hontou ni
12Dec/0511

Disappointment with DCSS

*Warning: Heavy spoilers for DCS1 and DCSS

The latest addition to my anime stash includes Da Capo R3 DVDs bought on the last day of my Taipei trip which I lovingly re-watched immediately upon reaching home. Despite my nth viewing, I was still touched by the numerous emotional scenes and the fiery intensity of Nemu/Sakura’s love, re-affirming DCS1's top spot on my H-game-turned-anime charts. (Of course SHUFFLE might end its reign if it remains on-track.)

However, the immensely enjoyable review of DCS1 was marred by my nagging disappointment with its sequel. As I sat through the emotional rooftop confrontation of Sakura/Nemu (ep 20), Nemu’s open declaration of love to Junichi (ep 18) and Yoriko’s beautiful departure (ep 22), I began to see how empty and juvenile DCSS is compared to its predecessor.

As of DCSS ep 23, there are only 2 episodes that I truly enjoyed and they were the Kotori-centric ep 14 and 15. It was in these 2 eps that my heart ached for the ONLY person I now cared for in DCSS. (Do note that I am STILL a Nemu fan, the Nemu of DCS1 that is.) As far as I’m concerned, Kotori is DCSS’s only hope since she ALONE has the potential to challenge Nemu and inject emotional highs in the series. Unfortunately, DCSS writers have squandered her tremendous potential and instead gave us a generic “We-all-love-Junchi-even-he-has-Nemu” harem scenario. As a result, we have no noteworthy drama after ep 9 (aside from some self-induced emotional moments from Kotori fans) and virtually zero character development for most of the cast. (Admittedly there is some marginal development for Kotori and a little more for Aisia.) Personally I find this “I-will-love-Junichi-even-if-he-loves-Nemu” concept incredible. As much as Aisia is an air-head, she was RIGHT to question the girls’ absurd acceptance of status-quo. It is NOT ok to like Junichi if he’s with Nemu because we all know it hurts. One either fights to lose that feeling or fights for Junichi. Kotori chose the former (which I personally found sufficient justification for though that does not bode well for DCSS) while Aisia (in her own way) chose the latter. The rest of the harem just resignedly carry their little torches for Junichi and still claim to be happy. I guess the series attempts to make angels out of these harem girls. Unfortunately, for this viewer, inhuman perfection is a HUGE technical flaw and utterly undermines a character’s credibility.

Honestly, DCSS needs a Kaede (ala SHUFFLE); someone human with real fears/wants to rock the boat…. no, to do a Titanic on Junichi and his homunculous harem. Alas, it’s too late with 3 eps remaining. Even with the awakening of the sakura tree, there remains little basis for competition and the illusionary state of Nemu/Junichi as limbo-lovers only robs our top contender, Kotori, of an opportunity to have a REAL confrontation (if it will ever come to that although I sincerely doubt it.).

Well, FEEL does have 3 eps to change my mind about the series but I get the strong feeling I wouldn’t be owning DCSS DVDs.

*screenies from DCSS 14 & 15

Related posts:

  1. DCSS 07
  2. DCSS 01
  3. DCSS 06

Posted by

Filed under: Da Capo Second Season Leave a comment
Comments (11) Trackbacks (1)
  1. relentlessflame
    December 13th, 2005 - 01:39

    It sounds to me like you’re understanding the point/message of DCSS without even realizing it. I mean, really, Aisia’s whole role in the series is to represent the point of view you just described – the people disappointed in the way things were heading and not satisfied with this “fake” or inhuman happiness. Everything seems hollow if all you can do is accept your fate, and seeing the way Nemu and Junichi were interacting didn’t really ring true either. That’s exactly what Aisia’s been saying all along – and thus her plea to “please, make everyone happy!” In other words, Aisia contended, just as you are contending, that the only way the girls could truly be happy would be to have a real chance again (and in Aisia’s mind, just as in yours, the girl most in need of a real chance is Kotori). Aisia’s answer in action is what we see in episodes 23 and 24.

    Now, that being said, is Aisia’s opinion (and your point of view as well) the right answer for Da Capo? That’s what the remaining two episodes are going to tell us. Despite the fact that I think Aisia had a really good point (as you as well), I don’t think her answer is right. Why? Because whether the conflict was subtle or right out in the open, Junichi and Nemu are destined to be together in the end. No matter how many times you “reset” reality, she’s always been the girl in his heart. Accepting the truth is painful, but it’s much more painful if you have to live with the scars of the pain you inflicted on others (as Sakura does – which is why the forgiveness episode was so important for her character).

    So, it’s interesting to see how your disappointment in the show parallels exactly the development of Aisia’s argument in the show from beginning to middle to this point. I’m quite convinced that was very much on purpose. Now, whether they’re able to resolve this argument in a way that’ll truly satisfy you (and Aisia) with the last two episodes… that remains to be seen. And whether Feel did a good job with Second Season or not, I’m absolutely sure that they’re giving us this message on purpose.

    ( REPLY )
  2. Dervish ibn Candela
    December 13th, 2005 - 02:18

    Heya! It seems you’re alive again. Disappointed with DCSS? That’s another lesson for ya: don’t watch sequels. Prequels. Specials. Another spacetime versions and manga adaptations. All those simulacra become copies with no original behind. Watch GITS and kill yourself =) But people never learn… *sigh* As americanisation of japan is proceeding, anime is doomed to depict that withered and dying culture state. Let’s pray they revive some day and grace us with something new and real.

    ( REPLY )
  3. Stripey
    December 13th, 2005 - 14:10

    relentlessflame: Woah thanks for that very interesting perspective and pointing out many aspects of the series I never considered. :) In a very strange sense, I must be sado-masochistic to want to see my lovely Kotori chan get hurt in the series so that I may weep more for her. :P

    Just a personal note on the studio’s methods to get their point across. I believe for most of us, there is no doubt about how the series will close even right from ep 1 of DCSS. Nemu with Junichi, period. And since the destination is known, the journey thus becomes the major yardstick by which the series will be measured. My beef with DCSS lies with this journey.I was kind of expecting a emotional rollercoaster of Nemu challenged and Kotori rejected much in the spirit of DCS1. Instead, we are given a real smooth/boring ride with a banner that says “Nemu is invincible” If FEEL wants us to understand the futility of coming between Nemu/Junichi, demonstrate it with Kotori’s heartrending attempts. If they want us to see that “accepting status-quo” beats leaving huge emotional scars, don’t get Sakura to talk about a previous season’s plot, show it with Alice/Tamaki. Of course we will only know what FEEL really wants to convey with the final eps but as of now I personally feel they could easily have included more drama to bring across their point with greater emotional impact.

    Dervish: lol! Well there are some sequels, specials that I enjoyed… for example…. hmmm…… errr….. ah! Fullmetal Panic the second raid (but it was better really becos Kyoto Animation >> GONZO) And the Mahoromatic Summer special is an absolute GEM! :) Of course I have to admit that for every good sequel/prequel/special I struggle to name, there are easily 3 bad ones. :P

    ( REPLY )
  4. relentlessflame
    December 13th, 2005 - 15:23

    As you say, what’s interesting is that Feel *could* have delivered the message in any number of ways. Obviously, the first season was told in an extremely direct way (lots of physical drama), and so they could have done the same thing with second season. But, given the way the story’s so carefully connected, it’s clear that they did this deliberately – this was a conscious, planned choice from the very start. Whereas season one was obvious and direct, season two is almost completely subtle/indirect, possibly to a fault. (It’s only by carefully looking at the emotional development of Aisia’s argument through Kotori that you can get what’s really going on in the show.) It’s obvious that a lot of time and effort and energy went into planing exactly how everything would come together, because the connections keep showing up.

    So, all that begs the question: why did they choose to take this approach, instead of the more direct approach that most people were expecting? Possibly to be different, so it wouldn’t be a repeat of season one? Possibly in knowing that D.C. II was on its way? Possibly to challenge peoples’ thinking about what a story like this should be? Or heck, possibly just to frustrate people who came at it with preconceived notions of what the second season should be – who knows. But it’s a very good question, and I’m definitely interested in figuring out if the ending gives us any insight about it.

    Personally, I like the fact that Second Season is more subtle – since everything’s happening below the surface, it forces you to think carefully about what they’re trying to say. I don’t think many people want to put that much thought into their anime, though, or simply aren’t conditioned to do so. Obviously, it’d be pretty hard to pull something like this off except in a sequel. (Of course, you, as a viewer, have to start with the assumption that “whoever wrote this is trying to say something, and it’s up to me to figure it out”. If you assume that the writer is incompetent or doesn’t know what they’re doing because it doesn’t go a certain way, then all hope of learning from the show is lost.)

    No matter how it ends, I have a feeling that a lot of people will look back on second season and say it sucked simply because Kotori didn’t put up a visible, “physical” fight against Nemu. That being said, I can’t help but think that, in the process, people missed so much of what was actually happening. People think of drama as conflicts with each other – face-to-face and direct. But the more common and typical type of drama is internal – a conflict with yourself (your feelings, your beliefs, your past, etc.). This season was absolutely packed with drama (the internal kind), but not the kind people (especially English-speaking fans) are used to, so it’s a bit of a tough pill to swallow. I don’t believe they had to bring back the tree at all to resolve all the drama in the show, but it forces people who can only see the physical (external conflicts) to take notice and not miss that “something’s happening”. Of course, what’s actually happening has nothing to do with the tree, really; it has to do with resolving Aisia and Kotori’s internal conflicts that framed the whole show. But a lot of people simply can’t see things that way either and, to be honest, I’m not exactly sure why. Which is why I keep talking and thinking about it, and trying to figure it out.

    Anyway, sorry for rambling. Hopefully it gives you something to think about, though.

    ( REPLY )
  5. Dervish ibn Candela
    December 14th, 2005 - 00:36

    Doushi Stripey! So you really found 3 specials|sequels worth watching! The whole deconstruction thingy in anime industry starts to annoy… Deconstruction refers to dissolution of the very concept of TEXT as a single itegral work with complete structure and ideas. The more I watch anime the more I see initial authors’ concepts splitting into DOZENS of “seasons”, “versions”, “diferent spacetime parallel universe worlds” not to mention usual commerial stuff as specials and we are supposed to buy all that crap. No thanks! I am very careful now about watching anime =) … that was fun in times of Kenshin/X TV: we could watch everything, we could see anything and write anything. But that was long ago… I have an Idea. Why don’t we hust drop this virtual image addiction?… Impossible huh…

    ( REPLY )
  6. Dervish ibn Candela
    December 14th, 2005 - 00:37

    Btw do you still have your old email box?

    ( REPLY )
  7. Stripey
    December 16th, 2005 - 03:28

    relentlessflame: very valid points indeed, thanks for the insight. :) I have to admit I have been heavily influenced (or desensitized) by hollywood blockbusters and their mega-action/explosions. If DCSS ends decently, I must sit through the series again to see I can discover the underlying subtleness. :)

    Dervish: me give up anime? lol! i think it be easier to wish for world peace :P I tend to think that it’s not really the things we are watching getting more un-original per se but our increasing experience and exposure. With every passing book or movie/play we watch, everything similar that comes later in the same genre becomes less original. It’s a sign of our age, brother Dervish. :P My only concern now is when I reach XX years old, I will still be going ‘gao’ and ‘uguu’ or salivating gushing about the eternally 18 yr old Shirakawa Kotori… :)

    Yes my old email is still active :)

    ( REPLY )
  8. cyw1988
    December 17th, 2005 - 06:18

    yes stripey… i feel the same way as u haha i gave up after kotori arc.. it was just over… dcss fought valiantly to hold my attention(with ep 14 and 15) but after that it threw in the towel… looks like this series has failed… and i used to think shuffle wld be the one which would fail me… but somehow.. shuffle did what most h games could not do and made a new record as the best HGTA of all time period!

    ( REPLY )
  9. Dervish ibn Candela
    December 20th, 2005 - 17:13

    cyw1988: You mean, best as in YE ABSOLUTE WERY BEST series of all times? Better than KgNE?!
    Stripey: Just LET IT DIE XD jump in front of the train or that “h4r4k1r1 r0xx0rz” thingy or you can try double suicide in bamboo grove…

    ( REPLY )
  10. Zyl
    December 21st, 2005 - 10:58

    Despite your disappointment with DCSS, I see you’re still keeping your Aishia banner? Loliiiiicooooon… :D

    ( REPLY )
  11. Stripey
    December 21st, 2005 - 12:16

    cyw1988: SHUFFLE just toppled Da Capo for me w eps 19-21 too. Fantastic eps. I thinking of getting the more economical Taiwanese R3 when they are released :)

    Dervish: I personally found SHUFFLE better than KGNE :) maybe cos of the length, it manages a richer and more coherent tale. They juggled the girls’ tales very admirably with Kaede’s arc ep 19-21 being the most potent (so far) Worth a look. Hmm I not giving up DCSS yet. watching only for Kotori. More of her in the recent eps. XP

    Zyl: LOL! I like Primula’s ep 22 outfit does that make me a loli-meido-nekomimi-con… hmm now I’m worried… :P

    ( REPLY )

Leave a comment

(required)

Megami Magazine Memorial Book (2006-8) at hontou ni sou omou?
» «

Search Hontou Ni

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Series & Themes

Maki Maki Blogroll

RSS Danny Choo

@ZylZaku

Meta