Forum - View topicShigofumi ~Stories of the Last Letter~.
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Shadowrun20XX
 Posts: 1935 Location: Vegas |
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Episode 7 picks up spoiler[where episode 5 left off.Exploring th rest of Fumika's back story.Why she's in the hospital,still in a coma.Why Kasame keeps trying to get closer to Mikawa.Also revealing the white haired man from episode 4.That guy is strange.]
spoiler[I wonder if and when Chiaki's role comes into play.] |
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Aromatic Grass
 Posts: 2424 Location: Raleigh, NC |
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I caught up to episode six, which, along with you guys, made me absolutely sick. But it was a very good episode. I keep hearing the same things about bullying in Japan and I think it's absolutely ridiculous how everything is handled. I'm sure a lot of similar stuff happens everywhere, it just really sticks out in Japan.
I've never personally been bullied or know anyone who has, so my opinions may come off the wrong way to those who have experienced this sort of thing, but those two kids reacted the exact opposite way one is should (imo). Why NOT tell an adult? Is Japan's authority that unreliable? Are you just gonna react the way they want you to? And really spoiler[who would stand for being stabbed in the back with a compass?!] Common sense, people. Sorry, it just has me all PO'd. If I were being bullied, my parents would totally go after whoever it was with a frickin' chain-saw. But maybe I'm just lucky in that aspect.
If nothing, I believe this is the one episode they SHOULD air.
It scares me too, as seen above. What I wonder is how it all comes to this logic? Why do people just sit back and NOT care? I would be terribly bothered by this. Knowing me, I'd have probably gotten myself involved by speaking out.
I'm with you guys all the way. I really don't see Morishita's logic, if you could call it that. @BE: Thanks for the story. I know it sounds a little weird to say that, but it shows how this can really affect people right in your own home... or backyard. |
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BrothersElric
 Posts: 1996 |
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Hey don't worry about it, it had me all PO'd as well, probably even moreso because I personally know where all these people are coming from.  But yeah, it really is quite the serious issue, and it is also a very sadly and disturbingly real thing. And the worst part of it is that yeah, not very many people seem to have the right attitude about it. It really makes you question the hearts of some people sometimes.
As far as what you said about how the kids reacted to it, I full heartedly agree with you, yeah. But coming from experience I can tell you how hard it is to react the right way. For me, it was because it was a subject I used to be REALLY uncomfortable talking about (yes, believe it or not based off of how I have a reputation for talking about my personal life way too much on these boards, this used to be true. Boy, I've come a long way, haven't I?  ). It was mostly a self-confidence thing. spoiler[The whole feeling that was mentioned in this episode about how it feels like the whole world is against you? Yeah, that's a VERY real feeling, even when you actually do have what very few people care about you deeply.] The feeling for me was basically that if they knew people were treating you that way they'd think you were pathetic and you'd loose them for good, probably even to the bullying. And I think because of that, one of the worst feelings I've ever had was when it happened to me right in front of those very people whom you care about and whom care deeply about you. And even when they didn't react the way I thought they would and actually defended me, that feeling for some reason just wouldn't go away, mostly because I knew not everyone was that good hearted. Yes I know, it sounds like a very illogical way of thinking that just doesn't make any sense, but that's what it was for me anyways. Of course if it were who I am today that went through some of the stuff I did I wouldn't tolerate ANY of that crap and I'd DEFINITELY do something about it for sure. But yeah, the past is the past.
You're telling me! I know it's a touchy subject but the way they tackled it who knows? It could have saved a ton of lives and maybe have made some sort of dent in their bullying problems anyways.
I'm probably going to get linched eventually for saying this but in a way I can't help that maybe it was the right way of thinking, it was just handled by the characters in this episode horribly, HORRIBLY wrong. spoiler[I mean, I don't think it's completely wrong to think that maybe the kid should take matters into their own hands and be strong about it. Sometimes people just need to learn how to fight their own battles and not rely on other people so much. Otherwise, how else are they going to make it in the real world? But the thing is, if you're going to think that way about someone who's being bullied, you've got to actually do something about it yourself. You know, help them have the ability to stand up for themselves, be strong about it and fight their own battles instead of just standing around expecting them to do it all on their own. What I'm saying is the right way to handle it would have been to be his friend, you konw, take him under your wing so to speak, and as his friend do something to help him get his own self-confidence up. You know, like teach him how to defend himself, talk to him about certain personal issues and how to deal with said personal issues, and try to help him trust people more, you know, like getting him to realize that people care about him and will do anything to help, no matter how much worse the bullies will hate you. Then when he's ready, maybe then you could go and let him handle things on my own.]
I guess the overall point, no matter how you look at it, is that people who are being bullied like this more than anything need a good friend; someone they can trust and rely on. Whether it's spoiler[for protection or whether it's to help that person have a stronger self-confidence level so they can learn to fight their own battles,] that ultimately in the end is what these people need more than anything else.
Yeah, thanks, and no problem.  I know I've been known to go off too much on these message boards about certain personal things. But the only reason I usually have to do so is in a situation like this, where I know for sure how real some of these experiences and ways of thinking are based off of my own personal experiences. Thing is though, I've actually been through it more than once before. I've not only played the spoiler[betray-er] in this kind of situation but the spoiler[betray-ee] as well (I'll spare you the details ), spoiler[which makes me hate Morishita even moreso.] Glad you appreciate me talking about it though.  And to everyone else that doesn't, I sorely apologize. 
Oh yeah, I was going to say something about that too, but I guess it got lost in all the other ramblings and rantings I made. My reaction to that was like "what are you talking about man? Are you retarded or something?" It just really disgusts me to know that people actually think this way. spoiler[How could he possibly think that what he did was helping him in ANY way?]
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Heredador
Posts: 9 |
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In which language are you watch the seventh episode? Well, I´m Spanish and I have seen until episode 5.
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NocturnalUX
 Posts: 448 Location: Portugal |
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I'll just say that I too appreciate you sharing your story. I might get a bit off topic but relating to bullying in general, my own personal experience was a bit particular. I attended a highly prestigious Highschool, the kind that has a long tradition of being the nation's best and of providing students to all the top universities in the country. In a way it was a lot like Ouran only not even remotely as friendly. Everyone was either rich or had a comfortable economical situation except for the few who had special grants as they could never afford the tuition fees. These, the "Haruhis", if you will, were unfortunately not cherished at all. The records are secret but since the uniform was abolished it became all too clear that some could not buy expensive clothes. And these were deemed pariahs from the outset. Strangely enough, since there was no physical bullying involved, school authorities being adamant on the issue, it never crossed my mind that utterly ignoring the poorer kids was wrong. I was something of an outcast myself for different reasons and since I was used to doing my own thing and was not at all bothered by being ignored or not I simply assumed that the kids whose families were less rich should just adopt the same attitude. In fact, until I became friends with one of these kids I was not even exactly aware of the extent of the isolation that surrounded them. I often thought that the entire school was way too uptight but considered myself quite above all that. All this changed when a girl from a public school transferred during the 10th grade. Such transfers are not very uncommon but they hardly ever take place with older students. This girl never had a chance. Everyone in class ignored her. The campus was huge, no one bothered showing her around the place. She dressed in a funny way considering how everyone else did and could not keep up with class, what we covered in a week took about a month to cover in her old school. She would greet people and try to be friendly to no avail. I was so used to being an outcast that I failed to realize that I had a niche in the school, the strange girl who reads a lot, and that kept me safe. In many ways I did not differ from the rest of the gang, I too ignored this girl. She came from a friendly place and had no idea how to fend for herself. I eventually came to know her and we became friends and she told me that in her mind there was no clear distinction between myself, who did nothing against her, and the people who did treat her like dirt. It may be nothing compared to the kind of things that happened in this episode but it taught me that you are often not as kind hearted as you think you are. On a lighter note, I actually know of a case of a bully who repented and became best friends with the bullied kid. Back to the series lest I end up being utterly off topic, I agree that this episode should be aired. Also, it showed how the lines very often blur. After all, spoiler[Kikukawa admitted that he too used to bully others in Elementary School, which is part of the whole problem. It all becomes a cycle of mindless violence that eventually spins out of control. As for Morishita, I do not understand why he thought that he had actually helped Kikukawa. Maybe he was just saying that to appease his conscience.] Also, someone brought up spoiler[that it seems unreasonable for Kikukawa to meet Morishita at night at school, on the roof of all places. I think that the Shigofumi explains why he did so: sheer desperation led him to accept *any* overture toward sympathy, no matter how unlikely it may be. And that makes it all the more sad.] |
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Shadowrun20XX
Posts: 1935 Location: Vegas |
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Episode 7:Japanese language with Chinese subtitles.The english one is up to six. |
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BrothersElric
Posts: 1996 |
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Oh well then I guess it's not too bad I'm doing it here then, huh? I too appreciate your story as well. Kind of funny how all of a sudden we're all sharing our experiences with bullying after this episode, isn't it? But then again, it really does have a lot to do with the subject at hand. This has to have been one of the most interesting discussions I've had in a while.
Nice avy, BTW.
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Viga_of_stars
 Posts: 1240 Location: Washington D.C. in the Anime Atelier |
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I finally caught up with 6 and 7.
Episode six really made me break down. It brought up many bad memories. Plus I read some of the things said here. I wonder if spoiler[anyone was replaced after I left. I wonder who was next when I ran away.] Episode seven left on such a cliffhanger I need the next episode now! Plusspoiler[ fumika's dad is such as asshole! A weird girly looking asshole! WTF!] |
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NocturnalUX
Posts: 448 Location: Portugal |
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Heh, I decided to join the gang and make a picture of mine my avatar.
Back to Shigofumi: episode 7 was...something else spoiler[Fumika's father is utterly nuts. He already seemed a bit off from what I've seen of him but this confirms it and shows just to what extent his lunacy goes. Also, was it just me or some of his glass pens resembled Fumika's talking staff? It is frightening how he can go from polite and sophistication albeit a tad odd to utterly nuts in a heartbeat.] I can't wait for the next episode, I'm glad that spoiler[Fumika's story is already being covered. I was afraid they'd wait until the last episodes to introduce it, leading to a very clogged finale but it seems that won't be the case] |
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selenta
 Subscriber Posts: 1774 Location: Seattle, WA |
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My computer was stolen a little over a week ago, so I haven't been on much, thought I'd share a thought of mine about episode 6. All other issues having been discussed, and this thread turning into a bit of a self help group for those who have been bullied, there's another really obviously wrong theme mentioned in this episode that manifests itself far too often for my tastes.
When Kikukawa cries out that it is "not my fault! It's never the fault of the one being bullied!" (or something like that). Wow, what a dangerous train of thought. There's only so much a friend can do to stop the bullying at school, though he can most certainly help the friend deal with it outside of school by reminding him about the nature of them just being inherent ass holes. While a friend is invaluable to the person being bullied, lacking a friend to help one through the situation is incomparable to the poisonous mindset that people adopt that it couldn't possibly be their fault and there's nothing they can do about it. While the latter is certainly not true, former may be true to a certain degree. Someone who doesn't speak up or do anything to rectify an uncomfortable situation when a solution exists has no right to complain or feel bad about the situation in my view. Yes, for those of you who are wondering, I've been on the receiving end of bullying, hell I was beat up by a girl in elementary school in front of half the class. I would say that I would generally agree with what everyone else has been saying, and completely agree that if there was any episode that should be put on the air, it would be episode 6. |
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Skys
 Posts: 101 Location: Minnesota |
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Alright, I'm now almost caught up after my short break from anime. I just watched episode five and six, and I have to say, episodes like the bullying one are why I like this series. They really bring up some deep issues that are not so far from home.
Looking back on my schooling, I suppose I was fairly lucky. I grew up in a school district where bullying really wasn't a big thing. Like me, a lot of the people from the elementary school I went to continued on to the combined middle and high school in the district. In addition, the grade size was moderately small, around 100 or so kids, so me and most of the other kids in the class grew up knowing each other most of our K-12 lives. Now, this is not to say we were all friends, the traditional cliques existed just like any school, but I believe it caused everyone to harbor a little more respect for the people around them. There was none of the stuff like the "cool" kids picking on the "nerds". There was the occasional name calling to be heard every now and then, but for the most part it seemed like everyone held each other in equal standing, which was nice. Anyway, back to present day. I'm in my final year of high school now and have been taking all colleges classes through PSEO. I have yet to see any bullying to any major extent, thankfully, but because so I have never fully understood how common it is or how extreme it can get. I have always told myself if I were ever to see someone being bullied I would stand up for them; help them out, but I occasionally ask myself if I really would. Sure, it is so easy to say of course I would help someone if I see them being bullied, but if an actual situation occurs it seems like it would be so easy to turn a blind eye to what's happening. I think that is something which this episode really shows, when one is not the target of the problem it is all too easy not to involve oneself with it. It is easier for one to tell themselves that it is another person's problem and they should be the one's to deal with it, or even worse, save oneself at the price of another. I mean, look at both Brothers Elric's and NocturnalUX's posts. Looking back on it Brothers Elric regrets what he did, but at the time he fell susceptible to the easier route of action, like many do. I believe most people feel it is simply easier to go with the flow of the school than against it even at the price of not doing the right thing. Now when we look at the other story, it seems like NocturnalUX was exhibiting the same mindset as we hear from the girl who said there was no difference between those who do nothing, and those who are the bullies. In essence, both groups exist on different sides of the same problematic coin. The bullying exists because there is no one to stop it. All in all, episode six did a wonderful job of bringing up a difficult issue. And even with no prior experience to what bullying entails, I feel that I now more fully understand the hardships one goes through when being bullied and because of that I can now confidently say that I will not hesitate and look the other way in the face of another's problem. |
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BrothersElric
Posts: 1996 |
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That sounds a lot like my old high school. It was no less or no more "cliquey" than your typical average everyday high school, but it never seemed like bullying was ever an issue there. My Jr. High and Elementary schools were WAY worse, as you already know from my said experiences, but I think all of the types of bullies I had were in the other High School in our area's boundaries or something, because almost all of them went to the other school. Most of the ones I had in Elementary school ended up in the same High School however, but those particular ones had matured a long ways since elementary school and seemed sorry for what they did back then (which honestly fell too much under the pity category for my liking.... but that's another story). I think that's the reason why it wasn't nearly as bad in high school as it was the others. You see, it was a BIG sports school, you know, one of those kinds of high schools that pretty much dominates at every sport? Yeah.... But the thing is, I never experienced the steriotypical "jocks always pick on the weaker kids" crap. In fact, the jocks were usually the ones who treated me the best throughout my experiences (once again, the pity story.....). It was more along the lines of either the "gangsta wannabes" who think they're so cool with their baggy low-rider pants, piercings, spiked up hair, attitude towards authority and thought it was cool to break all the rules; or it would be the "I like to act like an idiot just because I think it's funny and everyone else seems to as well" type. Both types were pretty common amongst the more "popular" kids in the first 2 school-levels, but once I got to high school they seemed to be more in the minority, so no one cared about them. It made things that much easier to just brush them off and ignore them, because they looked more like the losers than I did. There were actually a lot more of the latter kind who also seemed to be in the popularity, yeah, but they were more of the type that rather than trying to embarrass you in front of the class or to get a rise out of you or anything, instead seemed more like they were just simply "that way," if you know what I mean. It was still annoying, yeah, but it was a lot easier to just brush it off with the "just ignore them, they're idiots" attitude. But anyways, I think you hit it dead on. It's a lot harder to do something about it when it seems like the flow of things is going against the right thing, especially when your as desperate as I was to have any friends at all. People just need to realize how unimportant "the flow" really is and not care so much what everyone else will think if you do the right thing. When you do the right thing the only thing that matters is what you will think, and if anyone else thinks illy of it then they're honestly not worth it. I think the greatest thing I learned during those afore mentioned high school years is how much that really is true. I know if you've never experienced that sort of thing before than that kind of high school can really blind you from the truth like it seemed to for you skys, but if you ever have previously, I think it can be a good learning experience. |
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BrothersElric
Posts: 1996 |
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Awwwwww.
Just gotta revive this thread here because I just saw episode 10, and it was such a sweet little episode that really touched my heart. I came very, very, VERY close to crying in this episode, which is saying a lot because I don't normally cry when watching stuff. If I were to base the entire series off of just this one episode, I swear this would be like, one of my top 3 favorite all-time series! But since it's mostly just this episode, I can at least say that it's probably one of my top 3 all-time episodes of an anime series.  Probably my favorite so far, even more so than the bullying one (that one was just too depressing. ).
spoiler[It was a really sad episode in a way, but also in a way there was just this sweetness about it that gave it such a good feeling about it. Definitely a nice touch to a lot of the dark, depressing stuff that's been going on in this series up to this point. The Uncle in this episode was just such a sweet uncle to his cute little niece, all the way up to the end when he gave his life to save her from that oncoming truck and even after when he drew that picture for her through his shigofumi. It was a bit questionable and a bit scary when he went off and left her in that car all by herself like that, and his backstory was a little bit depressing, but that ending for him, while very sad and tragic, was just such a wonderful way for him to go.
I think one of the major reasons why it touched me so much was because the Uncle reminded me so much of myself in a lot of ways. Not only am I an uncle myself, with a few nieces living at home with us, one of them just so happening to be about the same age as Fumi-chan (speaking of which, anyone intrigued by that little similarity in names?), but I can't help but think sometimes the same thing he does as far as to how "not so great" it is to be an adult, and the fact that I'm pretty much a forever Otaku! Heck, even in the same way as the fact that he had family members who wanted him to be "normal" almost relates to me as well (we're a pretty geeky family ourselves, yeah, but I swear I'm the black sheep in my Otakudom! ). But most of all it was that wonderful message in the end that had the most effect on me, because I've always believed the same thing. In that no matter how many responsibilities you have as an adult, it's never a bad thing to be in touch with that inner child of yours. In fact, it's something we all should try to do. Because that inner child makes people happy. I think some of our pals over in the "how old is too old to be watching anime" thread need to see this episode. ]
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Aromatic Grass
Posts: 2424 Location: Raleigh, NC |
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Awesome! Can't wait to watch it tomorrow. I know I've been really bad about keeping all these threads going the past week or two, so I'm going to bump as many as a I can. We need more anime discussion on the front page!
That, and I'm going to work on a Real Drive thread. |
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Aromatic Grass
Posts: 2424 Location: Raleigh, NC |
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Ah... a double post, but it's worth it!
That was truly an excellent episode. I'll admit I teared up a bit at the end, but only a bit. spoiler[The poor guy had already given up on life because of cancer. I'm glad that in the end he felt as though he'd accomplished something. It's all because that little girl loved his game.] A superb episode, and finally spoiler[Fumi-chan wakes up!] 
Hands down, best shigofumi ever. But I agree with you, it was a bittersweet episode. It's kinda touching especially for "otaku" like the guy in this episode. |
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