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| Honestly, it wasn't what i came for, but i didn't hate it |
| -throws hands up at these comments- Love takes time and patience. Love is not always obvious. Love sometimes takes years for it to become apparent. I think this ending did a really nice job in concluding that. Love is open-ended. Love keeps blooming even as the seasons end. I love this type of ending. It's implied that things will go right for these two. You know it's going to happen. You don't need to see it. I just don't know why people need to see a confession or a kiss-- as if all relationships even need that. Love is different and it's like everyone wants to force every romantic cliche onto every relationship. It's the same with Yuri on Ice. Why is it never enough? Why do we need these cliches every single time when we know every love is different? Why? Why is everyone disappointed every time this happens? Not every relationship comes to be with a kiss or some don't even start with a confession. All I care about is that we have a relatively clear idea of what will eventually happen. And we did. I don't need to actually see it. I don't need to see a kiss or some fingering. And he thing is, we already received a kiss. It might not have been to one's liking, but this isn't one's romance, it's their romance and that's how their kiss worked for their relationship. Why must we always seek closure the way we want it to be when it comes to someone else's romance? Why can't we just move on? Who do we think we are to rush someone else's progress? I just don't understand. |
| If it hadn't been the final episode, it could have even been very good. Relaxed pace, low stakes for everyone but the two leads, and yet I was drawn into it. I can't call the concept original, but it was very cute either way in its simplicity. The ice cube transition was a surprisingly cool bit of editing. Well, yuri is still in its infancy, yuri anime especially. I'm okay with this ending because I knew it was coming, and I planned to finish the manga anyways. Usually I wouldn't give a show this courtesy, but again, this is yuri. I'm still undecided on my final verdict for this adaptation... The secondary characters were more entertaining than expected, and I felt like I actually got to know some of them (Akemiya, Azuse and I guess Tomoe) a bit closer by the end. Kazama is frustrating (though I don't dislike her). Sumika carried the show successfully overall. The voice perfomances for the two leads were fine, but they didn't "pop" as much as they should have. The visual department was standard for the most part, but there were a few moments that still managed to impress, like Akemiya's reveal in episode 2. The soothing OP and the catchy ED were a nice addition. This show was an important step for yuri anime. I think future creators might just be able to learn from its successes and mistakes. @Swiggy You bring up a lot of good points. And I'm personally satisfied with this ending. However, I can't view Sasameki Koto in a vacuum, because same-sex romance almost always gets the short end of the stick in anime. Sure, a lot of het romance anime end open-ended, but I can still recount several examples from the past 10 years where the main couple shares an explicit kiss at some point (one that is primarily motivated by love, to be specific)... ... meanwhile, I can't recall any such examples for yuri romance TV anime, except for Sakura Trick technically passes, but not necessarily in spirit. My point is, yuri anime is already very rare, and when those handful of shows can't commit to being explicit, I can see why some people would left unsatisfied. There may be less backlash against for ambiguous or open-ended yuri stories if the "hide your gays" attitude weren't still so prevalent in anime. But I'm not here to pass judgment, just hopefully answer some of your questions. |
LeeTailorJul 31, 2017 10:27 AM
LeeTailor said: @Swiggy You bring up a lot of good points. And I'm personally satisfied with this ending. However, I can't view Sasameki Koto in a vacuum, because same-sex romance almost always gets the short end of the stick in anime. Sure, a lot of het romance anime end open-ended, but I can still recount several examples from the past 10 years where the main couple shares an explicit kiss at some point (one that is primarily motivated by love, to be specific)... ... meanwhile, I can't recall any such examples for yuri romance TV anime, except for Sakura Trick technically passes, but not necessarily in spirit. My point is, yuri anime is already very rare, and when those handful of shows can't commit to being explicit, I can see why some people would left unsatisfied. There may be less backlash against for ambiguous or open-ended yuri stories if the "hide your gays" attitude weren't still so prevalent in anime. But I'm not here to pass judgment, just hopefully answer some of your questions. I understand that. Admittedly, my post was directed towards the romance genre in general, so thanks for reminding me to view this particular romance from the perspective of the yuri/shoujo ai community. A friend keeps me up to date on the Western femslash community and sometimes we're always given... well, what some folks in the community consider queer baiting. "Hide your gays" even sometimes becomes "Bury your gays", and it kinda hurts. For my friend and I, Sasameki gave us so much more than we're used to getting-- especially since there is an established, relatively healthy same-sex relationship. We didn't think we were being taken for a ride and instead respected that they wanted to keep main couple's relationship progression gradual yet optimistic. Still, I can see why others find it to be a tease or disappointment that the main couple didn't get together, kiss, or confess. Sadly, even recent anime seems to dismiss same-sex relationships even if they're... there. For example, So I definitely understand being disappointed with the lack of closure or definite romance in Sasameki. I also have to remember that I watched this a lot later than others did. Shoujo ai and yuri anime were even more scarce. I can't help but feel like maybe this isn't the right anime to be disappointed with if one is watching it today, but I get that people are sick of clear romance not happening in any way, shape or form though. |
While I could go on about my misadventures in yuri, I'd rather focus on the romance genre in general, too. In that sense, I found that the conclusion of the romance in this adaptation of Sasameki Koto was reasonable based on the overall pacing of the show. I also think that there are shows where disappointment is much more warranted. What I mean by that is that the audience's expectation of the conclusion is likely not just based on a preconceived notion of how all romantic should unfold, with all the familiar romance tropes. There are other factors that can influence the expectation. The biggest such factors are probably the intensitiy of drama, and the overall rate of plot progression. I think Sasameki Koto sets up expectations more or less competently in this regard, although the first couple of episodes do give the impression of a slightly more melodramatic tone than what most of the show is really like. For the most part, SK is a slice of life comedy, with relatively low dramatic stakes and a aversion of an overall plot, and so the open / ambiguous ending feels natural after merely 12 episodes. |
LeeTailorAug 1, 2017 5:42 AM
That's a fair analysis and a good point. Since the tone after a few episodes was pretty consistently easygoing, it's easy to forget that the beginning did have a bit of tension. While some are willing to accept changes in tone as it comes, creators can't always expect the entire audience to dismiss the tone of the beginning. While I also felt that the overall tone worked well enough and it paved the way for a decent ending, I can't stop thinking about the beginning now. ...Ahhh...! Even so, I enjoyed Sasameki Koto and its ending and can't help but think I would have attempted to do something similar if I were in the seats of the creators. Recently, I've been seeing a lot about Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai. I'm definitely going to have to watch it. From what you're saying, it sounds like it definitely has its flaws, but the way you've explained them interests me. As an amateur creator, I'm always looking at what works and what doesn't for others. I just can't resist wanting to see for myself and take note of the aspects others find to be done well or to be lacking. |
| What a letdown ending, I thought they will confess to each other in the end. All I got from this episode was a pointless call that had my hopes up, uh I thought this was romance for heaven's sake. I really loved this series and was rooting for their rom, but in the end it turned to "nothing" as Ushio said in the end. What a coward of a series but any way from me its a 7/10 and I would watch s2. |
How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb --- Dr Strangelove  |
| And here i was thinking that Aoi Hana delivery was weak. In this anime there is no apples delivery at all. Basically 2 girls kind of like each other then 12 episodes long nothing happen and that is it! This is a good anime but i feel like im being trolled. Its the weakest romance i have seen ever. |
| This world is so small but we still cant find our ways. |
| Didn't think this would end the way it did. Started to expect it going into the episode, still throughly enjoyed though. I now must read the manga to find out the rest! |
| “The world is full of nice people. If you can't find one, be one.” β Nishan Panwar 8=D ~ O: |
| wait...that's it? like the episode itself was good but...as a last episode, ehhh. at least theres manga |
| what was that end ? it was nothing ?! |
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| I was getting comedy vibes from the poster but the first few episodes ended up focusing on drama a bit. Also seeing others' comment, it seems like manga has more comedy to it. There was definitely a problem with the direction of this one. I still liked sumika and tomoe's character a lot regardless. Might just pick up the manga in future. |
 |
| Eh, girls really better focus on the things they do, not think about their phone.. I mean, it could have died, the battery, I mean, or just fall down somewhere and break, so whatever.. Just enjoy your time in the mountains, Sumika.. ;p I wouldn't agree with the statement that swimsuit can be too cute for river.. Like, what?.. No, no, cute swimsuits are nice and a bonus.. ;P Well, maybe if Ushio's feelings is so strong.. Maybe she'll finally begin to think that Sumika means more for her.. Well, in the end Ushio's and Sumika's feelings are still growing, we finished it at this point, it seems.. Well, I'm personally fine with that.. Because overall it was an enjoyable anime.. There were an episode or two I didn't like that much.. But I also have plenty of episodes I liked a lot.. So I have plenty of what I liked, what I'm taking from this anime.. And that's what matters to me personally.. The most, I feel, I maybe even liked supporting characters.. Akemiya-kun and Aoi Azusa.. I wrote plenty about them in other episodes, but will just shortly say that I liked topics related to them.. They were interesting and relatable characters.. Crossdressing topic with Akemiya and friendship topic with Azusa were tackled pretty seriously and thought provoking, I liked them a lot.. ;P They were just too good, really.. Would definitely want to see more of both Akemiya and Azusa.. Main relationship between Ushio and Sumika, I feel, is only in the beginning stage.. But they are already sweet friends with many memories shared.. Their relationship I'd be interested to see more as well, I feel.. Overall, again, I liked anime a lot.. Glad that watched it.. ;P And totally would want to see second season if it'd come.. ;p |
| it’s obvious that some people here didn’t read the manga... |
| Bro, dafuk was that all about?? I'm frustrated. Hope the manga does end properly. |
| I neither agree nor disagree, on the contrary. |
mySaudate said: Manga did end properly luckilly, but man I remember being so let down but I dunno what I expected out of 13 episodes Yuri romance anime. Do read the manga, it does complete the story. I did. I'm happy, very happy, so fucking happy. Such a cute and lovely story with a nice ending. |
| I neither agree nor disagree, on the contrary. |
| That R32 Skyline cop car tho. |
 |
| Pretty sweet finale, but the ending was a little disappointing. This definitely needs a second season. Overall, this was a great show and much better than I expected. Very nice mix of romance, drama, and comedy. However, I wanted Sumika and Ushio's relationship to develop more. I also wanted Aoi to find someone because she's such a nice and cute girl. <3 |
SerafosJan 5, 5:31 AM
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| Talk about a non-ending, makes sense since the anime only covered 12 chapter of a 55 chapter manga. |
| Kazama became really sad when Sumi didn't phone back. She didn't realize that Sumi wasn't able to call her. Kazama is slowly looking at Sumi as more than just a friend. This was a pretty good series. Perhaps I'll read the manga someday, to get the whole story. |
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| well that was anticlimatic. This series had a potential but the slow pacing killed it for me. |
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