Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia Episode 11 Discussion

DiamondDimoDaddy said:
There is a powerful feeling that this series controls with utmost care and elegance, which is empathy.

We see Ganta open himself up again, but this time, it’s something kept especially close to his heart. He allows himself to be vulnerable with Isaki and vent out his fears and anxieties. His reason for insomnia is a direct parallel to hers. While she fears the morning not coming due to her possibly passing away in her sleep, he fears the morning coming due to it bringing back terrible trauma. He may not remember but it’s hinted by his father from last episode that it has very much to do with his mother leaving in the middle of the night.

In a culmination of passion and empathy, Isaki comforts Ganta with a kiss. It was very heat of the moment but honest, it felt earned after all they’ve been through together. These two can be so emotionally vulnerable around each other and in doing so, they feel safe and comfortable to let each other understand why they are the way they are. They lean on each other and are each other’s rocks without it coming off as cliche or forced.

You don’t get to just see that they clearly love each other, you get to see that they NEED each other. It’s shown from the way they’re able to voice their fears and weaknesses, to how they can only sleep well around each other. Isaki and Ganta laugh around each other, they cherish and are moved by each other. This is what an equal dynamic looks like and reminds me of my very first relationship in high school.

It is beautiful, tender and sweet. It’s idealized yet grounded, a wonderful balance in evoking a variety of youthful emotions in rather quiet and simple settings. A loving first kiss under the stars makes for an unforgettable summer memory. No interruptions, just two people dearly in love alone together. It seems like Shiromaru’s shrimp prophecy came true lol.

There are many reasons why I’ve never considered Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia a romcom and I hope you’re seeing and feeling it through this episode. This is what a pure romance focused story truly is. Something like this, clean of many tired tropes and archetypes, is very rare to come by. It tells of a powerful human connection of two fictional characters that can easily pass by as real people. There is such an authenticity in this story that is only rivaled by Skip to Loafer this season for me (though the latter is not as romance focused).

There is being romance of the year and there is setting a new golden standard for the romance anime genre. This story has done both in my honest opinion and I will happily die on this hill. Even with the lacking staff and rather subpar adaptation (in my opinion), the source material’s writing is more than enough to shine through the season.

There are two episodes left, I hope you’re buckled in for the end. Isaki has made her move, now Ganta has to make his.

djg2345312 said:
I'm honestly a bit amazed seeing a comment this eloquent on MAL forums. You should definitely do a full review.

Embient said:
The beginning of this episode was really spooky
Holy crap Nakami's reason is so relatable. I don't have insomnia but I do get a bit depressed every night wishing that today would just continue and tomorrow won't come.
THEY KISSED
AND I THINK WE'RE GETTING A CONFESSION NEXT EPISODE
YES
And this apparently has 13 episodes so 2 episodes of pure wholesomeness left!

QQchoco said:
OMG so true but it's so underrated tho i wish more people watched this. but now it's our own secret little lovely story. BUT I WANNA SEE FANARTS

DiamondDimoDaddy said:
There is a powerful feeling that this series controls with utmost care and elegance, which is empathy.

We see Ganta open himself up again, but this time, it’s something kept especially close to his heart. He allows himself to be vulnerable with Isaki and vent out his fears and anxieties. His reason for insomnia is a direct parallel to hers. While she fears the morning not coming due to her possibly passing away in her sleep, he fears the morning coming due to it bringing back terrible trauma. He may not remember but it’s hinted by his father from last episode that it has very much to do with his mother leaving in the middle of the night.

In a culmination of passion and empathy, Isaki comforts Ganta with a kiss. It was very heat of the moment but honest, it felt earned after all they’ve been through together. These two can be so emotionally vulnerable around each other and in doing so, they feel safe and comfortable to let each other understand why they are the way they are. They lean on each other and are each other’s rocks without it coming off as cliche or forced.

You don’t get to just see that they clearly love each other, you get to see that they NEED each other. It’s shown from the way they’re able to voice their fears and weaknesses, to how they can only sleep well around each other. Isaki and Ganta laugh around each other, they cherish and are moved by each other. This is what an equal dynamic looks like and reminds me of my very first relationship in high school.

It is beautiful, tender and sweet. It’s idealized yet grounded, a wonderful balance in evoking a variety of youthful emotions in rather quiet and simple settings. A loving first kiss under the stars makes for an unforgettable summer memory. No interruptions, just two people dearly in love alone together. It seems like Shiromaru’s shrimp prophecy came true lol.

There are many reasons why I’ve never considered Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia a romcom and I hope you’re seeing and feeling it through this episode. This is what a pure romance focused story truly is. Something like this, clean of many tired tropes and archetypes, is very rare to come by. It tells of a powerful human connection of two fictional characters that can easily pass by as real people. There is such an authenticity in this story that is only rivaled by Skip to Loafer this season for me (though the latter is not as romance focused).

There is being romance of the year and there is setting a new golden standard for the romance anime genre. This story has done both in my honest opinion and I will happily die on this hill. Even with the lacking staff and rather subpar adaptation (in my opinion), the source material’s writing is more than enough to shine through the season.

There are two episodes left, I hope you’re buckled in for the end. Isaki has made her move, now Ganta has to make his.

fancyjasper said:
Magari goes straight in for the kiss!

CarbonMD said:
Is Magari throwing up another death flag at the end, looking celestial?

She should turn into a star at the end. And the boy can take photos of her and mourn. Your Star in April

Waiting for this one to end. I don't like seinen much.

BetaMaleUltra said:
"tastes SALTY"

*falls into the ocean*

"HAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHA"

actual peak romance

TsutanaiFuun said:
no buildup to nakami opening up so it just felt so forced and i didn't feel anything while watching that. it was as if they put nakami crying just to make that kiss happen. idk why is it that first kisses happen in most fiction when the other person is vulnerable and is crying. not like i'm not happy they kissed but the execution could have been much much better.

DiamondDimoDaddy said:

For you to say no build up meant you somehow just skipped straight to the kiss. Did you miss all the time they spent together and how Ganta felt something was off? He finally felt comfortable enough after all the time he spent together to let her know how he felt about his time with her. One thing led to another and he decided to let her in because he trusts her enough. The execution was perfect fine so I really don’t get your problem with it.

TsutanaiFuun said:
to me it felt like the breakdown happened all of a sudden. during magari's it felt natural but nakami's felt forced. but this is just how i felt. if you think it was perfect then that's nice.

DiamondDimoDaddy said:

The breakdown as an extension of him unloading his trauma. That’s exactly the case of what happened with Isaki.  Both teens have shared their reason for their insomnia and broke down because it’s something that hurts them deeply. The other is there to comfort the other in their own ways. I don’t get how it’s all of a sudden because he did the same thing during the bus scene and Isaki comforted him then. There’s definitely precedence for him doing that because it’s something that strikes him much deeper than failing to meet people’s expectations.

TsutanaiFuun said:
i do get the meaning behind it but let's just say it happened fast. they were sitting there, nakami starts talking and within a second starts unloading. it's not like it is unexpected or anything but the "moment" happened too suddenly, if anything, nakami's crying felt forced as if they used that as a pretext for the kiss.