Sunday
Sep212008
Special A - The 20s
Sunday, September 21, 2008 at 05:41PM
Special A is coming up to the end, as are a bunch of series that I have not blogged about in a while, so I need to catch up and fast. So, episodes 20 to 23 in one big post. Episode 20 doesn't even get a mention - it's the Sakura/Jun wrap-up episode, and then Sakura is quickly forgotten in the ensuing chaos. So we're going to start with episode 21, which starts the four episode arc to the end. Naturally, Hikari can't believe it's over.
I made this!
Episode 21 is solely for the purpose of introducing the bad guy, Aoi, a lacky for Kei's family who has come, as we eventually find out, to take Kei back to London so he can attend a real elite school.
Expect some capital E evil
Episode 22 needs some set up. At the end of the last episode, Kei tries to convince Hikari that she wubs him. Her reaction to this is predictable.
Unstable much?
This turns into a warped discussion about why Hikari is the only one that calls Kei by his surname. Hilarious in itself, this somehow turns into a challenge to prove she can resist Kei romantically by challenging him to a...date? Trust me, if you see it, it makes even less sense. But after a day of challenging each other at various carnival games and rides, Hikari comes this close to admitting her feelings for Kei. Close, because due to a random phone call to Kei, Hikari goes to powder her nose only to overhear this common lament of the unloved.
Don't use the L word!
This is completely warped, considering Kei fell for Hikari long ago, so could use this information to her advantage if she had an observant bone in her body. There is also the fact that she is taking advice from someone she overheard in the ladies room. The reaction is as expected.
I could almost pity him
This is all quickly forgoten, as episode 23 starts with the crisis that marks the second-to-last episode of all anime series. In this case, the disbanding of the SA due to a parents complaint. Only one parent could put that kind of pressure on the school, and Kei knows it.
Guess who?
Everyone takes the news hard, except Hikari who see the bright side of everything.
It's just that easy
Let's see how that works out.
Did Akira bring her tea service?
But some things never change, like tea time. Just the venue has changed, the violence remains the same.
Do I have to remind you that the reason I watch fansubs is because I DON'T SPEAK JAPANESE?
And to Hikari, that's kind of the point. As long as they got each other, ain't gonna breaka my stride, yadda yadda yadda.
Actually, a good point.
This doesn't last.
Never thought of them as quitters
We start to see how closing down the SA can break up the gang.
He is Dad, who we haven't even seen up to this point. Thanks, Dad.
Akira's case is not so clean cut. Kei's family is putting the screws to Akira's family to make her drop out, since in this made up world of the super rich, Kei apparently trumps all of them and they do whatever his company wants.
The following is a bit complicated, but gets to the heart of what this show is about. For 6 of the SA members, the world they grew up in was one of family politics, unreasonable expectations and pressures. Hikari is the lone wolf where this is concerned. Akira tries to explain it.
If you could call anything about most anime series "inspiring", it's that they have a "you can do anything if you put your mind to it" attitude, from DBZ (to a ridiculous extent) to Sailor Moon. All series, with the possible exception of Evangelion (where whining is the key to power), have the main characters overcome some hardship through willpower. I assumed it was a Eastern philosophy thing. This flies right in the face of that. The problem, since you know they're setting this up as a red herring to overcome later, is that it sounds right in the context of the world they have set up. This is the first series I recall that deals with the elite from the inside without either making them look totally evil and twisted, or as a joke. I have to wonder if they will deal with this contradiction, or just overpower it through the power of love(TM).
Back to the story. Kei takes Akira's request to "rescue" Hikari a tad too seriously.
Watch the hands, playboy
They discuss the situation, Hikari reiterating her feeling that as long as she has her friends, the SA doesn't matter. Kei puts it all together, and tries to use a language Hikari can understand to set up the inevitable. That is, a challenge.
Hikari asks the obvious question.
I have the feeling we've run into another Japanese euphemism, give Hikari's reaction.
If "everything" means what I think it means, the greenhouse will be a'rockin
This is, in fact, Kei's way of saying Hikari wins this one, as he makes the only move left. Leaving the SA with Aoi so the others can remain behind.
He Melted! No wait...
Hikari does not take this well.
Given this show, I thought she might catch it
Surprisingly, Kei looks unprepared for the fact that Hikari is after him, but says a farewell (not that she can hear him), like he actually is reserved to this fate, no last minute reprieves. Looks like the SA is going to have to go get him.
One last note about why I hate the way all series set up the last episode tension. Here is the last shot of the episode, accompanied by Hikari's anguish cries of "Takashima!!!!"
And here is the start of the ending credits.
The tones are a tad different, don't ya think?
I made this!
Episode 21 is solely for the purpose of introducing the bad guy, Aoi, a lacky for Kei's family who has come, as we eventually find out, to take Kei back to London so he can attend a real elite school.
Expect some capital E evil
Episode 22 needs some set up. At the end of the last episode, Kei tries to convince Hikari that she wubs him. Her reaction to this is predictable.
Unstable much?
This turns into a warped discussion about why Hikari is the only one that calls Kei by his surname. Hilarious in itself, this somehow turns into a challenge to prove she can resist Kei romantically by challenging him to a...date? Trust me, if you see it, it makes even less sense. But after a day of challenging each other at various carnival games and rides, Hikari comes this close to admitting her feelings for Kei. Close, because due to a random phone call to Kei, Hikari goes to powder her nose only to overhear this common lament of the unloved.
Don't use the L word!
This is completely warped, considering Kei fell for Hikari long ago, so could use this information to her advantage if she had an observant bone in her body. There is also the fact that she is taking advice from someone she overheard in the ladies room. The reaction is as expected.
I could almost pity him
This is all quickly forgoten, as episode 23 starts with the crisis that marks the second-to-last episode of all anime series. In this case, the disbanding of the SA due to a parents complaint. Only one parent could put that kind of pressure on the school, and Kei knows it.
Guess who?
Everyone takes the news hard, except Hikari who see the bright side of everything.
It's just that easy
Let's see how that works out.
Did Akira bring her tea service?
But some things never change, like tea time. Just the venue has changed, the violence remains the same.
Do I have to remind you that the reason I watch fansubs is because I DON'T SPEAK JAPANESE?
And to Hikari, that's kind of the point. As long as they got each other, ain't gonna breaka my stride, yadda yadda yadda.
Actually, a good point.
This doesn't last.
Never thought of them as quitters
We start to see how closing down the SA can break up the gang.
He is Dad, who we haven't even seen up to this point. Thanks, Dad.
Akira's case is not so clean cut. Kei's family is putting the screws to Akira's family to make her drop out, since in this made up world of the super rich, Kei apparently trumps all of them and they do whatever his company wants.
The following is a bit complicated, but gets to the heart of what this show is about. For 6 of the SA members, the world they grew up in was one of family politics, unreasonable expectations and pressures. Hikari is the lone wolf where this is concerned. Akira tries to explain it.
If you could call anything about most anime series "inspiring", it's that they have a "you can do anything if you put your mind to it" attitude, from DBZ (to a ridiculous extent) to Sailor Moon. All series, with the possible exception of Evangelion (where whining is the key to power), have the main characters overcome some hardship through willpower. I assumed it was a Eastern philosophy thing. This flies right in the face of that. The problem, since you know they're setting this up as a red herring to overcome later, is that it sounds right in the context of the world they have set up. This is the first series I recall that deals with the elite from the inside without either making them look totally evil and twisted, or as a joke. I have to wonder if they will deal with this contradiction, or just overpower it through the power of love(TM).
Back to the story. Kei takes Akira's request to "rescue" Hikari a tad too seriously.
Watch the hands, playboy
They discuss the situation, Hikari reiterating her feeling that as long as she has her friends, the SA doesn't matter. Kei puts it all together, and tries to use a language Hikari can understand to set up the inevitable. That is, a challenge.
Hikari asks the obvious question.
I have the feeling we've run into another Japanese euphemism, give Hikari's reaction.
If "everything" means what I think it means, the greenhouse will be a'rockin
This is, in fact, Kei's way of saying Hikari wins this one, as he makes the only move left. Leaving the SA with Aoi so the others can remain behind.
He Melted! No wait...
Hikari does not take this well.
Given this show, I thought she might catch it
Surprisingly, Kei looks unprepared for the fact that Hikari is after him, but says a farewell (not that she can hear him), like he actually is reserved to this fate, no last minute reprieves. Looks like the SA is going to have to go get him.
One last note about why I hate the way all series set up the last episode tension. Here is the last shot of the episode, accompanied by Hikari's anguish cries of "Takashima!!!!"
And here is the start of the ending credits.
The tones are a tad different, don't ya think?
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