True Tears 12 – Hiromi, almost Shirakawa Kotori
There are a few absolutes I hold dear and fast in my anime world: Mahoro would always be my favourite maid, Nemu my top imouto and Kotori my eternal bishoujo. Today, one of these uncompromising pillars of faith was shaken. Hiromi came this. very. close. to toppling Kotori as my top bishoujo.
This ep reminded me a lot of DCSS ep 15 where Kotori's heart was trampled upon thoughtlessly by the retarded Junichi. Yes, Kotori was absolutely breathtaking in her yukata too as Hiromi was stunning in her kimono this ep. When I caught True tears raw 2 days ago, my heart shattered. Thanks to my Japanese ineptitude (I only understood 70% of the dialogue), I thought PA Works was going to battle against the story flow for that shocking Noe X Shin ending. Hiromi's strength and maturity in confronting Noe heightened both this pain and my love to the point it ALMOST exceeded my worship for my love-cursed eternal goddess. Thankfully the sub cleared the air. (The 30% set the nuances critical in interpreting Shin and Noe's true motivations.) It's going to be a Hiromi end as Mentar prophesies. (Unless the writers screw up the end which I sincerely doubt.)
While I disapprove of Shin's lie to Hiromi after the Mugiha dance, I respect his desire to right things with Noe, acknowledging that Shin owes his reborn spirit to her. I hope when Shin looks back as a famous illustrator and a blissfully married man (to Hiromi of course), he would give thanks to Noe for his all.
As for Noe, I'm not sure if the pain of broken bones from jumping off a tree would return her tears. I really hope it'd be Jun to return Noe her tears. After all, it would only be a fair trade since Jun has released years of pent-up tears for Noe. If Noe had found Hiromi's tears beautiful, I wonder what she thinks of Onii-chan's tears. It's interesting that though both Jun and Hiromi cried because they finally gave in to their hearts, Hiromi does so out of hope while Jun's tears is a result of his despair from losing the fight to his siscon tendencies. Ah such is the bittersweetness of forbidden love.
Ironically, if Hiromi DOES lose in the finale, she'd surely overthrow Kotori. Ack, the dilemma! A new queen for Stripey's bishoujo charts or a consistently great romance with a fitting end? Why does True Tears torture me so?!
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March 25th, 2008 - 09:18
Shinichiro blew Hiromi off a couple of times in this episode, and that coupled with apparently him being able to “fly” now due to Noe might change things, so we’ll see.
My favorite moment in that episode was Hiromi missing the end of the dance because she was focusing on Noe, since I think it says a lot about her.
March 25th, 2008 - 09:29
Where’s the comment about the siscon? The kiss? The kiss???
Shocked.
March 25th, 2008 - 09:49
Whatever happens, we have to hand it to the studio for delivering a rare case where you can truly make a case for more than one pairing end that isn’t just based on fanboyism.
Still, for me, I have still yet to see why Shin, or anyone for that matter, would even like Hiromi a little bit. All she’s ever shown me is selfishness, with a penchant for lying and being manipulative. Shin hasn’t told her anything (that we know of), and she just assumes that she’s won because she stole a kiss when he was still technically with another girl?
Yea, I would have pushed her away – sorry, your foot is not all that, Hiromi.
March 25th, 2008 - 10:44
Leave Kotori alone! She suffered enough heartbreak in D.C. and I’m still trying to convince myself that D.C.S.S. never existed. And her descendant Nanaka is headed for similar heartbreak in D.C. II S.S., which will overshadow her disappointment from D.C. II…
Kotori was given a raw deal; from her perspective it looked like she had a clear path to Jyunichi in D.C. but he could not defeat his siscon tendancies. Hiromi, on the other hand, brough much of the problem upon herself and utterly lacks the noble and selfless nature that Kotori has in spades. Let’s not compare a broken-down jalopy to a Ferrari, please.
March 25th, 2008 - 13:56
I think that Hiromi’s confrontation with Noe was more desperate than anything else. Hiromi seeks to reclaim waht she lost with the losing of her slipper and asking Shin-chan to no leave her again. Jun, Noe, Aiko, Nobuse, and now Shin are all trying to move forward like Jibeta, Hiromi on the other hand still longs for the years she lost. I think there is more than enough legitmacy for a Noe ending and it would not be an utter metrayal as you and Mentar would have us believe. If True Tears is about moving on in life then Hiromi will have to break with her past and that does mean letting Shin go without the jealousy.
While you dispute that ShinxNoe has chemistry, it is hard to ignore that fact that in the pre-Noe days neither Hiromi nor Aiko were willing to confess. Once Noe showed up then things started moving. You may see nothing between Noe and Shin, but both Hiromi and Aiko do. If Hiromi were confident in Shin’s love for her there would have been no need to confront Noe and trya and guilt tip Noe inot staying away. Noe has already stayed away at much cost to herself. Nevertheless Hiromi is far more concerned about Noe taking Shin away that Hiromi lost sight of Shin. The fact that Hiromi missed most of Shin’s last dance is a mark of how for all the seeing eye to eye, and being openly honest now, it remains a figment of Hiromi’s imagination. Has Shin accepted Hiromi as his girlfriend? Has Hiromi been honest with Shin? Has Shin been honest with Hiromi? for all these questions I can only find that the answer is NO.
Hiromi needs to make up for lost time, yet she is chasing the past that she lost, not the future. Noe is a viable girlfriend for Shin, even Shin is starting to act weird around Nobuse. Noe has changed Shin there is no denying that, but is this Shin the Shin that Hiromi loves? As it stands she barely knows Shin of present. I suspect that Hiromi has failed to confront Shin on the matter of Noe, she seeks to rid herself of Noe for her sake and hers alone. So long as Noe is around Hiromi’s girlfriend position, if she is indeed that, will never be secure. Hiromi’s actions during this episode were motivated by desperation more than anything else. The jealousy in her heart has certainly taken its toll and now Hiromi’s confidence is all but shattered and her fear of Noe rather than her love of Shin is what dominates her heart.
Instead of seeing only Shin, Hiromi sees only Noe as a threat. Hiromi fears to have her heart broken. In the episode to come the goddess of victory will only bestow her laurels upon those prepared to act with daring. Hiromi is still possessed by her fear, while Noe is bravely trying to forget and stand on her own. Noe will be fine, her jumping off the tree where she first met Shin was in a way the method in which Noe seeks to land on her own without Shin having to be there to break her fall. If Noe can land on her power alone she will find the strength to live without Shin.
Shin is lying to Hiromi already and if a Noe ending is in the cards then it should not come as a surprise or be blasted as a gross betrayal. Hiromi only has her past with Shin going for her, but Noe has exerted much more influence and fostered the most growth in Shin than Hiromi and Aiko combined. Noe was the catalyst that forced Hiromi and Aiko to try and confess. If Noe was not a viable girlfriend then the status quo would have remained in place and nothing would have changed. If Shin’s art book is his greatest achievement then why hide it from Hiromi if she is indeed the most important person in his life? So much for honesty and seeing eye to eye…they are but words and hardly reflect the status of the ShinxHiromi relationship.
March 25th, 2008 - 19:03
I’m just surprised that Hiromi has you almost overthrowing the Queen Kotori from her rightful place upon the bishoujo throne. Traitor!
On a more serious note, if Hiromi doesn’t get the win, I can see how she can be labeled as the next Shirakawa.
March 25th, 2008 - 20:25
I still think both endings are still completely in the cards at this point, and can be done in a way that’s perfectly logical and consistent with the entire story thus far(and indeed will shed alot of light on everything that’s come before), as I’ve said in other places.
I’d go into my reasons for thinking this, but well I’ve already filled up enough of Stripey’s bandwidth with long winded posts, so I’ll spare yall that for now.
Suffice it to say that the very fact that so many people can seem to say for sure “we’re definitely getting this ending” where “this” runs the gamut from “Noe” “Hiromi” “siscon” “NICE TEARS” (ok not the last one), and can back that up with insightful logic based on the show thus far tells me that truly the show can fall either way, and still be a complete triumph.
Can’t wait for the end whatever it is.
March 25th, 2008 - 20:35
It’ll be a RaigomaruxJibeta ending!
March 26th, 2008 - 03:06
dam! It was so siscon! It was so nice!
Love the way Noe reacted to Jun’s confession
Still a but unsure of the intention for Noe’s suicide though…
March 26th, 2008 - 04:05
This is why I never watch raws.
Also, no comment on the surprise siscon revelation?!
March 26th, 2008 - 08:03
TheBigN: This ep is chock of my favourite scenes. Hiromi confronting Noe (with the most beautiful tears no less), Hiromi saying “don’t leave” and slipping off her sandals and finally Jun’s near kiss with Noe. What a great ep!
Impz/Owen S: I respect Jun greatly as a man. Choosing pain over hurting his sister. That’s REAL love. Unlike Koishirou of Koi Kaze. XD
Derek: I don’t see hiromi as manipulative or deceitful but a victim of circumstances. I love her greatly for knowing what she wants and going against societal grains to fight for her love. Frankly I think we need more beautiful girls and assertive like that in RL.. XD
dsong: Hiromi is a less perfect but more human Kotori and would be the drama-perfect Kotori DCSS needs. But honestly, if Kotori and Hiromi both appeared before me, I’d probably pick Kotori in a heartbeat
Crusader: I think we have very different perceptions of jealousy and insecurity. One of the reasons I enjoy taboo love soo much is because I like to see bishoujos insecured and jealous because that is one of the most outward signs of love. There are many different grades of jealousy but my tolerance is extremely high for pretty girls. So I don’t see Hiromi’s confrontation with Noe or insecurities as a severe personal flaw. She’s after all only 17 and embarking on a fledging relationship that was previously impossible. Looks like I need a separate “Defense of Hiromi” post
koneko-chan: Pls don’t revoke my KKK membership! XD
Dirian: Well said. It’d be a good ending no wonder who Shin ends with. Maybe the writers will Sixth Sense ending on us and have Shin pick Jibeta after realising he was actually raigomaru’s spiritual reincarnate. XD
Viny: Oooh I enjoyed the near kiss very much indeed. Noe was attempting suicide. She was looking for answers… albeit a little thoughtlessly
March 26th, 2008 - 13:31
I’m not ruling anything out, but man I almost can’t think of a possible ending(or even a totally impossible out there ending) that someone somewhere hasn’t thought up already, so don’t know what kind of suprise ending they’d throw at us, but then I guess that’s why they call it a suprise ending?
March 26th, 2008 - 13:48
I don’t see Hiromi as being assertive or going against much of anything. When she thought she might be his sister, instead of confronting the issue in any meaningful manner, she simply turned herself off, and subsequently lying to a number of people, including those closest to her.
Hiromi has basically lied to just about every named character in the anime, including herself, and it’s also somewhat ironic that the person she has been most honest with is actually Jun.
Even in this latest episode, her confrontation with Noe was still avoiding the issue – who does Shin really want/love? Rather than facing the question and confronting Shin, she chooses to go the backhanded route and tell a bunch of stuff that isn’t strictly true to Noe in some desparate attempt for a sympathy vote? No, I am afraid that isn’t assertive to me by any standard.
March 26th, 2008 - 20:56
I see you’re working on True Tears now! t.t
March 28th, 2008 - 09:13
Dirian: Haha, the reverse, REVERSE psychology?
Derek: I’m very sympathetic to siscon characters like Hiromi. Their bad behaviour is easily justifiable by their tragic circumstances. I’m just biased I guess
totali: Actually I cameoed in ep1. As mentioned, Raigomaru could have used more seasoning XD
March 29th, 2008 - 20:52
To tell the truth, Hiromi’s deed makes her appear more real compared to many of unbelievably goody-goody-girls we usually get from most anime. And if you add up all the history, stats, and skills, I’m afraid Hiromi still beats Noe by miles and years. Yes, she had many breakdowns, but I have seen many real girls do things much worse and still get away with it, along with the guy and even money, sometimes.
March 30th, 2008 - 06:29
Hiromi grew so much that she outstripped all the characters in the show. Noe’s charms dipped a little in the later half of the series though she’s still a fantastic character. And yes, Hiromi’s insecurities, imperfect strength is what makes her so real and attractive