{"id":2740,"date":"2009-06-04T16:55:04","date_gmt":"2009-06-04T23:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mikoto.wordpress.com\/?p=2740"},"modified":"2009-06-04T16:55:04","modified_gmt":"2009-06-04T23:55:04","slug":"hatsukoi-limited-08-this-is-by-far-the-best-show-this-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flomu.net\/blog\/2009\/06\/hatsukoi-limited-08-this-is-by-far-the-best-show-this-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Hatsukoi Limited 08: This is by far the best show this season"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_2741\" style=\"width: 460px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mikoto.files.wordpress.com\/2009\/06\/snapshot20090604013140.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2741\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2741\" src=\"http:\/\/mikoto.files.wordpress.com\/2009\/06\/snapshot20090604013140.jpg?resize=450%2C256\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"256\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2741\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">With Hatsukoi Limited?  Hell yeah!<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Before this episode, I had thought that the love polygon, which grew at the rate of approximately 3.1415&#8230; new sides per episode, was a hopeless jumble of who-knows-what. \u00a0Apparently, J.C. Staff knows what, and the daunting (love triangle)^5 is quickly and surely losing sides and angles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><span style=\"color:#000000;\">A week ago, I predicted that Higashi no Eden and Hatsukoi Limited could turn out to have some shitty endings &#8211; Eden due to the missing Selecao and Hatsukoi due to the sheer number of people in the huge entangled relationship. \u00a0This episode proved me wrong. \u00a0Well, at least on the latter hypothesis. \u00a0The former still stands.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_2742\" style=\"width: 460px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mikoto.files.wordpress.com\/2009\/06\/snapshot20090604010352.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2742\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2742\" src=\"http:\/\/mikoto.files.wordpress.com\/2009\/06\/snapshot20090604010352.jpg?resize=450%2C256\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"256\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-2742\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ironically, this probably came true.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Hatsukoi Limited<\/span><\/em><span style=\"color:#000000;\"> never ceases to amaze me. \u00a0After taking a horrible concept of &#8220;mega oppai = OHNOES I CAN&#8217;T SWIM ANYMOARZ&#8221; and turning it into something decent (some would say awesome), this show goes on to twist the cliched Valentine&#8217;s Day plot into something downright incredible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Hell, I won&#8217;t stop there. \u00a0This episode wasn&#8217;t just the best Valentine&#8217;s Day episode I&#8217;ve ever seen. \u00a0It&#8217;s the perfect Valentine&#8217;s Day episode ever made.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000;\">The usual Valentine&#8217;s Day plotline goes something like this:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Girl is excited and nervous<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Guy displays indifference or excitement<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Girl goes home and makes chocolate for Guy<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Girl gives chocolate to Guy<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Guy beats Girl up and takes back money from night before<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Now obviously, <\/span><em><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Hatsukoi Limited<\/span><\/em><span style=\"color:#000000;\"> would have trouble fitting into this plotline. \u00a0For one, there&#8217;s not just one male and one female here. \u00a0Nonetheless, this episode could have followed the stereotyped scenes in order. \u00a0It could have been a chocolate-giving cycle with a bunch of unsolved drama at the end, but it wasn&#8217;t.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000;\">This entire episode looked something like this:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mikoto.files.wordpress.com\/2009\/06\/hatsukoi-08-1.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2746\" src=\"http:\/\/mikoto.files.wordpress.com\/2009\/06\/hatsukoi-08-1.png?resize=500%2C357\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"357\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000;\">By the time it got to the vertical asymptote right there, I was sure that a huge piece of failure would emerge&#8230; and then comic relief not only helped Misaki become less nervous, but it also helped the scene go from a prospective failure to one of epic win.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000;\">The diagram doesn&#8217;t do the episode enough justice, though. \u00a0More\/less chaos doesn&#8217;t directly corrolate to more\/less win. \u00a0Thus:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mikoto.files.wordpress.com\/2009\/06\/hatsukoi-08-2.png\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2747\" src=\"http:\/\/mikoto.files.wordpress.com\/2009\/06\/hatsukoi-08-2.png?resize=500%2C357\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"357\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000;\">And continuing on with that comic relief point&#8230; the comedy and romance here were in perfect balance. \u00a0For an anime with a title like &#8220;Hatsukoi Limited,&#8221; or &#8220;First love limited,&#8221; there should definitely be no OMGHOLYSHITDRAMA, and this episode was a great example of how <\/span><em><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Hatsukoi Limited<\/span><\/em><span style=\"color:#000000;\">\u00a0manages to keep up this light-hearted theme.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Right at the most dramatic part, in a scene where a love triangle + Arihara comes into broad daylight, comic relief (in the form of Ayumi and her mount) strikes to remind us that this ain&#8217;t no CLANNAD. \u00a0It&#8217;s a romantic comedy where the comedy helps tone down the drama that naturally comes with romance, and does so flawlessly. \u00a0Another romantic comedy could have either succumbed to dramatic elements or have messed up the scene with bad comedy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Hatsukoi Limited<\/span><\/em><span style=\"color:#000000;\">\u00a0manages to avoid both of these problems by intertwining comedy and romance throughout each episode. \u00a0There is never any dramatic episode with only a bit of comedy on the side, or vice versa. \u00a0Sometimes we see a comedic scene followed by a dramatic scene followed by a comedic scene, etc. \u00a0We never get too much drama or too much comedy. \u00a0For example, this episode switched from a comedic scene of Ayumi and Kei to a dramatic, cliched [almost] chocolate-giving scene of Yuuji (Arihara) and Misaki.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mikoto.files.wordpress.com\/2009\/06\/snapshot20090604012018.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2749\" src=\"http:\/\/mikoto.files.wordpress.com\/2009\/06\/snapshot20090604012018.jpg?resize=500%2C284\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"284\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000;\">And what&#8217;s more, this blend of comedy and drama doesn&#8217;t go unjustified. \u00a0The very title &#8220;Hatsukoi Limited&#8221; signifies that the people in the show are naive. \u00a0They don&#8217;t know much about love, since they all experience their &#8220;limited&#8221; &#8220;first loves&#8221; during the series. \u00a0Naturally, this translates into Kei&#8217;s superficial &#8220;judge a book by its cover&#8221; attitude towards men, Koyoi&#8217;s brother complex, and Ayumi&#8217;s never really giving Misao a chance. \u00a0In this episode, the same theme is present. \u00a0We see Ayumi and Koyoi try their hands at matchmaking, Misaki believing that she needs a reason to love Yuuji Arihara, and Kei and Kusuda&#8217;s continuing confused love\/hate relationship.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000;\">&#8230;and another thing on Kei + Kusuda (copypasta from a forum):<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color:#000000;\">&#8230;they seem to be the most realistic couple. The other couples are just a bunch of stereotypical anime couples, whereas this one actually incorporates the naturally naive personalities of both sides and the confused position they have on love itself, which is essentially what hatsukoi (&#8220;first love&#8221;) really is &#8211; a confusing experience that can grow with time and learning.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Kei and Kusuda are really, really mismatched. \u00a0Kei is a tall goddess, an idol and a role model for her classmates and the rest of the school. \u00a0Kusuda is an ugly, perverted guy who has no popularity whatsoever. \u00a0Though Kei x Kusuda seems a bit extreme, an interesting point is made: Love happens.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Most themes of romance anime are in the following list:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Love is the strongest thing in the world<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color:#000000;\">People do anything in the name of love<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Love hurts<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Love sucks<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color:#000000;\">blah blah and happily ever after<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"color:#000000;\"> &lt;&#8212; overused<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color:#000000;\">fanservicefanservicefanservicefanservicefanservice<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color:#000000;\">BAWWWWW<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color:#000000;\">THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Love makes people faggots (School Days)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000;\">I haven&#8217;t seen that many romance anime (~30?), but rarely do I see an anime based around a theme like &#8220;Love happens.&#8221; \u00a0We are always shown how love can help people get stronger, get better, come back to life, etc. &#8211; the miraculous effects of love. \u00a0Instead of following this trend, <\/span><em><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Hatsukoi Limited<\/span><\/em><span style=\"color:#000000;\">\u00a0goes and focuses on how relationships start, stopping before the first date, that first tissue box scene, etc. \u00a0Indeed, this is the &#8220;Limited&#8221; part of the anime, but in terms of how well this can get and actually becomes, it truly is unlimited.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Poop. \u00a0LOLCOMICRELIEF<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color:#000000;\">tl;dr <\/span><em><span style=\"color:#000000;\">Hatsukoi Limited<\/span><\/em><span style=\"color:#000000;\"> episode 8 proves and continues the epicness of the anime.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Before this episode, I had thought that the love polygon, which grew at the rate of approximately 3.1415&#8230; new sides per episode, was a hopeless jumble of who-knows-what. \u00a0Apparently, J.C. Staff knows what, and the daunting (love triangle)^5 is quickly and surely losing sides and angles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2zM4X-Ic","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flomu.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flomu.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flomu.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flomu.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flomu.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/flomu.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2740\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flomu.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flomu.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flomu.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}