When the animation quality takes a dump in the final episode. This is the last Romance Roundup for the season. A couple of shows still need to air their finale, but I’ll cover them in some other way.
Oh Boy, Was I Wrong About Her Ep. 12
Oh boy, was this show full of nothing! Like a lot of failed anime, this show is cowardly. It refuses to get into the deeper end of the pool, content to float aimlessly in the kiddie side. As a result, the romance never amounts to anything. Hayato keeps distracting himself with side characters. The kids hit up a water park, but at one point, it felt like he was spending more time with Kaido instead of his childhood friend! He then bumps into Kaido’s ex-girlfriend, who conveniently loses her contacts. As a result, he has to lead her back to her friends, which just results in Haruki getting mad and jealous.
Finally, with the scant time we have left, the kids revisit their hometown. Shrine maiden Saki literally tugs on Hayato’s shirt and tells him that she really wanted to see him. She’s all blushy, too. This unfolds in front of Haruki, but she doesn’t bat an eyelash. Why did Kaido’s ex-girlfriend piss her off so much then?
Anyway, the show never knew what it wanted to be. Was it a slow burn romance between childhood friends, or was it a harem with all the cute girls buzzing around Hayato? Even worse, we never resolved the situation with Haruki’s abusive mother. We never resolved the situation about some shady guy wanting to recruit her. The anime never had a clear vision. It was just a bad, unfocused piece of slop through and through.
Love Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky Ep. 12
The jig is up: Koharu was lying all along. She didn’t want Kakeru to waste his time on someone who was going to die, so she faked the amnesia like we all thought she did. Sigh… I mean, what can I really say? They ended up back together anyway, so all she did was waste her time. They both went through all that grief and sadness when he could’ve been by her side this entire time. But are you ready for another gut punch? As soon as Koharu transfers to Hokkaido for a presumably better hospital, Kakeru’s narration tells us that he would eventually lose her to cancer. Wait, wait, we’re not done yet! He also develops colon cancer and will die soon. Now, now, there is a silver lining. We eventually find out that Kakeru and Koharu still managed to get married and have a kid. They got to live together for about two decades before cancer would claim both their lives. Even so, the way this story uses a terminal illness as a plot twist is dirty. In fact, it downright annoys me.
So here’s the thing, right? I went into this show simply wanting to watch a romance involving someone with a disability, because I thought A Silent Voice did a poor job of it. To clarify, the film was fine as a standalone romance, but as a story about someone living with a disability, it sucked. I wanted to see if Love Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky could do better. No, it cannot. And that’s because the story completely switched gears on us. Koharu’s blindness is barely even a factor in the second half of the anime. If you had asked me at the start if I wanted to watch a romance where one of the love interests had a terminal disease, I would’ve said no. I don’t personally want to deal with that level of grief and sadness right now, especially when I’m going through my own shit in my own life. So why did I stick it out with Love Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky? Because it ended up annoying me more than making me sad. The anime tried to Trojan Horse cancer, and that ticked me off. I had to see where this stupid road would take us, and it had the gall to give us double cancer! When a story is supposed to be bittersweet but ultimately uplifting, and it ends up pissing you off instead, I think it’s safe to say that the author failed. I will forever insist that Love Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky should’ve picked one or the other — blindness or cancer — and not do both. Like I said, there’s some uplifting message buried in this finale somewhere. But I’m too annoyed to dig into it.
Saved by the Ice Cold Prince’s Embrace Ep. 11
Katrina tries to save herself by making a makeshift rope out of her mother’s old clothes. Unfortunately, her stepmother barges into the room and cuts the rope just in time for the prince to arrive and see everything go down. I obviously don’t think Katrina is gonna die from this. Still, maybe she should’ve barred the door.
Hana-Kimi S2 Ep. 13
Every girl has to wear the same unflattering dress for the ball. I mean, it’s got this giant ass ribbon on the back. It’s also monochrome; just completely pink. It’s terrible. This wouldn’t even pass muster back in the 90s. The hilarious part is when the bully “accidentally” spills some purple drink (grape juice?) on her dress, thereby “ruining” it. But like I said, the dress is a pink monochrome eyesore, so you could argue that the purple stain actually improves the dress. Unfortunately, the girls fix the problem by simply shortening the dress, turning it back into a pink monochrome eyesore.
The show makes a big deal about how Mizuki can’t wear her chest binder with the dress. As a result, she has to go without it. I wanted to crack a joke about how she has no boobs anyway, but it’s just the animation being bad. There are times when she looks completely flat (like in the screenshot above), and there are times when her breasts are noticeable. I’m not trying to be crude; I’m just trying to highlight how the show shoots itself in the foot by being lazy in the animation department. Nevertheless, Nakatsu passes out from a nosebleed because he can’t stop thinking about boobs. Poor guy tricked himself into thinking he was gay when he was actually straight all along. And with him down for the count, Sano finally has the guts to dance with Mizuki. Both guys are pathetic.
Just like that, the story is over. Oh sure, there’s a denouement at the end where everyone hits up a skating rink. But there are no further developments. Neither Mizuki nor Sano confess their feelings. Nakatsu is still stupidly in love with a girl whom he thinks is a guy. Nothing of note happens with anyone else. Some side characters reveal that they’re either dating or engaged, but who cares? This was one big season of nothing. I mean, they even brought up Sano’s troubled family drama, but did he ever resolve his issues with either his father or brother? Nope. And Mizuki is just Mizuki. She has nothing to work out. She has had no character development whatsoever.
Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You Ep. 11
It’s that time of year when people get sick all the time, so Yamada is down for the count. Unfortunately, she’s one of those people who wants to come to work no matter what. According to Gouto, “she cares to little about looking after herself.” Great, then how about looking after other people? ‘Cause that’s what got her sick, right? She overworked herself by filling in for a part-timer? If Yamada truly cares about her coworkers, then she needs to park her ass at home. Even if she’s no longer coughing up a lung, she can still be a vector for whatever’s ailing her. As a result, she needs to fully recover before it’s safe for her to come back.
And yet, I can’t help but feel like I’m focusing on the “wrong” thing. After all, Gouto allows Sasaki to talk to Yamada over the phone and give her his well wishes beacuse the new year is just around the corner. This is ultimately what convinces her to stay put and take her much-needed, much-deserved time off. Sure, Yamada wants to come to work because that’s just in her nature. But a part of her probably feels like she has to come or else she will miss out on precious time with her crush. I thought she put her contacts into his phone when she was helping him set it up. Maybe I hallucinated that. Either way, the solution is easy: just go on a date. You’re adults. Just ask each other out. Welp, the show’s almost over, right? I don’t think the odds of them moving their “relationship” forward are high. If this is what you people consider cozy, I’m glad to be “uncomfortable.”
Please Excuse My Younger Brothers Ep. 12
At first, Gen likes to tease Ito over their kissing incident. But like Minato in The Ramparts of Ice, he worries that she might see him as a creep. As a result, just like how Minato will probably start dating Momoka, Gen is going to attend a mixer with the playboy (I forget his name). These boys are so dumb, but the girls are hardly better. Raku tries to tell Ito that she has nothing to worry about. He’s probably right about Gen not being able to get himself a longterm girlfriend because he can be a bit awkward around girls, but that doesn’t mean he can’t land himself a brief fling.
As a result, we get the classic trope where Ito thinks she’s being sneaky. She’s just being a stalker, though. What can I say? She’s down bad for her little brother. The playboy spots her, which then forces Gen to come over and drag her back home. It’s not like Ito managed to escape his notice anyway. In any other romance anime, I would say this is a prime time for the kids to confess and finally get together. Buuuuuut we’re talking about step-siblings, so I don’t care if they ever start dating. As a result, the second half of the episode is just one big Christmas celebration. Even the deadbeat parents deigned to grace the kids with their presence. We end on a somewhat bittersweet note, because the brothers’ mother died on Christmas Day itself. If you wanna be charitable, however, Gen opening up to Ito like this is far more intimate than any regular ol’ confession. But you guys are siblings so keep your lips off each other!
Rich Girl Caretaker Ep. 12
Even though Narika basically confessed to Itsuki, this was still somehow a nothingburger of an episode and conclusion. After all, we don’t get to see or find out how he responded to her. He probably said whatever he needed to say in order to maintain the status quo between the three rich heiresses. It’s my fault, really. I thought “Rich Girl Caretaker” meant he would only care for one girl. Plus, we’ve been semi-spoiled by a spate of Reiwa-era romcoms recently. Itsuki might only directly serve one girl, but he still has to solve all of their problems and manage all of their feelings. As a result, the climax of this episode is really Narika’s kendo tournament. People think she’s intimidating because she’s a ruthless competitor, so Itsuki even considers having her throw a match just to make friends. But obviously, that would be insane. If her peers judge her for winning, that only means they suck, not her. As a result, Itsuki does the predictable thing in the end and cheers Narika on. The episode ends with him and his three rich girls walking together. Yawn.
Nah, not good enough. I can always tell when a show has completely lost my interest. All I have to do is check my screenshots folder. If I haven’t taken a single screenshot, it means I’ve stopped caring. Alas, I’m also blogging this show, so I gotta go back and find appropriate moments to highlight. Ugh. Even that mid-as-hell romcom from a previous season — I think it was called The Klutzy Class Monitor and the Girl with the Short Skirt — is better than this wishy-washy shit. Sorry, but pick a lane, buddy. Harem slop belongs in the past.
Oh yeah, it turns out Narika’s family wasn’t even mad at Itsuki for taking her out to see the world. He just thought they were scolding him, so he ran off like a crybaby. He basically cut contact with Narika for years because of this. If I were Narika, I’d be pissed.
The Duke’s Son Claims He Won’t Love Me Yet Showers Me with Adoration Ep. 12
This show is so… mild. That’s the best word to describe it. Julius sorta confronts Jarmo, telling the guy to stay away from Elsa. Jarmo accuses Julius of being greedy and wanting more when he already has everything. Julius finally reveals that he was always jealous of Jarmo for having a close-knit family, so it’s the classic “the grass is always greener on the other side” situation. And just like that, the conflict between them is over. Mild. So mild.
Jarmo returns home in defeat, but after revealing his failure to his dad, the old man assures Jarmo that he’s proud of him anyway. Again, mild. We still see Serafina from time to time, but it seems as though she’s completely given up on Julius. I mean, that’s a good thing, right? But the story doesn’t give her anything else to do but worry for Jarmo. It’s so dull.
Finally, Julius realizes he needs to take back his words from his and Elsa’s wedding day. He has to be brave and tell her how he truly feels. So they do exactly that. They don’t proceed to have a heart-to-heart or anything. She simply accepts his feelings and smiles. She’s such a plain Jane.
There are shows where practically every single character is a good bean. Anime like You and I Are Polar Opposites or My Dress-Up Darling don’t have a single antagonist. But they still have interesting personal dilemmas. This show tries to set up drama and intrigue just to have them fizzle out anticlimactically. At the same time, the characters are super flat and lifeless. It just feels like nothing happened.
Case in point, after Julius’s confession, the anime doesn’t even have the balls to let us see the couple kiss. Not only does the anime pan away from it, it even has to add a blur filter. Ooooh, wouldn’t want it to be too spicy! Yep, this show is like the anime embodiment of LaCroix. I only took one screenshot for this write up, because that’s all that the show deserves.
The Ogre’s Bride Ep. 12
The fox clan cuts Karin off, but we have no clue what happens to her after that. If Youta truly loved her, then he would walk away from the clan. Still, I don’t think the author cares. They got their revenge by projecting whatever negative feelings they have for a family member onto this fictional character. We then see Yuzu’s ex-boyfriend — y’know, the guy who dumped her in order to try and chase after Karin — suddenly beg Yuzu to give him another chance. I think the person who wrote this story just has deep-seated issues.
For a twist, Sakurako and Reiya’s gay assistant reveal that they are engaged to be married. She’s over the moon, apparently. She’s always been in love with Takamichi despite rooting for him and Reiya to get it on. On the other hand, Takamichi is already making plans to have his children serve Reiya’s future children. That is so fucking bizarre. Do his future children have no say in the matter? It’s such a gross setting full of gross people. This is the last episode, by the way, so good fucking riddance to Yuzu and weird ass future husband. Saori Hayami is like the DeNiro of anime voice actresses. She can be brilliant in the right role, but she isn’t selective at all. She’ll do practically anything that comes her way, including this trashy revenge story disguised as a romance and Tomb Raider King.
Hanaori-san Still Wants to Fight in the Next Life Ep. 11
As it turns out, the princess was evil all along, but the details aren’t particularly important. This isn’t the kind of show that merits that level of scrutiny. It’s mostly a comedy, after all. Hell, I bet you anything that this whole “final boss fight” is just a vehicle for a skimpy bikini armor joke. Luckily, we’re not stuck watching Meteor fight for the world with her asscheeks out. Thanks to the short witch, Meteor eventually gets proper paladin-like clothes. Then with everyone pitching in, the good guys barely manage to eke out a victory. Well, good for them.
Next week’s episode better be the confession, since it shares the same title as that corny-ass British romance movie.
