true tears - 02 January 12
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Summary:
Having just revealed that she gave up her tears, Noe tells Shinichirou that he’s the first person she’s ever told about this. She questions what he thinks tears are, and when he tries to give her the scientific explanation, she decides that he shows promise. Bringing out a small bottle that she’s wearing as a necklace, Noe reveals that she has a mission to get back her tears. To do that, she needs the tears of a chosen one, and she looks at Shinichirou as if he’s that person. Noe comments on how she knew he’d believe her, but after she runs off on her own, Shinichirou isn’t so sure about that. That night, over dinner, Shinichirou’s mother tries to ask him again about what they started speaking about yesterday, but Shinichirou responds by wolfing down his rice and excusing himself. He feels bad about going against his mother even though he’s been rejected by the publisher, however the big question on his mind is what will happen to him if he gets Noe’s tears for her.
In class the following day, Shinichirou happens to look out the window and sees Noe waving at him from the tennis courts. She attracts a lot of attention by doing this, and Shinichirou gets quite embarrassed. Nobuse points out during lunch that Shinichirou is both living with Hirose and getting love from Noe, and the other boys at the school mock Shinichirou for being a stud. Things don’t get any better when Noe visits Shinichirou’s class and tries to give him some of the red bird feed. According to her, she loves looking up at him because he seems close to the sky, and all this causes Shinichirou to think that he’s truly become a replacement for the chicken Raigomaru. Hiromi meanwhile watches this scene between the two unfold in front of her, and her friend wonders if it’s okay for Shinichirou to be taken from her. However, Hiromi claims that she and him aren’t like that. Hiromi nevertheless is curious enough to visit the chicken coop under Noe’s care, and she finds that there’s now a sign on it marking the grave of Raigomaru.
Hiromi tries to tell Noe that she can’t put a grave marker on the coop while there’s still another chicken inside, but Noe ignores her and walks away when Hiromi’s friend approaches to see what’s going on. A little later, Hiromi approaches Shinichirou’s shoe locker and asks him about being acquainted with Noe. She specifically refers to the rumors surrounding Noe, and Shinichirou is surprised to hear the one about Noe climbing up a tree and trying to pick up guys who pass by. What’s also surprising is how Hiromi asks him to introduce her to Noe the next day. In story terms, Shinichirou thinks of his situation as like being trapped inside a bottle by a monster who had taken the form of an angel and seeing a crying girl in different bottle nearby. He feels that if Noe has to take someone’s tears, it could be Hiromi instead of him. With this in mind, he tells Noe that there’s a girl who wants to be her friend and offers to introduce them.
Hiromi is at that moment in the middle of basketball practice, however she has a hard time concentrating on playing defense because she remembers a particular event from her past where she was alone and looking for Shinichirou. Right as she wonders what she wants to do, Hiromi notices Noe standing in the doorway of the gym, and the momentary loss of focus causes her to trip and fall. Hiromi then goes outside to talk with Noe, and the first thing Noe brings up is how she suspects it was Hiromi who moved the grave sign from on top of the chicken coop to its own mound beside the coop. After Hiromi admits to having done so because she felt that a grave should be properly built, Noe agrees and acknowledges her mistake. Noe then changes the subject to how Shinichirou had said that Hiromi wanted to be her friend, but Noe thinks that this was a lie on Hiromi’s part because she doesn’t believe that Hiromi actually likes her. Noe claims to be not angry though, and she walks away without a second thought, leaving Hiromi speechless.
At home that night, Hiromi tells Shinichirou that Noe rejected her, and she apologizes to him because she realized that it was true that she didn’t want to be Noe’s friend. Still, this makes her think that Noe is amazing for being able to see through her.
Preview
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I liked the second episode a lot more than the first - it didn’t feel slow like the first episode did, and that may just be because we’re past the introductions. I found it interesting seeing how Hiromi dealt with Noe and vice-versa, mainly because it’s true that Hiromi didn’t really want to become friends with Noe. It was really all about Shinichirou - if she hadn’t seen him involved with Noe, then the two girls probably wouldn’t have ever met. Thus, it felt like Hiromi was trying either to gauge her competition or to use a friendship with Noe to get closer somehow to Shinichirou.
What this leads us to is a situation where Shinichirou has feelings for Hiromi, and she has feelings for him (at least that’s what’s heavily suggested, particularly by the short flashback scene), but he’s also intrigued by Noe, and Noe sees him as the chosen one to help her get her tears back. My gut tells me that Noe is the special girl that Shinichirou will end up with (if he ends up with anyone), but it’s still too early in the series to rule out any possibilities, particularly since Ai has yet to play a major role in this.
All this is what I meant when I said last week that I think this series has a lot of potential, and the fact that the animation quality is holding up remarkably well is like icing on the cake. However, given how good Shigofumi has also been, it’s hard for me to settle on which Saturday show to follow for the rest of the season, and I’ll need to see the third episodes of both before deciding.
Mello at 6:51 pm on January 12th, 2008
wooo! episode 2
king at 7:02 pm on January 12th, 2008
is it me or is hiromi getting jealous
elba at 7:06 pm on January 12th, 2008
Dunno but http://randomc.animeblogger.net/image/true%20tears/true%20tears%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2011.jpg looks like “Round 1 - Fight!”. Guess “it’s on” ;>
Navi at 7:08 pm on January 12th, 2008
Yessss!!!!~ Can’t wait for subs. xd.
Kovski at 8:19 pm on January 12th, 2008
I thought this was aired on sundays, seems like i was wrong
GP at 8:19 pm on January 12th, 2008
Well, this show can’t slow down really, it’s only 13 episodes, and it’s the main character and it looks like 3 girls. I could be wrong but I think the shorty, forget her name, ahh, Aoi? Might like the main character also, though maybe she’s going out with the other guy already? Or the other guy is just trying to get with her still.
I figure this could be a triangle or a square, but we’ll see.
golthin at 8:30 pm on January 12th, 2008
@GP
I think the other guy just think of Aoi as his girlfriend and they are not actually really dating. It is pretty obvious by the way she give him the cold shoulder. He is the type of guy to take things for granted.
hashihime at 8:46 pm on January 12th, 2008
Glad to hear you liked the animation: this show was entirely animated by Chinese animators, and even the animation supervisor for the episode was Chinese (judging by all their names). I think that tells us how P.A. Works can produce such detailed animation without going broke.
I loved this ep. It solidified my admiration for the show.
hashihime at 8:50 pm on January 12th, 2008
Sorry to double post, but I forgot to say that the episode was also directed by someone with a Chinese name. I have never seen that before.
Tsuchiro at 9:06 pm on January 12th, 2008
Kovski: its sunday in japan when it aired?
hashihime at 9:25 pm on January 12th, 2008
The show aired at 1am Saturday night. Japanese TV listings call that 25:00 Saturday. Others might call it 01:00 Sunday.
Deadlyrain at 9:50 pm on January 12th, 2008
Who is the guy Noe hugs here?
http://randomc.animeblogger.net/image/true%20tears/true%20tears%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2018.jpg
I watched the raw but I think I’m missing something…
Barby at 9:59 pm on January 12th, 2008
Hellooo
I saw the 1 episode… It was so cute
I can’t wait for this one
When will be aired??????
I wish something happen between hiromi and the guy
Windspirit at 11:11 pm on January 12th, 2008
@hashihime : http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6257
Sounds Japanese enough for me…
Kenji at 11:18 pm on January 12th, 2008
Question for Omni: Just curious, do you only watch what you blog? Ex: You would still keep up with this show without blogging it.
divine at 11:37 pm on January 12th, 2008
@Deadlyrain:
That would be Isurugi Jun, according to the credits. His exact relationship to Noe isn’t known yet, but from his surname, we know they’re related.
@Omni:
As per H2O, I say keep watching true tears, but just don’t blog it. It’s in HD and the animation quality has been nice so far. Mix in a relatively interesting bunch of characters/setting and it could turn out to be the “ef - a tale of memories.” of the season, so you probably wouldn’t want to miss out on that.
Also, for those interested and haven’t seen them yet, I’ve uploaded high quality versions of the OP/ED on YouTube.
「true tears」 OP “Reflectia” 「リフレクティア」
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYv6EcjtIjE
「true tears」 ED “Sekai no Namida” 「セカイノナミダ」 (”Tears of the World”)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDYgdriHZ98
hashihime at 11:52 pm on January 12th, 2008
@Windspirit — On 2channel, some people called this a “Chinese anime.” I won’t go that far. The basic staff is still Japanese. But all the on-screen end-credits for animation for this episode were Chinese names, including the episode director and the episode animation supervisor. The storyboard was by the main director, Nishimura Junji, however.
@Deadlyrain — I wonder who that guy Noe hugs is, too. He could be brother, father, or lover. I don’t think we get any real indication in the scene. I think he appears in the preview of ep3, coming to pick her up on his motorcycle at school.
hashihime at 12:34 am on January 13th, 2008
Wish I could correct posts rather than blabbing on like this: I should have read divine’s post before posting. Strike “lover.”
Diabolikul at 2:40 am on January 13th, 2008
omg maybe its going to be school days all over again
Omni at 4:53 am on January 13th, 2008
This may sound stupid, but it’s in my blood to want to blog whatever I watch. Since 2005, I think I’ve only watched maybe half a dozen shows that I haven’t also blogged.
In the end of course, it always boils down to a time problem - too many shows and never enough time…