Midori no Hibi ep.10

June 6, 2004 | 1 Comments

Well, I was obviously wrong when I said that Days 21 would never be incorporated into the anime because the writers finally decide to squeeze it in this episode along with Days 10 and 20. And it's about time they do this because this chapter contains the character development that Midori sorely needs right from the very beginning. But my guess is, they intentionally wait until this episode in order to create a mini-arc which will probably lead the series to its season finale. Speaking of the finale, it seems to me that unless there'll be another season, the series will end up pretty much the way Fruits Basket ended. I don't think it'll have to make up an ending like that series since there are already four good manga chapters that they can use to end the season. Never the less, it'll have the same 'not much is resolved, but life must goes on' feeling to it.

Anyway, the episode begins with Kouta leaving the Kasugano residence looking a bit sad. While walking along the park during the rain, he suddenly hears Midori calling his name. However, upon looking at the source of the voice, he is surprised to see chibi Midori sitting on a bench park on a bright sunny day. It's quite obvious that this is actually none other than Kouta's memory of his childhood with Midori. Chibi Midori then shows Kouta her fairy tale book, Shirayuki Hime (aka Princess Snow White) and proceeds to tell Kouta about the story. However, when the story get to the point of Snow White falling unconscious, the scenery suddenly shifts to showing Midori sleeping in the middle of the forest just like Snow White. Kouta then remembers that a Prince was the one who awakens Snow White. So the image of a Prince suddenly comes into vision and it's none other than Seiji.

Speaking of the 'Prince' himself, he's seen with Miyahara and some random girls lounging around a Karaoke bar. What Seiji doesn't realise, however, is the fact that one of the girls is none other than Ayase in disguise. Apparently Ayase is a friend of the other girls and they decide to invite her to meet the guys. The problem is, Ayase doesn't want Seiji to think that she's a girl who likes to flirt around with other guys. But at the same time, she also doesn't want Seiji to be friendly with other girls so she decides to come while wearing glasses to disguise herself. Once she's arrived, however, Ayase's friends end up forcing her to play some kind of a game which is quite similar to 'kiss and blow' only with Pocky instead of a card. Ayase at first is hoping that the game will lead Seiji to kiss her. However, after seeing Seiji's aggressiveness at the game, she becomes horrified and decides to give Seiji a good punch and leave the place.

The next day while Midori and Seiji are on their way to Seiji's school, Seiji feels as if he's being followed by someone but can't seem to see anyone behind him. Unknown to him, Kouta has been following from behind but is too scared to talk to him. Seiji ends up going to school and meets Ayase again but Ayase, who's still embarrassed due to the previous day's incident decides to act cold towards Seiji, much to his annoyance. Anyway, on his way back home, Seiji once again feels as if he's being followed by someone but this time Kouta decides to show himself just as Seiji is about to reach the monorail station. Despite being afraid of Seiji, Kouta never the less decides to introduce himself as Midori's high school friend. He also asks Seiji if he can talk to him about something so the two end up going to a coffee shop which looks quite similar to the one that was featured in episode 8.

Kouta then tells Seiji that the reason he wants to talk to him is because his best friend, Midori, is currently unconscious due to some unknown disease and he wants Seiji to know that she has always had a crush on him. Kouta also tells Seiji that Midori unfortunately never had the chance to tell him because she's not good at expressing her feeling. This revelation surprises Seiji and makes him wonder why these days Midori is quite the reverse of Kouta's description. Before Seiji can think further, however, Kouta asks if Seiji can come to Midori's house. Seiji wants to tell Kouta about Midori's condition but after seeing Midori's refusal, he decides to tell Kouta that he can't make it at the moment. Kouta understands Seiji's refusal but grateful never the less. Seiji then wonders if Kouta actually likes Midori. Kouta, however, denies it and simply tells Seiji that he's simply concerned about Midori.

Upon hearing this, Seiji tells Kouta that Midori must be lucky to have a friend who is concerned a lot about her, much to Midori's surprise. Kouta then tells Seiji that he's glad to know that Seiji is quite different from what everyone else thinks. He thought that if he said something offensive to Seiji, he'll be beaten up, dragged behind a motorbike, tossed to Tokyo bay, or even worse, being sold to Yakuza who'll put him in a voyeur room. Well, obviously Kouta has a fertile imagination but that's what makes him quite funny. Anyway, Kouta ends up telling Seiji that he now understands why Midori likes Seiji. Not long after this, the two decide to part ways and soon it becomes obvious that Midori is concerned about her friend and begins to remember the time when she started her first day at high school. Just as Kouta said, back in high school, Midori was a quiet, shy girl who barely able to introduce herself to her other classmates without accidentally embarrassing herself.

The episode then shows how Midori got to meet her other classmate, Iwasaki-san. Unlike Midori, Iwasaki is one of the types who are outgoing and friendly with everyone. Midori clearly appreciates Iwasaki's attempt to become her friend despite her shyness. Anyway, when the girls were in the change room talking about boys, Iwasaki asked Midori if she has someone that she likes. Midori blushed and confirmed that she indeed has a crush on someone. Upon hearing about this, Iwasaki told Midori that she needs to tell this guy about her feelings. Midori, however, told her friend that she can't possibly do it, prompting Iwasaki to advise Midori that just thinking about it won't help her at all. Midori understands what Iwasaki meant, however, when it comes to putting the principle into practice, she completely failed. She tried to approach Seiji on the train station to confess her feelings but became afraid and decided to stop herself before she even managed to utter a word.

Fast forward to the present, Midori is seen watching over Seiji while telling him that she likes him a lot, prompting Seiji to wonder why Midori keeps saying the same thing over and over again. Later on, when Midori tries to write her diary, she remembers Seiji's words about how lucky she is to have a friend like Kouta and quietly thanks Kouta for his effort. Kouta's visit, however, makes Midori wonders how her mother is doing right now. The episode then ends by showing Midori's mother sitting next to her daughter's body reading Snow White while trying hard to stop herself from crying. Anyway, upon watching this episode, I realise that while being completely introvert is not good for Midori, constantly proclaiming her love for Seiji 24/7 also won't do her any good either. It's obvious that Seiji doesn't seem to take her confession very seriously these days because Midori keeps doing it over and over again. In other words, what could have been a special moment for the two now becomes an annoyance to Seiji because Midori is over-compensating for her shyness prior to her meeting with Seiji.

I think Kouta's 'interference' has been quite good for both Midori and Seiji thus far because it allows both characters to get a perspective that they'll otherwise not get because they try to keep it as a secret from everyone. I'm curious to see if the anime will actually include the part where Kouta finds out about Midori and Seiji's condition before the finale or if it'll keep that for possible future season. As for the manga itself, Days 79 shows Kouta trying his best to ensure that Seiji is attracted to his disguise. Seiji actually falls for it and thinks that he is lucky to meet such a cute 'girl' who has the hots for him. He, however, is brought back to reality when he remembers that Midori is still grafted on to his right hand. Therefore, he has no choice but to tell 'the girl' that he currently has someone that needs him so he wonders if he can be friends with 'the girl'. Upon hearing this Kouta looks disappointed and despite the fact that he is doing it for Midori's own good, his internal thoughts make it seem as if he's actually competing with Midori for Seiji's affection.

Kouta's disguise, however, is over when Midori accidentally gets to see the inside of Kouta's skirt and realises that 'the girl' actually wears a man's underwear. She then correctly guesses that 'the girl' is none other than Kouta. Seiji is angry when he finds out about it but he becomes even angrier when Kouta tells him that the real reason he does it is because he's concerned about Midori's real body condition. Kouta thinks that if Seiji is attracted to another girl, maybe Midori will go back to her body and becomes healthy again. Upon hearing this, Seiji tells Kouta that he should mind his own business and that his and Midori's problem are not his concern. Kouta is then left on his own to lament his failure to convince the two. While doing this, however, Kouta realises that he sheds some tear and wonders why he's crying. With that in mind, I have to say that I don't get Seiji at all sometimes. This is not the first time that he complains about Midori being grafted onto his right hand makes it impossible for him to date other girls. But when someone suggests to him that Midori should go back to her own body, he goes pissy and rejects the idea.

I know Midori gets a lot of flack for being obsessed with Seiji but I think Seiji himself is also at fault for encouraging this freak of a condition to continue over time. I think he is as lonely as Midori and considers her as the solution to his loneliness because he enjoys her presence in his life. The problem is, this condition turns Midori into an extension of Seiji as opposed to an individual with her own personality. Because of this, no matter how enjoyable her presence is at the moment, Seiji can't seriously consider her as a girlfriend potential because she's always there next to him as if she's a part of him. The idea of being with someone is that you care about a person who may not always be by your side but you still want them to be by your side anyway. And therefore, when you are together with that person, it becomes something special as opposed to a chore that you must endure 24/7. At any rate, Midori will be better off to go back to her real body and try to approach Seiji again as a her own individual. Because then Seiji will be able to figure out whether or not Midori is really the girl that he wants in his life.

© memento 2003