Bokutachi no Remake / Remake Our Life!

[Ryllharu]

Hashiba Kyouya is a 28 year old game developer. With his company going bankrupt, and him losing his job, he returns to his hometown. Looking at the success of creators of his age, he finds himself regretting his life decisions as he lay distressed on his bed. But when he opens his eyes, he finds that he has travelled 10 years back to the time before he entered college.

Will he finally make things right? This is a story about a failed person who is given a second opportunity to follow his dreams.


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I'm making a thread because this series is my official hate-watch of the season.

I adamantly despise the main character of this series. I feel a strong level of author-insertion with him. The intention is that he's a hard working guy who just can't seem to catch a lucky break, and at least in his own mind, he ties it all to making the "safe" choice when selecting a college and not following his dream. While he did try and go after it later in life, he just never found much success, even when putting in a lot of work. They also portray him as extremely capable and valuable to any company. "Who wouldn't want a great producer like him?!" it practically screams every ten minutes.

When you step away from him a few meters, what you actually see is a horribly self-serving douchebag who can't accept the occasional setback in life, and rather than redouble his efforts and work from doing indie work (which should be easy because he's so capable), he falls back into regret and starts flailing for a crutch.

So he jumps back in time somehow, and effectively starts stealing someone else's success, or latches onto talented people who have what he lacks. Which is really passion and drive.

There's some degree of self awareness to the series. Episode 2 even dove right into the transmigration genre trope of stealing someone else's work, or at least beating them to an invention/creation, and the male lead does recognize it as wrong. He did it on accident. But he still wants to proceed forward with ingratiating himself into the "Platinum Generation" trio he's landed with by chance.

Who's life is he stealing? Probably his beloved recent boss, Kawasegawa Eiko, who took a chance with him and let him really display his producer talents in the future timeline. The both of them just got screwed over by office politics and economics, dooming Kawasegawa's passion project. They're doing a decent job dropping hints that Kawasegawa was supposed to be in the position he currently occupies. She knew the genius trio from her school days that he now occupies, and was close enough with them to get them to collaborate with her visual novel team 10 years later. She had the same short film concept that he and the trio are doing. She bumps into him a lot, has always had that drive to learn and be successful that he's trying out on his redo.

So hopefully, the theme of the second episode where he started to realize how much damage he can cause with his influence from the future continues. The concept is fairly revolting compared to Saekano, Shirobako, and Imouto sae Ireba Ii; where they're all collectively working their asses off to make a successful game or other creative properties. Setbacks happen and they push past them. Kyouya was consumed by regret and was desperate for a crutch, which he calls a "second chance." Kawasegawa gave him a second chance in the present.

[David75]

I'm feeling that show will get a happy ending.
I'm pretty sure the MC you despise now will eventually be the missing link, making that quatuor the golden generation instead of a scattered platinum trio and Kasegawa not able to score a project to really make the trio shine.
But be prepared to hate that MC all show long, and loving the others even more.

[Ryllharu]

He means well. He has good intentions. He's nice. He's even aware of the damage he can do.

It doesn't mean he isn't a coward who falls into depression from every setback.

I applaud him for recognizing the parallel between Nanako's story of why she felt she had to leave Lake Biwa, his own depression from failing to make a difference, and tying that into their group project.

He's always had the tools he needed to succeed. He just lacks the endurance and the ability to pick himself back up. He's confusing that with opportunity. It isn't handed to you. You make them yourself, which he did with Kawasegawa when she was standing on the bridge. It absolutely isn't stolen from others or directing talented people to get it for you. Something his teacher pointed out with the screenplay discussion.

I too am hoping for a happy ending. I'm hoping this jump into the past ends with him back on his bed in 2016 like it never happened. Lessons learned, but without the timeline altered.

[David75]

Hummm...
So he'd switch back to his first timeline and would have to start from 28 but with a much better understanding of the geniuses he admires ? He then would try to make them successful in a meaningful way, Kasegawa included ?
Why not, but it is incredibly more difficult to convince adults you don't know to build a project together... and actually start something.
And I'm pretty sure all of them are in a slump in that 28 years old timeline.

[neflight86]

... I didn't get the whole 'discouraged too easily' thing like Ryll did. I kinda took the concept at face value- he went to school for A when he later discovered his passion was B and by then his opportunities for success were very few. They demonstrated that his project management skills didn't amount to a while lot in the end, pragmatically speaking.

I admit I found the timeline a bit hard to follow at the beginning- it was only in retrospect that I realized he quit/lost his job, met Kasegawa, failed with her, then went home to mope in that order. Then the time travel. It might have been smarmy if he had somehow wished for it or caused it, but I see his 'leeching' as making the best of a situation thrust upon him. This whole show is nostalgia bait for sure, but I didn't find anything objectionable, yet, except maybe the shoehorned fanservice.

When you step away from him a few meters, what you actually see is a horribly self-serving douchebag who can't accept the occasional setback in life, and rather than redouble his efforts and work from doing indie work (which should be easy because he's so capable), he falls back into regret and starts flailing for a crutch.

Speaking of, what is the crutch he's flailing for? He went home and was sad for a bit; cue deus ex machina. Did I miss something?

So he jumps back in time somehow, and effectively starts stealing someone else's success, or latches onto talented people who have what he lacks. Which is really passion and drive.

I thought Hands off Einzouken(sp) from a couple years back did a good job at selling the idea of the producer (non-creative's) role in entertainment production as a person who organizes the 'talent' in a way where they can produce something on time and under budget... This seems like the same idea: someone has to lead the creators to create in a group project setting.

Who's life is he stealing? Probably his beloved recent boss, Kawasegawa Eiko, who took a chance with him and let him really display his producer talents in the future timeline. The both of them just got screwed over by office politics and economics, dooming Kawasegawa's passion project. They're doing a decent job dropping hints that Kawasegawa was supposed to be in the position he currently occupies.

Is that the implication? That she was with them at this time instead? What hints suggest she was the one directing them in the original timeline?

I agree with the sentiment that the first couple eps didn't introduce the two elements of storytelling they were sure to highlight to the audience: a foil and flaws, ironically. His solution to the class project being untenable was 'lets make it tenable after all, guys!'. That means either you didn't scope the work correctly, underestimated the skill of your content creators/editors, or expect to be aided by magic. I'm sorry to say it appears all three were at work here. Worthless experience, indeed.

That being said, I am really enjoying this so far. Lets (hate)enjoy together!

[Ryllharu]

Speaking of, what is the crutch he's flailing for? He went home and was sad for a bit; cue deus ex machina. Did I miss something?

He verbally discusses in 2016 that he regrets not going to that specific school because that's where the genius trio from the Platinum Generation went, and in the same year he would have gone (2006). 'The Platinum Generation are all the same age as me, I wonder if I would have become a creator like them if I had gone to the art school' Eps 1, 4:30. Immediately prior to that, his sister calls him that she found his old acceptance letter, and right before she calls, he's looking at Akishima Shino's art book. Wishes he could go back in time. Months later of 2016 he does after failing a second time, this time in his room he overtly wishes that he would have, "met the Platinum Generation, worked together, inspired each other, and...and..." 15:20.

You could interpret that a few different ways, but given his attitude about failing, and why they failed, he doesn't blame himself, he laments his circumstances. He worked for a shitty company (lit. a "black company" where the workloads were extreme), but he believes if he chose a different school, he could have worked with the Platinum Generation and done something great...while relying on their talent...though he does mean in a collaborative fashion. As if talent and circumstances are what matters, not an opportunity you make for yourself.

He's looking for genius talent as a crutch when he doesn't need one in the first place. The nail in the coffin is that he laments about it again at 21:48. "Maybe I'll get to work together with [Platinum Generation], and then I'll...finally...finally"

Finally what...not fail? He's connecting working with genius-level talent to keep his projects from failing. That's what's wrong with him.

...and again at 35:08, noting that they were probably in the same room and stupidly looking around at the departing students.

I thought Hands off Einzouken(sp) from a couple years back did a good job at selling the idea of the producer (non-creative's) role in entertainment production as a person who organizes the 'talent' in a way where they can produce something on time and under budget... This seems like the same idea: someone has to lead the creators to create in a group project setting.

I don't disagree that he is meant to be in the producer's role. Or director. Kasegawa is meant to be in an executive producer role, or a director role. He's really good at organizing, wheedling compromises and supporting deadlines, and as his teacher advised him in episodes 2, handling different personalities, driving collaboration, and striving for the best end product.

But it isn't talent and circumstance he needed in 2016. It was getting back up again.

That's why I compare it to Saekano and Imouto sae Ireba Ii. Picking yourself back up. Driving through writer's block, not relying on other people to fix setbacks and pitfalls. Saekano deals with this exact issue of "genius" versus determination across its two seasons and movie finale. The ultimate message of Saekano is about doing what only you can do. Both series look at the idea of whether or not you're looking for a crutch, a contributor, or a muse/inspiration.

Is that the implication? That she was with them at this time instead? What hints suggest she was the one directing them in the original timeline?

It's not that she was directing them, I'm pretty sure she was their roommate and not Kyouya. In 2016 when she hangs with him at the bar, her phrasing implies that she'd bet he'd like to meet Platinum Generation (not a plural, specifically him), and that she doesn't want to waste an opportunity to collaborate with them on an anniversary project. If you jump back to the announcement on the very beginning of the series (Eps 1, 1:00) the commenters on the stream are extremely informative.
- SucceedSoft manages to reunite the Platinum Generation
- Not only did they get one they got all three of the all-stars. "getting one is awesome, three is huge!"
- [SucceedSoft] are actually serious.
It's Kasegawa's lead on this anniversary game project in 2016, and we know from the time jump back to 2006 that those three live together in that house. They're all in the Visual Arts Program, but eventually Shino Aki focuses on art, Tsurayuki on writing, and Nana on music. They collaborate because they're in the same house, not the same classes.

The variable who isn't supposed to be there is Kyouya. Hasegawa is in the same classes, but obviously lives somewhere else. He coincidentally knows all three of them, and Hasegawa definitely did in the original timeline to get all three of them on her game project.

That being said, I am really enjoying this so far. Lets (hate)enjoy together!

Very much agreed.

[neflight86]

Thanks for the clarification.

Maybe in the context of this being an author insert story it is different, but Kyouya seems to be making the most of a fortunate situation that was beyond his control. Yes, he expects that everything will be easier/better with access to platinum talent, and he's probably right. Its not like he snuck into a time machine or made a deal with the devil to go back in time- he just was there and decided to use his unfair advantage of future knowledge, because the alternative is to sit on his hands?

I liken it to capital. If you somehow have more money/resources, you have more options. Why wouldn't someone take advantage of that? Maybe I'm getting hung up on the phrase 'crutch'. What I'm implying is, does Kyouya have some moral obligation to take the 'hard way' to success when supernatural contrivances have given him an opportunity to collaborate with known talent to create something very likely to be successful? Sure, his attitude was a bit wish-fulfillment and maybe mopey, but since his thoughts didn't influence the time travel as far as I can tell, they are a separate issue; only a narrative device to tell the audience where his head is/was at. This appears to be a victimless crime, unless it undermines Kasegawa's ability to be successful, in which case I would expect the story to touch on that.

Maybe if he decided to compete with the trio instead of collaborate, this would certainly be a different story and maybe more aligned with what you had hoped for?

[MFauli]

I'm making a thread because this series is my official hate-watch of the season.

I adamantly despise the main character of this series. I feel a strong level of author-insertion with him. The intention is that he's a hard working guy who just can't seem to catch a lucky break, and at least in his own mind, he ties it all to making the "safe" choice when selecting a college and not following his dream. While he did try and go after it later in life, he just never found much success, even when putting in a lot of work. They also portray him as extremely capable and valuable to any company. "Who wouldn't want a great producer like him?!" it practically screams every ten minutes.

When you step away from him a few meters, what you actually see is a horribly self-serving douchebag who can't accept the occasional setback in life, and rather than redouble his efforts and work from doing indie work (which should be easy because he's so capable), he falls back into regret and starts flailing for a crutch.

So he jumps back in time somehow, and effectively starts stealing someone else's success, or latches onto talented people who have what he lacks. Which is really passion and drive.

I just watched episode 1 and wtf is wrong with you?! :/

There's none of what you criticize. The guy never sees himself as this all-capable genius that you accuse him of. And instead of lazing off, he *does* put in all the extra effort.

That he felt down after the project got cancelled and he lost his job, big surprise, that's perfectly reasonable, especially when you're forced to return home to your parents because of your financial situation.

And "latching onto others' talent"? Congratulations, you described literally every educational system. It's called "learning from each other". Aka that is normal.

I dunno how episode 2 goes and maybe you've read the manga and basically spoiled us some later development, but based on episode 1, the hero seems perfectly nice and well-meaning, no self-bragging, no stealing others' work, no nothing negative.

My only criticism is that we don't know why he went back in time. If this is revealed to be a "it was all just a dream" story, that'd suck.

[Ryllharu]

I just watched episode 1 and wtf is wrong with you?! :/

There's none of what you criticize. The guy never sees himself as this all-capable genius that you accuse him of. And instead of lazing off, he *does* put in all the extra effort.

That he felt down after the project got cancelled and he lost his job, big surprise, that's perfectly reasonable, especially when you're forced to return home to your parents because of your financial situation.

And "latching onto others' talent"? Congratulations, you described literally every educational system. It's called "learning from each other". Aka that is normal.

What a brilliant misread of my post.

True, Kyouya never proclaims himself to be an all-capable genius. But the anime certainly does its best to portray him as one. We go from bum on a bus who lost his job, to lucky break with meeting Hasegawa, to business superstar. They show him starting working for her in a menial data management role, that he excels at, to a month later practically co-managing the whole team, the veteran coworkers fawning over him like fangirls.

You're missing the point on the second part. Kyouya conflates his lack of success with not being able to work with the members of Platinum Generation...which he was with Hasegawa, they just got screwed over by internal politics.

Throughout the first episode, he has an openly stated regret that he would always have been a huge success if he had only worked with them. That's latching onto others' talent. He doesn't think his effort will ever be enough. He openly states that he believes his circumstances are the problem. He's missing the lesson that his problem is a lack of determination to get over the inevitable setbacks that life will always throw at you, not the circumstances of his education.

I dunno how episode 2 goes and maybe you've read the manga and basically spoiled us some later development, but based on episode 1, the hero seems perfectly nice and well-meaning, no self-bragging, no stealing others' work, no nothing negative.

Nope, never read the novel. I honestly hate LNs. My posts are all my own speculation. I call this a hate-watch because the anime by itself has been good. There's plenty of hints and implications that are potential foreshadowing. Maybe I'm catching them, maybe I'm overreading them (I certainly did with that POS last season that turned out to be really shallow and lame). Here, I just hate the main character and his unspoken attitude.

[MFauli]

What a brilliant misread of my post.

True, Kyouya never proclaims himself to be an all-capable genius. But the anime certainly does its best to portray him as one. We go from bum on a bus who lost his job, to lucky break with meeting Hasegawa, to business superstar. They show him starting working for her in a menial data management role, that he excels at, to a month later practically co-managing the whole team, the veteran coworkers fawning over him like fangirls.

You're missing the point on the second part. Kyouya conflates his lack of success with not being able to work with the members of Platinum Generation...which he was with Hasegawa, they just got screwed over by internal politics.

Throughout the first episode, he has an openly stated regret that he would always have been a huge success if he had only worked with them. That's latching onto others' talent. He doesn't think his effort will ever be enough. He openly states that he believes his circumstances are the problem. He's missing the lesson that his problem is a lack of determination to get over the inevitable setbacks that life will always throw at you, not the circumstances of his education.


Nope, never read the novel. I honestly hate LNs. My posts are all my own speculation. I call this a hate-watch because the anime by itself has been good. There's plenty of hints and implications that are potential foreshadowing. Maybe I'm catching them, maybe I'm overreading them (I certainly did with that POS last season that turned out to be really shallow and lame). Here, I just hate the main character and his unspoken attitude.

I ... just cannot see any of why you believe to see in this first episode 0_o Wow.

Everybody fawning over him after 2 months? He just made the best of his lousy entry position that left him with slightly-better-than-coffee-grabbing chores. Nobody "fawns" over him, they just acknowledge his help value and he humbly accepts, never acting proud.

And where does he claim that he'd be great if he was working with Platinum? He merely mentions that it'd be nice to work with them, actually, he only says it'd be nice to study at the same school as them. Even if I missed a scene, he just never comes across as bitter, demanding, or anything.

It really makes me angry how you seem to WANT to hate this mc, even when he did nothing to deserve it as far as episode 1 goes. If there's any self-insertion of the author going on, it's nothing all that bad.

Seriously, can someone else chime in? I read Ryll's posting before I watched the episode and went in expecting some ugly bastard rapist who's nastily taking advantage of young people - but that's absolutely not the case. :/

[Ryllharu]

I ... just cannot see any of why you believe to see in this first episode 0_o Wow.
...
It really makes me angry how you seem to WANT to hate this mc, even when he did nothing to deserve it as far as episode 1 goes. If there's any self-insertion of the author going on, it's nothing all that bad.

1) Read my posts in this thread. I even have timestamps.
2) Watch the episode. I even have timestamps in my posts.
3) Read my posts in this thread, I have justification and quotes from the episodes.
4) I know you never finished it, but watch Saekano seasons 1 & 2, and the movie finale. You'll see the stark difference between those characters and this main character (who I do honestly expect to have substantial character growth and figure out his failings, but he sure sucks right now) when it comes to setbacks on creative projects.

FIVE people are asking him for help and praising him in the span of 60 seconds. Yes, they're fawning over him. All acknowledging his ability to assist them with very different skillsets for each of their requests. It is nauseating. I've seen other comments complaining about the absurdity of that scene as well, so it isn't just me.

[MFauli]

FIVE people are asking him for help and praising him in the span of 60 seconds. Yes, they're fawning over him. All acknowledging his ability to assist them with very different skillsets for each of their requests. It is nauseating. I've seen other comments complaining about the absurdity of that scene as well, so it isn't just me.

How cynical (and that's coming from me, lo) do you have to be to interpret it that way? It was a very standard scene that just got to show that after the lowly beginning ("So here's this mess of a room, clean it up and bring some order, k?"), he didn't let himself get discouraged and made the best of it, leading to him being respected by the rest of the team, and in more ways than just some lowly chores. I don't see the negatives here. It's the most cookie-cutter "if you persever, good things will happen to you" scene.

That like 5-6 people all want him to help them at the same time, that's anime. Nothing deeper going on here.

Anyway, gonna watch episode 2 now, maybe he'll turn into a monster there ...

[Ryllharu]

Your expectations are off. He's a pathetic self-defeating loser. Not a monster asshole. That's you projecting your desires as a viewer in anime and misinterpreting what I wrote. Moreover, I was pretty clear about it.

When you step away from him a few meters, what you actually see is a horribly self-serving douchebag who can't accept the occasional setback in life, and rather than redouble his efforts and work from doing indie work (which should be easy because he's so capable), he falls back into regret and starts flailing for a crutch.

He means well. He has good intentions. He's nice. He's even aware of the damage he can do.

It doesn't mean he isn't a coward who falls into depression from every setback.

He pisses me off because he goes into a depression spiral every time he has a setback on his dream. He's 28 for fuck's sake. You have to either be under 16, over 65, have a terminal illness, or be diagnosed with clinical depression to be that depressed about not accomplishing a personal dream...on two occasions.

[MFauli]

Episode 2:

So after realizing that he accidentially stole the other guy's idea, Kyouya is visibly in shock and feels super bad about it. What a scumbag!!!1 /s

Your expectations are off. He's a pathetic self-defeating loser.

Based on WHAT?! He worked his ass off, then suddenly the project got cancelled, he loses his job, is out of money and must go back to his parent's house. You're calling him a "pathetic, self-defeating loser" over something that would make most of us deeply depressed for a while?

All I get from your postings is that you WANT to hate him. But the anime certainly doesn't justify that hate.

[Ryllharu]

It's like we're not even watching the same show.

The post-credits "cliffhanger" at the end of episode 2 he spells it out.

They bring a DSLR instead of a film camera (and yes, this very much is a problem in 2006, Nikon starting putting out DSLRs that can film movies in 2010-2011), and the other three talk about how it can't be helped, they're just screwed.

Kyouya starts out saying the same thing until he has the first bit of positive character development we've seen for him in 110 minutes.

"Didn't I spend my life ten years in the future repeating that excuse and regretting it every time? Am I really going to just do it again?" with the background showing his actual train of thought, catastrophizing the situation.

Capture.PNG

He's finally changing.

That's why this is a good show, and a great hate-watch. He's a self-defeating loser...until this cliffhanger moment. But in order for him to change, you have to recognize that he was a loser in the first place, which the show certainly isn't hiding, nor am I imagining it because it is right there on the screen. Aspects of Depression disorder.

[MFauli]

It's like we're not even watching the same show.

THAT I can agree on.

The post-credits "cliffhanger" at the end of episode 2 he spells it out.

They bring a DSLR instead of a film camera (and yes, this very much is a problem in 2006, Nikon starting putting out DSLRs that can film movies in 2010-2011), and the other three talk about how it can't be helped, they're just screwed.

Kyouya starts out saying the same thing until he has the first bit of positive character development we've seen for him in 110 minutes.

"Didn't I spend my life ten years in the future repeating that excuse and regretting it every time? Am I really going to just do it again?" with the background showing his actual train of thought, catastrophizing the situation.

Capture.PNG

He's finally changing.

That's why this is a good show, and a great hate-watch. He's a self-defeating loser...until this cliffhanger moment. But in order for him to change, you have to recognize that he was a loser in the first place, which the show certainly isn't hiding, nor am I imagining it because it is right there on the screen. Aspects of Depression disorder.

He chooses not to give up, because otherwise this 2nd chance would go to waste. He wasn't a "pathetic loser" before and he isn't doing anything wrong by not giving up about the camera, either.

You keep making it sound like Kyouya is someone we need to hate, but that's just not what's there to be seen. He starts out by giving his all in episode 1. He's then defeated, crushed even, which doesn't make him a "pathetic loser", but a normal human being. You make it sound here like he spent the next years as a hikkikomori, but there's, what, at most a couple days between losing his job and moving back in to his parents? He hasn't been "self-defeating" at all, he WAS objectively defeated and in the process of coping with it. He probably would have started to look for a new job soon, had this time travel not occurred. Again: Not self-defeating.

"Depression disorder", WTF. Dude, I suffer from depression. Since (at least) I'm 26, now I'm 35 and it's still ongoing. Kyouya does NOT have a disorder for feeling down for a couple days after being fired, right after spending the last month working hard on a then-cancelled project. His reaction is MOST NORMAL. It couldn't be more normal. You must have never experienced defeat in your life if you call his reaction a "disorder". :/ ("I have, bla bla").

Seriously, I won't reply to your postings here anymore until some other people have chimed in. Guys, do you agree with Ryll's takes on Kyouya as a "pathetic self-defeating loser" who one must hate?

[Ryllharu]

Wall of Text for Episode 3!



-------------------
Definitely still grossed out by the way the overall presentation as a whole keeps puffing Kyouya up as some kind of genius composition director. But I was happier that the trio's reaction was, "You're not going to show us up next time!!"

One thing that really irritates me in anime and manga is how creative projects in terms of visual arts (short films, music videos, feature length films, etc.) are always treated like they're some high-minded amazing concept that draws out emotions and are praised so highly, when they're usually kinda lame and trite. Which is weird, coming from mangaka and writers who really do know how to invoke emotion, but the "play within a play," the "film within a film" stuff is always so cliché.

Using a train station and a person getting older when the theme is "Time"? How original! It's like the writer puts no effort into this stuff, then turns around and uses their author agency to tell the audience how amazing it was. Which frankly, is shit writing. It's worse when the primary story is actually well written, as this one is.

There's exceptions like bakuman and Glass Mask. But it's just annoying.

This setback they all overcame was nicely set up with the photo Random Collection of Conveniently Gathered Mentors Club grabbing Kyouya before to provide the introduction, and make it more plausible that Kyouya would be able to pull it off. He has image-editing experience from the 2016 timeline, but not photo composition. Where a few scenes thus far have really stretched the suspension of disbelief (like the 'using a train station to capture the theme of time' being in any remote way innovative in 2006), this one was properly set up and payed off accordingly.

...and then they ruin it with Kawasegawa's reaction to their film in the very next scene. For fuck's sake...show, don't tell. Leaving them in third place out of at least 40 groups was good, but they turn around and reinforce it like the Kitayama House team's film was flawless. I wanted to see Kawasegawa's similar train station story, but instead we're just told it was amazing.

If I'm right that Kyouya is stealing Kawasegawa's place in the timeline, it looks like it might be at least partially correcting itself with their teacher mandating that she works with their group the next time.

Also, no surprise, they're related. They tried obscuring the photo on her desk in the last episode, but it was kind of obvious (and again, a well-written foreshadowing, so the inconsistency of this series' writing baffles me). I saw a few people suggesting they were mother and daughter, but this makes a lot more sense.

Why would uploading Nanako's singing be somehow less embarassing when put in niconico (the reference he's making) over youtube, break, or youtube on MySpace? Foreign language content has always been harder to find on youtube.

I guess we can assume that he'll introduce Aki to Pixiv in a year. I can't roll my eyes hard enough sometimes.

Overall, I am pleased that the three are using him as a rival, and the series is not portraying it as he's the reason they can be successful. That's a really obnoxious trope in anime and I'm glad this series is actively pushing away from it.

[David75]

My guess Kyouya serves as a catalyst for the group to get better even faster and get a much better life and career.
I'm pretty sure the trio in the future is a bit like Hasegawa, cool middle class level jobs, but still tight and most of all not using their full potential just to meet industry/job demands... Instead of having a lot more freedom and people good at dealing with tedious tasks.

As for Kyouya, he already understands he's one of the supporting people. He's good at what he does, a good support, but knows he's not talented enough. Just being able to provide the best support there is to the geniuses he works with probably will be enough for him to live a fulfiling life.

But let's not forget we do not know how long he remains in the past and it's not sure what he does in that past works at all in that worldline. It's entirely possible he comes back to his former worldline, but at least with a goal of getting the platinum generation members to gold level (maybe strip the L for even more emphasis )

I also thought the idea was pretty standard and fully agree with Hasegawa sensei who was not fooled at all. I think I've seen clones of idea so many times I can't count them on all the fingers I have... even prior to 2006 and even in box office movies.
In fact it probably is in a movie director techniques for dummies book somewhere...

[MFauli]

These "movies inside movies" - I'm split on that. On one hand, it was lame, yeah. On the other hand, if it was really interesting, then 1.) I'd probably want THAT to be made into a full anime, lol, and 2.) it'd make Kyouya look like the genius that Ryll is hating him for. Fuck, I remember Shidonia no Kishi, when they showed a clip of a BLAME-anime ... we still haven't got a proper BLAME-anime series So I'm okay with these "lame" movies-inside-movies.

The whole episode was rather pleasant. My only criticism would be that ... it feels like the show is shifting from "this is about my career in the creative industry" to "this is my harem, who should i choose?!". He got deeeeep in on both the girls this episode, both definitely acting as if they have a crush on him, whether that's the case or not. Hell, if Kyouya was less oblivious, he could have easily gone in for the kiss during his scene with Nanako. That all feels a bit weird, because it wasn't prominent in the first 2 episodes (albeit it had some hints of that, too). I'd be okay with some romance plot, BUT pls no pointless teasing. I don't need 12 episodes of subtle flirting, only for Kyouya to end up without either of them at the end. Just don't waste our time with that stuff then to begin with.

As for Kyouya's career ...I'm actually wondering what he needs that time jump now anymore. He's got the skills already for being a good producer. The project in the future didn't fail because of him, but for outside reasons. So ... what's he gonna use those extra years for? Simple relationship-building to get a headstart inside the industry? Or will he actually start acquiring an art skill? Now, video editing is a nice art skill, but if he doesn't become a youtuber, he probably won't get much recognition for it.So ... again, will he learn something in those extra years?

[Ryllharu]

Well, don't forget that Kyouya's "original" concept was based on a short story that Tsurayuki apparently included later on in an anthology. The actual Platinum Generation scenario writer. Kyouya stole it on accident, and the anime is using that as a warning for Kyouya not to use his future-knowledge in his little transmigration here. In this specific instance, I would be justified, but thankfully, Kyouya isn't a shitbag as transmigrators go.

I've always assumed Kawasegawa is his destined love interest. They meet later on in life anyway. Their connection is built on respect in either timeline (which is cute), and they compliment each other well in terms of producer and project manager talents. I'm hoping David is right and Kyouya's influence is going to push the Platinum Generation trio to even higher levels. We didn't really get a sense of how they're doing in the future aside from they're all famous and Aki's art sells really well and N@NA's music is extremely well regarded. But we do know they haven't collaborated in a long time.

Obviously, I've never once felt he needed the timejump back. But what he can do is get an even broader education to understand how to manage those skillsets in others as time goes on, and more importantly, not work for the black company he wasted a lot of time at, since he retained all those skillsets.