Two more episodes counting down to the Culture Festival, and two episodes focuses primarily on a new character. Tonami Takefumi used to attend the feeder school for Hokuei High School years ago, but was a very different person at the time. Short, pudgy, sickly, and arrogant, he was picked on frequently until Tsubasa beat up the bullies…and then made him her slave. But after a transfer to Okinawa and his return to Hokuei most people don’t even recognize him. And it is all just as planned, as he has an agenda now that he’s returned to his old school and classmates.
Tsubaki COMMUNICATES WITH HER FISTS!
…but is just as tough on Tonami’s failings. THE EAST IS BURNING RED, AND IT DOES NOT TOLERATE WEAKNESS!
Tsubaki was really trying to help, though she reveals later that she was asked to by their homeroom teacher, sparking a years-long grudge in Tonami for her not paying attention to him.
Now he’s realizing his plan to become someone Tsubaki cant’ ignore. Hmm, all that self-improvement and he’s still a stuck-up rich kid?
Unfair? It looks like the writing *sunglasses* is on the wall. YYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHH!
She wants them to be a doctor and a lawyer? I had no idea Miyazawa was a Jewish name.
Elsewhere Tonami remembers how cool he thought Arima was back then. And, um, beautiful? Apparently it’s impossible to be a wholly straight male in Kare Kano.
Arima invites Tonami to lunch, where he gets a quick introduction to just how Arima, Miyazawa, and Asaba act every day.
Yandere kanojyou.
Later Tonami tells Yukino that she’s not suited to Arima and they start what becomes a running but friendly argument. And then the story switches onto a side track following Yukino as she attempts to flee from Aya and the play she wrote for the festival. She and Maho try numerous methods of escape, but some of those detective novels must have worn off on her because she surmises their likely escape routes like a pro. And after chasing them some more she further displays her prowess by employing a range of methods to try and get them to act out her play. She appeals to the act that Yukino put up and makes Sheryl’s argument to Alto about acting being in her nature, though to no (visible) avail. She’s already bribed Tsubasa with candy and sweets, but since that won’t work on Maho and Yukino she tries the sympathy act, saying that she really wanted to see the play performed but will have to rewrite it as a novel instead. But there is one more plan within this plan, and it seems to hook Yukino: since it’s going to be a novel, the premise makes Yukino want to read it. Seemingly assured that she’s off the hook for acting, Aya must be suppressing a Lelouch laugh as Yukino is now set on the path to convincing herself that she wants to be in the play.
Multiband radar ahoge.
Aya has a promising career ahead of her in counterintelligence.
I’m pretty sure hiding in that locker together is helping them BE FRIENDLY.
The stage is where you belong Alto! I mean, Yukino!
Hook, line, and sinker.
Now that Yukino and Maho are firmly ensnared, the story returns to Tonami and his plan to get back at Tsubaki. Only Tsubasa with her animal senses seems to have figured it out that he’s the same Tonami from years ago, and he asks Yukino to keep it that way. Tsubaki thinks it for a second, but can’t believe that he could be the same guy and drops it. Over lunch Tonami explains the lengths he went to to excel at sports and academics all for the sake of building an appearance to take revenge with, and his single-minded desire to look good immediately makes a fast friend of Yukino. The two get along great over the mutual calculation and cunning, but Asaba and later Yukino notice that this is making Arima jealous. Oh Arima, it’s just been one gradual downhill for my regard for you, hasn’t it? Despite being an insecure little kid who can’t seem to trust Yukino after everything they’ve gone through, and to top it off being a pouty bitch about it when asked directly by Yukino, she, in her infinite compassion and patience reaches out to him and embraces his head as he sits to reassure him. He was far more deserving of a slap at this point than anything, but such is the way of Yukino “too good for him” Miyazawa.
His and Her ANGER!
“You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will know you as we know you: as Tonami Takefumi, the man!”
Oh, Yukino is being considerate and asking what’s wrong. And you respond with the verbal equivalent of a slap in the face with your pouty little passive-aggressive “betsu ni” YOU PETULANT LITTLE AGHOFIOJHGFIDAJKLFNAGU9INB UAGJH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! RAEG!!!!!
Man, everyone’s got it wrong. Yukino is the one with weird tastes, I don’t know how she doesn’t slap the fool.
They love their US sci-fi references, don’t they? First the Star Trek one on the chemistry lab bottles, now Star Wars on Aya’s science fiction play script.
Final Thoughts: – Despite Tonami’s stated goals of revenge against Tsubaki, I can state with a high degree of confidence that this will be a case of Foe Yay resulting in at least a strong friendship forming. I think it’s more likely than not that Tonami has internalized his complex with Tsubaki into something that’s going to come out as affection, though whether she will abandon her plans for YURI HAREM END is another matter.
- The music during the Tonami and Tsubasa scenes was really used nicely, consisting mostly of various instrumental arrangements of the opening and ending themes. They have such great melodies on their own, and playing around with the tempo and mix of instruments really made them shine. Outside of the Tonami-centric scenes there was also a cool piece when Yukino and Maho were running from Aya with a sweet saxophone solo in the middle. While I’ve always liked the background music in Kare Kano, it really stood out to me with these two episodes.
- Arima, you were doing so well coming back from your violent freak out several episodes back, and then you pull this? Loss of temper it can be written off as, but it’s the easiest god damned thing in the world to not say something so pointed and intentionally hurtful as his “not really” there. That takes malice, and it cannot be undone through apologies, only repented for through action. Arima started off really strong, he was very likable, but he’s on thin freaking ice lately and my eternal hatred shall be under it if it breaks.
16 Comments
I can’t make up my mind if the manga chapters did a better job with this arc, but I do love it. The play is very significant, and is a metaphor for a number of things related to the core love story.
The play is something that I’m definitely looking forward to. The little bits that have been hinted out so far make it sound really cool.
Hey EO , calm down about Arima , the man has issues , something that Yuki knew when they started so in simple words: they deserve each other.
Also,on a more personal note are you telling me that you have never gotten an “it’s nothing” reply ?
Issues do no excuse everything. Perhaps I am holding him to real world standards instead of shoujo standards where it’s normal to have a ‘dark and troubled past’ that the heroine can heal, but certain things are done with either a force or an intent behind them that cross the line. Arima throwing her against the wall in the previous episode that I raged at Arima would be the former. I could understand his issues this time if all he did was get jealous. But the way he gave his “it’s nothing” reply was laced with venom and came in response to a kind and reasonable effort to reach out to him. Which he threw back in Yukino’s face with spite.
I have experienced the “it’s nothing” reply in this form, and it was a mistake caused by my youth during high school to date a girl who would act that way fairly often. What can I say, you put up with a lot more when you’re inexperienced. Since then I have thankfully only dated more reasonable people, so when I have gotten that reply in more recent years it’s been the sort that can easily be talked out, not the inconsiderate Arima verbal slap in the face.
> Arima started off really strong, he was very likable, but he’s on thin freaking ice lately and my eternal hatred shall be under it if it breaks.
Hoo boy. As I said last time (?), you’d better not go read the manga when the anime ends.
Anyway. I actually liked the anime adaptation a lot. The jokes and gimmicks work much better in moving form than static on the page (Tsubasa-neko, for example), and Gainax had the imagination to do interesting things with it. (You’ll notice that FLCL’s famous mangamation first shows up here in KK.)
Haha, I’m still on the fence about reading all of the manga since there’s so much of it and I don’t like reading it on my computer. So far I’ve only found vol. 1-3 in bookstores here, though I may order online to read the volumes that take place after the series. A good RAEG can be good for the soul, hehe.
The anime version is definitely doing better things with the material than the first volumes of the manga due to the format like you mentioned. Some things just work so much better in audio-visual form. Honey and Clover for example is a great manga, but the anime is my favorite work of visual fiction EVAR because of how amazingly it uses its medium to tell what is already a great story.
Looking at Kare Kano (and also at some earlier SHAFT shows) was making me think about the development and evolution of visual techniques and styles among the two studios. I’m always glad that Gainax and SHAFT are around, seemingly the only two studios that have the balls to stand out and do their own things with anime.
Indeed, I enjoy’ed the anime as much as the manga, but I am also wondering who did a better job in this case, the manga or the anime. And Tonami to me was really an unecesary character. Sure I enjoyed how he build his relationship with Tsubaki, but later on, they seem to become very minute characters.
Only like 4 more episodes to go. Hopefully you wont go RAGE!!! when it ends.!
Im still keepin on the manga offer if your interstiing in continuing with the school festival and all that happens after that.
The Play they do for the school festival is EPIC WIN and alludes to certian elements of the plot and some of the characters.
Ah, too bad about Tonami and Tsubaki, I took to the former’s story fairly quickly and Tsubaki has always been my favorite side character.
Hoping that the ending doesn’t disappoint me too much either. Though I’m really looking forward to the play, it sounds like it will be great stuff. Still thinking about the manga since I don’t like reading manga on my computer, but I am curious about it. If the ending of the anime leaves me wanting more then perhaps I’ll skip the volumes covered in the anime and go from there.
hmmm, i remember now how pissed off i was at Arima at this point. it is such a shame because he was so likeable at first… the mistakes of youth… for me my intrest in the show died after arima came back from his kendo trip.
Pretty much. Up until he returned from the trip he was a thoroughly likable guy, eccentricities and issues included. But at this point his will seems to have lost the battle to his inner crazy and he’s got two big strikes in my book now.
I remembered how the last part ends… but I don’t really understand if a new story just began or I don’t understand anything… hahahahah!
The Tonami arc (mini-arc) did feel fairly self-contained, like it broke up the main narrative into before and after. Still not too jarring in my opinion, but it definitely does separate two parts of the main storyline.
Your soul will be dead soon cus youre in this arc already. Unless you are an optimist(which i think you are)these “14 days” episodes are soul crushers and you will die.
I do tend towards being an optimist, but I have my limits. With the rest of the 14 days episodes coming up, I guess they’ll test just how positive I can be, heh.
Man seeing these clips bring back an assortment of nostalgic (and slightly confusing) memories. I am pretty sure that this part of the show was where I became completely lost. (I was like… 10? so I’ll let myself off for that one)
I like the premise even now, but the budget issue this show had are burnt into my eyes to this day.
Watching Kare Kano at age 10 is something I can’t even fathom. I guess you could keep track of the basics, but there’s so much going on in the story and visual techniques that it must have been difficult.
The premise is great, and my recent complaints about Arima notwithstanding, it’s thoroughly enjoyable. Even the budget issues haven’t weighed too heavily on its presentation, at least so far.