#Shuichi Tsukamoto

[mistyheartrbs]

[gallade-x-treme]

THEYDIDIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KITAUJI ENSEMBLE SCORES!!!!!!!!!!!

[anicastes]

Also, you're five minutes late.

[iamumbra195]

Detective Conan/DCMK characters in a Classroom of the Elite setting would be so interesting to watch/read.

I've only just finished the CoTE anime (Seasons 1-3) so i haven't read the manga or the light novel but the Advanced Nurturing Highschool or AHNS for short is so, so shady. If it and the White Room existed in the DCMK universe, I have no doubt in my mind that they would have some connection to the Black Organization.

So just imagine an AU where Shinichi caught Vodka doing an arms deal in middle school but didn't get caught by Gin like in canon. Imagine him trying to investigate them but coming up with nothing until he, Ran, and Sonoko are on a train ride for the first day at AHNS where he runs into Gin and Vodka, just like he did in canon episode 5.

He learns their codenames there and saves the people on the train from being bombed to hell. Unfortunately, this ends up making him, Ran and Sonoko late for their very first day. They're thankfully excused because the incident was out of their hands before being placed into their respective classes.

You can have adult characters like Jodie and Amuro be teachers and business owners while also acting as undercover agents.

Important student characters at the school:

Hattori Heiji (he can be in the same class as Shinichi where they are both antagonistic at first but later become allies and friends)

Toyama Kazuha (they were made for each, I will never seperate them)

Kuroba Kaito (who also happens to be Kaitou KID and regularly sneaks off school campus for heists. Jii Konosuke cases places for him and he contacts the man using a secret phone he smuggled in. He tends to downplay his academic and physical skill to be somewhat average so he's in Class C or B)

Nakamori Aoko

Akako Koizumi (no magic in this AU but she's interested in spirituality and shit like tarot cards and all)

Hakuba Saguru (suspects of Kaito of being KId and regularaly requests time off from school to go to the heists)

Eisuke Hondou (but only for a little while near the end of 1st year as a rival for Shinichi and love interest for Ran before going back to America to pursue the future he wanted)

Sera Masumi (would be introduced in 2nd Year when Shinichi starts investigating Bourbon as a potential subject because she somehow found out he has connection to the maker of the pill that shrunk her mother)

Important characters outside of school

Agasa Hiroshi (supplies Shinichi with spy tech)

Haibara Ai AKA Miyano Shiho (shrunken and lives with Agasa just like in canon, specifically sought Agasa out because he was a connection to Shinichi, who was involved in her sister's case and was a detective at that. They contact each other through secret phone. She also happens to be one of the failed subjects of the white room)

Miyano Akemi (During school break, Shinichi went back to Beika where he was then approached by Masami Hiroto and the rest goes like canon with her dying in his arms)

Akai Shuichi (still don't know what I'm gonna do with him but he's important)

Rena Mizunashi AKA Hidemi Hondou

Side Characters in school

Nakamichi (Shinichi's soccer friend)

Eisuke Aizawa (Shinichi's soccer friend)

Kazumi Tsukamoto (a third year in Ran's karate club)

Tashiro (Ran's friend)

Hidaka (Ran's friend)

Anyways, I imagine Shinichi being in a different class from Ran and Sonoko and just thinking about ShinRan competeing but also saving each other's asses from time to time is beautiful.

Having Kaito and Shinichi's respective Black Organization be one and the same would make it more interesting as well.

Anyways, I think these characters are fun to play around with in this setting, mixing the dramatic school life in CoTE with the looming threat of the Black Organization as Shinichi delves deeper and deeper into the case.

Idk how this would be resolved but it would be so, so fun to read if written well. Shinichi's gonna be so paranoid by the end of this lol.

[animepoint]

[kumiko18-blog]

Reina in the manga looks pretty good tbh

[incorrecthibikequotes]

shuichi: hi

kumiko: every time you talk, i hear that noise pac-man makes when he dies.

[incorrecteuphonium]

Reina: I see the glass as half empty, Kumiko sees it as half full; that's why we make a good team. Shuichi, on the other hand, drinks it right out of the bottle. Midori wonders why it has to be glass, and Hazuki usually breaks the glass by putting her feet up on the table.

[diyahyun]

How hibike! Euphonium became one of my favourite anime's of all time

When I first finished hibike! Euphonium I used to always say that my favourite anime's were: haikyuu , assassination classroom , hibike and my hero academia (those are all number 1 btw not listed) And I didn't realize then how hibike actually changed me and my life And how my life wouldn't be the same if I hadn't watched it , it was the reason why I know a lot about band and why I got a bit into classical music , especially the trumpet It was the main reason of how I got introduced to amazing people and such an amazing and hilarious group (trumpet squad) It inspired me to draw a lot more and get better at it from drawing my favourite characters of all time countless times (I swear I can draw kumiko and natsuki without references now that's how many times I drew them) As much as both haikyuu and hibike changed my life I don't think I'll ever replace them due to how much they changed me and my life and how they both introduced me into a lot of new stuff that I never cared about but now about a lot I'd like to thank ayano takeda and kyoani for this amazing anime that means so much to me

[cosmic-latte-1485]

A movie about them will be released. A movie about Shuuichi and Kumiko will be released. Fudge I'm so happy 😭

Remember that time when I'm sulking about the ship that never made it canon on the main anime, this is it.

I really ship them right from the start. I don't have anything against yuri, in fact I sometimes really like it. But then I remember someone said:

"The childhood friend route is terrifying sometimes. It's so cliche but it's forcing me to ship it."

I was sad when the main anime showed too little interaction of them since I read somewhere that in the light novel(?) this ship is canon. But then we got this, I'm so so happy 😭

[recentanimenews]

ORIENT - Crunchyroll Winter 2022 Spotlight

  Crunchyroll recently kicked off its Winter 2022 Anime Lineup, and one of the many titles featured is ORIENT. Based on the manga by Magi author Shinobu Ohtaka, the anime adaptation premiered today, so let's take a look at who's involved and what it's all about!

  Official Website

      Navigation

Launch Info

Official Trailers

Synopsis

Characters and Cast

Staff

Additional Info

    Launch Info

  Launch Time: January 5 

Territories: North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Middle East, and CIS

Show Page

  Official Trailers 

        Synopsis

  Based on the manga by Shinobu Ohtaka being published in Kodansha’s Bessatsu Shonen Magazine. This is a story about Musashi, a 15-year-old boy who lives in Japan during the Sengoku period. Japan is ruled by demons, and Musashi tries to confront the demons with a certain special power!

  Characters and Cast

  Musashi 

VA: Yuma Uchida (Ramune in Dr. Ramune -Mysterious Disease Specialist-)

    Kojiro Kanemaki

VA: Soma Saito (Hermes in Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?)

    Tsugumi Hattori

VA: Rie Takahashi (Emilia in Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-)

    Naotora Takeda 

VA: Satoshi Hino (Rengoku in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba)

    Shirou Inukai 

VA: Hiro Shimono (Conny Springer in Attack on Titan)

    Nanao Inusaka

VA: Azumi Waki (Rem Galleu in How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord)

    Aoshi Sanada

VA: Haruki Ishiya (Shuichi Tsukamoto in Sound! Euphonium)

    Shunrai Yamamoto 

VA: Saori Onishi (Aiz Wallenstein in Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?)

    Hideo Kosameda

VA: Wataru Hatano (Gajeel Redfox in Fairy Tail)

    Jisai Kanemaki

VA: Katsuyuki Konishi (Tengen Uzui in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba)

      Staff

  Original Creator

Shinobu Ohtaka

  Director

Tetsuya Yanagizawa (I Want to Let You Know That I Love You)

  Series Composition

Mariko Kunisawa (The Case Files of Jeweler Richard)

  Character Design

Takahiro Kishida (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

  Music

Hideyuki Fukasawa

  Opening Theme Song Performer

Da-iCE

  Ending Theme Song Performer

Wataru Hatano

  Animation Production

A.C.G.T.

  Additional Info

  Creator Shinobu Ohtaka shared the following comment back in August along with a celebratory illustration: 

  "The staff of the Orient anime are hard at work making the best anime they possibly can. As an author, I can’t wait to see new life breathed into my characters, and see how they move when animated." 

    Director Tetsuya Yanagizawa commented, as well: 

  “I’ve been reading shonen manga since I was a kid. I’ve learned a lot from manga. I love strong characters, and the way they stay true to what they believe and fight through any trial has given me courage many times. I like weak heroes too. When somebody falls and then gets back up again, they always grow as a person. Sometimes fighting with your friends, or laughing with them... I like all those kinds of manga. And Orient has all of that. I’ve always wanted to make a show like this."

  As did series composition writer Mariko Kunisawa: 

  “The world of Orient is the society we live in. The more I read it, the more I realize that.” I want to share the things that make this manga great with as many people as possible, and both the director and I are working are hardest at it.”

      -------

Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine. You can read his comics at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox.

By: Joseph Luster

[mistyheartrbs]

kumiko reina and shuichi in finale oath

[gallade-x-treme]

tfw ur ex-bf catches you catching someone asking your gf out

[welcometbas]

Chapter 10: Masquerain

“Masquerain, the Eyeball Pokémon. Masquerain intimidates enemies with the eyelike patterns of its eyespots. If that doesn't work, it deftly makes its escape on its set of four wings.” – Pokédex entry for Masquerain.

“If I ever meet that Tsukamoto again, I’ll be sure to give him a good thrashing for causing your fear of Bug-types.” Reina boldly remarked, surprising Kumiko at how upfront she was with her statement. “Sending a young girl alone into a deep, dark forest? That’s asking for nothing but trouble.”

“Reina, we were kids back then.” Kumiko tried to defend Shuichi’s actions back then, but she found that any excuses she had were quite flimsy. “Besides, how would he know that there were so many Masquerain in the forest there?”

“I don’t care. He needs to pay for making you suffer.” A slightly sinister tone wormed its way into Reina’s voice. “Every time I see him, that Tsukamoto has caused nothing but trouble for the two of us. For everything he’s done and will do, the only way he can repent is to stop existing completely.”

“Reina, aren’t you taking this a little too far…?” Not having the heart to tell Reina to stop plotting vengeance over something as simple as being scared by Bug-type Pokémon, Kumiko just let her girlfriend be. After all, no matter how much she convinced herself she conquered her fears, Kumiko still found Masquerain intimidating to this day thanks to what Shuichi did.

[prof-kenny]

[tialovestelevision]

Festival Triangle

Soooo… when we last left the cast of Sound! Euphonium, Hazuki was asking Kumiko if she’s going out with Shuichi. Kumiko was looking shocked and a little horrified at the idea. What happens next?

1. Previously On, then Kumiko immediately denies the idea, which relieves Midori. Kumiko asks Hazuki why she’s asking; Hazuki says it’s because they often walk home together. Midori tells Hazuki to go for it. Kumiko is surprised by the idea of someone liking Shuichi. Midori is trying to get Hazuki to ask Shuichi to the upcoming festival. Hazuki asks why Midori is being so aggressive about it; Midori says that it’s because love and death are timeless themes of music. Better get on with that love, Hazuki… Midori’s serious about this. She will kill someone. With a contrabass. It will be ugly. The festival being spoken of is the Agata Festival, which is held on June 5. Everyone becomes restless because you need dates. Kaori’s fangirl asks her to the festival, but Kaori is already going with Haruka and Asuka. Her heart is broken. Natsumi doesn’t make it better. Midori is going with her little sister. Hazuki is getting nervous about Shuichi. Yeah, Kumiko, I don’t get it either. Reina looks at Kumiko as she sits down. Opening credits.

2. People are discussing who they’re going to the festival with. Natsuki says Riko is going with Goto, because duh. Or with her sadistic tuba, I guess. Midori asks Natsuki if Riko and Goto are in love with each other; Natsuki says they’re dating. Riko gets embarrassed and says they’re not-really-dating. Goto is surprised by that. Riko reminds him they’re keeping it a secret; Asuka immediately asks if they’re finally announcing it. Goto wants to know why that’s her only comment. Asuka is such a troublemaker. Asuka points out that everyone already knows. Midori asks Asuka if she has a boyfriend; Asuka embraces her instrument protectively. “Of course not! Euphonium-san is my only love!” Natsuki asks who Kumiko is going with; Kumiko talks about her lack of interest in going at all. Natsuki points out that Kumiko is a bit distant. Riko asks who Hazuki is going with; Midori starts to say something about Shuichi but Hazuki cuts her off and says she hasn’t decided yet. Title card.

3. We see practice. Taki cuts them off and asks what feeling they’re expressing. Asuka volunteers to answer and says something about the moon’s sad dancing as it starts a journey away from Earth toward the stars. The song’s a bit triumphant for that, don’t you think? She then talks about the composer loving the night sky. Taki has heard enough. He says her dance was impressive and that’s the kind of shamelessness they need, and gives some more instructions. Asuka sees Kumiko writing some notes on her sheet music and asks her if she’s having trouble (“Is this part killing you?), then suggests she try a different fingering. Shuichi and Reina are both watching her get advice; when Shuichi notices Reina, Reina turns away and returns her attention to Taki. Shuichi looks disturbed.

4. Train station. Kumiko is working on fingerings. Shuichi calls her over; she ignores him until he physically drags her attention to him. Then they’re walking home together. They’re both worried about the auditions. Shuichi says there are a lot of trombones, and he has to up his game. We get to the river; Shuichi is playing a bit from the song. There are three first-year trombonists. Kumiko doesn’t comment on the quality of his playing. There aren’t a lot of euphonium players; Shuichi thinks that means all the euphoniums will pass the audition but Kumiko thinks Taki would rather have less euphoniums than any euphoniums who can’t hack it. Shuichi is considering the idea of making Nationals. Kumiko hopes they get better. He asks her to practice there with him. Then he asks her to the festival. She tries not to notice. He doesn’t let her not notice. She doesn’t answer him, really; he runs off. She tells us that she was surprised.

5. On the way to… somewhere. Not school; she’s not in uniform. I like Kumiko’s umbrella; it’s red with a yellow trim and very cute. Oh, they were going to school. Kumiko is thinking about the social awkwardness of Shuichi’s interest in her when Hazuki’s as interested in Shuichi as she is. It’s awful. Midori is telling Hazuki to go confess. Wow, Midori’s energy level here. Midori really wants Hazuki to ask Shuichi to the festival. Now it’s time for practice. People are asking one another to the festival. Hazuki is watching Shuichi. She steels herself and gets up. Kumiko is getting some water and cleaning her mouthpiece when Shuichi steps out into the hall to meet her. He thinks she gave him a signal; she was trying to avoid him. This guy. Reina steps out, and Kumiko, without looking to see who she’s addressing, grabs her arm and announces that she has plans to go with THIS PERSON. Then Shuichi expresses surprise. Hazuki steps out and asks Shuichi to speak with her. Kumiko encourages him to go. He’s hurt that she’s okay with Hazuki asking him. Kumiko is still holding Reina’s wrist.

6. Reina and Kumiko are at the shoe lockers. Kumiko is working on putting her outdoor shoes on (at Japanese schools, you keep indoor shoes in a locker at the entrance and change into them at the start of the day, then put your street shoes back on at the end of the day - a system I imagine a lot of American school custodians would be delighted to see us take up here) and Reina is looking at her. Reina’s umbrella is purple with a light purple trim. Reina asks Kumiko when and where they meet to go to the festival. Kumiko has a date! Commercial break.

7. The homeroom teacher is lecturing the band about proper behavior at a festival. Then Taki sends them home. Riko meets Goto and is wearing a yukata. Goto thinks she’s cute but looks sad. Midori is helping Hazuki with her hair… Hazuki’s wearing a cute outfit and has her hair done. She’s never worn a skirt other than her uniform. Midori is in a yukata. Midori’s sister is a tiny clone of Midori herself named Kohaku. Midori and Kohaku are going to the festival while Hazuki waits for Shuichi. Kohaku thinks Hazuki looks super cute. Shuichi is wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

8. Kumiko is in shorts and a cute stripey t-shirt and is climbing some stairs with her euphonium. It’s heavy, especially for stair climbing. She’s ten minutes late. Reina is in a very pretty dress; Kumiko is surprised by how cute she looks. Reina says they’re climbing the mountain. With their instruments. Just because. They’ll take turns carrying the instruments… that makes sense, since Kumiko’s euphonium is a lot heavier than Reina’s trumpet. Kumiko is more than a little lovestruck. “Kousaka-san’s snow-white dress, and the cool, blue air filled my head with the Snow Maiden. This must be how it feels to lose your life, drawn to a beautiful thing, despite your fears.” That’s… painfully romantic. Reina asks whether Kumiko likes the other shrine better or this one. Kumiko likes this one better. Reina agrees - she thinks this one is more mature. Kumiko asks Reina if she does things like randomly hiking up mountains often. Reina: “What do you think I am? Of course I don’t. But sometimes, I feel like doing this kind of thing. I put on my uniform, go to school, go to band, and come home. Sometimes, I just want to thrown everything away, and board a train and travel.” Kumiko: “I kind of know what you mean.” Reina: “This is a compromise.” Kumiko: “It’s a pretty big compromise.” They haven’t swapped instruments yet. Reina: “I don’t have any choice. We have school tomorrow. Come on.”

9. They do switch instruments here. While waiting for Kumiko to hand over her euphonium, Reina ties her hair back. Reina is a little surprised by how heavy the euphonium is. Rena’s very pretty shoes are wearing blisters in her feet. Kumiko asks if her feet hurt; Reina says “They hurt, but I don’t hate pain.” Kumiko: “What? That’s kind of hot.” Reina gets a Look. “Freak.” Then they keep walking. Kumiko has the most genuine smile we’ve yet seen from her. We cut to the main festival, where two girls - Haruka and Kaori - are praying next to Asuka. Haruka prays to do well at the audition. Asuka: “You won’t get any better by praying for that.” Haruka: “Well, yeah, but…” Asuka: “Music and playing are both entirely up to your own effort. You shouldn’t ask a god to do it for you. That’s just wasteful.” Kaori agrees with Asuka. Then Asuka sees Hazuki across the crowd and is delighted she’s there with her boyfriend. Haruka tells her not to go after them.

10. Hazuki and Shuichi are together on a bench. Hazuki offers Shuichi some takoyaki. He’s being kind of… distant? She says it’s her first time going to the festival with a guy. Shuichi says it’s his first time bringing a date there, too, then immediately tries to change the subject. This is very similar to his earlier scene with Kumiko where he was asking her to the festival; I wonder if he notices that. Hazuki says, “Tsukamoto, you know… I like you.” He chokes on his takoyaki. Then he gives the least committal response ever. She asks what’s up with that response; he says he was surprised. She asks what his answer is; he gets a sad expression. Stares at his thumbs. “Sorry.” Hazuki: “Oh.” Pretty sure she’s crying. Then she raises her arms up and tells him she’s going to hook him up with Kumiko. He says there’s nothing going on between them; she asks if he’s someone who can’t tell. Hazuki: “A tuba’s job is supporting people from the wings, Tsukamoto-kun.” Then she giggles and he laughs.

11. Kumiko and Reina are still climbing the mountain. It’s gotten dark, so Reina turns on a flashlight app on her phone. Those are useful! Reina has slowed down a bit. She says she’s been wanting to hang out with Kumiko. Kumiko: “Hm?” Reina: “Do you know you have a terrible personality?” Kumiko: “Is that supposed to be an insult?” Reina: “It’s a compliment. At the competition, you asked if I really thought we could make the Nationals. That’s a terrible thing to say.” Kumiko: “No, I honestly thought it was weird. Then you are insulting me.” Reina: “No. It’s a confession of love.” Kumiko: “There’s no way you’re serious.” Reina: “But I’ve always been drawn to that side of you. It’s like you put on a kind, good-girl face, but inside, you’re actually really distant. It makes me want to peel that good-girl skin off of you.” So… basically, Kumiko has misread literally everything in her relationship with Reina since the start of the series. Reina LIKES the girl who dismissed the idea of the Nationals, likes the girl who is distant and quiet and a little cruel. The Kumiko behind the Kumiko most of the people at school see. Kumiko: “What’s that supposed to mean?” Reina: “Don’t you understand my love?” Kumiko: “You’re twisted, Kousaka-san.” They’ve arrived where Reina wanted to go. She shuts off her flashlight. They’re on an overlook where they can see the whole city. It’s very pretty at night. Kumiko asks if this is what Reina wanted to see; Reina says she wanted to do something that others wouldn’t. Kumiko finds the festival. Reina immediately asks if she’s worried about Tsukamoto. Kumiko says of course not. Reina says no one else would be crazy enough to hike up a mountain on festival day. Kumiko: “I guess not.” Reina: “I thought you’d understand.” We get a flashback… girls in a circle, wearing scrunchies on their arms. Reina: “I don’t try to get close to people who don’t interest me. Being relieved to know you’re the same as everyone else…” Girls making a star with their fingers. Standard physical expressions of friendship and camaraderie. “Is stupid. I want to resist going along with all those perfect people.” Kumiko sits down on the steps behind Reina. “Maybe not everything, but you kind of get it, right? That sort of crazy feeling.” Kumiko considers a moment then nods. “Yeah, I get it. I know how you feel, Kousaka-san.” Reina walks over and presses her index finger to Kumiko’s forehead. “Reina.” Calling another person by a first name, with no honorific, is an intensely intimate thing - it declares a very, very close relationship. Love, of some sort. The wind kicks up, and Reina’s skirt fills her space. Reina: “I want to become special.” Her finger is still on Kumiko’s forehead. “I don’t want to become the same as the others.” She lets her finger trail down, over Kumiko’s nose, to her lips, before it falls away. Kumiko is staring at her. “That’s why I play the trumpet. To become special.” Kumiko is staring at her, while we get her voiceover narrating. “I was about to get sucked in. At that moment, I felt like I wouldn’t mind losing my life.” She asks Reina if she can become special by playing the trumpet. Reina: “I can. If I practice more, and become better, I can become even more special. Not just one of those who thinks they’re special. I’m going to become truly special.” Then she bursts out in giggles while Kumiko stares at her. “You definitely have a terrible personality, Kumiko.”

12. Credits start to play over a picture of Kumiko and Reina’s shoes. I’m honestly a little surprised Reina’s shoes don’t have a bit of blood on them. Reina: “Are you ready?” They’re sitting, on the bench at the shrine, barefoot, with their instruments in their hands. Kumiko: “I’m ready. What are we playing?” Reina: “The one we played in middle school, third-year. At the farewell party.” So not the ones from the competition where they failed to advance. Reina lets her hair down. She says she likes the piece. Then we hear them playing together, while we watch Kyoto’s lights. Kumiko keeps looking at Reina while playing; Reina looks back. This is what Taki was talking about, wasn’t it? Playing using your feelings. Quick montage of the other members of the cast at the festival, which Kumiko and Reina never actually got down to. Someone - Hazuki - walking while wearing purple shoes. Midori and Kohaku run over to her. Yeah… playing with your heart, shamelessly. Hazuki is talking to Midori about her night. Midori looks sad; Hazuki starts to cry and Midori and Kohaku both hug her. Kumiko and Reina finish playing. “And so, this dream-like moment passed, and once again…” Taki, back at the band room: “We’ll start the auditions.” Episode end. We do not get the usual closing credits song - the credits, in their entirety, played over Kumiko and Reina’s playing and the montage of the festival.

Overall: Eight episodes in, and we now have the premise of the show, given to us in two confessions of love and a musical duet.

This episode was beautiful. The outfit designs for the festival - especially Midori and Haruka’s yukatas, Hazuki’s skirt-and-blouse combination, and Reina’s dress and shoes, because oh god those shoes - were nothing short of breathtaking. The episode didn’t skimp on little details, like Hazuki’s hairpieces and the way the design of Reina’s shoes would be troublesome when walking so much. The nighttime skyline shots of Kyoto were utterly gorgeous, and the forested mountain path to the shrine was lovely. They made good use of their budget here. That art would have carried mediocre writing.

The writing was not mediocre. The characters came through with a vivid completeness. We can see why people instinctively think that Kumiko and Shuichi would be a good couple (they both keep a laconic distance under the surface, though Shuichi’s is more clueless and Kumiko’s more cruel, and they both respond to an unwanted declaration of interest basically the exact same way), and why Kumiko doesn’t see the same thing (Shuichi is about as interesting to her as a rock, because his inner life is either the same as hers or less interesting than hers in basically every way - he offers no surprises). Hazuki’s nervous honesty is refreshing, especially when one’s been watching so much Buffy and Angel, and Midori’s enthusiasm is contagious. I knew Hazuki and Shuichi weren’t going to work (and his interest in Kumiko is only a small part of why), but Midori’s enthusiasm for the idea of Hazuki taking a shot at it made me want to see her take that shot and have it work out, too.

The story here, though, is Reina, who we finally get to really see as something other than a violet-eyed enigma. The perfectionist, the emotional masochist, the lover of real honesty, the girl who sees most easily past the fronts Kumiko puts on and to the person underneath, who understands that Kumiko’s occasional bouts of confusion or disinterest aren’t outliers, they’re the truth of things, and who loves her for it. The girl who wants to be special, to be different, in a culture that takes the very idea that one can be special or different and tries to set fire to it. Japan allows for one to be extraordinary, to be amazing, but not to be different.

Reina wants to get on a train and run. She’ll settle for climbing a mountain and playing the trumpet.

She sees a kindred spirit in Kumiko, and she’s not wrong. Kumiko is different. She hides how different she is in part because it hurts and in part because people would hurt her for it, but she is.

This is the best episode of TV I’ve watched since “Hush.”