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Old 04-22-2013, 09:30 PM   #1
deoxys
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Aku no Hana


Kasuga Takao is a boy who loves reading books, particularly Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal. A girl at his school, Saeki Nanako, is his muse and his Venus, and he admires her from a distance. One day, he forgets his copy of Les Fleurs du Mal in the classroom and runs back alone to pick it up. In the classroom, he finds not only his book, but Saeki's gym uniform. On a mad impulse, he steals it.

Now everyone knows 'some pervert' stole Saeki's uniform, and Kasuga is dying with shame and guilt. Furthermore, the weird, creepy, and friendless girl of the class, Nakamura, saw him take the uniform. Instead of revealing it was him, she recognizes his kindred deviant spirit and uses her knowledge to take control of his life. Will it be possible for Kasuga to get closer to Saeki, despite Nakamura's meddling and his dark secret? What exactly does Nakamura intend to do with him?

Last edited by deoxys; 04-23-2013 at 12:28 PM.
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Old 04-23-2013, 05:19 AM   #2
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Chapter 44 of the manga has been translated. Guess I'll give my two cents...

Spoiler: show
Wow, only a few pages in and there's high school boys using crude language like I've never heard from a Japanese student before!

But the actual meat of this chapter seems to be Kasuga's epiphany that he's dependant on others as all hell. *sarcastic clapping* Wow, Kasuga, that only took you 44 chapters to realize! And sure enough, Saeki's bitchfest at the restaurant is what's brought this on. After seeing some ghosts of his past, Kasuga realizes that he can't just "be a ghost" forever and that he needs to move on with his life.

*auditorium of people clapping sarcastically* Wow, we've got a genius over here!

Somehow he suddenly has the courage to crush the symbolic flower of evil (see motif of the entire series), confess his feelings for Novelist Girl and ask her out on a date. This ends the chapter.

Pros:

-Kasuga finally getting over his sorry ass about hurting Saeki, Nakamura and his parents with his actions

Mixed Feelings:
-content that almost requires one to play this song in the background while reading it
-as related to above: Kasuga moving on will either be a very good thing plot-wise, or it'll make for an extremely cheesy "I survived my past" ending (with Kasuga running into a symbolic light and everything!)

Cons:
-Nakamura-bait. The one character in this series I really like, and she's the one we haven't heard from in a long time, so suddenly slapping her in front of Kasuga (illusion) was a real freaking tease to Nakamura-fans.
-STILL NO NAKAMURA! I want to know what's going on with her. Saeki got her fifteen minutes, can't we at least get some info on if Nakamura's still alive? Her reactions and possible development could make for a good chapter, with Saeki still stuck on Kasuga and her past, while Kasuga himself is apparently moving forward in his life now.
-Wow, forgot the manga has so many establishing shots it's astounding...and totally unnecessary. He lives in a suburban/urban area, POINT TAKEN! ONE MORE SHOT OF A WALL OF A BUILDING OR STREET LAMPS AND I'LL THROW SOMETHING.


As regards to the anime:

I'm seriously thinking that the studio will have to make a made-for-TV ending if there won't be a second season. With the pace the anime's apparently gone so far, they'll run out of time to get the manga animated - even up to the point where it is right now, not to mention that it's still on-going!

It's a concerning trend with a lot of anime these days, and AnH has already had a disadvantage to begin with because of the rotoscoping blasphemy. Why make the anime at all if you seem so hellbent on making it so bad that people won't touch it with a ten-foot-pole? It's not going to increase the sales of the manga, that's for sure...
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Old 04-23-2013, 01:41 PM   #3
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Obviously they will have to end it on a note that is acceptable in case it doesn't get picked up for a second season like how Sakurasou did, but that is such a crapshoot and may leave viewers unsatisfied - I wish they just wouldn't touch it unless they had a good plan in place or the manga/novel was finished first.

Last edited by lilboocorsola; 04-23-2013 at 07:56 PM.
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Old 04-23-2013, 06:54 PM   #4
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Xebec isn't a top-flight studio by any means so I'm not surprised the adaption is a bit lackluster. The rotoscoping makes it all the worse, though. =3=
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Old 04-30-2013, 10:30 PM   #5
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Older Posts:
my thoughts on Episode 01
my thoughts on Episode 02
my thoughts on Episode 03
my response to deoxys after Episode 03

Episode 04: I watched this yesterday. It was a decent enough episode. Nakamura seems really crazy sometimes and other times she seems like she's quite like Suzumiya Haruhi -- a girl in stereotypical Japanese suburbia who wants to be special and dismisses most everyone around her as "normal", i.e. inferior to her. Still not sure whether Nakamura's mostly Column A, mostly Column B, or a roughly even mixture of both.

Spoiler: show
What is with her obsession with Kasuga wearing Saeki's gym uniform?

OHOOOOO! :o @ Saeki acting like she's crushing on Kasuga. As my strikeout tag usage suggests, I'm considering the possibility that she doesn't really like him. Perhaps she's been blackmailed by Nakamura? Perhaps this is all part of Nakamura's plan to utterly crush Kasuga's spirit and to enjoy with relish the show that unfolds afterwards?

You knew Kasuga was going to open the box again by sheer virtue of the fact that he didn't throw it away, set it on fire, etc. Choosing to keep it was a very clear subconscious act of wanting to keeping the gym uniform as though it were a treasure.

Disappointed by the new OP song. While its tone seems to better suit the series than the first OP did, it's not as pleasant of a melody. And unlike ED1, it's not all that bold or eyeear-catching either.
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Old 05-02-2013, 04:57 PM   #6
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Episode 4/Episode 5 Speculation:

Spoiler: show
So Saeki is on a date with Kasuga. I personally doubt that Nakamura blackmailed her as Talon muses, but I do think a. Saeki is developing a crush on Kasuga, and Nakamura is pulling the strings to make it happen like some sort of twisted genius, b. Something is going to happen on their date and reveal Kasuga is wearing the clothes. I don't see how this could not happen. Nakamura is going to sabotage it, this is what she wants. It will cause chaos, which she has already shown to thrive off of. Kasuga will be destroyed, and yet somehow, I have a feeling there will be a wrench thrown in that Nakamura didn't intend - like Saeki not caring, keeping it a secret, or admitting she already knew.

This show is weird. I don't know what's going to happen honestly, but the next episode is probably going to drop a bomb on us.


Oh, and have I mentioned how beta Kasuga is? This fucking kid needs to stand up for himself... as opposed to most bullying situations, he's actually letting himself get bullied.
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Old 05-05-2013, 07:31 PM   #7
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Episode 5:

Spoiler: show
Everything's going good, Kasuga asks Saeki to be his girlfriend, she says yes, aaaaaannnnnnnddddddd then.........

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Old 05-10-2013, 03:20 PM   #8
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Just watched Episode 05. This series seems to have been so overblown by the fanbase as being "super dark". All I'm seeing is more and more evidence of my theory that:

Spoiler: show
Nakamura likes Kasuga, is acting the way she's acting because she is desperate to prove to herself that she's not utterly powerless and that she's not the only person in school as miserable and pathetic as she is / feels herself to be, etc.

I mean, she's had plenty of opportunities to ruin Kasuga already. But the few actions she's undertaken have mostly been trying to drive a wedge in between Kasuga and Saeki, not Kasuga and society. For example, the shove into Saeki's breasts (Ep02) or the order to kiss mild-mannered Saeki on their very first date (Ep05). Things that are meant to make Saeki dislike Kasuga but things which don't have any greater impact than that. Why hasn't Nakamura revealed the truth about Saeki's gym uniform yet? Why not demolish Kasuga's relationship with Saeki by telling her that? Because it'd demolish Kasuga's life period, that's why. Say what she will: Nakamura clearly (to me) likes Kasuga, perceives herself as a perverse shitbug, and thus desperately wants/needs Kasuga to be a perverse shitbug too. So that they can be shitbugs together. The fact that he's not accepting such a false premise as fact leaves her angry and alone. So she lashes out as she does. Like the tackling (Ep03) or the bathroom stall (Ep04) or the bucket of water (Ep05). Hell, the bucket of water is a classic trope for stories where Woman A catches her man cheating on her with Woman B. Whether it's a glass of water or a bucket, makes no difference.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: the only way this story is going to get so dark as to deserve its fan label of "super dark" is if one of the three main characters murders, attempts to murder, rapes, or attempts to rape one of the others. Without that, this is just an overblown story.

The director asks at the end of this episode if we were reminded of our childhoods by it. Oh good lord was I ever. Kasuga's placing of Saeki on this pedestal so high that she's his "muse", his "angel" is very familiar. So too is the class idol ironically never having had a boyfriend before precisely because every interested boy was far too shy or certain of his failure to even try asking her out on a date.
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Old 05-15-2013, 10:18 PM   #9
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Just watched Episode 06. As before, I still maintain my theories. Not much really to say this week.

Spoiler: show
The hallway scene with Nakamura and Saeki seems to suggest my theory about Nakamura also blackmailing Saeki might be correct. My theory about Nakamura simply being a confused, angry, lonely person who happens to have a crush on Kasuga also seems to still have legs given how miserable she seemed to be while the rest of the class congratulated Kasuga or seeing how much close (within range of kissing) contact she made with Kasuga this episode.
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Old 05-16-2013, 11:43 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post
Just watched Episode 06. As before, I still maintain my theories. Not much really to say this week.

Spoiler: show
The hallway scene with Nakamura and Saeki seems to suggest my theory about Nakamura also blackmailing Saeki might be correct. My theory about Nakamura simply being a confused, angry, lonely person who happens to have a crush on Kasuga also seems to still have legs given how miserable she seemed to be while the rest of the class congratulated Kasuga or seeing how much close (within range of kissing) contact she made with Kasuga this episode.
I actually have a slightly different opinion about Nakamura.
Spoiler: show
Her whole shiteaters-thing feels more and more like a chuunibyou. Even Kasuga's actually showing this: "is there anyone in this town who's read Baudelaire?" and all that talk about no one understanding his interest or what a crappy place the world is...isn't Nakamura having these same thoughts, just that she's actively saying it out loud and acting on them?

I've had this better-than-thou-phase in my life (mostly due to depression, mind you), so watching it from the outside...it does make me embarrased and ashamed of my own thought patterns back then, at age 13-17. ^^;;
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Old 05-16-2013, 11:55 PM   #11
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I already said that in some earlier posts. (See: comparisons with Suzumiya Haruhi.) So I wouldn't say your opinion is different than mine: it's just that I'm not going to laboriously reiterate the lengthy specifics of my many impressions of these characters each and every week, and what I said this week omitted that portion of my theory.
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Old 05-18-2013, 10:29 PM   #12
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Episode 7:

Not much to say honestly. Just that this show is basically the most fucked up case of Stockholm Syndrome I've ever seen. I have no idea how the show will catch up in time. I'm pretty sure this is only 13 chapters in out of like 45 or something and there are only 6 episodes left. They must be planning a season two at this pace.

edit: So I decided to read the manga. Spoilers up to Chapter 22:

Spoiler: show
I have no idea why the fuck I'm doing this. This is just incredibly sadistic. EVERYONE HAS STOCKHOLM SYNDROME. EVERYONE IS RETARDED. I FEEL SAD FOR EVERYONE.

Spoiler: show
ESPECIALLY SAEKI OMG I JUST WANT TO HUG HER


edit 2: Just read Chapter 26. I think I just... I think I just want to put this whole thing down and be done with it. Major spoilers:

Spoiler: show
First of all, they've turned Saeki into this incredibly needy person, which is fine and endearing, but then they took it to the next step where she actually raped Kasuga. What the fuck. And THEN... and THEN fucking Kasuga says "I love Nakamura". What the fuck is this shit?

This manga is fucked up. I don't like it. This is just painful to watch unfold for all parties.

Goddammit, I'm so, so tired of seeing Saeki cry. This is just so fucked up.


edit 3: This manga is just like watching a train wreck in really, really slow motion. I kind of hate myself a little.

Last edited by deoxys; 05-19-2013 at 01:09 AM.
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Old 05-19-2013, 12:59 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by deoxys View Post
edit: So I decided to read the manga. Spoilers up to Chapter 22:

Spoiler: show
I have no idea why the fuck I'm doing this. This is just incredibly sadistic. EVERYONE HAS STOCKHOLM SYNDROME. EVERYONE IS RETARDED. I FEEL SAD FOR EVERYONE.

Spoiler: show
ESPECIALLY SAEKI OMG I JUST WANT TO HUG HER


edit 2: Just read Chapter 26. I think I just... I think I just want to put this whole thing down and be done with it. Major spoilers:

Spoiler: show
First of all, they've turned Saeki into this incredibly needy person, which is fine and endearing, but then they took it to the next step where she actually raped Kasuga. What the fuck. And THEN... and THEN fucking Kasuga says "I love Nakamura". What the fuck is this shit?

This manga is fucked up. I don't like it. This is just painful to watch unfold for all parties.
This stuff is an aquired taste, I realize. To me the plot's the most simple and kinda obvious thing ever, but apparently this isn't the case for all of us.
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Old 05-19-2013, 03:22 AM   #14
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Manga spoiler:

Spoiler: show
In before Aya is Kasuga's step-sister birthed by her mom


edit 2:

Caught up.

Spoiler: show
Well that was. That was.... unexpected.

Go Kasuga? Seriously, there are definitely bits and pieces of this manga that remind me of my awkward teenage years. And putting your ghosts/past behind you, especially as a dumb emo, moody teenager and just trying to change who you are and mature is the first step to fixing things. Saeki reappeared, and sometimes we bump into people who used to mean something to us in the most random places. I don't blame Saeki for feeling the way she does because Kasuga, let's be honest, treated her like garbage. Obviously she had her own mental issues that were really messed up but he had a large hand in that.

I like the new girl. Unfortunately, one major thing still needs to happen, and that's Kasuga's inevitable return. I don't know what will happen, but I can't see it going well. The only thing I can think of is that Kasuga will stand up to her and overcome his stockholm syndrome because he's finally going somewhere with his life. That is of course assuming she's still crazy or hasn't been to a psych ward or hasn't killed herself.

I really liked the direction of the new chapter as cheesy and random as it was, mostly because god this manga has just been incredibly depressing to follow. Finally shit is looking up and it triggered the giddy highschool feelings of having a new girlfriend, which he clearly has - so I'm actually cheering for him now. I admit, I was getting sick of his shit, but the whole crushing of the flower in his hand while it was trying to beat him down with his past sins was pretty great and I damn near about started to clap.

I wonder how much longer the manga has?

EDIT 3: May I just say this new girl Aya is 2kawaii4me

Last edited by deoxys; 05-19-2013 at 04:49 AM.
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Old 05-19-2013, 08:05 AM   #15
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I hate you all for not knowing patience. [/hyperbole but half-serious] Oh well: looks like I'm the only one left who gets to theorize anymore.
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Old 05-19-2013, 02:40 PM   #16
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I have no idea what's motivating VGM to do that. Certainly, I've resisted temptation to jump ahead for the other manga-based story animes this season (like SnK).
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Old 05-19-2013, 07:32 PM   #17
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I don't know, I was bored. I just sort of... did it. It was just completely spontaneous. I was able to catch up to the manga from where the show is now in just a matter of an hour and a half.

I will continue to discuss the show in a non-spoilery manner with the thoughts and theories I had before I read it in a similar manner to how Kaisap does. I'm not going anywhere.
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Old 05-19-2013, 07:44 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by deoxys View Post
I don't know, I was bored. I just sort of... did it. It was just completely spontaneous. I was able to catch up to the manga from where the show is now in just a matter of an hour and a half.

I will continue to discuss the show in a non-spoilery manner with the thoughts and theories I had before I read it in a similar manner to how Kaisap does. I'm not going anywhere.
Sure, of course. I'm just saying, it sucks that you guys all leave me behind, Captain Paradoxical Patience, and trudge on ahead and leave me being the only Fool in the audience making wild claims that the rest of you are secretly laughing your asses off at for being wrong. Also, it sucks to not have speculation partners, fellow "Fools", as it were, to theorize along with and bounce ideas off of in a non-spoilery way. You can't be that partner (nor should you even dare attempt to be) because anything you say will be, by definition, either a) a legit spoiler or else b) a lie, and neither is appreciated, period. So really ... all I can get out of you from now on is "Hmm. Yes. This was a good episode. Can't wait to see Talon's reaction next week." Which is not exactly the most riveting discussion in the world for me to read. ^^; Gone is the "Man, I wonder what Kasuga is gonna do next week! " Gone is the "Man, I wonder if so-and-so is gonna get raped or murdered! " Not out of me, but out of you. Out of anyone who reads ahead, really.

Oh well though. Clearly you're enjoying it (on at least some level? ^^; ) as otherwise you'd not have read ahead and you'd not be sticking with watching the anime. So I don't begrudge you reading ahead really. You're enjoying yourself. So do. Do enjoy yourself. Have fun with this series as you would have fun with it and not as I would have you have fun with it.
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Old 05-19-2013, 09:20 PM   #19
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I'm sorry, I didn't really consider that when I did it (man that sounds inconsiderate of me). Had I stopped to think about it I would have seen it from a completely different perspective. I'm not sure, but I suppose you're not really the type to read manga, right? So I guess reading it yourself would be out of the question, too... I have to say, I think the thing that attracted me was I basically said "Well, I'll read a chapter and see what happens" and then I just kept going... and I think it may have, primarily, been because of the art style. I'm going to be honest, while I feel like the rotoscoping is somewhat appropriate for the series, after seeing the "traditional anime style" in the manga, I much prefer it over the rotoscoping, and I think that had a large part to play in why I read it.

>and trudge on ahead and leave me being the only Fool in the audience making wild claims that the rest of you are secretly laughing your asses off at for being wrong.

I wouldn't do that... I don't think that makes you a fool in the least, and if it does, then I'm the biggest fool of all.
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Old 05-19-2013, 09:29 PM   #20
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Don't worry too much about it. I'm just bemoaning the fact that you, Doppel, and Kaisa all know what's coming, whether because you read ahead (you and Doppel) or because you read Wikipedia (Kaisa) or whatever. I wish I had people to speculate with. It'd be like if Kaisa had gone ahead and read Shinsekai yori (the novel) while we were still on Episode 6 of the show. Or if Yuki had read Another (the novel) while we were still on Episode 6 of that show. But it happens. I mean, to as minor of an extent as I could possibly manage, even I "read ahead" with Sakurasou (by virtue of checking the books to see what all might've been skipped and where what all we'd seen had originally shown up), so like, I knew about Rita before she was shown, I knew about Sorata's little sister before she was shown, etc. It happens. Don't worry too much about it.

Still, I get the feeling that you guys aren't going to be able to engage with me anymore, because you're all "up there" while I'm "down here", and any attempts to converse with me will run the risk of inadvertent spoilers, so ... yeah, I anticipate some lonely times ahead. ^_^;
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Old 05-21-2013, 01:32 PM   #21
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Episode 07:

Spoiler: show
The ending scene was:
  1. very interesting
  2. predicted
  3. not expected so soon
I've been saying it since the beginning of the series: Nakamura has feelings for Kasuga, feels that he is like her (that he "gets it"), needs him to be like her, and has been acting the way she's been acting this entire time simply because this is her way of dealing with her feelings about herself, about him, and about society. That theory continues to gain obvious support this week as we see:
  • her essentially forcing Kasuga to pick between her and Saeki
  • her vowing to walk out of his life, blackmail included, if he insists on being with Saeki
  • her rejection of him when he says he wants to be normal
  • her total jubilation when he cries out after her and (in effect) chooses her over Saeki
None of it is presented this way, but that's what each of them in effect is.

It's really too bad though that Kasuga got roped up in this mess in the first place. 'Cause he could've had a happy, guilt-free relationship with Saeki otherwise.

I'm curious to see how far we are relative to the manga, so I will be checking that. I won't be reading ahead though. Just checking the chapters in order to see what all might've been skipped and to see how far we've gotten. Curious to see whether it's like Volume 2 and we've got tons of material left or whether it's like Volume 7 and we've covered miles and miles of territory in very short order.
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Old 05-21-2013, 08:50 PM   #22
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Tr-tr-triple post! Just wanted to weigh in and say that I checked the manga to see how far we are now, and I can let fellow fans who are avoiding spoilers at least know this much: we're through Volume 2 of the manga now. More specifically:
  • Episodes 1 thru 4 covered manga chapters 1 thru 6 (so a 1.5:1 ratio from manga to television)
  • Episodes 5 thru 7 covered manga chapters 7 thru 12 (so a 2:1 ratio from manga to television)
  • Episode 7, specifically, dealt with the tail end of manga chapter 10 and all of chapters 11 and 12 (so a ratio of 2.5:1 from manga to television)
Furthermore:
  • none of what I saw in the manga has been omitted from the television broadcast
  • I don't recall anything from the television broadcast that I did not also see in the manga
In other words, we haven't skipped any content nor have we jumped around. We've gone in order, page by page, and pretty much presented everything.

Given this, here are some pretty safe bets:
  • the anime will end either with Volume 3 (if it slows down to a 1:1 ratio) or with Volume 4 (if it keeps up its newfound pace)
  • the anime will probably not reach Volume 5 -- not without another season, anyway
  • we're probably not going to jump ahead to the most recent manga material and have the 13-episode anime end the same way the author is planning on ending the manga (assuming he's planning on ending it soon at all)
So the big questions in my mind are:
  • will we get the rest of the manga animated?
  • if so, will the people in charge (presumably the manga's publishing house) request a second studio come along? or will they retain the original studio?
  • if they request a second studio, will that second studio begin from where the first studio leaves off? or will they reboot the entire thing?
One last thing: I quit at the end of Volume 2 (for obvious reasons), so no, I am not spoiled on what's to come next. So please don't spoil me! ¬¬;
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Old 05-27-2013, 01:35 PM   #23
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Episode 08:

Spoiler: show
HOOOOOH SHIT!

Though had he not been caught by Saeki because of the picture, I would've expected him to have been caught by the authorities because of his handwriting. (The chalkboard. Dead giveaway if they compare against students' tests turned in to the teacher.) So I am at least relieved there that the author isn't asking us to believe that Kasuga would go uncaught for weeks and weeks.

While it's understandable how hurt Saeki was, what I find remarkable is that (going by the final scene as well as by the sneak peek) she seems to be heartbroken that he "no longer likes her". Are you kidding me!? ^_^; You expect me to believe that Saeki wouldn't be frightened of and/or disgusted by Kasuga so badly at this point that she wouldn't give a shit about why he's breaking up with her?

The twilight scene was really long -- too long for my tastes -- but it did a good job of showing how Kasuga and Nakamura more or less are or if not then will become a couple. All the hand holding, and then the way his arm is outstretched towards her as she gently pulls herself away from him to head home.

I'll be reaaaally interested to see where things go from here.
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Old 05-29-2013, 04:16 AM   #24
kaisap112
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post
Episode 08:

Spoiler: show
HOOOOOH SHIT!

Though had he not been caught by Saeki because of the picture, I would've expected him to have been caught by the authorities because of his handwriting. (The chalkboard. Dead giveaway if they compare against students' tests turned in to the teacher.) So I am at least relieved there that the author isn't asking us to believe that Kasuga would go uncaught for weeks and weeks.
Haven't seen the anime episode and don't know if they used the same thing in the anime as they did in the manga chapter where...
Spoiler: show
Nakamura covered up everything Kasuga wrote on the blackboard, so comparing handwriting was out of the question for figuring out who did it.


I personally think the actual, proper plot of Aku no Hana begins at this part. What I'm worried about is that it's in Episode 8 out of 13 of the anime. >.< So either a second season is coming or we're in for a made-for-TV-ending.
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Old 06-03-2013, 10:40 AM   #25
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So right now the show is only up to page 14 of ~40 of chapter 15 and there are only four episodes left.

Yeah... they must be planning a second season. This show is progressing at an incredibly slow rate.

Episode 8/9 spoilers:

Spoiler: show
But when you waste over five minutes of an episode on arsty fartsy slow walking with pretty depressing background music, it makes sense. Both episodes were done well, but I feel like they move SO. DAMN. SLOW! Hell, half of episode nine felt like Kasuga laying in his bed and acting mopey. I don't really understand why they choose to do this! They fill so much time with pretty petty stuff, but... I don't know. I just feel like the story is moving at such a snail's pace in an effort to tap into the viewer's emotions, which only seems to even work half of the time at best.

Thoughts (what I was thinking at this point in the manga): I honestly have no idea where it will wind up going from here. I feel like it would be a cop out if Kasuga just up and ran away from home with Nakamura on his bike, but it would make sense in the mind of a hormonal, irrational outcast going through puberty I suppose. I stand by my previous statements that this kid has some severely fucked up case of Stockholm Syndrome for Nakamura, even the last exchange between them in the episode shows it:

(paraphrasing) Kasuga: "Will you come with me?"

Nakamura: "No, you're coming with me like my shitty little ragdoll."

And he seems to be growing closer to her and farther from Saeki. I don't know, I guess I just don't understand it after all the shit she has (and continues to) put him through. I guess we'll see where it winds up...



Manga spoiler thoughts on where it all translates into episodes:

Spoiler: show
How. The fuck. Are they going to end this season.

I sat around trying to figure out where they'll end it, and each episode seems to cover 1 1/2 - 2 chapters of the manga. I imagine Episode 10 will be able to cover the entirety of the rain scene on the hill and end with the cops finding the three of them UNLESS THEY CONTINUE TO DRAG SHIT OUT, but in all honesty it REALLY should not be that hard to cover that whole exchange in just a matter of 22 minutes.

IF that happens, Episode 11 could and should be able to cover the entirety of Kasuga visiting Nakamura's family and end with them making a new contract. Episode 12 could be the setting up of the little fort and stealing all of the girl's underwear, and the final episode could potentially be the semi-climax whereupon Saeki snaps, rapes Kasuga, and burns the fort to the ground. If they decide to do a season two or an OVA to finish it up, they could leave the cliffhanger where the firemen find Kasuga's notebook under the folding chair.

Either way, I don't like this progression. While it still COULD work theoretically, I was hoping the season would end with the festival, but that just doesn't look realistic at this point. The only plausible way would be if they out of nowhere started cutting out whole chunks of the story building up to that point, which again, could work (given how a good portion of the time between Saeki's rape and the festival scene is just filler of Kasuga going insane and rambling about how everyone is shit), I doubt they would break the trend they have going and suddenly start cutting out parts of the manga. So, based on the current pace of manga chapters into episodes, if they do plan a second season, the festival scene won't even occur until the season two second last episode, with the finale being the aftermath.

Obviously this is just a ton of speculation, but it seriously looks like that's where it is headed to me. Thoughts? Opinions?
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