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「それぞれの」 (Sorezore no)
“Each and Every”
Last week, my post may have been a bit too harsh, and perhaps Yamato should not have been criticised so much, however, it’s hard to deny that he was quite oblivious though. Nonetheless, this week Yamato was given a chance to redeem himself, and he sure did well. My respect for him has grown now that he has shown a more understanding and mature side of himself to Mei. I do agree a bit with Megumi though, it wasn’t really necessary to quit the modelling job. While it was a very admirable act of kindness to Mei, she would probably not mind him working as long as he would give her some priority. If Yamato would make Mei feel less insecure by making her feel important, perhaps he could pick up the job again. But still, it was very heart-warming to see him give up on a job for his girlfriend. It was also quite nice to see the scene at Mei’s home. This was actually the scene that I thought would not be included in this anime because in the manga, it took place after Yamato went looking for Mei. But anyway, it was great to see how Yamato finally met Mei’s adorable mother.
Despite being back on good terms, the problems won’t end here for Yamato and Mei. It’s clear that Megumi is going to be a huge issue in the future episodes. It somehow crossed my mind that Megumi might be similar to Yamato. Seeing how she was staring at Mei’s social circle made me think that she probably never has experienced true love, both the friendly and the romantic kind. She, like Yamato, has probably been surrounded by artificial admiration from people around her. There have probably been very few, if any at all, people who’ve had genuine feelings for her. Despite that, she worked hard so she could attain everything she wanted – but now, there is something she wants that she can’t have because she doesn’t know how to genuinely love someone. At least that’s what it seems like to me. So in a way, she is somewhat similar to Yamato. Both of them were admired but they had no experience in true love, although, Yamato has changed now.
Much like how Yamato and Megumi share a personality connection, Kai and Mei do too. However, theirs involves bullying. All four characters have gone through painful and lonely pasts. It’s quite sad, but at the same time, it’s amazing how everything connects – every character is a piece in a big jigsaw puzzle. While Mei’s bullying was more of the verbal kind, Kai’s was physical. Both of them have every reason to be bitter at people, but they’re both doing the opposite. I agree with Mei, revenge will not solve anything, it will only make you feel better, but at the same time, I find it admirable how Kai worked so hard to be able to become someone who can’t be taken down. He has physically built up his self-confidence and that is truly admirable. But still, nothing beats Mei in my heart. Week after week, my love for Mei continues to grow. Her greatness as a character is indescribable. She’s simply one of the best shoujo heroines of 2012. Sometimes, actions are useless. Sometimes, all it takes for a situation to improve are a few words. Mei managed to open up Kai’s eyes, and that really touched me. Seeing how he fell in love with her for that reason doesn’t come as a surprise. Unlike Megumi, Kai is not a cunning man. He is honest and all his feelings seem genuine (sadly, these kind of amazing traits make people easy bullying targets), plus, he shares a past with Yamato. Kai doesn’t appear to hold any ill will towards Yamato despite being ignored in public – something Yamato seems to be worrying about. But remember when Yamato said that he secretly talked his friend? Perhaps that is why Kai acts so friendly with Yamato. To him, who was all alone, something so common such as a few words must’ve meant a lot. Therefore, it’s probably safe to say that he won’t try to sabotage Mei and Yamato’s relationship, but that doesn’t mean that Yamato will feel less uneasy. Ah, love is so complicated!
Full-length shots: 2, 3, 5, 19, 26, 28, 29
Eyecatch: A-part
Preview
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I’m guessing you meant the opposite, lol (^o^); nonetheless, I appreciate your coverage of this episode.
I know, right? (*0*) I was waiting for them to meet!
No, I meant what I said. o:
I agree with Mei, and I think revenge won’t solve anything.
And thank you so much for the kind words. The readers’ appreciation is what keeps me motivated. ♥
revenge doesn’t make you feel better either it just leaves you with guilt.
I thought you were saying revenge will not solve anything, it will only make you feel worse, my bad (_ _).
You’re welcome! It’s always fun to read your posts!
It could make you feel worse too, that is very true. But what I meant is more like… You plan revenge on someone for payback (in Kai’s case), and when you’ve suffered for something, a payback might make you feel better for a moment, although, it won’t solve anything.
Disagree about revenge. If it’s only to make you feel better it’s not worth the effort, but if it intimidates the bullies and prevents them from doing it to others then it’s worth it. Knowing that their former victims may come back and return their pain might be enough to save somebody else.
Right. Bullies only understand violence and intimidation after all.
Anyway, good episode. Kai seems to be an interesting addition to the cast. At the very least he’ll serve to break up the monotony of Yamato’s “perfect guy” syndrome.
Thanks for the post! I agree that Yamato stepped up his game this week.
I love how Yamato said such awesome things about Mei to her mother. And I don’t blame Mei’s mom for tearing up. Learning that Mei is not alone anymore and is being understood & cherished by such a sweet guy, definitely warms the heart.
Mei is amazing. I think she mastered being tactfully straightforward. I admire her.
Kai deosn’t need to sabotage their relationship when Megumi is already fulfilling that role. Mei IS very blunt & straightforward, which made all the crap in the modeling arc seem so out of place. I wish the author of this would have kept the characters a little more consistent. The only one consistent through the whole thing so-far (including the manga) has been Kai – for obvious reasons, Kanae-san.
But I kind of get the feeling that because Mei is new to love, she ended up not acting like her usual self when the pressure was on. She couldn’t exactly be pissed at Megumi because Megumi was being outwardly kind (though we knew her true motives). It was a confusing time for her and I think it took her a while to process it in her usual ‘Mei way’. I feel Mei got her ‘swag’ back this week.
It really wasn’t a point being made about Mei & Megumi, it’s a little too soon for that. It was obvious that she was confused but her character did a complete 360 in the last episode in 10 seconds during that park scene. She went from being pathetic to annoying back to pathetic.
You can say she blew up but if you say that, then anyone with half a brain would have said what they really needed to say, not the nonsense she did, even if it was obvious that she was thinking that.
Who in their right mind would want to be with someone who said they made them sick, unless you’re a maso or a beta. That was the dumbest part of that episode. It didn’t make Mei seem confused just completely out of sync with what was going on – brainless.
Most of the confusion in this series is used as a plot device to move the plot forward, but that scene was about to throw everything in the trash. Kanae is much more sensible with her confusion later on in the series, if they don’t decide to change that too.
And that was just Mei, don’t let me get started on the others, especially status quo Yamato.
I agree with his move. He values Mei more than a job at this point in their relationship. It would definitely be
a very different story if he was already working as a model before he met Mei, and decided to quit because of her.
Mei is looking like a true ruby now, and I think I misjudged Yamato a little earlier.
Besides, he made Mei’s mother cry (with tears of joy). We learned what he sees in Mei, and I thought that was
very sweetly handled in the story. So, not only does Mei learn of this, but her mother, too. I’ve seen other
confessions, but this provided the “why” which added so much depth.
@mac65
I agree. I think that Yamato understands that Mei does not have a strong ego when it comes to relationships. He’s swept her off her feet and he needs to take responsibility for making her vulnerable. She doesn’t have a lot of confidence in herself and feels that someone like Yamato could disappear at any moment. She constantly overhears people wondering why he’s with a girl like her. He’s opened her heart and he can really hurt her without meaning to if he’s not careful.
I liked the way you very appropriately phrased that.
judging from that one scene where kai was looking at the (already patched) hole yamato made on the wall… kai probably knows yamato was frustrated with himself already…but that’s just my guess
so yamato don’t want anymore model works cause more into mei with cause megumi slowly feel bit jealous side coming?
mei & yamato alone time with rings til yamato meet mei’s mom had some talks all good.
days in usual til yamato meet kai again give now all taller & working-out cause want to get revenge but mei said that not right cause time changes indeed.
& seeing how kai notice person who try to get even just run away so move now get mei from yamato.
This series pissed me off so much I had to drop it. Why must everyone be an asshole and out to get Mei and Yamato? It’s like why can’t everyone just fuck off and mind their own business?
You’ll be surprised that this also happens in real life. Some people are just lonely they’ll do anything to have their way.
Sukitte > Tonari.
That is all.
That’s right! Sukitte is better but I still like both shows. It’s surprising how similar the female leads are. Sukitte for down to earth romance and Tonari for wacky romance!
Oh I still like them both, its really more a preference thing when you get down to it. I prefer the slightly more adult themes in this show, combined with the agreement with Stereoman that Mei is one of the best shoujo in 2012.
Maybe I should specify by saying Mei > Shizuku, but they are so similar that I frequently forget what happened the particular show I was watching.
We all know that Mei’s mom doesn’t need makeup to look good, haha
Anyways, based off this week’s cliff hanger, it’ll be interesting to see a little competition heat up the relationship.
Hey Nymph! o:
I’m so happy to see you here ;o;
And IKR? Mei’s mom is gorgeous! *A*
She’s such a MILF.
Also, <3 Kobayashi Yuu.
A pretty lovable cast. I’m somewhat disappointed that the side characters have all faded into the background entirely as it really narrows the story. What happened to Yamato’s pervy friend, the girl(s) with the body image problems, and who is that one girls new(?) boyfriend….
I am excited to see the future interactions between Yamato and Kai. Mei IS a fantastic character.
In the Buddha’s words, hatred can never be stopped by hate, hatred ceases by love. It is a very relevant time to remember this specific teaching.
Aiko’s body image problems has been dealt with for the time being since she now accepts Mei as a perfect match for Yamato and she’s been going out with her boyfriend which we last saw in episode 3 when they went bowling. As for the pervy friend, Hayakawa, well maybe he’s going to be back in future episodes, who knows? IMO side characters aren’t the focus it’s Mei and Yamato. Side characters are there for making the main characters feel bad or feel good depending on their actions. Hayakawa is a useless side character and I don’t miss him at all. At least all other side characters are there and they still have their purpose for both the main characters.
I really like Takimura, both in the manga and in the anime. There was a scene in the manga that I thought was really poignant about Takimura’s thoughts on bullying, which I wish was in the anime, but what I got from it was that Takimura realizes that he was letting this bully influence him too much and that he ought to jump ship.
For the revenge thing, I think it wasn’t just to get back at someone, but to not want to feel like a victim anymore and to feel like you have to prove someone wrong to the person oppressing you. Though, I think in this way, it’s like you’re going by the bully’s standards in trying to prove yourself to them, and whether the text in the manga or the anime isn’t stated like that, I think that Kai saw that when Mei discouraged him from using revenge as a motive to change yourself.
Need a series where the single mom to teenager(s) are the main characters… but I can’t think of any.