(Skysenshi’s Note: Michael wrote this opinion at my request. I needed a counterpoint for sense of balance. So please, don’t flame him if you don’t agree with him. Likewise, don’t flame me if you don’t agree with me. So we can all live in one big happy planet.)

Well hello all, I’d just thought I’d put up a counter point of Lady Neko’s thoughts on End of Summer.

Okay, quick aside, for those of you who don’t know End of Summer is from ADVs adult branch SoftCel. End of Summer is the “Doukyusei” OVA. It’s based of the life-sim game of the same name. The anime is by KSS/Pink Pineapple that has the market on quality, bishoujo anime.

Anyway, I must disagree with Lady Neko about Wataru. The plot of End of Summer and End of Summer 2 deal with Wataru wanting to be with Mai, the class princess. In the first episode, yes, Wataru is thinking only with his teenage hormones; however, as the series progresses, Wataru becomes more and more mature, and his lust for Mai changes to full-fledged love.

In episode one, Wataru loves the whole princess idol image of Mai, but doesn’t really know her. So the first episode primary deals with Wataru looking at Mai from afar, and just dreaming of her. (I.e., idol worship if you would.) As the episodes continue, he gets closer and closer to her. Another plot that’s going on is with Misa, Wataru’s tomboy friend. Now, Misa ends up getting injured, and doesn’t want Wataru’s help to see the nurse. But Wataru says that if she doesn’t let him carry her, she’ll hurt her leg even more, and not have a chance to ever see Nationals (which is one of her biggest dreams). So… Misa lets him. Why? Because he’s the only one who thinks her dream is worth it and he supports her (even her parents think that her dream of being a track-and-field star is silly, and she should give up on it.) When she finds out that she won’t be able to compete anymore because of her injury, he’s the only one to still have hopes in her dreams. So, Misa wants to thank him for believing in her… when no one else did.

In episode two, Wataru has built up enough courage to actually approach Mai. When he bumps into her, he’s surprised to see her reading a racy romance novel (not something that a princess should read right.) Worse, he finds out she has a date with the school Casanova. Anyway, as the story goes on, Wataru bumps into Satomi, who is his co-worker and classmate. He finds out she just got completely dumped by the class Casanova (who was on the date with Mai.) Anyway, Wataru sees just how depressed she is and tries to make her feel better. However Satomi thinks that the reason he dumped her is because she was ugly and not very feminine. So… she asks Wataru to “make a memory with her.” Wataru actually doesn’t want to do this, because she is one of his best friends, but Satomi then says that it would be okay, since it was him, and she knows that he knows just how important something like this is.

In episode three, he realizes that different people find different things attractive. Now Kurumi really loves Kazumi… but she’s too shy to do anything about it. Wataru suggests maybe becoming more intimate with Kazumi, so he’ll see just how much she loves her. Later, Kurumi returns crying, as Kazumi only wants to date older women. Kurumi thinks she’s still a girl, because she’s a virgin (and that’s why she thinks Kazumi doesn’t love her.) And, Kurumi asks Wataru to “make her a woman so Kazumi will love me again.” (You do see Kazumi during this episode trying to hit on an older woman too.) Wataru… agrees because he can see just how distraught Kurumi is. Anyway, so they go to an expensive Love Hotel (Wataru wants to make this special for Kurumi), but Kurumi still cannot get herself to become more intimate… so she suggests maybe she needs to be tied up. So Wataru decides to try to make the best of it, and make the moment very special for Kurumi (as she did suggest it), by buying the golden, silk cord. Unfortunately, it’s purchased before he can get it, so he only gets the normal rope. Anyway, after the event, Kurumi has a newfound confidence in herself. And, she starts to take charge of the relationship between her and Kazumi.

In episode four, he finally gets his date with Mai. She realizes he likes Mai, and not Princess Mai. That is, he likes her… not the image she portrays, or what their classmates call her, but her… Mai. So, she decides to go on a date with him to the amusement park. And they have a blast there… that is, until Mai’s father’s agents take Mai away. It’s done really dramatically; her glasses get knocked off and shatter, really emphasizing what’s going on. So, he goes to her house, in the pouring rain… and finds he can’t get past the gate. He loves her, and she knows it. So, disregarding her family and her parents, she opens the gate for him. His courage gets him there, her strength opens it. Later, she says, “There will be repercussions from my father. But don’t worry, I’ll deal with them.” What a sweet ending to such a long, arduous quest! You can’t ask for a more romantic ending.

Anyway after the credits, it’s kind of amusing. Wataru is late for class again, and starts rushing out of the house… only to run into Mai, Satomi, and Kurumi all waiting to walk with him to school.

So… I feel that Lady Neko’s thoughts on Wataru aren’t really fair. Yes, he did make love to three other girls before finally getting his dream relationship with Mai. But, if you look at each event, you can see that these aren’t just “one night stands.” He genuinely cares for his other girl friends, and learns what it really means to love someone. He makes love to them each in very special, very tender, and very intimate ways.

Anyway, End of Summer, and End of Summer 2 are very good bishoujo anime to pick up, if you want a fairly good plot. I just hope this counter point gives you all something to think about again, if you re-watch End of Summer, or watch it for the first time.

Any questions or thoughts let me know at ltcraggs@three-musketeers.net

Individual Rating: Art/Animation: 8 Story/Plot: 8 Characters: 7 Sounds: 7 Ecchi Level: 5

This entry was posted on Monday, January 7th, 2002 at 4:43 pm and is filed under End of Summer, Anime Hentai. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.