Natsuyuki Rendezvous Episode 10 Discussion

Lelouch22 said:
This episode was emotionally beautiful and a slight improvement over the last few, but the flaws still exist, while some are even illuminated further due to the knowledge that only one episode remains and the growing possibility that the Hazuki and Rokka relationship will have neither a satisfying or convincing conclusion. Despite that, the ending of this episode, particularly the last line by Rokka, was amazing.

The opening scenes in which Hazuki fears he might be lost to that world forever were some of the best storybook moments, since the emotional weight concerning Hazuki's situation was no longer left to seeming insignificance. The music accompanied these early moments wonderfully. The temporary concern that Hazuki would remain as a ghost certainly disappears by the end of the episode, and thankfully, Rokka doesn't seem at all satisfied with leaving Hazuki to that fate. Shimao's first conversation with ghost-Hazuki was ridiculously cruel and selfish, displaying yet again why I can't seem to like Shimao that much at all. It was a pretty satisfying moment then when Hazuki persuaded him into finally understanding the situation, and the realistic notion that he needs to let Rokka go, once and for all, since his childishly selfish refusal to understand and come to terms with these indisputable facts had become exceedingly tiring.

Several significant flaws within the story remain though, unfortunately. The most obvious of which is the inability to see the gradual development of a relationship that I initially thought was the primary focus, due to the continued separation of Hazuki's spirit from his own body. It's a shame that all that potential excellence will be relegated to the very last episode, thus leaving far too much room for an unsatisfying conclusion. The main problems I've had with the latter half of the series are the unnecessarily dragging nature and the distinct clumsiness with which the story has handled Hazuki's development. Rather than isolating him for a sizable portion of the story, I feel as though it would have benefited greatly had it coincided with Rokka and Shimao's painful struggles in a more balanced manner. I would have certainly preferred his relationship with Rokka to receive far more real-world development prior to the last episode's arrival, but, the majority of said development being left until the very end seems to me a distinctly flawed and short-sighted approach.

It's pretty understandable as to why there has been an increased focus on Shimao and his part of the story, but it doesn't really feel as emotionally powerful as one might think, due largely to his unsympathetic nature and his temporarily vague and wavering sense of purpose and resolve. The selfishness which has driven many of his unfortunate actions has really detached his character from deriving any considerable amount of sympathy from me.

The direction continues to be one of the most exceptional, and certainly the most consistent, elements of the show. The manner in which it constantly carries the subtle nuances of a wide array of emotions without completely falling apart is quite impressive. The usually slow pacing within each episode has been, for the most part, understandable and rather necessary in order to properly convey all the specific, subtle emotions in a manner that will strongly resonate and satisfy. However, looking at the broader picture, the pacing as a whole has been quite mediocre and long-winded in reaching certain moments.

Even though Natsuyuki Rendezvous deftly does a lot of things incredibly well, the story has noticeably struggled to get to this point, thus resulting in an odd dichotomy between it's many positive qualities and it's few, yet significant, negative ones. The dragging nature of the events that have filled the latter half of the story has disappointingly diminished it's once extremely high quality into something a bit less. Despite my numerous, repetitive complaints however, it is still one of the better shows of the season. I'm very cautiously awaiting the last episode though, because, at this point, it could bring thoroughly fantastic and satisfying closure, but it might just as well suffer due to the potential for a plethora of developments to receive rushed and unsatisfying resolutions.