It's not something from the last season or the currently airing season, but I've recently just finished watching this anime. It is amazing!
Before anything else, the plot seemed quite unique. Whoever heard of a person who forgets about nothing BUT their friends after a week has passed? At a glance, the series might just be passed off as a typical 'problem solving' type whereby the aim of the entire series is to find out what this 'huge, mysterious' problem is caused by and solve it. The characters are the added romantic comedy theme is what made me really appreciate this series as something much more complex and profound. The simplicity and neatness of the animation, combined with the soft tones of the background music, draws out and continually sustains a very gentle, mellow tone throughout the series. Furthermore, it also subtly directs the readers attention towards the characters themselves. As for the characters, I guess what I really liked was how unique they were. Amongst the character cast, there wasn't a clear way to distinguish and label characters based on roles such as 'the one for comic relief' or the 'serious one' because they were all just so human. I like that- it's nice to see the producers pay so much attention to every single one of the characters well-developed, feeling and multifaceted. If we were to be nit-picky, I could say that there were a few supporting characters whose personality was not developed at all. However in my personal view, I saw these supporting characters as a very natural device used by the producers to help encourage character development for particular characters. It's a very uplifting anime to watch. At a glance, decisions themselves are easy to make because most of them are often presented in a 'black-or-white' fashion. What you should do versus what you want to do, yes or no, running away versus being brave and confront it.
However, the emotions that accompany these decisions are not as easy to differentiate between, and consequentially result in indecision. Sometimes, even if you just want to run away, and return to the comfort of the past, you know that you need to confront it, and that confronting the issue is going to be better for you in the long run. Yet, at the end of the day, you still can't help but look back, doubting your decision. And that's okay. It's okay to doubt yourself. It's okay to feel uncertain about how the decision that you made will turn out. It's okay to feel and want the comfort and immerse yourself in pleasant memories. It's okay to feel weak. Strength is something that we develop from feeling weak and acknowledging that it's okay. In a few days time, I'll be moving away from a place I've been very attached to since birth. As a result, I've often spent these past few days in a cycle of contemplation, worry then determination. But regardless, after all things are said and done, I'll be moving. All that's left is to just acknowledge that it's okay; I don't have to feel super comfortable about moving as soon as I get there. Admittedly, I had tried to postpone watching this for quite a while. It was not because I'm not a fan of anime that contain classical music (it's quite the opposite really), but rather the producers making the main heroine some master virtuoso.
I don't have anything against virtuosos, however I do have something against the producers trying to make her the dense-but-everyone-falls-for-anyways virtuoso. In other words, I was simply tired of having to watch the typical, clichéd reversed harem concept being continually recycled. Trust me, once you've watched as many as I have, you'll be correctly predicting their every move too; whilst I don't mind expected plot twists, I don't like sitting there and watching it as if I wrote the script myself. Some of you may be familiar with another series: La Corda D'oro Primo Passo and Secondo Passo. Though their title suggests that this series is perhaps a continuation of the series, nothing is related. Apart from the setting being exactly the same (Seiso Academy), only two of the original characters make a small cameo appearance. None of the characters from this series are in any way related to any character in the original series. Which.... I have to say, I found disappointing, but unsurprising too. Considering how there is a dating simulation game available for the original series, it would be cruel to have one character be the daughter/son of Kahoko and "one of the guys"; doing so would mean that 'officially', Kahoko (the original series' heroine), would end up with that guy. Of course, the manga does allow Kahoko to end up with one particular guy, however that's another story altogether. So I started watching this, and just as I expected---- it turned out exactly the way I had expected it to be. At numerous occasions, I could tell that the producers were trying to provide some more depth to the series via 'unexpected plot-twists'. However, try as they might to incorporate it as being instrumental (haha, instrumental) to the plot, this unfortunately fell flat on the viewers end. Or at least, from my point of view. As always, I did enjoy the musical pieces that featured throughout the series. I can say with confidence that the musical pieces was one of the key elements keeping me from putting this series on hold yet again. That and the fact that I heard earlier on that a few of the previous characters had made some cameo appearances :3 At the end of watching the series, I wouldn't exactly say that I felt extremely bored and glad that it ended. It's one of those kinds of series that is (to an extent) mildly interesting, but isn't interesting or profound enough to leave behind a lasting impression of any sort. I've often wondered how exactly one should introduce themselves to new people, particularly those that aren't sitting at a higher authoritative level. It's not that I don't understand that we should start off by saying "Hi, my name is ....., nice to meet you"--- that's the standard, universally friendly way to greet someone and introduce yourself. No, I'm talking about the handshake decision; should you offer a handshake? Obviously, if you're meeting someone like a teacher, boss, or anyone who deserves more than just the basic level of respect due to their position, the most friendly and polite way to introduce yourself is to offer a handshake (or to accept one if they offer their hand to you first).
However, what about if you're meeting new people that could be potentially your friend/acquaintance/enemy for life? If you offer your hand for a handshake, does that look too formal? If they aren't expecting it, the handshake will only look awkward, and make you look like an uptight and humourless human being. It's not as though you're both agreeing to some sort of invisible contract after all....it's just a mere exchange of names. Yet, you can't just stand there and say "Hi, my name is ....., nice to meet you" without doing anything; that's just awkward in itself and probably sends out a strong "I'm anti-social" message. Unless you are trying to be anti-social, this probably isn't the way to go about introductions either. So then, what are the other alternatives? If shaking hands makes the situation too formal, then will a wave do? Although, waving is usually reserved for a long distance type of greeting. Alternatively known as Donten ni Warau, this is an anime that I've just recently finished watching. I really liked it! Despite only being 12 episodes long (standard length of roughly 25 minutes each), I really liked the plot. Sure, it didn't seem like much in the synopsis at first (however the synopsis did allude to a plot twist), but once I had starting watching, I just wasn't able to stop. Truth to be told, I finished watching everything in one night (....well, by the last episode, it was already 3am in the morning...). As both a unique and engaging plot, its successful delivery lies within how it maintains a deep and serious nature without creating the suffocating, emotionally burdening atmosphere. Whilst a number of questions were left unanswered due to the last 3 episodes being quite fast paced, I did quite enjoy watching this series and its characters. My favourite character would have to be Tenka Kumo; hairstyle aside, I liked his dependable character, and whilst many would argue otherwise, his subtle character development as the series progressed towards its climax. After her proper introduction later on in the series, I also quite liked Nishiki.
That's right.
(Even though I didn't really leave ever but shhhh...) What I find rather amusing is how the duration of my absence between this post and the "Blog Currently Down" is so much shorter than when I was busy for the entire January 2015 period.....haha. It's been a fun ride and all, but I've decided that there's more to life than just posting my feelings on the internet and procrastinating. Right now, this post is just something that I've managed to write from my iOS device, and although I could continue posting like this, the iOS app is definitely no where near as flexible as the online editing system.
Hence, until I can fix my laptop, this blog is going to temporarily stay down. |
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December 2015
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