OP3 Sequence

OP3: 「夢の続き」 (Yume no Tsuzuki) by 鈴木このみ (Suzuki Konomi)

「冬の一歩手前で」 (Fuyu no Ippotemae de)
“Just a Stone’s Throw to Winter”

Ohhh my, how I’ve missed this show. I didn’t realize it quite so much until I saw the first part of the episode play, with that delightful dream that was a little too Misaki-like crazy to be true. Sakurasou, how I’ve missed thee so!

Erhm…anyway, so picking up where we left off, Mashiro is now in full otome-mode, trying to get close to Sorata, or failing that, just be near him (*nosebleed*) when she can. I’ll admit that here, Sorata acted a bit too typical-dense-male-anime-lead for my tastes. I will remind you that it’s often harder to understand what’s going on in a relationship when you’re party to it – compared to being on the outside, where it’s generally obvious as hell – but that said, Sorata did surpass the understandable level by a fair bit. Mashiro searching for him with no real purpose, wanting to learn to cook, and reacting so forcefully when he told her to…but wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. Suffice to say, it was obvious from the get-go what was going on in her head.

But she wasn’t the only one! One of the best things about this episode was seeing Misaki-sempai in full attack. While miniskirt santa is something that I believe every man should see at least once in his life (c’mon future Stilts girlfriends, get with the program!!), it was her putting the marriage registration form in Jin’s locker that really made me laugh! My biggest wonder is how they’re going to stretch this out when Misaki is attacking so much. Especially since it’s so obvious that Jin is dodging the matter. Rather than dense, Jin is just being silly. Why do I feel like these two form an accurate picture of my gender? Orz.

If Sorata disappointed me somewhat with his denseness, he partially redeemed himself later in the episode. When he was talking to Ayano, she gave him the choice between the old Mashiro and the new Mashiro, between the steely eyed artist and the uncertain girl. Given that choice, there are certainly people who would choose the latter, though like Ayano this would almost certainly be based on the assumption that the artist would not go away. Yet Sorata chose the artist. I respect this, in that Sorata respected most of all the Mashiro that chased wholeheartedly after her dreams. Balance is important, but that kind of single-minded determination is admirable as well.

That said, Sorata undoubtedly went about it in the wrong way. Were he more clear-minded and less dense, he would have been able to tell Mashiro that what he liked about her wasn’t her cooking, but her determination to draw a great manga. And perhaps that is still to come. In the meantime, spurred on by his second loss in the contest – and an even harsher one this time, him not even getting into the second round – he undoubtedly overreacted. I must say, I thought that the natural progression would be failure –> Nyaboron –> success, so I was pleased to see that he still had more work to do before reaching that plateau. As for reacting that way…well, depression has always been my way over anger, but to each their own. Even if Sorata has some serious apologizing to do.

Oh and by the way, Mashiro’s “If that’s what you want, then get out of me!“? I hng’d~ quite a lot from that statement. She’s starting to understand that there is this feeling inside of her, even if she doesn’t grasp what it is quite yet. I also appreciated how when she said that, some of the emotionless girl fell away and Kayanon used something closer to her normal voice. Nicely subtle. Ohandalsox2, “then get out of me”? That’s what she said. Sorry! Couldn’t resist.

Fortunately, it’s not only the Mashiro ship that’s getting some fuel this week. There was also Nanami, who is finally making her move! After giving her those tickets, I for a second thought that Jin might be on her side, but I don’t think so. I do think he empathizes with her though, and wants to push Sorata and the girls along enough so that they figure out their feelings. As for Nanami…well, I still favour the Mashiro ship a bit, but it continues to be a close thing. You go, Nanami! Even if you end up losing your beau, give it your best shot. At least then, you’ll have no regrets.

Oh, and Sorata? You don’t realize what you’ve stumbled into by accepting her invitation. Prepare for a fun x-mas eve, shounen…youluckybastardyou!!

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – #sakurasou is back with confused Mashiro, aggressive Misaki, & aggressive Nanami too. Also, new OP & ED. Build, build, build the drama up…

Random thoughts:

  • Obligatory commentary on the new OP: overall? S’alright. I feel like it speaks to the more dramatic parts of Sakurasou, but it doesn’t get me as pumped up as much as the seiyuu-sung OP1. We’ll see though. I always have a bias towards the first OP & ED I hear (at least for a bit), so it may grow on me.
  • Good idea on passing Rita off to Ryuunosuke, Sorata. Meido-chan’s wrath aside, that’s exactly what I would have done. Though in fact, that may make it better *e-swoon*
  • Mashiro loves knives so much she can’t sleep at night? Watch out, yandere in training! Gasai Yuno, eat your heart out! …just, uhm, not literally. That girls crazy.
  • I enjoyed the brief Yuuko interlude, because it showed some of that deft foreshadowing that has helped to elevate Sakurasou’s storytelling. So it wasn’t important now. It will be later on, I’m sure of it.
  • obligatory commentary on the new ED: it doesn’t get me as pumped as DAYS OF DASH did, and I would have liked one of the two songs to be sung by the seiyuu team again (preferably giving us another song like “Orange”), but I do not hate this song. Once again, it plays more into the dramatic side of things, but it has a nice mournful bent, and definitely has some feeling to it. It has the potential to do nicely.

Full-length images: 06, 26.

 

ED3 Sequence

ED3: 「Prime number~君と出会える日~」 (Prime Number -Minna to Deaeru Hi-) by 大倉明日香 (Okura Asuka)

Preview

117 Comments

    1. I really miss Days of Dash too, but the imo the old OP and ED was to accompany the more light-hearted and uplifting aspect of Sakurasou. This new OP and ED seems to foreshadow a more romantic aspect of things with bumps in the way.

      Mutare
      1. I feel like this arc, is when the heavy things start to come about, the lighthearted innocent love triangle between Aoyama, Shina and Sorata, is becoming alot more apparent, and you know someone is definitely going to get hurt.

        end3rr
  1. I could barely contain myself after two weeks without Sakurasou. New op and ed is great, and it’s good to see things progress along in Sakurasou fashion. The cooking skit as well as Misaki gave me a good laugh. I have to say “Sorata no baka” cus he’s gotten pretty dense lately. That promise with Nanami is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo going to bite Sorata though… wonder where this leads.

    Mutare
  2. I’m not even certain what to do with my thoughts about this episode so I’m taking a page from Jin’s playbook and avoiding the matter altogether. On another note, welcome new OP & ED this week. I can’t even be too upset about the change as both, Yume no Tsuzuki and Prime Number fit in quite nicely in their own way. I do agree though that it’s a shame one of the songs isn’t sung by the seiyuu team but it’s pretty much water under the bridge …

    Ahh geez. In any case, welcome back Sakurasou. You were greatly missed.

    Yasuri
  3. This episode gave me the chills, throwing curve ball after curve ball. This is probably the best romantic comedy that I have ever watched and I’ve watched A LOT.

    My takeaway from this episode: Why did it feel like a death flag for the Sorata X Nanami ship?

    legwkio
      1. Ah but there’s really no fun in being true to oneself if the end result is losing faith in the unlikely ships that we’ve come to enjoy seeing on screen. In times like these, we as viewers ought to take denial, embrace it and never let it go till the very end.

        Or you know .. don’t. The truth is known to set people free after all.

        Yasuri
      2. Would Nanami be considered “first girl” or “best girl” for Sorata?

        Thus far, Dereban’s the first time I see when it comes to “the best girl x main guy” as opposed to “first girl x main guy”

        c2710
      3. @c2710
        Nanami is neither the “first girl” nor the “best girl” for Sorata.
        – Not the first girl because being just a classmate doesn’t qualify for that.
        – The best girl is the one that brings the best out of him, and that is clearly not Nanami.

        In the end she is just nothing but a friend ti him, that’s all.

        hugo
      4. @gubar
        Of course, of course you’re quite right. I was never really saying anything to discredit that fact. And I hesitate to think that even fans who love Nanami don’t already know that as well but in terms of just enjoying the little moments between the pairing they’ve come to like, it may be a fact best denied. Wishful thinking is the fuel that drives most ships all around the world. Is there anyone who doesn’t already presume to know the outcome of these characters, pairing-wise? Unlikely. With shows like this, (where the pairings are dare I say, clear) I’d like to think it’s not so much the end result but the journey to get there that makes it worth watching. At the moment, we’re at the point of the journey where Nanami hasn’t given up and so neither should her fans. Even if we know what the future holds.

        Yasuri
      5. @Ingwar
        Simply put false hopes are a main ingredient in the construction of most ships. Where would most of us be without it, I wonder? Perhaps a better place but that’s a whole different topic for discussion. To ask for reason now after all this time … Maybe ‘because it’s fun‘ would suffice.

        Yasuri
    1. As a person who more often than not pulls for the unlikely ships I loved the reasoning here. The only thing that I would add is the great moments when that unlikely ship that you’ve been sailing actually pulls through. For a good example see Shuffle where the entire series makes it seem like a two person race.

      Bowiie
    2. Even Nanami should have worried a bit about how easyily he agreed to go. It’s obvious that he doesn’t even consider her a romantic option and thus didn’t see the importance of a x-mas date with her.

      Of course, he is equally dense with Shiina as he doesn’t even realise what is going on after she actually told him straight up that she felt something special after he huged her and asked her to stay. She even asked if that feeling was love. How he can’t put things together after that must mean that he is really broken romantically.

      Znail
  4. i don’t know, i didn’t experienced what sorata’s feel while talking with masshiro YET, but c’mon, why would he yell? well, that’s just me imo.
    the new themes…. you fail to amuse me, but i don’t hate it, it’s good in it’s own way

    Muttsurini
  5. Best random moment was when Misaki came down on her Santa platform in full Christmas mode, when its more than a month away, just to invite him up to her room. She is definitely going full Shouko mode on Jin though.

    Namzor
  6. Ahh Welcome back, sweet sweet show. I’ve been doing to this show what i’ve always done in the good shows that I watch in the past and that is, always checking the time bar to see if the episode is going to end soon, because I dont want it to end. Why must I wait a whole week! Regardless, I love the direction in which this show is going to and its creating alot of tension and we’ve seen some evident character development and also saw different complexities in these characters, not only Shina, but everyone in the house as well. I’d also like to leave a shot out to that marvelous airport scene when Shina started to feel things (which she does not yet understand fully herself) towards Sorata. Well played JC staff. The only thing I’m confused about is, whether or not Sorata is just truly ignorant of how Shina might feel for him or is he being distant because he truly cares for her and doesn’t want to get of her passion for art. Another notable scene is when Sorata told the editor that he chooses the old Shina vs the new one making us think that he fell for her for who she is and presents the problem that if she were to turn into a “normal” girl, would he still feel the same, and the editor responded, that she is still Shina regardless. Aoyama, ahhh someone is going to get hurt in this show = [. Very reminiscent of the Toradora love triangle. I just can’t wait to see what happens next. ^_^

    end3rr
  7. Not sure if any of you noticed, possible spoiler >.< Show Spoiler ▼

    3clair
  8. Maybe Sorata isn’t really dense at all but is confused and under extreme self denial mode, as Shina did confess in the previous ep. (with the scene replayed in his dreams to hilarious effect). He did want the old ‘Artist’ Shina so he may not want their previous relationship with each other to change.

    And as much as the Sorata X Nanami ship wont set sail, I’m still aboard it. 🙁

    nekomimimeido
    1. In admiring the artist, Sorata is taking the safe route. He can admire, care for and put Mashiro on a pedestal that way, but when she starts getting those feelings for him, it becomes a two-way street and he’s very uncomfortable and doesn’t know how to handle it, since he feels he’s on a different level (hmmm….Jin?)

      SmithCB
      1. True, but I also think he just earnestly respects (and dare I say, loves?) that driven, focused part of Mashiro. Her cooking isn’t going to make his heart go doki doki – esp he doesn’t appear to be bothered by doing that himself – but her making a great manga, and continually driving towards her dream? That will.

        Still, he does need to accept that these things aren’t mutually exclusive, and the balance might even be beneficial towards her manga so she has more interesting life experiences to draw upon. A writer must live to know what to write!

        Stilts
  9. Nice episode, especially the OP & ED songs for 2013.

    But this what I got to say:
    ” Here we go again,with Sorata’s complicated mood swing and vent his frustration to Mashiro.”

    Ken Sanders
  10. The second ED has that warm “Last Christmas” romance feel to it, I’ve not had such anime ED vibes since Toradora’s 2nd ED Orange. The new OP is just as great, signifying the switch to serious mode for the story.

    Jin has his reasons for avoiding Misaki, but for now it would seem to the observer that he’s being irresponsible. Still, that wedding registration card with the wedding jingle was just darn funny.

    Much like Rita before him, Sorata taking out his frustration on Mashiro was understandable, but this time he is partly at fault here, for putting all kinds of “strange ideas” into poor Mashiro’s head, namely love.

    Nanamin must be commended for at least trying and not giving up until the very end.

    Kinny Riddle
  11. Ugh! I’m kinda pissed…they’re really guna end episode 12 with Mashiro saying “is this what love is?” right to Sorato’s FACE and then not even go back to that? Not even show a response?? He should know by now…cmon now. dude i was looking forward to seeing how he’d respond to that but he’s acting like nothing ever happened…wow.

    Skinard1
    1. He didn’t hear it,that’s what the dream at the start adresses,even if it finishes in a crazy way it starts out as the scene from sorata’s POV and a plane covers up what Mashiro was saying.

      Not that it isn’t frustrating as well but it’s different from Mashiro ignoring the word “love”.

      totoum
  12. I always thought I was crazy for being over-christmas at the start of December. Misaki totally beat me to it. November and full christmas mode? I cannot beat that.

    I understand the rejection hurt again by the contest, still, ranting it on Shiina who is trying her best to attract your attention and let you tell her your feelings, you are a dick Sorata.

    The story telling is so great, it just impossible for me to stop watching, especially when I always give up at half course of an anime.

    Tingster013
  13. The OP and ED kind of remind me of how they did it in Toradora – funny stuff first, more dramatic openings later. I didn’t dislike them, in any case, and they may yet grow on me.

    As for Sorata, that was the only thing annoying me about this episode as well. He has been a pretty smart guy so far, who might stumble here and there, but generally acts like a real person would. This time, however, he was being really dense. I get him not noticing Nanami yet, but Shiina has really been acting kind of obvious. Especially as he can definitely figure out the problems surrounding Jin and Misaki, he’s shown he’s not oblivious to love the way Shiina is. Thus the only reason he doesn’t notice is, well, plot contrivance.

    That’s not to say this was a bad episode though. It had a plethora of funny moments as this was another ‘light’ episode to set up a new plot (and at least this one wasn’t all fanservicy), with Shiina’s morbid sense of humor, Misaki’s insane clinginess, Sorata screwing over Ryuunosuke (which is probably just as planned by Rita, who’s making a Light Yagami face) and Sorata blowing off his sister as the stuff that made me laugh out loud. Nanami making a move was nice too. Not to mention the discussion between him and Shiina’s editor was pretty interesting as well. And he failed again…still, a dick move to take it out on Shiina. He’d better freaking apologize.

    Damn, I missed this show.

    Dvalinn
    1. Sorata and the others tend to be written pretty well, but the story does bear the marks of the original author trying to extend it somewhat, albeit only occasionally. That is, every time Sorata ends up holding the idiot ball, that’s the author trying to get another book out of the series, lol. We’re probably amidst one of those situations.

      Stilts
      1. Hah, yeah. I’ve seen that kind of thing happen a lot in any medium – making the audience feel like something big has happened at the end of one arc/book/story, only to completely ignore it with some simple excuse when the next part of a series comes out (in this case, plane obscured her words. Suuure). For another example, take the big choice at the end of Mass Effect 2 – you’d think it’d lead up to something big, but barely anything happens with it. Kind of a cheap tactic, really.

        Still, up until this point the show has generally avoided big pitfalls like dragging the plot for contrived reasons (take the Rita arc, that was resolved quickly), so I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt for this one too.

        Dvalinn
  14. Sakurasou… The spiritual successor to ToraDora? Possibly. Frankly speaking, judging from this episode, I would certainly say that things are going to get messy from here on.

    You have 3 maidens who are in love, 1 guy who actively avoids it while the other, is still preoccupied with his insecurities. Wonder if it might end up like this somewhere along the line – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLr_QIR6PhU

    That being said, I’ll be afraid if it ever does. Its too soon.

    That aside, https://randomc.net/image/Sakurasou%20no%20Pet%20na%20Kanojo/Sakurasou%20no%20Pet%20na%20Kanojo%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2022.jpg doesn’t she looks waifu material???

    c2710
  15. i gotta agree with you on the first OP/ED thing. this has been the case with almost every anime i’ve watched throughout my life. Bleach, Eureka Seven, Space Bros, etc etc etc. dang.

    Nitro
  16. Irrational behavior, anger issues, projecting ones own failures onto another, typical pubescent behavior.

    I don’t ship Sorata x Nanami at all because he is absolutely unworthy of her.

    Just because he is the shows lead and we are forced to somehow analyze his character and find reasons for his flaws, he’s still a major dick. In real life, if any girl got that kinda smack talked to her she would definitely retaliate and called him out for it.

    Nanami, you can do better. Let it all crash and burn after Christmas.

    Mike
      1. 1. So should we forgive idiocy and immaturity because a person is a fictional character?

        2. Yeah, because surely he was literally referring to any girl or being on Earth that resembles a human female, right?

        junglepenguin
      2. 1. So by what standard should we judge fictional characters then? Or should we not judge them at all?

        2. I can’t argue if you couldn’t infer from that sentence the intention of that comment.

        “Forgive” might not have been the right word. That said, I believe you can forgive the person at fault IF he or she decides to correct him/herself, but no one should try to justify a mistake or flaw.

        junglepenguin
      3. 1. Not judging them would be the best, but if you have to judge, shouldn’t fictional material be judged by relative standards set by the show itself instead of our own?

        Each to his own, personally I don’t expect people to be perfect or to live up to my own standards and would forgive him/her, regardless of them changing.But since we’re talking about ‘idiocy and immaturity’, I should also mention that, I don’t consider them to be mistakes or flaws.

        Todd
      4. It’s totally fine to judge a fictional character by real standards. After all, what is a story but the narrative telling of an event? Sure, fictional ones didn’t happen, but aside from that, they’re little different from me telling you an anecdote of what happened to me last weekend. There’s no reason to treat them differently, save when you’re getting all meta about the author’s intentions and such

        That said, I think Sorata is a good guy, he’s just a kid. He’s, what, in his first year of high school? While the temper is annoying, I have friends who have worse tempers, so it’s a realistic scenario, and that flaw doesn’t stop them from being my friends. And yes, as they’ve gotten older they’ve learned to deal with them better, as will Sorata. It’s not that he’s not worthy, he just needs to grow up a little bit.

        Stilts
      5. “It’s totally fine to judge a fictional character by real standards. After all, what is a story but the narrative telling of an event? Sure, fictional ones didn’t happen, but aside from that, they’re little different from me telling you an anecdote of what happened to me last weekend. There’s no reason to treat them differently, save when you’re getting all meta about the author’s intentions and such”

        No offense, but a fictional story is a little more than that.While I’m not sure how to explain this in detail, I’ve watched/read stuff that simply goes beyond what you said here.And your theory that ‘the author is real so any of his works should be realistically relate-able and can be judged as such’ doesn’t work in most cases either.
        That said it’s up to you how you judge a fictional character, for me, I always find going from the authors POV as the best approach for fiction.

        fiction definition:
        1.Prose literature, esp. short stories and novels, about imaginary events and people.
        2.Invention or fabrication as opposed to fact.

        Todd
  17. The animation for the ED felt like a punt, not really trying, and that took a lot out of what could have been an interesting song (and the animation timing didn’t even match up with the beat, lame).

    Sorata is showing that he’s as mercurial and emotional as any artist, to his detriment. Plus, every time he gets any bad news, he ends up taking it out on Mashiro. Jerk. 😉 I wonder why he would prefer the old Mashiro. Is it because he could understand her that way, that she was single-minded, and once you figured out that drive, you understood just about everything about her? Now she’s all complicated and stuff, and he doesn’t get it. Nanami gets it, and Jin gets it, I wish he’d just tell Sorata (I can understand Nanami not telling him, tho).

  18. With Rita on the OP, I hope she will come back to Sakurasou in the future episodes. She’s my third favorite character in the show after Mashiro and Sorata.

    And yeah, I agree it would be great if we can have another song like ‘Orange’. That’s one of my most favorite anime song of all time.

    Serapita
  19. Finaññy some progress in the romance between Sorata and Mashiro, poor girl but don´t worry I have the feeling Sorata is going to redeem himself next episode. Ah, but you are right Stilts that promise is not going to be fullfil, if the illustrations I saw in the novel that corresponde to this part of the story are any indication next week it´s going to be candy.

    haseo0408
  20. Well Sorata doesn’t seem to be able to vent his frustrations properly…to each his own.
    Man after that break I realized how much I love this anime now, because I missed it so bad *sniff* and yes that “If that’s what you want, then get out of me!“? was like >:( look wut you did Sorata. Things are shaping up…let’s see what happens.

    As a side note: Oh Misaki-sempai, you never cease to entertain.

    CatsRofl
  21. Poor Mashiro. Poor Nanami, as this will almost certainly end in heartbreak for her too. It’s not fair… I support the Mashiro ship, but I really like Nanami too, and I’m going to hate seeing things not work out for her even when I love seein ghtme work out for Mashiro. And vice-versa.

    THIS SHOW MAKES ME FEEL SO CONFLICTED!

    Wanderer
      1. Sorry but i don’t see a love triangle at all. Sorata likas Mashiro and Mashiro likes Sorata. Nanami likes Sorata but he just doesn’t see her that way. So where do you guys see a love triangle? He is not even wavering, not even a little.
        —————————————————————————————————————————–
        This is not the first time where Sorata behaved like a jerk towards Mashiro. If my little brother would behave like that, I would have give him a tongue-lashing about how moronic he is behaving and that it is wrong to let his frustration out on people that did nothing wrong to him.

        Loge
      2. He doesn’t have to be interested in Nanami to make it a triangle. There just have to be three people involved in varying amounts of love among each other. I’d say they’re a type 4, with Sorata in the B position, but a type 3 with him as the A could also be seen.

        He and Mashiro love each other, but Nanami also loves him. That’s one of the classic love triangles. He doesn’t have to love Nanami back. It’s still a triangle because there’s three people and there’s still love going on.

        Wanderer
      3. I dunno, I think Sorata’s a lot more aware of Nanami as a girl than he is of Mashiro. Not that he’s amazingly aware of anyone, but in episodes past, he’s had more of a ‘boy with girl’ reaction to things Nanami has done than he has with Mashiro (Nanami falling down the steps into his arms, seeing her in her bathing suit).

  22. I miss the old songs, as well. After episode 8’s ending, who DOESN’T love Days of Dash? But I do like the new songs, as well, so I hope they grow on me :3
    As always, this episode had me laughing so much, particularly Misaki’s scenes and Mashiro’s knife comments. Her fight with Sorata killed me a bit, though ;A;
    Although it’s a close call and I’m still rooting for Mashiro, I really like Nanami as well and hope she can be happy if she has to give Sorata up. Is it next Monday yet??

    Kiria
  23. Anyone agree that Sorata needed a huge slap in the face from Mashiro just so he could snap out of that emo mode he had? Seriously Mashiro doesn’t even realize the reason she wants to cook was to be independent for him. Though you know he doesn’t and just thinks about how he failed again. Frustrating yes but look what you had right in front of you! Someone to care when you fail and get you back up…UGH I wanted to punch Sorata haha

    Jason Isenberg
  24. I don’t think Sorata is being dense in the traditional sense. He knows he’s in love with her and I’m pretty sure he knows she’s in love with him. The problem is that he’s not connecting the change in behaviour with the fact that she’s in love with him.

    Shinna has made plenty of incomprehensible actions before this, I mean you’d consider “going to a love hotel” to be a bigger indicator of the fact that she’s in love with him over “learning to cook” right? Yet at that point she wasn’t in love with him.

    He also stated to Ayano that he prefers the “original” Shinna to the new one so that plays a role as well.

    Taking his anger out at Shinna is definitely not cool, I actually lowered the volume while that part was playing out. That said, I’m 100% sure he’s going to apologize next episode.

    moridin84
    1. I would have to say I share none of your confidence. If an apology comes that is at all satisfactory I’ll be shocked. Sorata regressed back to the emotional maturity of a five year old here. His behavior was so bizarre I can’t even tell what they were trying to do with him, and after 12 episodes of character development, I’m calling that bad writing. Before this episode I would’ve agreed that he knew he was in love with Mashiro, but now he’s just acting like an insecure, selfish idiot.

      What part of “Mashiro is her own person” don’t the characters in this show get?

      Aex
      1. I would have to say I share none of your confidence

        Really? He’s apologized every single time he’s been wrong before, for example the love hotel or the last time to blew up at her.

        His behavior was so bizarre I can’t even tell what they were trying to do with him,

        I’m not exactly sure what part of his behaviour you find “bizarre”. Mashiro was the one acting out of character this episode (WE know why obviously) and this is confusing him. He blew up at her at the end because his game got rejected AGAIN and was pissed off, this is wrong and unfair on his part but it isn’t hard to understand.

        Before this episode I would’ve agreed that he knew he was in love with Mashiro, but now he’s just acting like an insecure, selfish idiot.

        Insecure + selfish + in love?

        This is not a rare combination 🙂

        What part of “Mashiro is her own person” don’t the characters in this show get?

        Imagine a friend of yours dropped out of college, wasn’t trying to get a job and stuff like that. Would you go “oh well he’s his own person” and do nothing? If so you aren’t really much of a friend.

        I am not saying that’s the situation here, I’m just saying you can’t just wave everything away with this “she’s her own person” thing.

        moridin84
      2. It’s not waving it away with “she’s her own person”, it’s accepting that Mashiro isn’t going to be exactly the same forever. She wants to learn how to cook? Okay. But she might get hurt. So be there to help her out, don’t whine about your own shortcomings. I get that in some odd way he thinks she’s being irresponsible since she has such talent, it’s just so… ODD, that I can’t believe it. It’s like he’s channeling Rita from where she first showed up, and I thought that issue had been resolved.

        The cooking thing could’ve been really sweet, except Sorata isn’t that kind of character. Try to do something for him and it either goes over his head or he starts yelling. Frustrating.

        Aex
  25. Misaki’s problem is that she won’t face Jin seriously and demand him to explain himself. She doesn’t realize that his own lack of confidence and self worth due to her brilliance. She tries to hide her own feelings behind a genki personality which always gives Jin an out of making a joke out of things. If he did directly reject her she could always say she was just fooling around.

    Nanami is just breaking my heart. The dumb thing is she and Sorata are much more compatible in ability and temperament than he and Mashiro. And yes, ToraDora comes to mind when I think of the emotional train wreck that’s coming. Mashiro has no experience with people and, since Sorata is a “nice guy”, it makes sense that she might develop feelings for him (even though they might not be romantic). Her comments in her dream seem to indicate that these things are just “experiences” that she needs to further her work rather than a change in her life.

    bear
    1. You’re speaking my mind. I posted earlier and was generally sent to the woodshed, but I believe Mashiro sees theses new experiences as additional ‘colors’ for her work, not planning to be mean to Sorato, but I still see Sorata/Nanami with Mashiro’s blessing. She learns about love, opens a new dimension in her creative abilities, and Sorata/Nanami will have their future ahead of them. I just don’t see the anime team creating this feeling that ‘Nanami is out of the running’ so early without a reason that will explain itself at the end. Just sayin…

      SmithCB
  26. SORATA NO BAKA!!!! BAAAAAKKKAAAAA!!!
    Why is he so dense?!!! *smacks head on table* *gets up and flips table* (not literally of course).
    Why do I have this feeling that he’s going to have to reach the deepest part of despair before he’ll be able to find happiness. That’s where I see it’s going to lead him in the following episodes. Sorata accepting Nanami’s request to go see a play and leaving Mashiro all alone is a HUGE mistake but my gut is telling me that he’s going to break the promise with Nanami and run and find Mashiro.
    I’m all for the Sorata x Mashiro ship!!!! they make such a cute couple, even if Sorata is an idiot who doesn’t deserve Mashiro!!!
    CAN’T WAIT UNTIL THE NEXT EPISODE!!!! xD

    Nimmy
    1. Sorata is at a point right now where he’s definitely being portrayed as one of those annoying guys that doesn’t want to be happy. He has a set idea, and everything outside of that is unimportant and annoying to him, which annoys us. Vicious cycle that needs to break. Plus he’s still being a jealous b**ch over Mashiro. Thought he had grown up during the first 12 episodes, but I guess he got hit on the head and got amnesia or something… >.<

      Next episode is gonna be tough to watch. My money says Sorata will mope around the whole episode because he can't add 2 and 2, then the very end will be him breaking Nanami's heart and running off to see Mashiro. If more than that happens I'll be pleasantly shocked.

      Aex
    2. Hmmm, I dont’ know, maybe that will be the outcome of the next episode, but I feel like the author is “streching” the story quite a bit here, we may end up with a non-conclusive episode. Well, we’ll see.

      I’m curious to see how things will develop. I’m not a writer, but I think the one thing that won’t happen is Mashiro and Sorata resolving all their issues in the middle of the series … what would we be watching this for, then 😀 ?

      I’m feeling uneasy because this last episode gives me some negative vibes on the execution.
      If two characters are in love with each other, but they are not going to be together soon, there must be some “story device” to prevent it, be it some important event, stubborness of the characters or whatever. I really hope everything will happen in a “natural” way and not feel forced.

      Naaah, that won’t happen. Sakurasou will not disappoint (right?)

      Voyager
  27. Poor Nanami it looks like Sorata will end up with a retarded girl that is not safe around things labeled “Not safe for children”. Just another Nanami fanboi ranting of course XD

    Pen3
    1. I know that feeling bro. You can really like characters like Nanami … I do too so it’s sad every time some “bad end” flag gets raised for her. She is sweet and determined, and definitely deserves better.

      Anyway, don’t be too harsh on Mashiro, she is beginning to experience a more adult life only now. She’s late respect to the other characters, still, not retarded, my friend. She makes a fool of herself because she is trying hard to get over it.
      Yes, I admit that I like Mashiro as much as Nanami, although for different reasons. They are both adorable.

      Damn I’m doomed 🙂

      Voyager
  28. At the moment Mashiro is clearly too good for Sorata and he is not worth her love for him. I know that he is frustrated, but that is not an excuse to treat her like this. He is acting like a real dick and that not for the first time.

    logi
  29. Ehh, I don’t know but I didn’t enjoy the episode as much as I would’ve had. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Sakurasou, but as much as Sorata wants the old Mashiro, I also like the “old” Sakurasou more wherein the focus is more josei-ish (ie., knowing and reaching their dreams). Of course that part would still be there, eventually, but with them finally focusing on the romantic aspect of the show, and with the pairing results as clear as day to all of us, it just felt… dragging to me.

    nagi
  30. Yeah! More Sakurasou!

    Mashiro cooking was just so cool. And adorable. And I knew that Sorata would give Rita Ryuunosuke’s number!

    Misaki’s antics were just so crazy! Knowing her, she’d probably force Jin to marry her on Christmas Eve. Seriously, Jin should just pick her up.

    Sorata was stupid though. Is it necessary to scold Mashiro for acting girly? She’s gonna cook for you once you marry her!

    New OP and ED were noticeably less genki and much more heavy in tone. Possibly indicating much more drama in the future? But they sure won’t replace Days of Dash for me!

    Kiiro
  31. Count me in as another who’s starting to get frustrated at Sorata’s denseness. Seriously, there should be a limit. Even worse was watching him take his frustration over being rejected again for the game competition on Mashiro. Felt really sorry for Mashiro then. She deserves a lot better than the current, sulky Sorota.

    Agree w/ Stilts that Sorata redeemed himself a little (very little given his actions afterwards) by preferring the “old” Mashiro. Maybe reading too much into this, but that scene made me wonder whether the “new” Mashiro would be the same caliber of artist as the “old”. As Ayano suggested her skills and technique may be there, but would would she lose some intangible artistic quality because she no longer views the world solely as an artist?

    Sorota’s demeanor makes (former?) playboy Jin look even better to me by comparison. The wedding registration love letter scene was one of the funniest scenes I’ve scene in a while. Still LOL’d on the 2nd viewing. Misaki’s full frontal assault tactics may not produce the immediate results she wants, but Jin seems to me like a man who starting to accept his “fate” more and more. The Jin x Masaki Christmas Eve rendezvous should be fun to watch.

    Finally, I hope we haven’t seen the last of Rita and Ryuunosuke.

    daikama
      1. Actually the “New Year’s” party flier shows a date of December 24, so if you weren’t paying close attention, you would’ve thought New Year’s party was literally on New Year’s. I don’t know if Sorata is aware of this; he didn’t seem to flinch or have second thoughts when Nanami asked him to the play.

        BlueHamachi
  32. I gave my computer screen the middle finger when Sorata was being a dick and yelling at Mashiro. That scene also influenced me to want to knock Sorata a good one when he accepted Nanami’s Christmas Eve invitation because I know that he’ll end up hurting her by being his dense-ass self and standing her up or something.

    Annyms
  33. I for one was disappointed with Sorata this episode. I felt he got “reset” to before episode 08 despite being the second of this series. When he took out his disappointment on Mashiro again from the rejected game entry, I totally *facepalmed*. Seriously, after his first rejection letter in episode 08, Sorata stated that he would move forward despite meeting failures, yet he reacts the exact same way after getting this rejection letter?!? Man up Sorata! You’re a part of Sakurasou!

    As for how dense Sorata is…I guess it’s a given for 99% of harem Animes. I’ve seen plenty of harem Animes, but I’m jealous of Sorata nonetheless 😛

    Just my two cents

    1. Yeah, Sorata definitely has anger management issues, which isn’t unrealistic. I do wonder why he doesn’t give much additional thought to Shiina’s talk about love. I mean, did he even hear/understand what Shiina was saying at the airport? If he did, then it just seems like he’s keeping a huge distance between them; and if he didn’t hear her, then he’s just oblivious. I’m leaning on the side that he DID hear her confession, but that makes me wonder WHY he’s so distant. I’m beginning to think that maybe he’s never been in love, and can’t understand or be sensitive to that aspect within other people. It’s conceivable, but then, that just makes us not really like him all that much. We can only hope that he grows, but in the meantime, he will have to make mistakes, even if that means hurting people in the process.

      BlueHamachi
  34. While I’m very happy for Nanami, I got teared open for what happened to Shiina. It may sound like exaggerating, but I’ve never rooted for 2 heroines who’re going after the same guy before. But on another note, I’d really hate it if Nanami would get thrown into Miyahara’s arms so she won’t end up Forever Alone.

    The Story You Don't Know
    1. Even when it’s clear as a day that Nanami won’t get Sorata, there seems to be nothing wrong with Miyahara. And if she is still single by the end of the Anime, I doubt that a cutie like her will be forever alone.

      And about how Sorata is treating Shiina. He is dick to her and doesn’t deserve her.

      lamda
  35. When Mashiro had her “If that’s what you want, then get out of me!”, she sounded dead-on like Mei from Sukitte (which her VA voices the main girl in). Finally, some more emotion from her. I know she has the occasional smile and she’s cried about once through the series, but seeing her yell at Sorata made me kind of go, ‘You go, girl!’. I’m all for Mashiro but it was nice seeing Nanami go get some action out there. However, I feel like by the time Christmas comes for the show itself I think that some course of events will happen and Nanami may end up going to the play with someone else (perhaps the guy she was confessed to) or she’ll give her ticket to Mashiro. In the end, everyone is paired in the series and I have a feeling everyone will end up with their appropriate pairing by the end of the series. I’m excited to next week’s episode for sure. I’m also very happy it’s vfinally back!

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