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「ヰタ・セクスアリス」 (Vita Sekusuarisu)
“Vita Sexualis”
“There is such a thing as love in this world. I’m sure of it. It’s the expression – the etiquette – of love that is so hard to find” – Dazai
Examining the emotional experience, does love need a reason? I think it’s okay for Akane to not know what she likes about Kotarou at this point. Making sense of emotions can be a hard task at such a hormonal age, and Akane provides an honest answer, that teenagers unfortunately don’t seem to like accepting, as we could see from the peer pressure.
But hey, I found it to be a pretty compelling answer, contrasting the know-it-all attitude one typically expects from a lot of teenagers. For example, knowing why the universe exists is not required to go about enjoying our everyday lives. Extending that idea to love, simply ‘being’ can be a reason unto itself.
ROMANTIC LIMELIGHT
Under increased scrutiny from news of their relationship finally breaking out, it was funny to see Kotarou and Akane struggling to interact with each other publicly at school. The fact they continued remaining so privately intimate is awesome, because it showed that their relationship is easily surviving the social pressures of being widely known. This was something I was scared they might struggle with, but the two are taking strides despite their prior concerns of going public. Now I feel silly, for getting worked up and worried over nothing!
Even though everything has been set out on the table, it feels like we’re in on some kind of wonderful secret as the viewer, when other classmates are guessing things completely wrong. For example, thinking the relationship isn’t a serious one because Akane and Kotarou don’t seem to talk very often. Honestly, how much further could they be from the truth?
ANOTHER LIBRARY DATE
As if we needed more proof that things are going swimmingly well, watching Kotarou squee practicing how to say ‘Akane-chan’ in the library was pretty hilarious. Then we got Akane spraying on something nice to cover up the scent of her sweat from club activities. Seeing them proactively make efforts for each other really warmed the heart.
Still, would it really have hurt Kotarou to tell Akane that she looks extremely cute while drinking water, instead of calling her an old man? (Hnnng) I mean, look at her! Kotarou, stop being such a tease and just say that your girlfriend is kawaii!
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Nothing would have been possible, if not for the exemplary wingmanship coming from all sorts of places this episode. Broman and Daichi led the cavalry charge, by suggesting Kotarou use the literary club excuse, so that he can spend time with Akane after her club activities. Then, the Shrine priest rained down artillery support from the heavens, by recommending a nearby wind chime festival to our couple, and also gave Kotarou some money to support his date. Not to mention, the hayashi colleagues took care of the tidying up, a gesture reminiscent of ‘You go, I stay’ harking back to the Iron Giant. Talk about awesome friends and seniors!
JAPANESE FESTIVAL
They get to go to the festival together!!! Dear lord, Akane in a yukata?!? My my, what an incredible payoff!!! Sharing food? Taking fortunes together? Making wishes together? A belated birthday gift of matching plushies? WHAT IS THIS?!?
Have to say, this was probably the best depiction of a Japanese festival I have seen in recent memory, possibly even ever. It straight up depicted a bona fide traditional Japanese festival without any of the cheap tricks and gimmicks. Usually it’s the cliché stuff with drama or unimportant fluff taking the focus. But Tsuki ga Kirei hit all the right notes in a refreshing way, and it really was all too simple yet effective that one has to wonder why more shows don’t do this.
The wind chimes were almost my favourite part of the episode. Why can’t we get more of these aesthetically and audibly appealing baubles, rather than goldfish scooping and prize shooting games? Another show comes to mind when we speak of glass wind chimes, but I shall keep my lips sealed. If they had chosen to undertake a story more like Tsuki ga Kirei, I’m quite certain it could have gone down as a recent classic. That much I’m sure of by now.
But you know what moment trumped the glass chimes? The first kiss. The tension built up perfectly, leading into the moment. After intimately patching her sore feet up with a bandaid, Kotarou passionately gazes into Akane’s eyes, as if to signal his intent. When she gets nervous, and begins to fidget with her plushie, he gently grabs her hand as if to reassure her about what will happen next. Then, they close in for the kiss. And how I wish it could have lasted an eternity.
Pretty much ending perfectly, the episode concluded by revealing the respective wishes of Kotarou and Akane hanging amongst the wind chimes. They aren’t the only ones making the same wish – I also want them to be together forever.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
That said, getting hot and bothered by a traditional Japanese performance art like hayashi makes for a pretty strange and acquired taste. Whatever tickles your fancy, Akane. For an equivalent measure, I can’t really imagine getting a spicy kick out of seeing some ancient greek style theatre performance, let alone understanding the recent phenomenon of fidget spinners.
Since we aren’t too far off from the end, fingers crossed that nothing will cause problems and capsize SS Kotarou x Akane. They seem sufficiently committed to each other as of now, to give a sense of security. Let it be a home run down the straits, without any melodrama please. That said, I hope loose ends will be tied, such as their respective aspirations to write novels or compete in track. Bringing together Chinatsu and Hira would seem a bit too convenient, if not a total copout to resolving the issue of unrequited corners of the love triangle, so hopefully the show will come up with a unique answer to that as well.
Omake
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I know I’ve already written too much, but there would be no justice in skipping the omakes. Here goes!
Aira and Kaneko – The absolute madman! Pulls the gambit of making his girlfriend completely flustered and blushing, in order to get away with enjoying a gravure magazine right under her nose.
Ryouko and Roman – Just pining away for the Broman. Nothing new, apart from Roman being used as a phone homescreen wallpaper.
Miu and Inaba – Wow. Inaba got shafted pretty hard. Could be that Miu is pranking him big time. I certainly hope so.
Sakura and Roman – Okay, that runaway active imagination was pretty amusing. Seeing her flip between hot and cold for Roman sums up her indecisive fangirl character.
Aoi Takizawa – The Cherrie of Kawagoe Track and Field Club, with the way that she whips the guys. Don’t tell her I said that!
Kotarou’s Parents – You know things are about to get messy, when Kotarou’s mother discovered his hidden stash… of novel manuscripts. Seeing the parents’ contrasting reactions to Kotarou’s writing was pretty funny! And shoutout to the Dad for attempting to cover for Kotarou against Mum, even if he failed. It’s the effort that counts.
https://randomc.net/image/Tsuki%20ga%20Kirei/Tsuki%20ga%20Kirei%20-%2008%20-%20Large%20Preview%2001.jpg
this bald man was so metal, i remember his confession like this, corner her to the wall->hey, you! be my girlfriend!->”the wowan confused”->walk away, “oi follow me!”->get girlfriend.
If we could say that Kaneko has balls of titanium for his antics with Aira, then most anime protagonists could only claim to have balls of tofu.
Still…not enough to beat junichi(ai route and haruka route) though hahaha
“Kuzu no Honkai” season 2 starting up, starring Chinatsu and Hira with their broken hearts and getting cozy together to enjoy some company. Atleast thats how it may go i think lol
Ew, no thanks. Get that corrupting influence out of here! 😛
There is a lot to be said about the significance of this episode that words just don’t come out of my mouth about it, so for now, I think I’ll just settle for 7 simple words: I think I can die happy now.
Hey yoloalchemist! Tsuki ga Kirei could have ended here and I would have been relatively happy even without the closure.
However, it still has more to achieve in its remaining episodes, and I hope those are put to good use. Would be a horrible shame if they waffled away much of what they have managed to build up, or outright ruined any legacy attained thus far by introducing some stormy melodrama overturning the boat. I’m not dismissing the potential for something to possibly go wrong, so it’s difficult to relax or ease up going into the end.
I can’t shake the nagging thought that “together forever” can be a bit ominous when filtered through Dazai’s biography.
@yoloalchemist
Apparently you can live happy (or die happy, as you put it) without an explanation from Chinatsu after all, lol.
Because even though her erratic behavior (or her character in general) may have been in need of more fleshing out, or she may need a proper closure, she’s not the focus of the show at the end of the day, is she?
https://randomc.net/image/Tsuki%20ga%20Kirei/Tsuki%20ga%20Kirei%20-%2008%20-%2034.jpg
Whoa, they finally did it! No more interruption! But then I thought that they’re still in middle school. I have complicated feeling…
Some middle schoolers, though not many, seem to have it relatively more figured out compared to their peers. I’d put Kotarou and Akane there, so I’m not too worried about what they decide to do. They seem to have clear ideas about their aspirations, and to what length that chasing these aspirations should be carried out.
Even assuming their romance falls short, the two have still had a substantial effect on each other’s growth. Going back to what Akane says about feeling secure around Kotarou, you’ll notice she certainly seems less anxious and dependent on her plushie. And Akane will probably live on immortally in Kotarou’s heart, through inspiring the development of his writing.
IIRC, the third middle school year in Japan is equal to freshman year of high school in the USA.
When I was in middle school, kids didn’t date (there was some early exploring of “like” and such) but I knew a lot of kids who started dating as soon as they started high school. Most of them began dating those they had been semi-flirting with in middle school. It was as if they were just waiting to cross that threshold between schools.
So I would say our kids here are the same age (14/15) for early blushing dates and simple kisses. Japan just has a slightly different grade/school alignment.
The content of this episode and your absence last week made me forget to watch out for surprise photoshop jokes. Well played!
This was definitely the best (at least most breathtakingly gorgeous) depiction of a japanese festival I’ve seen. Who needs fireworks when ground lights are so pretty already. Takes notes, anime business (as if Tsuki ga kirei hasn’t filled your notebook already)
Thanks ruicarlov! Not gonna lie, I was pretty proud of that photoshop.
I’m at a loss for words because of the fuwa fuwa in this week’s episode
Truly fuwa fuwa doki suru.
Hi Zaiden!
I’m aware that things can still go wrong with more episodes to go, I was just expressing how this particular episode made me feel.
The latest episode was so sweet, I might have developed diabetes.
Glad that Zaiden you’re back to write this. I get as excited as I read your post as I watch the episode.
But seriously, this episode is all I’ve wanted for this series!!! (Or for my life, honestly) Getting lost in this show isn’t unusual for me thus far, but this one totally dragged me in. The insert songs may not be working for me now (it did in the first few episodes more), but still. They make dating in middle school soooo good haha
If development in future episodes is Chinatsu x Hira or whatever is going on with the omake short stories I don’t mind. I just want that Akanecchi plushie, really. I see images of those in the Anime’s official Twitter though, so it must exist in real life…
Thank goodness my exams are finally done. I was a bit scared I might have had to miss two weeks, but the first year of my degree doesn’t count, so whatever. By the way, glad to know you enjoy reading my stuff! It’s very much appreciated, and I will try to keep up the good work in the foreseeable future.
There was only so much I could talk about in this post, because my draft easily went beyond 1000+ words. Otherwise, I would have expressed the contrary opinion that the insert song worked well for me this episode, although the effects had noticeably diminished in the previous few episodes. You know they’ve made middle school dating seem good, when it surpasses how romance is shown in most highschool animes.
Who doesn’t want that Akanecchi plushie? Sweet potato ftw.
I’m glad you got time to write about this week’s episode again Zaiden, thanks so much!
This was cuteness overloaded and I probably went crazy because of it!
(I doubt that any fidget spinner could help me to calm down after this…haha)There has been so much progression for Akane and Kotarou in just one episode. Dating is starting to feel natural for the both of them at this point and it made me feel so at ease watching these two enjoying their time together. I’m not sure what kind of festival they went to, but it was so decent and I didn’t even miss any fireworks. My fav thing wasn’t probably the kiss which made it even more perfect and gave this a good closure, instead how Akane felt bad about not knowing his birthday and going around in a rush to find a present and she chose her fav thing of all things! awww
At the beginning I thought this show would focus more on our four characters, but somehow my expectations of more interaction and dynamics between them don’t seem to happen at all. But I’m really not bothered by it. Even though Chinatsu or Hira might not play any important part from now on I still like this show more than ever.
Great Omake again. However she had to take this picture at some point right…?
It’s starting to get creepy!and Kotarou’s parents gave me the impression that are actually quite supportive of his writing aren’t they?Looking really forward to next week’s episode.
Last week was a one-off with my exams and all.
Not sure if I went crazy, but I do remember fist pumping and shouting ‘Yes!’ at certain intervals, if that counts.
I was going to comment on the absence of fireworks, but with the kiss being the main focus this time, I think excluding the fireworks might have been a good idea on the grounds that it could have taken away from the main moment. It’s often used for melodramatic effect, which you don’t really feel from this scene since the natural progression leading up to it just flows and is so relaxing. That said, fireworks were also used last episode during their interrupted attempt.
With the birthday, I’m pretty surprised Kotarou didn’t tell Akane about it. Did he really not want to celebrate his birthday with Akane? And it’s not like he’s shy either, given the courage he’s demonstrated as of late. Nevertheless, it allowed for Akane’s reaction, showing us she is serious and committed to the relationship.
I prefer Hira and Chinatsu being phased out. Would limit the potential for a rude interruption towards the end, when all I want is plain sailing towards the finish line. Like how the recent omake implied that Kotarou’s mum doesn’t seem very against his writing, just concerned for his future. Again, it lowers the likelihood of Kotarou falling out with his family over his aspirations, which plays into my preference of sailing smoothly into the end.
I see! I thought about it too and maybe the reason he didn’t tell her is because he thought it would be a bother to her and that she may feel forced to buy a present or celebrate it. That doesn’t sound bad though, however I doubt that middle school kids have much money to do that (there was also a small hint when Akane searched for a present). Also he could have forget about it too or maybe it just didn’t came to mind that it would be important to tell her.
the end is near….F***!
Didn’t want to be reminded ;_;
Time to brave ourselves.
You’re a certified RC blogger now if you experience missing to blog one of the juiciest episode of the series and had to turn it over to other bloggers for that one time. Last week was incredible.
But this week is really heart warming and cozy. Had a grin all over my face watching the entire episode.
Enzo did a splendid job covering. He has such an intimate knowledge of Japanese culture, and such insights make for unique and truly wonderful reviews. I hope I can incorporate that aspect into my writing style, as I get more experienced with blogging shows.
Back to the episodes in question, if they kissed for the first time last week, I would have raged for sure. I was already pretty annoyed as it was. Fortunately the first kiss was this week, so I’m okay with missing last week if it meant I could cover this one. In fact, I have to admit I gave a sigh of relief when Kotarou and Akane were interrupted from kissing last week. Not to mention because we were teased, the payoff felt a lot more satisfying this week.
another great one @zaiden // hope roman scores in the end! go for the goal kotarou!