Seishun Buta Yarou Episode 2

Wow, Mai’s existence at stake is escalating a lot faster than I thought it would. You know her situation is getting very dangerous when her mother of all people can’t see her, nor does she remember her. And she wasn’t the only one. Among the ones who have forgotten her in just a day’s time are the reporter, whom she had just spoken to just the night before, and Sakuta’s sister, Kaede. And still, no matter how far they traveled, even the people in a distant town have no recollection of her either. Yet when all hope seems to be lost, a glimmer of hope is found when Sakuta learns his friends remembers Mai, and how her existence remains vivid to the students at school. As it stands, it seems they are really the only ones who Sakuta can turn to in hopes to trying to solve the case of this bizarre phenomena before it’s too late.

And as things go south for Mai, there is another mystery that has come before us, a case that is sounding to be all too similar to her plight. This week they formerly introduced us to Shouko, who we have learned from Sakuta’s friends last weeks as his first love. And they were right. Sakuta opened up to Mai about how he loves Shouko, and she was also the one who saved him when nobody else believed him about Kaede’s case. The two of them met when he was a third year in middle school, and she was second year from Minegahara High School. Wanting to meet her again, Sakuta chose to enrol into Minegahara, but once he arrived, there was no record of her existence. There is one thing that is kind of bugging me, and that is how Mai and Shouko look eerily similar to each other. I don’t know whether this is a deliberate move to imply a connection, or just a coincidence in terms of similarities in their character design– or maybe it’s just me.

And I like how Shouko’s character influenced Sakuta to pass-on the good will of looking out for someone who has no one to rely on. It’s proving to be an important thing to do, as not many people believe or understand the case of the Adolescent Syndrome. In fact, it is why he and sister live separately from his parents. For Mai, it’s good having someone being able to recognize and understand the struggle she is going through, especially with a case of being forgotten by everyone, is a terrifying ordeal to face alone.

But as much as I enjoyed the episode (especially with how we are starting to see a bit more of Sakuta’s playful and lively side), I found it a bit weird, especially the tempo of they have set the pace. The first seven minutes felt terribly rushed, making it feel as though we are a lot further along into the story than we actually are… if that makes any sense. The way we learned about why Mai went on hiatus felt terribly abrupt, and how I the two of them managed to be intimate with each other (such as, holding hands/feeling comfortable enough to share bed, though I will give credit for both characters being rational and mature about it, instead of creating a fuss), and their so-called “date” happening too soon. They have only known each other for… how many days now? One? Two? I don’t think it’s been very long…While I can understand how this crazy situation are bringing them together, and the stakes are really high, still, the pace doesn’t feel right to me. (At least I do like how it’s it’s both of them looking out for each other, that is something I appreciate seeing.)

Another thing I wished they had done, was provide the demonstration for the cat in the box theory in last week’s episode when the subject was brought up. It’s kind of ridiculous that they only really explain how it works a week later. But then again, they were cramming a lot of information, so maybe they thought it would be too much if they do so.

After watching this episode, while I am certainly enjoying this show, with the present tempo they currently have set the pace at, I can’t help but feel concerned about how things will be executed in the long-run. As for how I feel about blogging it. I would say my hype for it has died down quite a bit (but maybe it’s just because I’m tired this week), so I am going to give this show one more episode to see whether or not it’s the right fit for me and my current schedule. Also I would like to apologize for this coming out quite late! Varying on my schedule, Seishun may come out on Thursdays, but I would definitely prefer to get it out on Wednesday nights!