First Impressions / Ore Monogatari!!

「オレとトモダチ」 (Ore to Tomodachi)

“My Friend and I”

I’m kinda glad I was watching that episode on my own…

I would be the first to admit that Ore Monogatari!! is walking a very fine line, and has been from the beginning. It would be easy to tip over into the saccharine at any moment (and in fact it’s happened on a couple of occasions). But anime is, as a rule, so allergic to emotional openness – especially between guys – that I’m never sorry when a series at least tries to break the rules. And this one does so brilliantly most of the time.

Sincerity goes such a long way in storytelling. With this series it makes all the difference in the world, and this episode displays that more unmistakably than any so far. It handled the heavy material beautifully and every major emotional moment was spot-on. It certainly helps that Suna is perhaps the best anime character of the season not playing tennis, but it’s the relationships that really provide the emotional power.

Someone pointed out that the last shot of the OP now features Suna on the cake as well as Takeo and Yamato, and it’s no coincidence that it happened when it did. These three were performing a kind of dance in this two-part episode, balancing what they wanted and what the others wanted, and what was being said with what was really meant. I don’t think any of them missed a step – they each acted in a way that was true to themselves. It all revolved around Suna, but all three of them had their roles to play.

As I said last week, it was perfectly genuine that Takeo would want to set aside his best-laid plans with Rinko, and just as much so that Suna would refuse to allow him to do so. But in the end, I knew Takeo would leave Rinko when the time came and go to the hospital, and I knew – no matter what he said and even believed earlier – Suna wanted him to be there. It’s not about “bros before hoes” or any such cliche – it’s just about priorities. And for that matter, I wasn’t remotely surprised that she ended up at the hospital herself – in fact, her presence delivered one of the emotional high points of the episode.

If anything did surprise me, at least a little, it was the result of Suna’a father’s surgery. There was a good deal of hinting that he might not make it, enough at least to make me unsure. A different outcome would certainly have made this a different sort of episode, but fundamentally the theme would have been exactly the same. I think my favorite line of the ep was when Takeo thought to himself “I have no idea what you really want, what you’re really thinking. Or what the right thing to do really is. But I’m your friend. Let me stay.” That sums up both of these guys perfectly. And when Takeo put his hand on Suna’s back for a moment, it spoke louder than any dialogue.

This is really an odd sries. I don’t know if it’s a true stealth main character situation, but it’s certainly a stealth genre – this friendship is the heart of Ore Monogatari, plain and simple. We waited a long time for Suna to let his guard down, and it says something that it was only in front of Takeo that he’d do so. There were some great light moments in this episode – I loved what Madhouse did with Takeo’s T-shirt broadcasting his thoughts, for example – but ultimately, it was very simple. It was about that moment outside the operating room, and Yamato waiting for the two of them outside. We’ve ended up with a three-way love story of a sort, one that’s far deeper and more subtle than I would have expected going into the series.

Preview

20 Comments

  1. i must also add, that their VA (exspecial Yamato’s) done a very great Job. i also noticed the “strange” dropping in the Drawing styles, example Yamato’s face. And it looks like Ep 10, will also not keep up with the quality, but you know what? The VA compensate and even beyond for this flaw for me.

    Also the Date in the Game Center (Bowling) was Sweet as cake. And come on, i was a nice idea to write Takeo’s mind on the Shirt in English. But that was awkward to watch.. an LED Style tShirt? Oh well, i do not needed the Help of his thoughts written on the tshirt. i could read that alone from his VA and face animation

    Is it true that next episode is the last one? i saw somewhere in the net, this Show is only 10 Episodes long?

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

    5. Yamato’s VA is very good. Especially in that scene when she learned about Suna’s Father’s surgery. I felt it in her voice acting the emotion on that scene

      pahlavi5312
      Reply

  3. What you said there- “We’ve ended up with a three-way love story of a sort, one that’s far deeper and more subtle than I would have expected going into the series.”

    I totally agree with you 100%

    weatherleaf
    Reply

    1. I think the fujoshi/shounen-ai fans are drooling over this episode, and have been since the start. Takeo at a ‘macho-cafe’? This show is definitely using subtle clues to ‘nod’ at the aforementioned fanbase. I’ve never read the manga (if there is one), but my speculation is that Suna is either ambivalent (asexual) or gay. How else did he know about the cafe that Takeo was going to work at? Hmmmmm?

      U238Willy
      Reply

  10. Suna’s “I knew you would come, even if I wanted you not to” was simple, yet amazing. It made me surf in the feel-flow.

    Damn, the couple is darn cute, my manliness is fading away as i watch these characters altogether.

    Guren
    Reply

  11. after re watching the Episode, i feel the tear she is shedding when Takeo is running to his Friend at the Hospital could be something about herself. I have an idea in mind, but let’s see

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

  12. Ep 10:

    Show Spoiler ▼

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

    1. oh, and Bus and all other Cars, have shock absorb under their Tires. So, this Bus must be Very Old build :), so this Jump is not accurate, and only the Tire should move…

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

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