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smurky turkey
Joined: 30 Jan 2022
Posts: 2674
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Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2023 3:41 am
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The show has some real cringey and awkward moments and that fits perfectly with how teenagers are. No dreamy perfect girls and boys in this one, which feels pretty refreshing to be honest.
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
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Location: Frisco, TX
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Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2023 9:13 pm
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Episode 04: I Have a Problem
Summary: Kyotaro discovers love is a mental illness when Anna brings a milk based snack to the library, which is caught by a teacher and spills all over Anna. He takes her home on his bike and gives her the lid from his bottle, making her laugh. Kyotaro realizes Anna came to talk to him on purpose and they become friends.
Comments: I'm pleasantly surprised at how overtly sexual they make some of this. Puberty is that time for kids to start discovering sexy things. Top that with all the wishy-washy drama-llama BS that comes with teenage adolescence, and you've got the makings of some crazy times.
The whole "dangers" of the heart still throws me off with the "wanting to kill stuff" vibe. I may have been "dangerously" angsty and destructive. But even at that age, I knew killing was a no-no, 'cause death = sad. I've been sad and seen other people be sad, and I didn't wanna' make others feel that way.
My whole teenage life, I never used the word "love," outside of loving my parents, because from watching all the romance movies and shows that I did, I thought the kind of "love" between two people in that sense was a serious thing and shouldn't have been taken lightly. If I was gonna' "fall in love" with a girl, then I was gonna' mean it. I wouldn't say I ever fell in love, back then. But I sure was infatuated.
(**WARNING: LONG STORY ABOUT TONY'S TEENAGE ROMANCE, AHEAD**)
There were two girls I really liked in middle school, and I couldn't decide which one I liked more. I didn't have many opportunities to hang out with Girl A (who I liked since 6th grade), but she ended up liking me in high school and even asked me out (in 9th grade). I chickened out, though, because I chose Girl B and didn't wanna' flip-flop.
In fact, I spent so much time around Girl B (who I met and liked since 7th grade) that I ended up having a crush on her through the end of high school (12th grade). We were good friends, but I never confessed anything till the end of senior year. I wrote a big note that got published in a "farewell book" at our choir banquet. People were shocked to find out I had a crush that long. Everybody knew I liked her. But she didn't, not that much.
I still thought about Girl A off and on throughout high school ever since she asked me out. During our AP (Advanced Placement) Exams, I knew that would be the last time I'd probably ever see her. It was break time, and I was done taking my portions of the exams.
She was in the room with two of her friends in front of her, but she wasn't in any kind of conversation. I sat in the desk behind her, got her attention, then said these exact words: "Remember back in our Freshman year when you asked me out to Homecoming?" She nodded. And then I replied, "I just wanna' say I'm sorry I said no." Then I kissed her on the head, said goodbye, and slowly started walking towards the door. I was done with my tests, but she still had the math portion to take.
As I walked away and before I left the room, I looked back and she kept staring into space where I was just sitting and kept whispering to herself, "oh my gosh.." Her friends turned around and asked if she was okay. And she wouldn't even acknowledge them, which got them even more worried. She never did turn back around by the time I was walking out of the doorway. But then I thought to myself, "shit, I hope I didn't mess her up for the math part of the exam!" And I never saw her again.
Girl B eventually got married and had kids. She found me on facebook a while back, and we're still friends. She says she had no idea I felt the way I did. She just thought of me as a really good friend. And I told her I didn't wanna' ruin the friendship, which is why I never outright told her how I felt.
Teenage romance sucks. Nobody ended up with anyone, and hearts were broken.
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smurky turkey
Joined: 30 Jan 2022
Posts: 2674
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Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2023 2:43 pm
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Episode 4 really turned down the cringe and Kyotaro has changed a fair bit in the span of only a few episodes. Their contact has also changed pretty dramatically. It was just him watching her from a far and trying to be helpful and now they have some actual conversations going on.
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Edjwald
Joined: 03 Aug 2017
Posts: 1586
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Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 3:23 am
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Just caught up with this one, and it's an odd duck. It dances (sometimes creeps) on the edge of all kinds of borderlines, and the MC is one of the biggest, horniest emotional messes I've seen in a while. And yet, like Tony K said, there's an underlying...sweetness? Innocence?
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
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Location: Frisco, TX
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Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2023 11:27 pm
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My take on the three stages of human growth are:
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Childhood: Learn the rights and wrongs. Discover things you like. Start to make friends. It's the most basic foundation of establishing yourself as a person. Your personality and preferences will obviously change when you reach adolescence. But I feel most people will be fairly innocent and, hopefully, not stray too off the mark, unless they grew up around some shitty people.
Adolescence: Puberty is the x-factor. Hormones make you horny. You start to think about sex. And your emotions may or may not get out of control, depending on how well you can handle the changes (or have the people around to support you). You make more friends. But you're transition from dependence to independence is, more than likely, gonna' build or burn some bridges, and you start to say bye-bye to that innocence. We all know teens can do some stupid or irresponsible things (peer pressure!). Sometimes, a rude awakening is needed, though.
Adulthood: Some people say you don't reach mental maturity till around your mid-to-late 20s. At this point, you've either gotten the party bug out of your system and are trying to find stability, are still partying and don't give a damn, or you might even be ready to start "settling down" because societal norms tell you it's what you should do. Whatever path you choose, that innocence is probably gone. Because what you've experienced or witnessed up that point (especially in the world we live in, today) will have changed the way you see everything. And nothing will be like it once was like back in your Childhood.
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With this series taking place around Adolescence, it's got that lingering innocence aftershock fresh off of Childhood, but also some teenage cringe from the puberty push. I have a very good memory and remember a lot of things from that age. Hence, the long story about my failed teenage romance. I think this is a super accurate and grounded depiction of that whole period in life. And I recommend the movie Eighth Grade (2018), if you're liking what this show has to offer.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter
Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 24165
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Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2023 9:31 am
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Episode 5
Man, this show has really inspired Tony K. to open up and become introspective - good stuff!
I chuckle every time Kyotaro muses about his "murderous intent" because the only thing this dweeb is gonna choke is his chicken. Awwwww, he wuvs her! It's cute. I get why he'd be attracted to Yamada with her good looks, big knockers and adorably goofy personality, but I'm not so sure what she sees in this socially withdrawn shrimp. I guess we have to chock this one up to otaku wish fulfillment. Of course, you otaku, there are gorgeous, big tiddy lasses out there who will really dig your completely socially dysfunctional personas - honest! Yeah, right.
I like how this show handles various interactions, both within groups and one on one (beyond just Kyotaro and Yamanda). That whole negotiation thing about who was going to end up in who's group for career day was hilarious . Ditto with the fact that Kyotaro refers to Chihiro as Yamada's "boyfriend." Bang on. Fun show.
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
Posts: 11446
Location: Frisco, TX
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Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2023 10:17 pm
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Episode 05: We Got Split Up
Summary: Anna and Kyoutaro go on a job experience field trip. They discuss dating and Kyoutaro realizes he loves her. They visit a manga publisher and Kyoutaro tries not to show Anna his otaku side. They end up pressed together in a crowded elevator, then get left behind at the train station from the rest of the group.
Comments: Ah, the romantic implications of happenstance. I was on the receiving end of it, once. But I was such an emotional wreck, at the time, I didn't take advantage.
Remember I talked about how there were two girls I liked from middle school through high school? So Girl B and I were in choir ever since middle school (which is actually where I met her). In High School, a bunch of the choirs were split into different periods, because we couldn't fit everybody in the one room at the same time, so we were never in the same choir till senior year. And during that year, our whole school choir was lucky enough to be selected with some other Texas choirs to go and sing in Carnegie Hall.
We had to scrounge up our own money for the tickets and boarding in NYC, but Girl B wasn't able to go, which really bummed me out, because I thought it would've been a great venue to confess at. So instead of enjoying my first-ever trip to NYC with lots of my friends, I was moping the whole time.
But there was another girl (Girl C), who saw something was off with me. And despite my fake replies about "being fine" to everybody else, she noticed and told me upfront that I seemed really sad and she tried to cheer me up the whole trip.
She was one grade behind me, and I actually gave the idea of asking her out some thought (developed a small crush on her earlier that year, since we were in the same choir period and got to know each other). But because it was the end of the year and I was gonna' graduate, I thought the separation would make the whole thing fruitless.
And I was also so smitten with Girl B, even though I heard from so many of our mutual friends that they didn't think she was even a good fit for me, that I was blind to Girl C's kindness, thought liking another girl would be considered "cheating," and totally missed an opportunity to let go of Girl B and make myself happy during a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
What a loser, that guy was. I wish I could pull a Biff Tannen and time-travel to the past to slap some sense into my young self. It probably would've save a bunch of the forthcoming heartbreak I was to face from other failed attempts. Although, I probably wouldn't be the same person I am, today. Ah, the complications of a paradox.
On a side note, during that NYC trip and right before our choir was up, there was a performance from about five or six girls choirs that just finished, and I held the side door open for every single one of them when they were exiting the stage. Having several hundred pretty girls say "thank you" for holding the door open was definitely the highlight of my trip. Little did they know, I already had a doorstop under my foot .
I also almost got hit by a car a couple days prior, that motherfucker was speeding over a decline trying to beat the red light. I wasn't even scared when the car came to a screeching halt, that's how apathetic I was.
But yeah, now Anna and Kyoutaro are lost together. Will the happenstance lead to actual romance? We'll see. And I hope it does! Fulfill my lost opportunity!
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Swissman
Joined: 11 May 2006
Posts: 797
Location: Switzerland
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Posted: Mon May 01, 2023 4:30 am
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Blood- wrote: |
Episode 5
I get why he'd be attracted to Yamada with her good looks, big knockers and adorably goofy personality, but I'm not so sure what she sees in this socially withdrawn shrimp. I guess we have to chock this one up to otaku wish fulfillment. Of course, you otaku, there are gorgeous, big tiddy lasses out there who will really dig your completely socially dysfunctional personas - honest! Yeah, right. |
I'm not sure which show you're watching, but the one I'm watching depicts a boy who's starting to change from cringy loner with self-delusions to loner with more (albeit still small) confindence in his social abilities and who's constantly helping his crush in one way or another. No wonder she starts to notice and fall for him.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter
Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 24165
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Posted: Mon May 01, 2023 6:12 am
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But how many of his nice acts is she actually aware of? For example, I don't believe she even knew that he had snuck into the infirmary out of concern for her. A lot of the knowledge we as viewers have of his feelings for her comes from his interior thoughts which she as a character has no access to. Plus, she seems to have been well disposed towards him right from the start, although it's true her feelings do seem to have grown. It's cool if you as a viewer feel that Kyotaro has done something to earn her crush on him, but I'm unpersuaded. At the very least, it would be hard to argue that the show has given us a slam dunk case to support her feelings.
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Alan45
Village Elder
Joined: 25 Aug 2010
Posts: 10030
Location: Virginia
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Posted: Mon May 01, 2023 6:26 am
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Blood- wrote:
Quote: | At the very least, it would be hard to argue that the show has given us a slam dunk case to support her feelings. |
Sure they have, he is a loser and she is a hottie. By definition she has the hots for him. Just ask any author of a RomCom.
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Blood-
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Posted: Mon May 01, 2023 6:53 am
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Thank you for making my point for me!
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Swissman
Joined: 11 May 2006
Posts: 797
Location: Switzerland
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Posted: Mon May 01, 2023 7:13 am
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Blood- wrote: | But how many of his nice acts is she actually aware of? |
That's one of the show's (and manga's) strenghts: There are hints that Yamada actually notices what he's doing; it's a show, don't tell kind of story telling. We as a viewer (and reader) have to be quite observant of Yamada's actions. Point in case would be the tissues Ichikawa distributes in the library right after the scene in the infirmary. The looks Yamada gives to the one tissue pack she's closly holding in her hands should be a give-away that she realized in that moment what he has done for her.
Quote: | It's cool if you as a viewer feel that Kyotaro has done something to earn her crush on him, but I'm unpersuaded. At the very least, it would be hard to argue that the show has given us a slam dunk case to support her feelings. |
No problem, I understand your pov. If I didn't know what would happen later in the story, I'd be hesitant too in that regard. As a manga reader I know how the relationship will later develop and trust me, Ichikawa isn't your typical (otaku) loser with no personality; his personality will develop for the better and Yamada's love interest in him is more than deserved.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter
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Posted: Mon May 01, 2023 7:31 am
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Ah yes, the tissues. Even a dummkopf like me picked up on the fact that Yamada realized who was responsible. I'm glad to hear we will continue to see evidence of why she'd be attracted to him as he continues to develop as a human. Given how skilfully the show has handled many of its elements to date, I have zero trouble believing that.
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smurky turkey
Joined: 30 Jan 2022
Posts: 2674
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Posted: Mon May 01, 2023 8:10 am
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Attraction can also be a really weird thing in general. Sometimes people tend to be interested in someone you would not at all expect. Heck, I remember a classmate from highschool who despite honestly looking a bit like a gremlin snagged a very pretty girlfriend, got married after school and they are still happily married to this day with 4 children.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter
Joined: 07 Mar 2009
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Posted: Mon May 01, 2023 8:27 am
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Oh, that definitely happens, for sure. But simple real world observation tends to back up the perception that shrimpy, poorly-socialized loners with no particular accomplishments to their name don't score the hotties on a regular basis.
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