Hatsukoi Limited – Wished every episode was like ep 9
Hatsukoi Limited has so far been an uneven series for me mainly due to 2 factors - Shallow basis of attraction and unworthy crushes. In the realm of 2D, the most common limiter on bishoujo charm is the male recipient of their affections. Bad taste in men/boys go a looong way in quelling the brilliance that a bishoujo is fully capable of. Hatsukoi Limited is a classic example of this limiter.
I am utterly UTTERLY enamoured with Saki-nee but her basis of love and choice in men has tarnished that shine. I was given a glimmer of hope when in ep 8, she almost came to her senses on how ridiculous the whole lollipop affair but alas, her emerging wisdom was no match for Ayumi's reigning immaturity. orz. That said, ep 8 ended on a good note where my love for Saki-nee remains well-justified. (Note that I prefer to address Misaki as Saki-nee because I'm rooting for Mamoru.)
On unworthy crushes. I take a HUGE issue with the Kei and Kusuda pairing because I find Kusuda to be unworthy. Not because he's kappa-faced but because the reasons Kei liked Kusuda could be easily found in other boys IF she was given a chance to interact with them. If they do get together, they would make a very unbalanced couple and I foresee they would break up eventually, dealing a great deal of damage to Kusuda's already low self esteem.
Nao, on the other hand, is at the zenith of her bishoujo charm because she scores well on these 2 accounts - She has a well-justified basis of attraction and her love is a worthy, worthy man. But ep 9 was good not only because it does well in these departments. It also tracks the sweet path of falling in love, drawing in the viewers as we root for this golden couple who do not only have the potential to be lovers but soul-mates.
I have to admit that I may have been a little harsh on the other girls in Hatsukoi, after all first loves are often irrational, zany affairs. But because I love the Hatsukoi bishoujos (each one of them are sooo hawt in their own right that they'd be the school idol in my secondary school should them turn 3D - wait, erm I'm from an all-boy school..) and understand the importance of first love, it pains me to see seemingly 'unworthy' love (although I do recognise that essentially, there's not such thing.) With 3 eps remaining, I dare not wish for an encore of the well crafted ep 9 but I sure can hope.
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June 8th, 2009 - 07:25
I kinda agree with you, bad taste in men always gets on my nerves.
June 8th, 2009 - 07:45
I’m not entirely fond of Hatsukoi Limited at the moment because of all the cross over crushes and that it makes such a mess of it all. It’s also why I never liked Ichigo 100% either due to the same reasons. I also hope that Kei and Kusuda don’t become a couple by the end of the series.
June 8th, 2009 - 09:38
Bro, I think you’re overdoing the worthiness thing. I’m inclined to cut everyone in this series a bit more slack simply because (1) they’re just 14-16; (2) sometimes love, like shit, happens.
And I suppose all married/attached men think that they are eminently worthy of their wives/girlfriends.
June 8th, 2009 - 17:13
June 8th, 2009 - 21:51
Yes, this episode is such a different animal from everything else that is Hatsukoi Limited. Zero pantsu and oppai service, a very adorable girl as lead character, and as you said, a worthy guy to fall in love with. It could very well be in the shoujo romance genre, but even shoujo romances ain’t translated to anime this well. JC Staff really went “serious business” in this one. An instant classic.
And since I’ve already read the manga (I hope this doesn’t spoil too much), I think you’ll like the fact that the anime will tackle your ‘unworthy guys’ issue rather directly. Look forward to that.
June 9th, 2009 - 01:19
Did you see him sew?! What more do you need? Besides, as they say in the show, if your heart beats faster, it’s love. As Zyl mentioned, worrying about worthiness is overrated.
Also, Misaki realizes that her attraction is silly in the show, and gets angsty about it. If everyone worried about this kind of stuff, nothing would ever get done and Japan would face an aging population that needs to dramatically increase its birth rate… oh wait…
Just wondering, do you think that Yoshihiko is worthy of Koyoi’s bro-con love? =3
June 9th, 2009 - 02:42
The wisdom that young ones can possibly have in regards to handling their hatsukoi is inevitably limited!
June 9th, 2009 - 08:43
June 10th, 2009 - 00:56
anonymous_function: Especially so for 2D bishoujos who are literally out of this world.
Adun: I don’t mind the crossovers as much but am rather concerned how they plan to untangle the web they have woven with 3-4 eps remaining. Frankly I don’t think they plan to and such interim endings can be easily botched if not handled delicately.
Zyl: Just think of me as a father of the MOST beautiful teenage daughter in the world and you’d know where I’m coming from for 2D bishoujos. I absolutely agree with your points – in the 3D realm – but since the bishoujos in question are lovely beyond 3D comprehension, the expectations are (dis)proportionally larger.
Nazarielle: You mean the fact I’m predisposed to 14-16 yr olds in anime? I think you may be onto something.
bluemist: Oh I’m looking fwd to it very much! I only hope they tackle in it the remaining few eps.
Kabitzin : It’s interesting how Saki-nee could lead to the topic of procreation. You must really have a Dark Stripey in you XD
This issue of ‘worthiness’ I think ultimately boils down to how high a pedestal we place these bishoujos. For the bishoujo enthusiasts, it is an issue since we would naturally want the best (the next closest thing) for our goddesses. As for Kusuda, my biggest beef with him is his open echiiness. That’s just plain disrepectful towards women. (Boy, at least have the decency to leer privately.) and that’s a big no-no for tanukis. Even if he could simultaneously whistle and inhale ramen through his nose, I still wouldn’t be impressed enough to think him a match for Kei (whom I hold in rather high regard).
As for Yoshihiko, he is an admirable man worthy of Koyoi bro-con. First a loving brother, 2nd an resilient loser in love. I thought he handled the confidante role maturely albeit tragically.
The Sojourner: I keep trying to remind myself that when I’m watching this show. I’m glad ep 9 exceeded the limitation I’m placed on the series.
June 11th, 2009 - 19:36
Let us be reminded that this ain’t seinen, it’s shounen.
This is probably the first of its kind which a shounen harem is mostly written in the ladies’ point of view (with the exception of gender benders of course). I guess which males are the subject of observation they seem… well… not as great (or it is perhaps a simple case of “the narrator is usually glorified)
June 13th, 2009 - 06:26
The series has been very pretty to look at…. but yeah, I have to shut down my “wtf? meter” too often.
Its from a girl’s point of view projected into shounen… the oddity is that the source material is written by a woman.
The light novel Toradora (also written by a woman but published as shounen/seinen) frankly did a better job, in my view, of portraying women with their own vectors in life and more practical assessments of romance.
June 14th, 2009 - 22:33
Vin-nii : Maybe if more monologuing from the male perspective would had helped. Or may it was intentional that most teenage boys behave like dorks from the female perspective? Either way. I’m not sure how they can make sympathetic characters out of Kusuda and Ayumi’s onii chan in the remaning few eps. Keeping fingers crossed.
vexx: Toradora had emotional depth for both all in the cast. Hatsukoi Limited, well, Kei, Nao and Saki-nee possess some level of emotional maturity but the rest of the cast is, well, underdeveloped. It’s a difficult bind since the air time is really limited for so many characters so I suppose the boys’ perspective is under-represented. But therein results in the inbalance as described in my post. Hoping they can salvage some male sympathy in the remaining eps.
June 15th, 2009 - 11:14
Hatsukoi Limited is the show that really grew on me this season. Simply because it’s light-hearted romance that’s both tons of fun and has imo very tasteful fan service. As strange as it is, I found this combination a rare thing to come across nowadays. I find it best to accept it as it is (instead of comparing it to other shows, like Toradora for instance – it’s not Toradora and it’s not trying to be).
But to the point. I like to think of ep9 as a different show as it was a completely different experience. Not better or worse, just different. Actually it kinda reminded me of the Da Capo experience. Not because it was similar or anything, but it evoked similar emotions out of me.
Was it a beautiful ep? Yes. Would it be good if the other eps were like this? Probably not as that would be a whole other show, but a new show consisting of eps like this would be nice.
June 17th, 2009 - 00:20
Indeed, it’d be unfair to compare HL to True Tears or Toradora. A series like Tokimeki Memorial would be closer in spirit. However, even taken as a light romance for me, the basis of attraction is still weak by tanuki standards. And that’s bearing in mind 1) it is Hatsukoi 2) these girls are still young. The boys remain the weakest links (not all though) and I just couldn’t rationalise their ‘low calibre’ away no matter how hard I try and this has impact the bishoujo charm.
Essentially, I’m not opposed to different forms of storytelling but rather concerned with the core of the romance. Like yourself, I believe a simple, short love stories can be told in many forms and yet be thoroughly enjoyable. But the strenght of the foundations upon which those affections are built upon, need not be compromised.
July 3rd, 2009 - 07:59
Agreed for different reasons. JC Staff adapted a wobbly manga, and tipped it on its bad side. They make everything mediocre.
Nao’s chapter took the most credible approach, but she’s actually boring as a character. Then again, one can argue: Nao’s introverted character is what shields her from blindly falling in love like the others.
July 4th, 2009 - 02:19
I think my problem is that I probably care about 2D bishoujo a little more than the next anime fan. Indeed, I’ve seen ‘uneven’ pairings in RL and very very few of them work out. They are also often characterised by very ugly fallouts. Since I care a lot for example about Kei, I look into my scrying ball and see a Kusuda crushed in the aftermath of a breakup and Kei never wanting another relationship because of the ‘cruelty’ she brought upon Kusuda. And because I care, I never want to see them together.
Although do note that my beef with Kusuda is not his looks. Just look at Ryuuji (Toradora). Personally I think he’s more than a match for the 3 Toradora girls, yes even Ami. My biggest disappointment with Kusuda is his lack of respect for womankind. Going around openly peeking under skirts at a restaurant is not only criminal in my country but despicable in our society. Kei deserves much much better. I’m still summoning courage to catch the final episode XD