Kimi ni Todoke episode 21 – Do You Remember Love?

SENSITIVE INTELLIGENCE REPORT – RESTRICTED DISSEMINATION

SUBJECT: CLOSURE REACHED IN CHIZU-TOORU RELATIONS WITH INTERVENTION AND SUPPORT OF RYU.

DATE: EARLY MARCH 2010.

A FINAL MEETING TO RESOLVE UNREQUITED LOVE TENSIONS BETWEEN CHIZU AND TOORU WAS SECRETLY ARRANGED BY RYU. RYU EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATED THE GRAVITY OF THE SITUATION TO HIS BROTHER, BRINGING TOORU OUT DESPITE A TIGHT SCHEDULE. AFTER SOME INITIAL SUPPORT FROM THE OTHER FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE SAWAYAKYAA ALLIANCE, CHIZU MET UP WITH TOORU ON THE STREET ACCORDING TO RYU’S PLAN. FACE TO FACE COMMUNICATION PROVED EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE IN HELPING CHIZU ACHIEVE CLOSURE, BUT THE SITUATION WAS NOT YET STABILIZED. ACTING ON PAST INTELLIGENCE ABOUT THE TENDENCIES OF CHIZU, RYU MET HER ON THE DOCKS AND BEGAN TO OFFER SUPPORT. WHILE THE DAMAGE OF THE UNREQUITED LOVE WAS EXTENSIVE, WE CAN ASSESS WITH A VERY HIGH DEGREE OF CERTAINTY THAT THIS WILL OPEN THE WAY FOR EVER CLOSER RELATIONS BETWEEN RYU AND CHIZU.

Certainly one of the best episodes of Kimi ni Todoke in terms of character story resolution (as opposed to the equally-great-but-in-another-way greatest hits of Ume’s plans being foiled from earlier in the show.) Despite being a secondary character to Sawako, this week Chizu got a much more thorough and touching resolution of her feelings than our lovable protagonist has thus far. The actual events of the episode were few: Sawako, Chizu, and Ayane go to karaoke to cheer Chizu up, Chizu runs into Tooru and takes a walk with him, and after he returns she goes to sit alone at the docks while Ryu arrives and offers to comfort her. But within those few actual actions was a great deal of emotions and memories that were worked out. I definitely appreciated the realistic sense of confusion and doubt that came over Chizu during the course of this movement towards closure too. Unlike many characters, in anime and otherwise, who seem to immediately ‘get it’ when moments like these come up, Chizu still mentally stumbled at times in a very believable fashion.  Initially she thought that she ‘lost’ Tooru because she was a neighborhood kid, and later on tried to convince herself that perhaps her love wasn’t as real or deep as she thought. Ryu had arranged the whole visit by his brother though, and showed a great deal of insight into the situation, even if his blunt way of handling things would not suggest it. He showed confidence when he indirectly expressed his feelings about Chizu to Tooru, and he didn’t let Chizu deceive herself into thinking that her unrequited love for Tooru wasn’t real.

I chose the post title because some of this situation might be familiar to the other Macross fans out there. Particularly the situation surrounding the singing of ‘Ai Oboetemasu ka/Do You Remember Love?’ in the Macross movie. Minmay’s love was not so unrequited as Chizu’s at first, but by the time she sang the song Hikaru had already chosen Misa. But, as Ryu encouraged Chizu to do, she didn’t dismiss the failed love as meaningless, she let her words speak to the intensity of feelings that were a part of it, even if they were not reciprocated. By not letting Chizu pretend that her feelings were false or exaggerated and instead letting them out, Ryu is helping her remember things for what they were and then move on. In the end, that will help Chizu deal with it better than trying to ignore her feelings.

Crusader’s Record of Kazehaya War

HQ HAS RECOMMENDED ONE WEEK’S LEAVE TIME FOR ATTACHED MILITARY ASSET CRUSADER TO ALLOW TIME FOR RECOVERY FROM COWORKER-INDUCED STRESS. HE WISHES TO EXPRESS TO EVERYONE HIS KYAAAA OVER CHIZU X RYU AND WILL RETURN TO ACTIVE DUTY NEXT WEEK.

ExecutiveOtaku’s Unadulterated Adoration of Sawako and Current Intelligence Report

I demand a Kannagi-style karaoke episode!

Sawako and Ayane are on the sidelines for the vast majority of this episode, but there’s always there to help out their friend.

Check! Sawako goes down the checklist before launching her friend into battle.

Just as keikaku.

Chizu’s Abaranger sentai dance pose didn’t have the desired effect.

Cutsey chibi-Chizu. Reminds me of a different Chi.

One of Chizu’s many memories of Tooru, back when he would share two halves of niku-man and an-man with her.

While the many shots that only showed part of Tooru’s face might serve thematic purposes of expressing distance via his height, I thought they were kind of annoying. Show me the whole picture, please. This is about the only thing I can fault the visuals for though, this episode was absolutely beautiful with the nighttime scenes, the starry sky, and the shots looking out over the water.

Someone needs to watch Sora no Manimani.

Tooru going through all their old times together as they walked through the neighborhood, the somewhat surreal feeling of the starlit night, together they made it feel like a journey through Chizu’s feelings towards him over time.

At a cafe, Sawako sits with Ayane and ponders the good and bad feelings that come with love. Hopefully the lessons of the Chizu arc will help the relationship between Sawako and Kazehaya become realized.

I think that one of the most interesting aspects of this sort-of love triangle is that all the while Chizu has had feelings for Ryu, even letting them out at many points, but then somehow the other part of her brain has never connected the dots. Such is the power of the first love I suppose.

Chizu draws the wrong conclusions at times, and this is one of the things that made the episode great. Considering the amount and intensity of feelings involved, it wouldn’t feel right if she didn’t get confused at times.

Anyone who has watched Chobits can attest to the happiness inducing properties of the word ‘Chii’.

Chizu gets to say aloud her feelings, and Tooru lets her down gently by acting like he didn’t realize the intent behind them. For someone who never had a chance with him, it’s the best way that things could have ended.

Indeed. One day he will be a hero in his own right, and surpass his aniki as Simon succeeded Kamina.

Ryu’s reply to Tooru giving his approval to Chizu X Ryu. Confidence should help make up for his lack of subtlety, he’s just been playing it too cool to show this side of him earlier.

EO’s DAAAWWWW of the Week: grateful Chizu. Since this is her episode, I thought it only fair to award her the DotW this time.

After tracking Chizu down, Ryu bluntly asks if he should comfort her, evoking the usual annoyed response. This time however Ryu manages to avoid the same old cycle of conversation and really gets her to open up. It is such a sad but sweet scene, complimented by the beautifully dark nighttime sea stretching out in front of the characters.

Chizu starts trying to marginalize her feelings, only to have Ryu shatter this attempt at denial with the words that they both know to be true. Truly a moment of romance GAR on Ryu’s part.

Do You Remember Love? Kimi ni Todoke edition

Oboeteimasu ka? / Do you remember?

Me to me ga atta toki wo? /The time when our eyes first met?

Oboeteimasu ka? Te to te ga fureatta toki? / Do you remember? The time when our hands first touched?

Sore ga hajimeta no ai no tabidachi deshita. I LOVE YOU SO. / That was the very first time I set out on love’s journey. I love you so.

Mou hitoribotchi jai nai. Anata ga iru kara. / I’m not alone anymore. Because you are here.