No.21203
>>21191Well damn. And I'd just started thinking the author may have grown a little, as the anime wasn't showing the same heap of problems Sakurasou had. I wonder if it will go down to Qualidea levels of animation.
No.21462
>>21202To be fair, when shit hits the fan and goes full drama in real life, it seems reasonable in the lead up until everything actually falls apart.
No.21463
There's drama now, but it's not a tearjerker. Am I just a jaded adult already? Is this what teenagers cry to? Or is the apathy the desired outcome? It seems like the characters themselves feel stupid for dramatizing this, and already feel some level of apathy for these years-long crushes of theirs. Which is pretty much in line with my own experience: such confessions were done 90% of the time in order to be able to move on, while couples got together naturally without any big scenes like that.
The cat is a fucking boss tho, indeed.
No.21467
>>21463It's just a build up to the shit show that's about to go down. Certain people know certain people's feelings about certain people, etc. Trumpet rejecting JUST and MC mentioning that he liked her while knowing that she likes the other guy feels like the fuse for the drama to start.
Hopefully it doesn't follow a cliche formula because I'm really liking this anime so far.
No.21470
>>21469I'm fine with Natsume. I don't like how it's another generic "he gave me his eraser and now I love him" type of love but apart from that she seems pretty normal.
No.21474
>>21470What the hell is even the logic behind the eraser love trope?
No.21475
>>21474>That one boy did one kind act towards me just at the exact moment I was awakening to my own sexuality, it must surely be fate!>>21467The shit show may be just a powerpoint presentation of a shit show, tho, considering the production troubles. But yeah, the author has obviously learned a little since Sakurasou, hopefully this doesn't go down the drain.
No.21487
>>21475Despite the apparent production issues, things are still decent so far, and the character animation is staying nice, with scenes like Morikawa holding her cups (and the two cups to make it easier to hold the hot drink), or Natsume walking faster than Eita does. I hope it doesn't go to shit in the next few weeks.
Oh, and the hair looks pretty nice too, especially for pic related and Morikawa.
No.21498
>>21487Well, we know for sure that by ep8 it will have gone down to the gutters. But I agree that the two cups detail for example was really nice and oft overlooked.
I remember really liking Qualidea's animation in the first few episodes too ;_;
>>21488The second. She's being depressed about having to move anyway, confession or no confession. Maybe the first too, but the moving is the main reason for sure.
No.21594
Cameragirl best girl
No.21599
>>21587>I especially liked the scene where Morikawa was explaining to Natsume why she rejected Souma.Agreed. The reasons were rational and well grounded in reality. It's sad we're impressed by it though.
>There were at least several serious mistakes that completely changed the meaning of what was said.I picked up on some wonky stuff too, but if it's not too much trouble could you pinpoint the egregious parts you mentioned?
>>21594Genki girls always a best.
No.21600
>>21599>I picked up on some wonky stuff too, but if it's not too much trouble could you pinpoint the egregious parts you mentioned?That would require rewatching it, tho. I remember one of the more plot-relevant lines only:
>14:01 Still, that means… you're fine with rejecting him, right?I'd wager she was just asking her to confirm that she did indeed reject him. Like,
>Still, that means… I can assume you did reject him, right?It's not like my Japanese is good, though, so I may be wrong, even if the flow of the conversation seems to agree with my variant more.
>It's sad we're impressed by it though.Ah, but I'm mainly impressed because of Sakurasou. You couldn't see anything even close to this there, at least for the six episodes I watched.
No.21724
>>21600Considering this is CR, you're probably correct or at least more so than CR. I have to wonder if they even have editors.
>Ah, but I'm mainly impressed because of Sakurasou. You couldn't see anything even close to this there, at least for the six episodes I watched.The derail will probably start this episode, but I've already enjoyed this more than I have with Sakurasou.
No.21744
Boy, the production issues are getting worse and worse. The baseball scene this time was so bad.
>>21594I didn't think so at the start but she's totally risen to the top now. She's great.
>>21736Yeah, pretty much. She's the source of all of the bad kinds of drama in this show; stupid misunderstandings, not being honest and avoiding dealing with things, and her dumb reason for liking Haruto. Best ending will be Eita ending up with Cameragirl, Haruto ending up with Morikawa, and Natsume ending up alone and unloved.
>>21600There was one line that really stood out this time, when Morikawa was about to play for Haruto. She said she was in rehabilitation, since she'd stopped playing for a while and was out of practice, and CR translated as "I'm in the process of improving my playing ability". What utter nonsense.
No.21748
>>21744>CRWait, wasn't Sentai Filmworks the one working on this?
No.21751
>>21736For some reason I thought you're talking about Morikawa, and was about to disagree with you, saying the anime would have been better if Natsume didn't… well, didn't have such a prominent role. Her actions really have NO role in the story so far, zero plot progression has happened because of her, we only get to know her backstory and that's it. And yet meta logic dictates that she will win in the end. Kuyashii.
In a recap, this show has two nice guys, one best girl, and two bitches, but at least we have some hopes for one of the bitches. I'm slightly more impressed by the secondary cast, pretty much all of the random other students are surprisingly full of life, as drama usually focuses 100% only on the main cast. This means the anime is still somehow working as a slice of life too, which is nice.
By the way, production troubles or not, I really liked the smiles this episode. I guess they still managed to do the important parts correctly, which is to their honor.
No.21758
>>21748Shit man, I don't know. Their fonts all look the same these days, and they're all as bad as each other.
>>21751I want to see more of Morikawa's ponytail friend and Natsume's low twintails friend. The latter seemed kind of important earlier but she hasn't done anything yet.
>By the way, production troubles or not, I really liked the smiles this episode.Especially best girl's smile.
No.21759
>>21758>I want to see more of Morikawa's ponytail friendTomboys are always welcome in any capacity.
No.21764
>>21758>I want to see more of Morikawa's ponytail friend and Natsume's low twintails friend.Too bad, we're on the drama train now, no time for side characters arcs!
>The latter seemed kind of important earlier but she hasn't done anything yet.I want to see her literally beat sense into Natsume at some point. She seems like she may do it.
>Especially best girl's smile.Yeah, but I'm more partial to this one.
No.21959
>>21946B E S T G I R L
E
S
T
G
I
R
L
>>21955And Natsume is truly the worst girl. Of course there would be other options if there were massive transport delays / cancellations on the day of an exam.
>Also there was lots of bad animation, but oh well.It was a lot better than episode six at least, so the delay definitely helped. Had some more nice moments too, like Eita shifting the box around while carrying it during the flashback.
No.21961
Just like the company, Natsume is shit. They tried to make you pity her, but it didn't work.
>>21946Simply the best.
No.21963
>>21959So, we'll see a cat fight next episode?
No.22067
Excuse me, but how can you justify supporting Natsume in any way?
Remember who she likes? Because even she seems to have forgot and the whole plot seems to have forgotten. She likes Souma. But now she is going all "No, Komiya, you can't date Izumi, because I am confused and he wants to suck me off, so he is the perfect fail-safe." Being mentally unstable might be reliable to some members of the audience, but it should be a red flag to everyone that wants to date her. She is a cunt.
Souma is not going "If I can't date Morikawa, I will just date someone else tomorrow." Neither is Izumi. He even rejects the idea of going out with Komiya.
Meanwhile Natsume is ready to exploit Izumi's feelings at any point, so she can't let someone else make him happy and realize how stupid it is to run after her.
No.22070
>>22067Because I don't want to get dragged into an Internet argument, I'll try to get to the bottom of this.
Natsume behaves in inconsistent, self-destructive ways that hamper her own and other people's search for happiness. To me, that makes her an interesting character to watch and relate to. To you, that makes her an antagonist. Naturally, you refuse to sympathise with her, while I jump at any chance to.
With the last part of your post you raise an interesting point that I hadn't thought of. Real people do in fact have back-up plans and aim at several targets at once when it comes to romance, albeit often unconsciously so. So maybe you prefer idealised romance stories where characters don't behave like selfish dicks, whereas I enjoy watching the uglier side of romance portrayed in fiction. Come to think of it, I would describe my interest in this kind of anime as anthropological.
And so, we would both be satisfied by an ending where Natsume ends up alone, albeit for completely opposite reasons.
No.22071
>>22070>So maybe you prefer idealised romance stories where characters don't behave like selfish dicks, whereas I enjoy watching the uglier side of romance portrayed in fiction. Come to think of it, I would describe my interest in this kind of anime as anthropological.Not that anon, but that's a damn good conclusion.
No.22074
>>22071>>22070While I feel a little unhappy about it, I guess I will have to agree that I am being the idealist here. But being the sloppy second is probably going to just make Izumi unhappy and really Natsume would be forever unfilled.
Meanwhile because Izumi never though of fail-saves, I think he can acquire a love for Komiya that will be a lot more real and stronger than what Natsume could achieve for him. Because for Izumi it wouldn't be a matter of switching between people from one day to the other. He will have to first completely give up on Natsume and only then he will let himself to search for something else. Meanwhile Natsume is already ready to go with whatever she can. Her struggle is a lot lesser. She doesn't have to admit full defeat at any point.
No.22075
>>22074I agree with all that. A Natsume x Izumi end would be a bad outcome for everyone the way things are right now.
Natsume, I believe, is incapable of being happy in her current form. She's not honest to herself about her feelings, and she's letting fear guide her actions: she doesn't confess, probably because she's afraid of being rejected or of losing her friendship with Morikawa - yet at the same time she's afraid of losing Izumi to Komiya too. She applied to the same university as her sister presumably because she's afraid of being alone, or of change in general. I think by losing both Souma and Izumi she may learn the life lesson that she needs if she's to ever be happy.
Komiya, on the other hand, is strong and confident and perfectly capable of attaining happiness, but plot won't let her get away with it before she has broken down under the weight of her hidden insecurities. Maybe that'll be the trigger that'll cause Izumi to acknowledge her. Can this be my Christmas present? Can I have some catharsis before a Komiya happy end?
No.22082
>>22074>>22075You guys up for a group suicide when Komiya (and therefore Izumi) loses in the inevitable and very unsatisfying ending? I'll host it.
No.22084
>>22082Can we go beat up the director / writers instead?
No.22087
>>22082I'd rather do what
>>22084 said and we'll also make them jump of a cliff.
No.22095
>>22074>>22070Guys, guys, you are giving this series way too much credit.
Natsume already said that even she doesn't know why she was clinging to Souma so much, and that after returning his eraser, she just feels relieved this whole thing is now over. She had been sick of liking Souma for quite some time already, but she clung to it because she was a stupid teenager, not realizing she had subconsciously moved on already.
In that case of course she and the plot both have already forgotten she ever liked Souma.
What's more, exactly this episode her friends noted that she's become more honest and that they like this. There's no ugly side of romance here, just a straightforward fictional story with Best Girl most probably losing to oh-so-poor childhood friend whom MC feels sorry for. I'd say this is a story we've all seen before. What I like is the execution, severely lacking in the stupid melodrama I expect with each new episode. It makes me think we may actually get Izumi hooking up with Komiya, while Natsume growing as a person and finding a life path to pursue by the end of the series.
No.22102
>>22084>>22087Yeah but we'd still have her loss in our minds. A homicide-suicide would be good though.
No.22170
File: 1512688897578.png (Spoiler Image, 1.19 MB, 1280x720, [HorribleSubs] Just Becaus….png)
>>22168So…
she did cut her hair. No.22171
File: 1512689122413.png (Spoiler Image, 1.01 MB, 1280x720, [HorribleSubs] Just Becaus….png)
>>22170And
really short at that. That's actually the shortest her hair was in the whole episode, as in the previous shots it didn't look layered like this. Not to even mention the numerous shots where it looked at least ten-twenty centimeters longer. No.22178
That's two shows this season that ruin a nice hairstyle with a shitty haircut.
>>22176She's pretty good, but Komiya is a miracle of the universe.
No.22315
>>22312Eita is actually having his own struggle, while Komiya is being more earnest than ever. Meanwhile Natsume is telling herself she'll confess when she passes her exam, and trying to hide things until then. This show can be damned if it doesn't reward Komiya for all her efforts.
That aside, in the early episodes it seemed like Natsume's friend with the low twintails was going to be important, but she's been totally irrelevant. I wonder if this was meant to be two cours at some point.
No.22325
>>22315>This show can be damned if it doesn't reward Komiya for all her efforts.You might at as well damn it now; Komiya's probably not going to win because fuck all that is nice and good in the world.
>That aside, in the early episodes it seemed like Natsume's friend with the low twintails was going to be important, but she's been totally irrelevant.Yeah, I like how they made a point of indicating that she's angry, but it hasn't been elaborated on yet. These last few episodes are going to be packed.
No.22331
I had long and elaborate opinions about this episode, its directing, characterizing and story, but right now I don't seem to remember them. Every logical thought in my head tends to immediately devolve in "WHY IS KOMIYA SUCH A BEST GIRL". Like, "Man, I really appreciate how they managed to tell a whole story worth of an episode or two in another series just with the offhand secondary information from two short scenes… WHY IS KOMIYA SUCH A BEST GIRL IN THAT STORY", or "Man, I really like the reactions of the duo from the photography club… WHY IS KOMIYA SUCH A BEST GIRL TO FIND SUCH GOOD CLUB MEMBERS", and so on.
No.22335
>>22331Sounds like you're in love, anon.
No.22467
>>22315She got over it, thought it took her four years.
No.22508
>>22493My anger is vast and of great heat.
No.22512
>>22509
>Am I the only one
You should read some of the older posts in the thread.
Also I think you used the spoiler tag for the wrong sentence.
No.22514
>>22509
Thanks for the potential spoiler. I'm so glad you instead decided to use the tag on your redundant opinion.
No.22522
God this shit is so forced, why the fuck is there even a 'main girl' in a romance novel? Am I the only one who feels almost as if Eita is basically Mio's rebound or some shit? She's been chasing after Souma for four years because lolerasers and only gave a shit about Eita after she realized she had zero chance with him. Maybe it's a legit relationship but if I were standing in Eita's shoes I'd have a bit of doubt.
I hear Komiya ends up with one of her senior club members. It could be worse, honestly, but considering the MC is plotbound to not give a shit about her, being able to move on and find someone who cares is also a way to protect her smile.>>22512I did but those posts tended to make it such that Mio was using Eita as some sort of failsafe or whatnot, I'm saying that she's just rebounding or something, not as a failsafe.
>>22512>>22514You guys are being sarcastic but I actually did put the spoiler tag on the wrong sentence
I copy-pasted the spoiler brackets and I guess somehow I dragged the top sentence into the bottom brackets and somehow didn't realize. Deleted.
No.22523
>>22522Thank you for the fix, anon.
No.22528
>>22522The dumb part is that the story acknowledged that Natsume's love for Souma was shallow and easily moved on from, but they haven't given us any reason at all for Eita to like Natsume.
No.22529
>>22528Is there even a reason for Natsume to like Eita? Even the loves of the other characters. There isn't usually much of a reason given for love in anime to begin with.
No.22550
>>22529You could say the same for real life, couldn't you? Love doesn't really have some especially deep reasoning to it.
No.22637
>>22635>why one should never pay for CRLately CR have actually been putting some effort when it comes to that. This was done by Amazon. By now a lot of things are done by someone other than CR. Not that I want to defend them or anything. You would be retarded for paying any of them.
No.22638
>>22637Well, now I feel like an ignorant ass. I often forget that Amazon has their own service. Netflix is memorable because they hold their licensed stuff back for a period.
No.22646
>>22634The worst part wasn't even that Komiya lost, it was how tremendously poorly everything regarding Eita and Natsume was handled. Eita is too focused on his baseball match with Haruto, so he misses meeting Natsume. Then the two of them don't say a word to each other for an entire month, just so Natsume can show up and they say they like each other at the end. What the hell was the point of that bullshit? Japan likes to do this it seems, they set up the ending with a failure or a breakup just for forced drama and then they get together after a time skip at the last minute anyway.
No.22652
Wait a minute, now I understand why the series is called Just Because.
No.22653
>>22646>>22648Good posts, especially the first. The whole baseball match felt weird. I think I know what they were going for, but it just didn't pan out well; the symbolism did not feel salient or congruent enough I suppose. Combine that with the Main Girl Syndrome and you have an unsatisfying ending that only the japs would like (maybe?).
At least Morikawa and Haruto ended nicely. I wouldn't mind a SoL sequel focusing on those two; it'd be cute, heart-warming, and be open to a good story about a young man and woman trying to cope with their daily lives and the commitment they made with each other.
No.22660
>>22648>Just What the Fuck!I giggled.
I mean yeah, >>22652; if you ask "why the fuck is this allowed" the answer may as well be, "Just Because".