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← darkroom
sing yesterday is so frustrating to watch
I get it, feelings are complicated. the story is ultimately about a pair of indecisive cowards who are too afraid to open up honestly and end up circling around each other. but y'know, 8 episodes in and it's so damn repetitive to see the same push-and-pulls over and over with no real progression other than "wow, rikuo got a full-time position"
sure, you can cover it up with "well this is a 'realistic' relationship," except the only characters who got any balls at all (haru and paperclip-earring boy) keep getting face-smashed into the mud for their bravery but keep coming back the next day like nothing happened. they get visibly upset sometimes, but it's never prolonged and keep forgiving rikuo and shinako for not having the courage to reject them outright (who knows, maybe they get off to keeping these high schoolers on a leash). this isn't realistic. it's like watching a dog get beat down over and over again, but at some point even a dog would either run away or bite.
to be fair, there was that one moment early on where rikuo got his shit together and properly confessed to shinako, but absolutely nothing came out of it. it was already established from the beginning that rikuo can't move on from his college crush, and shinako is a hopeless necrophiliac. this confession meant nothing.
anyway, on the bright side there's still 12 episodes left for the tables to flip and turn but holy shit this anime is grinding my gears
I agree that it can leave you with blue balls and that the relationships are rather static, however it still doesn't keep me from enjoying the series.
The anime is pretty bad, while it is enjoyable i feel like the story is some bs. some characters are just added for nothing like Minato, Yuzuhara and even main characters. i got to dislike Rikuo and Shinako. Haru and Shinako sometimes feel like unnecessary, when Rikuo is with either of them it just feels like the other one is added so the story is deeper or longer or whatever.
it's too bad, for all its shortcomings I still felt like it had potential which is why I'm sticking to it.
I recently found the pacing to be much more bearable when I speed it up 4x
I recently found the pacing to be much more bearable when I speed it up 4x
At that point, you should probably stop watching it. The integrity of the show is compromised.
I totally agree! As much as I love this genre (slice of life), this anime does not progress in practically anything. It is already in episode 9 and continues in the sameness.
Shinako is unbearable, her indecisive way irritates me too much, and Rikuo is very sleepy, so embarrassed that he doesn't even seem to be the protagonist!
If it weren't for Haru, who is a unique character who has charisma, I would have stopped watching ...
I had high (way too high) expectations for this show to begin with. But seeing how the story currently keeps repeating the same themes nearly every episode and the only plot being the love-triangles that won't be solved anytime soon (looking at how the anime progresses at the moment) kinda infuriates me too.
While it's ultimately still frustrating for you and that's fine, I really do contemplate the show for how realistic and lowkey it is, and yes, that includes the slow progression of relationships. There's not really another show like it, from what I've seen. For someone who hasn't had the fairytale romance that's depicted in the vast majority of art, Sing Yesterday For Me is breath of fresh, albeit biting air.
And yes, it is realistic. Have you never loved someone before, or hell, even be infatuated before? It can get to the point where, even if you believe that it'll never improve, you keep coming back due to that small sliver of vain hope. Love is largely unsatisfying and hurtful.
I will say that episode seven or so was the most egregious: the one in which Shinako invites Rinako in, hyping us all up that something was going to happen...with Shinako pedaling back on her decision in the first minute of the next episode. This was legitimately annoying, if not in line with her established character.
Honestly, I think the most telling thing about this entire post is the fact that you like the teenager characters more, thus you're frustrated that they're not really the focus. I can get this to an extent; at this point we desperately need Haru's perspective, lest she becomes a failed, flat character. However, it's curious that you paint these two as valiant heroes going through oh so much hardship in the face of Rikuo and the "hopeless necrophiliac." While you can sympathize with Rou (I certainly do), you can't really deny that he's a bit of an arsehole. While Shinako is quite wishy-washy, unless Rikuo is legitimately a fucking idiot, he should know at this point that she's not interested, yet he keeps trying like the horny loser that her is. Then there's Haru.
While @JellyKomatsu believes her to be a "unique charcter who has charisma," I just can't agree. OFten times, I can't really get behind Haru. Sure, she's cute, but that's really it. She seems to be a generic genki girl who says cringey shit like "i'M dEcLaRiNg WaR 0n YoU, sHiNaKo!!!!!!! XD" Her, quite frankly, grating personality at times clashes with the more realistic, lowkey nature of the show. Again, she's cute, and I'd be interested in seeing her with Rikuo over Shinako (I have my own problems with Shinako) if not for her being a child, but to me she comes across as a generic anime character. She desperately needs an episode from her perspective detailing her reasons for her feelings towards Rikuo.
I guess we differ in me liking Rikuo the most out of the principal characters. He seems more tempered in reality than Haru and he seems to lack the negative traits of Rou and Shinako. Overall, though, the biggest reason I like him is that I somewhat identify with him.
anyway, on the bright side there's still 12 episodes left
There are eighteen episodes total.
But yeah, there's still enough time for development. If you want fast development and a Happily Ever After ending, though, I'm guessing you'll be in for a disappointing ride.
Sorry for this long post, I just really like this show. While we're in agreement that it has faults, it'll still probably net a high rating from me.
I have been infatuated before and know of a few marriages/relationships that fell apart because of false promises, it's pretty much the reason why I had high hopes for this anime. love is unsatisfying and hurtful, but have these characters actually been hurt in any meaningful ways? their behaviors for the most part have not changed at all since their introductions.
we're also given very little justification as to why they're infatuated with each other in the first place, not just with haru but with everybody. we know rikuo was dirt poor, did shinako help him financially in other ways than help him pick free gingko nuts? what has the sick boy done for shinako to warrant so much attention other than just being sick? and as you've pointed out, why does haru even like rikuo to begin with? the anime does very little to establish character motivations, and instead spends lots of time re-establishing existing points.however, i totally agree these teenagers generally act like persistent morons. I want to see them either stop their idiocy or intensify their idiocy, instead we get the same exact level of idiocy each episode, which is again repetitive.
and yes, i'm aware that i'm a dummy who can't do basic arithmetic
Well, it being infatuation instead of full on love would explain the lack of a solid basis for their feelings. I know this feels like a cop-out, but honestly I find this the most realistic. Honestly, again, I really think Haru needs the most explanation. It's not too far fetched for Rou, Shinako, and Uozumi to simply have gradually grown feelings towards their friends; it happens all the time. IIRC, Haru just saw a random dude working in 7/11 and decided she wanted to jump his guts. We need to know what Haru sees in Rikuo lest she be a fairly shallow character.
And again, while frustrating, I'd argue it certainly makes sense for them to move in circles; that's oftentimes how it is when you love someone you can't be with (I wonder how dating apps would have changed this show, if at all). And I'd say they do hurt each other, whether in simply who they love or their inaction. Though, I'd say the biggest problem is Shinako - her wishy-washy behavior means that Rou and Rikuo holds on hope and Haru hangs on to Rikuo until he outright rejects her.
I'm not sure what you want to see with their idiocy "ramping up," seeing as things are already pretty dire, though not in a melodramatic way. Haru is pretty much stalking Rikuo at this point and it's to the point where Shinako feels legitimately uncomfortable being alone with Rou.
As far as stopping their idiocy...what do you think of Rou and Haru getting together? It's something that I'd dread since I really can't see them together and it would feel contrived, but they could feasibly seek solace using one another ala Scum's Wish.
Ah, don't worry, I can't math, either. English major, and all.
While I still do enjoy this show, I appreciate you taking the time to open my eyes to how people can dislike it. I'm glad this is a pretty respectful dialogue instead of an insult-filled screaming match.
i actually don't think the events come off as dire. to the viewer's standards, maybe, but the characters seem to operate on a different concept of personal boundaries. haru's pretty much a stalker, but because rikuo doesn't seem to mind, the consequences are virtually nonexistent. shinako has shown some discomfort around rou, but has yet to reprimand him severely and still smiles/jokes around him. even if on paper some of the things haru/rou do are inappropriate, the lack of reaction from rikuo/shinako trivializes what is actually creepy behavior.
what if rikuo for once raises his voice and yells at haru to stop following him everywhere? how about rou scribbling shinako's face off his sketchbook and throwing it at the wall in frustration after she leaves? or maybe draw her in a sexy pose and secretly jerk off to it? these are just ideas, but i think there are many ways to escalate the stakes beyond what the anime gives us now.rouxharu? hell naw
I feel it would be exceedingly difficult for Shinako to reprimand Rou's behavior. This show, to me, is about conflict of desires. Rou and his father are family to her, she loves them. Would it really be that easy to jeopardize things and walk away from that? She doesn't want to return Rou's feelings but explicitly rejecting them can ruin that family dynamic. I think it's easy to watch characters, or real people, from the outside and question why they don't walk away from a questionable situation. But don't we all get into that bind where we feel like none of the options are optimal at some point and remain trapped.
I know I have.
Someone above said it's unrealistic for Haru to keep coming back when Rikuo clearly ignores her. But I strongly disagree with that. I think people like to believe they're so in control that they wouldn't do such a thing. But I feel like I've seen this happen many times before. Feelings are complex and people have a hard time accepting rejection.
It does piss me off to see Haru not taken seriously and shot down so much, though. Lol.
TRUE. ANY TRUERS? also have you guys seen snafu?
NOT FALSE
snafu is great
i love this slow shit and my blue balls