Summer Pockets Episode 16 Discussion

That's absurd! I don't understand what Hairi's losing the match has to do with the police coming to his house, and him fleeing from home?

@Rom-Com_lover
Dude stress out and cost the match > feel guilty and quit > get frustrated and become delinquent (But not level of doing drug) > parent blame each others since they have high expectation from him > family start to fall apart > use the death of his grandma as an excuse to 'escape' and come to the island.

Something like that.

Big reveals in this one. So Hairi became a bad boy after he screwed up things with the swim team, which in turn caused issues within his family, which takes us to Hairi going to the island, nice to see pretty much all of Hairi’s backstory is out in the open now. And another big thing was Shiroha being able to see the future, particularly bad things, I think this is cool but I wish we could get more than one example of her seeing a bad future, because apparently the one time she tried preventing it she failed, and the kid didn’t even die, so I’m thinking it’s unlikely Shiroha is actually gonna die here, best to be safe than sorry tho of course.

But one thing does rub me the wrong way a bit, and it’s that this situation is quite preventable, so okay maybe Shiroha still has to do the priestess role because of the old fella, so why not give her a lifejacket underneath the robes or something, hell give her water wings even lol, idk I just feel like this supposed death of hers could be set up a bit better, but I do still like this plot development. Plot stuff aside, I really liked the SoL stuff here, it’s nice seeing more involvement with the friend group like during the food stand bit, the “date” between Shiroha and Hairi was really sweet as well, a shame it ended the way it did but it was still a good time overall.

Also, Hairi saw Shiroha in Umi, hmmm I wonder what that might signify lol. And they teased that red haired girl again, this time in full, it’s funny seeing VN players react her but I’m curious as to what her role is in the story, if she ever stops being an easter egg then maybe we’ll find out lol.

@TheColonel76 Yeah at first the situation seems really easy to stop until that scene actually happens - there is a very good reason for it that is almost completely out of their control and also is foreshadowing for something a little later in the story.

Red hair girl is not important at all... in the original game cause she doesn't exist. Reflection Blue added her in and she easily has the best heroine route in the game that then also ties into RB's updated ending and develops a lot more lore for the island and some for Ao and Shiroha's family but would need an entire arc for herself.

I watched the episode while eating. I wasn't really giving much attention!

But I notice a lot of things happened! So I guess I will rewatch it later and give it a proper comment!

Update:
Now I understand why I wasn't paying much attention while eating—it's the dialogues... yes, the dialogues lack logic. Let me explain what I mean. For example, in Takahara Haeri's backstory, when he failed at swimming and then received a message—probably from his family—asking him to come back home, he said they're good people and they never mistreated him. He just feels like a failure himself. Then he said he wouldn’t return and would stay on the island instead… Why? Because he wants to find out how to spend the summer with Shiroha. That’s not a convincing reason!

Wait, wait, before you write a reply to my comment—I see you, the one who's about to explain to me Takahara’s motivations and all that—yes, I get that the reason he came to the island is to find out how to enjoy summer. But what I find illogical is: what do his parents have to do with this? His past? Shiroha? His aunt? His grandmother whose storehouse he came to clean? Umi? None of these people are connected in a meaningful way, so the story feels weirdly written. Like, if your parents contact you asking you to come home, you reply directly and explain your reason to stay—not go talk to Shiroha about it! What does she have to do with that?

This anime, across all arcs, seriously lacks logical writing! I know it's adapted from a game, and I get that the fast-paced romance can be expected in that format, but it’s still too much to ask me to believe that in every arc, the entire story, characters, and setting change completely as if I’m watching a new anime each time.

I’ve written a lot, and honestly, I’m not even satisfied with this comment. I feel like I’m just trying to justify my frustration with the show however I can. The episode overall, and Shiroha’s storyline with the “hibernation” and her weird, muscular grandpa who didn't even donate himself to help her, and so many other things—I just couldn’t accept them at all.

Not excited for Shiroha’s arc, or for next week’s episode either.

But I’ll leave you with two frames, because the scene where the aunt hugs Umi like that—was just too good.

@Marioak_z

Hello! I hope you're doing well and in good health. I truly appreciate the time you took to explain many things, some of which I personally admit I didn’t fully understand.

I’d like to respectfully clarify my point of view—perhaps you’ll understand me better, and maybe we can find some common ground, who knows.

First, to justify myself, in the very first line of my comment I stated that I wasn’t really focused on the episode, and after rewatching it I still wasn’t satisfied. That shows I’m not deeply invested in the anime and don’t pay close attention to the dialogue. I also mentioned in the comment that I wasn’t happy with what I originally wrote, which shows that I was writing in a moment of frustration. If you look closely at the comment, I was speaking in very general terms—the main thing I wanted to express was that I was watching a 25-minute episode, 17 minutes of which were filled with empty conversations about love and “I’ll save you” and so on. This is the fourth arc where we’re hearing the same boring dialogue, just told in different ways.

Now let me respond to each point you brought up to clarify my position more:



Lastly, I know you probably love the anime and are a fan of it! But I’m not. And I don’t mean to insult the anime just because I didn’t understand it, or to tell people not to watch it based on my own misunderstandings. The thing is, this is the 16th week in a row I’ve been watching an episode—of course I’ll forget minor details in each one. Also, half the dialogues in the anime feel unimportant and are written pretty poorly in general.

Maybe you’re someone who loves the anime, or you’ve read the novel, or played the game, or whatever the case may be. Or maybe you’re not even watching it weekly. I completely agree that you understand the story and its dialogue way better than I do. But I hope you can understand why I feel bored! Sixteen weeks of hoping for an exciting episode, and instead I get an arc that just repeats the previous one… it’s honestly disappointing, and it makes you follow the anime without truly caring about the story, the characters, or the messages it’s trying to deliver to you as a viewer.

Thank you again for your time and your kindness! I wish you happy days and hope you enjoy the anime to the fullest. I also apologize for my mistakes. Thank you so much.

@raisin-kun

😂, you can't just take one of my favorite anime and build an argument around it. Just because it's one of my favorites doesn't mean it's because of Sakuta. In fact, Sakuta isn't even one of my favorite characters to begin with.

And if you're basing things on Sakuta, look at the second season—you'll see that he avoids everyone, and he doesn't show his emotions to anyone. In the very first episode, it's very clear that he's disliked by many and even gets into fights with other students. So if we're going to bring in another anime like that, we've already drifted from the original topic.

As for helping someone without reason, I know that happens, I'm not denying it—but I'm saying it's boring when portrayed in an entertainment work! I watch anime to escape reality and enjoy something entertaining. When I say “logical writing,” I don’t mean realistic, I mean convincing at the very least!

Also, "help" varies in how it's defined. For example, if you and I are walking down the street and someone asks for directions, of course we'll help. Then let’s say another person comes and says, “Hey, help me move furniture into my house”—maybe you’d help him. But someone interfering in someone else's life and saying, “I’ll dedicate my life to helping you”? That’s completely unrealistic.

Takahara left everything and went to Shiroha, making it clear that helping her came before anything else. He devoted 100% of his time and effort to her—and that’s dumb, even in real life.

Honestly, I don’t want to derail too far from the main point. My long message was just to say that I’m frustrated with the anime. I wish it were better—more creative, with stronger dialogue and a better plot! I’m not saying it has to be complex…

But don’t you agree this is like the fourth arc where we’re just seeing the same scene, just with different girls?

I just want you to focus on the core reason for my frustration. Everything else we discussed—those are just differences in perspective.

Thank you for having this conversation with me and taking the time to write. I really appreciate hearing your opinion, and I wish you wonderful days ahead! I also hope my discussion and comments didn’t ruin your experience watching Summer Pockets.

Discussion engagement is dying more and more every episode

Discussion engagement is dying more and more every episode

@llcrazyacell I'm holding out hope this will end up either having more discussion once the OP changes - which we know it will, Konomi Suzuki performed it at a KSL (Key Sounds Label) event in May and we get the major reveal with the story becoming much more emotional with the AIR mixed with Clannad After Story and some of it's own things direction the story takes. Or it gets good word of mouth after the show ends because that last arc would be hard to screw up and it is almost up there with Clannad AS imo. Otherwise it's going to end up like Little Busters! where it's just fondly remember by those who watched it but no random person on the streets would know it

@llcrazyacell

Ah, maybe! I’m not sure… but I’ll speak for myself.

I’m fluent in three languages, including Arabic and English. But my writing process on this site isn’t exactly direct.

First, I write the text I want to say in formal Arabic — not in dialect — meaning I use proper, standard language rather than colloquial speech.

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Why do I do this?
First, because I want to express what’s in my mind accurately, and I take great pride in my native language.
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So this is my style!
And I truly wish you a wonderful day as well — may your smile never fade! 😊