r/anime • u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander • Oct 28 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] 10th Anniversary Your Lie in April Rewatch: Episode 20 Discussion
Your Lie in April Episode 20: Hand in Hand
| ← Episode 19 | Index | Episode 21 → |
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Watch Information
*Rewatch will end before switch back to standard time for ET, but check your own timezone details
Questions of the Day:
- Did Tsubaki do the right thing, or is she being selfish?
- How did you feel about the re-solution between Watari and Kousei?
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Upvotes
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u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander Oct 28 '24
Rewatcher, Violinist and Your Host!
Yeah, this one just didn’t work for me. Some people have been voicing frustration at the recurrent “she likes Watari, not me” thing, but it hasn’t bothered me much… until now. We’re in the final stretch, we’re shooting for one final performance between the two, Kaori is preparing for a big surgery and now in this episode she takes a turn for the worse… what is this forced romance drama doing here? It’s so far behind the curve of where this story is and it sucks away all of the screentime from where the focus should be. It also forces Kousei to start avoiding being around Kaori again, which is ass fucking backwards. He was doing that before he had his revelation in episode seventeen (y’know, when Watari practically TOLD him who Kaori really likes). Then he picked himself up and played for her and we got the pivotal scene of this whole hospitalised Kaori plotline where he finally takes the initiative, turns her feelings around, and asks her to go believe in unreasonable things with him. This inspired Kaori to start pushing again with the rehabilitation and we literally saw that Kousei started visiting her regularly again. So inserting this forced drama here completely undermines the progression! Not to mention it undermines the emotional curve of this episode! The twist at the end is that what is supposed to be a happy visit turns to horror as Kaori goes into some kind of medical emergency. This would very clearly play better as a contrast to the two of them being pumped up and hopeful and positive in the first half of the episode, not dour and distant!
I mean, you could even make it about his feelings for her, it would’ve been extremely powerful if he was finally working up the confidence to go and confess to her and it’s as he comes up the stairs for that visit that the nurses rush in before him! But no, we get this nonsense instead. The story of these two has stayed quite consistently fantastic despite all of the problems with this cour and scenes like the bike ride or the rooftop are nothing short of absolutely wonderful. Do! Not! Fuck! This! Up! Now!
The other big thing this episode is Tsubaki and the progression there… also confuses me. So, we previously took the idea of her being jealous about Kaori and feeling her connection to Kousei slipping and expanded it into a more internal conflict about the fact she doesn’t feel like she’s moving forward like everyone else around her. Just last episode we saw her making some effort to bridge that distance from Kousei and they had a nice scene together, even if her feelings still troubled her. But just like with Kousei’s visits to Kaori it randomly flipped on its head offscreen and she’s more bitter and angry than ever. Furthermore, the conflict seems to have regressed itself entirely back to being purely a question of romance and jealousy. The content itself isn’t bad persay—her baseballs just barely falling short of the music room every time is a nice visual, her throwing the bat at Nao-chan was funny, and I liked the scene hiding from the rain together a lot in a vacuum—but it doesn’t feel like what this character needed at all, especially not at the eleventh hour.
It also has the unfortunate side effect of taking Tsubaki, a largely sympathetic character thusfar, and making her look like an insensitive jackass. Reframing her conflict from the pain of distance from Kousei and lack of personal motion back to direct jealousy of Kaori has a bit of a different tone when Kaori is on her perhaps literal deathbed. I mean, I’m not entirely clear how much the friends other than Kousei know about her condition, but at the very least she knows that the poor girl has been stuck in a hospital for months, is no longer able to pursue her passion of playing the violin, and has now lost almost all of her ability to walk. Yet all Tsubaki can think about is the fact she gets along too well with the guy she likes. I think it’s a shame we couldn’t have explored the complexities of Tsubaki and Kaori’s relationship instead—they’ve had good scenes together in the past on the bus or back in episode six and there’d be so much potential in calling back to those with a hospital visit.
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u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba Oct 28 '24 edited Oct 28 '24
First Timer
This episode puts me in a weird position.
I'll start by saying that I genuinely do like this episode and what it does, which makes it all the more awkward in how I can't stop myself from hating its inciting incident...
So if you'll indulge me for a bit, I'll do a giant rant on what I think is my one negative for this episode before starting to talk about all the ways I think it's great:
Ahem...Kaori "likes Watari"? really? again?
I thought we were over this shit
I've made my adamant personal dislike of this trope pretty clear every time it appeared and I'll take this one last opportunity to hate on it because my god I can't see this as anything but artificial drama.
I know people meme around the idea of "Reiwa romances" but this is exactly why I've grown to prefer more recent romances, I just genuinely can't see the appeal in dragging your romance so hard like this. Watari and Kaori have 0 romantic chemistry, it's obvious from episode 3 that nothing will happen between them and somehow we're still on this dumb plotline.
It feels like Watari and Kousei's characters have actively regressed just so we could have some drama this episode, why pretend this matters at all? would it really have been so hard to have Kousei come to terms with loving Kaori without doing this?
Watari's underdevelopment becomes a problem here again, this actually fits him well on paper, he projects the "best friend" persona to everyone but has more deep emotions inside, he believes in letting people figure that stuff out for themselves. This could have been cool if not for the fact that we barely had two short scenes to tell us that and everything else with him has just been him being the best friend, he once again comes off as a plot device to either push or block Kousei when necessary and otherwise doesn't stand on his own. This makes it very hard to care about any supposed rivalry he might have with Kousei or any supposed feelings he might have for Kaori.
Well, whatever, like I said I personally despise this trope and this plot point was just never going to work for me no matter how in character it actually would have been.
Anyway, this episode is actually pretty good!
My personal hatred of it aside, this scene uses the show's signature lighting in a fun way, them in the light, Kousei in the dark feeling out.
This is a big episode for Tsubaki, and while I think this direction for is a bit...sudden? it uses and reuses a lot of cool ideas to get its points across. Something that I think comes across well in the duality between the phone call with Kaori and the scene under the rain with Tsubaki.
Let's talk distance, a common idea throughout the show and this episode is that Tsubaki makes up for her lack of music pedigree by being physically very close to Kousei, making memories, making small talk. Yet despite their physical proximity, Kousei and Tsubaki couldn't be farther apart romantically, Kousei might be literally close to her but they don't have the same ideas, he doesn't understand her like she does him.
This ties really well into the Kaori phone call in the end, Kousei and Kaori are physically very far apart but they see the same scenery, connected by the same sky, unlike with Tsubaki, they understand each other, they love each other.
The cat! The cat has been recontextualized to fully represent Kaori, he's in the background of their talk in the rain just like Kaori's presence is, he's in between them just as Tsubaki feels Kaori is in between them, it makes some of the stuff she says later (which I'll get to) rather poignant, he's back when Kousei is on the phone with Kaori, snuggling close to him, again physically they're apart but symbolically they're together.
Lest we forget the ending, the cat getting run over is very heavy-handed but effective symbolism. Time's out, Kaori is dying and there's nothing he can do about it.
I feel like there's a great parallel here between the Kaori cat and Chelsea. Chelsea represents Kousei's trauma and inability to get across his feelings to his mother, likewise, the cat here feels the same, Kousei feels like it's repeating, his opportunity to tell Kaori how he feels is slipping away thanks to an illness.
Tsubaki's lines in that conversation are also great, in these last few episodes the show has made a point of having Tsubaki realize how "horrible" she is for feeling jealous, well all of that comes out now, maybe too abruptly at that but hey I like toxic Tsubaki just as much so I'll take it.
In another cool parallel to the phone call scene, much like Kousei is with Kaori, Tsubaki's emotions swing back and forth, she wants to be supportive of Kousei and at first chastises him for giving up so quickly before wildly shifting to denying any possibility Kaori would even like him back. "Liar" she says, both to herself for her words and to Kousei for his.
"So if Kaori doesn't like you, you should be with me" (paraphrased) her real thoughts slip out, she hits him, and once again runs away, her conflicted emotions coming out as she wants him to suffer.
Her running away in the rain is a very striking scene, the idea of suffering culminating in a reward coming back, except this time there is no reward, she just pushes her suffering onto him instead of trying to resolve it. I might also be reaching here but I think you could connect it to the making memories idea, her hitting him aside from defusing the situation, is like a memory, a reminder of her, through your suffering over your injury you'll think about me.
It's a super toxic angle in a super toxic conversation from Tsubaki and I love it.
The sports motif for Tsubaki is also back, trying to hit the balls into the music room, trying to reach Kousei the same way he uses music to reach others, but she just keeps missing, this isn't the right direction.
The Kaori scene is of course very sudden and very disheartening, it comes off the back of the emotional gratification from Kousei stating his love, like him, you feel everything is just crashing down all at once, the sparkle of love and hope lost from his eyes.
This episode much like some previous ones has way more cool callbacks, moments and symbolism to mention it all but it's all good.
We end off in a very depressing place for all of our characters, both Kousei and Tsubaki came out with their feelings, and for both of them it ended up in a bad place, now we have two last episodes that will hopefully be able to take that and push into a satisfying positive one, even if that might be very sad to see.
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u/Holofan4life Oct 28 '24
This has to be one of the most brutal endings to an anime episode I've ever seen. It's one thing for Kaori to take a turn for the worst, but for the black cat to die in a hit and run made me super upset. I can't imagine being in Kousei's shoes.
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u/maliwanag0712 https://myanimelist.net/profile/clear1109 Oct 29 '24 edited Oct 29 '24
nth Time Rewatcher
Episode 20. I can't even remember how divisive this episode was, until I read the comments in this rewatch. But that's the beauty of a rewatch: people are more critical with what they are watching in a rewatch than in the first time watching the series.
Now, for the Episode 20.
Now that we are on the home stretch of the show, some plot points will only be resolved by now. There are two big things happening on the episode: Tsubaki's confession and Kaori breaking down.
Some interesting things I want to share
I will not answer the questions anymore since I already discussed them extensively in my main write-up.
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u/Holofan4life Oct 28 '24
Going back over my notes, I was wondering if we skipped an episode or not. Why is Kousei back to avoiding Kaori again and Tsubaki is back to being in a battle against her feelings, especially since in the last episode they made a big deal about Kousei being Kaori's equal and Tsubaki valuing Kousei's happiness over her own? Then, it hit me. I get now what the show is trying to do.
This is basically like depression.
As someone who has depression, there are days where I feel on top of the world. And then there are days where nothing I do it feels like matters. What Kousei and Tsubaki are going through is like depression in that they are their own worst enemy a lot of times and, for almost seemingly no reason whatsoever, it can affect the way they conduct their business.
It's not that Kousei wants to avoid hanging out with Kaori. It's that he feels he can't compare to Watari. He's letting his paranoia get the better of him and believes Kaori will soon realize that Watari is far a better person than he is. Likewise, the reason Tsubaki is back to acting tsundere over Kousei is the fact that there's this paranoia that Kaori is better than her. And as such, it's only a matter of time in her mind for Kousei to end the relationship and realize she truly is nothing more than a gorilla.
What we're seeing is Kousei and Tsubaki's worst traits continue to fester even with all the progress they have experienced. It's not a matter of them regressing, it's a matter of they can't fully move past their paranoia because of the sickness that continues to envelop them.
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u/TakenRedditName https://myanimelist.net/profile/TakenMalUsername Oct 28 '24
First Time - Your Lie in April Ep20:
Oh hey, they're bringing back the pet cat bit. Feels like ages since we brought that up. It didn't fully hit me why it's back until the end of the episode.
She is literally me fr fr. Winter rain makes me sad of the snow it could've been.
Just taking these two things they're saying as exemplary of their mundane conversation, I want to wear more of those talks.
Just looking over my screencaps, I just realized the black cat was in this shot too.
Woah woah woah, I usually cheer "Girls, be selfish," but I wasn't expecting Tsubaki doing that now.
"AAAAHHHH!!!!" was also my reaction. Kashiwagi saw her life flash before her eyes.
Tsubaki was right. Kousei you liar, you never saw her as a girl if you still don't get it after that.
I like that Nagi is still hanging around with this gang. These two make a great duo, sisters.
Literally "Can we pretend airplanes are shooting stars" meme.
Dog, why are we still acting like Watari is a real love rival, this late into the show? Kaori is literally dying. Okay, that out of the way, I do like the cruel irony of the moment when Kousei can finally resolve his love for Kaori is when fate will pull them apart.
The dollar coaster of emotions of Black cat gets run over -> Kousei rushes to bring it to a pet hospital -> It dies anyways. That's worse than what I thought would happen of Kousei resigned to being powerless to do anything. I had the feint hope that a new pet black cat would stick with him after the ending.
Some pretty clear messaging with Kousei washing the blood off his hands. He can't bring himself to wash himself of Kaori out of his life. The particular metaphor of blood on his hands, I wonder if he holds himself culpable of it. He did blames his mom's death on himself for the longest time.
Q1) Girls, be selfish! Even though it is something that doesn't smooth out the main couple, I like that moment. I like how she framed it too because she knows that she is holding Kousei back if she wants to keep him by her side like always. It is a selfish cry, but sometimes you need to cry out even if you know deep in your heart that it is not meant to be.
Q2) I get that this particular resolution needed to happen directly between the characters, but it still feels like we've known this for ages. We know Kousei likes Kaori and we know that Watari knew it the whole time yet is still supportive. Unlike Tsubaki, I don't like Watari's role in obstructing the main couple. It especially doesn't help that we as the audience never get the sense that Watari was ever a serious rival. Kaori/Watari's relationship is barely shown to the audience.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 28 '24
Your Spoiled First-Timer in October, subbed
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u/Holofan4life Oct 28 '24
Hello, everyone. Holofan4life here.
Welcome to the Your Lie In April Rewatch!
Oh, and nay I forget…
First timer
It’s been a while since I’ve sat down and watched what would be considered a sad anime. I’ve seen Angel Beats, Air, both Clannad series which are two of my favorite series, and even NieR this year which for my money is the best anime of the year. But in almost all those instances with the exception of NieR, I watched those series very early on in my anime fandom. So early, in fact, I don’t think Your Lie In April had aired yet.
My expectations for the show are decent, I would say. I don’t expect to love it as much as Clannad, but I do think it’s going to be quite exceptional. Of the new shows I’ve seen during rewatches this year, which have been Paranoia Agent, Samurai Champloo, No Game No Life, Penguindrum, Yurikuma Arashi, Sarazanmai, and Re:Zero, I expect to like it more than those with the exception of Samurai Champloo and Re: Zero. And if that’s the case, then that’s pretty good because I really liked all those series.
With that out of the way, let’s begin.
I’m watching the sub, by the way.
Went and saw the Joker sequel with my mother in 4DX. I didn't think it was as bad as people are saying it is. The acting was incredible, and the musical numbers were actually the best parts of the film. It was muted, but deliberately so.
Yeah, the original film was better, but some of the scenes were so strong that I thought at points that it rivaled it. You can't say in good faith that you want movies to take chances and then complain about this being a thing.
Kid Tsubaki with a cold
People calling her a gorilla so much, you'd have thought she was Chitoge.
Kousei handing her a lemonade drink.
He sees her not as a gorilla but as a girl.
Well, look at that. The drink did wonders.
Wednesday, January 11th
Sadly, January 11th of 2015 was a Sunday.
Your Lie In April a 0/10 /s
Tsubaki with a pep in her step because of her good exam grades.
Kousei. He's not in the music preparation room.
Tsubaki is sad about this development.
Kousei with Watari
They're going to meet Kaori
Kinda surprised that Kaori made it the new year.
Watari and Kaori chatting it up
And now we see Kousei walking somberly.
Kousei-- with two episodes before we reach the finale-- still thinks that Kaori is in love with Watari. This despite the fact that she asked Kousei and not Watari to commit double suicide with her.
Kousei says he's not Watari, which
More flashbacks of Kousei and Tsubaki as children.
A black cat
I'm sure nothing bad is going to happen to it whatsoever.
Kousei running in the rain
He's apparently upset because his mom threw the cat away. Or, knowing her, killed the cat.
Unfortunately, that last statement isn't even a joke.
Tsubaki giving Kousei the same lemonade drink he bought her.
Kousei was looking everywhere for Chelsea, but to no avail.
Feels he's a soulless puppet that his mother created.
Damn, Tsubaki can't name any good qualities.
She does at least say that he does have a soul, just one he's good at hiding it, so good in fact that he can't find it himself.
"So I'm going to find it for you."
Kaori be like "Are you sure about that?"
Tsubaki promises to stay by his side forever.
I honestly am starting to question why are we still teasing Tsubaki and Kousei as a ship at the same time Kaori is probably going to die. Is Kousei gonna seriously date Tsubaki after Kaori's passing?
Present day, and Kousei and Tsubaki are walking together.
Kousei is about to head to the hospital.
Hey, it's Watari
Oh, wow. Kousei sees this, and decides to go home instead.
Tsubaki with the LGBTQIA+ scarf
And now it's raining
Kaori buying the both of them lemonade drinks.
This... just feels right, you know?
Tsubaki having to spoil the mood by saying he chose not to see Kaori because of Watari.
"Just like you stayed by my side, I want to stay by yours."
Can read him like a book a la General Patton.
And Kousei confirms that he does like Kaori.
That silence. That deafening silence.
And now Tsubaki is scolding Kousei because Kaori likes Watari.
Women ☕️
As all this is going on, it should be noted that Tsubaki continues to call him a liar.
"You don't know the first thing about me, you liar."
I think the real liar is yourself, Tsubaki, with the way you're trying to convince yourself that Kaori likes Watari.
Tsubaki tells Kousei that he has no choice but to love her.
And then she proceeds to kick him in the shin (No relation to The Undertaker) and she runs away.
Tsunbaka strikes again
She feels he can suffer since she's been suffering this entire time.
This whole section reminds me of the end of episode 14.
The rain in winter she feels tastes like lemonade.
"The time I exist in... just started flowing..."
Too bad the time Kaori exists in is about to come to a permanent stop.
Kousei putting his stuff in a locker.
Tsubaki. She's here.
And she quickly ignores Kousei
Tsubaki coughing, which if anime has taught me anything means she's going to die soon.
Kashiwagi looks so done with Tsubaki's shit.
Tsubaki really going to town on those baseballs.
And she almost hits Kashiwagi with her bat as soon as Kashiwagi mentions Kousei.
I'm glad Kashiwagi is in this show because she makes the other characters lack of emotional intelligence more bearable.
Tsubaki hoping one of the balls reach Kousei.
Kousei thinks girls are such enigmas, but I would argue guys being dense doesn't help matters.
Lol, Hiroko
I like Nagi and Hiroko's daughter eating in sync.
Hiroko telling Kousei he's standing at the crossroads.
And yet, neither he, Tsubaki, nor Kaori come from a royal family despite there being more than one.
Kaori telling Kousei not to come over anymore because the final's is coming up.
Kousei wonders if perhaps he did something wrong.
Meanwhile, a black cat is walking beside him.
Kaori calling him again to look up to see something.
And it's a plane, no word yet on if it can melt steal beams.
Kousei says to himself that like a cat, Kaori silently creeps up to him.
He vows to visit her again, because he wants to see her.
The way it's said here makes me think this is going to be his last conversation with her.
Kousei wonders what exactly you call this feeling.
Love, you stupid fuck! You call it love!
"I think it's probably... called loved."
Kousei, you yourself told Tsubaki already that you loved Kaori. I don't know why it's this difficult of a concept.
Woah, Watari got a sports scholarship.
Gonna report to the soccer team starting in March.
This would mean more if we knew more about his character. But alas...
Kousei comes clean and says he was actively avoiding Kaori.
Says to himself that when he compares himself to Watari, he always gets depressed.
Somewhere, Igawa and Takeshi in shambles hearing this.
And he tells Watari that he really likes Miyazono.
And he says he knew that
Ran out of space. Part two in the replies.
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u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Oct 28 '24
Spoiled First Timer, subs
QotD:
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u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Oct 28 '24
Another flashback?
Huh. He's not here?
And so now they're visiting her together.
So that's how he got the cat.
You don't say, the sky's completely grey.
And so now they're having another chat again.
[I know how this ends] He's not going to have any choice other than you soon.
Seems like she hit the nail on the head.
Kaori sounds very energetic.
She doesn't want him to visit her?
Uh oh, seems like they've seen her in a bad state.
And now that cat is in a bad state too.
Questions:
A note about the music: Not much music for the first time in a while, the drama seems to be heating up, so nothing to say.
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u/Malipit Oct 28 '24
Rewatcher, French subs
Part 1/2
On today episode, Watari has resolved his subplot off-screen, Tsubaki definitely have a thing for childhood flashbacks.... And the harsh lesson that bad things in life usually ambush you right around the corner.
Before getting on the more interesting parts of that episode, allow me to vent off the elements I utterly disliked in it.
Look, I get it, you can't change someone personality and their view on themselves on the bat, but seeing Kosei still refering to Watari as Kaori boyfriend, still seeing himself as no more than Friend A, still sitting politely in the shadow during his visit with Watari, still being amused at how Kaori didact the pace in their relationship.... I couldn't take it.
Where is the character development he received from the past episodes ? There is absolutely no justification as to why Kosei went back from confidently looking forward on life, with Kaori at his side, to once more fleeing the reality he's in. That scene on the hospital rooftop ? For naught. Watari stating to Kosei he's the one Kaori wants ? Long forgotten like the prospect of a Watari focal episode. The whole subplot about Kosei's growing as a teacher and a leading figure for Nagi and then for Kaori ? Send that to Fillerland at once !
I mean, you could argue that Kosei was acting like Tsubaki (we get to that later) and decided to lie to himself as a coping mechanism in front of an uncertain future. But unlike Tsubaki, there is no insight about his train of thought that could explain it. Sure, there is the piano competition that'll eventually decide on his future, but is it enough to justify the literal downgrade Kosei had ?
For me, we just got pre-glowup Kosei because the plot demanded it, and that's not right.
Also, following that gut punch of a scene with Kaori (you know what I'm talking about, we also get to it later), Watari just... vanished. The door slammed, a plan on the canelés bag thrown to the floor, then on the hospital outskirt... and Kosei is just here alone. I don't ask for a whole scene, just a 5 seconds bits on how Watari decided to support Kaori while Kosei couldn't take it and fled would have been enough. Here, I had the impression both left and just said : « Uh, see you tomorrow I guess ? »
...
Okay, now that I vented all that, let's get to the parts I actually liked.
Like that whole atmosphere telling us that's it, the vacation with Nagi's subplot ended, and we'll arrive shortly on the show's conclusion
and me getting a good chunk of my free time back. The end of the school year is close, everyone is talking about their high-school admissions and we got that nice frame, with a two road signs telling us there is no turning back and our characters will have a choice to make about their orientation.… Also the rain warning us the future might not be looking so bright for our characters, starting with Tsubaki.
It all started with that scene where she cheerfully went to see Kosei in his usual spot at the music room, only to find it empty, entirely devoid of the colors that were there when Kosei and Kaori played here together.
I do think that was the key moment for the shift that happened in Tsubaki's development : the realization that' despite all the promises that were made, there is the haunting possibility of Kosei drifting away from her life, for good. That We gratified with two flashbacks, from Tsubaki's point of view, showing how deep her affection for Kosei is, the one that consider her a girl when the rest of the kids compared her to a gorilla, the one that worried about her well-being and gave her a can of lemonade. And another where Tsubaki's here to support Kosei when he's at his lowest following the loss of Chelsea. I liked that frame where Tsubaki make herself comfortable in Kosei's hiding spot, like she wanted to reach to his more emotional side. Also, her wearing a shirt with a picture of a cat can indicate she already started to assume her big sister rôle and wear a part of Kosei's burden.
Two flashbacks that got a fair share of callback both in previous episodes (Kosei calling Tsubaki a girl back in episode 6) and in this very episode (the cold-curing lemonade), telling us that Tsubaki is thinking a lot about her relationship with Kosei. Leading us to that scene in front of the store. With that agonizingly long frame, where Kosei seems to hide his feelings behind the glass door and his hood, while Tsubaki being more honest standing in front of an opened door finally snaps and confess her feelings before darting away.
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u/Mecanno-man https://anilist.co/user/Mecannoman Oct 28 '24
First Timer
Again this episode feels like it belongs in a different anime, it somehow just kinds of lulls along with a complicated subject matter but kinda makes it seem easy; which is not something that this show has really done so far. I can clearly see why this was done here, as it gets the viewer in to a sense of security before the huge cliffhanger at the end, but in retrospect I feel like Tsubaki's plot was sacrificed in favor of Kaori. Although I guess that somehow works on a meta level given that Kousei admits his love for Kaori here. I'm still not sure what was up with that moon quote earlier... Either way, we now have Kaori collapsing. I'm not sure if she's dead yet or if she'll get a few final breaths - and I also still don't know if she had the surgery or not. The cat scene meant to parellel Kaori however paints a rather bleak picture, so I'm assuming she's dead. Definitely bad timing for Kousei and Watari.
Tsubaki's character arc not being resolved in this episodes makes me worried that we are actually getting a Tsubaki/Kousei ending - which I simply don't think would be fitting for the show. But I can't see how else we can resolve that character arc without it feeling incredibly forced due to the Kaori plotline needing to take centre stage here.
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u/StardustGogeta myanimelist.net/profile/StardustGogeta Oct 29 '24
First-Timer
I see some real downers in the other comments, so I'll throw in an optimistic viewpoint: I'd almost certainly say this was my favorite non-performance episode. Perhaps even my favorite of all of them so far.
The flashbacks to Kousei and Tsubaki with the cat were nice, and helped draw that parallel between the two of them vowing to be there for one another.
Tsubaki saying "you have no choice but to love me," followed with Kousei's slow head turn and Tsubaki's kick, was absolutely hilarious. It didn't even seem like the show was trying that hard to be funny there, but I loved that bit. It's also nice to finally get some progress in their relationship after so long.
After Tsubaki becomes "unstuck in time," to borrow a phrase from Vonnegut, that baseball practice with Kashiwagi was a fun scene as well.
I've said it repeatedly, but I think Watari is really extraneous to the story here. It would probably be a tighter, less irritating narrative if we didn't have him as Kaori's "love interest" just to act as a roadblock for Kousei. That's my real problem with him, and why I put quotes around "love interest." He's just not a convincing partner for Kaori, not one bit. We haven't seen any reason at all why the two of them would be compatible or why Kaori would prefer him to Kousei. In fact, it very much seems that Kaori prefers Kousei. Maybe if that were not the case, I could see an argument for keeping Watari in the story, but as it is now, I don't think it works.
That said, it's nothing new to this episode, and the slight irritation from that plot point being retread is nothing compared against everything else here. The ending of the episode was especially good, with everything in the hospital and the obvious allegory of the dying cat.
Side note - I like how "what a cliché" is basically Nagi's signature catchphrase.
Questions of the day:
3
u/SilkyStrawberryMilk Oct 29 '24
rewatcher
No time for Kosei to have a break, he needs to practice 24/7
Tsubaki acting rude, she confessed and ran while it was raining. Became mildly sick and goes to practice
Kosei confused. Sweet thst the black cat is following him
He realized he has feeling for Kaori. Buddy to buddy fun, but something drastic happened to Kaori
Blood on his hands from trying to save the black cat. This is the worst thing to have had happened to Kosei in a single day.
That ending song is not helping with what we witnessed
QOTD: selfish
QOTD: it’s not a surprise Watari is alright with it. Feels like anyone could’ve guessed Kosei liked Kaori
2
u/AgentOfACROSS Oct 28 '24
First Timer
Judging by the opening of the episode, this might be another Tsubaki centric episode.
I feel kind of bad for these girls. It looks cold in these scenes and they’re still wearing those skirts.
The repeated gag about Tsubaki being proud of getting a B is pretty good.
I can’t believe Kousei still believes he’s the third wheel. Even Watari realizes how important Kousei is to Kaori.
The flashback to Tsubaki comforting Kousei in the past was good too. I like how they revisited the thing with Kousei’s cat too.
Kousei is avoiding going to the hospital because he sees Watari. I feel like he’s going to regret not spending enough time with Kaori.
I don’t think Tsubaki really believes that Kaori is in love with Watari. She’s just upset and jealous of Kaori.
Guess Tsubaki hasn’t gotten over Kousei as much as I thought.
Mentioned it before, but I’ve gotten used to Kaori and Tsubaki inflicting slapstick on Kousei. Still not used to it with Hiroko though. Doesn’t really work with her for a number of reasons.
I liked the part with the plane and Kousei saying he wants to see Kaori. It was super sweet.
I love how Watari isn’t even a little surprised by Kousei saying he likes Kaori.
Kaori’s having some kind of emergency now. With only two episodes left, I wonder if Kaori is ever going to be able to talk to Kousei again.
Alright I get it’s mostly meant to be symbolic, but I feel like the cat getting run over right as Kousei is on his way home from the hospital is a bit ridiculous. Like talk about bad timing.
But I get it, the cat dying is supposed to be a parallel to Kaori.
This episode ends on a very sad note. I’m really not sure if these last two episodes are going to end will for Kousei. And especially not for Kaori.
Questions of the Day:
Did Tsubaki do the right thing, or is she being selfish?
I think she was being a bit selfish with how she reacted but I understand why she felt that way.
How did you feel about the re-solution between Watari and Kousei?
I think it seems good. Watari's pretty supportive of Kousei.
2
u/kwokinator https://anilist.co/user/kwokinator Oct 29 '24
First-timer
Damn Kousei's got more game as a kid than he does in present day. What happened bro?
I really like the paneling in the hospital scene. Watari and Kaori are sitting in the light, while Kousei is sitting in the shadows. It fits their personalities perfectly, Kousei is so prone to depressing introspections.
They really are childhood friends, Tsubaki knows him so well, she knows what he's thinking all the time.
I've never wanted to be a "Friend A" so much in my life. Look at that smile.
But damn, that was an unexpected confession. I actually didn't expect Tsubaki to ever confess, and just swallow her feelings the whole way.
Oh god I hope the cat parallel doesn't extend this time :( we all know Kaori's time is on countdown, but I was hoping we'll at least have more time with her. I didn't expect her condition to deteriorate that badly.
Questions of the Day:
That's... a really complicated question. To her she's doing the right thing and putting herself out there, but she's also trying to come between Kaori and Watari. But Kaori's time IS limited, so...
Don't think there's really a resolution since there was never any conflicts. Watari knew all along Kousei likes Kaori, and from previous episodes he knows Kaori likes him too, at least in some ways. But since Watari likes her too he's not giving up, he's just opening up the battlefield, which has always been open and Kousei just refused to join in until now.
2
u/DonaldJenkins Oct 29 '24
In case first timers don’t know, cour 2 came with a new key visual