watched it over the last 3 days after putting it off for 2 years. generally I liked it - the directing is top-notch, the music is spectacular, and something about Akane's VA really tickles me. episode 5 had me grinning during the entire second half, and generally I enjoyed the realism that the show is so often praised for. I really wanted to love it, though, and the ending is currently putting a damper on that
my biggest gripe is with Azumi's behavior in the latter half of the season, specifically during episodes 10 and 12. the plot in 10 is straightforward: Hira confesses to Akane, Azumi notices them talking, and ends up treating Akane poorly due to a combination of jealousy and stress that she's moving away. this is "resolved" after Akane learns that Azumi has been studying to get into the same high school as her, so she takes the initiative and talks to him. they both apologize, even though Azumi was significantly more of an ass in this case, and left this episode feeling annoyed rather than satisfied
at this point I did some reading/rewatching, and came up with a few defenses:
- these are middle schoolers, and we've seen in previous episodes that these two don't really know what they're doing, so there's not going to be some big movie apology from Azumi - instead they're going to talk, organically, and move on stronger because of it
- Azumi was justified in being angry at Akane because he had previously seen her alone with Hira at the amusement park and stepped in with the "I'm her boyfriend" just a few episodes prior - maybe Akane wasn't equally at fault here, but she shouldn't have been alone with Hira to begin with
- again, these are middle schoolers, and it's only natural that they make mistakes like ^those - part of the appeal of the show is watching them learn and grow
I didn't necessarily buy into these explanations 100% but it was enough to quell me until the finale, where pretty much the exact same thing happens when Azumi, in a 5 minute timespan: neglects to tell his girlfriend that Chinatsu confessed to him, makes no effort to understand why Akane is deeply insecure about him putting in all of the effort into maining an LDR, doesn't talk to her at all between that night and the day she leaves home, and then doesn't show up when she does leave. this frustrated me - it felt like the conflict from episode 10 rehashed but the characters (read: Azumi) had learned nothing, and in particular I found it inexcusable that Azumi wouldn't know better at this point given how he should understand better than anyone that Chinatsu's confession would make Akane deeply uncomfortable
the conflict in the finale is again "resolved" by Akane finding out that Azumi has been writing stories about them online, and reads that his feelings for her will never change, he loves her, etc, then cut to a very wholesome ending. it's identical to episode 10, where Akane notices some grand unspoken gesture from Azumi that proves he really loves her, right? and despite how shitty he behaves during moments where it actually matters, you can always make up for it by doing something sneaky and romantic and hoping the other one will find out, right?
the kicker is that the thing that makes Azumi realize he has his head stuck up his ass isn't even brought on by himself - he has no desire to actually deal with the problem at hand, it's Akane once again who has to initiate the conversation. the outro monologue has Akane say "he had the courage to tell me he loves me", but can you call any of what he does in the finale "courageous"? if Tsuki is praised for its realism, and these middle schoolers aren't confronting these issues head-on because that's probably how it'd go down in real life, are we expected to suspend that realism to buy into Azumi saving their relationship by publishing a blog post and yelling at a train?
I guess the general issue I had was that I felt Azumi was too stagnant throughout the series. Tsuki had been great at having our main couple get better at dating episode by episode, and after feeling confused by episode 10's ending, I was optimistic that it was another piece of progress for the two of them. this made the finale that much more frustrating for me. if Akane hadn't stumbled on Azumi's story, or if she simply hadn't said anything, would he have been content to let their relationship die right there? in a show that is 100% carried by the dynamic between its two main characters (who, I'm gonna be honest, didn't even have much chemistry until the amusement park episode), having Azumi's character arc be unsatisfying as it was for me left a sour taste in my mouth during the end credits
I've rambled a lot, but I want to say that this isn't a hate post or anything - I liked this show, and I really want to love it, and I'm hoping that maybe I missed the point entirely, or I misinterpreted a scene or character. as it stands, the above leaves a knot in my stomach that shows like this normally clear up for me. I have nothing but praise for many of the high points of the show: the confession in episode 3 and the ending of episode 5 really stand out in this regard. overall I honestly don't have that much criticism for the show, despite this wall of text, but my issues with Azumi ended up spoiling what should have been two hugely cathartic moments toward the end of the series, which makes me disappointed more with myself than with the show. I feel like I misunderstood things, or I watched it wrong lmao
oh, other things I saw were koe no katachi and jojo part 5, which were both good. next on the PTW is probably made in abyss
