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Short Summary:
Aisia doesn’t sleep all night and thinks instead about what Sakura told her. The next morning, with that on her mind, she asks Junichi what happened two years ago. Junichi doesn’t really answer, instead saying that it was a serious thing. Sakura arrives at the door dressed in a yukata to ask Junichi out to play. Junichi goes out with her, leaving Aisia at home. While the two are drinking lamune, Junichi learns of a London school of magic. His grandmother and Aisia’s grandmother knew each other and got along very well. Junichi tells Sakura that Aisia works so hard so that she can be able to grant people happiness like her grandmother did.
Meanwhile, Aisia remembers everything people have said two her concerning two years ago, including how the sakura trees used to be in bloom all the time. She walks around town looking for all of her friends in order to ask them what happened back then, but all of them are out of town or really busy. Aisia finally runs into Kotori, and asks her about two years ago. However, Kotori doesn’t feel that she can really explain either. Aisia feels that she doesn’t understand anyone else’s feelings and wishes she could read people’s minds. This strikes a cord with Kotori, who used to have that exact power. Kotori recounts her own experiences, including how honest Junichi was with her. Kotori continues on by saying how much Nemu and Junichi like each other and that Nemu is happy now. But Aisia doesn’t like the fact that Nemu’s feelings coming true means that Kotori’s won’t. Aisia decides that she wants to return things to the way they were two years ago, which involves reviving the old sakura tree and fixing it (Aisia views the old tree as imperfect).
The animation and music (especially the BGM in the final scene) for this series has been getting progressively better in the past few episodes. In terms of the plot, not a whole lot happened this episode, but Kotori and Aisia did get plenty of screen time (Rasmiel noted that the director has said that story is supposed to be about them) and a lot was said. Kotori’s views really haven’t changed much, and Aisia is still bent on making everyone happy. I’m getting to the point where I feel like Aisia’s ends-justify-the-means kind of mentality is very misplaced. It’s becoming more and more apparent that if Aisia tries to uses magic and revives the tree, it’ll just make things worse, be it in the act itself or in the aftermath.
But based on some of the titles that we have coming up in the next few weeks, I’m inclined to think that Aisia will succeed (in some way), and that this is where the plot is taking us. That being said, I’m not entirely sure how this spoiler fits into things, if Aisia does indeed revive the old sakura tree. Maybe it’ll start changing how the girls feel about Junichi (i.e. make them start fighting over him)? That seems a bit unlikely…
And of course, there’s still the Sakura factor. As it stands, she probably won’t be too happy with Aisia after she warned Aisia that magic is dangerous. Next week’s episode’s focus should definitely be on those two, especially considering the title. All I can say for certain is that I really want to see how this story ends, though not necessarily everything in between.
Closing Thought: This series must be subliminally reminding us that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire comes out next week by talking about the London school of magic. 😉
6 more episodes to go hasnt nemu died yet geeez T_T i hope is aisia or kotori or even sakura that junichi end up with but please NO MORE NEMU
And no more Aisia, she is the main character now and does anything actually HAPPEN this episode?
I WANT JYUNCHI LUV KOTORI PLZ MAN =_=. IM TIRED OF NEMU…KILL HER (haha…)
eps. 13-20 have yet to be subbed aznsoulboy.
AHHH the series is ending no and no subbing is in site this is sad
ooooo thx guys..well i know this site is just..i want with subtitle hahaha. ahh man i want jyunchi luv kotori. T_T. she is always down. what do u guys think? kotori still have a chance or not?
100% to be with jyunchi ahahaha.
Don’t forget the site has asked you not to give links to raws/subs/PVs. 😛 (look above where you put in your name and e-mail)
Anyway, kill Nemu, have Sakura go off on another journey or something, ship Aishia off to magic school in England, and get Junichi and Kotori married. 😀
Poor Da Capo MAybe they’re trying hard to catch up on how they suck like Gundam SEED Destiny’s Ending
The Similarities: Shinn = Kotori : Kira = Nemu…Slowly killing the “should be” main Heroine
BTW who were the couple in the ending looking at the album?
is Nemu and Jyuuichi or Kotori and Jyuuichi??
Because Nemu and Kotori’s skin complexion is quite the same
well~ DCSS will end in a way like any other drama however, i have a feeling that there wont be any happy ever after with someone for Junichi. Then again, Da Capo 2 is coming out soon eh? It’s the same Asakura surname, but this time, it’s 2 sisters. LOL!
Whatever it is, I have a feeling that the next 6 episode won’t have any changes, well~ as far as I’m concern, season 1 is way better since there’s a really nice plot for it. Maybe we’ll see the girls do the confessions for the next few episodes. who know?
well some people said is kotori. because they said uhm…the person wears red shirt (maybe it gives a clue..) and they r looking album pictures from some souvenirs?(some1 said that) anyway.i hope is kotori =). ohh well. this anime should not dissapoint me man LOLLL.
Speaking of which is there really such a thing as DA CAPO 2??
It’s like they’re competing with the TO HEART Series eh??
Yes, it takes place 52 years in the future.
Main characters are:
2x girls with the same last name as Asakura
1x banana loving girl with the same last name as Miharu
1x red haired girl with (you guessed it) same last name as Kotori
All that I heard so far is that the eternal sakura tree had bloomed again
maybe. ahh man im tired of this i just want to see kotori happy =_=
yup kotori deserve junich forever screw nemu and laugh has she burns in hel
wow i sense lotsa nemu hatred and kotori fan’s not that i care who wins,(/me have to dodge kotori rabid fans)
the reason i watched season 1 was bcoz the angst and drama the second half of the show and was hoping they would continue the drama and angst in the second season, i was hoping more angst in drama this episode since sakura has returned and theres the issue with sakura and aisia , aparently the plot,drama and angst is not up to its peak yet hopefully theyll step it up
kotori doesn’t deserve junichi. go watch s1 again, nemu if anyone deserves to be happy. She’s devoted herself to him, despite all his inadequacies, remaining true to him for two years while he was busy flirting with kotori, losing her memory for a while and nearly dying because of her love. kotori? she’s gotten him some yakisoba bread a few times, and “took care” of him during nemu’s absence, though not with purely altruistic intentions (trying to get close to him even though she confessed and was turned down properly in s1 is a self-serving interest if i’ve ever seen one).
Nemu has her flaws, sure. She’s insecure, which makes her somewhat possessive because she’s afraid of losing him. So what? She lost her parents, and felt like an outsider in the family even despite junichi’s assertion, especially when sakura was around. She knows what it’s like to lose someone, and she doesn’t want it to happen again, especially since junichi is all she has now.
Junichi is too nice, so he won’t tell kotori to back off, but kotori should know just as well as the rest of the first season cast that nemu and junichi are an item. Yeah, she wasn’t there when nemu was sick, and may not even know all the hardships nemu suffered, but she should know well enough to step back and wish them the best.
I’m tired of hearing shallow fanboys scream how nemu should die at every opportunity without any legitimate reasons or explanation. Sure, i’d like for kotori to have a happy ending. I’d like for everyone to have a happy ending, but nemu most of all, moreso than kotori. I’m hoping for an ending where kotori finally comes to terms with her emotions and is able to move on, Nemu and Junichi happily together, and Aisha understanding, with sakura’s guidance, that there’s more to happiness than the contrivances of superficial magical spells
ah p00k the misguided Nemu fanboy, we shall turn you to the right path.
by all means try, but u’ll need to say more than “NEMU IS A BITCH SHE SHOULD DIE” 😛
pook sounbds more like a fangirl than fanboy
roflmao @ anza
I have to agree with what p00k says, but I still cheer on for Kotori. XD
However, the tricky thing with love is that people can change just like *that* and may go for someone else as they grow older…after all they’re just high schoolers anyway ⌐⌐… but who knows? 😀
As we see herer the war between NEMU and Kotori fans still wages… who will win??
…Nemu??
…Kotori??
…Sakura??
or a FREAKING STALEMATE???
We would find out in episode 26 hahaha!!! 😀
haha shun, that we will (well, really it’ll probably be obvious by ep24 or 25)
and saga, yes there’s more to love than just how much someone has done or suffered, but the kind of closeness those experiences and ordeals cause certainly is a factor. and when we’re talking about who “deserves” who, we’re putting aside the idea that love isn’t (or perhaps “shouldn’t be”) based on anyone deserving anything.
Everyone’s going to root for the underdog, that’s just the way it is. I agree with p00k on this one.
well nemu is actually nice but…i dunno…like everybody is happy but exept kotori. and jyuuchi doesnt care about beauty. thats why kotori likes him well i think. anyway, i very dunt like nemu but i can respect people who like nemu >.>. man who is the gurl in the ED? =_=’ it looks like nemu. nahnahanahanha IS KOTORI MUAHAHAHA.
KOTORI RULEZ XD
p00k, i agree with you ^^
finally someone is nemu supportive… -.-;;;
Too bad Kotori has been flat out rejected once and knows Junichi is together with Nemu, she just needs to get over it.
p00k: Muwahahahahahaha, watch us pound your beloved Nemu into dust! 😀 😀 😀
However, I unfortunately believe that Nemu may indeed win. Why, you ask? Because Kotori has been Shinn Asuka-ed, big-time. She was set up to look like the main heroine at the start of the series, then in comes Nemu in episode 6 and steals the spotlight. Note that Kira was also brought back in episode 6 of GSD. Pattern, anyone?
pff i will never lose my hope that…kotori will win. why? because she is always down or sad something like that. jyuuchi will realize how much kotori is important for him..and it will change de situation =). anyway.
All you “WHO ENDS UP WITH WHO!!!!????”ers need to keep quiet. We all know Junichi will NOT dump Nemu and go for another girl. Even if he did, I sure hope it’s not Kotori he will be going for because he would be just as big of an ass as Yamato in Suzuka. I don’t care if Junichi ends up with Nemu and live in eternal damnation. I’ve already concluded so long ago that it’s not Kotori that doesn’t deserve Junichi, it’s Junichi who doesn’t deserve Kotori. Everyone wins, no matter how sad and insane Nemu gets, as long as Kotori finds her true happiness other than Junichi.
And I knew Kotori would get more screentime 😀 I hope Circus will give her MORE screentime. I’ll restore my faith in them.
LOL, Shin Asuka’d. How true.
Re: AznSoulBoy
I think that’s called the karma effect. But sometimes it can get really misused. The show could end up being a contest of which girls feels the lousiest.
Frankly, Nemu going to win because she the darn poster girl and she has the most fans. Kotori is going to be OK in end because she’s the golden hearted archetype. It’s “okay” to screw her over.
ya ill put my faith in them man. im bored…i want to see kotori. well u already concluded? nahh dont be..lets see what happens…im probably sure something will happens that for sure ;OOO. man..and why they need to make such a cute kotoni? maybe they want to attractive us.. =_=. so baka
ahh man i want to see episode 13-20 with subtile =_=.
subtitle*
And as a devoted Kotori fan, I’d like to shoot few bullets into p00k’s fanboyism.
“kotori doesn’t deserve junichi. go watch s1 again, nemu if anyone deserves to be happy. She’s devoted herself to him, despite all his inadequacies, remaining true to him for two years while he was busy flirting with kotori, losing her memory for a while and nearly dying because of her love. kotori? she’s gotten him some yakisoba bread a few times, and “took care” of him during nemu’s absence, though not with purely altruistic intentions (trying to get close to him even though she confessed and was turned down properly in s1 is a self-serving interest if i’ve ever seen one).”
When did Kotori ever say she was trying to get close to Junichi by taking care of him? Kotori clearly said in the beach episode that she took care of him because She liked him. Listen buddy, just because someone is rejected, it doesn’t mean they have to give up on loving. Especially not Kotori, who steps back in the whole circle of friends and her happiness, just so that everyone else can stay happy, while Nemu used other people as stepping stones so that she can get to Junichi. And you tell me Nemu deserves to be happy after that. Again, it’s not Kotori who doesn’t deserve Junichi, it’s Junichi who doesn’t deserve Kotori.
“Nemu has her flaws, sure. She’s insecure, which makes her somewhat possessive because she’s afraid of losing him. So what? She lost her parents, and felt like an outsider in the family even despite junichi’s assertion, especially when sakura was around. She knows what it’s like to lose someone, and she doesn’t want it to happen again, especially since junichi is all she has now.”
Nemu lost her parents? What about Kotori? She didn’t even KNOW who her parents were. She was merely adopted by the Shirakawa family, and even then she felt that she couldn’t blend in with the adoptive family because she couldn’t make them happy. Even having such traumatic past, Kotori continues to step back, always having a smile on her face even if she felt sad and lonely deep within.
“Junichi is too nice, so he won’t tell kotori to back off, but kotori should know just as well as the rest of the first season cast that nemu and junichi are an item. Yeah, she wasn’t there when nemu was sick, and may not even know all the hardships nemu suffered, but she should know well enough to step back and wish them the best.”
And isn’t that EXACTLY what Kotori is doing? She keeps holding her feelings back so that everyone else can by happy. Don’t tell me Kotori is being inconsiderate, because she is the MOST considerate person in the whole DC cast.
“I’m tired of hearing shallow fanboys scream how nemu should die at every opportunity without any legitimate reasons or explanation. Sure, i’d like for kotori to have a happy ending. I’d like for everyone to have a happy ending, but nemu most of all, moreso than kotori. I’m hoping for an ending where kotori finally comes to terms with her emotions and is able to move on, Nemu and Junichi happily together, and Aisha understanding, with sakura’s guidance, that there’s more to happiness than the contrivances of superficial magical spells”
You see, it goes like this: Everyone holds their feelings back for sake of Nemu, especially Kotori, while Nemu plans a “thanks” by inviting everyone to a trip, with dark intentions of getting the “thanks” over with so that she can have Junichi all to herself for the rest of summer. Nemu realizing feelings of others + treating them like obstacles = desired death of Nemu at every opportunity.
However, I agree that Kotori should move on and kill her feelings for Junichi once and for all.
What if…
Aishia does her magic ala “W-wish”style and blooms the sakura tree again while changing the whole setting of Da Capo, Nemu being her REAL sister with no Incestual realtionship with Jyuuichi and Kotori becoming the real love fir him.
or maybe I’m wrong with this…
Because probably it may end in favor of Nemu since the Da Capo Net Radio Show Hosts Changed…From Horie Yui to Nogawa Sakura may give at least the premontion that NEMU has been KIRA’d and bacame the main chara again
Nemu looks like…the girl in yugioh HAHAHAA =_=. kotori…..T_T she is soo kind. ahh man i want to know the ending XD. btw…i try to download d.c ss. episode 13-20 in tokyo..but..no seeds? =_=’
i totally agree with pook (i thinki) cuz dude nemu went through a lot to be with junnichi, and it would just sound so unresonable to put season one behind and out of our mind. Come on, the ending has junnichi and nemu looking at the old days and just admiring how much fun and happiness, they had in life…nemu and junnichi should definately be an item, because feeling like theirs just can not be erase or replace so quickly like that…hehehehe
a few good points ramsiel, but a few not so good
nemu never used people as stepping stones to get close to junichi, she was close to start with. and maybe it’s just the way i was raised, but in that situation, i feel that the “proper” thing to do IS to step back. no, she never said she was planning an act of subterfuge by sneakily hanging around, and it’s not in her personality to do anything underhanded, but considering everything she did there (i mean, she showered there, that’s more than just “oh no my house is too far away and its raining”) she wasn’t just there for his benefit.
you’re right, kotori also was adopted, but kotori didn’t live under someone else’s shadow the same way nemu did. remember how sakura seemed closer to junichi even though nemu was supposed to be his sister, and also the grandmother’s awkwardness to be as open to nemu. besides, my reason for pointing it out wasn’t to tell nemu’s sob story as you seem to believe, but to explain why she feels possessive. kotori has a feeling of emptiness, but not of loss, not the way nemu is. and as such, she isn’t as possessive and doesn’t constantly feel insecure and inferior the way nemu does.
kotori stepped back when nemu came around, and for that i have no complaints. it was her opportunistic actions when nemu was gone that i object to. still, i admit she is perhaps the most considerate person on the cast.
as for nemu’s inviting them, i think it’s more going back to nemu’s insecurity, and not everyone invited was someone who nemu would need to assert herself in front of, so i doubt that’s the only reason for the trip. she doesn’t treat everyone as obstacles. the new girls, perhaps, but let’s be honest, the new girls have been less than marginal in terms of plot importance. to kotori, maybe a little. but mako seems to have some feelings for junichi (well, she did in s1 anyways, not so much in s2), which was fairly innocent. also, when sakura came back, nemu welcomed her most openly of all, despite the fact that sakura, if anyone, would be the biggest “obstacle” as of yet.
anyway, in either case, nice to hear intelligent rebuttal instead of idiot shouting and hate
and aznsoulboy, if you go to l33t-raws’ channel and ask for a reseed of the bt’s u’ll get it, i forget which server they’re on though
l33t-raws’ channel???? uhm =_=???
well every1 have their opinion..so i respect them all. oh well. i just want to see what is the ending..curious..=P. even nemu have more chance then kotori. i dun care…because they can change the situation soo easily. so ill keep hope =).
kotori did step back watch ep 14 and 15, it was aishia that wanted everyone to be happy that made kotori actually “try” to get junichi back in ep 15… yes i agree the 1st season Nemu and Junichi are a key item.. but now she is more like an extra in the script that is screwing this show… and if she loves her brother as much as u say she wouldn’t have left him 2 yrs ago in the 1st place… who was there to take care of him?? kotori was… and i bet it was from the goodness of her own damn heart… And Kotori damn sure knows that Nemu was sick coz Sakura told her she would lose her mind reading abilities just like Sakura told all the other girls… one more thing… Nemu can never sing as well as kotori(based on the series not swiyuu wise) and she damn sure cant cook as well as kotori…. oh well i am outta here until Nemu dies or Kotori is given the ending she deserve… DCSS is CURRENTLY nothing but a F***ed up girl-seeing anime (with that said no flaming pls this is just my own humble opinion)
ya im agreed with u cyw1988. what is the key item i dun understand what u guys are talking about =_=. and sure kotori knows that nemu was sick.
This reminds me of this thread on 2ch where they have Shinn from Seed Destiny dating Kotori.
Like it says above: Please DO NOT ask or give links to raws/subs/PVs. Instead, please check the Community section on the sidebar for useful links. All comments violating this rule have been/will be deleted or changed.
hey hey hey!
What’s with the flame war?
On one side, I can see Nemu supporters, on the other side, I see Kotori supporters. *sigh*
Nothing is ever easy. You guys won’t look at my blog for my thoughts, so I guess I’ll have to bring it to you…
———————————————————————————————————————-
Seeing this episode has shown me that things can happen. I myself am a Nemu fanboy AND a Kotori fanboy, which allows me to see both “opposing” sides. The biggest problem here right now is that the majority of Kotori fans want Nemu to just shrivel up and die, while the Nemu fans want Kotori to stop faking her “righteous self” because it’s not really her. No joke.
Now, I don’t believe either. Nemu herself was given the most indepth look you could give in the prerequisites for Da Capo, (like go through each girl’s path and so on), and Kotori fans should rightly argue that Kotori wasn’t focused on like Nemu was. We only get a glimpse of Kotori’s past (sounds kinda Koi Koi 7-ish) and we can’t judge or like her because of that. Nemu, on the other hand, has given us 20+ episodes to show her backstory. What we CAN do is try to understand the mind from a sister that had tried to act self-reliant, but in reality was just someone that needed support and love. In the first season, the focus wasn’t on whether or not Nemu deserved Jun’ichi, it was on the fact that despite her personality, Nemu needed Jun’ichi or a male figure close to her to rely on. It just happened to be her brother. (I’m still surprised Jun’ichi figured out that Nemu loved her, because that’s not like him Season-1 style, you know) Nemu wasn’t as strong as Kotori in terms of inner strength, and she just wanted a support, but was too proud to call for help. So she does the teary-eyed thing about love in episode 19 (DC). It’s not really her in love, it’s her unwillingness to ask for help and accept that she’s not as strong as she really is. She breaks that in episodes 24 and 25 (DC), and realizes that her feelings are really love. In fact, I believe she takes that break just to confirm it, as she is still wavering (take Nemu’s ending in the game) between accepting and denying her own feelings. Now, while Nemu was away, Kotori and the rest of the original crew (sans Sakura) knew how much Jun’ichi was kinda useless by himself, and when Jun’ichi asked them to helped them out, Kotori felt the spark again. Reason? Jun’ichi’s actually pretty strong inside compared to Nemu, and despite believing the wrong thing (DCSS Ep 8 ) sometimes, he is willing to accept his mistakes and adjust if he is wrong. Kotori knows that Jun’ichi’s feelings aren’t solidified though, so she takes care of him, to which she tells herself that it’s because she likes him. Not true. Kotori wants Jun’ichi badly to recognize her as a woman, and during the peak of her want, she started to envision things that she wanted to happen (DCSS Ep 1). It eventually led into her teasing him (same episode, DCSS Ep 16) and her desire, to her dismay, appeared to be futile to her. This is most evident in DCSS Ep 16, as she basically gives up and tries to return to how she was after Jun’ichi helped her out of her drought (DC Ep 22), and she realizes that even though she loves Jun’ichi, she can’t force him to see her the same way she sees him. That took her the span of several episodes (Ep 17-19). Even in Ep 19, she hasn’t still fully recovered (no Chiwassu~). Honestly, between Nemu and Kotori, I believe they have their own reason, but both of them, no not just Nemu, both of them, are selfish. Not in their love for Jun’ichi, but for the simple reason that they want to be his love in order to feel complete. Nemu’s only got the upper hand because Jun’ichi closer to her blood-wise; if Kotori were in Nemu’s position, things would have been no different than Nemu and Kotori switching places.
That’s what I have to say.
erm, this is kind of a weird comment, but, in the preview for next week, was it just me or did Nemu’s voice slowly get lower…such that by the end it almost sounded like someone else…or was it just the quality of my video?
HEYY thenighttsshadow. i saw ur comments in satoshicorner hahahahaha. what a coincidence. well actually a respect their opinion =). hmmm ya ur right. but anyway. Hey Omni i try to download Da Capo but they have no seeds.im kind of dissapointed. and Omni…the main caracther is Kotori? well…why they put Kotori when she doesnt even appears a lot in each episode..and who is the person at the ED? hmm anywa. back to thenightsshadow…u watched 13-20? but how did u understand the situation? because uhm…with no subtitle is pretty hard to understand =_=. man haha.
Heh… as a fellow fan of both Nemu *and* Kotori, I liked what you had to say, thenightsshadow. What’s so often missing from this whole discussion is a sense of balance.
Feel’s purposeful “deception” (if you can call it that — promo art, first episodes, and OP) was taken to mean far more than was ever intended, I think. It never meant that Kotori was going to “get” Junichi in the end – this is a sequel, not a re-make. Season two shows that even a resolute ending (season one) leaves ripples in its wake, and most especially for Kotori, who wasn’t able to kill her feelings with the passing of the cherry tree (which was a key point in the early episodes, highlighted by Nemu’s return, reinforced by 14-15, and still not forgotten as we head towards the end). Even though Kotori won’t “end up with Junichi”, her struggle is absolutely key to Second Season, and is perhaps the most important part of all. It runs in perfect parallel to Aisia’s quest to use magic to make people happy, and I believe that the end of the show will tie both parallel stories together completely, and resolve them (in one way or the other). So, even with the return of both Nemu and Sakura, and even though those events themselves brought some direct consequences and plot, Kotori and Aisia remain the two main plot drivers of the show, and it’s the relation between *their* struggles that is continuing to drive us toward the final chapters of this tale.
Anyway, I’ve discussed this whole issue to death elsewhere, but the overall themes and arguments are still the same everywhere I go. Regardless of how you feel about the way Second Season played out (no one will claim that it’s perfect), I have a hard time believing that this was anything but the result of completely deliberate planning.
yaa kotori have a chance =). and in episode 6…humm aisha said…if junichi have a gurlfriend…he was shy and he looks at kotori that means something right ;O. guys tell me..how did u guys understand episode 13-20 when u guys doesnt have the subtile?? explainn me T_T
Have you considered that people here might actually understand and speak Japanese?
As for why Junichi blushed at the “girlfriend” suggestion way back when, it’s the same reason he blushed when Kotori misunderstood the “with your body, for a whole lifetime” thing from episode 1. Junichi’s not as dense as some people make him out to be. He realizes that Kotori’s this really nice, cute/hot girl that dotes on him, and he’s probably figured out that she doesn’t mind if other people think they’re “going out” (he clued in perfectly about what she was implying when she was teasing him in episode 1). And heck, in another lifetime, maybe his small feelings for Kotori could blossom and turn into love. But, deep down, his heart was still set on Nemu, and had been all along. If another year or two had passed with no word from Nemu, might Kotori and Junichi ended up together? Possibly… (keep in mind that, even in the game, as you’re heading down Nemu’s path, there’s a decision point where you can “cancel” and choose Kotori instead). But Junichi was adament all along that Kotori was a close friend, and he was eternally in her debt for her kindness and care. But, in terms of romantic love, his heart’s set on Nemu.
As for how I understand the raws? Well, while I can’t speak Japanese or anything like that (yet? haha – yeah right :P), I’ve been watching subtitled anime for years now, and have picked up little bits here and there. I watched the first season without subtitles after I bought it on DVD. So, while I can’t understand every nuance of the dialog, the visual/auditory clues, along with the bits of the language I do understand, paint a fairly precise picture of what’s going on. Da Capo (both first and second season), more than most other shows I’ve seen, has very emotionally-driven dialog – it’s something I can really connect with, even through the language barrier. So, while I still wouldn’t feel comfortable without subtitles for most other anime yet, Da Capo is something I can understand without much difficulty. Of course, your mileage may vary, and all that.
AznSoulBoy: You don’t need a sub to understand the plot. Raw delivers the plot well enough, actually, it delivers the truth of the truths. Omni does very well in his blogs too, which many people can look at to get the plot without waiting for subs.
p00k and thenightsshadow:
Tell me what exactly she did that showed she didn’t take care of Junichi for his benefit. How did Kotori even “tease” Junichi? Yeah, she asked him to get some dry clothes for Aisia as well as her underwear, but that hardly counts as a “tease”. Kotori didn’t say that line just so Junichi’s manhood will be awaken.
I admit that Kotori said “Am I really that unattractive?” while she was taking bath in episode 1 at Junichi’s house, which kinda says she wanted him to recognize her as a woman, and taking bath there itself is pretty beneficial for Kotori. But I’m pretty sure (if not, disregard) that Junichi was the one who suggested that Kotori take a bath. Besides, there’s no need for Kotori to run home in rain, with high chances of catching a cold just so it wasn’t beneficial for her. Plus in the end, the one who will suffer from Kotori getting sick is Junichi himself, because the useless one didn’t know a thing about household duties.
“kotori stepped back when nemu came around, and for that i have no complaints. it was her opportunistic actions when nemu was gone that i object to. still, i admit she is perhaps the most considerate person on the cast.”
What opportunistic actions? Was it better for Junichi to starve himself to death? Was it better for Junichi to feed himself on Moe’s Nabe and get unbalanced diet? Or Miharu’s chocolate banana for that matter? If Kotori did indeed take care of him because she had opportunity to catch his love, she would have taken care of him again when Junichi himself asked Kotori for help on the day Nemu was absent from house, or just wear her bikini on the beach episode despite Nemu having the same one, to attract Junichi instead of stepping back again and misacting as ms. forgetful.
you know something this flaming and the waging debate between Nemu and Kotori reminds me on how long Gundam SEED Destiny’s forums are,,, from the the flaming of Shinn and Kira fans 😛
You miss my point. I didn’t say Jun’ichi was not taken care of for his benefit. Yeah, Kotori’s being a good friend too!
What’s unclear to most is what happens when one is in the position Kotori was in is experienced. You’ve never been there, so you can’t say it’s definitive.
Oh, and remember, Kotori’s “ushtagi” line was in episode 2, not 1, when I used only Ep 1 and 16 on purpose, cuz episode 2’s was just out of necessity; not even a tease.
aww..wow…me is naruto that i can undestand a little lol…anyway. uhmmm..well its hard to me to get the animated…well THERE NO SEEDS? lol..i try in all sites that i know…and in the community section but it doesnt just work soo gay. would some1 send it to me? or help me? omni?
Shun: That’s almost /exactly/ what this is, due to Kotori being Shinn Asuka-ed. As the term suggests, she was the character who got the focus/advertising of being the main female lead and then got tossed aside for a member of the /old/ cast by the staff, just as SHinn Asuka was the advertised main character of GSD, then director Fukuda tosses him out for old character Kira Yamato. Heck, Kira and Nemu were introduced in the same episode of their respective series, episode 6. How could this /not/ be connected to the GSD kira vs Shinn debates?
…Am I the only one who doesn’t see any flaming war here? It’s just a debate…It’s pretty much a promise for all animes. This debate is nowhere as bad as Kira fanboys vs Shinn fanboys debates that erupted all around the net.
The fact is quite simply that Nemu didn’t replace Kotori as the “main character”. There’s absolutely no evidence whatsoever to suggest that this isn’t exactly what the producers intended all along. Nemu returned to take her “rightful place” as Junichi’s girlfriend, the way it was left in season one. She had her story arc, but never really took centerstage after that. The primary purpose of Nemu’s return was to put emphasis on the barrier that prevents Junichi from returning Kotori’s unchanged feelings (to make it clear that this was only ever going to be an unrequited love, “unless…”), just as Sakura’s return places a barrier/obstacle to Aisia’s desire to use magic (to make it clear that Aisia’s magic won’t make people happy, “unless…”). And now we see the two “unless” cases starting to collide. Very deliberate, and carefully constructed from the get-go, based on the aftermath of the first season. So, perferences are one thing, but, in my opinion, the GSD analogy just doesn’t work when the pieces of the plot fit so well together to form a whole.
(And incidentally, the “big tease” was “shall we [take a bath] together?” That’d surely awaken pretty much any guy’s manhood. Of course it was in jest… or… was it…? :p )
Well, well. And I thought the comments were made for discussion about the episode, the relations etc. etc. but what do I see? A very, very healthy debate. While I don’t see any problem of discussing/debating/arguing, the indirect emotional beating of the opposing sides is just disgusting. Get your acts together and please continue. Thanks
i hardly think junichi is too incompetent to go get himself some food in nemu’s absence. he seemed to be doing just fine when nemu was around but couldn’t cook, and doing fine long before he even really got to know mako and moe and their nabe. besides, nemu went and learned to cook, so junichi could’ve done the same. if you really think junichi would die of hunger and malnutrition because of nemu’s absence, then you must’ve forgotten exactly how the cooking situation worked in s1. so let’s just pretend you didn’t say that, or were joking
and as for opportunistic, lemme put it this way rasmiel. mako, as seen by the end of that episode where she asked him to fake being her bf, had some feelings for him. perhaps not as developed as kotori’s, and thus easier to let go of, but nonetheless they were there. but what happened when nemu and junichi officially got together? well, she objected a bit cuz they were siblings, but once she accepted it, she stepped back. kotori’s actions and flirting were inappropriate, simple as that. as for why she didn’t accept those other times, it’s because now nemu *was* back, albeit not in the immediate vicinity. being gone for 2 yrs is a lot diff from being gone for a day, and kotori isn’t the confrontational type, which is why she didn’t act as you suggested. it’s at the beginning, before nemu returns in ep6, that is opportunistic
anyway, this is hardly a flame war. i pointed out why, in my opinion, nemu “deserves” to win. you rebutted. i addressed your rebuttal. you rebutted again. and now, without using fanboyish ranting like ‘NEMU SHOULD DIE’ or ‘KOTORI BANZAI’ or ‘KOTORI IS A HOMEWRECKER’ or any crap like that, i again address your rebuttal
also, ditto to what rf said about the teasing 😛
well, i guess shinji’s comment about kotori getting shinn-asuka’d was kinda flamewar-ish, but i don’t think anyone really paid attention to what he had to say
Rather than flamewar-ing, it was an observation. I mean come on, even the episode numbers match up. How could nobody notice such a coincidence. 😛
And if you’d been reading the posts, p00k, you’d see that people were indeed paying attention to what I’ve been saying.
Yes, I remember how the cooking situation worked in season one. Neither of the Asakura’s could cook, so they often had to order good from stores. However Nemu was the one who kept those orders balanced so that they’d get proper nutrition. Junichi? Well being a lazy ass that he was, he’d just buy lunch box from a convenience store and die of malnutrition in 2 years. Also let’s remember that Junichi didn’t redeem himself the instant Nemu was gone. He redeemed himself over those couple of years, with help from Kotori.
“and as for opportunistic, lemme put it this way rasmiel. mako, as seen by the end of that episode where she asked him to fake being her bf, had some feelings for him. perhaps not as developed as kotori’s, and thus easier to let go of, but nonetheless they were there. but what happened when nemu and junichi officially got together? well, she objected a bit cuz they were siblings, but once she accepted it, she stepped back. kotori’s actions and flirting were inappropriate, simple as that. as for why she didn’t accept those other times, it’s because now nemu *was* back, albeit not in the immediate vicinity. being gone for 2 yrs is a lot diff from being gone for a day, and kotori isn’t the confrontational type, which is why she didn’t act as you suggested. it’s at the beginning, before nemu returns in ep6, that is opportunistic”
They keyword here seems to be “accept”. When did Kotori ever actually reject the idea of Nemu x Junichi make up? She never said anything like, “THIS ISN’T RIGHT!”, or “NEMU/ASAKURA-KUN YOU BAKA!” regarding the relationship. Okay, so Kotori did flirt with Junichi in the first episode, but do you really think Kotori expected a ‘Yes’ response when she suggested that they take a bath together? Kotori knows Junichi isn’t that kind of person. I can’t say for sure, but it seemed like it was a joke, which wasn’t meant to tear apart the Nemu x Junichi relationship. Hey, Kotori is a girl. You have a guy you love so much standing in front of you, and you are about to take a bath at his house. Is it really that inappropriate for a couple of small flirting to occur?
I still don’t see what was so opportunistic. The message second season has been giving us since Nemu was back is that you can never beat her, and you can’t change Junichi’s mind about her. Although those 2 Nemuless years looked like an opportunity for Kotori, there wasn’t any opportunity to begin with, which is why I think Kotori just didn’t move into teh Asakura home for convenience.
I’m getting your points though. As a stubborn Kotori fanboy, I can’t agree with them, but I’m getting them 😛
I do think Jyunichi is incredibly dense though, not to realize Kotori’s feelings now even after what happened.
A girl tells you she loves you, and a month or two after, your girlfriend leaves. Said girl gets really worried and starts taking care of you 24/7. Sure, he was depressed, but, uhhh…
As for my feelings on Nemu I have nothing more to add to what Rasmiel said before, except that I didn’t like how she left Jyunichi RIGHT AFTER they had started their relationship, and I find her to be too much of a drama queen. So of course I want Kotori to be happy, while I don’t give a damn about what happens to her. If that has to be through her moving on, or getting Jyunichi, I don’t care, as long as she’s happy.
But it’s better if she moves on, I don’t think Jyunichi, at least this Jyunichi (game in is somewhat cooler), deserves Kotori. Nemu and him deserve each other. 😛
alalallaalala
yay !!! finalli sum action !!
what action? LOL
ale, dont you think nemu had her reasons why she had to go away for 2 years?
The sakura tree incident might have effected her the most of all, heck she almost died(which i know all those kotori fans would love). This incident might have lead her towards being a nurse or to go into a medical field.
I’m really surprised she gets along with Sakura so well, i mean she is usually super jealous of Sakura’s closeness to Junichi. It shows that she is grateful that Sakura did save her from almost dying. sakura and nemu combination is still soo cute~
As for this episode, I just finished watching it today, haha, I have to say it is pretty intense, and also really scared on the effects that the Sakura tree will do if Aishia revives it. can’t wait for the next week’s episode
Does anyone think Aishia or Sakura has a chance to end up with Jyunichi? a crazy question I know :heh:
nahh…probably between nemu and kotori =) lets hope for kotori hahaha =_=
Naw, Mimi, I hate Nemu, but it’s nothing to do witht he fact that I like Kotori. They’re two different characters.
And I think the nurse thing was more of a vocation.
ya me 2 i hate nemu and i like kotori =D. i like when she sings the song in episode 15 =). ;D
>>All I can say for certain is that I really want to see how this story ends, though not necessarily everything in between.
I just noticed this, and I can’t agree more with Omni. I was always intrigued in knowing what is gonna happen next or what was gonna happen in the end, even if I didn’t enjoy this series much.
If Circus for some absurd reason decides to end the series with Kotori being depressed, I’d send them a hate mail disguised as a fan mail…Have them follow the same fate as Mr.Anno.
That’s not going to happen, but they’d better give her a well deserved share of screentime (which was officially announced by the director like you told us) and a well done closure.
I’m not afraid of her ending up sad, I’m more afraid of it being some hardly believable thing like “I love him but I’m happy” or whatever.
as mimi said, nemu most definitely had her reasons for leaving. one of which being she wanted to be more useful to junichi, by becoming more mature and independant and able. and as mimi pointed out, she did accept sakura openly, perhaps more so than some of us would expect, which i take as an indication that nemu has matured at least somewhat (yeah she still got mad when she saw aisha that first time, etc etc)
anyway, i agree, i don’t want them to end things with kotori being depressed. in my mind that’s almost as dumb an ending as breaking nemu up, and then nemu would be depressed. but i do think that kotori growing up and moving on from her first “love” (the first boy she was ever able to open up to) would be a pretty solid ending. for that matter, i think the way they ended kotori’s story in s1 was pretty good, except perhaps a bit early. she was sad, but she seemed strong and optimistic, as though she would be all right, and be able to move on and look back on the experience as a good one.
shinji, superficial comparisons as to what episode # they returned in are silly. if you wanna go that route, why not take into account %’s? ep6 of a 50 ep series is a lot earlier in the story than ep6 of a 26 ep series! also, nemu’s return was planned from the very beginning, they didn’t bump her up because of lagging ratings (yes, kira’s return was planned as well, but as ratings flogged they started increasing his role in the story). and no, kotori is not a character new to s2, as shinn was to gsd. if you wanna point out superficial similarities, i can point out superficial differences ten-fold. things like that don’t matter.
and aznsoulboy, yeah, kotori’s seiyuu is a pretty decent singer. horie yui also sang the OP song for sister princess, which i really enjoyed. she also played sakuya in sispri, my favorite character in that series (nemu’s seiyuu played the girl in the hat, who i really liked too, but she didn’t have enough of a role in sispri for me to rate her). but seiyuu talent and its manifestations in the show (insert songs of kotori) don’t really make that big a diff to me, as long as the voice matches the character and is well performed.
on a side note, nemu’s confession in s1 was so much better than kotori’s (ok, they didn’t actually show kotori’s, but a schooltop confession? how cliche). yes, nemu had great music to go with hers, yubiwa wo katte ageru was excellent, but still, nemu’s was so much more heartfelt and emotional
I still think it was pretty unsensitive and selfish for her to leave and fulfill her own vocation then, but fair, it’s understandable if others disagree.
Nemu has maybe matured somewhat…but I’d say it’s more that she’s okay with Sakura, than that.
it’s not just her own vocation, she didn’t go get a job so she could leave 11 (tired of typing out his name). she wanted to be more useful to him, and to not be a burden on him or their family. she didn’t want to be taken care of forever, she wanted to be able to do more for him than sit there and be emotional support. the timing may have been inopportune, but there may have been extenuating circumstances preventing her choosing a more convenient time to do so. as indicated by her unsent letters, it’s not like she decided she got tired of him and had more important things to do with her life. not to say that it was a great idea to leave, just saying she just had a different way of looking at things than we do
and yeah, part of it is that she’s okay with sakura, but the fact that she’s okay with sakura is an indication of her maturity. rather than being hung up on what happened in the past, both the magic tree aspect and the competition for 11’s affection, she was able to put all that in the past, which in and of itself is a sign of maturity
Dude, p00k, either you’re being weird and not seeing obvious things or you’re intentionally ignoring stuff I say when it helps your point, but as I clearly said, the episode number was a big coincidence /add-on/ to Kotori being Shinn Asuka-ed.
i’m not ignoring stuff you say, and doing so couldn’t possibly help my point since it’s totally irrelavant. u said the episode number was a big coincidence to kotori being shinn-asuka’d. i’m saying that ur comparing apples and oranges. ur “shinn asuka’d” argument is just as big a coincidence as the episode number, if you wanna call it a coincidence (it’s really not even that much, just a vague superficial similarity).
“Note that Kira was also brought back in episode 6 of GSD. Pattern, anyone?”
“Heck, Kira and Nemu were introduced in the same episode of their respective series, episode 6. How could this /not/ be connected to the GSD kira vs Shinn debates?”
Granted, you did say “How could nobody notice such a coincidence.” but you seem to think that coincidence means an awful lot. Don’t say i’m the one being weird, unless you’ve been posting under a diff name as well, i’m not ignoring stuff or seeing obvious things. your tone and insults are turning this conversation into the gsd fanboy fights that we’ve been trying to avoid.
Nemu is a lot of things, but she was hardly a burden to Jyunichi, at the very least in that sense. More like Jyunichi was a burden to her, the useless idiot.
Sorry to be stubborn, but I really do think Nemu left for her own vocation. In the game she leaves no matter what route you’re in, and she says it’s to fulfill a dream. That’s fair, but I think the timing was bad and it was insensitive of her.
So I don’t like it when people attack Kotori because she helped Jyunichi. To begin with, she helped him because she liked him, yes, and she wanted to be close to him, but it was also for his benefit, and it wasn’t really for hitting on him and trying to make him her boyfriend either, because else she’d have reminded that dense idiot of what she said (and I STILL don’t understand how he didn’t get it, considering not much time passed between her confession and Nemu’s leave, and she started taking care of him immediately after).
But even if she was trying to get him, so what? This is no KGnE, Nemu left because she WANTED to.
And, as for the Sakura thing, my point is that if it’d been someone else she’d have been as jealous and unreasonable as usual. So she matured, but she had an easier time maturing than others considering everyone stepped back so she could get what she wants, and not as much as she should have.
p00k: Of course the whole Shinn Asuka-ed thing was a coincidence (although that’s still what happened). You mean you actually thought I was trying to make a GSD-DCSS connection besides the fact that both shows had main characters who got nerfed?….right….since they have different staff, I don’t see why you would have thought so….And what I’m saying does affect the Kotori position because it’s clear that Kotori got nerfed. tehy set her up as a main character, and look what happens, she barely has any screen time now that Nemu’s back. Of /course/ I’m going to say that what happened to Shinn Asuka happened to Kotori, because that’s exactly what happened. >.>
There’s still time for that to change, but defo Nemu felt like more of a main character than Kotori did, whose story looked more like a side-story.
The ones you’d always always see would be Nemu and Aisha, so I guess at least Aisha really was treated as one, but Kotori wasn’t.
“on a side note, nemu’s confession in s1 was so much better than kotori’s (ok, they didn’t actually show kotori’s, but a schooltop confession? how cliche). yes, nemu had great music to go with hers, yubiwa wo katte ageru was excellent, but still, nemu’s was so much more heartfelt and emotional”
Hey hey hey. They both have their reasons for confessing the way they did. Kotori did such a cliched confession because she didn’t believe in things like love letters and over-the-phone confessions where you can’t actually read the other person’s emotions. Kotori’s confession is based on this principle:
“It’s about how much embarassment you can take for the person you love”
And I agree. If the one confessing takes the embarassment to the public, you can really FEEL how much that person loves you. This as well is a heartfelt and emotional method of confession. I mean, look at what Naru did Love Hina. She freakin’ confessed (okay, wasn’t really the love confession, but still) over the public big screen on Christmas Eve! I cried, and it takes a lot to make me cry. Kotori’s confession is not any different.
Kotori’s confession in the game was around 10 times better though. Heheh.
man where u get those games, i didnt saw in the shop LOLL. anyway, and who is shinn? is it the new guy in D.C.S.S. and who is kira already =_=’. what is gsd? something like whatever O.O u guys confusing me LOL
GSD is Gundam Seed Destiny.
Shinji says that Kotori is in the same situation as Shinn because at first he was presented as the main character and when Kira (main character of last season) came back, he got shafted, and got much less screentime. I haven’t watched GSD but I -think- that’s how it goes from what I’ve read.
I dunno about GSD, but I don’t think in DCSS it was deliberate, however I don’t like how they made Kotori look like a main character, and then she was given much, much less screentime than Aisha, and unlike Nemu, you don’t see a bit of her in every episode, Kotori feels more like a side character.
It annoys some people (including myself) considering that Kotori and Aisha were made look like the main characters in this story, from the art, posters, pics on the website, first few episodes (and I found out not long ago from Rasmiel that they were actually oficially announded as the main characters), and the such, even if it was rather obvious Kotori and Jyunichi weren’t going to end up together; and so far, Aisha feels like the protagonist, while Nemu and Jyunichi are the main couple and the Kotori thing is more of a sidestory. Maybe that’ll change, to some point, and she’ll have some influence in the ending, but definitely, so far, Kotori wasn’t really treated like a main character this season. And whether she features heavily in the closure or not, it’s still a fact that she wasn’t given enough screentime to be considered a protagonist.
Yup, Kotori as Shinji103 mentioned, got totally Shinn Asuka’d. Shinn was the official protagonist, and it was bad enough that he got drifted away from the spotlight, but he also became a villain and was given no character development whatsoever. Plus in the end, he was trashed like pile of nothingness. All because Kira fanboys loved to see Kira coming back.
It would be nice if Kotori got lots of screentime for the rest of the season, but it still wouldn’t be enough to make up for all the spotlights that were stolen from her. I just watched the Raw few minutes ago and I must say, Kotori seems to get sweeter and sweeter with every minutes of screentime she gets in this season.
Heh, yes, she really is a great person. I am still full of hope that she’ll get the ending she deserves. I’d like something like her leaving the island and finding love somewhere else as well as fulfilling her career as a singer, or something like that. I know it’s not very likely, but I don’t want just a “moving on” ending, not just an “I love him but I’m happy” ending.
I don’t like how they made -everyone- like Jyunichi all of sudden in ep. 16, so at least I want Kotori to -really- move on and find some happiness herself.
ya me 2 i just dont want to see at the ending. like the S1 =_=’ he rejects me but its ok i feel so happy i was soo dissapointed =_=’ haha. i hope theyll change something at episode 21-26. kotori is too nice =D
I’m going to keep my hopes up that in the end, they have Kotori make a comeback and have her get together with Jyunichi, at the very least have her put up one hell of a fight and get Jyunichi to kiss her even if it’s only to show he appreciates her help. I just hope my hopes aren’t unfounded like they were for GSD. >.>
Side note: I’m scared out of my mind though that the first two anime series where I have seen the “Shinn Asuka nerf” both happened in about the same season though. That’s just freaky. First time I’ve seen something like that happen, and it happens twice with two semi-simultaneously running series. That can’t be a good sign, but I hope that it’s just me. >.>
im with u =). lets hope =DD
Not sure if I want that useless idiot to lay a finger on Kotori if he isn’t gonna stay with her, in fact, I’d rather she moved on and found happiness somewhere else because she deserves much better, but well, if going out with him made her happy, sure, I guess.
hahahahaa..im probably sure jyunchi will realize how much kotori is important for him :D. well i dun want to see a ending like kotori is happy but with nobody T_T. its like too cheap u know hehe
Not really cheap as long as she gets over it.
A cheap ending would be an ending where she doesn’t get over her crush and she’s magically happy.
TRUE LOL. but i mean kotori is happy with nobody like…in S1 she said he rejects me but its fine im happy. =_=’ i was like soo dissapointed LOL. and in s1…i always yelled on the screen HEY STUPID JYUNCHI…TAKES KOTORI NOT NEMU. after a while i saw him kiss nemu i was like oh my godness LOL
Junichi is no longer pure. He’s infected with Nemu-H02 disease. No one unpure should ever touch Kotori. Rawr.
I just got another idea for the ending with Ale’s posts. They could show each character’s career few years after the end of second season or something. Kotori will obviously be a pop/rock idol, Sakura will uh, win a nobel peace award? Miharu will be a banana analyzer or something, Moe will run a Nabe restaurant with Mako’s help, Alice will be a circus clown, Tamaki will be a boot camp instructor (lmao), Nanako is of course a manga author. Suginami will be a spy agent, Kudou will be a cross dressing idol…Hmm, who did I forget? Oh yes, Nemu will be a nurse in old people’s home and Junichi will be a useless husband who lies on the sofa all day, while watching Kotori sing in T.V. and having regrets about rejecting her the first time.
Kinda hard to believe this episode got 100+ comments. And it’s not even the last episode yet XD
HAHAHA YES 100 episodes LOL. but what do u mean hes infected with nemu-H02? dont scare me like that man it looks like u want to say. kotori doesnt have a chance anymore
100 comments i mean
I don’t have any trouble understanding that people are disappointed that Kotori’s screentime diminished when Nemu returned. But, what I can’t understand is the whole “nerfed” argument – “they set her up to look like a main character, and then replaced her with Nemu”. In order to successfully argue that point and all its implications, you’d have to really ignore the critical importance of all the appearances Kotori *has* had in the show.
Kotori’s plight has been absolutely instrumental in illustrating Aisia’s desire to make people happy through magic. Kotori’s struggle to accept Nemu as Junichi’s rightful lover (and figure out what to do with her own unchanged feelings for him) is the motivation that essentially drives the entire show (and if not for Kotori alone, for her as the most important representative of what all the other girls feel to at least a certain extent). So she may not be “The Main Character”, but she’s been much more instrumental to the show’s overall plot than Nemu has been. The purpose of Nemu’s return was to throw Kotori’s struggle into the limelight (show you more clearly what “the problem is”), and to give Aisia a growing reason/motivation to act (as she gradually saw Nemu’s happiness being in conflict with Kotori’s (and others too, of course)). Sakura’s return, it seems to me, is to throw tension in Aisia’s way, further pushing things towards resolution, one way or the other.
So, again, I’m not taking issue with the screentime argument (the time spent on-screen speaks for itself), but I do think you’re not giving Kotori’s appearances enough credence/weight in the grand scheme of things. Nemu’s role was important (and she has seen some character development), but I can’t see how you could say that the show’s “about her” or that the show changed to be “more about her than Kotori” – at the very least, I’d find that to be a much weaker interpretation of all that’s happened. Nemu’s reappearance was a plot point, while Kotori’s struggle is the recurring theme.
All that being said, I don’t believe that resolving Kotori’s dilemma (which is, I think, where the show is headed through Aisia) means that Kotori will end up with Junichi, because that’d be trading one person’s happiness for another – really unlikely, and not really any sort of resolution to the D.C. saga (except to setup for some sort of a bizarre season three showdown ^^;). But if D.C. is going to reach any sort of resolution (which’d make sense to do now, with D.C. II on the way), it’d have to be acceptance and moving on: finding happiness (and, of course, I expect that we’re going to see that magic is, still, the wrong answer). How this will play out exactly remains to be seen, of course, but at the end of the day, even though Junichi and Nemu will probably stay together, the entire plot of D.C.S.S. hinged on Kotori’s struggle, in principle if not in entirety.
Anyway, it’s late, but I hope that made some amount of sense. I like all the D.C. characters, but I dislike all the polarization around this season’s plot. I think it’s partly a sign that people are reacting a lot, but only reflecting a bit. Truly, if you want to pick the “main character” of the show, I’d have to say that role falls to the “moral of the show” (“Seeking and finding happiness”), almost more like a fable or fairy tale. Everyone and everything in the plot serves that moral/message/theme. My two cents yet again, for what it’s worth…
But the point is that the lack of screentime hurts her position as a main character or not, it’s not something that can be just brushed off. Sure her storyline is very important to the plot, but the real drive behind DCSS is Aisha’s magic and seeking happiness, if you ask me. And on the backstage, we always, always, see some of Nemu and Jyunichi, while Kotori appears more ocasionally.
So I’d say that the main character here is clearly Aisha. By far. Why it was originally announced that it’d be Aisha and Kotori, I dunno. Kotori’s an important character, but far from main.
relentlessflame: I know Kotori has had an important influence in the plot. This episode in fact, wouldn’t have had Aisia reach the resolution to revive the bolossom tree if it weren’t for Kotori. One of the biggest reasons I got really excited about the second season was because I had thought that I’ll get to see lots of Kotori (with Nemu gone! What could be better?). Yes, Kotori’s struggle has been important, and hopefully will remain important. But as important as it is, Kotori herself can be seen as unimportant because she only occasionally appears and she appears with one big bang to the storyline. A real main character appears often and slowly develops his/her importance. This isn’t the case with Kotori; she appears and out of nowhere, brings a major curve to the storyline which leaves Kotori’s importance as a character small in comparison to her actual influence to the storyline.
I reckon my explanation is confusing as hell, so I’ll summarize it in one sentence: Kotori was used as a mere tool for story development.
Couldn’t have put it better myself, I was arguing with a friend over AIM today earlier about the same thing and that was basically the same conclusion I reached: while Kotori’s influence to the plot is (very) important her character hardly is. We don’t see a bit of her in every episode like we do with Nemu in season 1 (or even here), or Ellis in Canvas 2, who show up even when the episodes aren’t about them. We haven’t seen what she does in her daily life, her interaction with other characters, meaningless everyday stuff, that while it doesn’t have too much of an effect in the plot, it does show you more sides about the character and how s/he’s developing. That’s something that only happens with Aisha, Nemu and Jyunichi.
Of course, this wouldn’t be a problem if our expectations hadn’t been raised to think that she’d be important…
ya me 2 rasmiel..like after episode 26.. i saw the second season in the internet with the pictures of kotori and i was like YAY. and then after nemu appeared…in episode 6 i was soo down LOLLL. ahh well =_= lets see the other episodes ;D
I guess my point is that no one was ever promised that Kotori would “get more screentime than the other girls”. We were promised (and the director recently repeated, as Omni mentioned in his post) that the story would be about Kotori and Aisia – and that’s what this show has been about so far, on the whole. I guess that’s really the heart of what I’m trying to say. Whether or not it’s the show you wanted to see is an entirely different issue, but I just can’t agree when people claim that the producers mislead them, simply because Kotori herself hasn’t been at the center of every episode. Her dilemma is at the very heart of the show, on-screen or not, and that fulfills the only “promise” we were given.
But when someone is announced and portrayed as a main part of the story you expect them to have a lot of screentime. Maybe not as much as Aisha, but enough screentime to consider her main along with the plot.
As for it being misleading…hm, that’s arguable. Could be, could not be…but I think it is to some point, which doesn’t mean it was some evil masterplan of deception, it didn’t have to be intentional. But anyone who takes a look at the gallery in hatsunejima.com would expect the red haired girl and the little girl to be the main characters in the show, just to give an example.
I’m not saying she has to be at the center of every episode, that’d be crazy. Take a look about the amount of screentime and focus Nemu has been getting, even after her arc was resolved (and she doesn’t have that much to do with the plot this time around, her relationship with Jyunichi developing is an important plot point but at best that is on par with the Aisha/Kotori deal), or the screentime Aisha gets when the story isn’t about her (although that hardly ever happens). That’s more or less what I’m aiming at. I realize this isn’t Da Kotori, but if both Aisha and Kotori are the characters the story is about, how come both Aisha and Nemu get a lot more screentime than her? I think what most people want is just her 00:30-2:00 in every episode, the random pointless stuff that fills in while the plot takes place, as well as the episodes that are actually about her (we do have those ones). Either that, or just have her thrown to the sidelines since the very beginning.
For someone who is supposedly a main part of the story, we surely weren’t shown enough screentime of her to warm up to her and know her better. And personally I think it looked like we would, both from the beginning of the series, and from the things surrounding the anime. Because the way it is now, it feels like she was just one more tool that was used for Aisha’s story and development. That’s all.
well maybe theyll show kotori in episode 23-26? and maybe it will change the feeling of jyuchi and he will realize that kotori is more important and all ;D
oh ya in hatsunejima.com in the gallery they just show kotori and aisha. no nemu XD, but why? and who is the person in the ED? is it nemu or kotori. it looks like nemu and kotori too LOL
Well, obviously, they were trying to keep Nemu and Sakura’s returns somewhat a secret, which is why you don’t see them in any of the promo art, in the early gallery pictures, or in the OP. You can’t really expect them to give that away from the get-go, but if that’s what “mislead you”, then that’s hardly anyone’s fault. It wouldn’t have been a secret otherwise. :p
And, I don’t know… just because Nemu’s back and has screentime spread out throughout each episode since her return (mostly to reinforce that “yep, Junichi’s still whipped…”) doesn’t make her a main character either – if anything, her character was even more “nerfed” to service the plot of the show. I’ve seen plenty of Kotori to warm up to her dilemma – to feel for what she’s going through. Given that her dilemma wasn’t going to get resolved until the end of the show, but hasn’t changed all along, it makes sense why you don’t see her more often – it’d be redundant, and people would be upset that the producers keep dwelling on Kotori’s sadness.
If anything, you could say that the problem with Kotori and Aisia’s stories is that they spread it over 26 episodes and had a lot of filler in between. If this had been a 13-episode show, I think you would have seen everything tightened up a lot more around the central story (Kotori & Aisia) but, at 26 episodes, you see that Kotori’s story is highlighted most at the beginning, the middle, and (I believe) the end. So, in the grand scheme of things, I think we’ll see Kotori’s story as being essential to the plot, but there was a lot of meandering in between that kind of stole the focus away for some people. Especially because people seem to have a fixation on whoever gets the most screentime.
Anyway, that’s my theory/speculation.
“I’ve seen plenty of Kotori to warm up to her dilemma – to feel for what she’s going through. Given that her dilemma wasn’t going to get resolved until the end of the show, but hasn’t changed all along, it makes sense why you don’t see her more often – it’d be redundant, and people would be upset that the producers keep dwelling on Kotori’s sadness.”
While I do have problems watching Kotori be depressed, I have no problems watching her slowly resolving her own dilemma. It would make the moment she resolves her dilemma a lot nicer, knowing that she went through A LOT for it. I don’t want to see Kotori appear for a bit in the beginning of the anime, then again in the middle with somehow less dilemma than the beginning, and in the end with somehow no dilemma. I want to WATCH her resolve her problems, not analyze the script to UNDERSTAND how she resolved her problems.
I don’t know about the rest, but I still wanted Circus to give Kotori more chance for appearance, even if they had to dwell on her sadness, as long as she slowly resolves her sadness throughout the season.
Well… in real life, these things are only resolved with the passage of time. It’s not really something you “work through”, it’s something you just slowly come to accept. Obviously, that doesn’t play very well from an onlooker’s perspective. And the problem with Kotori’s dilemma is that it’s a personal one – she keeps it all inside, and that’s just her personality (see the game for reinforcement of that). She’s incredibly introspective, despite the fact that she was thrust into the extrospective “high school idol” role. So, whenever you get an episode about Kotori, it’s essentially about her to the exclusion of the other characters, and obviously that wouldn’t work in a show where everybody has to get at least a bit of screentime. That’s why Aisia plays Kotori’s opposite and has more screentime – outgoing and prone to act/speak up, it’s incredibly easy to setup a scene with any other character and make it work to further the plot. With Kotori’s introvereted personality and dilemma, it’s either about her or it isn’t, and there isn’t much middle ground. At least, that’s what we’ve seen in season two.
Anyway, I’m sure we could talk forever about whether or not the amount of Kotori screentime made sense in the greater context of things… it makes sense to me, but I realize that doesn’t change the fact that you would have preferred that the producers do it differently. Basically, you just wanted to see her more often, and that much I can understand.
>>Well, obviously, they were trying to keep Nemu and Sakura’s returns somewhat a secret, which is why you don’t see them in any of the promo art, in the early gallery pictures, or in the OP. You can’t really expect them to give that away from the get-go, but if that’s what “mislead you”, then that’s hardly anyone’s fault. It wouldn’t have been a secret otherwise.
Then make Aisha the most important in that kinda stuff, not Aisha AND Kotori. Of course I’m not asking them to put Nemu and Sakura there. But in the gallery, the OP, the promo art, etc. all you see is Aisha and Kotori.
And if they can spread out meanignless stuff about Aisha and Nemu, why not about Kotori? Especially considering she’s meant to be important to the plot. That’s my problem with it basically. She could’ve had more focus, be it along with Aisha, considering Aisha and Kotori seem to really like each other, or with her own friends. I know I’m biased, but I think we saw enough of Nemu’s get mad/calm down and never apologize in the first season, and if she’s not that important to the plot here, it’s odd that she gets more screentime than her…
>>While I do have problems watching Kotori be depressed, I have no problems watching her slowly resolving her own dilemma. It would make the moment she resolves her dilemma a lot nicer, knowing that she went through A LOT for it. I don’t want to see Kotori appear for a bit in the beginning of the anime, then again in the middle with somehow less dilemma than the beginning, and in the end with somehow no dilemma. I want to WATCH her resolve her problems, not analyze the script to UNDERSTAND how she resolved her problems.
Yep, and it’d give us a better understanding of her character and her feelings too, and how she could forget about her dilemma for a little bit when she’s doing this or that, or get sad when she remembers stuff, or whatever. I dunno, I’m not one to say how they should write those scenes, I just wanted to see her more often.
>>With Kotori’s introvereted personality and dilemma, it’s either about her or it isn’t, and there isn’t much middle ground.
*shrug* That’s not much different from the screentime Nemu has been getting. No, not saying that she’s introverted, but when she gets screentime, it’s about her. It’s just that it is a little bit in every episode. Seeing a little bit of Kotori in every episode wouldn’t make she hog all the spotlight, even if those scenes were about her, the whole anime wouldn’t be.
And yeah…we could talk forever, but that’s it really, I just wanted to see more often.
*sigh*
Mataku…
Almost nobody was happy that Kotori got basically an entire half of an episode in this ep. Granted, it’s not as much as Nemu’s or Aisia’s, but since the story has always been told 3rd-person on Jun’ichi 90% of the time, it’s not like you’ll see Kotori a lot. Kotori’s reduced screentime is either that she does or does not play a major part in the last four episodes. After seeing #24’s title, maybe…just maybe…Kotori will show who she really is.
Though whoever mentioned that Nemu will still have Jun’ichi and Kotori will resolve her feelings has a greater shot of being right.
Oath, eh?
Maybe it’s referring to a certain thing I heard happens in the DCSG manga?
…but wouldn’t it be a bit too late for that in episode 24?
maybe…it will have another secret =D. maybe kotori will end up with jyuchi? maybe. i still hope gnahahha. anyway
Well, let’s just say I’m liking the cover of the newest CD that they put out for DCSS…