Kokoro Connect - Episode 13

Iori's mother is quite awesome.

Unfortunately, the ending to this arc was far less entertaining than I thought it'd be. Maybe it's because I'm so used to the consistently great episodes that are shown each week that my standards were unconsciously raised for an arc finale such as this. I personally felt the ending was too abrupt. Both in Hito and Kizu random, the conclusions of the phenomena came after a climatic event (Iori jumping off the bridge and Himeko finally coming to terms with her feelings for Taichi thanks to Iori, respectively). However, in Kako random, there isn't really anything you can point to and say, "Yes, this event was the pinnacle moment of the arc." But although this was the case, just like the previous two arcs, there is still a lesson to be learned. This time around, Iori realized that her past—both the good times and bad times—are what makes her the person she is today, and thus, thinking she made a mistake in the past would be the same as thinking she, herself, is a mistake. I thought these words were quite powerful and was glad she made the right decision (though the wrong decision could've made for some nice drama).

Kokoro Connect - Episode 12

Finally some significant progress!

Hurray for Aoki x Yui development! This episode really brought the best out of these two characters, displaying the courage and determination that each of them has towards dealing with their personal troubles regarding their pasts. Aoki really showed a great deal of maturity, which is something I didn't expect to see given his usual immature self. It takes a lot to suddenly decide to go see your childhood crush, only to officially confess that you had feelings for her and leave afterwards. Normally, people would just choose to forget about or ignore something that happened so long ago, even if it still lingers at the back of their mind. But it's a good thing Aoki decided to do what he did since it allowed him to finally move forward and focus solely on chasing and looking after the girl he now loves, whom he knows is physically strong, but emotionally fragile.

Kokoro Connect - Episode 11

Too moe for words

Why? Why is each and every episode of Kokoro Connect so good? It certainly pains me to have to wait one full week before a new episode. Positive complaints aside, I have to say that this arc might turn out to be my favourite so far—and that's saying a lot. While both Hito Random and Kizu Random were extremely well-told stories with excellent character development, Kako Random looks to dig even deeper that its predecessors by using the past to affect the future. The effects of the new "time regression" phenomenon can already be seen in the members involved—Iori's curiosity regarding the past in which she put on many masks to please others, Aoki's love prior to Yui and how it relates to her, Yui's former involvement with karate, and Himeko's constant fear—as they struggle to come to terms with the demons of their past. It sure won't be easy, but as the designated "knight" of the five, I know Taichi will end up helping them through all of this. After all, his reputation of being a "selfless freak" is on the line.

Kokoro Connect - Episode 10

That lovely smile~!

And with that, the thrilling second arc of Kokoro Connect comes to an end. In what was arguably a Himeko-centered arc, fans of this loveable, black-haired tsundere should consider themselves blessed by the sheer amount of character development that occurred in these five episodes. Throughout the arc, Himeko's tough exterior was slowly being chipped away, culminating in the revelation of her true self—someone who just wanted to preserve the only valuable friendships that she had managed to make. Ironically, her criticism of Taichi being a selfless freak could also be applied to herself. The difference was, his usually brought physical distress, while hers was more on the mental/emotional side. But like they say, wounds of the flesh will definitely heal over time, but wounds of the heart may not.

Kokoro Connect - Episode 9

It's hard to choose between Yui, Himeko, and Iori...

Now the "kizu" part of the arc's name makes a whole lot more sense to me. Contrary to popular belief, it appears that hurting and being hurt is a healthy part of any relationship. Like they say, trials and tribulation are a natural part of life, and in the end, only serve to make us stronger and strengthen our relationships. And this is exactly what happened, starting with Taichi and Iori. On top of realizing that hurting each other (albeit not too much) was necessary (yes, it sounds weird, but it's true), Taichi also came to a revelation regarding his own personal struggles with his selfless/selfish actions. As unfortunate as it may sound, I have to agree that, when it comes down to it, every one of our actions is motivated by some form of potential self-gratification; it's just how humans are. Realizing the consequences of this problem and trying to minimize them is, as a result, of great importance—something that Taichi and Iori were fortunately able to do.

Kokoro Connect - Episode 8

I'd like to know how Heartseed managed to get into Himeko's house...

As unlikely as it may be, this desire-unleashing predicament is actually teaching the CRC members an important lesson in decision-making. With the conflicting views held by the members when it came to the crucial decisions that needed to be made, particularly in regards to Yui's situation, it was no surprise that the five decided to drift apart. Looking at the argument between Taichi and Aoki, it's easy to see that, after considering the possible outcomes of the two options at hand, the former decided that it'd be better to take a gamble at producing a positive result while the latter believed playing it safe would be best. Currently, there's no telling which of them made the correct decision but it was indeed interesting to see the reasoning for their stance and their criticism of each other.

Kokoro Connect - Episode 7

Yahoo!

By now, I think it's quite obvious that Heartseed is a sadist. It seems his idea of "interesting" isn't just to see what kind of amusing situations he can create using his manipulative powers, but to see how the five manage to ruin their relationship with one another. Even in Hito Random, he had moments of success when Himeko, and Yui to a lesser extent, revealed their distrust of the others. This time around the same two are being victimized once again. Ironically, they're arguably the two strongest—mentally and physically, respectively—members of the group, and yet, are the ones looking the weakest right about now. The result of the clash between Himeko and Yui is clearly just the beginning of an inevitable falling apart (though it should just be a temporary phase) of the Cultural Research Club.

Kokoro Connect - Episode 6

Awesome imouto is awesome.

And Kokoro Connect continues to impress. I'm really glad I decided to review this series as almost each and every episode has been filled with brain-churning content. After the exhilarating and emotional end to the "Hito Random" arc, I had doubts about whether this new arc would be able to reach the bar that has been set. But it turns out my doubting was just a sign of my lack of confidence in the show. Far from being unable to meet expectations, it's arguable that the start to the Kizu Random arc promises an even better story than its predecessor. While the consequences of body switching only affected those within the group, the idea of "desire unleashing" has the potential to severely ruin one's reputation and affect those around them, making the need to focus on how to deal with it all the more urgent.

Kokoro Connect - Episode 5

What a troll...

Talk about an emotional roller coaster. Kokoro Connect is definitely shaping up to be the show of the season. Throughout the episode, I felt like I was part of their world; their emotions and feelings seemed so real. It's not often a slice-of-life romantic comedy is able to add in an element of drama with such effectiveness; this traumatic experience for the five not only made for a great episode, but also brought out the very best in each of the characters. And even though, like Himeko said, the possibility of it all being a planned out from the start was there, the severity of the situation limited the degree to which the characters, and likely even the audience, doubted its realism.

Kokoro Connect - Episode 4

Psst, I've got a secret for you~ <3

Now that was a lot of dialogue. For the most part, the episode contained serious conversations between Taichi and the other two girls whom he hasn't dealt with yet (i.e. Iori and Himeko). Like in Yui's case, the two have been keeping something hidden from the others, fearing it might ruin their relationships with one another. For Iori, it was as I had suspected—her troubles stem from family issues. But for Himeko, the problem was not so much a physical side effect from the body switching, but rather, a psychological one. Let's dig deeper into Taichi's respective talks with each of them, shall we?

Kokoro Connect - Episode 3

The pain... Oh, the pain!

Another great episode that further touched on the backgrounds of a few of the characters, particularly Yui, who's slowly becoming my favourite in the group. This kind of traumatic event (attempted rape, in this case) which affects a character's composure in certain situations isn't something new. However, the method Taichi utilizes to try and support Yui is by far one of the more extreme cases of self-sacrifice that I've seen. I mean, kicking yourself in the nether regions is one thing. But doing so inside the body of a girl who's trained in martial arts is another. Just watching the cold sweat pour down his face while he squirms on the ground in pain after he switches back into his own body was painful to see. Nonetheless, Taichi got the job done, and even though it's not going to be an instant transformation where Yui will no longer be scared of men, at least he started her off in the right direction. Although I was initially supporting Taichi x Iori, I think Taichi x Yui is also a nice pairing.

Kokoro Connect - Episode 1, 2

It seems Taichi took the 120 yen offer...

While the first episode was more on the comedic side of things—introducing the body swapping and the effects it had on the Cultural Research Club members—the second one was where things started to pick up, while still having little gags here and there. From the trivial things like going to the bathroom to the major troubles like having to act like the person whose body you're in, switching bodies is actually not as simple and fun as it seems, especially if you're involved in it. True, I admit for the first few instances of it that I was chuckling at how the characters were put into such unfortunate and embarrassing situations because of the swapping, but soon afterwards, I began to look more deeply into this matter.

Summer 2012

Naturally, I'd want to blog about all the series I plan to watch in the Summer 2012 season, but seeing as how it was so difficult for me to keep up with everything in Spring 2012, I have no choice but to cut down on the number of series I'll blog about. That's not to say I'll be watching a lot of series anyways; I have six hours less (excluding commute time) a week for myself in July and August since another one of my summer courses has started.

Now to get back to the topic of anime, judging by past experiences, I'm planning to stick to blogging about series which have the potential to incur lots of thinking and/or analysis on the part of the audience. That's not to say I don't enjoy slice-of-life or comedy shows; in fact, SoL is near the top of my favourite genres. As always, I'm open to suggestions as to what I should or should not blog about. And without further ado, here are my picks for the Summer 2012 season, now with some of my quick thoughts on each title.