hontou ni » Hatsukoi Limited

Hatsukoi Limited – Final thoughts

Stripey — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:48:09 +0000

"JC Staff does romance right" was my conclusion after catching the final episode of Hatsukoi Limited, having boycotted the finale for almost a year because the series' callous treatment of Saki-nee. Up til the penultimate episode, I had lamented the lack of proper basis of attraction and worthy men to match the sizzling hawt bishoujo cast. Thankfully, Hatsukoi Limited's finale was a satisfying affair which dispelled much of the tanuki's ill-will.

Here's sharing my thoughts in a couple-centric manner as the finale did.

Chikura Nao X Sogabe Hiroyuki

I'm reminded again of my deepest admiration for 14 yr old Nao as she continues to exhibit uncharacteristic maturity in this love-com and with a gentle wisdom WAAAAY beyond her years. Sogabe may not be senpai-caliber but his taste in girls is at least impeccable.

Arihara Ayumi X Zaitsu Mamoru

Ahhh, the age old debate on "to love vs to be loved". The Truth is for bishoujos like Ayumi, she just safely choose "to love" since a beauty of her standings would eventually win the affections of the one she loves. That is how much faith I have in Ayumi (and bishoujos in general).

Enomoto Kei X Kusuda Etsu

Their pairing was the most contentious but I have learnt to accept regrettable bishoujo choices in anime. Don't get me wrong. It's not about being ugly. It's just that Kusuda had nothing exceptional to snag the likes of Kei who was not only utterly gorgeous but wise and incredibly thoughtful despite her tsundere facade. I had supported wholeheartedly yakuza-eyes Ryuuji (Toradora) and Kenta (Karin) because they possessed other rare qualities not easily found in other men and were thus worthy of their bishoujos. I can barely detect any from Kusuda. Still I wish only the best for the happy couple and can only hope they weather through the tough journey ahead.

Bessho Koyoi X Bessho Yoshihiko

After Nao's senpai, Yoshihiko is the next most worthy man in the show. So it pains me a greatly to learn he has dropped out of the Yamamoto race. But there are times when 2nd place means a bigger WIN than being champion. That fittingly describes the Koyoi and Yoshihiko end. The final still of Koyoi making ai-ai (love love) bento for Yoshihiko did not escape this tanuki's siscon eyes and HE APPROVES. Koyoi is classic representation of all bishoujo-imoutos and it pleases me greatly to see her paired with her beloved onii chan who is a good man.

Yamonoto Misaki X Arihara Yuuji

It baffles me greatly why anyone in their right mind would choose his sister over Misaki and mind you this is coming from siscon Stripey ranks Ayumi fairly highly on the "Lolicious imouto index". I'm just glad that Yuuji is gonna give this a shot and our lovely Saki-nee needn't be heartbroken no more.

Despite my rants and lamentations, I thought the finale did a fantastic job of closure and invoking that warm fuzzy feeling of first-love. Yet another romantic gem worthy of the JC Staff brand. Now to get the R3 DVDs.

Hatsukoi Limited 10-12

Zyl — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:41:38 +0000

It was good to see that Olympic candidate talent deteriorates in the absence of training; how I hate characters who get by purely on the strengths of their natural talent and constipated teeth clenching. Thank goodness the swim team relationships have been more or less resolved with the plot devices of A Challenger Has Arrived and Loved One's Words; they were my least favourite pair - can't even remember their names.

Wimbledon aside, I've also been holding back on watching these final episodes of Hatsukoi until I could see, among other things, how the Kei x Kusuda tsundere relationship was going to work out. They're hardly the besto couple candidates but I enjoy their bickering in the same perverse way that I enjoyed the depiction of soul-destroying matrimonial slow death in Black Heaven. Which is also why Kusuda's outburst and Kei's response (taking Doba-chan's return advice and apologizing) was such a spectacular moment; the centre cannot hold and things will have to change hereon.

The boys' road trip - I particularly identified with Mamoru's moaning about the lack of planning and preparation. And it's true that there's nothing like going out-field and being constantly cold, wet, tired, hungry and charging through the undergrowth shouting BANG BANG BANG because your battalion is trying to save on training costs by not issuing blanks.

Best moment for me was how Misao's words got Kei to pick herself up and reclaim her position, befitting a chara voiced by Shizu-sama, as leader of the pack. Big bonus was how this got Ayumi to see Misao in a different, more positive light - in addition to how he is also a concerned and loving elder brother (though that latter part didn't seem to improve his scoring viz a viz Koyoi LOL). And what's this with Saki-nee trying to invite Ayumi out on her proposed date with Yuuji? The last time, she wanted to ~~seduce~~ invite Koyoi too!

LOLOLOL at the boys' shouting at the sun on the beach and being overheard and then chased by the girls. Most improved chara must, surprisingly, go to Yuuji. Who has finally graduated from his Ayumi imouto siscon and is finally making his move on Saki-nee. Yeah, well, I'm sure there are viewers who feel strongly that he may not deserve her (like the way Stripey is soooo against Kusuda x Kei - which is a bit of a LOL position given how he likes to brag about the way everyone thinks he's a millionaire when he strolls on the beach with his waifu) but at least with the two above-mentioned changes, he's grown in a surprisingly plausible way. Plus his survival instincts *did* overcome his siscon in the first episode for much merriment.

Sure, the ending was super-convenient but I'm joining the consensus that both the conclusion and the series as a whole was satisfying. I think this will stand up well to rewatching and, crucially, I'm feeling a bit bummed that we won't be seeing more of the cast.

Hatsukoi Limited 9

Zyl — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:01:44 +0000

Some may say that Renjou-senpai is a worthy, worthy man while others were blown away by this 'most beautiful and poignant of the bunch' of high school rom-com stories. But with my /cynical switch constantly being auto-flipped throughout the episode, whenever Worthy Worthy Man opened his mouth, I just kept thinking: ONORE KAWORU you cheat on Shinji! LOL

Behold the power of art. Unfortunately, where I come from, 'painting' is also slang for... cunnilingus OTL

And I was just completely ROTFLMAO when this happened. It's a Hontouni in-joke. Let me explain:

When we were in Junior College (that's the equivalent of high school in the US), Stripey had (well, he still has) quite the reputation for being a lady's man. Since Jin Yong martial arts TV series was all the rage back then, he was proclaimed to a deadly exponent of the Eighteen Hugs to Subdue the Maiden (a play on the Eighteen Palms to Subdue the Dragon) based on the internal energy practices of the Nine Yang Pretending to be Pure and Honourable Doctrines (a play on Jiu Yang Zhen Jing). The opening attack: 抱抱掌 (Hug Hug Palm)! More than a dozen years later, a mere mention of the above-mentioned phrase in Stripey's presence can reduce a group of grown men into a hysterical laughing heap.

And if Nao was light haired, in addition to being loli, I'd bet a furiously wagging tanuki tail would have popped up from behind Renjou-senpai.