Is Asatte no houkou worth JPY12,000?

While the US Congress/Bush adminstration lock horns over the US$700b bailout plan and Singapore deliberates if we are in a technical recession, this tanuki is in minor financial fix himself. The [Sorry, this post was severely truncated during conversion to UTF8; can't find a backup of the full original entry]

Of flowing love and fitting ends – A mild lament on AsaHou

I would have loved to see Kotori walk away with Junichi in Da Capo but I know that'll be wrong. I'm still learning to apply the distinction between 'best' and 'right' in love but I think I'm getting it. Kotori is unarguably the best female character I've seen in anime but even her perfect devotion of 2 years cannot challenge the deep childhood bonds that bind Nemu-Junichi. The plot just does not have enough basis to thwart the inertia of a Nemu/Junichi end. Same goes for Kiminozo. Much as I love Suzumiya Akane, Kiminozo would not be on my top 10 if it ended with Takayuki eloping with Akane. There's simply no sufficient justification. Nevertheless, it should be noted I did lament slightly Kiminozo's end since the series seemed poised for an Haruka end but finished unconvincingly with Mitsuki. I questioned time and again if Takayuki didn't love Haruka, would he have hurt Mitsuki in such a manner? How does the series justify Takayuki repeatedly sacrificing Mitsuki for the sake for Haruka then? It didn't for me. I was baffled with Takayuki's choice.

Asatte no Houkou ~ Rooting for Hiro X Karada

I've never liked Hiro. He appeared too laid back and unkempt (haircut dude! haircut!), plus the supposedly callous treatment of Shouko turned me off. But the flashblack in Asatte no Houkou 08 changed that. Here's a man who unconditionally loved a stranger as imouto and shelved his life to devote himself in the care of her. The amazing thing was he decided to do so upon first setting eyes on Karada and affirming that choice with the above embrace. Absolutely superhuman for one who just lost his parents himself. Granted, Karada is a wonderful soul worthy of such selfless love but Hiro's still utterly admirable.

I finally found someone who could complete for the place that Shirakawa Kotori occupies in my heart. Lovely as adult Karada may be, her physical beauty is but a diminished transmission of the true inner beauty, an unblemished soul. It hurts me so much that Karada shed not a tear during the passing of the step-parents, both at the hospital or funeral. Knowing Karada, she's probably telling herself to be strong (as she was before the start of the flashback in ep 08) and not burden anyone anymore. But came Hiro and his instant loving acknowledgement of Karada as sister melted Karada's will as she allowed herself to be vulnerable once more. Yes, she's lost her parents but she's found a brother. Such is the bittersweetness of Karada's tears, the strength of their first embrace.

Where Karada and Hiro have an outward looking, almost divine love, centred not on self but the other, Shouko is only mortal. We see Karada striving to release Hiro but Shouko pursuing him to account for his deeds. I understand Shouko's bitterness but also know she knows nothing of the altruistic love that binds Hiro/Karada. Sure, she's seeing some of it and her concept of love is evolving. Her genuine blessing of Hiro in ep 7 is a important step in shaping her views on love and Hiro's past action is made clearer with the revealing worthiness/loveliness of Karada. Nevertheless, given her outburst in ep 9, I'd say she will never be able to fully grasp the lofty love that Hiro/Karada enjoy.

The preview for ep 10 suggests that Karada finally falls in love (let's remember Karada now has related hormones). It's ambiguous at this time if it'd be Tetsu (a very worthy suitor indeed) or (*gasp! siscon ewww!*) Hiro that Karada's heart aches/yearns for. Personally, I'd never accept anything other than a Hiro X Karada end. No other coupling in the story comes close to the the level of their relationship. Not Tetsu X Karada (despite Tetsu's very persistent and consistent fledgling love for Karada), not Shouko X Hiro (even with their previous relationship.) I don't care if people call me a pedosisphile or the police,

I need a wishing stone.