I have been in the mood for something something ultra-sweet recently and after searching around, this fit the bill perfectly. It is just pure, unadulterated warm fuzzy feelings. Yeah, it’s tropey as hell and the plot doesn’t hold up to much scrutiny, but that’s not the point. Just sit back and enjoy the ultra-concentrated romance.
Confession time. Despite being a moderator for the !manga@ani.social community, I had never read this oneshot before. So, I was going in about as blind as I could have been. I knew from the way people talked about it to have a box of tissues on hand and that it was about manga, but that was about it.
There were so many great moments that were in here. First, I liked One Piece on the cover of Shonen Weekly Jump when they were looking up the results of the manga contest. @rikka@ani.social
Their partnership really seemed to work well. It was tough to see it come undone when Kyomoto wanted to go to art school. You can really feel how hurt Fujino felt in that moment as she was trying to exploit Kyomoto’s insecurities to keep her from leaving. The visual framing of this sequence was brilliant as well. They had consistently been showing Fujino leading Kyomoto around by the hand, dragging her out of her shell. Then, when this conversation happens, they aren’t joined together anymore and a tree is shown literally dividing the frame right between them. Driving the proverbial wedge into their relationship as Fujino is trying to shove Kyomoto back into her shell to keep from losing her.
The part that really started to get to me was when Fujino picked up the old 4-koma that she drew that had lured Kyomoto out of her room back when they first met. It was tragic to see her blame herself and her art for the death of Kyomoto. As we transitioned out of that, I had no idea where the story was going to go next. I was not expecting the supernatural turn that came next at all. I must admit that I was confused for a little bit about what was going on.
The alternate history timeline was interesting. We see Kyomoto at art school, doing her thing and somehow scraping by with some degree of independence just like she had wanted. One thing I liked about this alternate timeline was Fujino’s dynamic entry and rescue. It looked like it was straight out of a manga panel. The irony of this timeline is that if Fujino had not lured Kyomoto out of her room, Kyomoto would not have died at art school. Sidenote: this sequence of events has to be inspired by the KyoAni arson attack, right? It is too similar for it not to be the case.
The titular 4-koma that Kyomoto drew, depicting a humorous take on the attack and rescue was actually hilarious. I absolutely loved the joke in the final panel. As somebody that has read tons of 4-koma over the years, that is a top tier reveal.
The shelves of Kyomoto’s room being full of Fujino’s work was incredibly cute. It was very touching and did a great job of showing how Kyomoto never stopped being Fujino’s biggest fan, ever since elementary school. I loved how this scene culminated in Fujino literally looking back to see the coat that she autographed all those years ago hung up prominently on the door.
Overall, this was a great watch. The way in which these two managed to inspire one another to greater heights across time and space was very touching. Really enjoyed this.
So, so happy that Saki called out Kanon’s self-destructive thoughts. I was getting frustrated while reading this since it felt so out of character for Kanon. Then Saki gave voice to my frustration almost verbatim:
These two are the most adorable couple, and if anything happens to them, I will throw hands.
I find it really funny that Daichi is “aggressive” because he dared to say that he liked her. No wonder her friend is frustrated with these two.
Yeah, I think Akane has always had meta elements to her. If you weren’t aware, her attempted suicide arc from the dating reality show bears a striking resemblance to real-life events surrounding the death of Hana Kimura. I don’t think Aka has ever confirmed that this was the inspiration for Akane’s suicide attempt, but (especially for Japanese readers), the similarity is striking and clearly marks Akane’s character as one that can be used to connect to things outside of what is simply on the page.
Her narration this chapter reminded me a bit of an old Film Noir where, at the end of the movie, after the mystery is solved, usually the detective narrates a denouement to the story. I would like to think that this is a nod to how the fans of the series have, for a long time now, referred to her as Detective Akane. I have no idea if that nickname is present in the Japanese fanbase as well though, just something that makes me smile when I think about it.
I really enjoy Aira, like she is such a good heel for the wholesomeness of Momo/Okarun. These two dorks are such instantly good friends that Okarun hadn’t even considered that Momo was cute. Meanwhile, Aira is the embodiment of conceit and is then led to believe she has been chosen for a higher purpose. It is a perfect recipe for her to act on her delusions of grandeur like some kind of chuuni.
Watching Aira use that golden ball as some kind of fidget spinner all episode was pretty hilarious with the context of what that ball actually is. In general, with the setting at school this episode, Turbo Granny running around, and gossiping, this almost felt like a Sailor Moon episode. Just substitute Luna with Turbo Granny, and a couple sailor scouts for Momo/Okarun.
I mean…if I was just on a stroll in the park and a golden ball falls from the sky and hits me in the head while lights danced around in the sky above me, I would be tempted to believe I was chosen by the heavens for some purpose. Mix that with the narcissism already present in Aira, and we get something like a magical girl chuuni.
I really enjoyed Turbo Granny this episode as well. She has basically become the mascot of the Momo/Okarun magical girl team.
Thank goodness that the right person won. Takae was clearly the best person for the job; Saotome didn’t even want it. I am trying not to hold it against this manga, but having an election storyline come to a climax this week feels like bad timing.
I wonder what Itachi is going to demand of the student council in the future. She continues to be the best character. I guess just like War Games, the only winning move in this harem is not to play.
They really play around with how they draw Ice. Like any good cosplayer, she really adapts to the costume. I was surprised to see an Albedo cosplay mixed in there:
Then, compare how she is normally drawn to when she is in model mode:
I was also glad to see Tsunehiro starting to think seriously about things like his mortality and what to do with the time he has left. He hasn’t told his new friends yet, but with what Ice told him this episode, I think it is just a matter of time before he does.
I really liked this episode and feel like it managed to stay fun with the fishing and goofy characters while also dealing with some serious emotions that Tsunehiro is going through.
Alright, this really is the last clip I made as part of the birthday celebrations. Thanks for the past year everybody!
Aww, shucks… Here’s to another year!
Glad you enjoyed it! When I first saw it (somebody else shared it in this community), it took me a couple chapters to get it, but it’s a lot of fun.
Oh no! I can’t believe you blazed through this whole series in a couple days. Now you have to wait for the final chapter with the rest of us.
You mentioned Akane in the other thread, and I think that she has become the most interesting character to me (my favorite will always be Miyako, mom of my heart). In this chapter, Akane literally became the narrator for us. I think it is interesting that she is criticizing Aqua’s plan, essentially criticizing the author’s plot at a meta level.
Now you can start watching the anime! It has been an excellent adaptation. The second season ended roughly halfway through the story (chapter 80).
I am really curious to see how the last chapter shakes out. I wasn’t expecting that note of optimism at the end. I was fully expecting Ruby/Aqua to go the Romeo/Juliet tragic deaths route.
Both Aqua and Kamiki being dead now also means that there is little reason to dig all that deep into Aqua’s actions to find Kamiki. Ruby and Akane know that he was looking for their father and maybe the director, but I don’t think the police are going to step away from their serial killer case to think too much about it.
Some really fun 4 komas in the extras. I especially liked the meta bit at the end.
Looks like the last chapter will be the Ruby chapter. I had thought that it might end up with a Ruby suicide, but the tease at the end gives me some hope. It was nice to see more of Kana’s grieving process. Also, it seems like Akane kind of became the main character this chapter.
Just one more chapter left.
They are from one of Skythewood’s other series, Tonari no Neko to Koi Shirazu. It’s another great romcom.
I haven’t watched I Want to Eat Your Pancreas either, so I can’t directly compare the two. I think Look Back was touching for sure, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it reached the top tier of emotional anime movies for me. I ended up not needing my box of tissues for example.
By comparison, when I want to watch something like Tale of the Princess Kaguya, I prepare a fresh box of tissues and go ahead and clear my schedule for the whole weekend. That movie destroys me when I watch it.