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| This episode was too subtle IMO, they didn't have to make it so confusing. But there was a lot of real interesting stuff going on here regardless. Anyone else notice the three pizzas were cut differently? The first one, her overbearing friend cut and it was pretty sloppy. The next one, she cut and it was utterly perfect. What a sign, eh? She's looked down on for being slow yet she actually does a better job than her friends! Slow typically implies stupid, but this scene was really meant to clue us in that she was anything but. Third pizza obviously represented her relationship. But all those crooked slices represent disorder more than anger. Was she mad at him for being a playboy, or was she mad at whoever fucked everything up? I'd say the pizza clues us into the latter, which of course is her brother. It's really interesting to ponder what her motivation was here. She knew that her friends made fun of her but she put up with it anyways. She knew about the hell girl and yet perfectly feigned ignorance face when Yuzuki confronted her. She was ready to cast her brother to hell before he ever confessed that he sent the pictures. Given how perceptive she was, she probably also knew about her boyfriend and yet was willing to put up with it anyways. Her brother came in and fucked up her relationship, and then proceeded to claim he was jealous of her carefree life. "Shoot, it's just so difficult having all the responsibility because I'm better than you!" Her friend chose her vending drink for her, but her brother chose her suitors? Her brother that rejected her back when they were kids and yet showed nothing but resentment and jealousy towards her, and yet still looked down on her? Her situation's pretty messed up to think about. There were many people making her life miserable, and her brother was the worst offender. She just got rid of one out of many, and the overall situation didn't change at all. She's like someone who threw a rock at a wave. Pretty depressing to think about really! |
| “Money can't buy dere” |
| Aw, I was hoping nobody would have pulled the string this episode. I kinda liked this episode. I felt bad for the girl. I wonder why she lied about the hell correspondence though. |
Seabury said: ...Anyone else notice the three pizzas were cut differently? The first one, her overbearing friend cut and it was pretty sloppy. The next one, she cut and it was utterly perfect. What a sign, eh? She's looked down on for being slow yet she actually does a better job than her friends! Slow typically implies stupid, but this scene was really meant to clue us in that she was anything but. Third pizza obviously represented her relationship. But all those crooked slices represent disorder more than anger. Was she mad at him for being a playboy, or was she mad at whoever fucked everything up? I'd say the pizza clues us into the latter, which of course is her brother. ... Her situation's pretty messed up to think about. There were many people making her life miserable, and her brother was the worst offender. She just got rid of one out of many, and the overall situation didn't change at all. She's like someone who threw a rock at a wave. Pretty depressing to think about really! I really like your insight on this episode. Kudos to you for mentioning how the pizza was sliced. It made me rewatch the episode and try to understand Usagi's actions. Usagi's childhood friends-trio are rude and fake IMO. They are also the toxics of Usagi's well being. They talk bad about her (in front of her too, savage), comparing her sluggishness with her brother's reliability, and dislikes it when other people than them pays attention to her; prevents Usagi to gave an answer to the two girls who are a fan of her brother, & calling her a slut for having a boyfriend sooner. It is clear that they only befriend her coz' she's 'slower' than the trio. They looked down on her, wanting Usagi to stay on a lower level than them, then ultimately resent her after she 'leveled up' by having a boyfriend. It is painful to bear a treatment like that. Being constantly called 'turtle', Usagi might get mentally and verbally abused from those around her. She wanted to make her own progress but suffers at the same time coz' everyone doesn't have faith in her. All that influenced her actions is the phrase 'Tortoise' that she get since young. |
| Peridot is my favorite Crystal Gem. |
| That was a pretty good episode, switching up the usual formula a bit. Shame it wasn't a good ending. |
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| Honestly, between the people in the episode and some of the insensitive comments in this thread (especially early on, admittedly when such things were not as well understood), I'm actually feeling rather sick... The way that I interpret it (and I don't really see as much ambiguity in the presentation as most people here suggest, so while I admit I could be wrong, I do think there is one intended way to look at this) is that Usagi has a mental disability that affects the speed at which she processes and recalls information. She still gets there in the end, sometimes to better results than other people (as someone pointed out between the 1st and 2nd pizzas), it just takes her a little longer. The low confidence that some people have mentioned I think does exist, which may be a factor in why she gave in so easily to what her parents wanted for example, but it's not the root of the issue, it's a result of everyone making fun of her for her disability. Even her own family doesn't really seem to understand her disability, and honestly that would be common even now, and even more so at the time this was made. She came to understand that her "friends" (I use that word lightly here) were making fun of her because again, while it may take her longer, it's not that she's necessarily any less intelligent or able to understand. But everyone else (including a number of commenters in this thread) is quick to just assume that because it takes her longer, that somehow means she's stupid and won't understand the mean things they say right in front of her face. In the end, she pulls the string for a combination of two major reasons: 1) "Even you" makes it clear that even her brother looks down on her (whether he means to or not; unfortunately we're only just beginning to take steps in the right direction toward understanding this sort of thing, and even someone who cares may find it difficult to completely suppress such subconscious thoughts given the lack of empathy that has been shown to those with disabilities throughout history. I'm not an expert, but from what I understand of Japan, I wouldn't be surprised if this was even more difficult there because of how much their society seems to value tradition and conformity). 2) This one is a little murkier and harder to interpret precisely, but it has something to do with her brother's comment about her finding another nice guy. Whether it's more to do with the fact that she HAD found a nice guy and he intentionally messed that up, then says "hey I'm sure you can do it again" like it was nothing, or because of her own feelings toward her brother, likely in part because social situations tend to move way too fast and not many people have been understanding enough to give her the opportunity to understand romantic relationships, is kind of up in the air for me. Of course, that doesn't mean it was the right thing to do... but it may have simply been a hasty decision that she made before thinking it through (as we all do sometimes), perhaps even in an attempt on some level to escape the feeling of being slow. That may explain the laughing afterwards: now she finishes thinking it through, and realizes after it's too late that it was a poor decision and she should have allowed herself the time to think about it, but her attempt to escape being the tortoise has cost her dearly. It's one of those moments of cruel irony where you can't help but laugh at your own folly even when the result is not the least bit funny... This idea even plays perfectly into the moral of the original "Tortoise and the Hare" fable by Aesop: the "slow and steady" decision she would normally have made as the tortoise that she hated being so much would have "won the race" in that she could have worked toward a better relationship with her brother and neither of them would go to hell; but instead she chose to play the hare, and her haste ruined all of that and "lost the race." NikkiPicky71 said: Aw, I was hoping nobody would have pulled the string this episode. I kinda liked this episode. I felt bad for the girl. I wonder why she lied about the hell correspondence though. She didn't lie. Or at the very least, she hadn't thought to use it yet. Remember that her straw doll was Yellow, which is Yamawaro, and the brother's was red, which is Hone Onna. Previously, we saw Ai and her companions talking about how they didn't think the string would be pulled anytime soon. Everyone was there, including Yamawaro, except for Hone Onna. That means the brother had already contacted Ai and they were talking about him, but Usagi hadn't yet. Then shortly after Yuzuki confronts Usagi, we see her standing in her room in the dark, and she looks over at a closed laptop. That's when she contacted Ai. Also, a couple people were saying they remember Ai denying a request previously because someone already had a request against the one trying to make the new request. But that's not correct, and in fact I believe there was a past instance when someone had their straw doll disappear and was told it was because someone else had pulled the string to send them (not their target, but THEM) to hell. What I believe most people are thinking of was the time when someone tried to make a request against a person that already had a request against them, meaning that two people can't have the same target, but you can target someone else who has made a request. |
| "EVERYBODY, CLAP YOUR HANDS!" "PLUS ULTRA!" |
| Usagi went crazy. poor girl. |
| "The future is always blank. Only your willpower can leave footsteps there." "Ruling over death means ruling over life. Death is the climax of life. To have the best death, you must honor life." |
| The "even you" part shows that the brother continued to see her as a complete loser. She patiently put up with his bullshit, wore a smile to mask her sadness, and looked up to him with admiration throughout her whole life... yet all she ever gets in return is him despising, insulting, looking down on her, and ultimately breaking up her relationship with the first -and in her head "last"- boyfriend. "even you" proves that he didn't stop seeing her as an eyesore. So yeah, the guy had it coming. He's an insensitive and self-centered dick. Usagi is the best side character of the season imo. |
TogameCheerioFeb 20, 2018 6:59 AM
| And here I was hoping for a happy end.. but I guess I was wrong. Though, I was kinda hoping that the two of them pull the string at the same time, I wonder if both of them will get sent to hell. Ai wating for that potato though. Cute <3 |
EmperorAlfredJun 11, 2019 5:39 AM
| “What do you do when there is an evil you cannot defeat by just means? Do you stain your hands with evil to destroy evil? Or do you remain steadfastly just and righteous even if it means surrendering to evil?” ― Lelouch Vi Britannia |
kisami said: MEGATRON said: So... she sent her brother to hell because... he wouldn't/forgot he said he was going to marry her? I think they established that she was stupid. lol you're wrong. stupid people do not realize that they are being made fun of. she just couldn't act and react nearly as fast as people do. there at the end he just said too much. i guess she just got tired of people making fun of her, including him. she got mad and hurt again after brother said ul find new bf and better1 but he promised to marry her thats thebreason she pukked the string cause 1he forgot the promise and 2with suggesting finding new bf he hurt her cause she wanted him due the promise also ai reminded him that promise on the boat, why is that? cause that was the reason she pulled the string, and ai has done it before |
Sugram22Jun 17, 2019 4:18 AM
| This was painful to watch. Just speak. I would have liked this episode if the it ended after they threw the things in the river. Did they just want to show how retarded the girl is? Or what was the reason she sent her brother to hell?? |
Come on man,where is that Noragami season 3 masterpiece.We want it, Bones! |
| Disappointed they didn't take the opportunity to make a real redemption. Still a very good ep. |
| Holy crap, the girl was really a wolf in sheep's clothing. I'm still longing for an episode where the thread doesn't get pulled |
| هیچوقت بهتر نمیشه |
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