True Tears - Episode 13 [END] Discussion / Poll

[HayashiTakara]

Oh crap... I completely forgot about this series... lol, it completely fell off my radar... I should go and watch the last episode before reading what everyone else is saying.

[cloudninja]

Originally Posted by Taricitous

a quick question to the final resolution,

Spoiler for resolution:

after all those events happened we see; jun moving on, noe moving on+making friends again (yay grats for her ^^), aiXnobuse been together then we have shinichiro walking to school by himself (seeing noe with her friends) and a class change (maybe a year has go by since nobuse no longer sat behind him) and hiromi playing basketball there is no supporting evidence that SHINICHIRO and HIROMI are together is there???? maybe its just me but if the writers wanted to end the series with shinichiroXhiromi why didnt they show a resolution with them happily together???? its this suppose to be a hint or something??? arhhhh why cant they just end things clearly ><

anyone with same or similar thoughts??? enlighten me please!

I don't think a whole year has gone by. It was snowing in winter when Shin and Hiromi had their final scene where they got together before the next scene jumped to spring with the cherry blossoms falling as Shin walked to school. The Japanese academic school year starts in the spring, in April so it was only a time jump of a few months at most. Here's a link to show the basic outline of the school year in Japan.

http://www.japan21.org.uk/teachers/s...japanyear.html

So they started a new school year in the spring and that's why Nobuse no longer sat behind Shin in class. I wonder if he or Hiromi are even still in the same class as Shin although Hiromi had previously always been in the same class as him since elementary school.

If you look at the final scene between Shin and Hiromi, it was the resolution of the central theme between them presented in the very first scene of episode 1. Shin drew a sketch of Hiromi, imagining to himself that Hiromi was always crying inside and saying that he wanted to wipe her tears away. Back then he did'nt know about the lie that his mother had told Hiromi, but anyway the story was set up so that both Shin and Hiromi were given a sense of urgency they did'nt have before, making it necessary for them to choose and act on what they wanted instead of letting their fears and inhibitions continue to hold them back.

Shin's feelings for Hiromi drove his major decisions in the story. He finally agreed to ask Noe out in episode 7 after having rejected Jun's requests to date Noe since the end of episode 4. He did so because Jun threatened to stop dating Hiromi, and Shin thought that she liked Jun at the time so he did it for her sake. In episode 9 Shin's concern for Hiromi made him embrace Hiromi in front of Noe and Jun, he fought over her reputation at school, and also his feelings affected his picture book of Raigomaru and Jibeta, all of which Noe noticed. At the end of episode 10, Shin chased after Hiromi. Episode 10 had Shin making several references about Hiromi's tears, both leading up to and during the chase itself. Finally, Shin was shown in episode 13 saying to himself "I wanted to wipe away your tears. Now, I'm finally able to do it" before he embraced Hiromi. It was a nice touch to show the snow start to fall and Hiromi saying "It's snowing". It was snowing back when Shin's mother told Hiromi the lie about them possibly being siblings, making the snow become associated with painful thoughts about not being able to be with Shin. Now the snow to Hiromi is given new meaning as she finally does get to be with Shin.

So the "Your Tears" that was said by Shin in the episode 13 preview that became the episode 13 title was in reference to Hiromi's tears because it was from that line he said to himself before he embraced her. Hiromi's tears of sadness were finally replaced by tears of joy in the end, that was a major focus of the story presented from beginning to end. The director and writers felt that it was enough to have Shin and Hiromi's final scene of this last episode be about Shin finally "wiping" Hiromi's tears away. I think he meant it figuratively as he did'nt physically wipe away her tears, he removed her reasons for crying tears of sadness. Her tears in the end were those of joy. If you want a happy couple scene of Shin and Hiromi, you can hope for one in a DVD special or that drama CD coming out. They probably felt it would be excessive and unnecessary to show the two of them being happy as a couple because it would upset the balance of this episode where they tried to show everyone else also taking a major step forward in their lives.

[Lumi360]

Originally Posted by cloudninja

If you want a happy couple scene of Shin and Hiromi, you can hope for one in a DVD special or that drama CD coming out.

No need for hope. Just wait 'till the Drama CD is out in June. Check the Merchandise Thread for more details.

[Taricitous]

Originally Posted by cloudninja

So they started a new school year in the spring and that's why Nobuse no longer sat behind Shin in class. I wonder if he or Hiromi are even still in the same class as Shin although Hiromi had previously always been in the same class as him since elementary school.

If you look at the final scene between Shin and Hiromi, it was the resolution of the central theme between them presented in the very first scene of episode 1. Shin drew a sketch of Hiromi, imagining to himself that Hiromi was always crying inside and saying that he wanted to wipe her tears away. Back then he did'nt know about the lie that his mother had told Hiromi, but anyway the story was set up so that both Shin and Hiromi were given a sense of urgency they did'nt have before, making it necessary for them to choose and act on what they wanted instead of letting their fears and inhibitions continue to hold them back.

Shin's feelings for Hiromi drove his major decisions in the story. He finally agreed to ask Noe out in episode 7 after having rejected Jun's requests to date Noe since the end of episode 4. He did so because Jun threatened to stop dating Hiromi, and Shin thought that she liked Jun at the time so he did it for her sake. In episode 9 Shin's concern for Hiromi made him embrace Hiromi in front of Noe and Jun, he fought over her reputation at school, and also his feelings affected his picture book of Raigomaru and Jibeta, all of which Noe noticed. At the end of episode 10, Shin chased after Hiromi. Episode 10 had Shin making several references about Hiromi's tears, both leading up to and during the chase itself. Finally, Shin was shown in episode 13 saying to himself "I wanted to wipe away your tears. Now, I'm finally able to do it" before he embraced Hiromi. It was a nice touch to show the snow start to fall and Hiromi saying "It's snowing". It was snowing back when Shin's mother told Hiromi the lie about them possibly being siblings, making the snow become associated with painful thoughts about not being able to be with Shin. Now the snow to Hiromi is given new meaning as she finally does get to be with Shin.

So the "Your Tears" that was said by Shin in the episode 13 preview that became the episode 13 title was in reference to Hiromi's tears because it was from that line he said to himself before he embraced her. Hiromi's tears of sadness were finally replaced by tears of joy in the end, that was a major focus of the story presented from beginning to end. The director and writers felt that it was enough to have Shin and Hiromi's final scene of this last episode be about Shin finally "wiping" Hiromi's tears away. I think he meant it figuratively as he did'nt physically wipe away her tears, he removed her reasons for crying tears of sadness. Her tears in the end were those of joy. If you want a happy couple scene of Shin and Hiromi, you can hope for one in a DVD special or that drama CD coming out. They probably felt it would be excessive and unnecessary to show the two of them being happy as a couple because it would upset the balance of this episode where they tried to show everyone else also taking a major step forward in their lives.

thanks after re-watching the series and reading your post, it made alot of sense to me and its not that i want to see them together happily ever after etc. it just seems they have been left out to me

[bbduece]

This show was superb til the mundane ending. The ending was too normal for a great show like this. Great show, meh ending.

[Synria_]

I just picked up this series and I am shocked. I couldn't find myself supporting one girl over the other and that made it the more difficult to watch. What an amazing series and I hope to never watch anything like it again. :'(

If I were to pick though, I personally would have liked Noe more because she is just so supportive and doesn't give a damn what others think. To put it bluntly, she took it like a "man." LoL... But damn, very hard to swallow... even if shin went with noe, then I would have felt bad for Hiromi too... God this is very hard...

I must say I would have probably felt better if shin went with noe though... she definitely put effort and deserves better.

[Taricitous]

I couldn't find myself supporting one girl over the other and that made it the more difficult to watch

i kind of agree with you there, its really nicely done just refer to the ratings it got hehe

I must say I would have probably felt better if shin went with noe though... she definitely put effort and deserves better.

yes and no, 2 sided arguement here haha (so hiromi doesnt deserve better after been lied to about the person she loved from childhood been a brother and the crap she had to take????)
anyways just commenting on my personally opinion again if noe wins i can accept that, however she didnt and well thats how it ended

[jaisrh]

I think one of the points the writers wanted to make was that Noe needed to wake up and get over her old beliefs/delusions, not reinforce them because they were holding her back from getting on with her life. For that she needed the strong dose of reality that she received to shock her out of her fantasy world.

The episode 12 title was something like From My Eyes That Do Not See Anything. It shattered the illusion that she was perceptive because in reality she did'nt notice some important things, mainly that Shin was already in love with Hiromi and her own brother had improper feelings for Noe. Combine that with now knowing that her brother had interfered by setting Shin up with Noe because of his own feelings for her and she started to get a sense of how twisted things became because of the mistakes and misunderstandings that occured earlier.

Her admission to Aiko in episode 10 that there were no such things as curses was an early start in her giving up her beliefs. After jumping off the tree in episode 12 and talking to her brother in the hospital she realized that she took things too far with the idea of chicken being able to fly. In the end she was able to cry without actually taking Shin's tears because she got over those beliefs that were holding her back. She even made friends and started to act the way normal girls should.

Those delusions that made viewers think Noe was cute and drove her eccentric behavior were actually harmful and held her back from growing up. The jump forward of several months at the end of this episode was symbolic in that it showed how much Noe changed from those few months compared to the years she was 'stuck' after her grandmother's death. Not only did her hair grow longer making her look different but she now had friends and was no longer the strange eccentric girl that everyone in school was talking about from before. It's hard to say what she was thinking as she looked at the stones. She now knows that when Shin did it at her request he was actually in love with Hiromi and her brother was the one who got him to ask Noe out. At the very least it remains as a reminder of an important lesson and period of time in her life.

The significance of the second picture book sketch in episode 1 was that she and Shin were supposed to meet because they each needed the development and growth from their experience together so they could take important steps forward in their lives. For Shin, it was because he did'nt have the courage to admit his feelings to Hiromi. For Noe, it was to get over the beliefs she had developed with the passing of her grandmother because those delusions kept her from facing reality and growing up.

As for the first picture book sketch, Shin wanted to wipe away the tears he knew that Hiromi must have been holding inside. It was a reflection of his being in love with Hiromi but he lacked the courage to act on his feelings which is where the 2nd picture book sketch tied into the first to form the core of the story about the Shin-Hiromi-Noe triangle. It's not that Hiromi could'nt inspire him to draw or dance as some viewers would like to think, the problem was in him not being able to express and follow through on his feelings for her in the first place. As a result of the mistakes and misunderstandings that occur in the story, Noe acted as the temporary substitute that helped him to draw and dance but his true feelings were for Hiromi as Noe learned and acknowledged later. He had feelings for Noe but they differed in type and scope compared to his feelings for Hiromi. He was in love with Hiromi, his feelings for Noe were more platonic as opposed to romantic because she was like an important friend who helped him realize what he needed to do.

[Taricitous]

Originally Posted by jaisrh

I think one of the points the writers wanted to make was that Noe needed to wake up and get over her old beliefs/delusions, not reinforce them because they were holding her back from getting on with her life. For that she needed the strong dose of reality that she received to shock her out of her fantasy world.

The episode 12 title was something like From My Eyes That Do Not See Anything. It shattered the illusion that she was perceptive because in reality she did'nt notice some important things, mainly that Shin was already in love with Hiromi and her own brother had improper feelings for Noe. Combine that with now knowing that her brother had interfered by setting Shin up with Noe because of his own feelings for her and she started to get a sense of how twisted things became because of the mistakes and misunderstandings that occured earlier.

Her admission to Aiko in episode 10 that there were no such things as curses was an early start in her giving up her beliefs. After jumping off the tree in episode 12 and talking to her brother in the hospital she realized that she took things too far with the idea of chicken being able to fly. In the end she was able to cry without actually taking Shin's tears because she got over those beliefs that were holding her back. She even made friends and started to act the way normal girls should.

Those delusions that made viewers think Noe was cute and drove her eccentric behavior were actually harmful and held her back from growing up. The jump forward of several months at the end of this episode was symbolic in that it showed how much Noe changed from those few months compared to the years she was 'stuck' after her grandmother's death. Not only did her hair grow longer making her look different but she now had friends and was no longer the strange eccentric girl that everyone in school was talking about from before. It's hard to say what she was thinking as she looked at the stones. She now knows that when Shin did it at her request he was actually in love with Hiromi and her brother was the one who got him to her Noe out. At the very least it remains as a reminder of an important lesson and period of time in her life.

The significance of the second picture book sketch in episode 1 was that she and Shin were supposed to meet because they each needed the development and growth from their experience together so they could take important steps forward in their lives. For Shin, it was because he did'nt have the courage to admit his feelings to Hiromi. For Noe, it was to get over the beliefs she had developed with the passing of her grandmother because those delusions kept her from facing reality and growing up.

As for the first picture book sketch, Shin wanted to wipe away the tears he knew that Hiromi must have been holding inside. It was a reflection of his being in love with Hiromi but he lacked the courage to act on his feelings which is where the 2nd picture book sketch tied into the first to form the core of the story about the Shin-Hiromi-Noe triangle. It's not that Hiromi could'nt inspire him to draw or dance as some viewers would like to think, the problem was in him not being able to express and follow through on his feelings for her in the first place. As a result of the mistakes and misunderstandings that occur in the story, Noe acted as the temporary substitute that helped him to draw and dance but his true feelings were for Hiromi as Noe learned and acknowledged later. He had feelings for Noe but they differed in type and scope compared to his feelings for Hiromi. He was in love with Hiromi, his feelings for Noe were more platonic as opposed to romantic because she was like an important friend who helped him realize what he needed to do.

holy, i must say this was really well written and states alot off interesting facts, never thought about the name of the episodes personally i guess it just means i should rewatch it ~ good job

[jaisrh]

Originally Posted by Taricitous

holy, i must say this was really well written and states alot off interesting facts, never thought about the name of the episodes personally i guess it just means i should rewatch it ~ good job

I think a lot of people missed out on a big portion of the meaning of the story. They were too focused on seeing things from the perspective of their own preference or bias. If you read the posts, some of them reflect 'selective' viewing where they emphasize the parts that reinforce their preference while dismissing or discounting the parts that go against it. It's their prerogative but that's not objective viewing. Also, the show is worth re-watching to catch the details that many viewers missed the first time, things make more sense with the advantage of knowing what comes later.

Personally, I prefer to take as much in as possible so I can understand how everything fits within the story and appreciate it as it is instead of using personal bias as the filter through which I view the story. Some others share my view, some are at the extreme opposite, while most are somewhere in between. It's been interesting to read the posts just to see how people think.

[Taricitous]

hehe yeap i know, but sometimes it is alot harder to do so since different series have different impact on different people , it is always nice to read what others think also and shred the 'light' for others

[Synria_]

Nice post jaisrh! Although i tried reading through the pages, i skipped a few pages as it got very longgg.

What's amazing about this story is that no matter what the outcome, the ending will always be sad and tragic. Picking any one girl will make the audience feel emotional for the others. There was no way it could have been a happy ending. The only thing I could think of was when there was a heavy suggestion that hiromi is Shin's sister... then of course they would be as such, but not romantic, but still be family... then obviously shin would end up with noe and they become relatives (sister in law's)... that would have been very POSITIVE for me.

Very very sad sad ending... I hope Noe finds true happiness in her life down the road... You can probably call me a Noe fanboy since I really liked her personality in this series.

If anyone can answer, I don't understand why hiromi would be devastated if she found out Shin was her brother? Did she love him before being told that story, so after hearing it, she realized she could never be with shin? I got confused because I thought she definitely knew she was his sister, but then later on it turned out to be a lie. Did she only hear about it right after she moved into Shin's house from Shin's mom?

[jaisrh]

Originally Posted by Synria_

If anyone can answer, I don't understand why hiromi would be devastated if she found out Shin was her brother? Did she love him before being told that story, so after hearing it, she realized she could never be with shin? I got confused because I thought she definitely knew she was his sister, but then later on it turned out to be a lie. Did she only hear about it right after she moved into Shin's house from Shin's mom?

It's not quite clear when Hiromi first developed feelings for Shin but it was probably around the time of the festival when they were younger as shown in her flashbacks. They likely knew each other even before then because their parents knew each other. It's been suggested that Shin's father perhaps had a similar relationship with Hiromi's mother as Shin did with Noe. Shin's father remained on friendly terms with Hiromi's mother which caused Shin's mother to become spitefully jealous which made her lie to Hiromi about her being possibly the half-sister to Shin to hurt Hiromi when she moved in after her parents died. She had no reason to think that she was related to Shin until then.

In episode 10 before she moved out Hiromi revealed that the reason she chose to move into Shin's house instead of somewhere else was because of Shin. She had fond memories of being with Shin at the festival in the past, and after the death of her parents she was hoping that Shin could help return her to that 'joyful place'. They both had feelings for each other going back well before Hiromi had moved in, probably around the time of the festival. They had been in the same class together since elementary school. It does'nt seem like they were close friends but they got along well until Hiromi moved in and distanced herself from Shin after the lie from his mother. They probably had the type of friendly but somewhat awkward relationship you see where both people are too shy to make any romantic progress. You know how you can act naturally around someone you only see as a friend but feel nervous around someone you like? That seemed to be what they were like and they probably thought they had plenty of time. Their feelings probably grew over the years as they continued to interact at school and maybe outside school as well, but they did'nt feel any urgency to take the major step to progress their relationship to that next level. That is until the events that unfolded in the course of this show which gave them plenty of urgency. That seems to be the setup that the writers made.

As for Noe, she has resumed more of a 'normal' life now. She probably realized all the beliefs she developed because of her grandmother's death kept her from actually dealing with life so she has gotten past them for the most part. She can cry now without taking Shin's tears as she thought she had needed to. She made friends for probably the first time in years. She still believes in flying but only metaphorically now instead of also literally like when she jumped off the tree. She'll be fine, her brother had been worried about her believing in what their grandmother said about her tears being taken away because he knew it was an emotional crutch since Noe used to cry all the time. It took a long time but Noe finally got over it in order to grow up. There's supposed to be a drama CD coming out in June as mentioned in the True Tears merchandise thread. It will probably show how Noe is progressing as well as how Shin-Hiromi and Nobuse-Aiko are doing.

[Synria_]

I see, so she started getting "hurt" when she found out she is possibly related to Shin and that sort of affected her heavily. Is it fact that she was not told of this until she moved in with Shin? Obviously..., that's the only way shin's mom could tell her anyway. So before she moved in with Shin, they both looked at each other as friends then right? Not blood related?

[jaisrh]

Originally Posted by Synria_

I see, so she started getting "hurt" when she found out she is possibly related to Shin and that sort of affected her heavily. Is it fact that she was not told of this until she moved in with Shin? Obviously..., that's the only way shin's mom could tell her anyway. So before she moved in with Shin, they both looked at each other as friends then right? Not blood related?

Shin never thought of Hiromi as being possibly blood related until Hiromi told him what his mother told her in episode 6. Even then Shin did'nt want to believe it. He thought his mother was probably messing around with Hiromi's mind and he was right. Hiromi's flashback in episode 6 revealed why she hated the snow because it was snowing when Shin's mother told her that lie around the time she first moved in, obviously it was a painful shock to her. Hiromi moved in hoping to get closer to Shin only to have his mother tell her that lie. Imagine her still grieving over her parents, holding onto hope of being with the one she was in love with and then being told such a cruel lie. Hiromi had no one to support her emotionally. At least Noe had her brother and a mother who they never showed because she was out working to support them.

[Shabazza]

um, could someone tell me why there's a little boy behind the last scene of Jun in episode 13?
He finally turned into a real pedo :>?

Sorry if that question was already answered, but I don't have the nerve to look through 18 pages and the search function is somehow broken 8/

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Shabazza

um, could someone tell me why there's a little boy behind the last scene of Jun in episode 13?

I don't think it means much of anything. Maybe the kid is supposed to symbolize Jun starting a new life? Throughout the show I noticed that they sometimes switched to that "art pause" at (what seemed to me to be) slightly weird times, and that was one of the ones I noticed.

[4F0ur]

im amazed to see soo many positive comments toward the ending

i personally thought it sucked!

reality or not....story doesnt have to be real.

i kinda felt like the author was just trying to mess with our feelings

everything was going good for noe until the last moment shin magically

remembered that he had to protect hiromi's tear.

whatever....i hated the serise after watching the ending....

other haters probably just dont wanna bother with this crap...so they arent

even coming here to vote for the ending

[Taricitous]

everything was going good for noe until the last moment shin magically

remembered that he had to protect hiromi's tear.

Everything was supposingly 'good' because she was never aware of Jun's feelings and fact that her favorite chicken died aint exactly 'good' is it? it only seems that way because of Noe's way to handle complications, she gets striaght to the point and she doesnt show a sad face now does she?

Shin doesnt 'magically' remembers that he had to protect Hiromi's tears, it was there through out the whole series, beginning to the end it was his intention to start off with and not something out of the blue, btw theres always a chance to remember something once its in your memory, its just finding it is the hard part

so if your going to complain about the ending, please do it with good support

[anselfir]

i have to discount noe's "good" moments as adding to her character, since her good moments are mostly devices to drive development of either the plot or other characters. that she was the one saying the wise words was a mere coincidence by convenience. noe's true character is not all that wise and decisive, but rather confused and vulnerable, and as such in need of more life lessons and less romantic love.

on my second run through it, i really saw deep dark vibes against 'noe ending' throughout the series. there were some on the first run, but not being invested with the fear of a hiromi loss makes things much more clearer.