Asakomi

November 18, 2005

Suzuka 19

Filed under: Suzuka — Ren @ 3:29 am

Why oh why does this show have to be so poorly animated? It’s such a shame.

I liked Suzuka in this episode. She apologized. She cheered him on. She seemed softer.

Honoka tells Yamato off (good on her!) and breaks up with him.

Yamato continues to be a lunkhead and a big fat liar. (He dumped her, riiiiiiiiiiiight. Ok so he did it to protect Suzuka’s feelings, but stillllllll.)

I’m tired, so that’s all I’m saying.

24 Responses to “Suzuka 19”

  1. Mentar Says:

    Interesting. This episode stirred up over hundred very controversial comments within two days, and I’m the only one over here so far? Strange times ^_^

  2. Mohammad Says:

    I was ready to say some very harsh things about Yamato before I watched this episode but it seems the breakup was decided by both sides so I can’t really complain. I was expecting this to happen sooner or later (along with all the people watching this show) and now it has. It was a fun ride with many ups and downs.

    Yamato seems to accept any comments about his relationship from just about anyone (Yasunobu, Honoka, Saotome) Why can’t he just make up his own opinions. He is strongly influenced by other people. If he at least showed some resolve during his conversation with Honoka then their relationship could have been saved.

    I want to say one last thing with regard to Honoka. Honoka may not be as smart or hardworking as Suzuka but she sure is honest and loyal. I still believe that her simple personality is compatible with Yamato’s. If Yamato hadn’t seen Suzuka practicing on his first day in Tokyo then his relationship with Honoka would have taken a completely different path. Honoka is actually stronger than she appears and her strong will finally gave fruit when Yamato fell for her. Her strong will also appeared this episode when she made the decision of a lifetime (breaking up) because Yamato didn’t treat her as she deserves. She is actually scarier than Suzuka when she gets mad (^_^;;) There is also the jealousy factor. I admit that Honoka showed a great deal of jealousy towards Suzuka but then again, is there any girl out there who wouldn’t if she was in Honoka’s place. Honoka was decent enough not to let her jealousy lead to very shameful acts. I have seen many anime shows where jealousy leads a certain female character to use the lowest and dirtiest tricks in the book, including physical abuse, against her rivals (shows like Oniisama E, Little Princess Sara and Lady Lady come to mind)

    Does the episode preview mean a shift towards Miki this time?!

  3. crimson Says:

    The best part for me was to see the sake drinking girl picking on yamato (forgot her name temporarily) – “Look! He’s about to cry!”.

    Anyway, mr playboy is pretty right about yamato being too concerned about his guilt. And knowing the type of person yamato is (being unsure of what he should be doing in a relationship due to his lack of exposure, research or sound advices), Honoka shouldnt have brought up suzuka’s name in such a manner since it only serves to make him..more unsure of his choices. But, i guess that’s what that episode wants to show.

    The preview episode said something about support. I guess it’ll stay within that theme.

  4. crimson Says:

    and i feel that yamato is doing something suicidal at the end. Convincing suzuka that he dumped her, lol. Although it works temporarily in relieving suzuka of her guilt, but more animosity is generated instead. Well, being honest would probably have been more helpful.

  5. Ren Says:

    Personally, I think honesty is *always* the best policy. But that there are also ways to deliver the truth while minimizing the hurt your words may bring. Obviously though there are things that are gonna hurt no matter how you say them, like Yamato telling Suzuka that their shopping together was a factor in the breakup. But at the same time, he could have said it in a way that let Suzuka know that it wasn’t *her fault* (because it really wasn’t), it was just the icing on the cake for Honoka. The problem here wasn’t Suzuka. She did not cause this breakup, and he could have said that to Suzuka. The problem is that Yamato is a lunkhead and can’t stop thinking about Suzuka. (Which of course he’d never have the guts to say). So I’m not surprised he went with a lie instead. But, lying inevitably just leads to more lying, and oh what a tangled web we weave..

  6. Mentar Says:

    I’d be very careful about calling Honoka “simple” especially in comparison with Suzuka. As a hint you should wait for her side of the coin in episode 20 to understand her breakup a bit better.

    Unlike almost all other characters in the show, Honoka knew what she was doing and why. She is able to play her cards face up, towards Yamato AND towards herself. She was able to realize her dream and have a real shot at a relationship with the guy she loved, and I wouldn’t attribute the failure to her. When it was time to grit her teeth, face the truth and release him again (it wasn’t a dumping, it was a release), she was able to do so in very good grace. I thought that all of that was really really impressive.

    No, intellectually I’d be putting Honoka ahead of both Yamato and Suzuka, even though her lack of self-confidence may give a different impression (here, aggressiveness and confidence make people SEEM more intelligent). But she is having her wits together and getting her stuff done where others fail, even against terrible odds and real pain.

    When the story began, I was sighing at this wimpy Shinobu-lookalike. At the end of the show, she will be the person whose growth I admire most.

  7. crimson Says:

    lol, i think honoka already far surpassed shinobu!

  8. Mohammad Says:

    By Shinobu you mean the main character in 2×2= shinobuden?

    Her personality definitely developed tremendously from the start of the show till now. Just compare how she talked to Yamato this episode with how she used to talk to him in the first few episodes. She played her role like a real pro. Honoka forever!! (I never thought I’d say that after watching the last episode of Nurse Angel Ririka four years ago >_>)

  9. crimson Says:

    oh, come to think of it. I’m not sure which mentar was refering to. I was thinking about love hina’s shinobu.

    But, i think it’s to suzuka’s blessing because yamato laid his eyes on her in the first place (after being rejected horrendously in junior school). So, yamato is kinda like undergoing some cross-training (with honoka) aside from his usual track sessions to make him a..uhm…better lover!

    If i’m the artist for the manga, i’ll probably write somewhere “sorry i have to *sacrifice* you honoka T_T”

  10. Phoenix512 Says:

    I’m trying to figure out why Ren gets all these comments with no analysis and being late while I write a decent analysis and was first just only to get two comments.

  11. Ren Says:

    lol crimson, so honoka was a test run for yamato? that’s funny and cruel all at the same time :P

    i completely agree that honoka has come a LONG way from the beginning of the show. her growth is astounding and has been a joy to watch.

    phoenix – errr, well ok, i have to admit i pay them all to comment. :-D honestly, i don’t know why they come here, but i’m glad they do! and even if i don’t do a huge analysis, i do (usually) respond more in depth in the comment section.

  12. crimson Says:

    phoenix! i know why! While ren diberately leaves gaps so people can input their analysis, your flawless analysis leaves little room for people comment ;)

    Dont take that to heart though. Sometimes, the traffic and activity in a blog can be quite..unpredictable.

  13. crimson Says:

    Sorry i wasnt clear:
    Dont take that to heart = dont take my sentence to heart.

  14. crimson Says:

    oh shoot, i’m so sorry for posting in fragments (3 individual posts in succession). I wish my thoughts were more organised but u cant blame me since i’m bogged by exams now.

    About the test run mentioned by Ren, yeah, conceptually that’s what i mean. But, to put it in a more artistic manner, i think i’ll see it as some sort of fate or destiny thing for yamato’s development to undergo such a path.

    As for suzuka, (assuming in the end of all seasons for this series, yamato does get to be with her bcos the anime title is called “suzuka” with camera focus on yamato and not “yamato” with the cam focus on yamato again) it must be her kind fate that she’ll eventually be cared by someone like yamato (assuming yamato learns from his meaningful experiences in the relation aspect).

    Well, that’s just the larger image i have in mind (omg, X the animation comes to mind though i never watched it b4). I hope i dont deviate too far from the script’s intention!

  15. Mentar Says:

    Phoenix: I always wanted to mention this before, but your comments section is VERY restrictive. Usually for some crazy reason I need around three attempts of your spam protection “type these letters” scheme before I manage to succeed, for no perceivable reason. I don’t want to know how many comments are lost by this. You might want to adjust this ;) … in any way, rest assured that I never miss your works, even though – as crimson said – they rarely leave openings for debate!

    Mohammad: I meant Shinobu from Love Hina – the harmless, sweet and gentle (and slightly whiny) type.

  16. Phoenix512 Says:

    Mentar, I’m not altering the comment system since comment spam would overtake me again. I’m sorry that you can’t read curved letters that well but I rather not have automated comment spam. There’s always the Shoutbox to voice any complaints or weird things about the site.

    Suzuka is one of the few anime that I go into more detail of while most of them I don’t go into detail and still get no comments. *Is sad that he can’t bribe anyone to comment*

  17. crimson Says:

    sounds like the limited comments are caused by your anti spam settings.
    I’m unable to imagine the spams you get or the trouble pple might have bcos i dont have a blog or encountered such problems yet when posting. But, i guess if you’re willing to overlook those occasional ’spams’, the blog might seem more lively. Maybe after a while, your eyes will get use to ’spams’ and auto filter stuffs for you when u skim thru the comments.

  18. Mentar Says:

    Phoenix, please check your system once more. It’s not that I’m inherently retarded, but more often than not my entry doesn’t seem to be accepted, even though I carefully entered the right code. To make matters worse, I bet that 1-2 times I didn’t even realize it. Maybe disabling the preview would do the trick? So that whoever enters your code correctly can get the entry right away?

  19. Phoenix512 Says:

    I just checked another blog who has letter system without preview and the letters looks the same. Maybe someone else can try to put in a comment before assuming that the problem is with the blog itself before I consider switching how comments are viewed.

  20. Problematic Says:

    LOL phoenix! Does it mean nothing when I refer back to your post and saying you did an excellent job. Maybe! Haha. As Hisyam was saying before, wordpress blogs do get most of the attention. I do think its time to convert because even if you get attacked by spammers, there are plugins to help you eliminate all of them. Also I left you a beautiful comment that was irrelevant to the post and had barely any meaning to it.

  21. Phoenix512 Says:

    The more I think about it switching to Wordpress, the more I hate the idea of it. I’m beginning to hate their category system and like my custom made category system better. I doubt I can do such a thing on Wordpress. I really prefer my category system now as it’s very simple and easy to find an episode on my blog. Sure I have to keep updating it but it’s worth the price.

    Basically, you have to convince me to find a way to convert my category system to my liking on Wordpress otherwise, I’m staying with Blogger.

    I could disable the letter verification system and switched it to moderate comments but I really don’t want to look through comment spam.

  22. crimson Says:

    if only anime on dvds have those nice cliparts by fansubs…

  23. Kabitzin Says:

    BTW, Phoenix, actually you _can_ rig up your category system to look the exact same way in Wordpress. You can use the Page option and make static pages that just list all the entries that you have made in a series. It’s just that most people don’t choose to do it that way.

    You can also choose to have links or excerpts of your posts on that page. Wordpress will do it automatically for you too, so you don’t need to keep updating. There’s nothing wrong with Blogger, but Wordpress gives you a LOT more power and flexibility. I’m pretty sure anything in Blogger can be done in Wordpress.

  24. Doodee Says:

    Thanks for sharing

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