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EP. REVIEW: Sweetness & Lightning


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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 9:02 am Reply with quote
This show is absolutely adorable. Loving the realism and character chemistry so far. Tsugumi is also one of the most charming characters this season and I just love how they present her role.

The food elements are nice too with a diverse range of tastes.
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consignia



Joined: 06 Jul 2011
Posts: 392
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 9:27 am Reply with quote
Quote:
While a widowed teacher striking up an outside-of-school friendship with one of his students may seem like the precursor to an illicit romance, the show makes it clear that things are strictly platonic between Kohei and Kotori


Does it? I really like the series, but my feelings are hampered by the nagging thoughts that there's a romance brewing between a responsible adult and a child in his care. It seems to indicate that idea is wrong in principle, but so did Bunny Drop. The teacher has a wife shaped hole in his life, and Kotori seems to fit quite well.

I'm not saying anything's going to come to pass, but I wish they could have come up with a different relationship between the two rather than teacher and student.
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eely225



Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 96
Location: West Lafayette, IN
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 9:33 am Reply with quote
consignia wrote:
Quote:
While a widowed teacher striking up an outside-of-school friendship with one of his students may seem like the precursor to an illicit romance, the show makes it clear that things are strictly platonic between Kohei and Kotori


Does it? I really like the series, but my feelings are hampered by the nagging thoughts that there's a romance brewing between a responsible adult and a child in his care. It seems to indicate that idea is wrong in principle, but so did Bunny Drop. The teacher has a wife shaped hole in his life, and Kotori seems to fit quite well.

I'm not saying anything's going to come to pass, but I wish they could have come up with a different relationship between the two rather than teacher and student.


I'm somewhere between these two opinions. I think that the implication by the end of the third ep is that there is some attraction/fascination on the part of Kotori, but that Kohei is blind to it, focused on making his daughter happy. It seems like he's very concerned with propriety. This will probably eventually be a sub-plot where she has an internal realization, but I think he will remain oblivious throughout. Just my sense so far.
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Animechic420



Joined: 25 Sep 2012
Posts: 1724
Location: A Cave Filled With Riches
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 9:41 am Reply with quote
eely225 wrote:
consignia wrote:
Quote:
While a widowed teacher striking up an outside-of-school friendship with one of his students may seem like the precursor to an illicit romance, the show makes it clear that things are strictly platonic between Kohei and Kotori


Does it? I really like the series, but my feelings are hampered by the nagging thoughts that there's a romance brewing between a responsible adult and a child in his care. It seems to indicate that idea is wrong in principle, but so did Bunny Drop. The teacher has a wife shaped hole in his life, and Kotori seems to fit quite well.

I'm not saying anything's going to come to pass, but I wish they could have come up with a different relationship between the two rather than teacher and student.


I'm somewhere between these two opinions. I think that the implication by the end of the third ep is that there is some attraction/fascination on the part of Kotori, but that Kohei is blind to it, focused on making his daughter happy. It seems like he's very concerned with propriety. This will probably eventually be a sub-plot where she has an internal realization, but I think he will remain oblivious throughout. Just my sense so far.

The manga's categories has romantic subplot listed, so....

Maybe something might happen in future episodes/volumes/chapters??? Confused
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SnowyLightning44





PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 9:49 am Reply with quote
This is my favourite show so far this season, the art style is great to look at, suiting the show well; Tsugumi's actions are adorable most of the time but she also throws a strop like a kid works would in certain situations and all the cast is pretty likable in their own way
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Merida



Joined: 21 Feb 2012
Posts: 1945
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 9:56 am Reply with quote
Animechic420 wrote:

The manga's categories has romantic subplot listed, so....

Maybe something might happen in future episodes/volumes/chapters??? Confused


Ugh, i sure hope not...if there has to be romance, i'd prefer him hooking up with the ever-absent mother or something...

But so far, i'm really enjoying this show. The characters and their relationships are adorable and it's also pretty refreshing to see a "cooking anime" where the protagonists aren't at pro level for once.
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JaggedAuthor



Joined: 27 Oct 2014
Posts: 981
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 10:23 am Reply with quote
Amy McNulty wrote:
As fun as the elder two-thirds of its main trio are, Tsumugi is easily the highlight of the show.


Agreed. I also appreciate that she's genuinely cute - instead of the pandering, manufactured, sickeningly saccharine type of cute anime children (especially little girls) often are. Everything she says and does is perfectly in line with how a child her age would behave, and in many respects, she's the most realistic character on the show.

Merida wrote:
Ugh, i sure hope not...if there has to be romance, i'd prefer him hooking up with the ever-absent mother or something...


I'm with you. If Kohei absolutely has to have a love interest, I think it should be - brace yourself - someone in his age bracket. There are plenty of other series that feature adults in romantic relationships with teenagers (not to mention actual children), and there's no reason this needs to be one of them. I agree that Kotori probably has an understated crush on Kohei, and I wouldn't mind seeing this addressed in detail at some point, but reciprocation should be off the table.


Last edited by JaggedAuthor on Tue Jul 19, 2016 10:41 am; edited 1 time in total
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John Thacker



Joined: 28 Oct 2013
Posts: 1006
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 10:25 am Reply with quote
consignia wrote:
It seems to indicate that idea is wrong in principle, but so did Bunny Drop.


Well, with Bunny Drop the anime didn't actually get to that part (and discouraged it), and most of us can pretend that the post-anime material didn't exist at all (and he really got together with the divorced single mother his age.) So even if there's something in the manga eventually, I would be surprised if it came out in the anime.
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DerekL1963
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Joined: 14 Jan 2015
Posts: 1112
Location: Puget Sound
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 10:53 am Reply with quote
Animechic420 wrote:

The manga's categories has romantic subplot listed, so....

Maybe something might happen in future episodes/volumes/chapters??? Confused


The manga is up to thirty something chapters and spoiler[no sign of romance so far].
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 11:57 am Reply with quote
consignia wrote:
Quote:
While a widowed teacher striking up an outside-of-school friendship with one of his students may seem like the precursor to an illicit romance, the show makes it clear that things are strictly platonic between Kohei and Kotori


Does it? I really like the series, but my feelings are hampered by the nagging thoughts that there's a romance brewing between a responsible adult and a child in his care. It seems to indicate that idea is wrong in principle, but so did Bunny Drop. The teacher has a wife shaped hole in his life, and Kotori seems to fit quite well.

I'm not saying anything's going to come to pass, but I wish they could have come up with a different relationship between the two rather than teacher and student.


Yeah same, it seems to me that the its made clear that Kotori has feeling for him, but just like the bunny drop adaptation, I imagine nothing will happen and if it does in the manga it'll just be ignored.

On the show itself, I rather like it but I'm already tired of the over expression when they eat up, all the "OMG this food is so good, here let me cry a bit to signify how good it is", for one things that's something I already dislike in person, when you go to a restaurant and the person right next to you really REALLY want you to know how good his meal is. But its just worse since its not real food, of course there gonna say its awesome.

The cooking side could also use a bit of help, I get that the teacher is supposed to be new to cooking and unsure how to use a knife, but the way he use it is so incredibly unsafe its awful. If there hoping some people follow along and cook stuff they seen on the show, they could at least show so way that aren't gonna result in lost finger.
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steelmirror



Joined: 22 Oct 2015
Posts: 342
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 12:29 pm Reply with quote
Loving this show so far, it's easily my favorite for the season.

I'll echo the early discomfort that some people have expressed about the possible romantic dimension of the Kotori-Kohei relationship, but I actually think they did a pretty good job of disarming that with Kohei being very careful to ask his experienced coworker about whether it was advisable for him to have any contact with a student outside work, and that he's tried earnestly to talk with Kotori's mother to "set some ground rules". The very fact that he's completely open about this issue with coworkers and other involved adults, combined with the complete lack of any romantic interest or chemistry (at least on his part), makes me hopeful that there will never be anything sketchy between the two. In fact, I think he is less oblivious to possible feelings from Kotori's side (or at least the appearance of impropriety) than other posters have said. To me at least, he seemed to have been trying to cover all his bases by talking with his coworkers and Kotori's mother (though without success on the latter so far) to sound the issue out.

And he does seem like the type to see Kotori as a daughter figure more than anything else. I thought the scene in the second episode, after learning about her fear of knives, where he subtly bolstered her confidence by insisting that "adding favor is what he is worst at" so it was a job that only she could do, was illuminating. It showed his experience as both a father of a small child and an educator, and illustrated very clearly that he is moving from being uncomfortable around Kotori (being in her house without any parent, etc) to seeing her as a combination of daughter figure/student. And since he is familiar with those relationships, I noted that he immediately seemed to act more comfortably around her from that moment on.

He does really need lessons on knifework, though. Every time he cuts anything I cringe! It's actually kind of funny how much more tension this show generates in me from an ordinary man dicing an onion than most shows can extract from a hot-blooded battle scene or anguished declaration of love. Very Happy

Between this and Shokugeki no Soma, apparently I'm now a food anime fan. Maybe that explains why I've been gaining weight recently...
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Minos_Kurumada



Joined: 04 Nov 2015
Posts: 983
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 12:56 pm Reply with quote
I loved it... but, had to stop watching mid half, I was starving and I am on diet D:
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Z-Raid



Joined: 18 Feb 2014
Posts: 132
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 1:07 pm Reply with quote
DerekL1963 wrote:
Animechic420 wrote:

The manga's categories has romantic subplot listed, so....

Maybe something might happen in future episodes/volumes/chapters??? :?


The manga is up to thirty something chapters and spoiler[no sign of romance so far].

As someone who reads the manga, I will also confirm that so far there spoiler[hasn't been any sign of romance]. If anything there is Kotori's slight one-sided crush on Kouhei at the beginning of the manga but it never goes beyond that and even then later on spoiler[her feelings for Kouhei is pretty much spelled out as just platonic.]

I'm not watching a lot of anime this season, but this show is definitely one of my favorites. It's so calming and charming, it makes me wish all the episodes were out already so I can just marathon them all in one go.
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Hameyadea



Joined: 23 Jun 2014
Posts: 3679
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 1:27 pm Reply with quote
I'm of similar opinion as some of the previous posters; on the one hand, the show's first 3 episodes, with episode #3 in particular, made it clear that it isn't so much of a story about finding love through common trait/activity (in this case, wanting to eat together), but more of two people who agreed to be in a symbiotic, semi-formal relationship: Īda Kotori wants to have someone to eat meals with, as well as help her when using a knife in necessary; Inuzuka Kōhei wants to make better, tastier, and healthier meals for Tsumugi, and probably also to change the gloomy mood that permeated when they ate their meals. Additionally, Kotori attempt to bring a gift to Kōhei was probably done to act in the decorum she was taught. Most people probably behave like that when they find out about an acquaintance's sudden birthday date. At least that's how it appeared to me.

On the other hand, however, it won't be the first show to go that path of "common interest (leads to) romance," and if the show would deem Tsumugi as "needing the stability and security of a motherly figure around," it could be the trigger that leads to that road.

If I had to choose, I would prefer that the show will remain in its current form, as a food-related SoL show.
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Apollo-kun



Joined: 11 Feb 2010
Posts: 1213
Location: City 7, Macross 7
PostPosted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 1:30 pm Reply with quote
This is my favorite new show of the season, by far, along with Orange. It's really refreshing to see an anime that has a little girl as a major character and isn't creepy otaku-bait about it. Sort of like Yotsuba&!, except a little more narrative-based.

Here's hoping it doesn't go the way of Bunny Drop!
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