Yesterday o Utatte

[MFauli]

After college, Rikuo Uozumi, a boy without much ambition in life, takes on a job at a convenience store. The days pass by uneventfully for Rikuo until he meets his former girlfriend and classmate, but especially thanks to the unusual Haru Nonaka, and her pet raven...

Episode 1:

A 'loser' without proper career and tired of life? Insta-watch! *sadlol*

But it really was a great first episode. Likeable protagonist aside, the 2 girls both have a strong aura in their own way. And I can smell 'drama!' in an overwhelming way! Maybe I'm totally wrong, but it gave me strong 'True Tears' vibes and I've wanted to see a good, serious love-drama anime for years.

Will definitely keep watching.

[MFauli]

Episode 2:

Another good episode. Although I reaaally hope the little brother isn't gonna be Shinako's love interest. That stuff was hilarious in Domestic na Girlfriend, but wouldn't fit here.

Anyway, I'm the only one watching this? Surprised.

[shinta|hikari]

Watching. As good as I remember.

[MFauli]

Episode 3:

Still a good watch, but I wish it wasn't so incredibly static in its locations.

[Buffalobiian]

Now up to episode 08

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^ That was pretty good.

Overall I'm enjoying this show. It's very relaxed. Things are slow and in a bit of a roundabout way, but not unreasonably so. Relationships feel nuanced, but the whole "In love with the dead childhood friend" theme always feels slightly awkward. You can't expect anything from the dead guy, and the "widow/er" is treated like a victim of the death/relationship and thus you feel bad for forcing them to move on.

I feel like this show is going to pull a bullshit "They all get over this, nobody ends up with each other romantically, and they all found this to be a fruitful personal growth experience. The End."

That becomes the easiest choice on you make something so complex that "nobody wins" becomes the please-all cop-out answer, which is ironic since this show is about coming to terms with your choices instead of running away.

[MFauli]

I definitely expect some shenanigans end. The obvious end would be him getting Shinako and then Nonaka and Rou falling for each other - everybody's happy. That's why it'd be boring.

So Rou getting into a weird relationship with his teacher and dead brother's gf? The hero getting Nonaka? Slightly less boring, but still too predictable.

So how about some drama?
Someone dies! That's always good for unexpected drama. Who? The hero (yes, I keep writing hero because I can't remember his name!)! Imagine the shock when this nice, hard-working guy suddenly drops. It'd make both Nonaka and Shinako reconsider their stagnant lives. Nonaka could go back to school instead of leading a dead end cafe job. Shinako could stop being hesitant and give Rou a chance (or gives him a stern no and starts re-focusing her life). And because we're only at episode 8, Nonaka and Shinako could have some bonding time, reminiscing about hero and their feelings for him.

Now, the more likely death choice would be Nonaka, though. Having a cheerful young girl die would shock everyone. It'd kinda put hero in Shinako's position, both having lost a loved one. Maybe Shinako could see it as a chance to get over her own trauma while she tries to cheer up hero and pull him back to life from his depression over nonaka's death.

Ok, enough fan fiction. In the end, it'll probably a regular pairing

[MFauli]

Episode 11:

Rou-kun is such an idiot. Get a grip on reality, brat, she's your teacher, she's not in your range of love interests. You've got no sway when 2 adults meet each other.

Guess the series will end with the expected couple, huh

[shinta|hikari]

I was rooting for Haru, but I can tolerate a Shinako ending. All I want is for Rou to be unhappy.

Honest question to all the guys here, how would you handle getting cockblocked by your partner for 3 months?

[MFauli]

All I want is for Rou to be unhappy.

XD

Honest question to all the guys here, how would you handle getting cockblocked by your partner for 3 months?

Asssuming I *had* a gf:

Either, I'd have demanded that she at least tells him about us
Or
She at least lets me kiss her when we're inside our apartments all alone.

Honestly, Shinako gives me vibes that she might forsaken Rikuo in the last moment and becomes Rou's wet dream :/

[Buffalobiian]

Honest question to all the guys here, how would you handle getting cockblocked by your partner for 3 months?

I think that's fine. Continue as is. The issue is more about whether Shinako is actually serious about this relationship.

[MFauli]

final episode:

Yeah, that ended in the dumbest possible way, wtf.

So to recap:

- Shinako can't tell Rou right when the confrontation accidentially happend that she loves Rikuo or at least that they're a couple. Instead leaves Rikuo in the dark night and runs after Rou.
- Rikuo ends the relationship before he got to bone her at least once
- Rikuo visits Haru and no matter how you slice it, she's only his 2nd choice; and she accepts him
- Shinako SERIOUSLY wants a relationship with Rou, WTF

That is so dumb!
Rikuo chooses the girl that looks like a child. At least she's of legal age I assume.
Shinako basically groomed Rou, became his teacher and now wants his dick. Can we agree that she's the villain of this anime?
And Rou ... HE HAS NO BUSINESS WITH AN ADULT WOMEN! If Shinako had actually told him before that she likes him, he'd have a point. But that never happened. He's just some brat who has the hots for his nanny/teacher. And he wins >_<

The only way this anime makes a tiny bit of sense is we assume it was written for a young audience that would see the story mainly from Haru's and Rou's pov. That way boys watching the series get their teacher-sex-wish fulfillment and girls get to see their dream man come crawl to them after he realizes how wrong he was all the time. :/

Really feeling a bit dumbfonded atm. As evidenced in this thread, I kinda saw it coming that Shinako would ruin things, but a reasonable end would have been:

- Rikuo and Shinako break up
- Shinako makes it clear to Rou that they'll never be together and if he wants to stay friends with her, which she wants, he must accept that she'll eventually date another man
- Rikuo visits Haru, but not to grab her as a love interest, but to apologize. Haru could have accepted that and they could have ended the series with him saying "And if one day you'll give me another chance then-" and her answering with a smile "Let's think about that tomorrow." - THE END.

sigh

[Buffalobiian]

Are you fucking serious?

Since when did it ever look like Rikuo loved Haru? Sure, you could say he didn't love Shinako (wtf), but he's been seeing Haru as less than even that. There's nowhere else in the anime that would show otherwise.

Shinako's always been wishy washy about Rikuo in a way, that part's not surprising.

I don't think she's actually serious about Rou.

Anyway, this show had some good vibes, but the ending sucked dick. I'll rate this ending a little bit better than White Album. These "real" romance storylines really suck at their conclusions. Usagi Drop and Koi wa Ameagari no You ni also got shit endings.

[MFauli]

Are you fucking serious?

Since when did it ever look like Rikuo loved Haru?

What are you replying to here? I don't understand.

Shinako's always been wishy washy about Rikuo in a way, that part's not surprising.

I don't think she's actually serious about Rou.

Lol, that would only emphasizin her villainry. Going after Rou now without meaning it seriously. That'd be a "nice" break up lol

These "real" romance storylines really suck at their conclusions. Usagi Drop and Koi wa Ameagari no You ni also got shit endings.

I agree. To me it feels like lots of these romance anime nowadays are afraid to commit to either a positive or negative end, or a totally crazy, taboo end. Instead we get these wishy washy ends that some will call "mature", yet in reality they're just plain boring, if not frustrating.

Admittedly, if Shinako and Rikuo had stayed together, I probably would have call it a bit of a boring end. But they could have had Haru go back to school and Rou become succesful and sociable in his new school and it'd have been a "mature" happy end, too, imo: The two adults getting over their insecurities and starting a life together, the two kids realizing that there's more to the world than their silly love fantasies. But no ... sigh

[Buffalobiian]

What are you replying to here? I don't understand.

I was having an outburst at Episode 12 and its contents.

I also don't think that she likes Rou. She's just there to tell him about her recent breakup and to also visit him now that he's living alone. Despite her shock-face, she isn't about to date him.

That's what I thought anyway, but I also thought that Rikuou felt similarly towards Haru, but look what happened there... :S

The last "Three Way Romance complicated by a Dead Person" romance I liked was Cross Game.

[MFauli]

Ah, ok. But I think it's wrong to use the big L-word for Rikuo's emotions towards Haru. Now I'm surely less experienced than you, but I also kinda know that feeling: You have "chosen" that certain girl you want - and it makes you blind to how another girl that's often with you makes you feel actually comfortable and ... good.

Rikuo realized that once his "goal" girl was out of the way - it was Haru that was always there for him, to cheer him up, to entertain him, to motivate him, to bring life into his life. It's not the clichee LOVE he feels for her, but the kind of love that makes you want to be together with the other person. And I'm glad it worked out for him, and her.

[shinta|hikari]

Rikuo dumped Shinako for Haru. That's what happened if you consider their positions. He clearly said he couldn't say he loved her anymore, and the implication was because he loved Haru more. He kept trying to deny it the whole story by diving into his relationship with Shinako, but in the end he decided to be honest with himself and save Shinako and himself more heartache.

The problem with the ending is that one dumb scene of Shinako getting shocked that there were women in Rou's apartment. Granted, she also had that reaction for Rikuo but never even gave him a kiss when they were a "couple", so maybe she just wants all the men in her life to stay pure or some shit?

[Buffalobiian]

My problem is that Rikuo never seemed like he loved Haru at all.

[shinta|hikari]

He clearly did. He did all sorts of shit for her that no uninterested male would do for a female. Add to that the times he thought of Haru while considering his relationship with Shinako.

All of it was just overshadowed by his "affection" for Shinako.