「ある告白、そして死は……」 (Aru Kokuhaku, Soshite Shi wa…)
“A Confession, and then a Death…”

This episode proves that Kokoro Connect is the definitely not your average school-life/slice-of-life/drama anime. There are so many things I could say about this week’s episode that I don’t even know where to start. It was predictable but some things (mainly Heartseed) totally blew me away… I did not see that coming.

First things first… Yui and Aoki were two people that I thought would have more of the spotlight this week. Turns out, they only had a quick (second) confession from Aoki, which (to no one’s surprise) Yui put off responding to. I can’t say that Aoki isn’t a good guy… from what I see, he’s decent, devoted and although he has almost next to no background yet, I don’t see why he couldn’t be a great boyfriend to someone he likes. Yui on the other hand, absolutely left me stunned when she delivered the line involving her relationship with Taichi. Oh come on… why not? I told a commenter already that I think a Yui/Taichi ending would be unpredictable, yet lovable and that’s why I would enjoy seeing that coupling (although highly unlikely).

Moving along… that confession! I actually burst out in happiness when I saw that Taichi (actually) finally told Iori that he loved her! After last week, I was so convinced that it was Himeko would be who he was attracted to. But no! It’s Iori! *does her happy dance* < (^.^)> < (^.^<) <( . )> (>^.^)> < (^.^)> And for everyone that says otherwise, I respect your choice in girls. I’m sure all three of them have their appeal but I always thought that Iori deserved to have someone next to her and that someone is Taichi (not just anyone). Although, I could’ve seen that trick up her sleeve. Taichi should have known better and his little speech afterwards almost sounded like my post last week. In a sense, changing who you are around people and being adaptable IS a personality trait and that does not mean you’re “less of a person” but merely that is who you are.

Heartseed’s appearance blew me out of the water of course. He actually scared me a little when the mood/music dramatically changed and forced Iori to jump off the bridge. My heart stopped. Who does this guy think he is?! I just… could not fathom what his character is good for. Not to mention the bashing I had for episode 2 and the lack of motivation and explanations. I will not get into that again, but I still cannot understand why he is doing what he is doing. Who’s to say what is interesting or not? And why does he get to dictate the drama within the group? Even by the end of the episode, I was most upset with his character. He feels no remorse or sorrow or guilt for the pain that he put everyone through and for that, it’s almost like he lacks humanity. Someone like Heartseed cannot possibly by human… can he? I will deem him to be an alien for now. The “philosopher” in me would claim that his character himself lacks all these traits that the 5 protagonists portray and therefore needs this “experience” to help him identify to humans more closely.

The ending was… predictable in a sense. I could tell that the kiss was not “the end” for them and their relationship would have to carry forward. Iori is too important to die! The scene with Taichi gave me butterflies but at the same time, I pitied Himeko for having her first kiss stolen by someone who loved another girl inside her. That sounds quite messed up now that I think about it. I’m sure there are movies about this… (the only reference I can think of at the moment is The Host by Stephanie Meyer – which is a novel and not a movie yet). This only makes the love triangle more awkward… and with no previews this week, this seemed more like a cliffhanger than anything else. Someone once mentioned that this was the best anime of the season and I can definitely back that up with this episode.

Quick note: Thanks to Divine once again for doing my screenshots! I made him catch up with all 5 episodes just to do these caps for me, so thank you! This makes it a lot easier for me to keep on top of my shows during my 2 week-delay.

Full-length images: 05, 10, 19.

99 Comments

    1. those 2 shows are very close run and it boils down to personal preference… I would be hard pressed to choose one myself – almost as hard pressed as Taichi with his choice of girlfriend 😛

      ewok40k
    2. I think it would be better to make a poll at the end of the season to make statements, we are not going to butcher as zombie horde, lol XD
      I also think it’s the best series of the season in the classifications of romance, character development and history.

      Shadow74
  1. This is rather easily the #1 new show of the season. Beating out Jinrui in overall enjoyability for me. Its even fighting for the #1 overall show for the season imo, in a close fight with Lagrin and Horizon!

    The end was predictable for me, but for once I don’t find it to be that big of a problem, because the drama that was put into the production of Iori’s death despite the producers having to realize that most people would guess that she wasn’t going to die was amazingly well done!

    Freddeh
    1. Jinrui’s actually one of the only other shows I’m watching this season (other than my own). I love the story in KC and how it tries to be unique but Jinrui takes “different” in a whole new context and I love that too.

      Cherrie
  2. DAMN Heartseed!!!, scared the crap out of me. But everything was Ok in the end, Iori is still alive, yey!!. Perhaps watching a marathon of Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica right before this episode wasn’t the best choice, as the obvious conclusion of the former was “Things don’t always are what they look like”.

    Khamsin
  3. Heartseed certainly shot-up in my hated list. Burdening Iori with the knowledge that she will die was really cruel. I won’t deny it was a magnificent troll though.

    I did like how all the confession scenes were done. The scenes between Yui and Aoki were unusually mature and the scene between Iori and Taichi was really refreshing because it wasn’t dragged out.

    fragb85
  4. Awesome, te post is up 🙂 love this episode and your awesome post, Cherrie xD Thank you do much! And of course, than you Divine!

    So what should I say about the episode? Execution is as good as always, anime wasted no time in minor details (like in LN, Heartseed used the teacher’s money to cover medical expense, and Aoki said what he said so that Hemiko wouldn’t be the “bad girl” to say so). The drama, while could be thought as predictable to certain degree, was really touching and sweet… And most of all, 2 confessions in one episode!

    And here I have to concede and say tat Iori won the first round of “getting Taichi as BF” contest… But as a self claimed Taichi x Himeko shipper, I won’t give up… That smile of Himeko at the end, FTW!!! And even with Iori’s soul, Taichi still kissed Himeko (body), so as far as physical contact goes, Himeko is still leading the race 🙂 The race is still on, Himeko, fight on!!!

    Funny how the show could have ended right here, but with that title, we will head into vol.2 of LN next week…

    jrj
    1. First thing’s first, kudos to Sawashiro-san and all the CVs. Your magnificent body-switching performance will be missed! 😀

      Dat first kiss. I bet Inaban is secretly squealing in glee inside her head.
      DAT EVIL LAUGH 😀

      Tonberry
    2. NOoooo! I really want Iori and Taichi to stay together >_< I hate shows that progress by shuffling couples around... that's what soap operas are for and dramas =P In anime, I like to watch a couple get together and deal with the problems of being in a relationship together... that's probably why I love Bokura ga Ita so much =X Anyway this is getting off topic... I just think there should be more anime about post-confession rather than all the build up to it.

      Cherrie
      1. I just think there should be more anime about post-confession rather than all the build up to it.

        Cherrie, you should give Natsuyuki Rendezvous a try. It focuses more on the relationship development after a confession, plus it’s a (semi-)realistic look at an adult relationship. Also, it’s really good so far. 🙂

        Isabel
      2. cherrie, don’t take my words for it, since I am not the spoiler self here… Iori could win, who knows… (plus the LN isn’t over either, so anything could happen)

        and as to shuffling relationship goes… these guys are high school kids, and to be honest, relationship in high school is not all that stable to begin with, so shuffling isn’t as bad as it seems. Though agree that we have seen so many relationship build up in anime, but not enough post-confession drama 🙂

        jrj
  5. I agree the whole kiss thing was kinda messed up but as a result we get to hear Inaban’s sinister laugh so I’m satisfied ^_^.
    And there’s still quite a bit of episodes left so these pairings may not last. *biased toward a InabaXTaichi ending* hehe ;3

    Watt
  6. I think it’s a testament to how good this series is that I actually was ready for Iori to die – with other series you know the entire time that they wouldn’t have the guts to kill off a main character, but with Kokoro… predictable, yes, but I couldn’t be certain o.O

    ColBlitz
  7. holy. shit. I am probably alone in my opinions, but I hated this ep. Death is not a trifle. Not in a story with this much strength behind it.
    Yes they all learned something interesting, but you can teach that lesson in ways that doesn’t involve a friend on their death bed.

    I really really really wanna punch HS square in the jaw and fck that apology present just.. shove it up yer arse for all i care. fffff. Phones can be replaced, lives cant.

    Taichi really should’ve realized Inaban wouldn’t let it go that easily X3;. Selfless idiot.

    Again, just me, but I’d TL the ep title as “A Confession, then Death is…” leads in more to the falseness of the matter.

    In a setting where death is permanent, I cannot stand seeing it used as a plaything.

    kumakaori
      1. Shame on anyone who would take a death anything less than dead serious. I approve of their reactions, I disapprove of Heartseed who thinks he can play god. … Even Zorndyke knew he couldn’t do that.

        Gah, what I wouldn’t do for the essence of one of Asimov’s laws to apply, “A (non human entity) may not harm humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.” >.<!

        kumakaori
    1. Definitely agree with you there, I can’t stand Heartseed and what bothers me more is how the group is so easily pushed around by him and yet… can’t DO anything about it in the end -__-‘

      Cherrie
      1. We can’t understand Heartseed. For all we know he can have a “blue and orange” alien ethics. I am at least happy he didnt kill Iori. Even more I am inclined to not trust his words – even as they are our (and heroes) only source of info. A being capable of possessing someones body is for, a lack of better terminology, a demon, and there is no way our bunch of teens is capabale of defeating him. And given that he can be some sort of alien/energy life form/whatever, there is no telling if an exorcist would help, too.

        ewok40k
  8. What a curve ball! I didn’t expect Heartseed to appear and forced the jump. And then I thought Iori was really going to die… I can’t really describe how happy I was when the doctor announced she survives.

    Serapita
  9. Im Still rooting for InabaXTaichi ^^, great episode, i was in edge on my seat, thinking she dead? but when doctor smile, then i knew she was going to be okay. Best show this season i Agree!

    skyreno
  10. The ending was kinda predictable but still, what a twist! At least it didn’t end in a cliffhanger like a certain other accelerated world.

    The whole topic about death and dying was also well approached since it is something that people tend not to think about until they are faced with it. As expected their final decision was logical even though it still made for some tense moments beforehand.

    Also since dem confessions have been declared left and right, I wonder how things will progress from here..Taichi x Himeko shippers please board here! Yui x Aoki too!

  11. The last time I felt intense loathe for an antagonist was Kyubei in Madoka Magica. Now it seems that Heartseed has taken it a step higher. I mean, come on… Which is worse? Not disclosing the contract details or comandeering a body and put it in danger? I’ll let you decide.

    With regards to the ending, my heart was rapidly racing as the countdown to the 30 mins came to an end. I was silently praying and hoping that Iori survives. Thank god the surgeon said she was ok and inside me I was >> https://randomc.net/image/Kokoro%20Connect/Kokoro%20Connect%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2026.jpg

    Along came Heartseed and he dropped the bomb on us. Let’s just say a long list of profanities and crimes against the computer was almost committed.

    Never before, in my history of anime watching, have I felt 2 intensely opposite feelings bak to back in 1 single episode before. Kokoro Connect is certainly in a 3 way race for THE SHOW of the season; alongside Kyoukai Senjou and Lagrange. And it’s competing with Bake-Nise-, Fate Zero and Madoka Magica for the top anime spot in my list of watched animes.

    The Lagrange trio and the guys from Kyoukai Senjou gotta put in more if the don’t want to loose out for the top spot.

    c2710
    1. Oh I wouldn’t replace Kyuubey with anyone just yet. At least Heartseed admitted he was just messing with everyone and had no intention of actually killing Iori, and even offered a box of candies as a token of his apologies. You don’t see Kyuubey doing that with his devious smile.

      Kinny Riddle
      1. I wouldn’t mind so much if that means they’ll be taking their sweet time and pump out some real high quality episodes on the BD/DVD episodes. I like vol.4 so much the last thing I want to see is a rushed product 😀

        OrangeJuice
  12. Like Inaba, I had a sneaking suspicion that Iori would survive. They definitely played that up with the panning to the doctor’s mouth before he smiles.

    I’m pretty sure Heartseed was already established to be NOT human. I thought they said he was a psychic plant when he first showed up hence the name HeartSEED. May have just been a translation miss though, since that dialogue was confusing anyway.

    Inaban’s evil laugh is scarily awesome. >=)

  13. Heartseed you f****** troll, and boy have you trolled all of us badly.

    Does Taichi’s “kissing” of Iori in Inaban’s body counts as a NTR or reverse NTR or…?

    My head’s messed up. lol

    Kinny Riddle
  14. Woah, drama bomb. I was worried and excited they might go through with it.
    That said, I feel I should mention Inaba’s bro-moment before the bomb hit. I loved that punch so much.

    Bio D
  15. Wouldn’t say best of the season but definitely one of the better show of the season, this season just have so many good show ( Muv Luv Alt TE, SAO, Taritari, Campione, Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon, and a few others that I consider to be enjoyable) is been awhile since I enjoy a season so full of shows that I wanna watch, comparable to 1 or 2 shows the past few seasons.

    benz
  16. i’m not watching as many shows this season, but omgosh the shows that are being watched are quality!
    this episode was amazing but i think everybody knew that iori would not have died. the mechanic between the characters just wouldn’t have worked foreseeably, this goes for all 5 protagonists.
    the show is built too heavily on their interactions for a death to work.
    Sawashiro Miyuki is still one of my favourite seiyuus and this show just makes me love her more with her Inaba! her voice has this know-it-all onee-san vibe to her that is just so cool xD

    sto
  17. I was trolled by Heartseed – along our characters too! only Inaba was cynical/genre savvy enogh to suspect this a bit… But given he is our only source of info on hiself, I would not trust him yet to not harm anyone – until proven otherwise. His nature is so alien that
    The double confession this episode pretty much sets up main pairings for now, but everything is subject to change possibly yet.
    Inaba is going to make Taichi’s life hell for that kiss…
    I loved how Inaba described Taichi… gentle, awkward and stupid… and yet there was love shining thru her “insults”.
    In a sea of cookie-cutter fantasy hero harem shows, this series stands out for its character-driven drama and originality… well done!

    ewok40k
  18. Let me get this straight: –

    IN THIS EPISODE – The character who took advantage of “personality switching” to further her own agenda got mad at the character who took advantage of “personality switching” to further its own agenda …

    Yes I know it’s a rather spurious comparison (spying on yet another failed love confession versus giving the opportunity to choose who dies), but the similarities, if not the execution (pardon the pun) are there. I hope the story doesn’t go the same way as MuvLuv:TE and portray the annoyingly snarky tough-love approach as the correct one; can you tell I’m not fond of Inaban yet? But at the moment I can’t see any of the other four calling her out, at least until their own issues are sorted.

    J Jay
  19. This episode just marked this series in my Top 3 anime for the season. (And it’s battling with SAO in the #2 spot). My heart was breaking in the second half of this episode. And when Taichi hugged Iori and she let out that little moan of crying I started to cry with her D:. But then the doctor smiles, and my reaction is the same as everyone elses. “Huh?”

    Heartseed: Certfified Fucking Troll. When he gave Taichi the get well present my reaction was almost the same as his, meaning I just fell to my knees right there. And poor Taichi!!!! XD Inaban’s evil laugh at the end will make anyone scared to hell XD. I currently ship InabaXTaichi AND IoriXTaichi! I just can’t choose they’re both great!

    Anyway all is good 😀 (For now at least) I let out a sigh of relief and BIG smile when the ending song played and Iori opened her eyes.

    It’s in my Top 3 anime for the season, and it’s already this close to being in my Top 5 anime in History

    Swordhack4
  20. This episode is the most heart attack inducing episode I’ve seen for quite a while,..I was so happy with the confession then all of the sudden — Goddam! Up to the last minute I keep on saying to myself “Hey wait, this can’t be true right? She’s not gonna die right? Come on that person is trolling right?” Then the doctor came out, I’m holding my breath, I’m about to break into tears, the scene is becoming very painful to watch and then…the doctor smiled, I have a very hard time conveying into words the happiness I felt that time. This is a very AMAZING episode.

  21. If there’s ever an anime that trolled me in a good way, it’s this one.

    But seriously though. After a pent up aggression that I have from the latest Accel World episode, I was hoping that this episode of Kokoro would at least cheer me up. But then Heartseed shows up and did the unthinkable. Thankfully my rage gone on the spot after hearing the good news from the doctor.

    And while most people are creep-out by Himeko’s laugh, I was actually happy after hearing that. If things turn out different for Iori, we won’t be hearing that laugh at all.

    Terrorhunt
    1. Totally understand how you feel there. KC made up for the cliffhanger at the end of AW for me =P But this episode was just full of so many ups and down, I just couldn’t stop watching O-O

      Cherrie
    1. lol… I left the same message on the wrong post, rochichan, your koroko avatar confused me, xD
      as to the next arc, to put it in the broadest way, deals with desires, while vol.1 deals with identity… and I think the preview is left out for a good reason 🙂

      jrj
      1. lol… maybe I should have used “soul” instead? just thought identity would fit better with desire and Iori’s identity problem…

        and I am sorry to brought up your accursed memory… hopefully you didn’t have some prof as creepy and trolling as Heartseed xD

        jrj
      2. No worries jrj… The reason i totally hated those modules were for its long convoluted, flowery and indirect explanations of humans. Regardless if we’re from B.A or B.Sc, we were forced to take it. Almost every science student cried foul since the arts students had a clear and distinct advantage over us science students. Apparently our uni deemed that these anthropology modules were important in our course to become teachers. Now I’m already working and I still can’t see the relevance of it nor any of the examples cited.

        c2710
  22. Excellent episode, it was truly a roller-coaster ride .. it managed to even make me consider they are bold enough to kill one of the main characters half-way through the series .. aside from the excellent dialog and voice-acting .. the vagueness of Heart-seed personality, goals and powers really played a big role in making the viewers think he might actually kill Iori for real just to spice things up (since the whole thing is nothing more than an experiment for him).

    Even when Inaba mentioned that all either possibilities might be true (i.e that HS might be saying the truth or might be lying) i still had doubt that Iori might die for real … the tension was excellently done indeed .. i’m pretty sure most fans of the show let out a sigh of relief when Iori survived (resonating well with the reaction of her friends in the show .. now that’s how Slice-of-Life Darma is done ^_^

    HunterWulf
  23. This was total squeal worthy even though Himeko kissing Taichi wasn’t really Himeko ;-; *raise fist to sky* THEY WILL SOMEDAY!

    Great ep and I can’t wait for the next ep. time to get screencaps of Himeko kukuku

    shamaticgrl
  24. I’m still not seeing the Taichi x Lori relationship making sense. Himeko has been pushing for it too hard and Lori still needs to do far too much soul searching to understand who she is. Taichi x Lori seems like a more typical highschool relationship (in terms of relying on eachother), but Taichi x Himeko makes more sense as a healthy relationship.

    Foofiebeast
  25. Well, actually, I don’t know if I liked this episode or not. The whole thing was quite well done, but I guess it just didn’t work for me. It lacked emotion, they all were kind of static in the hospital even knowing that Iori was going to die, and the epic final wasn’t so epic if you think a bit about it. Anyway, it’s a good show and I’ll keep on watching it.

  26. Well then, how about that? Two confessions in one episode, as well as two different emotions in one – the sadness of the gloom that Iori’s potential death had, and the joy that followed afterwards.

    The next episode’s title, “Before we knew it, it had already started again” is keeping me in suspense – wonder what new emotions to exploit are in store, both for the Kokoro gang and the viewers?

    Ah, darn it. Now I really am having a hard time deciding between Inaba and Iori. Who to choose, who to choose?

    P.S. So little miss class president is serious about wanting Iori to be her lesbian girlfriend. Yummy. :3

    MarkBadong
  27. Oh, I forgot to mention – today’s episode practically concludes that all the issues between the five have been exposed and resolved. In other words we can stop watching here and consider it a happy ending for the Kokoro Connect gang…

    Or we can continue to watch and see what else this top class anime has in store. Will it degrade into meaningless fillers devoid of the same emotional weight as the previous few have had with all issues resolved? Or will it prove us wrong and show us even more emotions and situations to exploit? The title of the next episode is certainly possible proof of the latter.

    MarkBadong
  28. finished the light novel vol. 2.
    If I’m not wrong with the pacing, we’re having an epic (to me) scene from Inaban next episode.
    not going to spoil it, but just can’t wait for next week. argh….

    rice
  29. Ahh, Cherrie, yes, this totally resembles The Host! (I had actually just finished that book two weeks ago.) xD
    Back in episode 2, I saw some similarity between the parasites/humans in The Host and the personality switch in Kokoro Connect.
    Of course, they are not the same story, but I just feel that the morals and theme of individuality are there in both. (:

    But dude, that Heartseed guy REALLY scares me… [shudders] I had goosebumps when he was talking…urh! *~*
    I hope he won’t appear in the story again… But probably not; afterall, he said “they don’t know what he is capable of doing.” Dx

    Eburin
    1. I recall the comment you left way back! That’s probably why that reference occurred to me as I was writing =X

      Heartseed scares me too. I think it’s partially the music though when he’s on screen. It’s really eerie….

      Cherrie
  30. Why has no-one mentioned that incredibly manipulative scene of Iori pretending to be Inaba? I’ll admit, I was fooled at first because she even entered and sat the same way as Inaba, until she slipped up. Then Iori has the nerve to get all upset and run out the door just because Taichi didn’t realize she was acting? That’s kind of shooting herself in the foot there.

    God, I can’t be the only one who saw how many levels of screwed up that scene was.

    EchelonHunt
    1. You’re right, but, to me, it was the equivalent of a friend chatting with you from another friend’s screenname. Even if you’re expecting it, it’ll catch you off guard, and for the most part Taichi is trusting enough to believe people when they say they are who they are. Hindsight is always 20/20, too. Was it cruel of Iori? Yeah, but Taichi could use a few more ranks in skepticism.

      Considering her personality hinges on that fear of not having her own personality, yes she’s shooting herself in the foot, but it’s something she has to test, has to prove.

      kumakaori
  31. But my take is this :
    Heartseed is good alien even angel. He saw through 5 main characters,they had problems,issues in their life. This good alien or angel decided to help by this method,Kokoro connect,that’s it.

    Overcome obstructions made you grow.

    Topboy

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