Sigh… I’m not impressed with this season though.

It’s justifiable, understandable, but argh… it’s just sad. I do want to see how Hiromi and Shinichirou will tie up all the knots in their relationship or past issues (especially with Shin’s mom), but I also find myself interested in Noe, and how she’ll be able to gain my sympathy and true tears later on…

@Jeff: Different strokes indeed. I’m glad you agree to disagree because I was kinda worried about upsetting anyone…you do make a good point about Hiromi though. On reflection she seems to sit back and just expect Shinchiro to ‘wait for her’, while Noe is more open and acts on her feelings. Point taken, so thanks for an alternative view!

@Hanners: what I love about this show is how it’s more slice-of-life than bishoujo adaptation - whether we like the characters or not, there’s a realism to them that’s wonderfully refreshing and adds to my view that True Tears is going to become something very special indeed. My guess is that I haven’t warmed to Noe yet partly because her background hasn’t been explained yet in the same way that Hiromi’s has. I only became aware of personal experience swaying opinion on fiction after watching this actually, but it felt important enough to comment on! There’s the subject of another post starting here somewhere…congrats on getting your own blog BTW.

@Owen: bookmarked, cheers. I have every intention of continuing this, mainly because I’ve promised myself that I’ll collect the DVDs too. Again, I can see Noe’s character growing on me in time as we learn more about her and what makes her tick - Hiromi has an ‘unfair advantage’ so to speak, in that we were told of her background pretty early on. The fact that this isn’t proving to be a harem show earns it a bonus point in my book too.

@Icystorm: yeah sorry, my anti-spam plugins can get a bit over-zealous when there are links involved! I’ll be watching Cloverfield at somepoint, once the big rush dies down a bit. I don’t like going to the cinema when it’s too crowded…

@Setsukyie: the love triangle is a headscratcher to be sure, but not wanting to repeat myself too much, I’ll try to keep my judgements on hold until I’ve got to know all the characters a bit better.

@TheBigN: it struck me as strange too, especially when IRL the eccentric people are often the most interesting and, ironically, sometimes the most genuine. The fact that she doesn’t have many friends does make me feel a bit sorry for her though.

@Teeif: Nah, not the bird seed bit. ^_^ The teasing side of her is something that really bugs me about people at times, which made me question the validity of her feelings for Shinichiro. Her openness makes me a bit more optimistic - after all, she doesn’t pretend not to be weird. Hopefully later episodes will give me a clearer picture.

So, yeah, thanks for all the feedback. It’s turning out to be an excellent series - as an aside, Bandai’s pricing doesn’t faze me much since all UK DVD prices are somewhat higher than US ones to begin with! From what I can tell, Beez (the Bandai subsiduary who handle their UK distribution) are unaffected by these changes, and seem to be selling their DVDs at the same prices as other UK distributors. Hopefully True Tears will follow suit, and not too long after either.

Ok, in seriousness, Noe is a bit of a tease. She doesn’t have a horde of boys admiring her because this is a hareem and because she’s just too weird. She doesn’t seem to have any friends. That makes her a pity case. She is hopelessly enigmatic but so far her intentions have consistently been positive and innocent; she’s not out to hurt anyone particularly not Shinchiro, so far.

In episode 5, Noe is a bit more assertive. Hiromi and Aiko in contrast are being indecisive and bitchy. I really think they’ll open up the race for Shinchiro soon when everyone starts being honest with themselves. At least Noe is honest from the start.

Side note: Ohh.. So that’s why I can’t find subs at Animesuki..
Good thing there are other sources..hehe…

I detest your putting off of Cloverfield. It is epic. I will continue to hype it and wave it in people’s faces until they watch.

Haven’t watched True Tears yet… but everyone says it’s sooooo good.

…

How could you say such a thing? Putting it off because of fan-hype? Heresy.

Haven’t watched True Tears yet… I’ll watch it soon, once I get this backlog of shows finished.

Noe’s cast in a considerably more positive light in episode 4, and I hope your opinion of her will change after watching that. Mind you, I’ve had similar experiences with girls like those so I can totally understand why you would have such an impression of her, but my suspension of disbelief is overriding any similarities she might have had to those I’ve known.

I’ve also got to admit that Noe’s case is helped by the fact that she doesn’t have that horde of guys wrapped around her finger like her real-life counterparts do. Those have a posse of salivating slaves at their beck and call, and could you really call it manipulative if what they do affects just one, and not numerous other guys?

That’s my take on it. Hope you don’t drop this just because it’s licensed, since the prices, the last time I checked, were rather steep for usual standards. But it’s a May release, in any case.

I think asking about Noe’s true motivations is an important question (and one that shouldn’t be lost under the cute side to her), and should probably equally apply to Hiromi, who has been equally if not more devious in some of her actions.

The beauty of this kind of anime is EXACTLY that everyone will react differently to the characters offered up in its tangled web of relationships - Our own experiences and preferences will naturally sway us one way or another in our own feelings towards a particular character, and those feelings will be totally different to the next persons. It isn’t something you should apologise for… It’s actually a big sign in my book that True Tears is an excellently realised work that gets to its viewers emotional core most expertly.

However, comparing the two characters to their real life counterparts, I’ve always found I get along better with women of Noe’s personality than I do Hiromi’s. Different strokes and all that.