Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Sakura Quest
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15457 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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That Shiori was called an interesting character I am happy in agreeing, but disagree that she was not being able to hold the story herself. Not entirely for being strong as a person, but the problems like her being a bit of a backseat person who does not really take charge of things, is kind of what makes her a strong character that she seems to be going through this development. And I think the same thing in how her design is pretty office lady, but not in the "sexy" way, but in being pretty background character, she is pretty plain, and the development gives the opportunity to show credence of such a person as having worthwhile opinions, that yes, could lead as much as she is a follower.
She is the one kind of least likely to be described as quirky, I think can act as the greater reflection of the town, and thus makes her interesting. |
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HeeroTX
Posts: 2046 Location: Austin, TX |
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I really like the way the conflict developed such that it gave a chance to SHOW that even Oribe (and the rest of the merchant's council) "trusts" Shiori. To the point that when she specifically said she (herself) would make everything right everyone is willing to accept and trust that. They all know that Shiori will put the best interests of the town first and the fact that she usually stands behind makes it all the more notable when she moves herself to the forefront. I think it is also good for showing how she is motivated by "need" rather than "want". When the rest of the tourism group think she'd be best in the lead role she declines. She would PREFER to take a supportive role and stay out of the limelight. But when it all goes bad she understands that it is NECESSARY for her to step up because the people outside of the tourism board don't really trust them at that moment. |
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mc55
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It think Shiori has it in her to do a lot, but I think that her natural shyness and personality make her prefer the background. I anticipate the endeavor having some success, as well as Shiori's sis and the chef guy getting together.
I really can't stand the chairwoman of the merchants' group. Maybe like Kazushi they'll give her a background that makes her more understandable and sympathetic, but she is actually worse and more obstructive than Kazushi was, and puts her pride even more above others or the common good than even he did. I think it'll take a lot more to make her come off sympathetic than it did Kazushi. Kazushi just had to calm down from his grief over the client's death and be reasoned with. She just seems stuck on disliking Yoshino (partly over dislike of "outsiders" trying to help, partly on dislike of Yoshino's boss, and partly to "save face") and it really grates. She essentially puts her pride above all else, even when it makes her a rather mean, spiteful and unpleasant person. |
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relyat08
 Posts: 4125 Location: Northern Virginia |
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Maybe it's just me, but I was a little bit annoyed with how the Sayuri romantic misunderstanding wrapped up. The whole thing was sort of poorly written, in my opinion. And it's a bit of a nitpick maybe, but Sayuri seeing the calendar when meeting Kumano at the end and assuming that, years ago, she obviously must have also been using an old calendar, seemed like a pretty ridiculous leap of logic. I think they could have handled that significantly better. They are cute together, but that really bugged the hell out of me.
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AholePony
 Posts: 330 Location: Arizona |
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I was also cracking up at the cafe scene, that waitress calling them old hags when they started commenting on the little brother was hilarious.
I think maybe Riri doesn't like the dance because the dance is to keep the dragon and maybe other youkai at bay? She's always wanted to see the dragon and other apparitions so maybe there's a kind-of goofy conflict of interest going on there for her. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15457 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Rather than Ririko just not being as girly as the others and feeling left out for that reason alone, I think that like Ran from Atom: The Beginning, Ririko likely has ASD (autism spectrum disorder), she may have high functioning autism. It kind of clicked for me in this episode as I see a bunch of the signs: Problems expressing herself, poor social skills, keen interest in a niche topic that she knows a lot about, and a number of other things that the way her grandmother acts indicates areas she needs help with like fear of being taken advantage of or other living skills. My take on how she was feeling in retreating to her home during matchmaking tour was along the lines of some experiences I have had myself, where I end up in a sort of social event but due to my problem I cannot push myself to participate, and I became horribly depressed that the other people were finding it so easy.
Maybe I am reading too into it, forcing my own experience as someone who has similar difficulties, and perhaps I will be proven wrong. Her problems with the dance may be part of problems with expressing emotions like "normal" people, as well as with motor skills. But people like us tend to have problems pushing ourselves to kind of get noticed, so it tends to be rare for an accurate portrayal. |
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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How kind of you to share your experiences with us, Dusky, and provide an insight into Ririko's character that most of us would never see. I found your characterization of her most persuasive. I think of Ririko as more "girly" than the others because of shy demeanor and conservative wardrobe. She seems less mature than the others though she is the same age as, I believe, Shiori. Ririko seems more a "girl" while the other four seem like "women." All five of their character models are prettier than the "hags." |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15457 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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And this is pretty cleanly quite similar a description to a woman I know who is also on the spectrum. To look at another anime example would be Tomoko from Watamote who is a character most definitely on the spectrum, who you could even look for similarities. It is often thought as less common in females because they can just be assumed as just reserved or 'girly'. So much so that I would be hesitant that it is with intention, from my understanding Japan are not exactly considered very progressive, people can be mistaken as just a little quirky, the nail that needs to be hammered, or general Japanese shyness. |
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HeeroTX
Posts: 2046 Location: Austin, TX |
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Regarding the whole "change in the dragon legend" bit, I agree that it is odd in the time suggested, HOWEVER, we really only get our little prior info from a small set of people who mostly, to be frank, have their own agendas at play. The info provided here finally gave a good bit of insight into Oribe's issue. I really hope that starts easing off now, because as much as I really enjoy the show, her continued antagonism is getting a little tired, especially since EACH character arc seems to have included at least some effort into placating/impressing her.
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leeoflittlefaith
 Posts: 104 |
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I think you are indeed reading too much into it. The problems you've highlighted are far too generalised to point to an autistic spectrum disorder. I have experienced all of those myself and I do not come close to the spectrum. It's fine to relate to them, you're human after all, but I think it's a stretch. She's simply introverted and somewhat socially anxious. |
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Merida
 Posts: 1945 |
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Yeah, i'm glad that the incredibly insensitive and overeager red-shirted guy didn't get the girl in the end. Karma's a bitch, jerk!
Now that all of the main characters had their time in the spotlight, i'm curious about what the show's got in store for us next. 
And i think i've started to ship Ririko and Sandal a little bit... |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23754 |
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I dug the whole dragon girl thing and thought it was well handled and resolved nicely. I was curious who the big guy was and I think his deal made sense.
Gonna miss this show. |
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zrnzle500
 Posts: 3767 |
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Don't worry, it's two cours. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15457 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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And I am standing my ground that Ririko is likely to have ASD as high functioning. I am sure people who might not be on the spectrum could relate to have some similar experiences, but it was especially here how knows that there is something inherent, something that has made her in the category of "weird", that has since childhood made her feel incredibly hard to connect with other people. Even stronger feeling from when her grandmother said that she does not like other people, because it was there that she was super wrong. From someone who is close to her enough to see her feeling uncomfortable with other people it might look like she does not, but that is a misunderstanding that can be even more frustrating.
It is hard to describe it, but it is something beyond just being a little introverted. In fact I would say it is even somewhat backwards in the expectation that she is only thought of weird because of her interest in UMA and the occult. When you are on the spectrum, you tend to have these really strong interests, for periods I myself have had it with mythology at times, and if Ririko is somewhat like myself, some of the real investment can come from a need to find something else "weird", that you can belong. Eh, I am not explaining this well enough. Rather than the interest being what is weird, it is a symptom, but not in a bad way. And I do not at all think it has to do with her parent situation. It is not a matter of saying you have experienced some of it before, it is something you have constantly. You become used to people just saying you are weird, you were already quiet to begin with, and no one is interested in that one hobby that is sometimes all you can think about. When you find something that you consider so important that you must talk about it to someone, you can end up super depressed that others are not interested, and then that becomes a frustration at yourself, why you cannot be like a normal person. From my understanding, the big thing that impacted on Ririko was that the story was about how one can misunderstand situations as a hostility against someone who is weird, an outsider, when really they can be welcoming to their point of view. The fact it showed that the town welcomed outsiders was kind of secondary, but it related to how she was feeling unwelcome in the social date thing, that people having it easy was like a dance around a fire telling you to go away, but they are welcoming you. This is probably making it more about myself, but the exact traits shown here, are pretty much exactly the sort of thing that have qualified me for a disability. If you are saying that you share some of the traits and are perfectly fine, the I don't think you are quite getting it. You can appear like a totally normal person except being a little introverted/shy and anxious, but otherwise normal, but on the inside it is so much more. You can feel like you were born on the wrong planet, you cannot pick up social cues, you find that you literally think differently to everyone else, you struggle with a lot of small things that other people do not even think about, and a huge amount of things can cause high levels of stress. You can find it hard to do things you are unfamiliar with. You can appear very normal because little shows on the outside, but is a disability that can cause problems. Yet at the same time people can get the wrong idea and think autism means that you are a drooling vacant staring person who requires constant supervision and screeches all the time, and might be thought as stupid. The point is that Ririko at this time would find it quite hard to entirely look after herself, there are a list of things she would have trouble with, like how she talked about how Yoshino was just able to go to Tokyo, and honestly supposing a diagnosis would not make her lesser of a person. It is an actual problem, where parents don't want a diagnosis because they are afraid of stigma, instead saying they are just a little introverted, when really they could get some help. I am on this site so much because anime happens to be one of my major interests, I have struggled with a lot but in my mid 20's managed to get a handle of some things, but also have a Bachelor degree, and like Ririko has found times that people praised how I can think about things in my own weird way. Maybe you can relate to Ririko without the label and instead as just a little introverted, but has someone on the spectrum, this story arc is pretty meaningful. I want a Yoshino. |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 9835 Location: Virginia |
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@DuskyPredator
I will not say your are wrong. But, keep in mind that Ririko is a fictional character. Given Japan's reported limited involvement with mental health issues the person or persons who wrote her character likely know less about ASD than you do. Most authors who discuss character creation will tell you that they take characteristics from people they know in real life. However, they will usually state that any given character is an amalgam of the characteristics of several people. It is likely that Ririko is based on someone the author knows. Possibly even a co-worker. If I understand what I have read about people on the spectrum some would probably work well in animation with the ability to concentrate on very detail oriented tasks. I think what I'm trying to say is that they may have created a character that resonates with you without realizing what they have done. |
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