[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Itazura na Kiss and the rationale of droppage
My current watchlist looks like this. I think you’ll agree that longlist is looong - there are one or two that I’m following on DVD, or would be if finances permitted, but overall I’m balancing my time between a lot of unlicenced shows simultaneously in addition to full time employment (and the so-far fruitless search for better full time employment). This has led to a feeling that I’m sure many of you are familiar with - my personal standards have crept up to the point at which I’m actually looking for excuses to stop watching them in order to ease the pressure. To put it another way, “why watch series x when y is more entertaining?”. The weird thing is, I’ve never experienced this before but recently I’ve bitten off more than I can chew in terms of how much I’m watching. Sadly, unless you can give a good argument to the contrary, I think that Itazura na Kiss has to go.
When taking on too much becomes a burden: ironically this show has slipped into On-Hold purgatory too
When I say I’m looking for an excuse, I mean I want to give good reasons for dropping it; the last thing I want to do is be another Maddox wannabe who fails to see that logical and articulate arguments are what allows him to get away with being so bitchy and scathing. “This show sucks!” without a good argument to back it up will just make me sound like a troll or a retard; mindful that even after reading my last review for the show I still can’t remember why I enjoyed it in the first place, I feel that I need to outline in detail why InK seems to be failing.
The concept is, as far as I can tell, that of yanking the viewer to and fro as the relationship between the two leads experiences its ups and downs. I love rollercoasters but in contrast merry-go-rounds just make me nauseous and bored. So it is with stories like this: a rollercoaster has its twists and turns but gives you a feeling of going places; a merry-go-round just takes you in circles so the story needs to go somewhere sooner or later to keep the likes of me interested. A setup like this show demands patience in terms of the payback that a viewer expects from their emotional investment: you are willing to grit your teeth through Naoki’s arsehole moments because you expect him to change later on. This honouring of a promise is fundamental to the effectiveness of the tsundere character development but it does require time and patience; right now time and patience are in short supply for me. Furthermore InK is very demanding of them when it’s so intent on going round and round the same situations and feelings.
Naoki is an absolute bastard that only a mother and lovestruck classmate could love, that much is obvious. Those moments where he shows a bit of humanity keep things moving along but it’s not enough for me, and with college and a rival for Kotoko’s affections on the horizon, I can’t see things improving. Given that Naoki is a manipulative sort, those moments of humanity are probably lies anyway; it’s not so much waiting for the dere-dere breakdown here, but the notion that his dere-dere side is part of the act he’s performing.
What she said
Another problem is the predictability. I can speculate all I like about whether Naoki is interested in Kotoko or not but it’s allegedly a given that they’ll wind up together eventually. Heh. So much for the “will they/won’t they?” tension! Even thinking about who might end up with who will be a waste of effort on my part because it’s all pre-decided (assuming the manga reached this point before the writer’s tragically premature passing). Coming to think of it, would that be a good resolution? I don’t think so: Naoki is a manipulative, spiteful liar and Kotoko is utterly vulnerable to his mind games. Putting them together would be subjecting her to a pretty miserable life; who thinks she deserves that? She’s probably happier merely dreaming of being by his side because he’s the sort of guy who wouldn’t treat his wife with any respect at all - let the girl daydream about being with him because it’s probably safer for her emotional well-being in the end.
Looking at what the show doesn’t offer (an unpredictable resolution, a dere-dere breakdown of a tsun-tsun character, an ending that befits the endearing nature of the protagonist) and what it does offer (cheap laughs and cringeworthy situations) I can’t justify following it any further. Every step forward in the relationship - which I don’t see as being healthy in the long term to begin with, remember - is countered by a step backwards, which is frustrating. Being made to feel embarrassed and angry at someone isn’t my idea of entertainment either - I simply can’t bear waiting for a remedy to that which may or may not arrive. Right now Itazura na Kiss is in On Hold Purgatory because Kotoko deserves better; watching it makes me feel like I’m in purgatory too and as a viewer I deserve better than this as well.
If nothing else it’s been an exercise in seeing if I can appreciate shoujo romcom: Kare Kano was directed by Hideaki Anno and the source material is outstanding so that isn’t really representative of the genre. Worryingly, Bokura Ga Ita also had a frustrating one-step-forward-and-one-step-back plot progression, vulnerable female character and unpleasant male character who played on her weaknesses and forgiving nature; as in real life, that sort of relationship annoyed me and I felt the need to distance myself from it. I can see the same thing happening again unless you can say why I shouldn’t drop it completely.
Posted on July 12th, 2008 @ 1:15 pm
Hmm, when I started reading this post I kinda had the feeling you were only at the quarter mark of the show since these were some of the same concerns I had a that point thinking that they might just keep up the whole tsun tsun Naoki VS Kotoko thing for the rest of the series.
Fortunately, once episode 12/13 rolls along, all that is pooh poohed away. Without trying to be spoileriffic, let’s just say your concerns over the predictable road which Naoki and Kotoko’s relationship only lasts till that halfway point, from then on, I really can’t say what’s going to happen. Perhaps a new set of ‘worries’ will develop in the second half, but Itazura all the way for me
Posted on July 12th, 2008 @ 2:13 pm
I don’t like it when it’s so obvious so and so are going to end up, which is why I stopped watching this show
Posted on July 12th, 2008 @ 3:06 pm
I like InK very much, but if you’re not enjoying it, then I’m not going to present any arguments for not dropping it. Give no quarter to shows that don’t entertain you, however good or bad they are, and never feel guilty about dropping anything, at any point. That, at least, is what I like to think I do, though I imagine it’s really more complex (I mean, I watched Kanon more out of curiosity and bloody-mindedness than out of enjoyment).
I think the otakusphere has enough angst about cursory first impressions and snap judgements already.
Posted on July 12th, 2008 @ 8:57 pm
To my mind, Itazura no Kiss is neither a roller-coaster nor a merry-go-round; in fact, it is not far short of being a journey to the centre of the Earth as it plummets to the lowest depths of human relationships.
Okay, okay, so I’m being melodramatic, but I can’t remember many other series where I’ve been able to reel off reasons for disliking basically every single character, including (although admittedly only for brief periods) Kotoko. Selfish idiots, the lot of them, and in fact a trip to the fiery centre of the Earth’s crust for this bunch suddenly doesn’t seem like such a bad idea…
Posted on July 13th, 2008 @ 6:56 am
If you had suddenly decided to drop Kurenai or Macross:Frontier, i.e. shows that you clearly enjoy and love to share your opinions about, maybe I would have wondered. But InK? I haven’t reread your only post about it, but I recall it as basically saying: “This might not suck.”
Don’t watch it if you don’t want to! There are way too many shows out there. You can’t watch them all!
Posted on July 13th, 2008 @ 1:01 pm
I took a look at your watch list, but before my unsolicited advice, let me say first that if you don’t enjoy a show anymore it’s good to drop it. It’s better than getting burned out.
Now I suggest you drop Black Cat and Mnemosyne. I haven’t seen Black Cat myself but the reviews don’t convince me (I also read other reviews other than on myanimelist). Mnemosyne, well, doesn’t have a really engaging plot and is mostly senseless violence. I dropped it after 3 eps. I don’t ever regret it.
Another thing. It seems you watch a lot of things simultaneously. For me I usually have less than 15 shows in a current watchlist. It helps me keep track of what I’m watching, and it doesn’t make me feel overwhelmed. The chances of finishing more shows are better too. If I don’t feel like watching anymore I just forget about the show for a long time or drop it completely.
On the other hand, good luck on finding the better job you’re looking for.
Posted on July 13th, 2008 @ 1:05 pm
Ooops I forgot to say what I liked about Itazura na Kiss. ^_^
In short I just watch it for fun. It makes me laugh, surprisingly way better than Lovely Complex. And that’s all that matters.
Posted on July 13th, 2008 @ 6:40 pm
My ‘watching’ and ‘on-hold’ lists total over 200 shows. Dun wanna hear whining : O
Posted on July 16th, 2008 @ 8:37 pm
@issa-san: I don’t feel inclined to watch it that far but I won’t completely rule out coming back to it later. I have to question the investment of time when it takes twelve episodes to get good…I’ve seen shows that are awesome in half that time!
@blisso: good point. Does anyone know if the original manga was actually completed BTW?
@IKnight: there definitely is too much angst and quick judging in the blogosphere, which is why I’m worried about my apathy towards InK. And yeah, I was mildly surprised that you watched Kanon. What am I saying?! I enjoyed Clannad! 0_o
@Hanners: when the characters aren’t likable, that’s when a show starts to fail in my eyes…not even Kotoko’s awesomeness has been able to compensate yet.
@Peter S: very true - there aren’t enough hours in the day to watch everything. Rest assured I’ll stick with Frontier…and Kurenai was somewhat fantastic.
@hayase: I’m reviewing Black Cat on DVD for AUKN so no matter how much or little I’m enjoying it, I’ll at least be watching and writing about it. Mnemosyne? I’ve now written it off as a disappointment. Duly dropped. I guess InK does deliver on the laughs, at least.
@digitalboy: over 200?! That’s an epic backlog you have there. Good luck with even beginning to tackle it!
Posted on July 25th, 2008 @ 1:16 pm
[...] dictates of emotion in my own watching habits myself: if not entertained, drop in haste (without asking for arguments about quality) and repent at leisure. As with my last post, guilt happens, but then [...]