Well I don’t see any way this ends without Kotonoha being completely messed up unless the ending is a complete cop-out. If Kotonoha did indeed give in and let Taisuke have his way with her - as is heavily suggested at the end of the episode with the ribbon and the ripples in water - I’m not sure Makoto would want her anymore if he found out.
That potentially puts her in a pretty desperate situation where pretty much anything could happen (her going insane and killing someone seems like it’s becoming more and more likely, especially with those lifeless eyes). That being said, Makoto slept with Otome and didn’t seem overjoyed to have Sekai as his official girlfriend, so he still isn’t really committed to anyone, meaning could be hope for Kotonoha - regardless of whether we the audience think that’s a good thing for her or not.
As for Setsuna, the aftermath of her confrontation with Kotonoha was a bit disappointing, but perhaps its main point was to drive Kotonoha closer to the edge. I thought they would throw the Otome stuff in her face too, but it wouldn’t mean anything now that she’s been so shocked with the betrayal that she allowed Taisuke to do whatever with her. Sleeping with Otome could still potentially could backfire on Makoto if Sekai finds out, but I’m more waiting for everything to blow up on Makoto at once.
In any case, next episode is called 「心と体」 (Kokoro to Karada - Mind and Body), and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.
What a weird episode of school days this was. Aside from the regularly scheduled melodrama between Makoto, Katsura and Sekai, there was some more direct interference from Setsuna and the whole filler-esque school festival deal. There were times that I laughed out loud (zettai ryouki scene) only to be thrown back into heavy drama minutes later. Truly a roller coaster of emotion.
The knee-jerk reaction I initially had was that Setsuna was getting thrown into the mix, but it really doesn’t appear to be that way since Setsuna just wanted to make a memory before going to France. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have feelings for him, however I think it’s pretty unlikely that she’ll compete for him like Sekai and Kotonoha have. The (probably) bigger implication is that Kotonoha saw her, and it’s going to be hard for Setsuna to explain this away considering how much she had tried to keep Makoto and Kotonoha apart.
Kotonoha, on the other hand, has already stooped to offering her body to get what she wants from Makoto, and I could see her perceiving this new threat as incentive to speed things along in order to keep him. For now though, there doesn’t seem to be anything but lust in Makoto’s feelings for her, so I still have my doubts that this will end well for Kotonoha. Actually, I really don’t know how this will end and could speculate all day, but we’ll have to wait and see. Next episode is about the kouyasai (after-festival event), and I hope the dance will be the source of more good drama.
Yet another drama filled episode of School Days. But this time things aren’t so one sided. Makoto isn’t showing the level of obsession with Sekai, nor ignoring Katsura as much as compared to last episode. Not that his interest in Katsura has been rekindled, but he is making more of an effort to try and talk to her, not to mention his reaction when he saw her in a rain soaked see through white blouse.
I don’t need to go into detail with the Makoto hating at this point, everyone is pretty much on the same page, he still hasn’t changed his ways. Let alone only talking to Katsura mainly because he was suddenly reminded about her boobs, after screwing things up so badly just to be with Sekai and now showing signs of going back on that decision is making me wish for his death to arrive swiftly and painfully.This reopens up the competition in this doomed love triangle. While Makoto is still leaning more towards Sekai, he’s started to notice Katsura’s advances again, and whether it be because his genuine feelings for her are starting to come back, or whether he thinks that his chances of getting into her pants are at an acceptable level, he’s no longer completely ignoring her existence, much to the dismay of Setsuna.On the topic of Setsuna…I know what she’s doing is right, trying to get Makoto to commit to Sekai, but I can’t help but think that her meddling is only making things worse. What seems to be a repeating motif in this anime is matchmaking, and the seemingly opposite effect it has. Setsuna’s attempts to protect Sekai and the resulting reports of what’s going on between Makoto and Katsura are only harming Sekai’s trust and confidence in herself, while having no effect on persuading Makoto to remain faithful. Again, I’m not faulting Setsuna for doing what she’s doing, it’s just that it’s proving to be detrimental to the situation.As for the situation itself, it really doesn’t make any sense. Katsura has caught Makoto making out with Sekai on multiple occasions, but instead of confronting them about it, she leaves things idle. Not only that, she doesn’t even acknowledge the fact that this means that their relationship is over, as if her boyfriend cheating on her is a perfectly normal thing and is just an indication that she need to try harder.
Rumors of Sekai and Makoto going out are spreading throughout the school, yet Katsura still calls herself his boyfriend, and Makoto doesn’t deny it, even though it’s obvious that the news has spread to her at this point. What the hell is the matter with them X_X?! Anyone with a working braincell should be able to put things together and come to the conclusion that Makoto has chosen Sekai.
…but then again, Makoto’s recent revival of interest in Katsura is making the status of the love triangle uncertain, and I guess it sort of explains why it’s giving Katsura false hope, especially since he’s not reacting to the rumors of dating Sekai nor when Katsura says that they’re still going out. What a mess x_x And of course there’s the confrontation between Katsura and Sekai which ends up in Sekai getting slapped. I guess you could say that that slap at the end is her way of telling Sekai to keep her hands off him, but Makoto himself still doesn’t know that she found out. It’ll be interesting to see which girl fights for Makoto more as the school festival arrives next episode and the dance draws closer.
But now that things are kind of floating in the middle ground, I wonder what path the anime will take from here. So many possibilities and only five more episodes for things to play out.
School Days (スクールデイズ, Sukūru Deizu?) is an animation adventure game developed by 0verflow. The game is vastly different from traditional visual novels in that it resembles an interactive anime with over 70 minutes of animation - a first for this genre. It is presented in widescreen format and divided into individual episodes similar to anime, and has opening and closing scenes for each one. The game has 21 possible endings, both good and bad.The game is infamous for its bad endings which are extremely violent, ranging from the killing of one of the other main characters and graphic depictions of suicide. A spinoff of this game released by 0verflow using the same system was Summer Days, which had no such violent endings.
The story line:
Makoto has been admiring a girl he has seen on the train. That girl is Kotonoha Katsura, and he even managed to take a photo of her with his cell phone. Due to new seating in his class, he ends up next to Sekai Saionji, a nosy girl but sweet and sincere. As she snoops for his cell phone while talking to him, she discovers his crush and vows to help him until Kotonoha agrees to go out with him. When Sekai finally gets them together, she realizes her own feelings after finding out that the person Kotonoha liked was, in fact, Makoto. While waiting for her train next to Makoto, who was waiting for Kotonoha, she has him talking about how he can repay her for all of her help. Before leaving for her train, she kisses him and cries when she boards the way home. Kotonoha happily arrives for her date with Makoto shortly after. With all three main characters carrying different expressions on their faces, the story begins.
SPOILERS FOR ENDINGS - Don’t click here, if you want to keep the game endings a surprise! AND this might ruin the ending for the School Days anime series too!! Click at your own risk!
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