Yamato still doesn’t get it, so he has to visit Yasunobu’s anime blog to read the summary and analysis of what went wrong last episode. Honoka gives him the cold shoulder, and decides that she’s done with Yamato (in spite of Nana’s protests about giving those with mental handicaps a little leeway). Suzuka, however, rallies to Yamato’s side and tells him to keep trying to talk to Honoka, because effort counts too.
Not that it pays off, because Honoka drops him like it’s hot, and then explains that he’s obsessed with Suzuka. Yamato starts to see the truth behind Honoka’s words, but insists that he really did think she was cute. Honoka is happy with this, and accepts the necklace at last, before she dumps him anyway. This leaves Yamato to make the walk of shame home, where everyone instantly knows that he’s been dumped. Yuuka and Megumi harass Yamato while getting drunk in his room, and Suzuka overhears their conversation. She tries to cheer Yamato up, but Yamato goes into denial mode and badmouths Honoka. Suzuka falls for Yamato’s tough guy act, and calls him the worst before storming out.
First off, I just gotta say: Well played, Honoka. Well played, indeed. Some might feel that this episode was sad, but actually this was the episode that saw the culmination of utter and total Honoka domination. Let’s analyze: upon Yamato’s confession that he really did like her, Honoka officially won the competition against Suzuka. Even if Suzuka woos Yamato now, he’s just used goods; most importantly, Honoka made him forget about Suzuka, if only for a little while. However, as most viewers have already noticed, Yamato is a terrible boyfriend. Yamato’s a total noob, and he’s rather self-centered. Honoka knows what she wants, and she knows how to get it, but she’s not so stubborn that she won’t jump off a sinking ship. The whole thing was rather symbolic anyway, and Honoka was smart enough to realize that and not get caught up in the moment.
While they were breaking up, I was typing into my notes, “Honoka thinks she’s won, but wait till Yamato gives that necklace to Suzuka!!!” However, Honoka completely flanked me, as she cleverly asked for the necklace just before leaving Yamato to stew in his sorrow. The necklace and the final kiss should staple a wonderful reminder of all that Yamato lost right onto his self-centered heart. Now, there is only one thing standing between Honoka and a perfect S-Rank victory. All Honoka has to do is quit the track team and start going out with Emerson Arima (and motivate him to set national records and crush that pretender, Yamato). If this happens, no matter what Suzuka does, they will have to rename the series “Honoka” when it comes out on DVD. As a kicker, the animators would then re-animate all of Honoka’s scenes to have good art, while leaving the rest of the series looking shoddy (BTW, the art was bad again this episode). I believe this is what they call “Tenchu“.
Running (ha!) down the list of other great moments, I noted how easily Yamato caught up with Honoka on the stairs. I guess she can’t be good at everything. If you watch the scene, Yamato leisurely jogs and catches her without breaking a sweat, while Honoka is panting so hard that she looks like she’s going to lose a lung. Bad boyfriends sure are fast these days! Speaking of which, I was amused by Yamato’s “Follow Me” T-shirt. No thanks! Megumi would seriously be perfect for him; that girl’s so weird!
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12 Comments
I don’t think the art was bad. That’s just a subtle hint that this episode took place in an alternate universe – like a few episodes before. Too bad you didn’t take a shot of Honoka’s face after she got the necklace. That’s the definition of “pwned!!1″. Yamato only notices it once she kisses him (when his eye suddenly opens wide).
Hehe
… it was a good read as usual, but I’m afraid you completely missed the boat on Honoka here. And that coming from a huge Honoka fanboy (who started out as “oh god, not another Shinobu like weenie” – while at the end of the show, she’s the character whose growth and development I admired most).
If you check the preview carefully, it could already give you a hint. I feel entitled to make this comment because I already had the right idea at this point while I was skimming the manga. The bittersweet _truth_ behind it all, from Honoka and about her, will be revealed in episode 20. It’s a shame that yet again a Honoka key scene was cut up in the middle.
Oh, and someone punch Yamato for me if you see him, and bring me one of his teeth as proof for a major bounty. The final scene in ep19 was the epitome of… arrrgh ^_^;
Kabitzin, you’re the man. I can’t read your comments on Suzuka without laughing out loud at the monitor as a complete eediot. Even my cat stares at me shaking his head when I’m at it.Dunno if Honoka has got an S-rank, but you got the black belt on Suzuka comments.P3riod.BTW,at the end I was so p*ssed at Yamato I could rant&yell at the tv for hours. I have to quit this show…I have to quit this show…
If you’re a supporter of Honoka/Suzuka, you should be rooting for them NOT to end up with Yamato. And I agree with Kabitzin that Yamato should be matched up with Megumi…they’re both so dense and weird, it would be a match made in purgatory.
I don’t usually watch the preview, because it really tends to spoil the fun. I’m still cheering for Suzuka to succeed, but I have to give Honoka her props, since she totally owned this episode.
yeah dude, Honoka owned that ep like Ichigo Owned Byakuya….omg…..
LOL the first line in this entry had me laughing out loud! Great entry
I noticed the ‘follow me’ t-shirt too… but did you notice that instead of actually running down the steps, they were actually running in mid air with the steps slowly panning beneath them like some cheap 3D game?
Hahaha, wait till they start using pixel sprites towards the end of the series!
I heard the animation was bad, but not THAT bad…LoL…
Man youre the bomb
That was the best text ever! I myself thought that yamato was a idiot, but thanks to you i see it clearly now: Yamato is a noob, and Honoka got all the points home from this so called “Breakup”. Man i loved this anime up to ep. 16, and since that…Well only hate, hate and anger. Now i can only watch the remaining ep:s, and laugh to yamatos stupidity (he lost Honoka, and got Suzuka..Woo-hoo. From best to worst, not bad Yamato!” Well lets hope that D.C.S.S will get subbed properly, since that anime is way better than Suzuka. Damnit.
i agree with Wyk72 this guy must have a iq under 100 i get so pissed off, i read manga only to the end of v7 (downloaded)
Ah, Wyk72, I wonder what happened to that guy. He will be sorely missed.