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| This arc was truly beautiful, the way they represented the story of Melos in contrast with that of the author is truly masterful. |
" Our lives are not our own. From womb to tomb, we are bound to others. Past and present. And by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future. " Cloud Atlas |
| amazing ... one of the best things ever made in anime |
| That was amazing. I don't know what else to say. It was like watching a Satoshi Kon film, but with theatrics and introspection. That was just amazing. |
Farabeuf said: Agreed,for an arc I wasn't expected anything from this was the best arc yet 10/10.This was such a beautiful and powerful story about friendship and trust. So well directed and put together too. I'm in awe. |
| I absolutely loved the scene where Melos was battling with the bandits on the desk! The blend of his imagination, reality, and the intensity of the situation is really emphasized. I love the technique used. The parallelism and juxtapositioning... Then he got a letter from Joushima (nice timing, but w/e!), and when he bolted out that door and went to Joushima... RUN, TAKADA! You better RUN! My favorite arc. Just loved it. The specs were gorgeous too. The brotherhood and intense display of drama and love were excellent. No sexual love here people, just intense feelings of deep affection and friendship. My heart... I'm applauding this. I wish this was a movie so I could rate it separately. :/ |
MirorinJul 12, 2015 12:02 AM
| Best arc. Definitely. |
| Damn this chapter... so beautiful *wipes tear* |
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| More like Yaoi Bungaku... |
| It will be so hard to rate is as whole series. I loved 1st arc, and Kokoro. This one was good too, but rest wasn't. |
| Dub = fake crap. Always. |
| Great arc, this one and No Longer Human are my favorites. |
| I wish they saved this arc for last. I don't see how it can get better than this. The way the different setpieces were intercut, all while maintaining a strong sense of humanity and emotion, was amazing. |
| After the previous psychological and depressing arcs. This one really soothed the heart of the viewers. What a heartwarming series. |
| wait, why did Joushima broke his own promise? I failed to get the feel because of this one. |
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| This arc was just beautiful and so far my favorite. I literally cried near the ending. Run Melos and No Longer Human makes me want to read Osamu Dazai's works. |
Sabermon said: So he is gay for his friend? Worst arc. All of his worries have easy solutions. He is probably the only one over exaggerating about this ordeal. Anyway, I thought the play was more entertaining that the writer's story. That's totally my opinion +1 |
| This was a very beautifully made short story. The animation, the story and the characters also the directing were all great, I liked the style of the storytelling in this arc. Best arc so far. |
| Oh my god, I'm crying. Yeah, when I rewatch this series in the future, this two parter is on the highest priority. So amazing. I didn't like part 1 that much but this just...Blew me away. |
| The intrinsic good of people sure is a nice thing in the world, and this arc only surpassed my expectations in conveying that. This one touched me on a personal level, considering my stubborn inability to place trust in others. I particularly enjoyed Melos' confrontation with the bandits being played out on Takeda's desk. Not only was it a good blend of reality/story which manages to seamlessly transform otherwise meaningless objects into terrain used to play out the scene, it also appropriately displays Takeda's emotional strife as he struggles to complete the transcript while remembering distant memories of his friend. It also marks the transition of Melos' character, from being a representation of Joshima to being a representation of Takeda, as both protagonists at this point lose hope in seeing through their objectives (Though this is solely my interpretation). It's in my opinion the strongest scene in the entire story, as it's jammed with all sorts of narrative elements working in synchronization with one another; one could go into raptures about it. "Melos isn't coming". Goosebumps. Parallelism also comes into play here as we see for ourselves how precisely Melos and Takeda resemble each other at this point in the story, as Melos "kicks away dogs and jumps across small rivers" as Takeda frantically waits in the train almost to the point of implosion, urging the train to speed up, as Melos' is doing the same. Not to mention Takeda's reunion with his Joshima, which does an beautiful job in speaking for itself. As for why Joshima never showed up to the station, maybe it had to do with his disease, and his father being too much of an indomitable figure. I'd be typing forever if I don't stop myself now. I look at this arc with such reverence it's not even funny. Never would I have thought such a simple concept would strike me so hard. Well fucking done, my favorite arc by far, even reaching farther than No Longer Human. |
| Why do people have such bad taste? Anime isn't subjective anymore. |
| My favorite arc in the series. Probably because this is more straight-forward and cheerful in my opinion. |
| yes,definitely my favourite ngl i cried. During their reunion and also the scene where the kid gives sensei the watch. I was like "don't tell me it's the watch,i am going to cry"...it was the watch,and i cried. also,good job Konomi-sensei:') (something is telling me,that some of those people who said that this arc sucked would be like "masterpiece!" as well if one of the guys was a woman.....) |
| Dang, so this story was written by the same author as No Longer Human :O Anyway the conclusion gave me so many feels! Melos fighting the bandits on Takada's desk was a great idea. Again, the parallels really drew me in here. When he saw Joushima in his room asking if he had finished it ... goosebumps! Of course I suspected it was just all in his end ... except then of course I wondered how he knew at the end :P I can't believe he just ran off like that once he got the letter but it shows how close he considered him huh? I'm surprised Joushima didn't say more at the end except to ask how the play ended - and in the end they were reunited but not how I thought it would happen. I'm guessing that Joushima's father died after they had their argument and that's why he felt he couldn't go to Tokyo with Takada. Really touching how he kept the watch for so long and Takada got it back in the end ... but yeah, really loved the storytelling in this arc and of course the animation was really good as well! Definitely one of the best ones so far :) |
| Love how Melos was fighting on the desk while the main character was writing his story & how suddenly the actor friend was playing the role of Melos to express the main character’s struggle towards trust. The way they directed this arc was brilliant. Really enjoyed every minute of these 2 eps! It’s kinda hard to believe that “Run, Melos!” was created by the same author of “No Longer Human”. I’m not gonna comment on the thread of ep#12 cuz only “Run, Melos!” & “Kokoro” are my favorites among the series. Run, Melos! 10/10 Kokoro 9/10 |
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| If this was a movie I would have gave 10/10 damn I haven't watched something like in a long time, as I'm writing this I cry like little kid ;-; this was defiantly a masterpiece. |
| Very interesting way to tell the story of Hashire Melos. Hashire Melos is one of the few stories that 5th graders in Japan will always read. This was a nice way to remember that story. |
| This one is my favorite so far, I'm crying! "Is it painful to be the person who waits? Or is it more painful to be the person who makes others wait? Either way, there's no need to wait anymore. That's what is most painful." An unfulfilled promise, warm feelings, trust and betrayal, sad feelings, years of separation, longing, attachment, regrets, resentment, a last meeting before the final hour and a memento symbolizing the mutual bond they once shared. It was all so beautiful and moving, I loved it. The way the play, the memories and the present time overlapped with each other, the soundtrack, the pacing, the direction, the art, the character designs, the plot, the heartbreaking conclusion, it was all SO dramatically good! |
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| Amazing conclusion. First of all, the animation is gold. This helped when they switched scenes again. The story was sad. I thought that this will be a romance but it end as friendship. This is drama done well. 9/10. |
| BANZAI NIPPON. Nippon is the Land of freedom. Nippon is the Land of Peace. Nippon is the Land of Justice and Prosperity. In Nippon, we trust. We love Nippon, we love Anime. Anime love us, Nippon love us. 日本 |
| Very mature story. This is a hidden gem. |
| I'm not crying, you are. |
| =3=.... so to be the odd one out here in all words of emotions and amazingment- strong hints of BL in this episode? anybody? i just kept waiting for some kind of confession or kiss but it didn't happen -._-.' i mean, friendship is okay too- but BL is always better |
 I like to comment Episodes as i Watch them. |
| Loved this story and yes this is so sad |
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| Wow. The first arc seemed to drag on a bit and bored me, the one with the sakura blossoms was a bit weird with the inappropriate comedy... but Kokoro was pretty cool, even if it didn't blow me away or anything and this one? THIS is one of the most magnificent things I've seen in anime! I cried so much, the story of Melos, the story of the author and his friend, their parallels have been shown to such great effect with the stage play aspect of it. It's perfect! This arc alone would get a 9/10 from me. It's a shame I have to read this anime as a whole, because honestly unless the next two episodes reach this level as well, I can't see myself giving it a "good" rating. But you'll bet your ass I'll recommend these two episodes to people! |
| What a masterpiece,i really need to read the book but this adaptation was the climax of what Madhouse could do,beautiful. |
| Deep dark fantasies |
| No Longer Human = made me feel empty inside Sakura in the Wood = made me bewildered until the end Kokoro = made me feel really sympathetic to the point of nearly tearing up Run, Melos = it actually made me tear up, damn He got too absorbed into the story and saw himself as the friend who was sentenced to death thanks to the guy initially not being able to keep his promise regardless of the circumstances but as it turns out, the roles of Takada and Joushima were reversed all along! After all of the bleak endings so far, this one had a fresh bittersweet one. Excellent in my book. |
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| This was my favorite story so far! |
| Hands down, this has got to be one of the most beatiful moments in anime imo. I have never cried a lot since Clannad After Story. It is quite painful to see Takada like that. Felt like betrayed, but with a reason on why Joushima did not come with him. That scene in Takada's place and Joushima... Damn it. It was painful yet so satisfying. This part of the Aoi Bungaku Series: 9/10 |
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| Sort of happy end, the first one of all the stories so far Nice to see he got to meet his old friend again and got to know why his friend didn't came |
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| Best arc so far in the series |
| Very nice and good executed arc. Enjoyed the animation and the message of waiting or to make someone wait. Never thought of it this way. The MC for this arc got reminded of his past from Melos having to keep his promise. The ending was somewhat satisfying and not so grim like the other arcs. Crazy to think it was made by the same author that made the first arc No longer human. |
| If the Aoi Bungaku Series was only this short story it would definetely get a 10 from me, no questions asked, but the Sakura one dragged the overall score down unfortunately, and I also don't think any other short story can top this one, even the good ones would get a 9 tops. I didn't need to read the book to like it or understand because of how well made and visually telling it was. I'll definetely be coming back to watch these two episodes from time to time. |
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| This arc is a masterpiece indeed.... |
| Madhouse really overdid this, damn.... |
| Best episode so far, story feels complete, everything was on point, only thing I didn't like is the lack of explanation for author's friend not coming with him in Tokyo or not contacting him later in life, but only on his deathbed I mean if he could reach him then, why he didn't do that earlier |
| Everyone just praising this arc. Thats fine but to me, I didn't really feel to much about it. Like, animation was just phenomenal but I was not really impressed by it. It some fine moments but I would not really place it above say no longer human I guess. Edit: Let me add to it. I think so far, this was definitely the arc with the best animation. The back and forth between stage and reality was cool. But the story itself did not really entertain to much. Maybe b/c I felt I had seen this happen in some other media prior but it did not have much impact on me. I was not really into the story than say kokoro, despite its adaptation, and no longer human. |
FireRifle64Mar 25, 2022 4:25 AM
"Perfection is perception. For me, humanity's imperfections is what makes it perfect"  |
| Unequivocally, this one was by far the best anecdote in this anime. Even better than No Longer Human. Loved it! |
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