True Tears - 11
With two episodes left to go, I suppose we can see the trajectory that the plotline will take over the remainder of the series. “True Tears” is a much more conventional series than some of the ones I call my favorites, but at the same time, I do find that I have developed a sort of attachment to some of the characters. What I’m trying to say is that I’m disappointed that it looks like there will be a “bad” ending for Noe. Now, we don’t know it for sure, but taking into account the general tone of this episode, and taking into account the statement she makes after leaving the chicken coop (The one in Shinichi’s heart is…etc..), that’s the direction I believe the writers are taking us. I think that episode 12 will be the formal and climactic ending of their relationship and then things will probably wind down in episode 13 with the “Hiromi ending”.
The series still goes for the easy route of “misunderstandings”, though. There were a significant moment of tension that was essentially rooted in a simple misunderstanding and could have been easily corrected. I’m referring to the incident involving Jun and his anger at the opposing players during Hiromi’s basketball game. Rumours spread around and Shin hears them, and yet when he asks Hiromi about it, she prefers to change the subject then leave the room. I suppose it’s an akward topic, but it also seems like she could have easily dispelled any doubt quite easily. I thought the big “kiss” moment was kind of strange in how anticlimactic it was….generally that sort of scene would be left for the final episode so I’m wondering if it may be an indication that perhaps the conclusion of the story may not be as definite after all.
If there was one more thing that I didn’t like very much, it’s Hiromi’s hesitance when she has to tell Shin that Noe is missing. Yes, I understand that there is a sense of unease regarding the whole thing but when someone is missing, I would think their safety should override all other priorities….She showed surprisingly little remorse considering she is indirectly involved in the case of her disappearance….not that I’m blaming her, but I think some compassion would been warranted. In fact I’m surprised that she showed very little thought towards Noe considering she knew what was occurring between her and Shin prior to this point and didn’t know what the situation between them was currently. And to go back to the past, there was that scene where all four main characters were at the chicken coop, and I felt that her behavior towards Noe was very cold. I just can’t get myself to appreciate her character at all because of these sort of things.
Oh, and I did like the scene at Aiko’s shop…at least there’s one happy ending I can appreciate!