「私の名前をあげる~The sound of your name~」 (Watashi no Namae o Ageru ~The sound of your name~)
“I’ll Give You My Name ~The sound of your name~”

Chiba has a seriously prickly personality, but her straightforward albeit a bit tactless attitude is admirable in my opinion. Romance can be a particularly awkward topic to broach when you are one of the parties involved, but she goes for the no-nonsense flat-out confession, and maintains her line even after being rejected. As a result though she has gone through some rough emotions with her feelings for Nitori, and as Ariga pointed out, feelings she still has. The odd triangle relationship that Chiba, Nitori, and Takatsuki have really complicates things, as any unreciprocated feelings can be very painful, as is especially evident for Chiba.

I thought it was great for all their friends to help out with writing the script for the play, but evidently Chiba doesn’t think so — perhaps wanting Nitori for herself. I feel really bad for her since I can’t help but feel her attempts are a lost cause, but I also wish she wouldn’t lash out at the goodwill of others as it makes her a very unlikable person. She showed herself as a pretty potent driving force in Nitori’s life in this episode though, and I always feel they ask some pretty deep questions for their age. The problem they face is a tough one for people of any maturity level and much more so for middle schoolers. Chiba’s question about what Nitori really wants actually brought tears to his eyes and got him thinking hard about himself. I’m guessing they haven’t talked with their parents and are instead dealing with it just with their friends, but cross-dressing has limits, and as Chiba brought up, surgery can change things, but even that has an extent.

Both Nitori and Takatsuki still have to continue to deal with the issue of puberty and they use clothing and swap names to attempt to reverse their gender roles. Their struggles and concerns manifest themselves through the Romeo and Juliet play they hope to do, and I can’t help but wonder what their classmates will think. I imagine most people won’t be that tolerant and would get very uncomfortable with an issue like that. So far though, most people seem supportive or at least indifferent. I like how they show snippets of other characters, but it doesn’t break from the flow since everything shown is still revolving around the main characters while at the same time making the interactions so much more intricate. Anna for example doesn’t really seem to have a major role in the story, but her creepy gift to Nitori was pretty quirky and contributes to the development. Plot-wise though things moved extremely slowly, and at this rate the actual play may not be seen anytime soon.

Note: I’ll be blogging this series now.

 

Preview

31 Comments

      1. That’s true. I guess I just wasn’t expecting her because her roles are rare these days and the last time I’ve heard her was in White Album more than a year ago.

        I actually did recognize Horie Yui. It’s probably because I’ve been hearing her more often lately.

        Sjin
  1. PR0OOF!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU FOR PICKING THIS UP!! T_T color me surprised seeing HM back here in RC! YEHEEY! XDD

    anyhow, i really really felt bad about saori. DX I can’t help but want her with nitori now *shot* ah,i can’t stand it.DX

    i am just going to pretend i didn’t realize nitori’s real preference. >.> he sees taka as a boy. ok,i like to believe not.XD anna is so pretty! nao yuuki look-alike! XD she’d play a huge role in nitori’s life.XD

    keiOnDaisuki
  2. oh wait, i forgot to mention chizuru awesome figure! XDDD it’s so funny how momo’s envious of the other girls body. XDD she doesn’t have a shape.XDD

    oh, since nana-chan’s related here,i might as well inform those who doesn’t know yet that she won at BJMA 2010 yesterday. XDD

    keiOnDaisuki
  3. I am so glad you are blogging this show. This is one of my favorite shows this season. Chiba is my favorite characters. She is utterly refreshing and a lot of her unlikeable behavior resonates as very real to me. People ARE petty and jealous which drives similar behavior.

    Belle
  4. Chiba is not sinister after all. I kinda sympathize with her for this was her chance to get closer to Nitori but that damn teacher had to ruin it and she had to put off doing the script with Takatsuki. This cap is just epic, wonderful, magnificent and brilliant that it totally reached me.

    I lol’d so hard when Sarashina showed up in bikini for their swimming class and when Chiba blurted out mass suicide to get Nitori’s attention.

    Some may say this series is boring but not for me though. Im amazed as this series never fails to deliver some good laughs and drama(but mostly drama) thus, this is becoming my favorite anime for this season and thanks for picking this up 🙂

    Nhelraios
    1. i agree with you man. hearing her prayer brought me to tears.it was a selfish wish,but i just can’t help but feel sorry for her. T_T sometimes, shows with unrequited love make me depressed,and i’m feeling it here.DX

      everybody’s getting their love unreturned. DX what a life.

      keiOnDaisuki
  5. I am glad and surprised you chose to take up this series. If you ever feel like you are running out of material, I know a lot of blogs (though a minority out of all anime blogs) doing this series from different perspectives. The most interesting one that I am following is author by a trans woman. It has a lot of insights in this episode I really had not thought about in depth. Like the fact that finding a new name to replace their birth name is a really big deal for transgenders in transition.

  6. The first three episodes were basically a holding pattern for me. All the characters look alike at first glance — male and female. And they didn’t seem to do anything, they just stated their position. The teacher’s decision has forced their hands.

    As a result, they’re doing something about their situations. And it’s getting interesting. I like that they have their own little world that’s part of the larger world but very distinct.

    Chiba is probably my favourite character of the lot. Don’t know why yet but her frankness is appealing somehow.

    Mockman
  7. I have grown a huge soft spot for Chiba because at first she just appears as a bitch, but as you unravel her character you realize (as I said before) that she’s just got problems with socializing. She feels entirely too much for most people to understand, be it love, hate, sadness, or happiness. Her character is realistic to me and so very relatable. Her negativity and lack of self-esteem hits home more than any other character I’ve ever seen, more even than someone completely wallowing in self pity and despair like Ikari Shinji or someone who commits suicide because she continues on with the hopes and aspirations of finding happiness.
    Anyway, needless to say, I’m a fan of her character. 🙂

    innerchihiro
  8. I’m glad you picked this up Prooof. ^^ The questions they ask themselves and others really are pretty deep for their age but I guess when you’re going through what they are going through you have no choice but to. Your opinion of Chiba is the same as mine Prooof and that’s why I like her. I guess I’m rooting for her instead of Takatsuki even though I know it won’t happen XP

    Justa_Dream
  9. Well if they do make a season 2 that’s really the only option they have that or the very prequel like how that SSS formed and how they all got to the point they are

    Interesting episode I find very few animes this serious while also being charmingly funny

    Torrigan
  10. thanks prooof! xD the posts are gone.

    anyhow, i really wanted to share another awesome news:

    k-on! manga returns in manga times kirara on spring!! *restrains himself from screaming* L0L. i’m so overjoyed.T_T

    ok, on topic, I CAN’T WAIT FOR NEXT EP! XDD hopin to see more chii-chan. XD

    keiOnDaisuki

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