got crushed which is where all the rage is coming from. I understand it, but what I don't understand is the level of hate people give this series because she ended up losing

. Seriously I've seen people call it the worst romance/drama they've seen during its airtime because of it, but these days the series is almost forgotten. Ah, the passion of shippers

And regarding the series overall. I consider it one of the best seinen romance/drama done for a TV anime series and put in on the same tier as ef tale of memories, Hanbun no Tsuki go Noboru Sora and the first half of Sola (2nd half was kinda bad). It was never too melodramatic or cheesy, nor was it too silly though it did have its share of lighthearted comedy here and there (particularly when Noe was on screen). When I look at this and then look at Ano Hana (Mari Okada wrote both anime originals), I say to myself... "Dang... why is Ano Hana such a cryfest. Why is she trying to mimick "Key" of all a sudden". It is without a doubt her and studio P.A. Work's best series. I look at True Tears and the supposed spiritual sequel Hanasaku Iroha (which by the way did some of the most blatantly obvious, shameless advertising of True Tears

), and it makes me somewhat cry

.

Ah well... True Tears I will always remember you, even if others don't.

P.S. Noe was not the (only) main character of True Tears ffs. If anything it was all of Shin, Hiromi and Noe. Unfortunately, I think can classify Aiko as a side character

.

NeoChan · 2012-01-12, 01:17

One of the best romance anime I've seen... ranks well with animes like Clannad.
The story and scenes are well balance.

My favorite line was of Hiromi saying "No, he's my boyfriend." That was a shocker! Though not official but damn!

The opening song is one of my favorites as well by Eufonius

0utf0xZer0 · 2012-01-12, 02:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Also, in real life, a love triangle is a nasty thing. Somebody will almost certainly get hurt when one occurs, and often harshly so. True Tears presents it with all of the raw emotional poignancy and drama that it calls for. In real life, somebody in the love triangle gets hurt, and people usually come out of it a bit worse for wear, as hard decisions are made in the pursuit of love and/or in choosing who to love.

So a very well executed cautionary tale of sorts then? That actually makes the Noe ending make a lot of artistic sense.

True Tears is one of the few love triangle focused anime that can say I really like. I've mentioned elsewhere that my favourite handling of an anime love triangle was in Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu precisely because the girls managed a reconciliation of sorts, maybe even friendship (completely overshadowed, of course, by all the other intense happenings in the second half of that show).

Triple_R · 2012-01-12, 10:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0

So a very well executed cautionary tale of sorts then? That actually makes the Noe ending make a lot of artistic sense.

That's my thinking, yeah

Immediately after I first watched all of True Tears, I was baffled at how so much focus was put on Noe (i.e the "loser") in the final episode. Wouldn't you want to give viewers a happy/satisfying ending by focusing mostly on the final pairing?

This didn't sit well with me for a very long time.

But then recently I watched Mashiro-iro Symphony, which I think aimed for a similar focus on "romantic losers", as a kind of cautionary tale. And then it clicked for me that True Tears was probably aiming for much of the same thing that Mashiro-iro Symphony did, and that the True Tears' ending was likely meant to be at least somewhat sad and upsetting. Looking at it that way, it's a bold ending that helps True Tears stand apart from the crowd.

K-Lynnette · 2012-01-13, 11:21

I finished watching this series and I thought it was great

I loved both Noe and Hiromi ..also can someone tell me why does everybody seems to hate Hiromi so much? everyone keeps saying she's a bitch.seriously to me she's not even the most bitchiest character ever made at least not comparing to Sekai from school days or mitsuki from KGNE or even Kei from ef.

I mean I found actions like cheating on your boyfriend many times (Aiko) or lusting for your own sister (Jun) or abusing a girl (Shin's mama) combined to be much worst actions than anything Hiromi ever did in this show.

I think that most people are overreacting a bit a bout Hiromi and they are making her much worst than she actually is .They are only talking a bout Hiromi's flaws while overlooking the other three characters . (mum,jun and Ai) who were much more flawed than Hiromi.

And I completely disagree with Demisoda and Triple_R on what thier saying about Hiromi being the most flawed of the three girls ,I agree that she was flawed and very complex but Aiko messed up way more than Hiromi .

Irenicus · 2012-01-13, 11:53

Gosh, it's been a while since I watched this one.

Let me try to remember stuff from it...

...

Agreed with K-Lynnette above, for the most part. The main love triangle is a mess, but the weak link is neither Hiromi nor Noe, but Shinichiro. Who, face it, is kind of fail. Chicken.

Hiromi is a really lonely girl who's in love with Shin all this time yet suffering domestic abuse from the evil mother in law. She's allowed a bit of leeway for the attitude and the bad influence. Shin of course had Hiromi as his first choice all along, and only her cold rebuffs, and Noe's refreshing eagerness, sent him Noe's way.

Noe is innocent and interesting, but that made her most vulnerable to heartbreak as she had no idea she was the second choice.

Both were actually kind of refreshingly combative about getting their way when Hiromi finally got herself up to try and take Shin "back." Nothing wrong with that, though I admit I wasn't fond of the heavy melodrama (except for that Hiromi scene with a J-drama style insert song). Highest possible drama quotient, a triangle is.

Far worse to me, I recall, were Aiko and the mother (IMO, Jun's sister luv is kind of...out there, not being very relevant either way). Aiko is basically pining over her boyfriend's best friend the whole time, hurting the boyfriend repeatedly. You can say all the clichéd "a girl's heart" phrases all you want, but in my book that's a horribly bitchy thing to do. Yet I remember some viewers promoted her over the two main female characters for some inexplicable reason. Were you people the type that scream along with that nineties' tune "Self Esteem" or something?

"Now I know I'm being used / That's okay cause I like the abuse"

The mom was by far the weakest link in the whole story, a lot worse than Shin's fail-ness. Her oppressive actions and attitudes predominated the first part and gave it this heavy soap opera atmosphere, then in like a microsecond everything was explained and waved away, and her attitude took an utterly unconvincing u-turn. Some people say "subtle, therefore good." I called aliens, BS.

It's really not that bad of an anime, forgettable is how I found it, but I still wonder a bit to this day why people view it so highly. Tastes and all that, perhaps, as I usually find myself disliking just about every shounen romance drama out there that people praises so highly (what's the upcoming one? Kimi to Iru Machi? Do I have to expect people a year or two from now asking in the suggestions forum for "romance anime as good as [it]" like they do for, ugh, Suzuka?) -- and the soap opera atmosphere isn't doing it any favors. But even objectively it is full of flaws and questionable writing.

View Poll Results: True Tears - Total Series Rating
Perfect 10	86	32.95%
9 out of 10 : Excellent	77	29.50%
8 out of 10 : Very Good	38	14.56%
7 out of 10 : Good	34	13.03%
6 out of 10 : Average	15	5.75%
5 out of 10 : Below Average	5	1.92%
4 out of 10 : Poor	2	0.77%
3 out of 10 : Bad	0	0%
2 out of 10 : Very Bad	1	0.38%
1 out of 10 : Painful	3	1.15%
Voters: 261. You may not vote on this poll

2011-06-23, 10:37	Link #161
DragoZERO Spoilaphobic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Age: 37	Noe did get the raw end and even though she was a lot of fun and gave life to the series, I am a total Hiromi fan in the end. I do agree that Noe's actions were because she had no where to turn. It could have been worse though... it could have involved a boat. __________________ • Anime List \| Manga List \| Manga Thread Template •

2011-06-23, 14:50	Link #162
erneiz_hyde 18782+18782=37564 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: InterWebs	This strikes me as the rare anime where the childhood friend character actually gets it. Not many anime gave such privilege to a childhood friend character. First of all, True Tears was originally a game. However, when they decided to make anime out of it, somehow they decided to make an entirely new characters and settings. I was rather unsatisfied with the ending and I was in despair when I found out that NOE ROUTE DOESN'T EXIST anywhere, not even in the game. Pity... __________________

2011-06-27, 19:13	Link #167
Triple_R Senior Member Author Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Age: 42	It is a shame that True Tears is in the Retired section, yeah. Especially given the similarities between it and the currently airing Hanasaku Iroha. Maybe we could ask for True Tears to pull a Brett Favre... __________________

2011-08-13, 17:50	Link #168
Aqua Knight Senior Member Join Date: May 2009 Age: 31	One of the best romance series I've ever seen. Happy he ended with Hiromi. By the way the 3-minute epilogue isn't really the epilogue. In this short 3-minute-video there's still snow, so that indicates that it was before the sakura blossom. Also in 3-min-video Noe's hair is shorter than when sakura blossoms. So real epilogue is just when Noe cries near Jibeta. 10/10 __________________ I can’t sleep tonight…fish girl, sing me a song!

2012-01-11, 19:43	Link #169
kitten320 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007	Just finished the series... can someone explain what the whole obsession is about? I was really into it for the first 3-5 episodes and then it became a huge MEH. I would enjoy it so much more if those 13 episodes were about Jun/Noe incest or about Miyokichi/Ai. Truthully Miyokichi and Ai were probably the only characters I liked. though noe started to get plus points from me later. She handled the whole depressing situation quiet well and I don't believe that she had jumped of the tree. She wanted to see everything from above and most likely slipped on the way. I felt sympathetic towards Hiromi at first, feeling her mistreatment but then she was the I wanted to smack the most. Shinchiro included, at least he still was nice till Noe. Huge problem is how easily he forgot that he is dating Noe... the moment Hiromi became nice and kissed him, he totally forgot who Noe was and never bothered to explain and apologize to her until last episode. Actually he never apologized at all! Hiromi became a real bastard, her treatment towards Noe who did nothing wrong was a low blow. And she almost killed Noe's brother by forcing him to ride a motorcycle! too bad she came out unscratched, some scratches were totally needed. Felt bad for Jun, falling for your own sister is harsh but he handled things quiet well. Was willing to sacrifice himself just so she could be happy. Too bad he didn't take Shinchiro's real feelings into account. And what is wrong with Shinchiro's mother? She was a total ass and then suddenly became all nice? why did she hate the girl in the first place?! Truthfully, the only characters that didn't annoy me even once are Miyokichi and Ai. Felt seriously bad for Miyokichi who did all his best for Ai and never ever blamed her or Shinchiro. Felt bad for Ai too, her character was very believable for me. It is hard to fight your feelings, I'm glad that she decided to be honest later on. Good thing she let everything out and finally moved on for real. I can see a bright future for her and Miyokichi. And don't cry Noe, you'll find a far better guy one day! Besides I duno how long his blind romance with Hiromi will last. Despite living under the same roof, they barely even know each other. This series were a disappointing for me and won't get more than 6. __________________ My anime list

2012-01-11, 22:09	Link #170
DragoZERO Spoilaphobic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Age: 37	I think you missed a lot of the nuances and stuff. I'd suggest watch it again but since you didn't like it, I won't. Hiromi acted that way towards Noe because she was jealous. Shin's mother changed because she realized she was being a jerk. Adults can do that. Hiromi and Shin know each other very well, from when they were little in fact. Try and look at things from the character's perspective, not a viewer. __________________ • Anime List \| Manga List \| Manga Thread Template •

2012-01-12, 00:32	Link #174
Triple_R Senior Member Author Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Age: 42	To be honest, I definitely see where Kitten320 is coming from, and that's as someone who considers True Tears one of his all-time favorites. What I would say in True Tear's defense, though, is that viewers can sometimes fall into the trap of good characters = good, easily likable people. Certainly the two can and often do go hand-in-hand, but you can have a good character that would still be somebody you'd find considerable fault with in a real life person (and not necessarily even want to associate with). Hiromi is a very flawed character in my eyes, but she is also a very good character, partly because of how those flaws help to mold and shape the anime that she's in, with a certain degree of dynamism and intensity. Also, in real life, a love triangle is a nasty thing. Somebody will almost certainly get hurt when one occurs, and often harshly so. True Tears presents it with all of the raw emotional poignancy and drama that it calls for. In real life, somebody in the love triangle gets hurt, and people usually come out of it a bit worse for wear, as hard decisions are made in the pursuit of love and/or in choosing who to love. I will say, though, that Shin's easy transition from dating Noe to wanting to go back to Hiromi really didn't sit well with me either. I thought that was pretty low of him, and I probably always will. It's why I can't fault Jun for holding a bit of a grudge against Shin. If somebody hurt one of my two sisters that way, I probably would have a hard time letting that go too. But then, True Tears isn't about idealizing romantic conflicts or the people that are in them, but rather about presenting them with all the drama and emotional intensity that they call for, and perhaps there is some good lessons to be learned from that. Oh, and Noe > Hiromi. Noe is the character that made this show really fun and enjoyable during its more upbeat moments, and it's her fall (literal and figurative) that makes this show's commentary on love triangles so emotionally impacting. __________________ Last edited by Triple_R; 2012-01-12 at 00:42.

2012-01-12, 00:43	Link #175
~~Pocari_Sweat~~ <em style="color:#808080;">Disabled By Request</em> Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Australia	People being disappointed because Noe got shafted. Absolutely nothing new here . Anyways, regarding Hiromi being a so called "bitch", she was jealous because Noe was taking Shin away from her. But hey where do you find that kind of realism in potraying jealousy, because I guarantee you, 99% of anime shows these days will show a jealous tsundere bashing the daylights out of the MC for not paying her enough attention. Hiromi was a complex character. She had issues with Shin mother's who thought Hiromi was the illegimate child of her husband. She was popular at school and somewhat outgoing on the outside whilst when really she was feeling really insecure. Every conflict she had with Noe (bar that catfight, which btw Noe initiated), it was handled about in a roundabout way, like when she tried to make friends with her (someone should do a True Tears/Boku wa Tomodachi crossover for luls ) or when she told Noe to leave her and Shin alone. You don't see that kinda subtlety with a character in the anime medium often. A recent character like her was Tusuruko from Ano Hana (which I think is a Hiromi v2.0 really), and funny enough she is completely out-shadowed by the popularity of Menma and Anjou (granted, Anjou was a pretty good tsundere, but is still a tsundere in the end). Guess people prefer the obnoxious character archtypes over the subtle ones, so maybe it's just me. Regarding Noe, despite me sporting an Hiromi avatar and being a fanboy, liked her too. But in the end she was a "genki girl" with a pure heart, which ultimately got crushed which is where all the rage is coming from. I understand it, but what I don't understand is the level of hate people give this series because she ended up losing . Seriously I've seen people call it the worst romance/drama they've seen during its airtime because of it, but these days the series is almost forgotten. Ah, the passion of shippers And regarding the series overall. I consider it one of the best seinen romance/drama done for a TV anime series and put in on the same tier as ef tale of memories, Hanbun no Tsuki go Noboru Sora and the first half of Sola (2nd half was kinda bad). It was never too melodramatic or cheesy, nor was it too silly though it did have its share of lighthearted comedy here and there (particularly when Noe was on screen). When I look at this and then look at Ano Hana (Mari Okada wrote both anime originals), I say to myself... "Dang... why is Ano Hana such a cryfest. Why is she trying to mimick "Key" of all a sudden". It is without a doubt her and studio P.A. Work's best series. I look at True Tears and the supposed spiritual sequel Hanasaku Iroha (which by the way did some of the most blatantly obvious, shameless advertising of True Tears ), and it makes me somewhat cry . Ah well... True Tears I will always remember you, even if others don't. P.S. Noe was not the (only) main character of True Tears ffs. If anything it was all of Shin, Hiromi and Noe. Unfortunately, I think can classify Aiko as a side character . Last edited by Pocari_Sweat; 2012-01-12 at 00:57.

2012-01-12, 01:17	Link #176
NeoChan Banned Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Infront of the Anime Shop Age: 39	One of the best romance anime I've seen... ranks well with animes like Clannad. The story and scenes are well balance. My favorite line was of Hiromi saying "No, he's my boyfriend." That was a shocker! Though not official but damn! The opening song is one of my favorites as well by Eufonius

2012-01-13, 11:21	Link #179
K-Lynnette Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2012	I finished watching this series and I thought it was great I loved both Noe and Hiromi ..also can someone tell me why does everybody seems to hate Hiromi so much? everyone keeps saying she's a bitch.seriously to me she's not even the most bitchiest character ever made at least not comparing to Sekai from school days or mitsuki from KGNE or even Kei from ef. I mean I found actions like cheating on your boyfriend many times (Aiko) or lusting for your own sister (Jun) or abusing a girl (Shin's mama) combined to be much worst actions than anything Hiromi ever did in this show. I think that most people are overreacting a bit a bout Hiromi and they are making her much worst than she actually is .They are only talking a bout Hiromi's flaws while overlooking the other three characters . (mum,jun and Ai) who were much more flawed than Hiromi. And I completely disagree with Demisoda and Triple_R on what thier saying about Hiromi being the most flawed of the three girls ,I agree that she was flawed and very complex but Aiko messed up way more than Hiromi .

2012-01-13, 11:53	Link #180
Irenicus Le fou, c'est moi Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA Age: 34	Gosh, it's been a while since I watched this one. Let me try to remember stuff from it... ... Agreed with K-Lynnette above, for the most part. The main love triangle is a mess, but the weak link is neither Hiromi nor Noe, but Shinichiro. Who, face it, is kind of fail. Chicken. Hiromi is a really lonely girl who's in love with Shin all this time yet suffering domestic abuse from the evil mother in law. She's allowed a bit of leeway for the attitude and the bad influence. Shin of course had Hiromi as his first choice all along, and only her cold rebuffs, and Noe's refreshing eagerness, sent him Noe's way. Noe is innocent and interesting, but that made her most vulnerable to heartbreak as she had no idea she was the second choice. Both were actually kind of refreshingly combative about getting their way when Hiromi finally got herself up to try and take Shin "back." Nothing wrong with that, though I admit I wasn't fond of the heavy melodrama (except for that Hiromi scene with a J-drama style insert song). Highest possible drama quotient, a triangle is. Far worse to me, I recall, were Aiko and the mother (IMO, Jun's sister luv is kind of...out there, not being very relevant either way). Aiko is basically pining over her boyfriend's best friend the whole time, hurting the boyfriend repeatedly. You can say all the clichéd "a girl's heart" phrases all you want, but in my book that's a horribly bitchy thing to do. Yet I remember some viewers promoted her over the two main female characters for some inexplicable reason. Were you people the type that scream along with that nineties' tune "Self Esteem" or something? "Now I know I'm being used / That's okay cause I like the abuse" The mom was by far the weakest link in the whole story, a lot worse than Shin's fail-ness. Her oppressive actions and attitudes predominated the first part and gave it this heavy soap opera atmosphere, then in like a microsecond everything was explained and waved away, and her attitude took an utterly unconvincing u-turn. Some people say "subtle, therefore good." I called aliens, BS. It's really not that bad of an anime, forgettable is how I found it, but I still wonder a bit to this day why people view it so highly. Tastes and all that, perhaps, as I usually find myself disliking just about every shounen romance drama out there that people praises so highly (what's the upcoming one? Kimi to Iru Machi? Do I have to expect people a year or two from now asking in the suggestions forum for "romance anime as good as [it]" like they do for, ugh, Suzuka?) -- and the soap opera atmosphere isn't doing it any favors. But even objectively it is full of flaws and questionable writing.