Kotoura-san Discussion Thread

[bear]

Originally Posted by something

Episode 3:
- But man, she is utter human trash. On every level. How the hell are they going to convince me to accept her as a member of the club later on, which no doubt she will be?

I'm assuming that we'll see contrition, repentance, conversion and penance. Think of St Paul or St Augustine. We may see her become Haruka's champion defending her even from Yuriko. And she may have not done anything similar to this before and it was her friends egging on her jealousy and frustration with her family situation that pushed into a stupid act. I'm not justifying what she did. It was heinous, but people can change.

[Draneor]

Originally Posted by bear

I'm assuming that we'll see contrition, repentance, conversion and penance. Think of St Paul or St Augustine. [...] And she may have not done anything similar to this before and it was her friends egging on her jealousy and frustration with her family situation that pushed into a stupid act.

I believe there is a point that, once you cross it, nothing you every can do will ever not make you utterly horrendous trash not fit to live. That it's often easier to make evil choices is, quite frankly, not important to me because most people don't go around making them (i.e., almost all of us get angry--very few of us beat up their child out of anger). Understanding can only get us so far--at some point we have to decided whether we want to live with those who gleefully jump 1,000 feet over the line of what is right.

The whole bullying started because Hiyori was jealous of Haruka spending time with Manabe (her crush). But when Manabe made his opinions clear, she decided that, if she can't have him, no one can. I don't buy she didn't intend for him to end up in the hospital--it should have been clear what the outcome of sending a bunch of thugs after him would be (I'll note, in the manga, apparently they stab him and put him in a coma so the anime was toned down). Yeah, it sucks that she lives in her own fantasy world where others always listen to her and she always gets the outcomes she wants, but I can't sympathize with her. Being spoiled is one thing. Trying to get someone killed (even if she didn't realize the implications) is another.

Now, I fully expect Haruka to accept Hiyori's apology when it does happen because, if anything, Haruka is queen of blaming herself for other people being shitty. But that doesn't mean I, the viewer, have to ever forgive her.

[FUNiOP]

I'm glad Moritani apologized, but it can never make up for the shit she's done.

I do like how Kotoura's mind-reading destroys her tsun front and brings her dere out into the open for Manabe. Very clever and funny, as is most of this show's work on its great premise. I still can't believe this was a 4-koma manga; it's not even as episodic as plenty of series that aren't based on 4-koma.

It does make sense that it's only 12 episodes, though. They're moving things along very quickly.

[ookamigirl]

Kotoura bolted.
Manabe was all wishy-washy about it.
That guy needs more incentive in life.
It's a good thing the club president is persistent.
At least they managed to find her rather quick.
Her grandfather is a pretty much a perv though.

[Fencedude]

Goddammit Moritani don't make me like you. Why did that work so well?!

Also, this really could have been the end of the series.

[bear]

Manabe being dragged down the stairs by Yuriko cracked me up.

Moritani did hire a detective to find her so she really was serious about her apology, but I'd hope for a little more contrition from her Maybe we'll see that in the next episode.

Ok, I got my explanation of how the priest relates to Haruka.

Didn't like the grandpa. One major pervert in the show is enough. Damn, he's rich.

Manabe is a real mensch one second and a total pervert the next. Just want to pound lumps on him sometimes.

[stardf29]

Well, that episode worked well, not only to bring Haruka back to school but also to mark the changing point for Hiyori's character. I know some people will think she got off too easily for all that she did, but I'm always willing to give people a second chance if they've genuinely changed, and that does seem to be the case for Hiyori.

On the other hand, I think the show went a bit too far with Grandpa's perversions. Hopefully he won't come up much more in the rest of the series...

[HitokiriShadow]

Grandpa is a creep. Please let us never see him again.

Moritani.... ehhh. I'm still uncomfortable with her joining the group of friends after the shit she pulled, but it was competently executed by this show's standards, and the show's silly approach to drama makes it easier to swallow than in most shows, I guess. I'm not entirely happy with it, but I can live with it.

Yuriko continues to be the best, and one unambiguously great part of the show. She's sooooooo much fun. Such delicious HanaKana. And her "Gotcha!" scene when she caught Haruka was particularly amusing.

Also, Yuriko and Muroto are such a married couple.

[Draneor]

Well, the monk was actually a genuinely decent human being. Amazing!

Whatever character the grandfather had in the first episode due to supporting Haruka when her parents abandoned her was stuffed into a blender and ripped to threads. Sigh.

Moritani's change was neither believable nor do I think it makse up for what she did. For that matter, I don't think the show dealt with Haruka always blaming herself for other people's faults.

Originally Posted by HitokiriShadow

Also, Yuriko and Muroto are such a married couple

Yeah they are. Although, I'm not convinced they have any feelings for each other beyond friendship.

[something]

Episode 4:

- Even the ocean hates Haruka.
- Alright Yuriko, time to slap Manabe back into shape.
- Time for a field trip to abduct Haruka and bring her back. But first, crashing at a shrine with a dude who loves ESP and such.

- ...Manabe and Haruka's grandfather are a little too similar.
- Way to ruin a nice moment, Manabe. But the capture scene was hilarious.
- What. Moritani, that was wholly inadequate. But I guess if Haruka is okay with it... >_> I also found it pretty hilarious how Manabe doesn't indulge in any of the sentimental stuff, he's just brutally frank with her. That's certainly one way to put his personality to good use.