Sakamichi no Apollon

[Buffalobiian]

Lastly, bold move by Kaoru, even if it made Ri-chan cry. I'm honestly still floored he's moving so fast. I guess I'm just used to crappy romance-comedies, where we're lucky if a pair kissed in the second to last episode. It's clear she still loved Sentaro, which is why she cried in the first place, but I can't help but be a little annoyed at her for not recognizing that there's someone out there who cherishes her more than anyone else, even if it's not who she had hoped it would be. Kaoru's wrong though, his feeling for Ritsuko aren't shallow.

Same, amazed at his speed and.. "boldness", if you want to call it that. Maybe I'm all anal about consent and shit, but that kiss rubbed me the wrong way. It's not as invasive as say, screwing her, followed by a "Merry Christmas", but the same principle applies. Maybe she wanted her first kiss to be with Sentarou?

I would have said that Jun would surely hook up with Yurika because there's no one else to hook up with.. but I can see this turning out with him leaving for America or something and ending it all somehow.

Sentarou lost some points here by leaving the stage. I had always looked at the extremely passionate musicians with some mystic admiration (since I'm the total opposite) such that I had forgotten the backlash that can happen when their "mood" gets upset.

[animus]

I liked this series a lot more when I thought it was going to be a lot more generic Slice of Life/focused on music instead of all this romantic drama bull shit.

It's still rather enjoyable, and I'll still watch it but I preferred it without all the drama.

[Buffalobiian]

Sakamichi no Apollon Original Soundtrack [320k] | [FLAC]

[Ryllharu]

[HorribleSubs] Sakamichi no Apollon - 05



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I gotta admit, the stifling atmosphere of the first third of the episode really got to me. So familiar that it hit a little too close to home. I've been there, it's awkward as hell, uncomfortable. Too soon too say if Ritsuko has gotten over it or not, or at least willing to put it aside. The part with Kaoru and Sentaro's sister was cute, as was Sentaro failing to press his sister for additional info.

I was also glad that Sentaro pushed Kaoru so hard about meeting his mother again. Takes someone who doesn't have it to force the person who refuses to appreciate it to act. Kaoru's mother was right, they do compliment each other nicely. Kaoru keeps Sentaro challenged, yet grounded, and Sentaro challenges Kaoru to leave his comfort zone.

Yurika, already completely obsessed with Jun? Heh. I'm surprised Sentaro didn't notice Kaoru shoving her letters into Jun's mail. That reminds me, nice to see another show take the less-traveled path and have them actually drink underaged rather than get drunk off juice. Sad that it takes the realistic shows to actually accomplish that.

[MFauli]

I agree, the first third hit too close to home :/ I´m still not over someone ... And it´s a truly sucky situation. On one hand, Ri-chan didn´t do anything wrong. She doesn´t like Kaoru in a romantic way, so should she force herself to it? Of course, not. But then again, Kaoru truly liked her. How can you just go on like nothing ever happend? Like your heart didn´t get crushed? To be honest, they concluded the whole problem a little too easily for my liking. But maybe I´m just a more bitter person than Kaoru, who cannot let go of someone you loved, but were denied by.

One scene I disliked was when Sentaro, Yurika and Jun were sitting next to each other in the exercise room, and the camera moved form right to left, showing how Sentaro quietly admires Yurika, then how Yurika quietly admires Jun. A bit too comical for this anime.

On a final note, regarding all the romancing: It´s a mess. Unless half or more of the current protagonists don´t value "love" much, there is no way that all of this won´t end in a lot of drama. Worst of all, I have a feeling that Kaoru´s going to be the one being left out at the end (unless Jun reveals that he has a woman he loves already). Will see.

The visiting-the-mother-in-Tokyo was very enjoyable, mostly because Sentaro saved the mood. Big difference to Kaoru´s stuck up living place. Hope this wasn´t the last we saw of his mum.

[Buffalobiian]

I had a little bit of trouble following this episode's timeline. For example, did Jun's "one month" start around the same time Yurika met him at the practice room or was it longer?

Exactly how long had Jun been ignoring Ritsuko up until that 2nd-floor-infiltration scene, and how long after that was the trip that happened during the winter break?

If they blazed over it perhaps the writer didn't think it was important, but it would help me to gauge how long Kaoru had been ignoring and thinking about all this. This episode made it seem more like 3 days total.

[Buffalobiian]

[Single] YUKI – プレイボール/坂道のメロディ Play Ball/Sakamichi no Melody (FLAC)
[Nipponsei] Sakamichi no Apollon OP Single - Play Ball [YUKI].zip

[MFauli]

Horrible Subs - Episode 06

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"I wished everybody would just stop falling in love." Yeah, well ...

It´s happening what I posted about earlier: Due to everybody loving somebody else, but not each other, we´re now arriving at a point where someone´s feelings HAVE TO change to induce any sort of progression. Resulting in a bit of a cheapening of that person´s value for love. There were moments in this episode where I thought that Ri-chan was warming up to Kaoru. And I didn´t like it. It felt as if Ri-chan was "losing", giving up on her true feelings for Sentaro.

Don´t know how I should feel about Kaoru sacrificing his feelings altogether for the sake of his friends. On one hand, it´s "nice", on the other hand, that´s exactly what he sounded like: A stupid nice guy. But realistically, what could he do? He knows Ri-chan likes Sentaro, he´s best friends with Sentaro ... what are his options - without ruining one relationship or another?

And lastly, that new (gay?) guy who´s supposedly good at singing. At first, I thought he was going to become a new member of Sentaro´s and Kaorus Jazz-group, kinda replacing Jun, who´s a of an older generation. But I guess that´s not happenings, as he got this "villain"-aura towards the end of the episode.

Weirdest scene for me was when Kaoru stayed in the art room with Yurika. Why? Kinda made me imagine the out-of-left-field prediction of them becoming a couple, now the Jun seems to be in a relationship with a whole other girl already.

[Ryllharu]

Don´t know how I should feel about Kaoru sacrificing his feelings altogether for the sake of his friends. On one hand, it´s "nice", on the other hand, that´s exactly what he sounded like: A stupid nice guy. But realistically, what could he do? He knows Ri-chan likes Sentaro, he´s best friends with Sentaro ... what are his options - without ruining one relationship or another?

And lastly, that new (gay?) guy who´s supposedly good at singing. At first, I thought he was going to become a new member of Sentaro´s and Kaorus Jazz-group, kinda replacing Jun, who´s a of an older generation. But I guess that´s not happenings, as he got this "villain"-aura towards the end of the episode.

Yeah, and look how it worked out for Kaoru. Things are a bigger mess than before. Sentaro isn't making any progress, and if anything, Ri-chan is torn more than before. Frankly, it's glorious. Things are a huge mess, just like they should be. Even if Kaoru is trying the old, "stand aside for ____'s happiness" routine that we see in so many romantic comedies, it's not working out at all. Ritsuko is starting to turn her affections toward him a bit, and it's getting stronger because she's obviously noticing that Kaoru, despite his confession, is giving her as many opportunities with Sentaro as possible.

I love that it's a huge mess, just like it should be given the conditions. It's not going to work out cleanly. Someone is going to get hurt (some already have).

At first, I was willing to give the new guy the benefit of the doubt. That he really just wanted to be popular, like his idols (The Beatles). He seemed like he had a good idea of how to go about it, he had an eye for skill and talent (who else would know the train otaku could play guitar?), and he had the same kind of drive for pop music and the 60s Beach Party life style that the others have for Jazz.

But then he said this, "All I have to do is set him free from what's tying him down, and then everything should work out the way I want it to." There was no question he meant Kaoru. He had planned from the start to do the exact thing Kaoru had always been afraid of, others taking his friends away. I wouldn't have minded if the guy just wanted Sentaro for his drummer. But he actively meant to sever their friendship for his own means. Given Sentaro's response, he wouldn't have even needed to go that far, but it is the simple fact that that was the first and only means he wanted to use to achieve his goals.

Yeah, he's super cliché as far as villain characters go, but there really are scumbags like that out there.

[MFauli]

Makes me wonder if him being poor was a calculated lie then to get into Sentaro´s soft spot. Assuming the guy knew about Sentaro´s family circumstances.

[Buffalobiian]

Who put Justin Bieber in this show? >_>

Weirdest scene for me was when Kaoru stayed in the art room with Yurika. Why? Kinda made me imagine the out-of-left-field prediction of them becoming a couple, now the Jun seems to be in a relationship with a whole other girl already.

He was clarifying her intentions, like if she felt that strongly towards Jun and all.

Makes me wonder if him being poor was a calculated lie then to get into Sentaro´s soft spot. Assuming the guy knew about Sentaro´s family circumstances.

Assuming that was his house when they showed him auditioning the nerd guy, he looks well off enough to me.

[Ryllharu]

[HorribleSubs] Sakamichi no Apollon - 07


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It figures that the only way they'd be able to make up is to play together, in their usual, one-up each other style. Cliché as it may be, it only makes sense. Sentaro was too proud to admit to Kaoru that it was just a temporary gig and he only wants to play with his rival/friend, and Kaoru is exactly the same, but also too proud to admit that he was wrong to flip out at him at the beach. Kaoru and Ritsuko also seem to have gotten past the awkward stage. She was super cute this episode.

So Yurika was lonely enough to go for Sentaro, but when she told Kaoru this, I don't think he understood what she was really saying, even though he's the only one who knows who she really likes the most. Really makes me wonder what the hell happened to Jun to make him breakdown. Drugs?

I guess I'll give the flashy guy the benefit of the doubt again. He really seemed into it, even if his methods to get what he needed were underhanded. The girls liked it, so he'll probably do alright in the long run. But passion is what his band lacked, and Sentaro's and Kaoru's is at their peak when they're playing jazz. If the guy gets other bandmates as enthused about pop music as Sen and Kaoru like jazz, he wouldn't be too far behind. He knew what the girls wanted out the the style and choreography.

[MFauli]

God, do I love the animation of this anime. So good.

I give it to the 60´s setting, but the scene where THE WHOLE SCHOOL starts running towards the gym hall, just because two guys are playing music, felt really unrealistic. Well, mabe not back then. But I doubt two guys playing piano and drums at a school today wouldn´t earn as much attention.

The almost-kiss scene was really weird. We go into that scene knowing that Yurika likes Jun. Then Sentaro has a sudden spark of pushiness, almost had something of a to-be rape-scene, seriously, wtf. And then Yurika gives in and responds the attempted kiss ... wat. The fact that she said herself "she betrayed Sentaro in the worst way" probably implies that she didn´t really mean to give him hope for more, but it´s still rather shitty behavior. Come on, don´t kiss a guy if you don´t mean it.

Seeing Jun in this run-down attire, though, was refreshing, since it shattered his image of a knight in shining armor, the perfect gentlemen. I wonder if Yurika realized that, too, and if it changed her picture of him. Or, even moreso, was the scene there to imply that Jun is all talk, or was he really just having a bad day/time? Also, what for exactly did Sentaro punch him? Simply for interrupting the kiss?

No idea what to make of the gay singer guy. The fancy room wasn´t his, so he probably IS poor. His behavior this episode was also that of an honest-to-good guy, someone who isn´t self-centered and jealous, but cares about music and can admire the skills of others. Mhm...I hate that he´s obsessed with rock music, since I´d really have liked him to join the Jazz group as a singer. Oh well.

Oh, almost forgot that scene in the beginning, where the girls think Ri-chan and Kaoru are dating each other and Kaoru explains the situation. Ugh, I´d lose respect for Ri-chan, if she suddenly grew to feel more for Kaoru, now that other girls are showing interest. Please don´t be that stereotypical. But nice to see Kaoru interact with others that are not part of his core group of friends.

[shinta|hikari]

Yurika "betrayed" Jun, not Sentaro. Rethink.

Sentaro punched him because he was too insensitive. It was obvious (even to the dense Sen) that Yurika liked him.

Ricchan won't like Kaoru because he is popular. She is growing to like him because he is a freaking nice guy.

[MFauli]

Yurika "betrayed" Jun, not Sentaro. Rethink.

I rewatched the scene. Appears to me that she meant Sentaro. "Things are awkward between Sentaro and me now. I betrayed him in the worst way." I interpreted it as she betrayed Sentaro by giving him false hope, when all the reason for the almost-kiss was her snapping out of it for a moment.

Also, damn, shinta, your avatar. BOOOOOOOBS.

[Buffalobiian]

HorribleSubs - Episode 08

[MFauli]

Ugh, this is bound to get reaaally annoying. Kaoru accepted Ri-chan´s decline, Ri-chan is now starting to develop feelings for Kaoru, and just now, too, Sentaro realizes that Ri-chan had feelings for him (up to the recent past). Ugh ugh ugh.

Yurika and Jun have entered my dislike-list. Jun is just acting like a giant douche, while Yurika seems to lack any sort of self-respect. Even for the 60s, the way her character is depicted appears misogynistic to me. "Go on, rape me if you want", seriously? Then further devoting herself to him by cutting her hair and quickly starting a relationship with him?

Actually, the way the Yurika-Jun events played out, I´m now thinking that a future Yurika-Sentaro pairing has become more likely. Yurika will realize at some point was she was about to sacrifice for some barely known guy, which will end her Jun-fandom. That will open the door for Sentaro.
The big question mark is now, if that would simply allow for Kaoru to jump into Ri-chan´s arms, OR if the story gets even more complicated. I could imagine that it becomes even more effed up by Yurika starting to like Kaoru (from how she interacted with Kaoru and Sentaro, there really wasn´t a clear preference for Sen imo), while Sentaro now goes after Ri-chan, who, adding to the effed up situation, is chasing after Kaoru at this point.
The outcome of basically everything will hinge on how Kaoru chooses: Stay with Yurika or go with his initial love interest. I can´t say which one is more likely. Sen and Ri, and Kaoru and Yurika would be the "safe route", as I´d like to call it. Sen and Ri have this whole childhood friends background and their innocent marriage promise. And Kaoru and Yurika both come from rich, harsh families, which gives them a lot of thoughts to share, both in how to deal with their situation and how to go about a hypothetical break out of their golden cage.
Personally, I´d prefer Karou and Ri-chan, and Sentaro and Yurika. It´d be nice for the main character to get his true love interest, and it´d be more interesting to see people from very different backgrounds get together.

[Buffalobiian]

I would have thought that Yurika and Jun are pretty much sealed now. The only way it'd fall through is if Jun died or something.

Kaoru-Ri-Sen will turn into the more familiar love-triangle. Sen pretty much admitted defeat here. He could have gone up against anyone but Jun-nii.

Going back on the "I betrayed him" thing, I do think Yurika was talking about Sen. She betrayed Sen's feelings by accepting his advances when he's still only 2nd preference at most.

[MFauli]

But if you think that Yurika-Jun is set in stone, how do you feel about Yurika at this point? I really got the impression that she thinks to less of herself, maybe some self-esteem issues, despite the tough outer appearance.

[Buffalobiian]

But if you think that Yurika-Jun is set in stone, how do you feel about Yurika at this point? I really got the impression that she thinks to less of herself, maybe some self-esteem issues, despite the tough outer appearance.

I'm not sure if she's feeling any self-esteem issues at all. She's willing to change for him (or at least show that determination), but if you see it as a sign of lacking self respect instead.....

I can't say how Yurika would have felt after it all had Jun really raped her, but I gather she was calling out the bluff (to shake Jun) just as much as Jun was calling a bluff to drive Yurika way from him. She was scared until she knew Jun wasn't the predatory man he was pretending to be.

Even for the 60s, the way her character is depicted appears misogynistic to me.

Misogynistic? Being able to sacrifice anything for the person you love, sure.. but I can't see any misogyny.

edit: alright.. well it could be interpreted as such.. The definition of misogyny seems to be less clear-cut than I first thought.