Myself; Yourself – From adolescence to adulthood
If there's a consistent theme in all the character tales in Myself; Yourself, it's not romance, it's growing pains. Of course love, being a huge component of adolescence, is featured prominently in the series but to market M;Y as a 'heartful love story' may have be misleading. This probably caused some unhappiness due to misalignment of expectations as the series oscillate from haremic fun to dark drama. But frankly, I think that couldn't have been more realistic or entertaining.
Myself; Yourself is a drama at heart - a drama about the changes and challenges that comes with the journey to adulthood. Employing an overused plot device of the returning childhood friend, M;Y takes a different spin on innocence lost. We see the destructive distance that eroded Sana/Nanaka's relationship contrasting with the suffering proximity that has induced a somewhat unhealthy relationship between the Wakatsuki twins.
I know shouts of twincest has been resounding in the aniblogsphere, some jubilantly, others in disgust. From the body language and what Shuu said of Shuri (to Hinako at the end of ep 6), it is clear that Shuu regards Shuri a little more than a sister. (One don't keep looking at your sister when describing the ideal girl or talk about your sister while rejecting a kokuhaku.) But this is a blood-related siscon that I respect and know that nothing sexual will be born of it. Unlike Koishirou of Koi Kaze (whom I despised), Shuu is a worthy brother deserving of our admiration. Shuri on the other hand, is healthily in love with Shuu... as a sibling. Some may cite the ai ai kasa event as a definitive sign of guilt but I see it as a terrible frustration of being misunderstood.
Hinako and Yuzuki's tales are also subset of the theme as Hinako looks forward to womanhood by tasting the sweet difference between infatuation and love while Yuzuki looks back to her motivations that made her the woman she is today. Intertwined with this growing up theme is the presence of 'evil adults' most notably in the Wakatsuki twins tale. Signs point to Nanaka's uncle being involved in the fire and we have Hinako/Yuzuki's workaholic mom/parents neglecting their daughters.
The only storythread that deviates from this theme is Hoshino Asami. At this point, I'm not quite sure of her role and further involvement in the closing hour of M;Y. Her 'evil adult' appears to be crazy Grandma but what of her growth as a character? Is this lovely bishoujo a mere catalyst for Sana/Nanaka relationship and the Wakatsuki plot? Surely our angel-hearted goddess deserves more development and airtime?
With 3 eps remaining, I'm not sure if we'll see satisfactory endings for all these growing up tales especially when we still need to unveil Sana's wristwatch secret. But with my faith in M;Y greatly bolstered by its thematic consistency, I await to be surprised by its finale.
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December 8th, 2007 - 17:09
This show has definitely surprised me. I planned on watching this because Mai Nakahra was in it, but I was consistently surprised by the events that took place after each episode. It just grew as a show, the characters change and react to the many incidents. This gives it a very fresh and realistic twist on what started as a fairly generic comedy romance harem show. lol A very misleading combination actually, Each character IMO are complex, but my favorite Asami Hoshino seems out of place…I hope she gets a larger role instead of being used to develop the other characters. I mean there has to be something, some kind of a deep secret under that sweet and gentle expression..if not then its a waste of a great character. All in all I’m throughly enjoying this show, if it keeps the steam this might be my sleeper hit of the year (with Toppa Tengen Of course), no doubt about it.
December 8th, 2007 - 18:58
I am also a bit dissapointed with the lack of Asami’s development, not to mention that it seems she has no romantic interest in Sana apparently..
But is it me or do you notice some yuri action between Asami and Shuri? I did notice in ep 9 that she looked sad when Shuri was crying and ep 10 she risked her life in order to save her.
December 9th, 2007 - 09:21
Ivy: It’d be a real pity if Hoshino finishes the series as a prop. I’m taking cue from the Kaji incident that it somehow feels incomplete. For all the build-up, I hope not merely to trigger Shuri’s banishment overseas. That’d be inefficient storytelling. However if it cascades onto a Hoshino path… now that’s be a worthy development
holyman282:
>not to mention that it seems she has no romantic interest in Sana apparently..
Spoketh for me too. I was hoping Hoshino would be the worthy challenger but alas she’s a mere catalyst in the Nanaka/Sana relations. Hoping Kai incident would somehow trigger off her plot next ep. And err nope, don’t feel the yuri vibes.
December 10th, 2007 - 00:40
The siscon alarm went off in this episode; too many suspicious scenes… eating rice off of his face… holding hands… exchanging gifts… that final scene on the bed… it was almost as if the producers were going out of their way to produce brother x sister moments without getting explicit.
Add in lines like “twins are of one mind” and “we were together since before we were born”, Shuu’s admission to Hinako, Shuri’s violent moment, and Shuu’s ogling of Shuri on at least a couple of occasions – I’m starting to get the feelng that these two are just a little bit too close. One must wonder how much longer it will be before “one mind” becomes “one body and soul”.
December 10th, 2007 - 08:44
Won’t happen, dsong. Too few eps and it would distract from the main story (Sana x Nanaka). To publicly announce they’ll live together far from that bastard of a father is enough for we siscon-maniacs.
And I agree with holyman concerning Asami’s expression when she saw Shuri crying. If they develop that, it’s going to be interesting.
GO NANAKA GO!
December 11th, 2007 - 02:27
dsong: LOL! If they ran away together, one body/soul would be inevitable even if I think Shuri don’t quite see Shuu in that light.
Sherman, the Ramni: I hope they develop Hoshino. I don’t really care what’s the trigger but more Asami can’t hurt. Only thing is limited airtime. I’d like a little more of Hinako too.. Gao! So much to wrap up in so little time XD
January 5th, 2008 - 08:53
I could never find any episodes past #12, I think there was too little episodes and too many holes left to fill, there needed to be more episodes.
January 5th, 2008 - 13:03
Looks like the worst-case scenario has come to pass…
Asami was a prop, Asami turned out to be HARD YURI for Shuri; Shuu and Shuri did run away together and became “one body and soul”, and ended up overshadowing the Sana/Nanaka story…
Good thing that there is always another show to follow… since ef is over, onto H2O?
January 5th, 2008 - 18:14
Stripey, did you see the ending yet?
you might want to edit your response.
January 5th, 2008 - 20:58
AnimeGirl3: The series really could have more eps and Hinako
The concluding ep was too rushed and overall the potential of the characters unrealised. Such a pity. 
dsong/Xellos-_^: heh, I still don’t think Shuri/Shuu are incestuous simply because they have a relationship that is closer than most siblings after all their love was forged through extreme circumstances. The most I’d ascribe may be siscon, especially from Shuu. But Shuri, even with the ‘doomed lovers’ comment (which a sister upon discovering her feelings for the brother would not say outright but struggle with it a little longer) should not yet be misconstrued bro-con. Strange that I’m arguing for them in such a way when I enjoy siscon elements so much XD