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「上崎裡沙編 シンジツ」 (Kamizaki Risa-hen – Shinjitsu)
“Kamizaki Risa Chapter – Truth”
I probably should have held off on the poll until this first of two bonus chapters, but I’m almost certain I would’ve felt bad for Rihoko if I did. With just a single episode to her name, Risa would’ve easily surpassed her and probably some of the other girls too. As Junichi’s stalker since elementary school, she’s not nearly as bad nor plain as she makes herself out to be. In fact, I couldn’t help but feel a bit stricken by the cute charm from her forwardness about both her bust size and her feelings by saying “ureshii” a lot. I’m not even a huge fan of her seiyuu Kadowaki Mai either, since she tends to fade into the background with her soft-spoken roles. As Risa, it actually turned out to be the perfect voice to portray her timid yet adorable personality though. She sure made a case for herself as far as stalker girls and straight bang haircuts go as far as I’m concerned, the latter of which edges out Tsukasa’s because of long side bangs and dyed color. What can I say? I’m a fan of her character.
On top of all the cuteness that she exuded around Junichi, this bonus episode’s seemingly comedic take on her meddling with all the other girls ended up being quite a pleasant way to conclude the series. I realize that “conclude” is kind of a wishy-washy term for a series that’s already provided us with six different endings, but Risa’s addresses the untold story on Junichi’s Christmas trauma. The girl in question all series is Makihara Mika (Harada Hitomi), who’s currently attending KimiKiss‘ Kibina High School (much like her uniform indicates), and whom Risa protected Junichi from after finding out she was going to dump him in front of everyone as her messed up form of entertainment. While I can easily cough that up to the heartless immaturity of middle school kids, the interesting bit is how Risa saved Junichi from that traumatic experience and presented him with a different one when she lied to Mika about a meeting location change. In light of how she’s been looking out for him all this time, Risa really started looking like Junichi’s fated girlfriend, which was further reiterated by how her love for him stemmed from his days as a spirited boy drinking her milk. It’s probably no coincidence that they wanted to make Junichi out to be the one responsible for her small breasts, due to the superstitious Japanese belief that drinking more milk helps them grow, but even that was kind of cute to see since I was thinking how Junichi better “take responsibility” for it.
Looking back, it’s a bit of a shame that Risa’s story was only covered in a single episode; however, AIC went about it really well by showing the lighthearted side of things with her fake photograph of Junichi with another girl to get all his potential love interests off his back. Tsukasa in particular was funny to see, as was Ai who tried to feign indifference but failed miserably. Following up on that was Risa’s touching apology for interfering and tearful thanks to Junichi for letting her be his girlfriend for a short period of time. I don’t know how anyone would have not felt compelled to reach out to a kindhearted girl like Risa after learning that she likes him and meant well, so the final scene where Junichi stopped her yet seem upset at first was one of the sweetest moments all series. It gave new meaning to the whole traumatic premise and addressed it, making this worthy finale to an omnibus formatted series that didn’t seem like it even had one lined up.
ED7 Sequence
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ED7: 「恋のゆくえ」 (Koi no Yukue) by Kadowaki Mai (門脇舞以)
Watch the 7th ED!: Download, Streaming ▼
Final Impressions:
While there’s still the chapter on Miya that’s will be available on the 13th and final BD/DVD volume slated for April 20th as the mid-episode ticker announcement indicated, this is the conclusion of the televised run and warrants a look back on the series as a whole. It’s hard to believe I’ve been covering this series for six months and now it’s suddenly over, because it’s easily become one of my favorite to watch this past year. I was already eagerly looking forward to it after seeing the cast of characters and the seiyuu set to play them, in hopes of getting a very similar romantic drama like its sister series KimiKiss. Much to my pleasant surprise, the use of the omnibus format that sections off the series into various mini stories made this latest adaptation of Enterbrain‘s romance simulation game better than I was anticipating. It’s not a format I’ve seen anime use before, but its use here drove the point home that it’s exactly what I’d like to see in future adaptations of this kind. Rather than stretching out a single pairing for thirteen or twenty-six episodes, having four on each felt like the sweet spot and came with the obvious advantage of providing multiple endings. In addition that benefit, what I particularly like was how each arc depicted how Junichi changes depending on who he’s with, emphasizing the idea that falling in love can really changes a person. From the more unsightly side to his character to the more admirable ones, we got it all thanks to the once iffy-looking omnibus format.
As far as romance drama anime go, Amagami turned out to be a very good offering even though it didn’t get nearly as dramatic than another series this past fall. Regardless, I really like how it maintained the high school feel and kept things interesting within that realm. There weren’t any potentially gimmicky plot devices and instead just a diverse cast of characters and their distinct nuances, whose interactions with our male protagonist were enough to provide ample romantic entertainment. Only on a few occasions did I really get a sense of profound love was in the air, but the back and forth developments leading towards an eventual relationship made it a lot of fun to watch. The girls are the focus after all, so seeing them in all types of scenarios and how they react and fall for a fairly normal guy had plenty of perks on it own. Given how that was all I was hoping for, this series delivered really well in that regard and has me hoping for more lighthearted romance like this in the near future. It’s a bit difficult to compare it to the likes of true tears that I was hoping it would fill the void it left behind, but Amagami is praiseworthy in its own right for everything it did well. In terms of being my favorite romance/drama of the year, it’s definitely high on my consideration list for 2010.
Finally, here are the results from the Amagami poll posted last week as promised. Much like I was expecting, Tsukasa took the win easily with Haruka a somewhat distant second. At the bottom, it doesn’t come as any surprise that Rihoko is dead last after the ending she got. I am a bit surprised that Ai edged ahead of Kaoru by a fair margin though, as I am with the paltry number of votes that Sae received. I’m fairly confident that Risa would’ve eclipsed both Rihoko and Sae, and probably would’ve stolen some votes from Kaoru and Ai as well.
Final results: Tsukasa, Haruka, Ai, Kaoru, Sae, Rihoko.
Isn’t there a Miya episode up next? So then this isn’t the last episode.
Divine already wrote about that in the post. It’s coming with the BD/DVD coming out April 20.
Pretty good series overall. I voted for Haruka….but then wish I voted for Tsukasa. It’s alright. 😀
I wish they added more episodes to cover more.
Risa would’ve destroyed everyone in the poll :P. I liked her more than all of the heroine’s (and that’s not saying that any of them were bad by any means).
If Her story was longer, then she would fall in 3rd place behind Tsukasa and Haruka. Haruka’s carefree personality and undoubtedly attractive and Tsukasa’s complex personality and wits are hard to beat.
thanks for the post 🙂
Risa as stalker is sure fearsome yet sweet! Junichi is such a lucky bastard XD
Risa is one of my favorite heroine in just mere 1 episode… sweet stalker girl is sure fearsome XD
too bad the series is over (lol, I am not anticipating anything out of Miya’s arc except Nishishi)
hope there will be more good romance series like Amagami!
and Poor Rihoko 🙁 your love will be remembered…
favorite episode!
i loved risa. such a crazy stalker
girl but gosh she is so KAWAIIIII!
Wow, the polls ranks the girls and arcs in the same order I like them in. Mind you I have a soft spot for all of them (Risa too). Risa is definitely high up on my list of favourite girls in the series but Tsukasa is still my chosen one.
Thank you Divine for blogging the series, I would’ve never considered it if it wasn’t for you. I could kiss you now you know. This show is currently my favourite high school romance and hope to see more shows in its image. It’ll sorely be missed. Looking forward to seeing Miya when the time comes.
hmmm…
maybe I should check this out, I think I can still squeeze one ep in my watch list…
I was surprised when the episode started with a sudden confession lol, anyways despite that and only getting one episode I still liked her arc(I’d say second to Tsukasa). The showing the photo to the girls was a bit selfish though but I loled hard at that scene.
Riza Cuteness Overload!!<3
Amagami is a great romance series, thanks for blogging this Divine :3
Damn I’d like to see who’s that girl with Junichi in that photo!! XD
They changed Tsukasa’s awesome moment though. In the game, she was the only one who didn’t believe Risa. She is Tsukasa after all, the one person qualified to detect BS.
“Risa Cuteness Overload!!<3"
That pic just screams, “Risa Kamizaki for ISML 2011!”
“They changed Tsukasa’s awesome moment though. In the game, she was the only one who didn’t believe Risa. She is Tsukasa after all, the one person qualified to detect BS.”
Well, it won’t be Risa’s arc anymore if that happened…
dang! I thought haruka’s gonna topple them all. Well, atleast she’s second,..again. Dx anyway, i think risa’s my 2nd favorite amagami girl now. LOL. But i’m still hoping for miya. XD BTW, I still like kimikiss better. ‘kiss kiss koishiteru yo’ xD
This was a good episode, but I feel that Risa’s story more than anything else deserved a full arc of its own. Seeing as how Junichi’s traumatic memories of Christmas was a significant recurring theme throughout the entire show, to explore the girl who was most directly involved with the incident that caused it all would have been very well warrented. I’ve no doubt that the revelation that Risa was the one who interfered with his date two years ago would have been far more powerful if it and its resolution had been spread out over a couple of episodes. Instead, we get a boatload of exposition and an instant acceptance of her explaination crammed into a frame of three minutes. It’s a shame, really.
Oh, well. It is what it is.
Am now eagerly awaiting the God-tier sister arc!
Wow. They made Risa alot nicer than she was in the game. In the game she was not sorry for manipulating everyone, and she sure as hell didn’t apologize for what she did. And if Junichi rejected her, she goes full Yandere mode, spreads bad rumors about Junichi making him a social pariah and killing any chance he had for getting a girlfriend. So yeah… this nicer Risa might have turned out for the better.
…now I’m even more angry that Rihoko didn’t get the better ending (I guess I have a thing for childhood-friend romance).
a very well done episode; Risa seems really pitiful but I’m glad she got a nice ending 🙂
I have mix feelings about Risa. For one thing, how do we know she was telling the truth about Makihara? Even if it was true, why didn’t she tell him the truth two years ago?
Also the fact she ruined his relationship with the other girls is just selfish all because she believes they were gonna hurt his feelings. Excuse me!? Risa just hurt his feelings more than any of those 6 girls combined!
But the fact she does feel guilty on what she’s done and did really cared about Junichi somehow earns her some sympathy.
As i said, i have mixed feelings about her and i wouldn’t call her the best girl of the series.
Although initially I was unconvinced that what Risa claims about Makihara is the truth, I have to give her the benefit of the doubt, given that she seems to be doing what she thinks is right for Junichi. The way Makihara acted when she and Junichi finally met again seemed to indicate that she wasn’t at all that bothered by the incident. She acted quite casual and jolly, whereas Junichi still showed that he was hurt from what had happened. Makihara may have been hurt too, but has gotten over it; however I highly doubt it.
True, Risa didn’t tell Junichi sooner, but it’s her nature; she’s shy and ‘plain’. I guess because of that, she had to resort to doing things like spreading false information, stalking and ruining other relationships in order to protect Junichi.
We all have our ways of dealing with things, and I believe Risa she has good intentions, although the way she goes about it may not seem so ideal for the best result >_>
Still, I quite like Risa, and I wished her story expanded to just more than one episode. It had the distinction of addressing the Christmas Eve trauma, as Divine mentioned; an incident which I have been curious to know about since episode 1. Not to mention her pretty looks and timid and kind nature, something I find quite attractive xD
I’m with MrTerrorist, I for one think the part about Makihara could have been exaggerated, How would Risa have know she was gonna dump him? That is of course the Subs I watching had something missing in translation and that the original intent of her explanation was that makihara TOLD her she was going to dump Junichi.
Risa said she was invited to come and laugh at Junichi. That’s how she knew what Mika was planning. It sounded like Mika invited all the girls in the class.
miya episode yay
Fantastic write up as usual Divine. I also feel bad for Rihoko as I don’t think she got the arc that she deserved. But that aside, Risa’s hair is absolutely delicious! I just wanna play with it so bad. It’s so beautiful and she has such a cute personality in this rendition of her.
Despite being a stalker she is one of the most sympathetic characters with a background that was explored much deeper than a lot of girls which surprised me given the length of her arc.
Now excuse me while I watch her adorable waddle again.
Amagami followed an omnibus format but Risa’s arc seems to take place in an alternate universe where the 6 arcs were going to take place but were sabotaged, here is an example:
Risa: I’ve come to sabotage your arc Rihoko-san… oh, nevermind.
I thought Risa was an junior (Miya’s classmate).
Kaoru got 4? I’ll blame bad taste, yes!
Nice episode and thanks to Amagami for 6 months of School slice-of-life Romance; I ’ll be 74 and will remember “Ah, yes… I watched some shit about a guy with a bunch of girls he liked” and be ashamed of it! pure treasure! snif*
Loved the omnibus format, I think it’s the best policy when it comes to Harem anime so we can avoid the “ugh… 24 episodes of a guy unsure of the girl he likes and will probably not pick anyone at the end” and “But my favorite girl was this one! argh! time for fan-fiction!” everyone is happy, unless they mess up the arc.
See you at Miya’s special… damn, I don’t want this to end!!!
I am amazed how Risa managed to win me over in just one episode, perhaps it was her determination, and the cutting off all nascent relationships was just hilarious, as much as it was cruel for the girls involved.
I’m confused. If junichi didn’t drink her milk he would have had a big breasted girlfriend. But if he didn’t drink her milk she wouldn’t fall in love with him…
I am more confused by them serving milk in school. Aren’t most Japanese lactose intolerant as that tolerance is a mutation originating in Northern Europe?
If it was best girl for junichi i wouldav voted for rihoko.. however, its just best girl.. which means my favourite.. so it was tsukasa for me as well 😀
Risa all the way!
Risa she’s so cute
Unfortunately, She has only one episode
GOD MY OH! YES! RISAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! ~~~ <3 *gets stepped on by Tsukasa* (Tl;dr commentary in spoiler)
Show Spoiler ▼
Divine, I’m glad to see you enjoyed blogging this show as much as I enjoyed posting droll-humored, reference-filled, trope-speak color comments (or my attempts at it) for most of the episodes… XD
Anyway, (belated) Happy Holidays to the RC crew and you all!
I believe Risa with 4 arcs would be more interesting, sadly due to being a season >< if only they have more of risa arc in the blu ray, or push the entire arc into 4 episodes.
Now I’m torn between Tsukasa and Risa 🙁
she should start drinking milk so her boobs get bigga. O yeah!
OMG nice “ark” shoved in to a episode and i love how they linked Risa breaking up all the other relationships. i was in awe at that part and it was epic seeing tsukasa’s face after she saw the picture. i really have to say with in 1 episode she managed to push her way up my list…..be it not very high up….up still with in 1 episode!
in my list
Haruka > Tsukasa > Ai > Stalker-chan(Risa) > Kaoru > Rihoko > Sae
No school days ending? 🙁
junichi don’t deserve any girl.. what’s make him special ???
Been watching all of the Blu-rays for this show and love how they added more content to each arc. I would love to get more of Risa.
I was struggling between giving my vote to the four highest voted girls, but in the end my vote went for Kaoru, probably cause I knew somewhere inside that she’s not likely to get enough votes from people.
Don’t know why so many ppl pick Tsukasa, no matter if is manga or anime Nanasaki still my favorite. But for Tsukasa the manga version is so much better, anime version piss me off.
The thing about 4 episode per arc thing is kind of annoying for me, cause they really rush a lot of the events, some girls need an episode or two more to build up a relationship cough cough Tsukasa and some could use less cough cough Rihoko.
It’s like asking I don’t get why you would put Ai’s story over Tsukasa’s either. Are you judging by her character and not the arc itself? But whatever, different strokes, for different folks.
Yeah, the Nanasaki arc in the anime was a bit meh compared to the manga. The special thing about Nanasaki is that she noticed the pervertedness in the male lead, accepted it and even did some pretty naughty things with him. I guess that part was too steamy for prime time TV. I wonder if it will be in the DVD specials?
I don’t know about you guys, but in my world, we callz her a ‘Cock Block’ or to shorten the term, ‘Bitch!’
I can sympathize with her reasons for doing so, but if I find that a girl has been chasing off potential attractive girlfriends, I’d be pretty upset.
In real life we call these girls control freaks … next thing you know she will be reading your emails, dictating what friends you should have, what time you should eat/sleep, etc. I know live example of these people. Looks only gets you so far …
So small love for Sae =(
Personally I enjoyed Risa’s arc a lot more than Haruka, Kaoru and Rihoko put together. Her single episode was gold. Ai and Sae remain my favorites though… but I tie Risa with Tsukasa. Yes, my likes are messed up. 😛
Finally watched this episode and I must say that Risa is a very cute stalker that people might like to have as long as it everything ends in a good way.
i wonder in game how junichi clear himself in order to get their hearts if risa kamizaki spreading rumors
Its been, ironically, 2 years and nothing compares to true tears yet =/
This episode has no Miya at all!
;_;
I didn’t really like this episode for a final episode. The last episode in the Tsukasa arc would have been a great way to end the series. That’s just my opinion, though. Maybe this could have been episode 13 after the Sae arc and before the Ai arc. A good way to prep us in between arcs. Hopefully, the specials will be much better.
and what about the last heroine in the poll??
she was kinda awesome
Good end. For me it’s a tie between Tsukasa, Haruka, and Risa.
Although Risa was an excellent character, it was a little heartbreaking to watch Sae’s, Rihoko’s, and even Ai’s reaction to Risa’s plans. If anything, Ai’s failure to feign indifference actually made it more painful for me. I can’t help thinking that Risa would be the ultimate character if she didn’t act so jealously/selfishly. Being that I could see how she wanted to protect Junichi, but a lot of that was lost when her monologues told of how jealous/paranoid she was.
As mentioned at animesuki, it seems a little weird how EVERY girl would seem to buy SO easily into Risa’s shopped photo and everything.
I believe the examples brought up were usually Kaoru, Rihoko, and Tsukasa overall (IIRC, they said that Tsukasa actually DIDN’T fall for it in the game and it depended on choices by you, the player, with getting with Risa and all). Kaoru and Rihoko simply because of being good friends of Junichi, so would’ve probably noticed something different about him from having a girlfriend already (or, with Kaoru, would’ve gotten the info out of Umehara who Junichi more than likely would’ve told if he had a real girlfriend or not), and Tsukasa simply because she’s that smart and good at reading people.
Haruka was also mentioned a few since, despite her acting pretty out there, she’s certainly not stupid. I guess it would also depend on WHEN she was told cause if Risa told her AFTER Junichi’s 2nd confession, then it would seem a bit odd that she’d buy into Risa’s story so easily. (And considering how closely they were interacting when Risa saw them together, it couldn’t have been THAT early into their relationship.)
I can only chalk it up to Risa only having 1 episode.
Good Ending !
I liked Risa’s last episode, it explained really what happened.
For me Haruka, Tsukasa and Risa Arc FTW!!! Theyre all my number 1!