Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun Episode 11 Discussion

tsubasalover said:
Young Yuuzan is voiced by Sawashiro-san? Haru always felt lonely and Shizuku is the one he found to delete his lonely feeling.

ClementIV said:
It was funny seeing Yamaken trying to invite her out for dinner, but overall t felt like a filller since not much happened but it seems like Natsume will try to confess.

But I really want her and Sasayan to get together or at least a confession.


Can't wait for next week!

Takuan_Soho said:
I really don't get people who complain about "filler" in this show. There is no filler. The very beginning of the first show, Mitty said that this was about all the characters, not just Haru and her. Their romance is just part of the story, a central one no doubt, but not the only one. So the development of any of these characters is essential, not tangential, to this show.

Cratex said:
After he hit her a THIRD time, that's pretty much the only reason I'm going to finish this show - I want to see how those other threads play out.

Takuan_Soho said:


Funny you should bring that up in response to me, I had just posted a comment on the "Haru is being misjudged" thread addressing that very issue.

Great minds think alike :-)

Takuan_Soho said:


So in short you wanted a pure Shoujo romance where love conquers all effortlessly. Everything else to you (outside of your crush on Natsume, which by the way invalidates about 2/3rds of what you wrote) is unnecessary.

You really have missed the essential aspect of this show haven't you? There are no love triangles. This show isn't about "love", it really isn't about Haru and Mitty, it's about a bunch of monsters (children) becoming human (adults). Haru isn't the only "kaibutsu" here. Mitty is every bit the monster in her single-mindedness, as is Yamaken, as is Natsume. All of them have something in their past that has shaped them into who they are, and all of them are groping for some solution. A quick resolution for Haru and Mitty's issues would make the issues into jokes. Reality isn't that way. I for one have really enjoyed how Mitty has very small realizations, that are slowly turning her into a real human being. That is the way such things happen. Love doesn't conquer all, at least not instantaneously, the road of life is not an autobahn, it has more twists than Lombard Street.

Takuan_Soho said:

You really have missed the essential aspect of this show haven't you? There are no love triangles. This show isn't about "love", it really isn't about Haru and Mitty, it's about a bunch of monsters (children) becoming human (adults). Haru isn't the only "kaibutsu" here. Mitty is every bit the monster in her single-mindedness, as is Yamaken, as is Natsume. All of them have something in their past that has shaped them into who they are, and all of them are groping for some solution. A quick resolution for Haru and Mitty's issues would make the issues into jokes. Reality isn't that way. I for one have really enjoyed how Mitty has very small realizations, that are slowly turning her into a real human being. That is the way such things happen. Love doesn't conquer all, at least not instantaneously, the road of life is not an autobahn, it has more twists than Lombard Street.

Lelouch22 said:
This was a thoroughly poor episode, and, aside from the greatly illuminating final sequence, it unfortunately failed to be either interesting or enjoyable, noticeably devoid of the distinctly energetic atmosphere that permeated the last episode, which was comparatively excellent. It also appeared to be largely inconsequential, disappointingly absent, yet again, of meaningful developments, instead resolving to needlessly focusing on an incessantly dull, ancillary character and the selfish, unlikable actions he perpetually participates in. Unfortunately, this was the worst episode so far, lacking the exaggerated comedy and wonderfully diverse characters that are typically filtered into every episode. Above all, the character interactions were rather restrained and limited, and, within those that occurred, quite uninteresting, particularly Shizuku’s monotonous conversations with Yamaken.

The final sequence, once again, established the potential for another fantastic interaction between Haru and Shizuku, and, perhaps, a significant development in their relationship, which partially occurred through that beautiful hug and Haru’s subsequent admittance of his feelings for her, until the inevitable withdrawal of of any particularly meaningful growth, which has happened countless times; to the point where it only adds to the avoidable perception of a comprehensively dragging narrative.

The story and, in turn, Shizuku and Haru’s relationship has stalled considerably since Shizuku decided to temporarily retract her feelings for Haru, which should have led to more significant developments, rather than an ever-increasing amount of triangle antics, which have become tiresome and entirely unnecessary. Of course, if this abundance of fleeting, but serious complications hadn’t occurred in such a contrived manner, then their infusion into the narrative would likely appear to be a sort of natural evolution, rather than conveniences that artificially stagnate narrative momentum and relationship development. As such, the development of Shizuku and Haru’s relationship, though highly interesting and, for the most part, immensely enjoyable, has been quite scattered and inconsistent throughout, reverting prior characterization and emotional growth so as to artificially induce complications within their relationships, and, despite it’s predictability, it’s a rather disappointing direction for the narrative to have taken.

Haru's eccentricity carried this episode to whatever mediocrity it was able to temporarily flounder in. As such, the most impressive element of this episode and my favorite sequence, by far, was the momentary excursion into Haru’s thoroughly intriguing childhood, denoting an increased insight into his complex, conflicted emotions, portraying a socially awkward psyche that reveals, yet again, a startlingly dynamic characterization that’s incredibly satisfying. Though a quite predictable element of his characterization and partially understood, the nuanced elaboration on his loneliness and the isolation he felt due to the realization of Yuzan's painful perception of him was superbly foreshadowed, also extensively touching on an aspect of his profound connection with Shizuku, since she effectively brought him out of his destructive tendencies, essentially easing him through his alienated existence. This, in turn, explains the constancy of his fears that Shizuku might leave him, allowing for a partial understanding of his occasionally possessive inclinations.

Shizuku’s stubborn, misguided approach to handling her relationship with seemingly detached affectations, though accurately representative of her characterization, has become quite irritating, rather than amusing, which occasionally strengthens the faulty perception that she’s willing to interact with anyone but Haru, so as to avoid a full acceptance of an emotion she’s never felt before. As such, this is indicative of an evident inexperience with a deeper connection, such as the one she has with Haru, but she, along with Haru, needs to attain a heightened level of enlightened maturity that's only been mentioned on occasion and rarely, if ever, acted upon.

One of the most unfavorable flaws within this episode was the scarcity of a lively atmosphere that had become brilliantly commonplace. As such, Natsume’s absence was greatly felt, since she’s rather essential to the tone of the show. Of course, she appeared in the last scene, but it foreshadowed a development that I'm not particularly looking forward to, since her expected confession to Mitsuyoshi will inevitably be rejected, thus illuminating another divergence from the core elements of the story that will ultimately seem rather unimportant. It's clear that Sasayan has substantial feelings for her, so a focus on that dynamic would likely be much more beneficial to the conclusive nature of the story.

Though Yamaken’s heightened prevalence is thoroughly unnecessary, it’s inevitable inclusion throughout this episode was even less balanced than I initially expected, since, rather than an intermittent filtering of a plethora of interactions with Yamaken and a further elaboration on his characterization, it was woven into the entire structure of the episode, which was highly disappointing. However, Haru’s interactions with Yamaken have been quite intriguing, as depicted by their interesting conversation in the park, so I’d prefer an increased prominence of such a dynamic, if, in fact, Yamaken simply must be so pointlessly involved.

Yamaken continues to be very unlikable, constantly attempting to interfere with an established relationship, while being fully aware of Shizuku’s love for Haru, which only serves to portray him as a pathetic character; one that, like many others that have similarly one-dimensional characterization, is solely attracted towards an unattainable “interest” that he conveniently can't ignore. His introspective, contradictory ramblings that concern the feelings he denies is growing thinner by the episode, never engaging and rarely illuminating a necessary insight to his character, since his emotions appear to be completely superficial. Although this could very well be the story’s intention, he doesn’t come off as endearing or sympathetic, which, due to the unconvincing attempts to portray him with a comedic arrogance, it does, in fact, appear that he’s supposed to be likable, which has obviously, up to this point, been a failed experiment. Of course, I’d likely appreciate his character much more if he ever displayed even a modicum of intriguing depth.

Yamaken's one-dimensional implementation into the narrative has been woefully under-developed and poorly realized, only ever facilitating an examination of his dreadfully uninteresting attraction to Shizuku. His supposed character development isn’t interesting or necessary, displaying an unfortunate proclivity for conventional and tiresome contrivances, which ultimately detract from whatever importance he could have held throughout the narrative. As such, his isolated role as the “love rival” has stalled an evolution of his characterization, since, aside from tangentially forcing Haru into an outward display of his feelings for Shizuku, he’s been effectively worthless throughout, only ever attempting to marginally interfere or repetitiously deny his feelings, which, for a secondary character, isn’t particularly essential to the story.

The narrative has been, for the most part, oddly paced, often lingering on uninteresting complications, while elevating the prevalence of certain secondary characters, without broadening their usefulness. I mean, the show is nearing it's conclusion, and yet an entire episode is ultimately wasted on weakly elaborating on a character that has absolutely no relevance to the story. It also jumps between an abundance of dichotomous emotions within Haru and Shizuku's development, never really depicting a wholly satisfying progression. As such, I’m hoping that, by the conclusion, Haru and Shizuku’s relationship will illustrate a substantial growth that had never been realized before, but any such development, unless incredibly significant, could certainly seem to be unsatisfying, since they’ve inexplicably failed to acquire the same level of romantic aspirations that they once shared towards the very beginning of the story.

The direction was the most impressive aspect of the episode, as it highlighted subtleties within particular interactions, especially Haru and Shizuku's conversation at the end, which was superbly framed. The scene transitions were particularly great. The animation was solid, but largely unimpressive, having never really improved since the earlier episodes. Musically, this episode was terrific, particularly throughout the latter half, and especially notable during the sequence in which Haru reflected on his past with Yuzan, as the soft piano accompanied those wistful recollections exceptionally well.

All in all, Tonari has been disappointingly inconsistent throughout the latter half of the show, rarely elevating to the immensely high quality of it's earlier episodes, and, unfortunately, following a much improved episode, it deteriorated into an unexpected mediocrity with this one. The excellently lighthearted nature of the story, throughout much of the latter half, has been noticeably abandoned in favor of an exploration of meaningless triangles and worthless secondary characters, which has been, as expected, rather disappointing and considerably detrimental to the general enjoyment of the show. I'm hoping the final two episodes will provide a wholly satisfying conclusion, but I remain rather wary that it will reach it's once exceptional potential.

Lelouch22 said:
How did you reach that interpretation of my review? I certainly don't want a pure shoujo romance throughout the entirety of the show, since it's only a fragment of the complex whole, but the necessary complications that I typically love to be infused into the story, haven't, for the most part, been properly developed at all, and, given the stalled nature of their relationship, aren't significant enough to warrant such an extended "separation". Essentially, the only complication that I legitimately dislike are the pointless triangles that have, regardless of what you state, been needlessly focused on. A few of the other complications have been fantastic and fully understandable, but, after a repetitious cycle of them, they seem more contrived than wholly natural.

Also, rather than a seemingly subjective throwaway line about Natsume, a clearly defined and definitely the most consistently enjoyable character (which, by the way, is the most commonly held perception), why don't you elaborate on how appreciating her characterization and inclusion in the narrative somehow, inexplicably invalidates the majority of my review (which it clearly does not).

Even though the show isn't entirely about "love", it's a distinct element that significantly contributes to it's entire narrative, whether you care to admit it or not. Though the theme of a realized maturity and transition into adulthood is a considerably meaningful and essential one, it's not the sole directive of the story. I never have wanted a quick resolution to any of their numerous problems, but, at this point in the story, it's gone beyond merely essential development into something partially tedious. I also quite like Shizuku's small realizations, but they've become monotonous and far too similar to one another, so that they're not as effective as they could be.

Takuan_Soho said:
I'll start with Natsume. There is nothing wrong about you liking her, she is a good side character, but you can't bemoan her not being in this episode much and then bemoan that they focused too much on Yamaken. It isn't a "weakness" of this show, it is simply a matter of you liking Natsume and disliking Yamaken.

Again the triangles aren't triangle, they are character development. Mitty has learned more about being a human being from Yamaken than she has from all the other characters combined. But if you do want to talk about love, Yamaken is the better example of both it's importance and the uncontrollable aspect of it. The arrogant controlling prick can help himself, cupid arrows have shot him. He ends up helping Mitty because despite his intentions and desires he actually does love her. If anything he sets up an interesting juxtaposition with Haru, in that Yamaken ends up helping Mitty because he wants her to be happy. In this he has actually demonstrated far greater love than Haru, but true to her nature Mitty is oblivious to it.

This show is a very unusual shoujo manga, which is why it has a greater cross gender appeal than most shoujo mangas. Your critique is aimed exactly at what makes this show different from the rest of the shows where the hero and heroine are happily together by the 5th episode. This is why I said you seemed to want a pure shoujo animation.

Lelouch22 said:
Haru has shown her how to love another person, which is more than Yamaken's ever done

Lelouch22 said:
The triangles aren't legitimate triangles, of which they usually aren't in a story that's similar in nature to this, but they're presented as such, with the inevitable confessions and numerous attempts to interfere in the main relationship