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「他には何も」 (Hoka ni wa Nani mo)
“Nothing Else”
While love may be beautiful, it can bring out the worst in people. Today’s episode of Sukitte Ii na yo. was filled with drama, perhaps a bit too much, but it was all essential for Yamato and Mei’s relationship to progress. The two of them did overcome many hardships in the previous episode, but with a huge revelation such as a love rival for Yamato, things were bound to become uneasy. Yamato who finally thought that life would become somewhat easier, had to face an old friend, one who has made him feel guilt for their past. And not just that – Kai’s past gives him an advantage when it comes to Mei. He can relate more easily to Mei. Yamato’s possessiveness and ill feelings are natural, but it is frustrating to see him take those feelings out on Mei. And what makes it even worse is that he based his opinions on rumours he has heard from Megumi. Wow, the girls truly enjoy gossiping in this school!
As it is now, it’s hard for me to blame Yamato. While they are rumours, it’s hard to not believe such words when you know that Kai loves Mei. But the way Yamato handled the situation, by ignoring Mei at first and then confronting her in an angry manner, did not seem very nice to me. It surprised me that he didn’t ask her about anything. While he did ask her about her experience when it comes to relationships while walking home with her, he let his uneasiness and jealousy get the better of him. Mei who is so trying so hard to be straightforward and honest with him should not have to face that. Also, does Yamato’s reason for being upset even make sense? He is being very possessive of Mei, completely disregarding her feelings, because of an invitation! And what’s funny is that it’s all a bunch of lies made up by none other than Megumi.
It is hard for me to like Megumi as a character, but her personality isn’t very strange. While she can be considered to be a mean person, there are reasons for her to act like she does. Personality is nothing you’re born with. From some flashbacks that were shown in this episode, we could see that she is not a stranger to bullying. She is a victim of it, and like Kai, she has worked hard to become someone who can stand up for herself. But unlike Kai, she slowly grew accustomed to all the artificial people around her. She even allowed them to influence herself, and now, she is one of them. Seeing how she accepted gifts from fans but then tossing them to Kai was quite upsetting. While it’s nice to make use of something that way, it’s not very kind to disregard the feelings someone put into a gift. Megumi’s love for Yamato is quite questionable. Does she truly love him? She has worked hard to become the inspiring person she is now, but she has definitely gone too far. She seems to be thinking that now that she is powerful, she can have whatever she wants. Rather than having Yamato, it appears to me that her attempt at ruining Mei’s life is to show her that she can attain anything she wants. Megumi is truly a pitiful character, but everyone can change, or at least try. It seems like Mei isn’t confident enough to do anything that might change Megumi, however, Kai is.
He has gone through what Megumi has. He has overcome the “weak” person he used to be, but he did not see himself as the king of the world because of that. Maybe that’s because of Mei, but still, he managed to change. The way the anime has rushed through these Kai-centred episodes made it seem like his feelings for Mei were admiration rather than love. As Yamato said, Kai felt a connection between him and Mei because of their pasts, but that is not a good reason for him to think he deserves her more than anyone else. While that is true, who is Yamato to decide who deserves Mei or doesn’t? Watching these two guys fight over something silly such as who deserves to be by Mei’s side, while completely disregarding her feelings made me feel quite annoyed, but those feelings passed quite quickly when they finally brought up their past. If there is something that should be discussed, it’s their past.
Things were definitely rushed in this episode. It felt like the events escalated quite too fast, and some of the parts were slightly awkward. At the beginning of Yamato’s confrontation, the background music sounded very weird, and it did not enhance the scene at all. There has been a lot of praise for me in my previous posts, but today there won’t be much of it. That doesn’t necessarily mean that this episode was bad because it wasn’t. It’s just that it could’ve been better and more organised. Kai and Yamato’s scenes needed more time. But the episode still had several highlights, such as Megumi’s past. The show has certainly portrayed her very well and she has been enjoyable to watch even though she is a “villain”.
It seemed as if Megumi was planning to use Kai to mess up things between Mei and Yamato for a while. While she almost succeeded, she probably had not thought about what kind of person Kai is. She did not know that he was an honest man. It will be interesting to see how Megumi will try to make use of Aiko and Asami to worm her way in to Mei’s circle of friends. She is most likely to succeed with Asami because that girl is too nice to everyone, but we all know Aiko. She is simply too amazing for words. My favourite characters are Mei and Kai in the manga, but here in the anime, Aiko is the second one instead of Kai. She may be rude but her bluntness is amazing. It is impossible to corrupt her strong mind. It is sad that her heart had to break for her to become the fantastic person she is today, but luckily, she didn’t let that bring her down. Perhaps Aiko will be the one to open up Megumi’s eyes? Or maybe the girl called Sasano Momoko (Yonezawa Madoka)? Who knows? Whatever happens, at least things are good between Yamato and Mei now. It’s good to know that despite all hardships, their love still stands strong.
Eyecatch: A-part
Preview
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Kai once again proves his awesomeness.
I must agree, initially I did not know what to think of Kai, but he is indeed awesome!
The moment, that made me definitively like him is how he figured what was going on when he saw Megumi.
Also, I found it a little odd how Yamato got POWNED and Mei just stared quietly, aren’t those the moment the girl friend jumps in harms way to avoid more conflict??
Mei is new to friends and relationships and apparently she doesn’t watch much anime either or she would know to jump in.
hmm… the manga timeline has been changed in the anime… but I have to say, I kind of like these changes xD… but it still makes me super mad and sad to see Megu make all these problems… and how she treat her true friend Momoko…
Kai, if you can change Mei, then perhaps you can also change Megu?
thanks for the elaborate post as always 🙂
Ahem. It ain’t silly, least not to the guy.
This happens all of the time (usually without the altercation, but always in front of the girl), and I thought it was
handled quite realistically in this episode.
Yamato’s reaction to and how he treated a puzzled Mei when he thought she was planning to “cheat” was really
textbook. Most guys will stew – the mindset is the same reason for not asking directions when lost (or doubtful).
You see, if you’re “driving” the relationship, a leader, the man, it’s like admitting defeat when you have to stop
and ask. You (the man) are supposed to know what you’re doing and where you’re heading this relationship.
Not saying this line of reasoning is the best, but it does happen in real life.
Megumi, on the other hand, seems quite manipulative. I don’t know her intentions for wanting to get close
to Yamato, a trophy perhaps?
Good series so far – just three left.
Stereoman – thank you for covering this sweet warm series.
Yea, unless you were being comical, most guys don’t actually think like that and it’s certainly not applicable in this case, if you recall Yamato was initially talking to Mei before Kai punched him.It’s simply a case of being afraid of losing something(Yamato’s relationship with Mei in this case) important to you and reacting out of anger because of that.
@Stereoman
Aren’t you a little hard on Yamato? When you get down to the core of issue, the situation in this episode is pretty much the reverse of what happened in episode 7-8.
Right on. The 2 scenarios were suppose to mirror each other & yet somehow, someone makes them out to be both Yamato’s fault. It STILL takes 2 to have a relationship.
I agree that this is basically a role reversal, but the the issue at hand is how Yamato acted in both situations. As mentioned, it takes 2 to make a relationship. But why is it that Mei seems to be the only one wishing for what she thinks is best for the other person? Yamato has been acting selfish the past few episodes, especially this one when he is not observant of Mei at all.
The situation is slightly different as well. In the previous arc, Yamato actually did things which caused the rumors to occur by going to Megumi’s house for dinner etc. In this arc, Mei has not done anything to fuel the rumors. It has all been from Megumi. Yamato already knows from the first meeting with Megumi that she is not an honest person, so why trust her over Mei?
You seem to say Yamato should have been more understanding and trusting of Mei, but can’t same be asked of Mei in episodes 7-8?
And if Mei had been observant of Yamato she would have noticed her being with Kai is actually hurting him early on.
Its called plot devices. I’m not about to do anything as hopeless as ship characters, especially when the plot was broken down so badly to save time, so I’ll just explain what the mangaka is doing. She’s using the characters as plot devices. That usually works well as long as you keep their personalities in mind. But in both cases, she twisted the character personalities into how she saw fit for the situation.
For the first situation, she turned the usual straightforward Mei into timid thing that not only could not said what was on her mind but didn’t even know what was on her own mind. Call it being confused if you want, but in order to be confused, you have to ‘think’. She also turned the usual observant caring Yamato into your typical dunderhead.
For this situation, everything was forced. There was no build up to the events in this situation because of so much stuff left out. Considering how the last episode left off, Mei had no reason to suddenly feel ‘lonely’. That was completely out of the blue. It’s so out of place that it made me forget what actually happened in the manga so I had to refresh my memory. It really didn’t make a difference though because it just proved Mei’s straightforwardness was a wall to be broken down whenever the mangaka felt like it. As for Yamato, he’s the only real plot device this time, while the other characters are the situations. I can’t even tell if he really have a character anymore. He just acts on whatever character-spawned event flag – kinda like a dating sim.
Lol, Yamato, observant?
Sees that Mei is interested in him during episode 2. Hmm… what to do? I know, I should go and kiss her since she obviously wants it. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
Yamato thinks it’s a good idea for Mei to meet Hayakawa even though he is a sleaze, and makes no attempt at hiding it. He cancels a meeting (sex) with a girl, because he believes that the opportunity to meet Mei is too good to pass up on (which he makes clear tO Yamato.
He literally had no idea what was wrong with his sister after six months.
He calls Megumi a nice girl after she pretended to be humble after reacting to a bunch of fans.
There are more examples, but I’ll stop at that. Yamato is in no way an observant person.
I said “usually observant”, not all knowing. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have paid any attention to Mei after that first little incident in episode 1. Also most unobservant MCs have NO idea that a girl likes him. That alone makes him more observant than 95% of the MCs out there. However, if you’re comparing him to the other characters in this mess, then he isn’t really observant at all.
Megumi reminds me of Kurumi from Kimi ni Todoke. She’s decided that backstabbing and being two-faced is how the world works. If you don’t do it, someone else will do it to you.
another day as usual give kai hearing mei talk about Land place then see megumi yet give kai some Land tickets cause by look she “plans” on something.
cause look megumi is bit dark side showing cause it megumi also had rough past so now being jealous mei to try “messed” mei a bit got mei bit sad til kai appear had some talk to help mei.
mei all back in doing well during with alone with kai give those tickets cue spread to school & here come yamato wonder what is going on?
yamato & kai going at it give few punch & also give yamato remind of past cause kai feel same way like mei so after hearing all calm it & yamato get it so now yamato ask mei to the Land place.
I find it a little hard to believe that the male school idol (Yamato) can be so popular and so nieve and unsure of himself at the same time. Its lucky for Yamato that Kai has such a stupid haircut because Kai really should be with Mei (more compatable) but Mei and Yamato do love each other and will end up as a couple when this series is over.
Maybe if they break Megu of her bad personality she could be happy with a down to earth guy like Kai.
I’ve wanted punch Yamato a lot these past few episodes, so I was glad when Kai did it.
Haven’t seen the episode yet (just skimmed the pictures). Kai/Yamato/Mei triangle pacing is waaaaaay different from the manga, but I suppose with a few episodes left can’t really ask for much.
This is completely random and it entirely possible/probable that I’m reading too much into this, but I’m noticing their hairstyles seem to reflect their personality or who they are presented as:
Mei – plain hair; she comes across as plain and unassuming
Yamato – hair falls where it may; he comes across as aloof
Kai – hair cut as mohawk; comes across as feeling very different from everyone else
Megumi – hair seems to have a lot of effort put into it; comes across as trying too hard
Asami – hair in loose pigtails; comes across as casual and easy-going
Sasano (girl classmate who was shutdown by Megumi) – hair relatively normal; comes across as relatively normal (as a balance for Megumi and her ridiculous ways)
Aiko – hair pulled back by hairband; [I would need some help on this one]
Again, maybe the wee hours of the morning are affecting my brain but this is what I noticed.
Aiko- serious, cynical?
I never thought much into character designs before, but now whenever I come across any character, your post will be remembered.
Aiko — long straight hair, no bangs (with or without headband) -> serious, straightforward, sincere, no-nonsense, and wearing her hair back draws attention to her face, which suggests confidence. Although her hair was pulled back before pre-weight loss, she probably wanted to appear confident then, even though she wasn’t, and compared to her previous voluminous wavy hairstyle, her current low-maintenance style suggests she’s confident enough now that she doesn’t need a “flashy” look to hide behind anymore.
I still don’t get why are 3rd parties shipped so much. Is it because the simple fact that they bring conflict to the MCs, or maybe it’s that it’ll be something different if they actually win over their respective love interest. Oh well.
Kai is too honest for his own good – haven’t laughed like that in a while. I can’t even compare Yamato now to how he was in the beginning episodes. Mei is just Mei – it’s just too hard for her to pay attention to any of the BS around her. Megumi needs bitch lessons – she’ll never win anyway so who cares.
Those lines in the last scene were so anti-climatic. However, it still made me lol & palmface. I can’t imagine anyone saying that in real life. They were seriously acting – TERRIBLY. I’m still laughing.
They left out an epic ton of crap between these last 2 episodes but they have a lot more junk they’ll have to cut if they want to wrap this up any time soon. Now lets go to ‘Land’ – where is ‘Land’ anyway?
I’m assuming “Land” is Disneyland in their world so probably Tokyo.
Third parties get shipped so much because often they are more interesting characters then the 2 leads.
The only reason Kai is so interesting is that his personality is completely out of place in this show. He actually seems like a real person who can’t keep his mouth shut. The only traits that he has as a 3rd party are that he pops up out of nowhere & he ends up liking one of that MCs. Other than that, he’s seriously a plot progression character who the author is trying to make up for all of the shortcomings of the plot & MCs through.
He’s an awesome character, but he’s completely wasted on this anime. Give him some quality time with a barber, fix those puppy dog eyes, & give em a more mature VA. You’ll have a great MC on your hands.
It really bothered me when Yamato bought into Megumi’s lie. I mean does he really believe Mei would excitedly talk about going on a date with Kai to Land? Is this the same Mei that we’ve seen throughout the series? She’s straightforward, but she isn’t the best at expressing her emotions that openly. Yamato should know that being her boyfriend, and it felt a bit out of character to me. But whatever makes the drama happen, happens. I just feel that they are using Yamato as a scapegoat every time, and it makes him look like an ass.
I do understand though that people get jealous, but the way Yamato got uneasy and jealous this episode made him seem like the girl who’s been bullied and never had friends until now. Alas, we don’t know everything about Yamato’s past except for how selfless of a human being he is (har har) so it’s hard to judge his inner conflicts.
Best part of this episode was Aiko making a facial expression implying that she’s seeing right through what Megu is doing. Maybe somebody in this show has a brain after all. Seriously Yamato, it’s been like 2 episodes since Megu was totally trying to come between you two but now you’re like “OH MEI IS CHEATING ON ME THAT IS TOTALLY BELIEVABLE COMING FROM YOU!”
Frau Kojiro: “Facedesk! Facedesk!”
Not only Aiko but Kai as well. This 2 characters are going to bring it to Megumi. I can’t wait for that episode.
There were a few things in this episode that feel rushed and missing. Yamato outright believing Megu without any kind of confirmation with his own eyes seemed like a misstep. Maybe this episode ending with Yamato affirmation of Mei’s perceived betrayal and the next episode ending with the Yamato/Kai confrontation could have been a better pace. But to resolve it in one episode somehow seems better because I hate two-parters anyway.
Mei’s insecurities are starting to get on my nerves and Yamato’s aloofness is starting to erk me as well. Great show, keep it up!
This episode has made me a Mei/Kai shipper. That scene where Kai asked Mei what’s wrong when no one else did showed that he is truly observant of Mei and really cares for her. Yamato on the other hand blowing up at Mei and Kai and falling for rumors instead of being the person who is observing and watching out for Mei has only downgraded my opinion of him.
The one part of this episode which annoyed me the most was Mei apologizing to Yamato that she did not know she was hurting him. Unlike the previous arc where Yamato actually did something to hurt Mei by going to Megumi’s house for dinner multiple times instead of being with Mei…what exactly has Mei done which required apologizing for? The only thing was Kai comforting her, which is more of Kai’s doing than her doing. In actual fact, if Yamato was more observant and trusting of Mei, it should have been him comforting her instead of Kai in the first place. I cheered for Kai when he punched Yamato. He damn well deserved it.
//The one part of this episode which annoyed me the most was Mei apologizing to Yamato that she did not know she was hurting him. Unlike the previous arc where Yamato actually did something to hurt Mei by going to Megumi’s house for dinner multiple times instead of being with Mei…what exactly has Mei done which required apologizing for? The only thing was Kai comforting her, which is more of Kai’s doing than her doing. //
you could ask just as easily what Yamato had done to apologize to Mei in episode 8, after all he hadn’t actually cheated on her or anything, in fact he had already rejected Megumi by then and viewed her only as a friend.
The thing to consider as well is Yamato’s past. He has slept with Aiko before just to make her feel better about her body. Going to another girl’s house at night on a regular basis and not telling Mei about it (even though she was waiting for his text the whole time the first night) and given his past, it does seem like he is hiding a secret from Mei. Yes, he did not do anything wrong per-say, but it is the way which he approached the issue which is the problem.
Good to see that Yamato and Kai have talked out their feelings from the past…but Yamato , seriously? Why believe Megumi over Mei!!!?????
Anyway….Some other random thoughts
-Asami is SUCH a little kid. She’s sweet , but it drives me mad that she falls so easily for Megumi’s tricks
-But at least we have Aiko , who (judging by her look in the restaurant) has seen right through Megumi , and will soon deal with her(hopefully).And we have Kai as well…
-Even though Megumi is such a..[insert appropriate word here] , I can’t help but feel slightly sorry for her , because she clearly has NO CLUE what true friendship is like.I can’t help but think that hopefully Momoko will fix that , cos she seems like a nice girl .
Certainly a lot of activity going on in this episode…
Right from the start you can see how Megumi is worming her way into the group; like someone else had commented before, I wonder if she sees Yamato as a trophy rather than an actual person. With a flashback from her past, we see that she’s gone through some tough times before as well but right now, it seems like her character hasn’t matured as much as she wants to make people think. The way she just brushed her friend Momo off was pretty cold and I’m glad that Kai put her in her place when she accepted those gifts she didn’t care for much at all.
Kai. oh Kai. This episode made me realize how much I like him. I think I’ve liked him since his character was introduced and this episode really dug deeper into who he is. I was very surprised and a bit awed at that love confession, but not completely blown away. He really is a nice guy who understands Mei and relates to her so well because they have shared such similar experiences; honestly, I feel like he would be worthy of Mei too. He’s defined himself as this strong character who won’t let anyone get him down, who can see through the facades, and is someone who opened up Yamato’s eyes (and cheek).
I also have to give a shout out to Aiko who I felt like I could just tell feels that there’s something up with Megumi. She’s very perceptive and it seems like she doesn’t give in too easily to Megumi’s offerings. I felt a little disappointed in Yamato (a character I <3 also) in the way he was going about the situation, just easily believing that Mei would be seeing someone else behing his back. But by the end of the episode, I'd say my faith in him was redeemed and no matter what, he still cares very deeply about Mei. It's really nice to see them grow closer 🙂
As usual, can't wait for next week XD
I just want to say I love how this show uses the sound of the airplanes. They did it last week as well, I believe and it was just wonderful to me; I dont think I’ve ever heard that sound in an anime before (unless they were on a plane or something), but as far as the every day airplane we all hear all the time, this show was first to do it, for me. I just loved how the little things like that, along with the realistic perspectives of the various characters adds nicely to the series :3
Is the girl the Megumi was talking to in the class room the same girl Yamato liked in the 2nd episode?
My praise to you is still here *laughs*! There are just times where one just needs to put the smack-down on certain characters as no one is without their flaws.
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On an almost-irrelevant note, I finally got around to catching up (late) in Sukitte Ii na yo.!