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EP. REVIEW: My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax

Yes, that review was incredibly useful for helping me understanding things that blew by me. [...] A lot of shows I can suss out on my own, but I admit fully I am going to need help with this one.

• Yukino's codependence—and her struggle to get away from it—is likely why she refused to be Hachiman's friend back in season one.

It was a pity when people who had only seen the first episode or two formed a false impression (smart-alec MC with his harem is a smug viewer insert) and wrote the series off.

What a load of nonsense that was. The reviewer turned this series about three into the "It's all about Yukino" show.

Hey, here's an idea: Yukino decided to take of the Prom event herself because she noticed Iroha was moving in on Hachiman again and she told as much to Iroha's face.

1 Iroha said she hoped Hayama would be prom king this year and it's her goal to be queen.
2 Yukino told her to her face that she wouldn't be queen until the following year.
3 Prior to all that, Iroha asked Hachiman if he could be around for next year. The girl's a lot more cunning than most people give her credit for.

So in a preemptive move, Yukino pulls the "I'm going to do it all myself" routine that Hachiman was about to do.

Codependency... how does not telling Yui or Hachiman about how Yukino was in the car that hit Hachiman at the start of the year has to do with that? Or the fact she never cared at all about the person she took out for several months?

Quote:

• Yukino's codependence—and her struggle to get away from it—is likely why she refused to be Hachiman's friend back in season one.

Yeah, this going to be hard.... but fun.

My own take on Yukino.... Codependency?... is that she has a lack of empathy which leaves her cold and distant to most people around her. Hachiman has empathy but he chooses to be separate which is a fairly different situation.

To use the example from the show, it's the difference between diving in front of a car to save a dog to not caring about dog or person... and that line from Yukino's sister about the car not having a scratch on it when Hachiman stared at it? I think it's the whole family, it's not a family of nice people.

Codependency...

“If it has nowhere to go, it’ll never find the place where it belongs. It will hide, ride the current, follow something else, and crash into walls it can’t see.”

“I know how to solve the problem you’re facing right now, Yukinon. I’m pretty sure that’s the solution to our problem as well. And so when I win I’ll take it all.”

“Yukinoshita leaving her future in someone else’s hands is absolutely unacceptable.”

“No. I can’t accept your proposal. Yukinoshita ought to solve her problems herself. Besides, that’s nothing but… nothing but deceit. I don’t want any vague answers or superficial relationships. Even so, I want us to think, writhe, struggle, and find…”

However, it's been long enough I need to go back and review the previous two series --- these episodes make it clear that the reviewing will be rewarded (I was mostly lost watching these episodes, but could see that there's probably a lot of depth behind what's going on).

A reviewer who appreciates the achievement of the second season is worth listening to. I haven't looked forward to any anime as much as this third season in a while!

It was a pity when people who had only seen the first episode or two formed a false impression (smart-alec MC with his harem is a smug viewer insert) and wrote the series off.

Animegomaniac wrote:

What a load of nonsense that was. The reviewer turned this series about three into the "It's all about Yukino" show. Hey, here's an idea: Yukino decided to take of the Prom event herself because she noticed Iroha was moving in on Hachiman again and she told as much to Iroha's face. 1 Iroha said she hoped Hayama would be prom king this year and it's her goal to be queen. 2 Yukino told her to her face that she wouldn't be queen until the following year. 3 Prior to all that, Iroha asked Hachiman if he could be around for next year. The girl's a lot more cunning than most people give her credit for. So in a preemptive move, Yukino pulls the "I'm going to do it all myself" routine that Hachiman was about to do. Codependency... how does not telling Yui or Hachiman about how Yukino was in the car that hit Hachiman at the start of the year has to do with that? Or the fact she never cared at all about the person she took out for several months? Quote: • Yukino's codependence—and her struggle to get away from it—is likely why she refused to be Hachiman's friend back in season one. Yeah, this going to be hard.... but fun. My own take on Yukino.... Codependency?... is that she has a lack of empathy which leaves her cold and distant to most people around her. Hachiman has empathy but he chooses to be separate which is a fairly different situation. To use the example from the show, it's the difference between diving in front of a car to save a dog to not caring about dog or person... and that line from Yukino's sister about the car not having a scratch on it when Hachiman stared at it? I think it's the whole family, it's not a family of nice people. Codependency...

Far be it from me to tell you how to interpret your art. I can only talk about how the work speaks to me and how I interpret the things I have seen on screen. That said, here’s some of the things that I have based my codependency interpretation on.

• From the time she agrees to help Hachiman get something “real,” she little-by-little gives up her agency to her friends--reforming her life to make them happy. (SNAFU 2, ep8)

• She goes to the theme park--even though she clearly doesn’t want to as being in large crowds literally hurts her. (SNAFU 2, ep9)

• She changes her school major path from the sciences to liberal arts (ostensibly because that is Yui and Hachiman’s school major path)--something that shocks both her mother and sister so much they have Haruno move in with her. (SNAFU 2, ep12)

• At first, Hachiman believes their newfound closeness to be due to a newly built trust but Haruno tells him it’s something more sinister--i.e., codependency? (SNAFU 2, ep12)

• Hachiman doesn’t believe Haruno until Yukino repeats word-for-word Hachiman’s excuse for her staying over at Yui’s--showing she is putting in no input of her own and mindlessly doing whatever her friends suggest. Yui and Hachiman exchange shocked glances at this. (SNAFU 2, ep12)

• But all this aside, this is how Yukino literally describes herself using fish in an aquarium as a metaphor:

Quote:

“If it has nowhere to go, it’ll never find the place where it belongs. It will hide, ride the current, follow something else, and crash into walls it can’t see.”

(SNAFU 2, ep13)

• In the climax Yui says:

Quote:

“I know how to solve the problem you’re facing right now, Yukinon. I’m pretty sure that’s the solution to our problem as well. And so when I win I’ll take it all.”

--meaning “I can solve all your problems if you give up control of your life to me.” (SNAFU 2, ep13)

• About this plan, Haichiman thinks thinks to himself

Quote:

“Yukinoshita leaving her future in someone else’s hands is absolutely unacceptable.”

and then interrupts Yukino in mid-acceptance of giving control of her life over to Yui to say,

Quote:

“No. I can’t accept your proposal. Yukinoshita ought to solve her problems herself. Besides, that’s nothing but… nothing but deceit. I don’t want any vague answers or superficial relationships. Even so, I want us to think, writhe, struggle, and find…”

(SNAFU 2, ep13)

• This points out to Yukino the codependency trap she has fallen into. She rejects Yui’s proposal saying “Don’t you tell me how I feel.” Then, instead of having Yui decide for her, she instead asks that they hear her request--help her in what she has decided for herself. (SNAFU 2, ep13)

Well, there you have it. I hope that even if you still don’t agree with my interpretation, you can at least see where I am coming from.

Would like to start at the beginning or just stick to season 2? You sense there's a wall between Yukino, Yui and Hachiman but you refuse to say anything about it beyond that it is removing Yukino's agency and it's making it hard for her to relate to her family and friends?

“‘Yugahama Yui is a nice girl.’ I decided that regardless of its veracity.
‘Yukinoshita Yukino is a strong girl.’ And so I burdened her with the ideal image I had of her.” (S2 ep 13)

Yui: “I want it all. What we have now, and what we’ll have in the future. I’m a coward. I play dirty. But I’ve made up my mind. Say Yukinon. Is that battle still on?”
Yukino: “It is. The winner can order the loser to do anything they want.”
Yui: “I know how to solve the problem you’re facing right now, Yukinon. I’m pretty sure that’s the solution to our problem as well. And so when I win, I’ll take it all. [...] It may not be fair, but this is all I could think of. I want us to stay this way forever. What do you think? [...] Are you okay with that, Yukinon?” (S2 ep13)

Allow me to offer up a suggestion: "Guilt", consider that as a root cause rather than going right for the symptom.

“The Yukinoshita Yukino that I’ve known, always beautiful, unable to lie, honest, always standing on her own two feet, without anyone or anything to support her. I’m sure that I held that Yukinoshita Yukino in admiration. I chose to expect things out of her. I chose to force my ideas on her. I chose to feel like I understood her. And so I chose to be disappointed.” (S1 ep9)

Codependency...

Yeah, and Yui's playing for Hachiman as their problem is Hachiman.

I don't know why you changed "problem" to "All your problems"

However, I think she's jumping to conclusions as that photo was in an envelope stuck to the bear Yukino got at the park; I think it's less "treasured keepsake", more "commemorative photo that I got on the a same day as my real treasured keepsake, the bear." Yukino could have at least taken it out of the envelope it came in, if it's as important to her as Yui thinks it is.