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Impressions:

I’m glad the story is becoming far more interesting, especially as the animation is very inconsistent. It makes me wonder if the animators just slack through some episodes. While eps 9 and 10 were average in terms of character animation, I have seen a lot worse. Ah well, enough of me criticising that. I actually don’t have that big a problem with the animation, as the story has just become soo good! Dunno what really attracts me now, but I can definitely say I enjoy this series like 10× more than when I first watched it. It’s become more enjoyable as the story focuses more on Satou’s problems – not only his hikikomori part, but his love life as well. Other people are getting more involved as well, including Yamazaki, and we get an insight into his past. We all have to admit, Yamazaki isn’t the greatest socialiser either, and from these eps we find out why. Or at least part of the reason.

Episode 9, Satou has begun to fall for Misaki, while Yamazaki’s past starts unravelling (even though it wasn’t that much of a mystery to me to start with – just never thought about it). Satou is quite shocked that he’s thinking of Misaki in such situations and becomes frustrated and agitated about this, probably because he hasn’t really experienced such love that much before. Yamazaki, on the other hand, has, but due to being rejected and lied to by his first crush in primary school, now has got it in his head that women are heartless, liars and cheats. He doesn’t even trust Nanako, who he probably adores right now, when she turns his offer down to see the fireworks together for an Anime audition. Oh and, before I forget, I swear that scene Satou had imagined with Rei in the classroom was taken from NGE. Not just the name, but the ‘I have nothing left’ is exactly the same in episode 6! Ah god, it’s probably just ’cause I’m totally obsessed with Eva that I’m turning everything into NGE related…

Anyway, episode 10, Yamazaki’s distrust for women is passed onto Satou, who makes a decision that could haunt him for the rest of his life…Now I’m just exaggerating things. Yamazaki persuades Satou that women shouldn’t be trusted, so he starts to believe his electric appliance friends in his mind when they tell him Misaki is from the Nihon Hikikimori Kyoukai, working to convert people to Hikikomori through Anime and such. Because of this, Satou tells Misaki that he doesn’t want to see her face ever again. Oh, did I mention Satou finds out Misaki had been monitoring him in his apartment the whole time, as she has a perfect view into it from where she lives? Well, that probably adds to Satou’s frustration which leads to his current paranoid state. Even so, his words were quite harsh, and I can imagine how hurt Misaki feels. Just looking at her as she awkwardly accompanies her aunt as she goes around doing those religious meetings tells me that she also has a few problems fitting in. Now I wonder why she lives with her aunt. Divorced parents? Perhaps even deceased parents? Whatever the case, she seems pretty lonely, so add Satou’s words and we are a left with a poor, heart-broken girl. How sad. I was starting to wonder why Satou’s and Misaki’s relationship was advancing so quickly, so a setback was kinda predictable.

Well now, I’m amazed I’ve been able to write this much for a review – goes to show how much this Anime can make you think. Of course, it’s nothing compared to some other Anime titles that really make you think. Fate/stay night, Air, Evangelion…omg Air is so sad…ok, off topic, so I think I’ll stop here. G’night peoples, or should I say g’mornin’, as it’s 2 in the morning ~don’t worry I’m on holidays =D~? Btw, the summaries should be up tomorrow (well, technically today for me). *Yawns* so tired…

EDIT: The summaries are up now.

Episode 9:

Welcome to the Summer Days!

Yamazaki asks Nanako to go see the fireworks together, but she says she has an audition on that day and can’t make it. Yamazaki becomes unexpectedly irritated and remembers the time he had been rejected by his first crush many years ago.

At their usual counselling meeting, as Misaki is droning on about Freud and Jung, Satou cannot get Misaki out of his mind. Misaki also seems to be fretting over things as she is going over material she’s already talked about before. When Satou points this out, she decides to call it a day. Back at home, Satou starts thinking about Misaki again, and how he doesn’t know anything about her, yet she practically knows everything about him. He then imagines her coming onto him, but that dream is interrupted by Yamazaki banging the doors. He comes in, obviously drunk after being rejected, and convinces Satou to go to the ocean, where the ‘Summer Comic Market’ is open. Yamazaki also explains how his drunk self had promised his classmates to display his finished game at this market in a month’s time. Satou is pretty wound up about the fact that he has to finish his part in a month, but Yamazaki thinks of it as motivation for him to work as he hasn’t been trying very hard lately.

The next day as the two work on the game, Satou suggests they go see the fireworks for a change of scenery. Yamazaki refuses as he reflects upon the time his first crush, who had told him was unable to go with him, turned up at the festival anyway with another boy. Satou doesn’t object, and after Yamazaki shows him his character designs, Satou starts imagining the storyline in which she’ll be in. However, her face always turns to Misaki’s. He’s still agitated over the fact that this is happening, and cannot figure out why. After a while, Yamazaki concludes that he’s been thinking about Misaki for the past few minutes, which must mean he’s in love. Satou is quite shocked to realise he has fallen for her. Yamazaki tries to tell him that he should concentrate more on the love in the game, rather than in real life. Satou points out that Yamazaki is in love with Nanako. This leads him to recalling ‘that’ time again. In primary school, he had been bullied by some boys, but was saved by a girl who ended up being his first crush. Later, he asked her out to the fireworks festival, but she rejected his offer and said she needed to go see his hospitalised grandfather. During the festival, Yamazaki saw the girl with one of the boys who beat him up. This lie has led him to believe that all women are the same: liars, cheats etc. He’s even convinced himself that Nanako is probably cheating on him as well. He convinces Satou that women are untrustworthy as well, until Nanako calls him and tells him her audition was cancelled, so she can make it to the festival. Yamazaki changes his heart quite quickly…

A little while later, Misaki starts tossing stones at Satou’s window. When she manages to get his attention, she asks him to go to the festival with her. And so, the two go and see the fireworks together, and it seems that their relationship is progressing smoothly.

Episode 10:

Welcome to the Dark Side!

The day after the festival, Yamazaki has changed his mind about women. Satou, meanwhile, is fretting over all the things he should have done when he was out with Misaki which he didn’t do. When he continues with the scenario, he thinks about Misaki too much and mistakes the game’s heroine’s name all the way through. Everywhere, it says ‘Misaki’ instead of ‘Rei’.

After a short nap, Satou decides to go to the park early today (where he’s meant to meet Misaki for their meeting). He sees her give a cat a tin of tuna and tells her that cats aren’t faithful as the it’ll forget her straight away. Misaki doesn’t think so, and believes that as long as she gives it what it wants, it’ll remember her. At home after the meeting, Satou once again starts thinking about Misaki. He even goes to such lengths as to think about marrying her. Shortly after, Yamazaki comes home, drunk again, pissed because Nanako had been with a guy at the spot they were meant to meet. So now, Yamazaki has reverted back to his old, women-hating self. Because of this, he starts thinking about how Misaki know so much about him, and envisions her as a Nihon Hikikomori Kyoukai agent.

The next day, Satou decides to go on a walk and drags Yamazaki out with him. In turns out that when Satou said ‘walk’, he meant ’stalk and spy on Misaki to find out more about her’. They tail her as she leaves her manga store and returns home. What they find out is that Misaki lives in a mansion on the top of a very large hill, where she has a perfect view of the park as well as Satou’s apartment. This revelation makes him think that she has been monitoring him for quite a long time (which is probably true). He and Yamazaki then follow Misaki and her aunt as they go around doing their usual religious meetings. Satou decides to leave things at that and stop following her, and returns home.

Thinking about Misaki further, he starts hallucinating about his talking appliances and furniture again, who all tell him that Misaki cannot be trusted. He eventually loses to this inner mind of his and concludes that if he distances himself from Misaki, he can’t be hurt when she betrays him. That night, he goes to the meeting late, but instead of continuing with the counselling, he tells Misaki that he’s done with it. She asks if it’s because he is busy with his game, but he doesn’t answer this and simply tells her that he never wants to see her face again. He immediately starts to run back to his apartment, but has already begun to question whether his actions had been the right ones.

Preview:

Welcome to the Conspiracy!

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