Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge Reviews
Dec. 7th, 2010 09:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaOverall this was a very enjoyable series.
Episode 8
• One place where this show is failing for me is the lack of female friendships. I loved that we got a Noi/Sunako/Tamao scene. I liked how the show went back and forth between the girls getting drunk and the guys getting drunk. But while the guys was about four (five) friends comforting each other and opening up, the girls was about basically three strangers opening up and bonding. I’d love to think of it of the start of their friendship (and I am) but there are only two episodes left and going by the rest of the season I am doubtful that TPTB are going to devote time to the three girls friendship. So – sad.
• I was thinking that Kyohei’s mother was so much better in this version and then she lost it at the dinner. However, her complete and utter breakdown was, I think, more obvious in this version and because of that more understandable. I sympathised with her a lot more even as I was feeling terrible for Kyohei. It was just a horrible situation all around with no real bad guy. Kyohei certainly isn’t at fault, and while it’d be nice if his mother was a stronger person, she is as strong as she is and her breakdown isn’t her fault.
• Kyohei made me ‘aw’ a lot in this episode – like when he was so happy about his parents having a picture of him up, and his expression when his hysterical mom pushed him away, and then at the end when he lost it. Poor Kyohei.
• I continue to find Kyohei/Sunako adorable. I loved him taking her to the hill and telling her she gave him courage to face his past. Also his ignored line at the guy’s party about ‘having one more thing to do’ was about telling Sunako how he feels right? I wonder if what’s happened with his mother, worse because for awhile there he was happy and had hope of love/acceptance and the fact that his memories of the Hill are now tarnished, will cause him to blame Sunako?
• I loved Yuki “Ranmaru is a great friend of mine but... as a man he is the worst.”
Episode 9
• I loved Sunako getting herself worked up/angry enough so that she could look Kyohei in the face and yell at him. This made me ‘aw’: “I am changing little by little ever since I got here. You didn’t force me to change myself... because you tried to understand me.” I couldn’t believe that she didn’t realise that Kyohei was simply lashing out at her in his room and he was lying then not when he told her that she was ‘fine as she was’. Sunako crying and hugging Hiroshi afterwards got to me. I think it’s the first time we actually got real deep sadness/grief from her before.
• Ranmaru pretending to be Mine’s husband as a way to get back at her was so wrong and cruel and I wanted to smack him when he revealed the truth to them. Yes, it got out of control when Takeru got involved and he was sincerely sorry and was pretty agonised as he played out the charade but even if it hadn’t gone that far it was still a horrible thing to do. He is aware of just how much Mine loved her husband and how her grief over him rules her whole life and to use that against her for such a petty reason is just unacceptable.
• Two very small things that made me ridiculously happy this episode were 1) Noi and Tamao showing up together to finally force the guys to be straight with them, complete with the implication that they met and talked things out between themselves beforehand. It’s almost like a friendship! and 2) Noi’s two nameless friends making an appearance again to stand outside the window encouraging her. I loved seeing them again. I love their love for her. I wish we could have gotten to see some of their storyline too. Mostly I really wish we could have gotten the Noi/Sunako and Noi/Sunako/Tamao friendships. Sigh.
Episode 10
• Mine and Yuki setting up the entire kidnapping/white slavery scheme just to make Kyohei finally admit his feelings made me go ‘holy crap!’ On the positive side, it did mean that Greg wasn’t a bad guy which really made me relieved. I was having a very WTF reaction to TPTB bringing in a black character, for the first time, and him being evil. On the negative side, it was pretty cruel of them not to tell Sunako especially since it was apparently the plan all along to end with her having a gun pointed at her head. It was all perhaps just a little excessive! I mean there was actual violence and someone could have gotten hurt.
• Then there’s Noi – how did she end up involved in all of it? She didn’t appear to know what was going on but I suppose she could have been playing along.
• I wonder about the many girls not freaking out/having second thoughts once they saw the dark club where the ‘fashion show’ was being held, heard the announcers words, and oh yeah, saw the girl spinning around a pole at the end of the ‘runway’. WTH was up with that?! Were they all in on it?
• I do love how unrelenting Yuki is about forcing Kyohei into facing his feelings. He’s always been the one who wouldn’t let discussions/arguments with Kyohei go so it works that he was a part of the plan while the other two were in the dark. I also really liked when he started the love/hate game and forced Kyohei into confessing he loved Sunako.
• “You, just as you are. For me, though you hate yourself, I love you.” Aww, Kyohei. He can be so thoughtless but then he says stuff like this.
• Kyohei putting his gift skull up between them when she went into her ‘Bright’ head-banging, and then using it to lure her into a kiss made me smile so much. That was adorable! And Kyohei has finally discovered how to deal with Sunako when that happens in a way that works well for both of them.
• This series, especially the last couple episodes, was so much about parents and children, and the relationships between them that it was weird when Sunako’s parents wanting her to come live with them got no further mention other than to cause angst for everyone. Like, there was no consideration, even on Sunako’s part, that hey maybe seeing her parents would be nice.
• I liked the end with everyone together, including Noi, though I do wish that Sunako had been sitting at the table with them and that Mine and Tamao had been there.
Episode 8
• One place where this show is failing for me is the lack of female friendships. I loved that we got a Noi/Sunako/Tamao scene. I liked how the show went back and forth between the girls getting drunk and the guys getting drunk. But while the guys was about four (five) friends comforting each other and opening up, the girls was about basically three strangers opening up and bonding. I’d love to think of it of the start of their friendship (and I am) but there are only two episodes left and going by the rest of the season I am doubtful that TPTB are going to devote time to the three girls friendship. So – sad.
• I was thinking that Kyohei’s mother was so much better in this version and then she lost it at the dinner. However, her complete and utter breakdown was, I think, more obvious in this version and because of that more understandable. I sympathised with her a lot more even as I was feeling terrible for Kyohei. It was just a horrible situation all around with no real bad guy. Kyohei certainly isn’t at fault, and while it’d be nice if his mother was a stronger person, she is as strong as she is and her breakdown isn’t her fault.
• Kyohei made me ‘aw’ a lot in this episode – like when he was so happy about his parents having a picture of him up, and his expression when his hysterical mom pushed him away, and then at the end when he lost it. Poor Kyohei.
• I continue to find Kyohei/Sunako adorable. I loved him taking her to the hill and telling her she gave him courage to face his past. Also his ignored line at the guy’s party about ‘having one more thing to do’ was about telling Sunako how he feels right? I wonder if what’s happened with his mother, worse because for awhile there he was happy and had hope of love/acceptance and the fact that his memories of the Hill are now tarnished, will cause him to blame Sunako?
• I loved Yuki “Ranmaru is a great friend of mine but... as a man he is the worst.”
Episode 9
• I loved Sunako getting herself worked up/angry enough so that she could look Kyohei in the face and yell at him. This made me ‘aw’: “I am changing little by little ever since I got here. You didn’t force me to change myself... because you tried to understand me.” I couldn’t believe that she didn’t realise that Kyohei was simply lashing out at her in his room and he was lying then not when he told her that she was ‘fine as she was’. Sunako crying and hugging Hiroshi afterwards got to me. I think it’s the first time we actually got real deep sadness/grief from her before.
• Ranmaru pretending to be Mine’s husband as a way to get back at her was so wrong and cruel and I wanted to smack him when he revealed the truth to them. Yes, it got out of control when Takeru got involved and he was sincerely sorry and was pretty agonised as he played out the charade but even if it hadn’t gone that far it was still a horrible thing to do. He is aware of just how much Mine loved her husband and how her grief over him rules her whole life and to use that against her for such a petty reason is just unacceptable.
• Two very small things that made me ridiculously happy this episode were 1) Noi and Tamao showing up together to finally force the guys to be straight with them, complete with the implication that they met and talked things out between themselves beforehand. It’s almost like a friendship! and 2) Noi’s two nameless friends making an appearance again to stand outside the window encouraging her. I loved seeing them again. I love their love for her. I wish we could have gotten to see some of their storyline too. Mostly I really wish we could have gotten the Noi/Sunako and Noi/Sunako/Tamao friendships. Sigh.
Episode 10
• Mine and Yuki setting up the entire kidnapping/white slavery scheme just to make Kyohei finally admit his feelings made me go ‘holy crap!’ On the positive side, it did mean that Greg wasn’t a bad guy which really made me relieved. I was having a very WTF reaction to TPTB bringing in a black character, for the first time, and him being evil. On the negative side, it was pretty cruel of them not to tell Sunako especially since it was apparently the plan all along to end with her having a gun pointed at her head. It was all perhaps just a little excessive! I mean there was actual violence and someone could have gotten hurt.
• Then there’s Noi – how did she end up involved in all of it? She didn’t appear to know what was going on but I suppose she could have been playing along.
• I wonder about the many girls not freaking out/having second thoughts once they saw the dark club where the ‘fashion show’ was being held, heard the announcers words, and oh yeah, saw the girl spinning around a pole at the end of the ‘runway’. WTH was up with that?! Were they all in on it?
• I do love how unrelenting Yuki is about forcing Kyohei into facing his feelings. He’s always been the one who wouldn’t let discussions/arguments with Kyohei go so it works that he was a part of the plan while the other two were in the dark. I also really liked when he started the love/hate game and forced Kyohei into confessing he loved Sunako.
• “You, just as you are. For me, though you hate yourself, I love you.” Aww, Kyohei. He can be so thoughtless but then he says stuff like this.
• Kyohei putting his gift skull up between them when she went into her ‘Bright’ head-banging, and then using it to lure her into a kiss made me smile so much. That was adorable! And Kyohei has finally discovered how to deal with Sunako when that happens in a way that works well for both of them.
• This series, especially the last couple episodes, was so much about parents and children, and the relationships between them that it was weird when Sunako’s parents wanting her to come live with them got no further mention other than to cause angst for everyone. Like, there was no consideration, even on Sunako’s part, that hey maybe seeing her parents would be nice.
• I liked the end with everyone together, including Noi, though I do wish that Sunako had been sitting at the table with them and that Mine and Tamao had been there.
