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ファイト／ステイナイト 
January 19, 2007 | 
30 Comments
I'm sorry for the late entry for everything today. I've had one hell of a busy day at the office and probably won't get much done until 2-3 hours later. Sometimes I get lucky and can find the time to screencap things but not today unfortunately. Anyway, this is probably the first time the series really feel like a dating sim game. All of the scenes where Yuuichi goes out with Shiori for some reason feels more in-game than Yuuichi's scenes with the other girls. By the way, if you play the game, can you still date the other girls and still get the girl that you want towards the end? Because that's the impression that I get from this anime. Although it's clear which girl Yuuichi will choose, that doesn't stop him from interacting and flirting with other girls like Shiori.
The episode begins with Yuuichi and Ayu visiting the now healthy Mai and Sayuri. Sayuri laments the fact that she didn't know a thing before but Yuuichi assures her that it's all over now. In order to cover up the incident, Sayuri told the police that it was a bear that attacked her. Mai also tells the others that she will leave hospital in spring and may make it in time for graduation ceremony. Yuuichi then asks Mai to rest well because she needs it. In return, Mai thanks Yuuichi for what he did. Yuuichi, however, thinks Mai is great because she didn't avert her eyes in the face of difficulty. Mai thinks those who avert their eyes is anyone but Yuuichi as he gives them strength. As for herself, Mai thinks her power won't come back anytime soon. As they exit Mai's room, Yuuichi apologises for making Ayu come with him. Ayu doesn't mind since she likes Mai although she feels a bit weak here for some reason. Is that a hint?
Yuuichi claims that there is no one who likes hospital but I think that's a misdirection. When they turn into another corner, they meet Shiori. Shiori wonders if the two of them also got flu but Yuuichi denies this and besides fever can't knock 'Uguu' down. Although they've met before, they haven't introduced themselves so Ayu takes the opportunity to introduce herself. Their conversation comes to a halt when Shiori's doctor comes to see them. She, however, becomes surprise upon seeing Ayu, looking as if she's seen the girl before. However, when Yuuichi asks the doctor if there's anything wrong with Ayu, the doctor denies this. The doctor then tells Kaori that her conversation with Shiori's mother is over so Shiori goes back together with the doctor. The next day, Kaori wakes up and goes straight down to the dining room. Her mother comments that her face looks pale. Kaori doesn't respond to this and simply tells her mother that she's going now.
Before Kaori can leave, her tells Kaori that she understand Kaori's feeling but hopes Kaori will speak to 'that person'. Kaori, however, ignores the request and proceeds to leave the room. Back to Yuuichi, he finds out that Akiko is still asleep because of this, Ayu has taken the responsibility of making breakfast for Yuuichi. Upon hearing this Yuuichi claims that he too has club activities to attend to. Not surprisingly, Yuuichi just wants to avoid Ayu's charcoal-looking breakfast. Before Yuuichi can leave the house, however, he hears Ayu calling after him and telling him that Akiko is "becoming like my mother" (read: dying). As it turns out, Akiko is just suffering from fever. Despite Akiko's reassurance that she's okay, Ayu tells Yuuichi that from now on, she's going to nurse Akiko every single day. That afternoon, Yuuichi informs a shocked Nayuki, who admits that she didn't realise it before. Now she wonders if her mother is okay.
Yuuichi assures Nayuki that Ayu was just panic and to ensure this, they call her again that afternoon. Ayu informs the two that the fever has gone down a little bit but there's no cold medicine at home so she's going to buy some. Unfortunately Ayu has no idea the location of the nearest pharmacy. Since Yuuichi doesn't have any idea either, Nayuki decides to take over and apologise Ayu for bothering. As for pharmacy, apparently there is one in the shopping district. Nayuki then ends the conversation after promising Ayu that she'll come back as soon as her lesson is over. Despite Yuuichi's assurance that Ayu can take care of Akiko, Nayuki looks depressed throughout the rest of the day. They ring home again and finds out that the medicine Ayu bought requires Akiko to eat first. She wants to go out looking out for it again but afraid of leaving Akiko on her own. Because of this, Nayuki decides to teach Ayu on how to make rice soup.
Later on, Yuuichi informs Akiko's condition to Shiori. Shiori apologises to Yuuichi for taking his time but Yuuichi doesn't mind. Besides, tomorrow is Sunday so he wonders if Shiori has time because he'd like to take Shiori out. That evening, Yuuichi returns home and finds that the kitchen is a bit of a mess after Ayu cooks something in it. When he enters Akiko's room, he finds out that Akiko looking a bit better. Akiko attributes this to Ayu, who is now asleep at the edge of the bed. The next day, Yuuichi goes out on a date with Shiori as he promised. When Shiori asks about Akiko's condition, Yuuichi decides to ask about her own condition. He reminds her that the sooner she gets well, the sooner she can come out of the school. Yuuichi then asks Shiori about the sketchbook that she's holding. Shiori tells him that she likes to draw and since the day is good, she feels like sketching. Upon hearing this, Yuuichi wonders if he can model.
After thinking about it, Shiori jokingly tells the guy that it's not a good idea. In response, Yuuichi utters "Uguuu" in dejected manner. LOL, Sugita Tomokazu is awesome. Upon seeing game centre, Shiori tells Yuuichi that she's only been to that place once. Upon hearing this, Yuuichi wonders if Shiori is also a fox. XD Because of this, the two of them decide to come inside and play a few game. Shiori chooses a "Whack-a-mole" game, whereby she has to whack a bunch of phallic-looking creature which pops out of a hole. Anyway, Shiori sucks at the game and before she knows it, there are more creatures than she can whack with the hammer. Upon seeing the score, Yuuichi claims that this is the first time he sees someone with zero score. After the game centre, the two walk through the place where she first met Yuuichi and Ayu. Shiori tells Yuuichi that she still remembers it and treasures the memory. Apparently the encounter made Shiori laughed that day.
Shiori then takes Yuuichi to a quiet place, so she can give him a snow facial. In the end the two ends up playing snowball fight, have lunch together, making a snowman. Shiori also sketches Yuuichi's face and upon seeing it, Yuuichi asks if he can have the sketch. After this there's one more place that Shiori wants to visit and that is her classroom. After arriving at the class, Shiori tells Yuuichi the same story that her classmate has told him before. Shiori also admits that her dream is to be able to go to school together with her sister. Upon hearing this Yuuichi realises that Shiori's sickness is not flu. Shiori explains that her body has been weak ever since she was young. Because of this she apologises for lying to Yuuichi. That night when Yuuichi returns home, he gets a phone call from Kaori who wants to meet him. When they meet, Kaori admits that Shiori is her sister. She then lets out the bombshell: that Shiori will die soon. This is why Kaori has been pretending that she doesn't have a sister.
Impression:
No one should be allowed to make a shocking ending like that. I was laughing throughout most of this episode and then they dropped the bombshell out of nowhere. That sad music really sets the mood for this kind of tragic news. I think without the music, the scene might not have been as powerful. Anyway, this finally explains why Kaori has been pretending that she doesn't have a sister. She thinks that if she believes this it will be less painful for her when Shiori eventually dies. That doesn't make her any less selfish though. If she knows this, regardless of her feelings, she would have keep her sister some company. After all, she's not the one who's about to die. At the very least she can grant her sister's wish. Besides, there's no point of worrying about when something is going to end. She'll regret it more if she never gets the chance to spend time with Shiori. Anyway, I like how Shiori serves as some kind of a hub to other stories here.
For example, the doctor who tend to her seems to recognise Ayu in the hospital. I pointed out a few weeks ago that she might be in a coma and this seems to point to that possibility. Plus, Ayu mentions about feeling weak in the hospital. It was kind of nice to tie Ayu's mother with her worry for Akiko's health. It's natural that Ayu is worried sick about Akiko if her mother died due to illness. Anyway, when the show wasn't being depressing, it was actually quite funny. Yuuichi cracked me up when he said "Uguuu" in disappointment. His creepy old man voice when he responded to Shiori was also awesome. I actually think Yuuichi is a lot better suited for the funnier part of the series. The sad part about the series are actually the girls while Yuuichi is here to provide the comedic element. Without him, I think the series would have been a lot more depressing. Anyway, this is another good episode and I can't wait to see how they resolve Shiori's story.
Preview
On next week's episode: It's the Ice Age squirrel!!
Man, Mai looks different without that sword, and with her hair a nice black color instead of the bluish color of earlier eps... although I'm wondering when Nayuki'll pull out a boxcutter, the way Yuuichi's 'scoring' points with everyone else. :D
So, does this make Kaori the REAL "Sad Girl in Snow", given her angst over Shiori?
This episode did two things, which is foreshadowing and dropping a bombshell. It left more hints about Ayu and Kaori's meltdown. I was far more interested in seeing Kaori showing emotions because the episode in general was just to hint for things to come.
Garten, you left out one important thing in your summary....Kaori says that Shiori's birthday is next week. The big bombshell was how Shiori wouldn't able to celebrate her birthday because she will pass away by then.
If you look and remember very carefully, the relationship between Shiori and Kaori will remind you about Sayuri and Kazuya. Remember how Sayuri was acting cold towards her little brother? Same concept with Kaori and her little sister. I guess the main reason why they excluded Sayuri's past is because Shiori became one of the focal points to the series. On the second episode, Shiori made an appearance, which foreshadowed that she will play a role somewhat in the series. Sayuri made her first appearance just before the end of Makoto's arc. Shiori, however, made frequent appearance here and there...so it was somewhat inevtiable that Sayuri will play a minimal role to the series. The producers might have thought repeating the concept on separate arc can be very derivative.
Anyways, what I'm interested in is how Kitagawa will play in this arc. Will he be a factor or will he play a small role as a comic relief? I have no idea if he will contribute to the arc as Sayuri did with Mai's story.
Oh one more thing...Garten, Usotsuki! NO Genshiken OVA at sight! However, I can understand your situation since you explained yourself with how busy you were in the office.
I also hope you are following Pumpkin scissors (not blogging but just watching it in general). I have to say that I am very impress with the latest arc that series is in.
Garten, you left out one important thing in your summary....Kaori says that Shiori's birthday is next week
I think my biggest mistake that I often make when summarising is that I tend to put a lot of details at the start and then realising halfway through that I don't have enough space to put the details of the later part. But yeah, I decided to left that out since I figure it doesn't matter when Shiori would die.
Oh one more thing...Garten, Usotsuki! NO Genshiken OVA at sight! However, I can understand your situation since you explained yourself with how busy you were in the office.
Well, I did say 'might', didn't I? *runs* :D
I also hope you are following Pumpkin scissors (not blogging but just watching it in general).
Unfortunately I haven't watch anything that I don't blog lately. It's kind of pathetic come to think of it. I sometimes wonder if I'd watch the series that I blog if I don't have to blog them. I have backlogs of DVDs that I have bought (Suzumiya Haruhi and Honey and Clover II) which I also haven't had the chance to watch.
I don't actually like this as much as last week. The last few minutes are awesome but the rest feels pretty dry. Shiori is not the most exciting character in the series. She's like Mai except that in Mai's arc we have Sayuri to provide the "Ahahaha~"
Facial? omg
They did Kaori's scene too early. :/ We should've had more time to get into Shiori, because I didn't feel any emotions from the bombshell. Shame, it's been moreorless flawless until this point.
They did put a lot of foreshadowing in this episode. i found that other version of last regrets they played during yuuichi and shiori's snowfight interesting. anyone know if they have a torrent for it somewhere? :p
Yeah, I think the revelation scenes came out of nowhere. I mean it's been brewing for a while but I don't understand why Kaori suddenly runs out to Yuuichi of all people. Wouldn't it make more sense for her to run to Nayuki since she's closer to her?
This episode had TONS of hints holy crap they're going to manage to put all 3 girls into 9 episodes with 3 for each.
And uh... I'm suffering very heavily of Kanon-deprived syndrome.
And where's the BMW? :D
"All of the scenes where Yuuichi goes out with Shiori for some reason feels more in-game than Yuuichi's scenes with the other girls. By the way, if you play the game, can you still date the other girls and still get the girl that you want towards the end? Because that's the impression that I get from this anime."
No. The game is structured such that, once you embark on a given heroine's story line, the others essentially drop out of the story. Much less than being able to date one heroine and end up with another, Kanon denies you even the opportunity to talk to the others once you have dated one of the heroines.
SPOILERS
Find yourself following Shiori's story, for example, and Ayu finds her treasure without Yuuichi's help, henceforth vanishing from the story, Makoto runs away and is never seen again, Yuuichi never meets Mai, and essentially ignores Nayuki.
Haha Nayuki was jealous..
...holy crap. When they arrived at the part at the end where Kaori was giving her monologue I was thinking, "You're BSing me! There is just...NO...WAY." That makes my Makoto, Mai, and Kaori-Shiori predictions pretty dang good (or maybe Kyo-Ani is just really good at dropping hints).
I'm worried about my Ayu prediction though.... If Ayu died 7 years ago--as I inferred from Kyo-Ani's many hints--then that nurse should not have been had a "reaction" to Ayu.... If the nurse somehow knew Ayu in her younger days, and Ayu died, then the nurse shouldn't have any recognition reaction to Ayu (old). Akiko needed to hear Ayu's name to have a recognition reaction, but the nurse reacted just from seeing her.
Ehh, I have a new prediction about Ayu, but with my record on correctness it would practically be a spoiler if I said it. At least I was mistaken about Nayuki's story involving Akiko getting into an accident (though I have this dreaded suspicion that Akiko will became more ill, since all the stories tend to be tales of misfortune....).
"I pointed out a few weeks ago that she might be in a coma and this seems to point to that possibility."
Ohhh--I need to read your article before gushing my reaction to the show. That's the new Ayu prediction I'm leaning toward, but didn't want to say....
It makes me wonder about the 'angel' symbology surrounding Ayu though. Is it just related to the doll she was given, or does she die at the end of the series? That would just take the cake: three out of the five main heroines dying in the series. Come ON. Happy Ending, please, thanks!
The series ending with Yuuichi standing alone and everyone dead (like Garten's caption to the Snowperson pic) would be quite depressing.
...w-wait a second. Didn't Mai say she might not recover for graduation? And isn't she a year ahead of Yuuichi? That means they could graduate at the same time! Gooo Yuuichi x Mai epilogue! Two snow-person ending!
For example, the doctor who tend to her seems to recognise Ayu in the hospital. I pointed out a few weeks ago that she might be in a coma and this seems to point to that possibility. Plus, Ayu mentions about feeling weak in the hospital. It was kind of nice to tie Ayu's mother with her worry for Akiko's health. It's natural that Ayu is worried sick about Akiko if her mother died due to illness. Anyway, when the show wasn't being depressing, it was actually quite funny. Yuuichi cracked me up when he said "Uguuu" in disappointment. His creepy old man voice when he responded to Shiori was also awesome. I actually think Yuuichi is a lot better suited for the funnier part of the series. The sad part about the series are actually the girls while Yuuichi is here to provide the comedic element. Without him, I think the series would have been a lot more depressing. Anyway, this is another good episode and I can't wait to see how they resolve Shiori's story.
Garten, if you've played the game, the doctor's surprise has a lot more to do with Ayu than you think. The thing to remember is that Kyo-Ani took a lot of direction from KEY/VisualArts from what I can tell from the BBS boards, which means that the doctor's surprise is another over-indulged hint towards Ayu's existence. I'm worried about how KyoAni will handle Ayu's arc because of the insane amount of foreshadowing they've thrown at us already.
One thing I'm sure of is that KyoAni will not drop the bomb and kill off Ayu considering that Nayuki at this point in time is still relatively poorly developed as a character since Nayuki's story ties in more tightly with Ayu's story than any of the other Kanon girls.
I actually have to disagree with you on Yuuichi's role as a character in Kanon. Yuuichi is a VERY sarcastic person and you see his sarcasm seething through many of his innocuous comments throughout the game. I'm glad they chose Sugita for Yuuichi's role since Sugita brings out the best sarcastic remarks of any male VAs that I know of. Yuuichi's role in Kanon is to serve as a counterpoint to the Kanon girls' belief in miracles. The background also serves as an important thematic backdrop since it is always covered in snow. Snow relates to the mysteries of the town itself and Yuuichi's arrival serves to see through these mysteries thus melting the snow-covered landscape.
The game always ends with the arrival of spring or the expectation thereof of spring, depending on which girl's story arc you went through. So I'm fairly confident that the KyoAni remake of Kanon will also end the story with Spring's arrival. Spring is also a powerful metaphor for life and hope, which ties in very closely with Kanon's overall theme.
I forgot to mention this but... Garten... You missed out on a classic Kanon image:
Here's the original image from the game:
http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/3167/kanon640x480tsukimiyaay0ii.jpg
You should be able to find the scene faithfully reproduced in KyoAni's version at 11 minutes and 39 seconds.
Nevermind, here's the link:
http://img405.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vlcsnap70268318sj.png
lol, you guys are telling an awful lot.
@ NNN
why kaori went to yuuichi about shiori?
cauz she's seen yuuichi hang out with shiori often. it wouldnt make sense if she starts crying to Nayuki, who wouldnt know who shiori is at this point. she knows yuuichi has been seeing shiori lately, therefore, she wants yuuichi to knows this before he gets too involved with shiori.
you all need to play "symphonic rain" after all..
i wonder why they didnt show shiori's sketch of yuuichi...... was it really that bad? XD
To RyuSaga:
Yeah, it's bad enough that the game never showed her sketch as well. XD
Symphonic Rain was one of the last projects that the late Okazaki Ritsuko was working on. It is indeed very deep and fulfilling but the "ultimate true" ending requires a LOT of replays. It'd be hard for anyone to make it into an anime given the number of character arcs to go through and the depth of each arc as each story plays out.
If anyone's wondering about the insert song, it's titled "Last regrets X'mas floor style" and can be found on the I've Girls Compilation Album Volume 1 - regret.
Oh my god, I fail.
I forgot to mention that the song "Last regrets X'mas floor style" was performed by Shimamiya Eiko, another talented lady of I'veSound.
I believe you can get the song here. Just remember to change the artist name.
http://www.zt33l.com/download.php?id=88
Please don't ever bring up Megatokyo again.
The ending felt strange. Kaori's cathartic confessions came from left field and then she goes and grabs Yu1?! Hmm...
>>>Shimamiya Eiko
Ah, the girl who did the awesome Higurashi's opening theme that was a complete juxtaposition with the show itself.
>>>cauz she's seen yuuichi hang out with shiori often.
It still doesn't make sense for her to go soap opera on Yu1.
Thx for the link, the beginning of that xmas version of last regrets is ... unusual, but still a good song.
@ Beowulf Lee
i explained why she went to yuuichi rather than nayuki.
why she started crying to yuuichi, i didnt say.... and dont know either.
im asuming itld look better than her falling into the darkness crying while lying in the snow while yuuichi just stares..... =)
if anyone else knows or has a better idea, go ahead and explain.....
I should clarify that what I meant was that it doesn't make sense for her to go soap opera on either Naiyuki or Yu1.
The beginning of the song was supposed to make it feel like a Christmas party. Though for the crowd noise, they kept on repeating "10% something something" in Mandarin.
mmm... why kaori did that.. i dunt know.
that was mandarin? strange, many too many background noises, i couldnt pick up anytihng.
In the game, Kaori went to Yuuichi exactly because Yuuichi was much closer to Shiori than Nayuki. After all, Nayuki didn't even know that Kaori had a little sister until Yuuichi asked her about it.
Kaori cried in front of Yuuichi because she was caught in the same situation that Sayuri was several years back. In this case, Kaori was stuck between her role as a sister and tormented by her own decision to alleviate her own pain to deny her sister's existence. It's clear that Kaori adores and loves Shiori dearly, but she treated Shiori coldly because she didn't know when Shiori would die. After all, Shiori is diagnosed with a terminal illness of which the doctors have no cure nor do they have any idea just how long Shiori could survive.
Talking about a sister that you've arbitrarily decided does not exist even though you love and adore her is never an easy task. Put it this way, if you have a treasured family member or lover and he/she suddenly died on you. Wouldn't you also be overwhelmed by grief?
The reason why Kaori spoke to Yuuichi and begged him to make Shiori happy was exactly because Kaori didn't know how else she should approach Shiori to make Shiori happy.
Regarding the song "Last Regrets ~X'mas Floor Style~", the beginning of the song is a mix of languages: English, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, and Spanish. It is meant to reflect the nature of a Christmas party set in 1999 just prior to the Millenium celebration. As such, the party is a worldwide celebration and therefore not limited to any one language.
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