hontou ni
16Oct/0718

Da Capo II 03 – Yoshiyuki, the man I'll never be

Yoshiyuki is a better man than I'll ever be. I admit I'm shallow when it comes to companionship. I sought only from the near-best to be my partner, a mindset apparently so poorly concealed that my other half made this observation during our early courtship,

"You only make good friends of the prettiest girls in any group."

A claim I vehemently rejected of course though she herself is living proof. Anyway, my point is if I were Yoshiyuki, I would have dumped Koko 15 times by now for any one of the top DCII girls - Yume, Otome or Nanaka. No offense to Koko fans but in terms of physical beauty or personality, DCII's sannin surpasses her by about 200 lightyears.

But that is precisely why I admire Yoshiyuki. He's sticking with Koko because he made a commitment and ultimately that's what makes marriages work. Even though I've been organising street parties for Koko's eventual d-day, I really enjoyed their growing relationship this ep. I especially thought Yoshiyuki's request for approval via eye-contact to go first-name with Nanaka to be considerate and the final bit about his declaration to know all things Koko really sweet.

Sadly, harem series never have winners whose rankings are below 3. Koko and Yoshiyuki WILL break up and I suspect it'd be Nanaka-induced. Given that it's already ep 3, it'd only make sense to build Koko and Yoshiyuki only if Nanaka's story is integral. (We are assuming here Koko end is out of the question) My tanuki sense or wishful thinking tells me that DCII would have a Koko X Nanaka focus for its first half, shifting to the Yume X Otome theatre with either the Minatsu or Anzu story as the bridge.

A couple of other observations. Minatsu is still irritating as hell this ep. Her tale better be noteworthy to make up for the annoyances. And Chihara Minoru makes a good Nanaka. At least vocals wise, she's stronger than Horie Yui (but I still love you Hocchan!)

Overall, an well-executed and compact episode that had character intro/development and bishoujo charm. Looking even more now to that Koko break-up XD

Related posts:

  1. Da Capo II 07 – The doomed love of the Shirakawas
  2. Da Capo II 04 – Kotori ~ My eternal Shirakawa
  3. Da Capo II 01 – Off to a fabulous start

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  1. maglor
    October 16th, 2007 - 06:25

    Unlike certain Ito Makoto, Rin, or some of other Harem lead, Yoshiyuki is actually being very decent and faithful to the girl. I need to revise the odd and add new possibility.

    Otome: 53% This is episode 3 and she still hasn’t made any meaningful move. She acts just like a meddlesome mother, and I actually managed to time her appearance down to a second, which is more suggestive of comical role instead of meaningful role.
    Yume: 15% She is being very observant and knowledgeable of the entire situation, but behaves as if she would choose Otome’s food over Yoshiyuki. On second thought, that is a very reasonable choice.
    Koko: 14% She actually got even closer to Yoshiyuki! If she keeps this up for two more episode, she will overtake Yume for the 2nd spot, and may even jump to the #1 spot. Nanaka may be the reason for her downfall
    Nanaka: 12% She showed much attention to Yoshiyuki and had him admiring her
    Harem end: Why not! It is harem anime and no reason why Yoshiyuki can’t end up with two or more wives. Yoshiyuki’s attention to Koko actually made me be more open to this possibility
    Minatsu: 3% She is annoying
    The field: 3% We still have many episodes to go.

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  2. maglor
    October 16th, 2007 - 06:27

    Revise the last odds

    Otome 52%
    yume: 16%
    koko: 14%
    Nanaka: 12%
    Harem: 3%
    Minatsu: 2%
    The field: 1%

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  3. sixten
    October 16th, 2007 - 07:29

    When it comes to girls, I remember pursuing some girls primarily because they were cute. However, more often than not, I go after girls with prodigious talent or intellect, whether they’re cute or not. A girl with encyclopedic knowledge of plants and urban horticulture, a girl with art skills that would blow Noizi Ito out of the water, a girl who knew how to do everything in Physics Lab, these are more my “type”.

    But I don’t see how that makes me less shallow than you. I’ve been criticized as being a “talent worshipper” the same way you are criticized for putting beauty first. Some girls have that “something” we’re looking for, and we go after them instead of the girls that don’t have that “something”. We’re all allowed to have our preferences.

    Although I’m enjoying Da Capo II, I don’t see any girls that could be seen as “the prodigy” (The singing girl maybe? But she hasn’t had much screentime) so I don’t have any favorites. A Koko ending would not be such a bad thing, if the lessons learned were that a promise was stronger than temptation, and that girls possess qualities that are more important, and more permanent, than beauty.

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  4. meganeshounen
    October 16th, 2007 - 07:49

    The inevitable Nanaka/Koko/Yoshiyuki/Wataru love triangle, huh? Wonder how the anime will handle that..

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  5. Stripey
    October 16th, 2007 - 09:57

    maglor: I’m now rooting for harem end! Yoshiyuki deserves it XD The one thing I thought FEEL is neglecting is what was termed as the ‘stay alive’ checks (by Mentar if I’m not wrong :P ) ie, if Yume/Otome/Nanaka even have the mildest interest in Yoshiyuki, there should be signs right from ep 1 or they’d need to set up the ‘basis of attraction’ later for these girls.

    sixten: You’re too kind really. But I do feel better :P I have a bad habit of pairing the best (by my subjective assessment) girl and guy in any series. That has lead me to wanting C.C. with Suzaku in Code Geass, Kanami with Ryohou in SCRYED and Saya with Chagum in Seirei no moribito. I just have this romanticised notion of putting what I deemed to be the 2 best persons in any series together, believing they deserve each other. Sadly for Koko, I believe Yoshiyuki deserves better even though Koko’s really sweet and all. Of course I like to think I only apply such ideals in anime :)

    meganeshounen: My question really is how Yoshiyuki is going to extricate himself from the love-square and move onto Yume/Otome without us hating him XD

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  6. reekon
    October 16th, 2007 - 10:17

    I’m still rooting for a Shirakawa ending, as I think most Kotori fans are.

    (I mean for the love of ***, Kotori suffered already. Must her descendant suffer the same fate???) >:O

    What makes me worried though is the “sakura tree” factor.

    I don’t know the other girls’ endings besides Koko’s and Nanaka’s, but if they need to kill the tree again, won’t that effectively “kill” Yoshi too?

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  7. reekon
    October 16th, 2007 - 10:25

    Assuming of course that they need to kill the tree. But then, what other purpose will the tree have in the story than to have it be killed?

    Hmm… although in the Anzu ending, I think she lost her memory but Yoshi was still there. So maybe Yoshi will still survive, just as Sakura is still small.

    Damn … must…get…spoilers…please….help… =P

    I hate having to wait for another week for the next DC II fix. =(

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  8. suguru
    October 16th, 2007 - 11:53

    > My question really is how Yoshiyuki is going to extricate himself from the love-square and move onto Yume/Otome without us hating him XD

    That’s exactly what I’m wondering…if they’re really going to have Yoshiyuki break up with Koko due to Nanaka, but then he falls for Yume or Otome…he’s going to end up making Masaki Tenchi look like a paragon of decisiveness by comparison. I’m hoping Yoshiyuki at least shoots down Nanaka and doesn’t end up bouncing from Koko->Nanaka->Otome or Yume (although the Kotori fan in me wants a Nanaka ending, I accept that the ending just wouldn’t be as dramatic as if it does the Yume or Otome route…maybe in DC III a Shirakawa can finally get the win).

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  9. Xellos-_^
    October 16th, 2007 - 12:46

    the Sakura Tree could clone a Yoshi for each of the girls and DC will be rename Yoshi’s Island adventure.

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  10. maglor
    October 16th, 2007 - 13:01

    @ Xellos-_^

    Dang! I wish I thought of that possibility.

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  11. holyman282
    October 16th, 2007 - 17:05

    I agree with you stripey, Koko, though not un-appealing, is simply outshined by the other girls. Also she’s quite a sweet girl and I like her personality..

    This off course heightens by anxiety as I know the closer Yoshiyuki gets to Koko, the more it’ll hurt her when he dumps her for the more visually appealing ones (my fingers crossed for Nanaka)….

    Here’s hoping your opinion of Yoshiyuki won’t change when he dumps Koko for another girl. (I honestly can’t see how the writers are going to do it without making him look like a jerk now..)

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  12. Xellos-_^
    October 16th, 2007 - 22:37

    @holyman

    hit her with a car. put koko in a coma and have nanaka take care of Yoshi. then have koko wake up in 3 years.

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  13. flaskis
    October 17th, 2007 - 01:28

    Well, I might be the only one here hoping Yoshiuki and Koko won’t break up. Hell, I’m even hoping the whole anime will be about their band and turning into a somewhat average series because of this, making the fact that Yoshiuki will break up with Koko something impossible! ;)

    With that said, I still like Nanaka, and especially Yume after that breakfast scene in the first episode. I haven’t seen anyone chew food in such a cute manner as she did <3

    PS. Yes, Minatsu is still annoying, and her seiyuu isn’t making it better.

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  14. holyman282
    October 17th, 2007 - 03:24

    @Xellos

    hmmm that plot device sounds familiar I wonder where I’ve seen that from lol… -_-

    That could work, but it’ll also mean that you’ll have to fast forward several years when Koko wakes up lol…..

    That would be one of the major problems as the story premise of DCII game happens within about 1 year give or take…. Wait any longer then that, it’ll mean that the writers will have to make up a whole new story.

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  15. Stripey
    October 17th, 2007 - 11:04

    reekon: heh, maybe we’d enjoy more if we didn’t know the endings? :) With ep 3, I find myself leaning towards Otome more and more even though Yume’s still my preferred girl in DCII…. but I’m not sure for how long since Nanaka’s turning up the heat with this latest ep :)

    suguru: LOL! Paragon of decisiveness.. XD I must be one of the few Kotori fanboys who are not rooting for Nanaka. Actually I played part of DCII and Nanaka doesn’t quite give me Kotori vibes.. Yume on the other hand is very Nemu. XD Anyhow, I agree with you that Yume/Otome route should be the most dramatic and I guess it’s times like this that character love may need to make way for the realisation of a more powerful tale. That probably explained why I rooted for Nemu in DCI and DCSS even though I love Kotori more than anyone else in animedom :)

    Xellos-_^: Speaking of KNGE, I’d love a remake with an Akane finish. XD

    flaskis: Koko and Yoshiyuki’s budding love is very sweet indeed and I think it’s going to be very painful when Break-Up happens. But I guess drama is part of the reason why we’re watching DCII :) I just hope he doesn’t shatter Koko irecoverably. And yes, Yume’s cute. Horie Yui surely has something to do with it XD My only gripe is that the girls need to start showing clearer signs of jealousy if they want to get involved with Yoshiyuki later on. So far, Otome, Nanaka and Yume have shown tremendous support for Yoshi/Koko’s relationship which is nice but maybe a tad boring XD

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  16. Icteridae
    October 17th, 2007 - 23:46

    About Otome, I’m having a hard time recalling a previous time where an “onee-chan” was a harem choice. I mean, “otouto-kun” doesn’t really have the same ring as “onii-chan” to it after all.

    Given that DCII is only 13 episodes long, I’m thinking Koko will go to ep 5 (I haven’t watched ep. 3 yet). I’m thinking Nanaka/Otome/Minatsu will get a sprinkling in with 1-2 episodes apiece, but I’m thinking a Yume ending.

    Then again, the short wiki description of the plot does seem to lean towards having Otome play a significant role.

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  17. Vexx
    October 18th, 2007 - 08:12

    I finally watched episode 1 and unfortunately I’m now a bit wary of watching any more.
    They so *nailed* the anxiety and terror that goes with declaring a first love or a “will you go steady with me” in the first episode I don’t know that I want to watch Koko’s happiness come apart later unless she’s able to make a come back in the end. It has nothing to do with “which girl I like best” (they’re all interesting) but the fear of rejection at the end of ep 1 was so palpable I find myself unable not to root for her.

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  18. Xellos-_^
    October 18th, 2007 - 12:40

    @Icteridae

    “I

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