Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: My Love Story!!
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whiskeyii
 Posts: 2247 |
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On the topic of Suna being an ace/aro character, well...you'd have to convince me that asexuality is even on the radar of the Japanese LGBTQ+ community; it's barely recognized in Western regions which broach more varied discussions on that front. Right now, I sincerely doubt Suna is intended to be ace/aro, regardless of how this setup pans out.
However, I have a feeling that it probably won't. Suna seems to have some reservations about girls being into him for shallow reasons, and Yukika seems to have some issues of her own to sort out before being able to handle a relationship. I mean, she flat out STATES that she's stalking the guy, and she can't even bring herself to talk or text him without outside interference. Suna's a closed book, but I feel like Yukika has some growing to do before "My Love Story!!" can do her character justice. |
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chito895
 Posts: 512 Location: Lima, Peru |
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After the spoiler[kiss episode between Takeo and Yamato,] I actually wanted to be "Suna's love interest" the last major arc of the show. And it's amazing and sweet that it is actually happening! But I can't avoid thinking Yukika is creepy! (However, I liked her relationship with Takeo, they look like BFF's) I couldn't see her reasons to love Suna as cute and honest. I only see her as the weirdo who stalks her love interest, everywhere. I want to like her more, but her first appearance wasn't what I expected, and a bunch of cute squeaks won't change my mind about that.
I hope the next episodes will make like more this girl, because I want to like her, as she's the only one who, so far, has fulfilled "Suna's requirements". |
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Kai99
 Posts: 89 |
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Well keep in mind you can be asexual and be in a relationship. You can be asexual and have sex. Suna having a girlfriend would not make him NOT asexual. But I also agree that I do not think the author had asexual in mind for Suna since asexuality isn't recognized by vast majority of the world and is just getting some recognition here in the US. So saying Suna is asexual isn't completely correct since he is a fictional character and is whatever the author has in mind. But so far, out of all the orientations, Suna definitely fits into the asexual label. |
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secondkas
 Posts: 95 |
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Though I think it's already fine that Sunakawa has no love interest (for a change, as it's a shojo cliche to pair up characters to define a "happy ending"), I am curious of what type of character he would click well with. Sadly I don't see the chemistry with Yukika. At first her actions seemed cute, like what Hinata had done to Naruto, but even Hinata had her own personality and life. I feel something off in Yukika's case. Yukika is too fixated to the point that she idealizes his flaws and wishing he would remain single. She is shy yet persistent, and to be honest, it's kinda selfish and annoying. Imagine if the roles are reversed and Yukika were a guy to a girl Suna; the stalking is not exactly romantic, isn't it? Yeah, character development is still needed here.
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Weazul-chan
 Posts: 625 Location: Michigan |
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however, there IS a Japanese asexual community which differs between the one in most English speaking countries in that Japanese asexuals are only judged as true asexuals if they're aromantic as well. so if Suna was asexual he'd be more along the lines of what Japanese society thinks of asexuals and thus aromantic as well. I'm also aware of there being good Japanese media representations of asexuals too, but mostly in the way of novels. which is a good bit better than what ace representation in the media we get here. (I'm still a little bitter about that one ep of House.) |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11377 |
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I dont' see her stalking as romantic so much as sad, and I would feel the same if the roles were precisely reversed. Stalking per se isn't necessarily a terrible thing for the stalkee, provided they're unaware of it or nothing is done to make them feel afraid. However, most stalkers make sure their object of fixation is very aware of it, and tend to make them feel powerless and their lives miserable. She never truly invaded his privacy, in that she only observed his public behavior. She wasn't standing outside his house in the rain watching him through the windows. Her annual attempts to declare herself were kind of creepy, but with no follow up (like weekly notes left everywhere he goes or something), I could almost see it as something he'd start to look forward to in a strange way, or miss if she stopped. It was definitely different from the kind of attention he usually gets. 
So if a male stalker was presented as so crippled by shyness he couldn't even bear to make his existence known or intrude on a girl's life except to give anonymous white day gifts, I think I would feel the same about it. |
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CrowLia
 Posts: 5505 Location: Mexico |
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I honestly disagree 100% with the review for this episode. For one, I don't find Yukika cute, she's more kind of pitiful. Yamato already tests my patience for cutesy-poo heroines, so I really didn't need another one. I also don't think she's a good match for Suna. She idolizes him to unhealthy levels, the whole "he is my ideal" thing is honestly creepy and also reflects how poorly she thinks of herself. If there should be a relationship, Yukika should not put Suna on a pedestal and diminish herself. Even her "I don't want anything, just like me" letters speak volumes about how little she values herself and that's not a good mindset to start a relationship. And I honestly think that, if Suna were to be paired with someone, it would have to be a much more confident person that can see him as an equal. I read somewhere that spoiler[the mangaka said the ideal girl for Suna would be a girl with Takeo's personality]
I also didn't find it endearing that Takeo was so pushy about getting them together without considering Suna's feelings first. It was nice that he later acknowledged them by telling Suna "it's okay if you don't want to go", and I hope he'll respect whatever Suna decides about this relationship. And, to be honest, I don't really want Suna to get paired up. The idea that a happy ending necessarily entails getting into a romantic relationship displeases me greatly. Since episode 3 Suna said he wasn't really interested in relationships and that seeing his friend happy made him happy. We also know that Takeo is literally the only person that makes Suna laugh. I think Suna is happy enough as he is now, he doesn't really need a romantic relationship and I hope the show doesn't force it down our throats |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11377 |
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I didn't see it so much as him pushing to get them "together" as pushing her to stop stalking him and just face him. He wanted her to get things out in the open so she could either be happy if it worked out, or move on if it didn't. Ten years of fantasizing without any resolution had to end. I actually don't think they'll end up together, but I do think they'll somehow become friends. One thing they do have in common is stalking: she stalks Suna, Suna stalks the world. He's always watching everyone around him, but generally keeps his thoughts to himself and never gets involved, except with Takeo and people who revolve around Takeo, including his own sister. That's how he casually remembered her even though they hadn't spoken in a decade: she's always been lurking, and so she was always at least a presence in his general, constant observations of people around him. |
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zensunni
 Posts: 1294 |
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The scene where he takes out the box full of old letters that he has kept for all this time and starts reading them speaks volumes. He has probably already fallen for her. If what she says is true, that she can write what she truly feels if it is anonymous, then he will know her well enough to realize she is quite a catch.
This episode impressed me. It isn't easy to make a creepy stalker chick that sympathetic. (I also liked the fact that she referred to it as stalking herself. She is, at least, self-aware...) |
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chito895
Posts: 512 Location: Lima, Peru |
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It's incredible with details as well. My favorite scene of this episode was when Yukika told Takeo that she likes him, with Yamato just right next to them. When she heard that, she put the cutest silly face I've ever seen! And it was more lovely when she put a relief face after she heard Yukika saying "just as friends".
Fortunately, this episode made me think better about Yukika, as I could see her a bit more confident and less stalker. And it was great that, thanks to her, we saw Yamato and Takeo being the " love experts" and yhr onrs who encouraged the needed one. They are hilarious when they act like that. I hope Yukika has some minutes during the next episodes, but that seems pretty unlikely. Oh well... |
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whiskeyii
Posts: 2247 |
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Well, this was...I don't want to say "unexpected", because I didn't think it would work out, but I also didn't think it'd work out like this!
Man, I felt for Yukika, but I appreciate that this show acknowledges "failed" love too. More often than not in shoujo, we see the main guy turn down a girl who's nice but not the main heroine, so sucks to be her. It's nice to get more of a focus on that kind of relationship, especially since My Love Story!! has such a bittersweet take on it. So, yeah, I was very pleasantly surprised by this, both in how well I thought Yukika's feelings were portrayed, and in how it wrapped up. Also, I want a gif of Yamato's growl. Soooo cute! ^0^ |
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secondkas
Posts: 95 |
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Credit should be given to the series for addressing well the issues I had with last week's episode. Just because it feels like it's Sunakawa's turn in the narrative, doesn't mean he has to end up with the next girl who likes him and at the same time likes Takeo (which, by the way, is a bare minimum—even Suna stated that most people like Takeo) without anything more happening between them. I think this episode reveals more about Suna's and Yukika's growth as individuals rather than being a couple. I'm also glad the statement “ 'Not disliking' is different from 'liking' ” is now out there for the shojo genre; a boy and girl being nice to each other doesn't automatically mean an endgame, not as quickly, at least.
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Bull864
Posts: 2 |
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As much as we all would've like Suna to get someone it felt like they were going to force the issue. It's a bit late to start a true romance for him and frankly there's nothing that says he has to want someone. He's seems quite content with things as they are now, and a new girl popping up shouldn't force him to be "in love" all of a sudden. I do, however, like how they handled it. They allowed it to play out so Yukika could decrease the stalker tendencies and move the ball on a ten year old one sided romance. Everyone gets to be friends after this is they so decide to keep her in the picture. And Suna is allowed to be just Suna. And, if we're all honest, Yukika just didn't seem like Suna's type. (If he really has one.) He's really closed and kind of mysterious, so at the very least I would expect the "choose one" to have some way to crack the armor.
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JadeDahlia
 Posts: 70 Location: New York, NY |
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I agree that I'd prefer for Suna to not end up in a relationship, He even said at the end of the episode that he was fine with how things were, and I think that the message of "you don't have to be in a relationship to be happy and fulfilled" is a refreshing one, especially coming from a romantic comedy series. Like others here, he also strikes me as being asexual and/or aromantic anyway.
That said, like the reviewer I also related to Yukika a lot, because I've definitely been there with some of my crushes (not the stalking part, but the not being able to talk much around them, sometimes for years, and also being a nerd). And I'm glad that it looks like there's potential for her and Suna to still be friends, especially since there's this myth that ~men and women can't be friends~ and anything that subverts that is always good. |
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Goober2049
 Posts: 55 |
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After reading the review for this episode, I'm convinced that Takeo should have given Yukika that speech from Shia Labeouf.
Don't let your dreams be dreams. JUST DO IT! |
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