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← view full thread · [Spoilers] Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki - Episode 11 Discussion
I agree that the focus on Tomazaki and Aoi's relationship is really where the story distinguishes itself, and the other stories made it feel closer to standard fare. That said, I still enjoyed all of it.
That ending conversation hit hard. I've known a person very close to how Aoi is at the end, and they did a good job there. Those genuine interactions that hit (un)comfortably close to home and further the character development is where this show fires on all cylinders.
I'll be interested to see how this gets wrapped up in one episode. It feels like two episodes could be too tight to pack in this arc, but we'll find out how they execute it.
yeah, I was wondering how it will end after watching this episode, feels like they'll end the season with a cliffhanger...
As long as they give us more seasons, I can survive that. Plz more Tomozaki ;_;
Wait could you please explain the Ending conversation? What is the relationship between Aoi & Tomozaki?
This is my take on it, and I felt like it was still intentionally left vague as something to be expanded on in the finale.
Tomozaki's been building these skills by thinking of them as goals in a game, like checklists. That's how Aoi has been teaching him, by giving him linear tasks (and this is a good trick in real life too - checklists make things simpler).
However, after the conversation he overheard Mizusawa and Aoi have, and the date with Kikuchi, it seemed that Tomozaki realized that there's a gap between just practicing social skills, and being genuine.
Now to the ending conversation; Tomozaki is now focused on that gap between him practicing the social skills learned and just being who he is, as highlighted by his date with Kikuchi. He was easier to talk to because he wasn't using his "skills" learned from Aoi's teachings. He wanted to also close that gap with Aoi.
This backfires, as (this is my speculation), for Tomozaki learning how to play the social games in life is something he learns as a means to an end, as he enjoys progress, but at the end learns that enjoyment is important to him. For Aoi, however, progress and goals and upholding standards is the end. She has high standards for herself, and others do too.
When Tomozaki says that he wants to do something because, well, he wants to, Aoi does not take that well as she sees it as childish. To put this in the context of Tackfam, Tomozaki is the top because he enjoys it, and Aoi enjoys being the top. They're both trying for the same thing, but for opposing motivations.
I think that where the initial premise of Aoi teaching Tomozaki the game of life was what Aoi's relationship was to him, Tomozaki's relationship to her grew as he did. When Tomozaki shows that he has a desire other than to stick to the checklist, he realizes that to Aoi, him being the "bottom tier character" was the role he was supposed to fulfill in Aoi's life. And it's also a knock to himself, as he tried to do something for himself and lost his friendship with her (at least for now).
I'm excited to see how this is resolved in the next episode
- continue this thread →
Holy shit dude. That's a damn good explanation. Thank you for that. Really appreciate it.
If you don't mind me asking, how do you feel the two seasons of OreGairu that you rated 10/10 perfect compare to Bottom Tier? Do you feel that project No.9 handled it well?
OreGairu was actually the show that started my ascent to weebdom, so I'm a bit biased there. However, I might score OreGairu (I call it SNAFU) differently now that I'm rescoring stuff (after I decided that Jobless Reincarnation is what a 10 should be). I definitely believe it's top tier and don't have any real issues with it.
SNAFU and Tomozaki definitely have some crossover, however their focuses are still pretty different. SNAFU is really focused around the relationship between the trio of Hachiman, Yukino and Yui. The character relations and the social psychology are front and center, and the show can feel slow because of how much time is spent with dialogues about those things and social dynamics and manipulations.
SNAFU also bounces between humor (especially early on) and rather heavy, slow, melancholy emotion and social belonging themes (especially season three, which I still haven't finished - it felt so somber!)
Tomozaki, by contrast, while character relations are important to the show, they're used much more as a tool for what I feel is Tomozaki's focus, character development. Namely, Tomozaki's.
The other characters do get expanded on, but they're all used as examples for Tomozaki to grow from, as opposed to standing on their own. We don't see the other characters grow, we just learn more about them. Tomozaki, on the other hand, does grow throughout the series. Tomozaki and Hinami are front-and-center, and the very premise demands character development. The show doesn't have that much romance, it's sometimes comedic or just with brevity, but it's really pretty focused on that one thing and that's what I enjoy about it.
Between the two, Tomozaki is faster paced and perhaps an easier digest. I love SNAFU's character dynamics, and I also love Tomozaki's growth and the prospect of him gaining new friendships and a relationship. Even if I like the other characters, I watch the show for Tomozaki and by extension Aoi.
I haven't read the source material, so I can't say how well Project No. 9 handled the adaptation. I feel like I wish every anime had 24 episode seasons, but that's just because I want more of it and like the runway that gives. I thought the animation, directing and voice acting all was presented well, especially for a genre that doesn't demand it as much (there's only so much you can do to make chatting in classrooms look exciting).
Overall, I think the pacing was good, and the changes in focus while still sticking to its unique premise as its context is what kept me excited for the show every week. I feel there were parts I enjoyed less and some I enjoyed more, but I always enjoyed it, and I didn't feel like the show wasted time (if anything, sometimes it bordered moving too fast), which is especially an issue in slice-of-life and romcom genres.
To bring in another comparison, a show that I thought was an okay show but personally liked less and less as I watched it was Oreshura, which sits at the lower end of my list. The reason for this, was that it was pretty run of the mill, and the thing that bugged me was that it had a good dynamic with the fake girlfriend thing, but it forgot about it for most of the show. Its only standout feature was neglected other than the very start and the very end.
Something like Tomozaki, though, understands that its special dynamic between Tomozaki and Aoi is what sets it apart, and makes the show at least 70% about that. It doesn't bother too much being a typical harem or romcom, even if it teases some of that stuff here and there and the cast setup is similar. Nope, even when other devices are used, it's always under the context of Tomozaki learning something.