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Neko-sensei
Joined: 19 Jan 2007
Posts: 285
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2021 9:42 am
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Great stuff, but I'm I bit confused by the introductory blurb. Do you perhaps mean "macārons" or "macāroōns"?
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ANN_Lynzee
ANN Executive Editor
Joined: 02 May 2011
Posts: 2956
Location: Email for assistance only
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:09 am
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The first one, macarons!
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TarsTarkas
Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Posts: 5869
Location: Virginia, United States
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2021 11:12 am
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First season was spent with Katarina avoiding her bad ends. The second season is avoiding the bad ends from Fortune Lover II, which she knows nothing about. Really, in her eyes, falling in love with any of the 'capture targets' could lead to a bad end. Even if she acknowledges any of them, she probably wouldn't feel safe returning their affections.
The only safe one might be Maria, since game wise, she is not a 'capture target'. Sadly for Mary, I think Maria has got her beat.
While Geordo has the inside track for a couple of reasons, he has to grow up a bit and stop being an existential threat to Katarina. Lest, Katarina crafts a dark magic snake for Geordo to play with.
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7jaws7
Joined: 17 Aug 2013
Posts: 704
Location: New York State
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2021 12:10 pm
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I started reading the novels before watching the anime, and I while I enjoyed it at first, I couldn't get past the 3rd volume because Bakarina's denseness was too much for my critical thinking skills to handle.
I get the original plot was for her to survive all the routes, but before she got isekai'd she was literally stuck and trying to romance Geordo in an otome game.
The first time she used a bug as an excuse for a hickey on her neck, I rolled my eyes but just went with it. Second time she thought it was a bug (albeit not because of Geordo) after being kidnapped was strike two, and after Geordo kissed her on the lips outright in front of everyone, Bakarina stubbornly thought the whole thing must have been a dream.
At that moment she won and there was virtually no reason to continue the harem shenanigans, but that's exactly what the story relies on for humor and entertainment.
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R. Kasahara
Joined: 19 Feb 2013
Posts: 665
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2021 1:55 pm
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Great post! Sophia's probably my favorite, though yes, the Power of Mary is mighty. Sora has been a great addition this season; for me the "bad boy" trope can be enjoyable when it's done well, which it has been here.
Keith, though... yeeeaaah...
Overall, it hasn't been as strong as the first season, but still very good.
ANN_Lynzee wrote: | The first one, macarons! |
Macarons definitely fit with the setting better, but Catarina would find both them and macaroons equally mouth-watering
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tywhoppity
Joined: 09 Sep 2019
Posts: 204
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2021 2:27 pm
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Frey (ep. 8) is best girl.....
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JennLegacy
Joined: 12 Oct 2013
Posts: 108
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2021 3:58 pm
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Dang, starting to think I'm the only Keith fan. (Character only. Don't really like him as a romance option.)
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Duck Du Normandie
Subscriber
Joined: 07 Dec 2018
Posts: 36
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Posted: Thu Sep 16, 2021 4:19 pm
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I have to admit that Mary's shtick is wearing a little thin for me. If she spent half the amount of time and cunning she spends on cock-blocking her friends, she'd probably already have won.
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enurtsol
Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14795
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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2021 12:42 am
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Who hasn't surprise kissed someone before
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nobahn
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Joined: 14 Dec 2006
Posts: 5122
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Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2021 3:28 am
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Okay, so maybe I haven't seen this scene (I paused my watching when I realized that the Keith rescue arc would be three episodes.) or I have and I've just forgotten.
Maybe I'm overthinking this, but I couldn't help but be reminded of a passage from a favorite novella of mine:
Quote: | (Book Girl & the Wayfarer's Lamentation; P.244)
Tohko broke off for a moment and gazed kindly at Miu, who wore a suspicious expression. ¶
"Miu Inoue's novel ends at the point where, early in the morning in the school yard, Itsuki is trying to express her feelings to Hatori." ¶
[...]
"But if you read what the judges say at the end, you notice something strange. ¶
"The four judges unanimously complain about the ending. ¶
" 'It's too sweet', 'extraneous', 'Tells too much, a trap that beginners fall into', 'Doesn't reverberate' ─ but the conclusion of the novel that was published has transparency and beauty, and it reverberates. It stirs up the reader's imagination. From these facts, you can imagine that when the prizewinning story was published, the ending was revised. ¶
"So what was the original manuscript like? ¶
"What was written in the last scene that was cut as extraneous?" ¶
My heart sped up, and my cheeks burned. What ─ what was Tohko going to say? ¶
With a shining smile, Tohko informed us, "Miu Inoue's lost ending. That is my ─ the book girl's ─ special gift to you." ¶
Miu Inoue's first draft?! What was she saying?! ¶
I gulped reflexively, but her gentle voice flowed outward, like music pouring down from the sky. ¶
" 'You're exactly like a bird, Hatori. ¶
" 'You have invisible wings on your back, and you can fly free, anywhere you want.' " ¶
Still gripping Miu's hand's, Tohko closed her eyes. A smile came over her lips and she whispered in a clear voice. ¶
A shock like I'd been hit by lightning shot through my entire body. ¶
It was Itsuki's confession, which I had written long ago on a sheet of paper as my heart raced. ¶
Incredulous, I listened to those words that I'd thought were lost, her confession, as they flowed smoothly from Tohko's lips and were reborn. ¶
" 'You know, Hatori. ¶
" 'I want to be a tree. ¶
" 'You laughed when I told you that before, but it's still the truth. ¶
" 'I really do want to be a tree. ¶
" 'If I were, when you fly through the sky, I would be in the place that's closest to you and be able to look up at you. ¶
" 'And when you looked down at the ground, you might catch sight of me.' " ¶
How?! How could Tohko recite the lines that I'd written in my submission ─ before the revision ─ so flawlessly from memory? ¶
With her imagination? ¶
Surely that was impossible, even for Tohko. ¶
So had Tohko read Miu Inue's first draft, then? ¶
Had she asked Maki as usual? ¶
But how could she have gotten her hands on a manuscript from nearly three years ago ─ one that had been submitted even! ¶
How did Tohko know the words that were written in my manuscript?! ¶
"Well, they're all stories you wrote for me. I remember all of them. I would never forget a single one." ¶
So Tohko had whispered with a smile like an immaculate flower as she gently squeezed my hands while I hung my head and wept on the sofa in the karaoke booth. ¶
[...]
In her gentle voice, Tohko was giving my confession to Miu.
" 'That's why I want to be a tree. ¶
" 'I want to be a huge tree with its green leaves brilliantly lush and its limbs spread wide so that you'll find me. ¶
" 'And when you get tired, I hope that you'll stop and rest on my branches.' " ¶
[...]
Her eyes still closed, Tohko brought her face toward Miu's and cheerfully told her the final words. ¶
The words I had wanted to say all along. ¶
The words I hadn't been able to say. ¶
The simple, obvious important words.
"'I love you! I love you so, so much. I'll love you forever and ever, Hatori.' " ¶
[...]
Then she looked kindly over at me and smiled. ¶
As if to say, "All right, now it's your turn." ¶
[...]
Miu, her face soggy with tears, looked down at me uneasily. Without hesitating, without embarrassment, I told her my "truth." ¶
[...]
"I wrote the words of my confession at the end of the manuscript that I submitted." ¶
[...]
"Miu, I loved you. You gave me so many stars. You made my world beautiful. Thank you for making me happy." ¶
[...]
"I'm so happy...I've always wanted...someone...to say that to me...That they were happy...happy because of me..."
Book Girl & the Wayfarer's Lamentation (Vol.#5) by Mizuki Nomura, Translation by Karen McGillicuddy; 2012, July; Hachette Book Group (Yen Press), NY, NY |
I dunno, maybe I am overthinking this.....
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Yuvelir
Joined: 06 Jan 2015
Posts: 1590
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 1:27 pm
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Yeah, I'm not much of a fan to how characters are acting this season: Mary and Sophie blend into the background (when the former isn't being kind of a clown... and despite the latter having that big deal as Acchan), Maria is there a lot of the time but she barely gets to say or do anything meaningful and the two boys that have shaken up the status quo do so in the worst and tropiest way they could have.
And I don't know whether it's because of this aggressive shoujo dynamic that I have no interest in or because of the (not that many) new characters, but it feels like I've barely seen or enjoyed the old characters.
As for Geord, he insist so much on his position and rights as his fiance that it made me check back, when if ever Catarina had shown any interest in the engagement... and it all ammounts to a very vague and absent-minded "yes" while tiny Geord was running his mouth. I didn't mind when he used that position as leverage when "fighting" his harem partners, it was funny (specially how little they cared about that detail), but the way he's using that right now to force himself on Catarina is very yucky and by the next time he shows up again I hope he has taken a long cold shower.
JennLegacy wrote: | Dang, starting to think I'm the only Keith fan. (Character only. Don't really like him as a romance option.) |
I also like Keith more than any of the other boys... as a brother. Their dinamic when he isn't being a horndog is on point. And sometimes when he is, if it leads to a joke, like when the others learn that he has tricked Catarina into feeding him every now and then.
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Kirki
Joined: 11 Jun 2019
Posts: 296
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 3:37 pm
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Keith is fine for keeping Geordo in check and making sure that Catarina doesn't eat herself to death, but he didn't really need to be a romantic interest. He was only 10 years old when the Claes family took him in (or younger), he was raised as her brother, they share a last name, they call each other brother and sister all the time, and the fact that Catarina in her previous life also had a brother and compares them is making this even more uncomfortable. I mean, I know it's harem and everyone and their mothers are after the MC and are trying to satisfy certain tropes in romance series, but he really didn't need to be this prominent (so far it seems like the endgame choice will be between him and Geordo). This harem has other four guys and three girls at least and literally out of half a dozen people, anyone would be better than the adopted sibling option... just saying.
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