Posted by OP2 Sequence
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OP2: 「(キミリズム」 (Kimi Rizumu) by 今井マサキ (Imai Masaki)
Watch the 2nd OP!: Streaming ▼
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「雪降る街へ」 (Yuki Furu Machi e)
“Into a Snowy City”
A new opening to welcome the end of Kokoro Connect. How fitting, and I’m not being sarcastic. I think this episode has rejuvenated my appreciation for this anime. I used to think that Iori-focused episodes were a ball to watch, however that’s changed to Yui now. I love her! It might have to do with the fact that her episodes feel self-contained and there’s always some form of resolution at the end which makes it worthwhile watching. The Iori/Taichi/Himeko love triangle has really started to drag…
It’s a shame that this episode is the second-last to air. I believe there is a budget set for more, however episode 13 is going to be the last for me to blog until the remaining come out on the web or released with blu-rays/DVDs. With that said though, there is a ton of story left to be told and I’m sad that they’ve decided to showcase Aoki/Yui’s relationship dynamic so late in the game. It’s no surprise that I probably awwww-ed and smiled a lot while Aoki and Yui both came to grips with their past (and present). Aoki’s was easy enough… he made a (very) quick trip to see Nana and without even really talking, he already knew that he wasn’t in love with her anymore. I was actually expecting him to date her or talk to her at the very least to find out that he loved Yui. That’s a little too unrealistic for my taste because I’m someone who has trouble confronting my past and seeing that person again – would revive all those feelings I’ve had (especially if there was no closure for me). I suppose for Aoki, it was just so clear cut that he loved Yui now and it’s even more evident when he reverted back to being 10 and he still recognized Yui. Cute!
Yui on the other hand, has her own issues going. She feels like a “side character” and someone who depends on others a lot. Given her condition, I can imagine how someone like her always lacks internal strength; which is sad to see since I think Yui would be such an outstanding character on her own if she didn’t feel so codependent. This is why I guess she needs someone like Aoki who loves her unconditionally. At least, for this moment. I can’t help but think that Yui and Taichi make a better couple though. They have a lot of chemistry, even with the very few one-on-one scenes they have. When Yui “confessed”, I actually gasped… but knew that it couldn’t be true. KC wouldn’t go and throw us another twist like that. A better topic of discussion though is how people feel when they find out that someone who’s confessed doesn’t actually love them anymore. I cannot emphasize just how much I can relate. Out of all the topics and subjects that have come up on KC, this is what I can probably blog an entire essay on. But I’d like to hear other people’s experiences as well – if any. Personally I’ve felt emotions all across the board, from relief (when you know that person isn’t chasing you anymore) to disappointment (when you realize that you like them and they don’t like you anymore). Funny how that works right?
So where does that leave us with our love triangle? Well Himeko is no idiot, obviously. She clearly knows that Taichi has something up his sleeve (because it wasn’t obvious enough that he was the only one that didn’t turn into a child). I don’t know where this confrontation will take us, but Heartseed comes back for our “finale” next week and we’ll probably see Taichi’s sister/2nd Heartseed make an appearance as well. I’ll be sad to see Iori/Taichi broken up when their relationship has barely begun. Himeko is slowly inching her way in there… but is it weird that I’m cheering for a Taichi/Yui ending now? One can always hope.
Full-length images: Aoki was so adorable this week! ^_^
Preview
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Sheeeesh…. For a second there I thought Yui was serious. If that was the case, then Tachi would be in deep for sure.
I felt the same way, but didn’t she admit to Aoki that in terms of her closeness to guys, that Taichi was in a better position than Aoki? I guess it is because Taichi cured her androphobia somewhat back then but with the memories resurfacing again and having it all remembered clearly, so her fears went back again but I still notice that she was still fine being with Taichi when they talked in the playground.
I do agree that Taichi and Yui do have great chemistry together, but I still think that him and Himeko have a better one, I mean they already revealed that they did have desires for each other lol.
Taichi is Yui’s male non-boyfriend friend.
i <3 Himeko
That Preview x.x! HNNNNG. Got a bad feeling for Iori. Dammit Inaba, comon Taichi get her to take a hint and drop the issue!
Yui overcoming her fears was pretty freaking awesome. I was worried she might snap Aoki in half though >>;;. So any ideas what the unspoken trauma was between Aoki and Nana? My guess is: Show Spoiler ▼
…
Nuuuu it is actually ending this week x_x.. nuuuu whyyy. I wish this would just keep airing. And then toss in Whatever other anime’s got cut off or delayed by the olympics like E7AO. T^T. *Sigh* freakin’ olympics T^T.
@kumakaori
Nono, the reason why they broke up isn’t from any trauma, but because Nana moved to another city, and as we all know long distant relationships are pretty tough if not impossible to maintain.
Everyone is evolving how nice. The preview is always so intense in this anime.
BABY! *points*
It ends this week?! But it’s too soon! orz
Oh well.
Aoki, my respect for you has increase tenfold.
Taichi, I only got 2 things to say to you; be careful, and good luck.
Its rare to see Aoki being cool. Nice to see him get his time 😀
Taichi, you have fucked up, there is NO escaping the interrogation of Himeko!!
14 year old Himeko doesn’t look too much different. The only difference is the hair length, it’s just slightly longer.
Taichi/Himeko = HELL YEAH
Iori: I’m…*breaking to tears*
Me: I’m….I’m what!?!?!? DAMN PREVIEW CLIFFHANGERS
P.S.
Op2>Op1 I was actually getting very tired of Opening 1 now. I’m glad they changed it and this one in my opinion is even better
I actually really euphoria’s songs (like Sola and True Tears) so I didn’t mind Op1. Op2 is more serious and downtoned… less upbeat which fits the mood of the series right now I guess. Took a few listens for me to really love it.
I loved the True Tears opening. But this one was one of those openings that I like, but then gradually get tired of hearing, and it makes me crave for a new opening. Keep in mind I still like it, but I just got tired of hearing it every week.
I kinda like openings like these more. Ones that give a darker or sadder tone to the anime. Something like that. I don’t know I guess it all depends on the taste XD.
Thanks for the coverage as always, Cherrie, very thought provoking… xD
Aoki finally did something awesome again… although I had more mixed feelings about this episode… maybe because the pacing was a bit faster? like all the issues between Aoki and Yui resolved within one episode… but I guess I shouldn’t complain since the main focus is always on the love triangle side…
Himeko, you smart girl… but sometimes it is the smart type that brings trouble…
can’t wait to see the end of arc and the next arc already… and I need to say this again, ED3 is my favorite! so catchy!!!
wait so this anime going to run for 17 episode o.o
that’s odd order
We’ve had this debate in IRC before and basically… yes, the show was budgeted for 17 episodes but episode 13 is all that’s scheduled to air. The remaining eps will likely be attached to BR/DVDs or aired online.
Good to see Aoiki getting some spotlight after taking a back seat the whole show. I knew eventually that one of them would become a baby figures that it’d be Iori. So young girl’s Can’t give milk eh
After whole series Taichi being “white knight”, it is time for laid-back Aoki to get development and shine! I was impressed with the lengths he went to sort out his feelings. Lightning trains are not exactly cheap for a highschool student! And he was able to reach conclusion really fast.
But Yui had her great moment too, when she overcame her fears and indirectly responded to Aoki’s feelings by embracing him. I am pretty confident in their relationship now, after defeating such difficulties at the very start, it would take something dreadful to shake them now.
As for the Taichi, he was more to support Aoki now, an unusual exchange of places.
Inaban and Iori trading salvos in their shipping war for Taichi was funny, but I think we need to resolve that triangle soon or it would become trouble…
I’m in agreement with Cherrie, this arc has actually renewed my interest for KC. Its certainly better than the last arc which I found annoyingly pretentious.
The dynamic between Yui and Aoki is far more interesting than the primary love triangle. I’ve always found Aoki to have potential to be interesting, but only now is it actually shown. He’s certainly has more depth than Taichi.
Its unfortunate that it seems we will go back to TaichixIorixInaba since I think it is in danger of running itself to the ground. If anything I find that it hurts my opinion for these characters. I hope it gets resolved and not dragged out more.
Yay! *high-five*
Not that the love triangle WAS not interesting… it just didn’t end up going anywhere after the second arc and only made the problem worse? I don’t know. Even when I don’t like the Himeko/Taichi pairing, I still rather he end up with ONE of them than being in limbo here… not really dating Iori either…
Pity this arc will extend into DVDs only afterwards.
Of all the girls, I actually like Yui and her sort-of on-off relationship with Aoki more than Taichi’s angst-fodder love triangle.
Nana does kind of resemble Yui somewhat, especially when Nana said she recently cut her hair. Though they may look similar, Aoki must be applauded for taking the plunge to find out what’s the difference between them and why he moved on towards loving Yui, even at the risk he might fall back in love with Nana.
PS Sorry to go off-topic again, but can someone on RC please do cover the last few episodes of Hyouka? Which is probably the most profound show Kyo-Ani has ever made despite its lack of hype compared to Kyo-Ani’s previous titles. Though maybe it’s because of its lack of hype that it suffers from less attention and love from RC writers than it deserves as a result, though not necessarily the fault of the writers.
Kinny, I think that Verdant’s working on it. At least that’s what I read from other posts where other commenters were inquiring about Hyouka. Believe me, I also want to see Hyouka’s final episodes covered, as that’s one of my favorites of this year, and I’m dying to comment on it. =X
I think Verdant is going to double-post for eps 20/21 sometime soon…
I’d really like to read what he has to say too =3 Hyouka got a lot of hype from my anime-watching friends who aren’t very hardcore fans of anime but still followed it ^^
Boy, this sure is more interesting than the gender swap.
So TV airing ends here? and all of the next episodes are to be in BR/DVD? Damn, this is r\the staffs’ fault.
I was hoping for TaichixYui but i don’t see how they can spin it properly after she hugs Aoki like that in front of Taichi. that sort of dampens the prospects, it’s hard to say anything might come of it now since the situations seem to put everyone on the defensive. There’s lots of time left counting the extra episodes to suprise though so it’ll be fun to see how they go with it.
When you say “she hugs Aoki like that in front of Taichi” you make it sound like Taichi got alittle depressed from that. But maybe I’m just overthinking it. I like the Taichi/Yui pairing too, it seems like a good pairing to support since Yui seems to be able to freely talk to Taichi about the things that bother her. I haven’t really seen her do that with Aoki or anyone else until she lashed out at herself in this episode. But I saw Taichi and Yui no more than friends after Yui made it clear. They just hold eachother in high regard as friends would.
As for Taichi he didn’t seem to like Yui since the beginning of the series. As far as I know he loves Iori, and cares for Himeko, as shown when he gets all shy and embarrassed when she springs that affection on him XD. But then again Taichi might just be that character that can’t take affection very well, as shown with Yui’s trolling confession
But anything can happen. I’m not to aware of everything that goes on and I didn’t read the LN if it is translated past this point that is. So there is alot of time left, Yui seems to make it very clear that she has nothing to do with Taichi when asked that, so she may very well be trying to hide that fact for all we know. ARGH! This is one of those series where every pairing with the protagonist seems like a good pairing!
As vexing as Yui’s behavior has been for me in the past, I’ll be the first to proclaim this episode one of my favorites, if for nothing else than the sheer adorable and earnestness Aoki and Yui showed.