| @23feanor That's a fair take. The more I keep digging into this review, the more I'm realizing there's a lot of just baffling stuff we're left with in the end, though that might be part of the point in a strange and surreal way. I think this will still end up being a 7.7/10 (weird how that rating keeps coming up for me), mainly because of a combination of some really good character development on Nagara and Mizuho's parts (I'm mixed on how much I liked them as characters as well, though their development was good) and some really interesting themes explored in unique ways that I'm still trying to put into words. By the by, I've had some extended discussions over the course of this watch with huge fans of the series who have dug down into some of the finer details of the show that might explain some of these mysteries. One example that seems kind of emblematic of my issue with the mysteries of this show: there's a connection between the second compass (the one Asakaze handed over to Nagara near the end) and another student who we don't know much of anything about. There may be some connection between that student and Ms. Aki or Nozomi, but we don't know and will almost certainly never know. So... why does this matter? Like you said, I think this show kind of fails as a mystery, and the reason it fails is that it never really lets you sit with any of its mysteries and puzzle them out. It just moves onto another mystery, layers another mystery on top of that, goes down a warp pipe to a new mystery, then circles back to a mystery from the start at the series, then takes a space elevator to nowhere. I get the distinct impression that I'd notice more on a second watch, but that any answers I get would only raise further questions, which might actually frustrate me more. Weird to say this, but that's also kind of why the final episode works for me (btw, I think you're right that that's the school, not her grandmother's house - kind of assumed that). The show had a choice to make in that finale: try to fruitlessly tackle a bunch of these mysteries about why this or that enigmatic character behaved as they did, or really focus in rounding out the character journeys of its leads by bringing some of the themes full circle. As you've said multiple times, it's a bold choice to go the latter route, but somehow it does shift my perspective a bit on the series as a whole. It also really makes me wish that more of the series had been focused on these elements rather than on those mysteries. Anyway, will work on this review today after I start Dennou Coil. Still not entirely sure how I'm going to write it. Probably will end up being more stream of consciousness than most, which is appropriate for this series. @KingYoshi Glad you enjoyed reading along! Seems like we're in a similar camp on this one, though we'll see where I end up with the score. Still not settled. |
whiteflame55Apr 1, 7:03 AM
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| @whiteflame55 I was ruminating on Sonny Boy last night as I was falling asleep and had a number of thoughts, most of which I've forgotten. One I remember was about the injured/dead bird and Nozomi and Nagara's interactions. I appreciate that the show didn't have Nagara return and seek some sort of romantic relationship, or be jealous of Asakaze, because I'm not sure that what was going on between Nagara and Nozomi. From the outset Nozomi approached Nagara like she did with the injured bird later, with concern and wanting to nurse him, or help him, not because of any romantic feelings she had for him. We first see Nagara laying on the ground with arms outstretched, like the injured/dead bird on the floor we see later on. I'm still a bit baffled by what we watched, and can't read much into it, but it will stay with me, unlike many other shows which I've forgotten in a day or two. I also think you're right, and that the mysteries were left purposefully vague and unanswered. But when you layer mystery on top of mystery, and never answer any of them, and most of the show goes on like this, it just lacks direction for me. |
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| @23feanor This will definitely stick with me for a while. It's the kind of show that, depending on where I put the emphasis in my review, I could give wildly different scores. So I completely get it. |
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