Just Because! Episode 12 Discussion

hahailham1 said:
glad they didnt end it in a cringey old school scene. At first i thought that he'll accept Komiya since he failed his exam but well but think again after holding all of his feeling for 4 years before it wont change easily, will it?

RobertBobert said:
Eh, the miracle did not happen and we have another generic end with the illusion of intrigue. It's a pity. I hope that I will ever see anime, where the third character is not introduced just to suffer and create a non-existent weight to the central couple.

Jak said:
So who ends up with who?

RobertBobert said:

Lol, no one requires that he change the decision without any reason. The problem is that there is practically zero chemistry between them (especially in comparison with Souma + Morikawa, which has development and dynamics, so it feels great), because of what this pairing is simply not interesting. By the way, about "changes". We were not explained why Natsume changed her feelings after middle school. Generally, for me personally this is a solid fail even against the background of True Tears.

hahailham1 said:


for me it was quite clear tho, from the very start Natsume clearly remember about Izumi (Episode 1) and their time together (train flashback, they're quite close based on that) , episode 4 really hits hard on Natsume, since what Izumi said about stopping using test as an excuse really hits her hard. Izumi wasnt really an outsider to Natsume early story with him being friend with Haruto and they went to the same class in junior high, and Izumi knew that Natsume liked Haruto. That feel of guilty to Izumi probably spark some memories about Izumi, hence the jealousy at episode 5. Then she knew about Soma already confessed his feeling to Morikawa and want to make things clear with Soma. But for me the turnaround was the bus scene episode 5, when she asked why Izumi said those things, she probably realized that Izumi has a feeling for her. That's also why Natsume can show her true face (honne) to Izumi, which also confirmed by Natsume's sister in episode 11, but Izumi completely jumps into the wrong conclusion.

Episode 6 was all about Natsume's moving on from Soma and when she started to lean more towards Izumi, that probably the reason why Izumi carrying Komiya didnt make sense to her, after what Izumi said in episode 4, and episode 7 was definitely the time she realized it.

The changes was subtle but definitely there.

Itachi_0893 said:


I agree with the fact that in the vast majority of manga/anime the first introduced girl always wins even when the second (or more girls) end up with better progression throught the story, making the whole ordeal of reading/watching it a waste of time as you already know how it will end. However, I don't think that was exactly the case here as both girls had more or less the same development quality, and I really thought that Komiya had a possibility of wining, but the plot demanded otherwise.

The only manga that I can remember right now that has an ending with the second girl is Ichigo 100%, but there the main girl was the one that got all the development and lost to a girl that was absent for the majority of the story. And the only anime I can remember doing that is Mashiro-iro Symphony were the one you thought was the main girl never developed a relationship with the main, the second girl had the most develpment but lost to a girl that had zero development at the end.

RobertBobert said:

I do not know, maybe studying tropes made me meticulous and picky, but I already in the very first series realized that they like each other and the whole series will depend on when they confess to each other in feelings. This is just another generic romantic story, where the feelings of the official couple are just dogma. It is boring and superfluous proof that in relations there should be a conflict and intrigue, and not intentionally introduced the third superfluous.

thiagopv said:


In the Fuuka manga, the fourth or so girl introduced ends up winning, although the conditions for that to happen are quite unique.

thiagopv said:

In the Fuuka manga, the fourth or so girl introduced ends up winning, although the conditions for that to happen are quite unique.

hahailham1 said:

But definitely, on some parts the writing could be better, the inner dialogue could be more telling, and Komiya's suffering as she loves Izumi could also be removed and changed to the Komiya that's being supportive and just kept her feeling for herself. But then again this wont spark some event that led to Natsume leaning towards Izumi. So i'll take it as it is and appreciate Just Because not because (no pun intended) its plot but because of the subtle writing of the author

hahailham1 said:
White Album 2 introduced Setsuna first and then Kazusa, in the end MC ended up with Kazusa, although that on the background MC knew Kazusa first (in the VN they do Kazusa first then Setsuna)

Then there are also Oregairu where i think everybody still have equal chance to ended up with 8man lol, and the Anthem of the Heart. IIRC main character ended up with 3rd character(2nd girl, Nito) while main girl ended up with someone else. This one probably much closer to Just Because but writer of AotH already prepared someone else which is good tbh.

But it is true, tho, that alot of 3rd character somehow destined to suffer, name it, Shigatsu, Toradora (dont quite remember but i think it is) , Sakurasou, and well, let's say, 5cm per second?

RobertBobert said:

Oh, I perfectly understand what you mean. But for me, anime with good subtext is titles like Mahouka, a variety of "subtext yuri" like Princess Principal, etc. But here everything is obvious even at the level of posters. The problem is not that it is invisible, the problem is that it is too obvious and boring.

RobertBobert said:


In the album, in fact, the inversion of this trope, because firstly, "Firt Girl Win" does not necessarily mean the appearance on the screen, and the second, we first heard her playing the piano, and only then met Setsuna. Not to mention the fact that this is only a prologue to the original story.

hahailham1 said:

Yea i get you on this, tho. It is pretty obvious but looking at the episode title again ,well i just get it after reading JB official account tweet, it makes me think of this whole series as a prologue to their adult life. It started with On your marks and ended with Get set go so in my opinion is that they're trying to portray the 'How' things happen with an obvious ending.


Then the closest one probably Anthem of the Heart

The likes of Natsuyuki Rendezvous might suit your style, tho.

Crazysodaman said:
Sorry guys, bit out of place: I can't find a subbed version yet, only the raws- could someone help me out with a link?

Thank you very much in advance.

thiagopv said:


In the Fuuka manga, the fourth or so girl introduced ends up winning, although the conditions for that to happen are quite unique.

KingKatsura said:
he chose the wrong girl but it was inevitable. he always loved mio, and the first love always wins in these triangles.

regardless, i liked the ending bar that text exchange in the last scene. they don't even know eachother's whereabouts and its been over a month, but he texts her & she happens to be right behind him like a stalker to reply?

KingKatsura said:
he chose the wrong girl but it was inevitable. he always loved mio, and the first love always wins in these triangles.

regardless, i liked the ending bar that text exchange in the last scene. they don't even know eachother's whereabouts and its been over a month, but he texts her & she happens to be right behind him like a stalker to reply?

Itachi_0893 said:


Yeah, but that manga is trash, plus the second girl (don't remember her name) was the best girl and as far as I manage to read it (before dropping the manga) she could have had a chance if the author cared even a little about her, but the MC had a fetish for names.

IMe4gLe said:


Mashiro-iro Symphony: The Color of Lovers

Nice twist in the middle of the anime. :)

DragonPaw said:
Can someone explain to me who ended in which university and why? The only thing I get is that Mio and Eita study in the same university...

Regarding the episode i loved it, they made it simple and tried to avoid the cliché of graduation confession, nicely done. Since the beginning loved Mio, she has a strong personality and is a really determined girl so I really wanted her to get together with Eita.

9/10

KingKatsura said:
he chose the wrong girl but it was inevitable. he always loved mio, and the first love always wins in these triangles.

regardless, i liked the ending bar that text exchange in the last scene. they don't even know eachother's whereabouts and its been over a month, but he texts her & she happens to be right behind him like a stalker to reply?