“If this is all it takes to tear us apart, then maybe we weren’t all that close to begin with.”
Impression
So many of the girls in Oregairu are just wonderful. All of them make me smile, except for Orimoto. And yet, all of them are suffering inside. It breaks my heart. I feel like Hikki is somehow blaming himself for the current state of affairs – in saying that the reality of it all hasn’t quite matched up with his ideals, he’s implying that it’s his fault that things ended up this way in the first place. I won’t say he’s got nothing to do with it at all, but at the same time I think he’s being too hard on himself. It does seem like he’s finally realised the repercussions of his methods, though – and that it might be adversely affecting the people around him more than he’s thought. An easy example is Tsurumi Rumi, who I was very happy to see again. She looks like she’s gotten a little older – but she’s still alone. By destroying all the relationships around her, Hikki stopped her classmates from actively picking on her back at the summer camp. But it’s done nothing to help her make any friends, and it’s persisted till now. It’s not like his methods didn’t do anything -in fact, given the short amount of time he had to work with, I like how he managed to create an impact at all- but like Yukinon said before, it hasn’t done anything to solve the underlying problem. Rumi doesn’t seem to actively hold anything against Hikki though, which is nice – I suspect she was perceptive enough to understand what he was trying to do even back then.
It’s much the same with Irohasu. Hikki has decided to take responsibility and help her out, but so far she’s just been a cute little thing that hasn’t done much – and as the student council president, she has to be much more than that. Hikki won’t be around each and every time, and ultimately she has to learn how to take the reins by herself and work with the people she needs to be working with – although I fully understand why she’s a bit edgy around Tamanawa. I would be too, Irohasu! But it still feels like Hikki has been the one doing the heavy lifting thus far, not only for Sobu High but for both sides in general – he’s essentially the only one truly committed producing results for a project that is otherwise falling apart. It feels exactly like how Yukinon carried the entire cultural festival committee as the only competent person there – although Irohasu has nothing on the obnoxious Sagami. I guess Irohasu is aware of it to some extent, and that she should be doing more given the position she is now in. It was like she was sullenly pre-occupied this episode.
The rest of them are absolutely useless. I mean, Tamanawa calls in a whole group of elementary school students, then just abandons them! All he’s good for is rhetoric, if even that, and it doesn’t look like he can get anything done at all. It really is falling apart – they’re leisurely exploring their options whilst running out of time, then moving on to discuss the very fact that they’re short on time. And after every few suggestions Orimoto starts her preaching. I will say that I really was surprised by how Orimoto said nothing when pressed by Irohasu into talking about her past with Hikki. This is the first time she hasn’t been an insensitive cunt to Hikki! It didn’t seem like anything much had changed when she spoke to him last episode, but maybe Hayato did knock her down a few pegs. That, and seeing Irohasu so close to Hikki might have cemented the idea that he isn’t as socially reclusive as she’s assumed all this time – although Hikki himself would wear that label with pride. The other supporting character who said something surprising this week was Hayato. He has layers, like a lot of his schoolmates, so it was expected that he’s not as nice of a guy as Hikki would like to think – but I do believe Hayato would have helped Irohasu had she asked. Is there a reason why he wouldn’t? If it was Yukinon who asked, then I could see why, but Irohasu?
As for the Service Club, it feels like it’s all hit rock bottom. Yui has been putting on her best smile, but even her yahallo is awkwardly forced now. It really is saying something that she’s specifically asking Hikki whether he’ll be at club every day – as if anticipating that his presence will gradually fade as the rift between them grows wider. And that’s exactly what’s happening – he’s gone from leaving early to now being told by Yukinon that he can take some time off completely. She looked so heartbreakingly depressed during that final scene, and so was I. Feel was magnificent here. It’s so horrible seeing them act more and more distant week on week, almost as if they’re strangers now who just happen to be in the same club. I want the confident, sharp-tongued Yukinon back again ;_; I think that’s what’s up with her – in giving Hikki free rein and talking about not having to ask permission and stuff, it’s like she’s feeling unneeded and unconfident in herself and her methods. All this time it has been Hikki who has solved things, but now Yukinon is practically giving up on him at a time when Hikki himself has run into trouble – he doesn’t know how to work things out with Rumi, or what to do with Irohasu’s request. But he isn’t saying anything. Yukinon isn’t saying anything. And neither is Yui. The end title is right: even though things are as they are, ‘that room continues to portray an endless everyday scene’. And this can’t be the ideal outcome Hikki wished for.
Yukinon Ballade is even more beautiful than Yui Ballade. I want to give her a big hug ;_;
It’s about time I caught up with this series, as it was something I planned to watch before I even knew of season 2’s existence! Alternating between this and Nisekoi, I found it was the most oddly pleas- quaint thing, they way they complemented each other! What a splendid journey it’s been so far… well, as a viewer.
Starting my comment with a “yahallo” would be less painful than watching Yui force it. In any case, it’s probably too soon for me to say that anyway. As for your coverage, Vantage, excellent. The only reason Yui, Yukinon and Hachiman wouldn’t look at you like some sort of divine being if you walked into the Service Club and said all this, it’s because there’re still two important people to touch on in all this: Shizuka and Haruno.
Shizuka is the one who – not to fault her here – encouraged the synergistic approach with other schools and I wonder what she sees in all this. I doubt she’ll allow it all to fall apart, at least, not permanently. As for Haruno, we haven’t yet seen how she reacted to Yukinon entering the running and then not taking up the position of president. At least, I hope they’ll have important roles to play in all this.
I could easily see Shizuka and Haruno saving this event ultimately. However, all that might accomplish is Shizuka freeing Hachiman from his sense of responsibility towards Student Council affairs. In the meanwhile, Yukinon is feeling useless (on top of watching Haruno save what she could’ve avoided outright if she’d won) and experiencing who knows what due to her family situation. Finally, Yui would be in the middle of all of this and could only truly help one friend at a time like anyone else. Would it be saving Yukinon and then (together) Hachiman from his ways? Would it be saving Hachiman and then (together) saving Yukinon as promise?
Are these all just misguided, hopeful thoughts of mine..? T_T
Nisekoi?! I’d like to think that they only complement each other by having absolutely nothing in common – Oregairu is more sensitive a show and breaks the mold, whilst Nisekoi is abundant with standard shounen cliches. It does have an entertaining waifu war though, so I’ll give it that. And it’s much easier to pick a best girl too (i.e. Onodera) compared to Oregairu’s wonderful character cast. If a similarity can be struck between them it might be that the latter is better termed ‘My youth divorce drama is as wrong as I expected’ these days. Yukinon has gently exiled him from the house, and their court settlement has left them with one child each (Yukinon gets to keep Yui, and Hikki has to look after Irohasu). Now he has to go through the appeals process whilst working for the student council as a single parent, with Yui pining after his absence.
Oregairu could become a legal drama so easilyI feel like Shizuka is prompting all this for the same reason she’s interfered in every other thing: to encourage the Service Club to mingle in society more. The results aren’t guaranteed, but it would prompt Yukinon and Hikki to interact with other people, and that can’t be a bad thing. I do hope Haruno doesn’t turn up – you must know of my disdain for her. It would be an empty conclusion if she saved the day, and her taunting is likely to make the Service Club’s relationships even worse than they already are.
It’s good to hope, though! What’s certain is that something needs to happen, and unless someone makes a move things won’t get better.
Indeed, there are many differences between the two series. Perhaps it was just that watching them together gave a look at a wide range of teenage emotions, from the happy heights to the depressing depths, but I felt they at least complemented each other that way. I could also mention that when it came to themes like fitting into society, being your own person, the search for ones true feelings and many more, I just saw Nisekoi as the happy-go-lucky approach to the down-to-earth approach that Oregairu takes. It was just really neat seeing the whole spectrum!
I feel you on the matter of Onodera, she’s just so well balanced while the other girls are extreme in their own endearing ways and there are a number of reasons why she “should” get a chance. That’s an excellent metaphor! Hikki would make for a very interesting lawyer and who knows, maybe we will see them graduated and working at some point! Back to the now…
On the other hand, if Haruno doesn’t show up and she and Shizuka simply save the event from the shadows, more or less, it might be a blow worth taking. Yukinon will likely feel more useless, Hikki will see his methods have limits even in terms of reaching an end, thus leaving it to broken-hearted Yui to seize the chance to remind them of the simple truth that they’re most effective together.
Knowing the author, however, that truth will be exposed in a stellar way that may not even needs words at all. They need a chance to embrace that truth again somehow in order to heal, because there’s just too much in the way of embracing it right now.