AnimeSuki Forums

Register Forum Rules FAQ Members List Social Groups Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Go Back   AnimeSuki Forum > Anime Discussion > Older Series > Retired > Retired A-L > Amagami SS

Notices

Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 2010-08-06, 01:22   Link #21
xip
future tekken lord
 
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
It's hard not to like Kaoru. She doesn't only have a sexy hair, but also has a great and lovable personality.

She's more than just a sex hair.
xip is offline  
Old 2010-08-06, 10:36   Link #22
DragoZERO
Spoilaphobic
 
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: USA
Age: 37
Quote:
Originally Posted by xip View Post
It's hard not to like Kaoru. She doesn't only have a sexy hair, but also has a great and lovable personality.

She's more than just a sex hair.
She has a great stomach too.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Darknemo2000 View Post
In a way you are right but you are also wrong. Remember that Type A is not the first type of tsundere it was rather a later production of the tsundere but as it came with a tsundere popularity wave many started to assume that Type A is what tsundere's are about.

But when you look at the tsundere history you will see that Type B tsundere's where the 'starters' rather than type A.

Like lets say Akane Tendo from Ranma is considered to be a Type B tsundere, meaning that she stays dere as a default persona and throws tsun when she is embarrassed or jealous.

But her default dere is not blushing or stuttering but rather a normal girl act. Maybe bit more physical, somewhat tom-boyish but still more or less normal.

Same is with Kaoru she has a normal girl act as default and switches to a tsun only when she is embarrassed or jealous (like with Ayatsuji in episode 5).

But what then Type B tsundere separates from the normal girl? Mostly the reaction to the embarrassment - the normal girl reaction would be of a deep shame and trying to escape it or even cry, while tsunderes more likely to start calling you names, physically attack you or just vigorously try to deny it. In other words tsundere will confront it, mostly in order not to loose her 'face' and try hard to deny it, while normal girl would not care about her 'face' and would be happy just escaping the source of her shame or other similar emotions.

Yes the tsundere term did become wider, but it was not like expanded from Type A, but rather from Type B as Type B is the closest to normal girl and was very popular back in eighties when the trend was starting to form.

If we take an arch-meaning of the word tsundere then for a girl being hostile at the very beginning once and then being nice and lovestruck for the rest of it would have been good enough to be called tsundere until later it become a circular act, meaning was not just one-time hostility but a repetitive act, as a reaction to some stimulus (shame, jealousy etc.)

I understanhd what you are trying to point out that this way tsundere is too wide to mark what it should be but let me remind you that Type A (Louise, Shana, Eri Sawatchika type) is new one, while the actual first tsundere term was used to mark Type B tsunderes who are ironically the closest to the normal girls as they have normal girl act as their default persona so in a way the term was very wide to begin with.

Its just that the New Type A came together with the increasing popularity of tsunderes and the tsundere term so many poeple started associating Type A with the term tsundere.

Type C is the hardest to define because those tsunderes technically are not even really mean - they are more playful and teasing with their love interests rather than mean. Their teasing can be pretty mean sometimes and it is still a good way to escape the shame or avoid talking about ones true feelings seriously Type C tsundere examples would be Sheryl from MF and Horo from Spice And Wolf.

They are still called a tsundere because they all carry one similar trait - trying to mask their true affection, but they do not run away but choose the way to confront it by using physical violence, verbal abuse or teasing.

Tsundere is a bit complicated issue isnt it, but again thats what allows Kaoru to be called a tsundere, though she certainly is not a Type A tsundere.
Reply to come...
__________________

Last edited by DragoZERO; 2010-08-06 at 11:09.
DragoZERO is offline  
Old 2010-08-06, 11:23   Link #23
ueXia
Senior Member
 
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Age: 32
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.
ueXia is offline  
Old 2010-08-06, 11:25   Link #24
DragoZERO
Spoilaphobic
 
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: USA
Age: 37
Don't be spoiling Ai's arc!! You should take that out!

Damn, now I can't wait.
__________________
DragoZERO is offline  
Old 2010-08-06, 12:57   Link #25
ueXia
Senior Member
 
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Age: 32
Quote:
Originally Posted by DragoZERO View Post
Don't be spoiling Ai's arc!! You should take that out!

Damn, now I can't wait.
Hahahaha trust me, there's no way I could've spoiled her manga's arc, everyone that has read it would agree
ueXia is offline  
Old 2010-08-06, 13:26   Link #26
wingman32x
Senior Member
 
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Age: 34
Yeah, it's a damn vague spoiler if you want to consider it as one. It could be anything.

Anyway, Kaoru impressed me yet again in episode 6. But she's nowhere near Ai's level yet in my rankings.
wingman32x is offline  
Old 2010-08-07, 08:17   Link #27
msg
Senior Member
 
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
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..
__________________
msg is offline  
Old 2010-08-08, 21:48   Link #28
Himeji
Twintails are wintails!
 
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Age: 43
After watching ep. 6, I decided to make myself a Kaoru avatar
A little late, but お誕生日おめでとう nonetheless!

Not too fond of the messy hair, but like her belly and the rest

__________________
Himeji is offline  
Old 2010-08-09, 03:25   Link #29
Shiroth
Beautiful fighter.
 
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: England, UK
Age: 37
Quote:
Originally Posted by Himeji View Post
Not too fond of the messy hair
What a dark day it is.
__________________
Shiroth is offline  
Old 2010-08-09, 20:32   Link #30
Suzuku
(`・⊝・´)/\(`・⊝・´)
 
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Age: 30
Quote:
Originally Posted by Himeji View Post
Not too fond of the messy hair
I'm pretty sure you're the first person to ever say this. And it's called sex hair. CONFORM MOTHERFUCKER.
__________________
BRAVO VINCE
Suzuku is offline  
Old 2010-08-10, 01:23   Link #31
coolasj19
TSG : Gaming For A Cause
 
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Houston , Texas
Age: 31
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzuku View Post
I'm pretty sure you're the first person to ever say this. And it's called sex hair. CONFORM MOTHERFUCKER.
Don't offend him!!! He makes the GIF's we are to lazy to make for ourselves
coolasj19 is offline  
Old 2010-08-10, 07:19   Link #32
DragoZERO
Spoilaphobic
 
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: USA
Age: 37
Quote:
Originally Posted by coolasj19 View Post
Don't offend him!!! He makes the GIF's we are to lazy to make for ourselves
Psh, who cares what he makes. You can't deny the sex hair. That's blasphemy of the highest degree.
__________________
DragoZERO is offline  
Old 2010-08-10, 12:44   Link #33
Thewanderer
Hiyori Fanboy
 
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Age: 42
Send a message via MSN to Thewanderer Send a message via Yahoo to Thewanderer
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZhangKhaiEn View Post
^ August 1, so Leo.

source:
http://www.amagami.info/chara03.html
Holy tits. I'm a Leo, and I also have sex hair.
__________________
Thewanderer is offline  
Old 2010-08-10, 13:39   Link #34
Siniyas
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Can't unhear!
Spoiler for voice:
Siniyas is offline  
Old 2010-08-10, 13:46   Link #35
DragoZERO
Spoilaphobic
 
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: USA
Age: 37
Quote:
Originally Posted by Siniyas View Post
Can't unhear!
Spoiler for voice:
Voice of Onee-sama and Biribiri.
__________________
DragoZERO is offline  
Old 2010-08-20, 13:26   Link #36
Belmondo
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Quote:
Originally Posted by ueXia View Post
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.
Well we know what happens by now and judging from game spoilers the show played it safe. But despite her talk of lingerie she doesn't seem like the type to go all the way so quickly. They have all the time in the world now, and don't need to rush. Pity we won't see more of their universe.

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:
It's too bad because some people criticized episode 7 as "forced drama" and it appears to be resolved too quickly and neatly. There was still some fallout in the game, and keeping it thus would have vindicated ep. 7.

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
Belmondo is offline  
Old 2010-08-20, 16:24   Link #37
Hooves
~Official Slacker~
*Author
 
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Xanadu
Age: 29
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?
__________________
Freyja Wion from Macross Delta!
Signature from: TheEroKing
Hooves is offline  
Old 2010-08-20, 20:29   Link #38
Belmondo
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Uh, no. The game spoilers I read said:
Spoiler for details:
Though I'm only taking the word of whoever compiled the spoilers for it. Based on that, I guess if the show had followed the game more closely, it would have faded to black with the kiss, and we can then read between the lines...

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:
so the best ending, with its promises of being together forever, can only improve on that.

---

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.
Belmondo is offline  
Old 2010-08-22, 14:20   Link #39
Belmondo
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
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.
Belmondo is offline  
Old 2010-08-22, 16:27   Link #40
Hooves
~Official Slacker~
*Author
 
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Xanadu
Age: 29
You type to many words Belmondo

But double-posting is... Well Idk, I would just use the edit button to add more stuff to my post.
__________________
Freyja Wion from Macross Delta!
Signature from: TheEroKing
Hooves is offline  
Closed Thread

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 21:03.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
We use Silk.