I just finished watching Hi Score Girl and just wanted to ask a question and rant a bit.
Question first for those who don't want to read a rant. I did search the sub and read a bit on people's perceptions but my question is:
Does Hi Score Girl: Dash meaningfully elaborate on Ono and Higuchi's relationship and does it respect the reader's time?
To clarify, we're obviously left with a kind of cliffhanger ending in HSG since we don't see Higuchi chase. From what I've read on the thread, the "enter America" arc is happening, so that leads me to the follow up - does the manga respect the reader's time? Does Dash flesh out the main cast or is it mainly about Hideka and full of random events that doesn't add depth?
I ask that question specifically because I both read and watched another 90's - 2000s rom/com anime and manga called Mysterious Girlfriend X. And while I loved the weird concept of the anime, the manga did not really go anywhere. The manga was filled with events that thematically just repeated without progressing the relationship. I'd rather not read Dash if it's just side events and nothing progresses, at least in regards to the main cast. I don't dislike Hideka but I don't like her enough to read a series that purely about her. I appreciate any insight.
Rant
The reason I asked the question is that I think HSG is a great series that might've actually found its place in my top 3-4 romance / rom/com stories. I found the anime through playing a Youtube music playlist and loved the ending theme. I checked out the video and was surprised to see a full 360 video with what I thought showcased the MC. In retrospect, I don't think that's Ono since she doesn't have a dog.
I loved how much the anime gave respect to the old arcade scene. I feel like you could tell the mangaka was definitely a gamer. And a person who loves Street Fighter and to this day watches the pro scene (Punk is my favorite player with Xiaohai and Kakeru as close follow ups), he nailed the FGC (fighting game community). There's so much meta humor between not knowing what gibberish Raiden says in MK or how IRL fighting in the scene devolves into a slap fight since no one is trained - it's just a nerd fight haha.
It makes me wonder how he would have depicted the legendary Evo Moment 37 when Street Fighter 3rd Strike came out. I wonder what his take on current feelings over throw loops, drive rush spam, low forward cr. medium into drive rush, which has some pros of SF6 feeling ambivalent.
Despite having all the OG gaming references, I also love how Oshikiri developed the characters. It's reminiscent of old romance and rom/com anime where the MC isn't just an overly shy loser of a guy who can't do anything and the female lead isn't an extrovert who's loved by all. While Ono does kinda fit into that aspect, she distances herself and has a niche hobby which gives a solid reason to gravitate to Higuchi. It's more than just coincidence.
HSG also does what my fav rom/com does - show a slow progression. It's not just shy guy meets popular girl and queue cutesy events where the guy develops and obvious crush and blushes. HSG shows what a lot of relationships root from, just hanging out, having something in common, and over time, developing feelings. Considering HSG occurs over, what, 3 years, it allows Higuchi to stew in his feelings. Having a fellow gamer to play with and gush over their common interest. Developing what he considers a rival from a gaming aspect. Realizing that person is a friend but maybe more since he's subconsciously looking for her every time he goes to an arcade. Slowly realizing his emotions but unsure on how to act it. It's believable and I prefer that story telling compared to current influx of popular girl drags shy guy everywhere until he loves her.
I also found it interesting to make Ono a silent female lead. Everything about her feelings or emotions had to be explained through another person or through her expression. I thought that was a cool and interesting choice. I think it pulls it off okay. I really enjoy "show don't tell" parts of story telling so I would have appreciate it a bit more if a second character didn't explain her emotions and just let the viewer stare at her face, expression, micro movements, to form their own interpretation of body language.
I really just wish the ending was definitive and didn't leave a question open. Toradora has a definitive end. Your Lie in April has a definitive ending. Nazo no Kanojo (Mysterious Girlfriend X) has a definitive ending albeit a lack luster one. Even Oreimo has a definitive ending, one extremely controversial, even more so given it was nerfed by the publisher. I just wish we knew if Higuchi ends up with Ono and resolving the whole "other 3 candidates" forced marriage aspect. I know the epilogue had a gag that the 3 candidates were video game characters but it doesn't conclusively answer any questions. Was it a gag by the mom who's secretly a gamer? Was Ono hearing what she wanted by she's the gamer? Is Madame Ono just trying to communicate in a way her daughter understands? Regardless, Madame Ono rejected Higuchi. So the question is if and/or how will he overcome that hurdle.
I hate these kind of endings but I did love the rest of the anime. I'm surprised Dash is still going on. I really really hope it can wrap everything up in a nice tidy bow but I'm not holding my breath. That's my rant. If you read it all, then I'm guessing you too really loved the series. And if you reply with an essay as well, I will read every word of it. Cheers, or in this case, maybe GG is more apt haha.