Forum - View topicHigehiro (TV).
|
Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3 |
| Author | Message | ||
|---|---|---|---|
DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15516 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
|
||
|
Yeah, her brother did not really handle it well. He wanted to help her, but his idea of helping her was pretty much to leave her alone without any support group, someone should at least give them a piece of their mind against his actions isolating her. As terrible as it sounds, I would be curious if he was given the choice between his sister and his mother, who he would choose, and why he abandoned her. Like, not even something like checking up on her every day. The least her mother deserves after that comment is some bad press. Such that if they had to choose between having her back where she explained what happened to make things public, or not doing so that might leave questions of where she is, what they would choose.
Also, kind of confused by what was meant by the scene showing her naked on the hotel bed with some sort of liquid in her hand. I have ideas, but I don't know why it would be shown in that way. |
|||
|
|||
ACｘS
 Posts: 916 |
|
||
|
10:
So Sayu's mom saw Sayu as a bargaining chip to get her husband back. What a shitty situation. I feared that this show is becoming a cradle snatcher, and it seems to be going that way right now. But there's a silver lining here: Yoshida is going to see Sayu's mom so that Sayu can go back home safely. Technically and eventually that's what I want to happen. Not Yoshida and Sayu just run away from their problems forever, but to ensure that Sayu is safe and be on her own. (Ironically, making sure that Sayu will be safe and be on her way is exactly what Sayu's brother should have done in the first place... now it's a bit odd that this responsibility falls on Yoshida, a person Sayu might not have met if her brother had done things differently) |
|||
|
|||
|
Harleyquin
Posts: 2906 |
|
||
|
The added complication of Sayu's mother and the adulterous father wasn't expected, but it does explain why the mother would have blamed her daughter for causing the death of a student through suicide. I had thought it was a 3-person family and that the father had died, but the revelation complicated matters. It's still surprising the son inherited the business, perhaps the company was a severance payment to the abandoned family.
The older brother did say he would fool the mother by claiming he'd only found Sayu one week after he really found her, so this is one way he could avoid having to take her back to Hokkaido with him. If she went back with him, it might have been suspicious (not to mention he's also partly responsible for allowing her to run away to begin with). After all Yoshida has done for Sayu to this date, he really has to see things through with her to the end. His senior and best friend Hashimoto saw through him completely, as did Mishima. I'm not sure how involved Gotou was in the last-minute arrangement, but she gave the pair of them leave to look for her so at the very least is supportive of his issues. Yoshida is trying his best to revert back to his pre-Sayu workaholic mode, but it's not really helping him. He's lucky his team is aware of his personal issues and is willing to back him up at a critical juncture, so he should take them up on the offer for support and extend his time with Sayu. It's going to be tough for him to explain himself to Sayu's mother though. Three episodes left to air, no idea how this is going to pan out. |
|||
|
|||
|
Harleyquin
Posts: 2906 |
|
||
|
#11
Sayu flies home on Business class together with older brother Issa and Yoshida. Considering she ran away from home using the local trains, it's quite the experience for her. I'm not surprised it was her first flight, considering the family background and how coldly she was treated. I wasn't surprised either when she revealed to Yoshida what her school life was like before she ran away. Older brother Issa certainly pulled out the stops to get her back home. The 3-hour detour to Sapporo was deliberately planned, so that Yoshida and Sayu would have private time to themselves. Like the others, he knows Sayu has come to depend heavily on Yoshida emotionally and is happy to oblige her in that regard. Most of the episode unsurprisingly is focused on the school which triggered Sayu's trauma. After the suicide, the fence was put up to avoid repeat occurrences. It takes a lot of courage for Sayu to go up and face her fears; had Yoshida not been with her I half-expected her to try to jump off the roof somehow. Good thing he was there with her, he does his best to help her get past the huge mental obstacle. As for the final scene, I'm not surprised that was the mother's first reaction. The brother claims she worries, but she's undoubtedly angry her daughter ran away (for over six months!) for a variety of reasons. Yoshida will need to spend next week and possibly the last episode explaining himself, since the mother has ample cause to report Yoshida to the police despite his honesty. On a side note, the visuals looked somewhat off this week compared to previous episodes (perhaps it's just me). Slightly disappointing, since the colours and shapes not being what I'm used to seeing does detract from the viewing experience somewhat. The show isn't an action spectacle that hooks viewers on its eye candy, but at the very least standards could be maintained throughout the series. Two to go, next episode more or less telegraphs what is going on in the household. The ending will be interesting as I'm not sure how it's going to go for everyone to have a satisfactory conclusion of some sort. |
|||
|
|||
|
ACｘS
Posts: 916 |
|
||
|
11:
Nothing much to add to this episode, tbh. It's about Sayu facing reality and her fears, so going to a café and her school is simply her reflecting what she missed out being a normal kid and what event changed her life. The only thing that struck me (surprisingly) was the roof fence. Safety measures are always in place after shit happens. Unfortunately, that's how things work, and no it's not always because of lack of foresight (although in many cases it actually is). Permanent changes happen because of one incident, and one incident is too many. And this will continue to happen, like it or not. But don't mind me, I'm just going off on a tangent. Am I shocked that Sayu's mom slapped her? No, kinda saw that coming. The family talk is going to get messy, and honestly, I just want to know what Sayu's brother is going to bring to the table. Honestly, he really should have helped Sayu a lot more ("jeez, you're her brother. Why is Yoshida taking better care of Sayu than you!?"), so I want to believe that he didn't because he couldn't. Because of PR reasons related to his position? I imagine so. |
|||
|
|||
|
Harleyquin
Posts: 2906 |
|
||
|
#12
The reunion, with Yoshida finding out just how true the account given by Issa a few episodes ago about the circumstances of Sayu's birth is. Although he had an idea that Sayu's mother didn't see her as much more than an asset to get her philandering husband back to the family, he certainly didn't expect her to outright say Sayu was a mistake that wasn't meant to be born. A lot of the episode is about his reaction to the statement, restraining himself not to escalate the situation into violence, and then figure out a way to finish what he vowed to do when he first took Sayu in. Although Sayu gets a few of her own words in during the table meeting, most of the focus is on Yoshida and Sayu's mother. The mother clearly has Issa under her thumb, as he's unable to get a word in on behalf of Sayu despite how aggravated he is by mother's behaviour. Yoshida getting down on his knees and prostrating himself begging for Sayu's behalf provoked quite an unusual reaction, something which probably won't bode well even after Yoshida has finished his task and made the return journey. Sayu and her mother may well have too big a chasm to fill, but the bargain has been made and after Sayu finishes high school (she's guaranteed to repeat the year because of how long she's been absent) she can finally leave the household regardless of what relationship she has with her mother at that point. Next week is the final episode, so there's a few ways this could all end. One way it looks like it won't end is the cradle-snatching romance I thought it would way back in episode one. The two of them are close as Issa remarks, but not in a romantic way. Yoshida will never forget the months he spent with Sayu as his live-in housekeeper and emotional support; his life has already changed in many ways after she moved in and even after she leaves his single life won't be the same as it was before they met. That's his happy(?) end, but Sayu's tale is going to be difficult to close nicely. Looking forward to seeing how the animators finish that aspect. Most likely scenario would be she moves out of the house when she graduates high school and moves to Tokyo with her brother. |
|||
|
|||
|
ACｘS
Posts: 916 |
|
||
|
12:
Welp, that went well. I'm not going to condone what the mom said to Sayu. At first, after the first conversation, I was thinking that she is suffering from mental health issues. Honestly, I still think that maybe she is. But based on all the contemptible things she said, I can only conclude that she's despicable. Sure, she might have been through a lot, but if she can think of the worst things to say to Sayu, and even sweep those comments under the rug afterwards, it's very hard for me to give her a ounce of justification for her behavior. She had a (small) change of heart after Yoshida's response, but if she's the kind who cares more about face than family, then it would make sense that she relented. It would be humiliating (to someone like her) to have an outsider to implore her to, well... be a good mom. Yoshida's response is the most critical part in this tense situation. He could've lost his cool, but he didn't. He shouldn't either, although it was incredibly tempting. He did the only justified thing to do, and that's taking the high road of getting on his knees and request Sayu's mom to be good to Sayu. Cynical people would think that by doing so, Yoshida is making Sayu's mom look like a bad person―although if you ask me, she's already doing a great job being―but I know Yoshida isn't that kind of a person. To be honest, I've been a bit annoyed by Sayu's brother. Not only did he not take good care of Sayu by handing her money and just let her go anywhere, he hasn't done much to help her case either. It's only after Yoshida knelt down that he decided to pitch in. The silver lining here though, is that he's self-aware that he's been helpless and is envious that Yoshida could do something like that. Well, good... please do better for Sayu next time! I hope the household understands that the problem is Sayu's mom. Even if Sayu graduates and moves out of the house, the problem remains and if left unaddressed, it's not going to go away. Yoshida has done everything he could, but if I were him, I'm not sure if I can trust her when she said she will think about the future (what does this mean? That she will consider being a better person, or she wants Sayu to move in with him once she's older?). |
|||
|
|||
|
DuskyPredator
Posts: 15516 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
|
||
|
Yeah, the only thing I can really say is that this must really be a Japanese cultural thing, because that was kind of disgusting. Yoshida getting on his knees to beg her to be a better mother because she is the only one who can do that? Maybe it is in some regards to a lot of the stuff I consume, probably on a Western front, generally put more importance in something like found family that treats you right over a blood one that doesn't.
What happened came across as so antithetical to the sort of stuff I follow. Sorry if this inserting a different topic, but I could only really think about something like a case of some queer kid having been abused by their family, and then being told that such an environment is the best one for them to be in. Sayu's mother is a problem to Sayu, and while her brother generally seems like a good guy he obviously can't stand up to her and protect Sayu. Which really comes across as bullshit family hierarchy nonsense. I am embarrassed that the discussion landed on whether Sayu and her mother can repair their relationship, and not if Sayu's mother is even fit to look after her and if it healthy for her to be around. As a reminder, Sayu's brother sent her away for her mother's good. The episode was well made, arguably some nice acting or something of a terribly but complex character. But I am not okay with the sort of coming around to handling abuse familial abuse. Leaving Sayu behind was the worst, and at the least I think there should have been some agreement like having her brother become her guardian instead. |
|||
|
|||
|
ACｘS
Posts: 916 |
|
||
|
Final:
 
These two shots kinda sums up Sayu's brother, don't they. At the sidelines when Sayu needed him, with Yoshida doing the actual helping for the first shot, and handing out money because that's the only way he can help (like how he gave Sayu money to run away) in the second. Such a helpful brother, he is. I wasn't expecting anything much from the ending; it ended the way it should. I think it dragged a little too much, and a bit melodramatic, but that's what the show is about. 6.5/10 for me. A typical Japanese melodrama in anime form, but done quite well. |
|||
|
|||
|
Harleyquin
Posts: 2906 |
|
||
|
#13
Not sure what to do think about the last episode. Unsurprisingly Sayu tried to seduce Yoshida one last time, but was rebuffed (although it's much harder for Yoshida to do so this time round compared to previous attempts). I didn't think it was necessary, but Sayu's mind probably permanently warped by her time as a runaway and she really couldn't think of anything else. I knew Sayu was going to repeat a year, but the ending collage showed she must have graduated without incident and made friends with her new class on the way. Because she couldn't give up Yoshida after all the time they'd spent together, she paid him another visit. This is going to be troublesome though, since Yoshida's still a target for his coworkers and superior and they haven't finished contesting after him. Bearing in mind Gotou and Ayumi's attitude towards the end, it's highly likely Sayu told them beforehand she was coming and they opted to give the two a chance to catch up. Issa couldn't really do much other than attempt to financially compensate Yoshida for all of his efforts. Thinking about his position, I'm not sure he could do much more for several reasons: 1. Yogiwara matriarch makes it clear Issa spends most of his time in Tokyo running the company as a CEO. 2. When Sayu's friend committed suicide, he made the trip back to Hokkaido because he was summoned. Two episodes before this it was made clear Issa can't just leave Tokyo unless he has a good business reason. 3. He can't openly disobey his mother, especially as he's aware of the circumstances between her and Sayu. Had he decided to let Sayu stay with him while he was in Tokyo, that would probably have split the family apart permanently. 4. It's not stated here, but I have a feeling the two siblings are quite a few years apart in age and weren't really close to begin with. For this reason Issa cannot do much more than help with his wallet since he has no idea how to be an emotional middleman. Considering what Sayu's mother had to say at the end, she kept her word and allowed Sayu to do as she pleased after high school graduation. An unbridgeable gap, but it's hard to believe Sayu did not first leave the family home without first giving notice so silent consent was better than just being thrown out permanently. Knowing Sayu's mother, not having Sayu around was probably better for her peace of mind no matter how heartless it would seem from the outside. I never imagined the series would turn out this way after the first impressions from the pilot and the scene from episode 3. There's a reason why it's fallen foul of the legal system in Japan for its subject matter, but I've come to appreciate the themes of this series. Apparently the novels weren't even adapted 100% to the source material, so those who have read it may or may not have agreed with some of the changes made, but as a viewer who only watched this and not read the novels I'm pleased I watched it to the end. It's difficult to recommend this because of the more salacious elements in episodes 1, 3 and 6, but anyone who does give this a go might well be surprised by how it turns out compared to the rough start. If anything else, I can't think of another series that can be compared to this one for its approach and the themes it explores. It cuts a thin line between what is acceptable to air on mainstream television, but the characters and their interactions make it easy for viewers to relate to them. I'm glad it didn't turn out to be a cradle-snatcher, despite how close it did in this episode. |
|||
|
|||
|
DuskyPredator
Posts: 15516 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
|
||
|
They couldn't help but keep that window open, right? Even after some more close calls of her trying to seduce him, something he made a very specific demand on. Especially if Sayu was still acting that way, she seriously needed counselling, since it would not be hard to act as an armchair psychologist and point to her still internalising personal worth with sexual attraction. And focusing on his more parental position with being fixated on him. Although, not odd at all that she would choose to return to Tokyo.
Any, I can't think much of what else to say. It hasn't been bad, maybe even good, if walking a very fine edge between wholesome and salacious. My rating is going to be Good (7/10), worth seeing. |
|||
|
|||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group