Forum - View topic(A) Condition Called Love (TV).
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11407 Location: Frisco, TX |
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(A) Condition Called Love (TV) Source: Manga (ongoing @ 14 volumes, by Megumi Morino) Demographic: Shoujo Animation Studio: East Fish Studio Genres: comedy, drama, romance Themes: coming-of-age, school Plot Summary: Hotaru is a 16-year-old high school first-year who has always been ambivalent about love, preferring instead to have a lively life with her family and friends. So when she sees her schoolmate, Hananoi-kun, sitting in the snow after a messy, public breakup, she thinks nothing of offering to share her umbrella. But when he asks her out in the middle of her classroom the next day, she can't help but feel that her life is about to change in a big way. Air Date & Platform: April 4, 2024 (Thursday) Available on: Crunchyroll Episode Count / Runtime: Pending ---------------------------------- I'll watch this just for Kana Hanazawa. She's a pretty awesome actress. And I'm curious to hear what Chiaki Kobayashi will sound like as a regular romancing teen dude (should be quite the antithesis from Mash in the previous season!). |
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Edjwald
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This anime walks a very strange line between being sweet and being a bag full of ick.
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smurky turkey
Posts: 2433 |
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This is a new experience for me in that the first episode of a new romance anime made me not experience a single bit of actual romance but rather only moments of sheer creepiness. On one hand we have Hotaru who despite making clear that she has no interest in romance is kind of being indirectly forced by everyone around her to just go for it and that not wanting it makes her broken/weird (though she is rethinking that at the end of the episode?). On the other hand we have Hananoi who is beyond broken and the type of person who I could easily see stalking the person he likes or when rejected enough going the School Days route.
Add to all that the literal zero chemistry between the main characters and I am unsure whether this is supposed to be an actual romance show or some type of unsettling horror. It makes for an interesting start at least. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15546 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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So, I was not the only one who was creeped out that he cut his hair, and that he stayed at the school. Those are not romantic.
And before she apparently started to feel something at the end, the writing made it out that she might be some flavour of aromantic, which made all the pressure being put on her kind of creepy. Granted, I doubt many romance anime/manga are aware of that sort of thing. |
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Edjwald
Posts: 1418 |
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I could be wrong, but I think the show is/was going for a Skip and Loafer vibe. Apologies to anyone who hasn't seen that anime (and if you're watching this one, you should give it a try) but there are some similarities between the MC and Mitsumi. Shima was also a hot looking popular guy who was maybe a little too nice for self-esteem and guilt reasons. The difference is that Shima was genuinely delighted by Mitsumi because of her strength and quirkiness and didn't have any thoughts of being anything other than her friend because he didn't feel worthy, whereas Hanannoying seems to be obsessively latching onto Hotaru to fill some void inside him.
But I think this really is supposed to be a romance, not a descent into stalkerdom. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 2433 |
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I have mixed feelings on the second episode. There are some actual romantic/cute moments and both of them are trying to feel out what works and what does not for them. On the other hand, seeing those photos with Hananoying cut out of them, his shrine or whatever was behind the curtain and his sometimes weirdly intense looks and actions make my red flag alert go off.
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smurky turkey
Posts: 2433 |
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And with the third episode done it is time for the good old drop or keep. I will give credit that the third episode has less creep and more cute than the previous ones. Hananoying can still be real over the top though. Otherwise I do not feel all that invested in the couple and besides them there are not really any characters of note so far. I suppose that leaves me thinking of dropping it but not being 100% sure.
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Edjwald
Posts: 1418 |
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I keep thinking I should try episode 2 and then I keep not doing it. Probably not a good sign.
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smurky turkey
Posts: 2433 |
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Well, Hotaru is slowly learning new things about herself and others, it is honestly pretty interesting/worthwhile to see, she is even beginning to fall in love though she has not realized it yet. On the other hand there is Hananoying who keeps combining wholesome moments with disturbing actions and comments. Every single time time there is a fluffy moment he always does something to add a bit of a bitter taste to it. This week showed how little he cares for other people but his target....I mean girlfriend.
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smurky turkey
Posts: 2433 |
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This is the first time for me seeing a romance anime that gives some real sweet moments and a situation possibly leading up to murder in one episode. The chocolate making was real sweet, the look that Hananoi gave the new guy though.....
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camseyeview140
Posts: 236 |
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Yeah...not much else to add, but this reminds me of some of those romance drama anime where there is generally a sense of direction and compelling nature to this show's story of two flawed individuals getting together and working out what they find comfortable and good for a healthy relationship, but it is constantly bordering on creepy and that's unfortunate.
Reminds me of a 2021 spring anime where it was between two broken souls, but then you remember it's between a 26-year-old and a 17-year-old and the way the show was shot and paced was more creepy than what the actual story was trying to do. One of those "the story tells one experience, but the camera tells another" kind of thing This is one of those anime. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 2433 |
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Episode 9 explains quite a bit and makes clear why Hanonoi is the way he is. I really wonder about parents that choose to have a child to then spend more time with other children in far away countries than their own. They are trying to make the world a better place, your own son needs love too though.
As for Hanonoi, I now understand him a lot better yet having a shrine with stuff in it to remind you of a past crush and kind of stalking said crush plus being extreme in the way you show affection in the present sure is something. There is a line between cute/romantic and creepy and Hanonoi is still more towards the latter than the former. Or am I being too crtical and do people think having a shrine like that is romantic? |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 2433 |
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And thus it ended. I suppose I liked the show well enough given that I have seen all of it, yet I am left with some mixed feelings. Hotaru learning about romance/her own feelings and dealing with her past trauma was interesting even if the latter was rushed in the final episode. As for Hanonoi......well, they did explain why he is the way he is and he is slowly becoming better/heathier yet every episode besides the final one had him switch between creepy and charming many times and that made it hard to sell me on the romance.
There was also that one former classmate of Hotaru that added nothing of value to the show. Eh, I suppose a 6/10 it was okay enough sums it up for me. |
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residentgrigo
 Posts: 2538 Location: Germany |
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What is good about the show is what is good about this season´s The Fable, the manga itself. That one at least nailed the voice acting. Worst of all is that it skipped parts of chapters, without skipping full chapters, so you can´t catch up on missing chapter X and then start after chapter 21 (the post-credit scene is from 22 but most of that chapter isn´t adapted). The anime also failed to grasp the atmosphere of the manga. The mangaka is well aware that Hananoi is a broken creep who is only gradually getting better but the show doesn´t frame him that way. The shaving down and misrepresentation remind me of Under Ninja, a black comedy that was turned into a serious thriller in its anime despite having the same plot.
The viewer lastly won´t see him deteriorating after stepping in the right direction and being forced to better himself on his own as the anime stops here so you end up with an I can fix him story. Something the manga is not and is opposed to. The anime isn´t a train wreck but one of the most multi-layered Shoujo manga of all time deserves better. The weird grandpa is for example recontextualized in Vol 14 in a way that fundamentally changes one´s view of the overall story. |
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