I'm so close to finishing the Summer 2011 season that I can almost taste it. Considering the final review for
Uta no Prince-sama is all that's left, the taste isn't very good, but oh well.
This second episode of
Kimi to Boku just continued to reaffirm my love for this series. I haven't felt such emotions since watching the first few episodes of
Natsume Yuujinchou (first season, to be clear), and that's saying a lot. I'm trying to not praise this anime so much, but it's so
hard. The episode began with an ambiguous reference to tulips being able to withstand the cold winter, which would apparently be a theme for the episode.
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| He's definitely the girl of the group. |
While Yuki, Yuta and Kaname were off trying to hunt down a pair of chopsticks (since Kaname didn't have any), Shun waited patiently (and hungrily) on the rooftop. The curly-haired girl shown in the previous episode made her reappearance as she was crying over a knee injury elsewhere on the roof. Her name was given much later, but I'll introduce her here for ease of writing purposes: Sato Misaki. She's a tsundere character, which initially reaffirmed my dislike of her (my initial hate based on the fact that I rarely like female characters). Shun essentially (gently) forced a band-aid into her hands (after chasing her down, literally), and thus began the true plot point of the episode.
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| They were so precocious. Now they're just evil. |
When the others got back (and began eating without Shun), all four of them began discussing another scene from their childhood. Kaori-sensei had chanted a magical spell when Yuki hurt his knee, which Yuki agreed made his pain go away...and then he asked for a band-aid, like a know-it-all. I'm a little ashamed to say that I already like the main characters, perhaps because of their quirky personalities but perhaps more because they bear a lot of resemblances to various other characters (including the Hitotachiin Twins of
Ouran High School Host Club). In a character-based anime, I really should try to be less biased...
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| Seriously, those are some really big breasts (that are still realistic). |
After a fortune showing "bad luck" was left in Shun's locker (obviously by Misaki, since she was sneakily watching Shun for a while as the friends ate lunch), his bad luck actually did began. Her pranks were quite amusing, although surely annoying in real life. As Shun was sitting down in the library, Misaki pulled the chair away and swiftly replaced his book (on the table) with porn magazine. (I have to say, she was pretty quick.) As Shun was about to get peach yogurt from the vending machine, Misaki ninja-pressed black coffee. There was apparently some vicious pranks as well, such as her twisting the faucet while Shun was drinking from the fountain so water sprayed all over him. Despite her being an obvious tsundere, I still didn't
hate her at this point.
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| Indeed. Why would naked women make you nauseous? |
There was a hint of potential BL-ness when Yuki, chasing after Misaki since Kaname promised to buy him manga if he helped, walked into a room of 3rd-year girls changing and the next scene involved him throwing up. I mean, really? However, Shun explained it as Yuki being very sensitive to harsh smells, like make-up and perfume. It kind of makes sense, and I have to admit that I was actually hoping this anime would definitely not be BL - or, at least, not be
entirely BL, wherein all the characters are together in same-sex relationships. Based on how this episode ended, I'm pretty sure it won't be that way.
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| I'm surprised no one near her saw her crying. Or did they just not care? |
I'm sad to report that apparently I'm a sucker for crying girls. I mean
actually crying, not the "wailing in an obviously cutesy" kind of crying. As Kaname and Shun watched Misaki from the rooftop, Kaname explained that Shun's "bad luck" was probably due to Misaki being angry about his forced help. She seemed the kind to not want anyone else's help, preferring to take care of herself. Watching her cry after falling while carrying the track hurdles really endeared her to me, for some reason. She's obviously a crybaby, but there's something very enticing about the soft and quiet way that she cried for a few moments before summoning up the courage to continue. Do I like twisted women?
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| And he never ended up going to the nurse's office after this much bleeding. |
After school, Shun and Yuta waited for Yuki and Kaname to arrive in the courtyard so they could all leave. (There was also a passing conversation between two girls that really got me curious. She wanted
veggie ice cream. For one thing, what is that, even? For another thing, how are either garlic-liver or sardine flavours classified as
veggie?) After a flashback to the time in kindergarten when they found out that tulips could weather the winter, a rock - really, it was more of a pebble - came hurdling towards them and hit Yuta's head. Yuki seemed quite angered by the occurrence - aw~ - but he didn't get a chance to react as Shun ran off after Misaki.
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| I may just be projecting, but this seems really obvious. |
I have no words for this scene because I'm still a little emotional. I have no idea why, but the pairing of Shun and Misaki seems to make me really happy. I could be hideously wrong, but it was being pushed a lot in these last few minutes. Shun became very straight-forward, angry only because she had involved his friends and not really with her antics, whereas she, initially indignant and aloof, revealed her hurt at being helped by Shun as a by-and-by thing. She's so super tsundere that I should really hate her - and yet, I couldn't do it. I actually like her. And the way Shun gets along with her is almost delicious to watch; it feels like there's a side of him that doesn't show elsewhere. I'm obviously projecting quite a lot; the scene lasted a few minutes and this is only the second episode.
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| Doesn't frostbite need a doctor's treatment? |
Assisting my inner thoughts on this scene was Yuta's inner thoughts. As he watched Shun and Misaki talking softly amongst themselves about the cute design of the band-aids (
come on), he actually smiled and commented that Shun's hard work wasn't for nothing. (Well, he really just said "your", so it could have been anyone. Darn ambiguous language.) Back in kindergarten, Shun had desperately tried to wipe the snow off the tulip bulbs bare-handed in an effort to save them until Kaname revealed that tulips could survive on their own. I don't understand Yuta's thoughts on the matter, and this scene was a little unclear for me, but I think perhaps he was complimenting Shun for his hard work and noting that, despite the tulips being made to live inherently, his hard work
did mean something. I'm still a little confused.
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| Ugh. Wet long hair. |
Another episode went by without mention of the blond boy. However, with the preview, it's pretty clear that he'll be introduced in ep03. Judging by the fact that he and his playmate (Yuki? Yuta?) seem younger than their current selves, I'm very curious as to what's going on. The OP clearly shows him in current day, but that's hardly solid evidence. Next week just can't get here fast enough.
~Aaro
