First Impressions / Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

「近すぎて遠い…」 (Chikasugite Tooi…)
“So Close and Yet So Far…”

The third episode. This is the third episode, and already they’re throwing emotional fastballs like we’re sprinting down the final stretch. Except we’re not, because they still took the time for some hijinx, and they’re still only beginning to build up the characters. This show…this show has been gravely underestimated. So far, it’s great!

The beginning of this episode was focused on Sorata coming to grips with Shiina’s fame. The shower scene notwithstanding, I was surprised by how little humour there was, but not in the least displeased. The discussion between Jin and Sorata resonated with me to a frankly embarrassing degree. “You need to decide where you belong before anything else.” Right you are, Jin-kun. Harder to do when you’re an adult, mind you, but right you are. Trust me.

But more than that, it was Sorata’s dishonesty. We’re used to male romcom leads being dishonest, but not like this. Here was something we can all relate to. Sorata is lost, unsure of what he wants to do with his life. He keeps saying he wants one thing – to leave Sakurasou – but it sounds to me as if he’s only saying that because it’s the “right” thing to do, or because that’s what people expect, or perhaps simply because he’s stubborn and doesn’t feel like he belongs among these geniuses. Yet the “right” thing to do is so often wrong when applied to a single person’s life. Oh how I can relate! And I’d warrant that a lot of you can as well, and if not now then sometime in the future. Look forward to it.

Then there was the revelation that game design is Sorata’s dream. I was struck by how much of a kid he is. Not just him, though. Manga, anime, voice acting, games…these are the dreams of the young, the dreams one has when we don’t know what else there is. Not that I hate them for that. Those are the kinds of dreams you should have when you’re young, and hell, sometimes they even stick with you. Man, I sound like an old man. Moving on.

Not all was serious business this week, though. For one, Shiina’s sudden “Go out with me” nearly knocked me out of my chair! (I was in good company.) Then were all the build-up scenes with Misaki-sempai. Especially great was the elephant sound + her coy “Hentai.” after she stripped Sorata (HAH!), as well as her whole panicky sprint through the mall. I’m not usually a die-hard fan of genki girls, but Misaki-sempai is my exception. Okay, one of them.

But it wasn’t meant to last. Remember what I said about emotional fastballs? As she crouched down (with Sorata as well), my heart quavered. When she casually mentioned that she wanted to be beside Jin – we all knew, but it’s different when it’s said aloud – my heart began to crack. Finally, when she looked down with tears in her eyes and turned to shuffle off to home, so broken and utterly defeated…my heart broke with her. Poor Misaki-sempai. What is Jin thinking!? It’s one thing to not want to date her, but to so obviously hurt her – he admitted that he knew they were following him and Shiina – is almost unforgivable! …or it would be, if I didn’t have the sneaking suspicion that he thinks he’s doing it for her own good (his scripts suck, he’s not worthy, she deserves better, better than someone as useless as him, etc etc). Perhaps that’s why he was planning to take Sorata’s punch. Maybe he wanted to.

Fortunately, not all the fight is gone from Sorata. His fail punch was hilarious, as well as the perfect anti-climax to prevent that scene from turning into a tedious melodrama. That and it led to the next scene. There, while the fanservice was appreciated, that wasn’t what made it so lovely.

“Why are you here?” said Shiina. Oh my. It was at that point that Sorata realized, all in a rush. Shiina may be useless at many things, but she’s useless at things that she doesn’t care about. She’s useless at stuff that, in the grand scheme of things, does not matter. The things that matter – what she wants to be, what makes her happy, her dreams, her aspirations – she knows exactly what those are and is actively pursuing them. Next to her, it’s Sorata that’s clueless, and he finally realized that. Welcome to the club, Sorata! I’ve spent many years there myself. Pull up a chair. You may be here for a while.

The emotional impact of this episode – this, I repeat, third episode of the season – was a sight to behold. Maybe it’s just me, maybe this is just one of those stories that resonated with unique experiences in my life, amplifying it far out of proportion to what others will see. If so, I don’t care. When Sorata proclaimed “I’ll decide where I belong” and the ED cut in, I got those chills man, those chills that I’m always talking about, the ones that tell me I’m watching something special. Hopefully next time Sorata won’t delete those words, and he’ll ask Akasaka what he really wants to know – “How do I make a game?” Follow your dream, my young friend, even if it takes you away from Sakurasou…no matter how much Shiina doesn’t want that. Though, I think he’ll find that his dream can best be achieved by staying right there, and that Sakurasou was the place he belongs all along. But that’ll be some time coming, I’ll warrant. Can’t wait to find out.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Intense emotions come to the fore as Sorata realizes that it’s not Shiina who is clueless – it’s him. #Sakurasou

Random thoughts:

  • I appreciate how Jin didn’t let Sorata stew in his own juices, and instead forced him to put up or shut up by offering to take care of both Mashiro and his cats. Sure, it wasn’t for the best of reasons, but sometimes we all need a kick in the pants.
  • Got…I’m gunna to say milk? Oh. It was milk. Alrighty then.
  • Loved how they were absolutely certain that Jin was going to sleep with Shiina. I’d say that was harsh, and that they should have more faith in their friend…but considering everything, it was well deserved! Under normal circumstances, that is.
  • She threw out a 10,000 yen note! Damn, this girl is serious!
  • Sorata’s seiyuu (Matsuoka Yoshitsugu) continues to be superb. His tsukkomis were spot on as usual, and that running scene was just masterfully done all around. He’s quickly becoming one of my favorite male seiyuu. If he keeps this up he may be able to challenge Sugita Tomokazu. Le gasp!
  • For someone so close, she’s far away…you’re not fooling anyone, Jin. Why won’t you just admit it!? Gaaaah!!
  • Lap pillow HNNNNNGGG!!
  • Early in the episode, Sorata purposefully stopped himself from telling Shiina to work hard on her manga (i.e. the English equivalent of saying “good luck”). It was a subtle and masterful way to show the effect learning of her fame had on him, and it tore at me, to see that glimpse of shameful jealousy that we all possess, and that I’ve seen before in my own mirror. That’s why my heart leapt when he said “gambare” to Shiina at the very end. Well played, shounen.
  • I lucked out, getting to cover this show. I might even still say that if this all goes south from here. Hopefully we won’t have to find out.

Full-length images: 20, 22, 24, 32.

ED Sequence

ED: 「DAYS of DASH」 by 鈴木このみ (Suzuki Konomi)

Epilogue:

Preview

126 Comments

    1. Hey people, what’s wrong with that?? Honey and Clover was and still is a great show! Not sure why this is a “poor man’s” since the characters in both shows do live in dorms, but hey any time a show is compared to H&C in a good way, it’s all good.

      gaggler
      Reply

  3. I kind of felt like the show was off its game dealing with all the emotional baggage this week. Maybe it’s the fact that these characters are so over the top and the show is very heavy on the gags but I have a hard time treating them like real people with emotions rather than characters just put on a screen to do silly things. So when they start to act like real people it feels jarring and out of place. Maybe it’s just me, Stilts clearly does not share my sentiments but that was my takeaway from this week. For my money Sakurasou is better off sticking to the gags than trying to deal with heavy emotional drama but maybe I’ll come around on it as we move forward.

    Kelloggs
    Reply

    1. I can see how it might be too soon for some. This is pretty quick to be getting into the meat of the drama and character development, so perhaps an episode or two more of getting used to the characters would have brought you along.

      Of course, I can’t agree personally, but perhaps that’s because I’ve spent more time with the characters. After all, by the time one of these posts is done I’ve usually spent 3-4 hours on each episode. Who knows!

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. I don’t know if it’s an issue of time so much as the characters act so ridiculous and over the top that when they act serious all of a sudden it feels odd. Maybe having to write about the characters each week allows you to consider them as more than gag machines whereas I just see the gags for 22 minutes each week and move on. Like I said, I’m willing to come around on this down the road but that was my initial reaction to this episode.

        Kelloggs
        Reply

    2. i feel two ways about the characterization

      on one hand, clearly Misaki’s a crazed over the top kinda girl.
      for Shiina, being rich and pampered doesn’t really cover her behavior. realistically, anyone behaving like her is suffering a psychological disorder.
      so yeah, they’re pretty unrealistic in that sense.

      on the other hand, i find them actually less unrealistic than i do a lot of the supposed “real” shoujo dramas people harp about, with their completely overwritten soap opera-esque “only realistic in a world looking to create nonstop drama” characters.
      soap operas may not have Misaki-senpais, but their melodrama is pretty equally fake.

      and within the context of the over-the-top characters, compared to shows with similar archetypes, Sakurasou actually does a pretty good job of making them “real”.
      look, yes Misaki and Shiina are weirdos.
      but Sakurasou also makes clear they’re both art prodigies/savants, and… that does often go a little hand-in-hand with being a tad quirky.
      in fact, the series setting itself makes it clear that neither of them are normal girls and aren’t supposed to be perceived as normal. even within the context of Sakurasou’s world, they are weird.

      Joe
      Reply

      1. AGREE.
        If they aren’t weird, why are they even in Sakurasou?
        I feel that even the guys are also weird.
        I mean, Sorata is normal. But how normal can he be when he choose to move to Sakurasou(where he will be dissed by other students) just because of the 7cats.
        Yes, there’s a reason why Jin is like this but having 6girlfriends isn’t normal at all.
        I feel that everyone in Sakurasou = aliens.

        startrue
        Reply

      2. Agreed. It’s a good set up. If you’re going to have crazy characters, it’s best to justify their craziness from the get-go…and by setting up Sakurasou as the “loony dorm,” Kamoshida-sensei did exactly that.

        Stilts
        Reply

      3. I hear you about Shiina. I just don’t… trust her right now. That’s a bad word for it, but it’s all I got. We don’t know enough about her, and she doesn’t show enough other than she’ll do just about anything for her manga. I’m like 60/40 sure she would’ve slept with Jin at the love hotel if she thought it would’ve improved her manga, then thought nothing of it afterwards and not understood what Sorata was so upset about if Jin told him later. She needs something beyond “I’ve always been alone, drawing” for me to see the appeal. Right now, if Sorata handed her his heart al I can see is her tossing it aside cause it isn’t useful.

        I need the next episode damnit, I want to like her!!

        Aex
        Reply

    3. Couldn’t agree with you more. This series went from fun and wacky to eye rollingly angsty. After this episode I’m tempted to stop watching the show all together. Give me back the comedy, give me back the wacky fanservice, give me back the fun.

      malrock
      Reply

  5. My, my. And I was so sure Stilts-kun finally landed a non-ecchi show for a change, too. LOL!!

    It definitely shattered that last week and this week only confirmed it. But yes, this is NOT another shameless ecchi show. Yes, it’s relentless on sex innuendos (milk sprayed all over the girl’s face, or wait, do I just need to get my head out of gutter, guhehehe~) and a full of cliché tropes, but this show is so much more. It’s a very good show indeed. It passed my 3 episode trials with flying colors!

    deathtogenericshows
    Reply

    1. Glad to hear you’re staying with me on this one! *high fives*

      And yeah, no matter what I do, I just can’t escape the ecchi. *le sigh!* Fortunately, this one gives us some meatier fare to chew on as well. Yum ^^

      Stilts
      Reply

  6. BTW the sub I watched with made the bath scene dirtier than it should be: he did try to say “good luck” with gambare now that I think about it, but the sub translated it with “try hard” with “hard” being muted. The teenage dude was naked in the bath when the girl walked in and played around with him… I thought he stopped short saying “hard” due to other reasons! LOL. Oh the unintentional gaffe due to the sub.

    Also, funny nobody mentioned the Shiina’s burying Sorata with blankets at the ED. I find that very funny.

    I'm a ghost, boo!
    Reply

  7. I’m fully on board too and I don’t care how many people continue to dismiss it.I always had high expectations on this (based on the staff and spoiling myself some novel contents that seemed interesting) and it’s lived up to them and I don’t see it going south.

    Had a bit of a chuckle reading this though:

    Those are the kinds of dreams you should have when you’re young, and hell, sometimes they even stick with you

    Of course they can stick with you!Just think about this anime,it’s being made by people who had these kind of dreams and followed them and here they are making this anime!

    totoum
    Reply

  8. Man, I was so sure when I first watched this that Sorata boffed Shiina in the love hotel before calling Jun due to Shiina sleeping naked in a postcoital mood and how she lashed out at him for why he was there when he said he was busy. And I thought, ‘man, this is quite refreshing, to see a “Japanese male guy in anime” not screaming and recoil in a terror whenever seeing a naked women, but actually doing the deed all the way?? That’s new indeed ‘. …but then again, more I thought about this, I realized that this is a Japanese anime with teenage high school characters indeed. They didn’t do it. But it would’ve totally believable to me if they did do it.

    gaggler
    Reply

  11. Although I like the attempt at “character development”, it’s often very easy for writers to give rise to “character development” from a character that doesn’t really know anything. It’s much more difficult developing a character who has some fundamental understanding of life and basic philosophical questions. Thus, I don’t credit character development by simply looking at it and going, “Oh look, he learned something and is changing! There’s character development in this episode!”.

    Still, it is only the third episode and I can see already that there is more down the line. The show is entertaining, funny and even emotional at times.

    Entrav
    Reply

  13. That got dramatic all of a sudden. This kind of thing mostly happens in the middle of the story. Everyone getting conflicted and relationship issues are popping out. Not that I hate it, I actually liked it.
    Plus it’s balancing the comedy and the drama pretty well. I totally lol’d when Sorata’s door came flying when Misaki busted in. And Shiina putting all those blankets(or was it towels) on Sorata in the ED. Funny.
    It might have been a bit early though to have these kinds of developments since we haven’t been invested yet on the characters but it works for me and it really hits the right spot.
    Though that leaves the question on how will the story go from here. Kind of makes it hard to predict which is a good thing I guess.
    JC Staff is pretty much on a roll this season. All their 2-cour shows are delivering well. Keep it up.

    But seriously, how the heck did Sorata get knocked out with that punch? It didn’t look that powerful. His ‘Ahh’ there was brilliant though. Props again to Matsuoka Yoshitsugu.
    And despite being a former soccer player, Sorata seems out of shape as he’s panting so hard when they were running to tail the two. Playing for 9 years, I’d have thought he’d build up a decent stamina. Oh well.

    belatkuro
    Reply

    1. I did enjoy the busted down door and the blankets thing, haha. As for Sorata’s stamina, I’m not sure if it just got worse (would not be surprising…stop working out for even a little bit and your body begins to atrophy), or whether Misaki-sempai is such an alien that she is just on a whole other level. Probably that second one!

      Stilts
      Reply

  14. While I first thought I’ll be looking forward to a weekly dose of Mashiro cuteness and the usual antics of Sakurasou’s unusual tenants from this series, the drama in this episode threw me off guard. Like you I was also surprised it’s just the third episode. I got a little angry with Jin after he reprimanded Sorata for being uncertain, became angrier after he brought out Mashiro on a date, then became definitely angry with him after seeing Miisaki’s crying face. It was painful to see. When Jin told Sorata he didn’t want to see Miisaki depressed because he’ll end up sleeping with her however, now I couldn’t decide if I should feel sorry or still angry towards him. Then I remembered he too had his inferiority complex towards Miisaki and if you stop and think about it he was right about Sorata being unsure of his goals. Then there’s the business between Sorata and Mashiro. I’m still processing what just happened. Thanks though Stilts for your thoughts so I’ll start with that. Your insight on Mashiro being focused on what she cares about and forgetting everything else was spot on. It really does contrast to Sorata’s being unsure of himself, and he’s unsure of so many things. I’m guessing at this point he too feels something towards Mashiro but can’t get over the feeling of being next to a world renowned artist. Honestly while there was comedy like Miisaki stripping Sorata and that anti-climactic counterattack by Jin, I remember this episode more for the serious stuff. I especially liked it when they touched on that feeling of inferiority when surrounded by talented people and being unsure of what you want to do in life since these things are what people, regardless of age, can go through. This series definitely shines for that. Sorry for the too-long-for-a-comment post and I’ll be looking foward to your insights to this series like I did in Horizon.

    https://randomc.net/image/Sakurasou%20no%20Pet%20na%20Kanojo/Sakurasou%20no%20Pet%20na%20Kanojo%20-%20ED1.03%20-%20Large%2002.jpg I get the feeling this is what Jin goes through ALWAYS when he goes out on his dates when no one’s looking.

    https://randomc.net/image/Sakurasou%20no%20Pet%20na%20Kanojo/Sakurasou%20no%20Pet%20na%20Kanojo%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2024.jpg Can’t stress it enough that I didn’t see this coming and it was painful to see.

    https://randomc.net/image/Sakurasou%20no%20Pet%20na%20Kanojo/Sakurasou%20no%20Pet%20na%20Kanojo%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2022.jpg Can’t forget about Aoyama. This screenshot didn’t exactly show it but the it looks like she understood what Sorata was feeling when she saw his face a few seconds after.

    Zhinvu
    Reply

    1. @Mocha It’s following the LN pretty well like I said last week, apparently there’s already mummers they might spread this into two seasons because of how popular it’s getting which might indicate that the author of the LN needs more time to write the last two volumes.

      @Stilts
      The Jin X Misaki only gets better man, there will come a moment where you won’t stop smiling for ages after you see what Misaki does to Jin, trust me that girl is always the last one laughing!

      zenkuso
      Reply

    2. @zenkuso

      Though all signs point to a single 2 cour series, I wouldn’t mind if it becomes two seasons of 2 cours… There’s certainly enough material with 12 vols (yes, I’m counting the two side stories and the two soon-to-be volumes), so 6 each sounds like a fair trade.

      Chaos2Frozen
      Reply

  18. That’s why my heart leapt when he said “gambare” to Shiina at the very end. Well played, shounen.

    Did you just pull a Kurugaya?

    That aside, although the drama felt a little forced, i think i am officially on this boat and will stick with it till the end.

    Takurannyan
    Reply

    1. Honestly, her screen time in the first volume of the novel is a lot lesser than what you seen in the first 3episodes. The novel focus a lot more on MashiroxSorata than SorataxAoyama.
      As you people can see how Mashiro influence Sorata from this episode.

      For comparison, they did follow the novel but also changed a lot of parts(namely reducing Mashiro presence and increase Aoyama presence and screentime greatly. They also reduce Jin screentime.)
      But it still funny and the changes aren’t huge so most novel fans are still happy with it.

      I may sound like I hate Aoyama. But I don’t. I ship MashiroxSorata really hard so I don’t really like it when they add her in parts(with our main couple) that the novel did not have her in(which is quite a lot).

      I like her more when she does not appear like the 3rd foot to the main couple. Her tsuntsun towards Sorata is quite cute.

      startrue
      Reply

  20. This and Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun looks set for best (non-SF/fantasy) drama of Fall 2012. Monday nights continues to be promising for anime watchers.

    Jin, despite his womanizing flaws, turned up to be much wiser than he actually shows, meticulously nudging (and trolling) Sorata to stop making excuses for himself and seek out what he really wants.

    Though he probably did not expect poor Misaki (who showed another sentimental side to her usual batshit-insane genki genius personality) to end up as collateral damage, hence why he’s feeling so depressed and taking refuge in one of his harem’s places for the night to let Misaki cool her head down.

    BTW, here’s a life-sized replica of what Mashiro’s room would normally look like. (Taken at Dengeki’s 20th anniversary expo at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba last weekend)

    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/KinnyRiddle/PA202720_zps92c5eb4e.jpg

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

    1. Man, I hear that! I still haven’t started 10 shows :X Here’s a pro-tip, my friends: anime blogging isn’t time consuming because of the blogging, it’s time consuming because the more time you spend around fans and bloggers, the more awesome shows you realize there are, and the more you want to watch. I’LL NEVER GET THROUGH THEM ALL AHHHHH!!!

      *runs away, still screaming*

      Stilts
      Reply

    5. Impossible for that Stilts: Tvtropes is full of consrvatives and whatsnot. One pervy entry and you’re out. <—Still bitter about the April purge.

      Anyway, yeah! Winter Comiket's coming up right? I suppose my ahegao folder is gonna have a new entry….

      The Moondoggie
      Reply

  27. WOW those emotions were handled very well indeed. I’m honestly surprised by how much the stereotypical harem lead ISNT annoying me and how funny this show is, especially with the dirty jokes. I’m really glad I suck around for 3 episodes. It probably has something to do with how low my expectations were going in but I’m really enjoying this show and am super glad there is going to be 2 cours!!

    SlushiZ
    Reply

  28. Most of the subtle changes of the novel (mainly involving Nanamin’s screentime) can be sort of justified as screenwriter for this episode is the author Kamoshida Hajime himself.

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

  31. “Time for Sakurasou.” Clicks play.

    23 minutes later.

    “It can’t be over!”

    That was my first reaction after finishing this episode. The time just flew by in a pleasent way. It has been quite a while since a anime has done that to me. I love the characters when they switch between from being silly to serious since people are like that all the time. Personally, I think all the main characters have been emotionally hurt, damaged might be too strong, either some time in the past or throughout their lifes. It might explain their behaviors.

    Does Mashiro really like painting or was she told to do it by someone?
    Jin sleeping around feels like he is trying to plug a hole in his heart.
    Misaki seems lonely and covers it up by being overly energentic, which is just a Band-aid.
    Sorata is probably the hardest for me to figure out. He is listless in life but why didn’t he go with his family? What is that article that he always looks at about? Was his family’s expectations/status too high?

    I can’t wait to learn more of the characters since I find them extremely likeable and interrsting.

    rh75
    Reply

  32. AWWWWWWW OKADDAAA!!!! ATLEAST MAKE IT HALF THE SEASON BEFORE THE DRAMA BOMB!!!! MY HEART COULD NOT TAKE IT!!!!!! >.<

    It's still the third episode!!! She did it in toradora's second half, in aquarion's last episodes!! Despite the trolling, I'm still watching it…

    JOLO
    Reply

  33. This show is the funniest and most amazing show I’ve seen for a while now. It came out of nowhere and took me by surprise. There is not a single moment wasted and its all very emotional and hilarious when it needs to be.

    dimasok
    Reply

  34. What an amazing story to show the pettiness of first impressions…

    IMHO, first impressions about a person are based on nothing more than our own prejudices and misgivings
    about ourselves and to the peer group we belong. They have to be since we know nothing about that person!
    We attempt to quantify them against standards (real or otherwise) we hold. This is not foreboding. How often,
    in later reflection, we’ve said “when I first met you I [never would have] thought…?”

    We were trolled by the author – a dorm for problem students – what’s you first impression upon reading that?
    The success of our judgement about a person is a reflection of our honesty about ourselves. This is underscored
    so well in the character Kanada. It also sucks to have to admit to himself that he’s in the process of squandering
    the advantage given to him, while others around him are making better of their inequities.

    His rejection is not based on anything about Shiina – he’s depriving himself; not able to forgive himself for his poor
    judgement of Shiina. This might sound like double-speak – he never felt that he was superior to Shinna, rather
    that she was inferior to him. This is the essence of pity. He’s also too proud to admit to Shiina, even with her adroit
    questions in the motel, how he’s beginning to feel about her. She worked very hard to set it up; she has true friends
    who’ll risk misunderstandings in their own relationships to help her. And, take (well, almost – A+ for effort) a
    punch in the process.

    I know what you’re going to say – really I do. You’re going to say “…but she said she’s doing it for her manga…”,
    am I right? Not because she feels anything for him! And, IMHO, therein lies the author’s mystery to us. Her manga
    is a representation of her soul, her experiences, …and her love(s). Letting someone become a part of that is a very
    powerful confession – not all confessions are “I love you” closed by a kiss (I love those, too). I think that’s where
    this episode has gone incredibly right.

    All of this is wonderfully executed in this episode. I feel the bar has been raised pretty high for the romantic comedy
    genre by just 3 episodes of this series. Already we have a self-admitted alien and great character chemistry,
    we’re just missing the space ship from Ano Natsu de Matteru – but who really needs that now?

    mac65
    Reply

    2. I like these ideas about Shiina, but I’ll need to see a lot more from her before I’m convinced she has that many thoughts in her head. Right now she really seems too “go-with-the-flow” to me, and I thought Jin said the “date” was wholly his idea? And why was she there “for her Manga”? To see the inside of a love hotel? To experience sex in a love hotel? Her vagueness is bad for my heart!

      I want to like her, but I just can’t yet. I need more before I’m sure she won’t just get rid of Sorata when he stops being useful to her manga or someone better comes along.

      Aex
      Reply

  36. I keep underestimating my love for this show every week! A new episode comes out and I’m like: “Oh yeah, guess I’ll watch that right now.” And then minutes later: “I keep forgetting how AWESOME this show is!” It’s amazing how this show dove straight into the drama without it feeling forced in the slightest. Truly impressive! So I really need to stop forgetting how much I love this show between episodes because it deserves praise every day ^^

    P.S. WHAT ARE YOU DOING JIN?!?! I’ll punch that handsome face of yours lol.

    Kira526
    Reply

  38. Stilts, I’m glad you had more faith in this anime than I did at first. I dismissed this series early on as an amazing looking show but with no direction where it was going.

    This episode changed all of that.

    Yes we got hints of Sorata struggles of his direction in life earlier. But the supporting cast’s interactions and Sorata’s breakdown was just heartwrenching and I was in near tears at the end of this episode. This is hands down the surprise sleeper of the season with it’s slow start but huge emotional payoff. This not just another pretty show but one with real substance. If it can keep up this momentum has a real chance to match or maybe exceed H&C.

    Well played JC Staff. You’re getting a little too good at tugging my heartstrings.

    PockyG
    Reply

    3. Fortunately, I have one of those edit buttons. Fixed it for ya ; )

      I agree with you and Geoff above – this is definitely turning into the dark horse / sleeper of the season. I jokingly called it out as a potential one in the last podcast, but that was (as I said at the time) mostly wishful thinking. Though I apparently had more faith than you, I still didn’t expect what we have gotten so far.

      Sometimes it’s nice to be wrong : )

      Stilts
      Reply

  39. ““Why are you here?” said Shiina. Oh my. It was at that point that Sorata realized, all in a rush. Shiina may be useless at many things, but she’s useless at things that she doesn’t care about. She’s useless at stuff that, in the grand scheme of things, does not matter.”

    while ur correct about Sorata not knowing wat he wants to do, i don’t think Shiina’s lvl of inability to understand/do commonplace things can be called “in the grand scheme of things, does not matter”.

    shadowalker
    Reply

    1. Of course, in a literal sense you’re right – not being able to do basic maintenance chores like cleaning and dressing yourself is a pretty major problem. Yet you’re not going to look back on your life and be proud you could clean up your room and get to school on time. The little things are important, especially when they threaten to build up otherwise, but they’re still not nearly as important as the big ones.

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. true, if u spend ur life not knowing the things u truly want to do u’ll probably regret it but if u can’t take care/maintain yourself, u probably won’t get the chance to do the things u want even if u know wat it is.Unless someone else takes care of u(like Sorata in this case).
        u DO need things u don’t care about in order to live/survive.
        Hopefully this will be part of Shiina’s character development.

        shadowalker
        Reply

  41. The feeling of not knowing what to do with your life is something we all are painfully familiar, at least to me and many people I know. Sometimes what we have always love to do seems so complicated as we grow up and start to see the world in a different light. Sorata is really growing in me as the kind person that learns from his mistakes and tries find his way of doing things, even when all just keeps geting harder and harder.

    haseo0408
    Reply

  42. As I saw the previews to this show, I thought to myself, wow, just another generic typical ecchi show, might as well skip it. But I guess one day, I thought, why not, its by JC Staff after all. Ill watch an episode. This show is actually really damn good. I can’t help but really enjoy the characters in this series. And it seems that they all keep getting and getting more interesting by the episode. So far this season has been good to me.

    end3rr
    Reply

  45. Some people really have it easy. What they are good at provides them with money like it’s nothing (obviously made so for this series).

    It’s great they are telling him he needs to get his act together but it’s easier said than done for people who actually have to search for that one thing they are good at and will actually provide a living.

    reaper_unique
    Reply

  46. Wow Stilts, it’s like you read my mind when you made this post, as I found myself agreeing with everything, and had the exact same response to the episode.

    This episode really hit the ball out of the park in consideration of what I was expecting from it.

    illusion
    Reply

  47. I went for the comedy, got 100% perfect drama storm.
    And I liked it!
    Who of us has not been at some point in his life, wondering about his aims, talents or lack of thereof, place where you belong? It seems obvious Sakurasou is the place where Sorata belongs. He must now find his reason why…

    ewok40k
    Reply

    1. You shouldn’t take arts as a degree then. Funny how all this anime treat art degree as something important while Engineering and Commerce is the real deal. Sure, there are 10 or 20 successful painter like Shiina or whatever, but the number of engineer and banker that have more money that Shiina will ever made is 1000x more

      raidragon
      Reply

      1. Well, its the ‘real deal’ if you care about jobs and money foremost. Now, I’m not saying that’s not important nor I’m saying that you can’t make well-paying career from art degree (maybe I misunderstood, but to my understanding ‘art degree’ covers far wider than just stuff like painting ect. At least in my univ tha art faculyt also include stuff like product design ect) but some people have some other things they want to pursue than just wealth.

        Besides, a lot people that I know have jobs that was hardly related to their degree. Like Stilts said, there is a lot stuff to learn in univ that have wide-ranging application.

        Salbazier
        Reply

      2. “art graduate” is pretty vague,there’s a whole lot you can do in art school and a whole lot more career opportunities than painter,marketing departments recruit art graduates to be graphic designers for example.You can also take industrial design classes in art schools where the art grad will be working with engineers on designing products.
        Money isn’t the priority for everyone as well,a friend of mine just quit the job he had to go work someplace else even if it meant he’d only be getting a third of the salary he was getting at the place he used to work at but he was willing to do so because he loved the working environment of his new workplace much more than his old one.

        totoum
        Reply

    2. While I won’t speak to an art degree (which, much like a music degree, I don’t see a whole lot of point in – those are things done through experience and experimentation, not schooling), I hope you don’t think liberal arts degrees are useless as well. Engineering and Business are great, don’t get me wrong – I have one of those degrees myself – but liberal arts degrees do a wonderful thing…they teach people how to think. We can always use more of that in this world.

      Plus, they can be parlayed into a wide range of jobs, so that’s cool too!

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. Thinking got you nowhere. That’s why the anecdote of art student as a McDonalds worker was born. sure, there are jobs for art degree but the amount of graduates from art far outweigh the job available while there are current shortages of nurse almost everywhere in the world. But no, the art degree student think their PERSONAL opinion and thinking is more important compared to secure job and saving other people lives.

        It’s the same for other ART anime as well like Hidamari Sketch, Tari Tari(yeah, being in a choir doesn’t pay) , or probably Nozoki Ana. They can get job as a novellist, mangaka or some tedious job like that but compare the money to the businessman that can own their own manga company, mining company, steel manufacturing, etc. You’ll see the digit just increase 100x. that’s why if you get time when you are 17 or 18, go study real skill like engineering ,business, or law(medicine if you are dedicated to save people live) instead of THINKING degree like art, psychology, and all McD degree

        raidragon
        Reply

  49. The situation with Misaki and Jin is the one that really got my attention this time. Both of their emotions over their relationship hit me hard. Neither one of them appeared serious about anything. Misaki played the genki girl with a raunchy attitude and Jin was just the playboy. We can see there is a lot more going on in their relationship. Jin doesn’t think he is worthy of her because her talent seems to outstrip his, and that rejection is killing Misaki. Not what I was expecting from this show at all.

    bear
    Reply

    1. I know what you mean. When I read a little of the manga to preview this, all I got was the first part, that they were some of the elements that made Sakurasou such a crazy place to live. I’m extremely pleased that they’re more than that. What can I say…I have a soft sport for the B-couple!

      Stilts
      Reply

  50. This show is just amazing. I don’t remember I’ve ever seen a love comedy with such density of, well emotional fastball, to use stilts’ term, and hilarity such as this one. It just… I was switching around so many times between laughing and feeling sentimental. And my goodness so many revelation.

    Also Stilts, good job with review. I didn’t thought that games could be Sorata dreams previously. I thought that was just him looking for something to pursue himself. You said the show give chills, but I got chills reading your review ^^.

    Salbazier
    Reply

  51. looks like JC staff prioritized sakurasou than little busters… from seiyuu acting to the story board to emotional intensity sakurasou manages to deliver it well… ever since episode 2 i’m hooked by sakurasou which is yet to be done by LB! in episode 4 or later.

    whoever JC staff or key placed to supervise or produce LB! is definitely doing something wrong..

    TheLastMan
    Reply

      1. non VN players like me looks for a reason to stay watching technically the story. the point is, the sakurasou already delivered the story LB! is yet to do that. of course, VN players will stay faithful since they already know the point of the story.

        TheLastMan
        Reply

  52. Note that male characters dont act shy or asexual without proper explanations… Sorata doesnt want to hurt truly innocent girl who really doesnt know what she plays with going naked in guys presence (or worse in a provocative shirt…)- and feels himself unable to deal with her, while Jin is actually going playboy to avoid engaging emotionally with the girl he adores, but feels himself inadequate for her.

    ewok40k
    Reply

    1. That’s a good point. Usually male romcom chars are infuriating in how they avoid female contact without good reason, but here they have it. Well, they have reasons, at least…I’m not convinced that Jin’s reason is a good one, but it’s a very understandable and relatable kind of stupidity, so I’m fine with it.

      Stilts
      Reply

  53. Man… I’m sorry, but after this episode I’m really up in the air about Shiina. Unless they give her an actual disorder then I really can’t see where she comes off as realistic. Sure Jin had a plan in motion the whole time on their date, but it still came off that Shiina would’ve gone along with everything even if she knew Sorata wasn’t coming. While I can’t fault her for that, it bothers me that for whatever reason I feel as though she would’ve slept with Jin if she thought it would improve her manga, then thought nothing of it afterwards. She told Sorata she was there for her manga, but what does that mean? She just wanted to see the inside of a love hotel and stay the night? Or did she want the whole experience and didn’t care how she got it?

    Yeah, I really need more backstory and actual human emotion from Shiina before I can say I like her character. Right now, she just seems too devoted to her manga, and Sorata is just the most convenient tool that she’ll drop when he gets annoying or something better comes along.

    Aex
    Reply

    1. I don’t think she would have slept with Jin. Nor do I think Jin would have slept with her – he seems to like mature women, not innocent naive girls – but that’s another issue entirely. On Shiina, she’s not drawing an ero-manga – she wants to experience real emotions, real feelings, real love, and then translate those life experiences into better stories for her manga. Had she gone in with Jin, nothing would have happened, because there’s not even the fleeting beginnings of any love there.

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. Even after rewatching 2, I’m not really sure where you’re getting that she wants “real”. I get that she does these things to experience them so she can draw them better, but I don’t see her wanting “real” since it doesn’t seem like she’d do anything if her manga was already good. To me she just seems too obsessed at the moment, without enough substance to her. After rewatching 3, Jin did say that she went there to draw, so that makes it a little better at least.

        Hope you’re right though, cause I really want to like her.

        Aex
        Reply

      2. One of the beautys of the Shinna character that I love is that she doesn’t allow us to quantify
        her in/to our way of thinking. Sorata has made the same mistake – and I believe this episode
        was largely about that. We’re annoyed at her in-measure-ability, but truth be told, we (I)
        wouldn’t be drawn to her otherwise – and we (I) know it, just like Sorata.

        IMHO, we lie when we say we want to know what’s inside a girl’s head; if we knew, we’d be
        immediately turned off by that knowledge. Ever meet a girl that’s too open? Yup, that’s the
        feeling I mean.

        But Shiina’s mystique is not deception, and Shinna is very honest. I think she wants to treasure
        Sorata, but not toy with/(ab)use him. At this point in the story, it seems, she sees no need to
        change her world for him, but she’s made her world available to him and I thinks that’s very
        telling about her feelings. She accepts him at face value and expects deserves the same.

        A good girl provides transparency to us at her whim. Shinna is superbly feminine in this regard,
        it’s her focus that makes her appear aloof. I think everyone’s too concerned on the cluttered
        aspect of Shinna; her inability lack of care to dress herself, etc. If she were “easy”, she
        wouldn’t have Jin helping her draw Sorata out at the motel as it was planned. I don’t believe
        for a second that Shinna’s stupid, I think she planned the whole thing, and Jin went along.

        We never really know what the author intended, but I feel that if this was it, it’s well done.
        I love a character with some depth that we don’t always fully understand, layered with humour
        that doesn’t tear at the story’s fabric, but adds pattern and colour that makes the author’s thesis
        entertaining to watch and enjoy. I’m really hoping this doesn’t fall apart; want to see what’s next…

        mac65
        Reply

  57. holy sh!t. if it wasnt for this blog i wouldve just passed this over. its just awesome. pretty dramatic episode. one can assume its already a season finale or something; it just gives off that kind of feel.

    bullrogg
    Reply

  58. If it wasn’t for Stilts I wouldn’t have taken up this anime. Kind of like what happened with me for To Aru Majutsu no Index and it’s blogger, I can’t remember who though.

    So yeah. Interesting episode. gave it the 3 episode test and keeping it.

    The Moondoggie
    Reply

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