Sukitte Iinayo (Say 'I Love You') centers around Mei Tachibana who was blamed for something trivial in primary school and consequently spent 16 years in solitude. But after she kicks the most popular boy in school down the stairs thing begin to change. Kurosawa Yamoto begins bothering her, apparently he fell in love with her when she kicked him (masochist?) and he will not let her go. However after saving her from a stalker, he does get through to her and he reignites her trust in other people. It's also one of those terribly cliched 'troubled past' stories were every one has their history told in a most awkward fashion.
Tragic back stories aside, shall we discuss how much of a prick Yamoto actually is? Sure, he appears cool and charming and likes to play the hero but in reality he is arrogant and egotistical. As soon as he meets Mei he decides that she has to be his girlfriend, he just assumes that his reputation as the most attractive, kind boy in school will get him any one. It gets worse! When Mei pushes him away he forces himself upon her. He follows her home and repeatedly kisses her against her will. It's treated lightly, but it is definitely sexual harassment! After they get together Yamato is still very forward with her and there's even a bit of fondling going on - it all happens way too fast for a romance anime! What happened to all the cuteness that's supposed to happen before they even hold hands? This is not the kiddie anime I'm used to and it makes my heart go toki doki!
There's also some dodgy inconsistencies, especially nearer the end of the plot when we meet the model Megu-tan who cause some trouble between Mei and Yamato. She appears to disappear for a few episode but then reappears with twice the malice! It's hard to explain with out giving away the plot, but little things like that can be really irksome! I'm sure the actually context of the plot would be nice unless, like me, you've already watched Kimi Ni Todoke because it just can't compare!
I already talked about the male lead, now what about the female lead: Mei Tachibana. What a terrible example for young girl's everywhere. Instead of developing as a character she become more submissive to Yamato and more dependent on him. She starts the show very self-sufficient, sure she's kind of gloomy and suffers trust issues, but it not too bad. But after Yamato sticks his sticky beak in she becomes insecure and totally dependent on his attention. It's completely embarrassing to watch and 100% offensive.
Ok, so I don't like the plot and the characters are all idiots. The back stories are all cliched and it's all way too intimate for me to handle. So, why did I enjoy watching this? Oh yeah, because I'm such a romance junky that any love story will keep me happy; I'm easily pleased. But that doesn't make it a good anime. Especially the first few episode with the disgusting levels of sexual harassment are unacceptable! I do like the classical OST though, usually classical pieces are poorly placed in anime but the combination of original classical tunes as well as some nice moderately well-known pieces makes for a good combination of familiarity and novelty. Thought I'd end it on a high!
Pie:
woah woah woah I had no idea that they had an anime based on the manga!!!! I would have watched it ageeeeees ago if I'd known :o
ReplyDeleteNever read the manga. Is it any good?
DeleteIt's alright, dunno whether I should watch the anime though. Though I can't remember if the following her home and him kissing her against her will happened in the manga. It's been a while since I've read it.
ReplyDelete