Asakomi

Yamato obviously didn’t realize what he was getting into, and that he can’t be a part of the team and just stare at Suzuka all day. He’s actually going to have to work, and work hard. But hey, maybe this’ll be good for him, maybe it’ll teach him the value of hard work and put a little sense of responsibility in him. Now if only track could
teach him to be less naive…

He IS working hard though, which Miki comments on more than once. (Miki seems friendly. She was kind and helpful to Yamato. She seems to be a good honest friend to Suzuka. I like her!)

Yamato’s line, “It’s like, the more I get close to her, the more I feel I’m apart from her,” really struck me. There’s the whole thing about opposites attracting one another. And I think that can definitely be true. However, there has to be a few elements of common ground if a relationship is going to be built on anything solid and long lasting. I’ve yet to see what they have going for them, besides the fact that Yamato really really likes her. But there’s plenty of time for that! I don’t know if I feel that Suzuka and Yamato are such a perfect pair that I’m rooting for them, but I don’t think I’d be disappointed if they end up together. (Maybe it’s just that I like rooting for the underdog)

As for Suzuka, though I still think that she takes her meanness a little too far, I’d probably be feeling exactly as she is right now: crowded. Like my space, the one thing that was *mine* and not his, the one place where I could be free to do my own thing, was being horribly invaded. Suzuka takes track extremely seriously. Of course she wouldn’t want some guy to join just because he likes her, and then be a big fat slacker. However, she needs to acknowledge that he is actually trying, and maybe not be so hard on him.

If I was in Honoka’s shoes I’d feel incredibly discouraged to see the person I like working so hard to impress someone else, and talk about her even when we’re alone together. And I’d probably go home and cry after hearing point blank that he confessed to this other person, got rejected,and still isn’t giving up. I like Honoka because the *way* she cries isn’t loud, annoying, and overdone like so many other anime girls. At first I thought she might be boring. But she’s really growing on me. I like that she likes him, but she’s not quite as obsessive about it as Yamato is. Yeah, she joins the track team just to be close to him, but she doesn’t advertise. I like the fact that she can cry, and then pick herself up and keep on going. Crying to me isn’t a sign of weakness. The ability to express your emotions, without letting them rule you, is a powerful and wonderful thing.