Anime
White Album 04-05: This is Why We Can Have NICE BOAT
You know there’s something wrong when, before the guy gets down with the lover he’s [supposedly] been missing for months, freshening up in the shower preparing for the Big Event, his mind is wandering elsewhere. Good thing their love making session didn’t push through, otherwise Touya probably would’ve muttered someone else’s name, unconsciously.
Why yes, Touya thought of Yuki alright. But not just Yuki. In fact, I’d bet a hundred bucks that he’s lusting after Rina much more than Yuki at that point, or at least, one of her other goddesses. He might’ve forgotten the exact details of what Rina told him on the phone (about the change of meetup venue) because he was all groggy, but for sure, she was in his fantasies. I could only wonder what would’ve happened if Touya got to meet Rina that day, boy that would’ve been totally Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, only that Yuki probably won’t run into any accident and get into a coma.
Touya has been trying so hard to convince himself that “he belongs to Yuki”, but his subconscious clearly shows otherwise.
Now Yayoi finally joins the Goddess Harem, as the Evil Queen of the gang, and boy is Touya thrown into another bout of his ‘Lustful temptations, get away from me, but come closer as well’ struggles.
Total WTF Moment.
He’s playing hard to get, he got all tsuntsun the moment she kissed him and let him feel her up, then the next thing we know, he accompanies her to the movies like some obedient dog (he even seemed to enjoy the groping). Then he startｓ observing how she eats and drinks, so much that the image of Yayoi now retained in his mind is the seductive and sexy Yayoi, a bitch who’d be so generous as to give her ALL for Touya, for the sake of ‘removing the obstacles in Yuki’s career path’, she says. Her ‘erotism’ is of a far different level compared to the other girls, according to moonphase. When Yayoi kissed him, he didn’t flinch, in fact, he even took his time savoring the icy kiss, as Minnie of Hey Say Anime also noticed. He tries to fight the temptations, but he also invites ‘em in (along with the tempest), and it won’t be long before this leads to the Major Shitstorm.
Touya’s now trying to slice up time for his goddesses, which is obviously impossible. He thinks he’s some sort of Ultimate Sex Machine, the Casanova, or probably Genji, or whatever. He’s been trying to convince himself that he’s no woman magnet (he also told Akira before), since he knows well how useless he is. But whatever he’s been doing just keeps all the girls flocking to him. He is indecisive; he doesn’t know what he wants. In Mana’s words, ‘he’s been collecting silver axes’, simply because he doesn’t even know what axe he lost in the first place. He’s a living paradox. His father probably kicked him out of the house is because he’s such a lost sheep, he needed to grow some spine, figure out what the heck he wants to do with his life, through his own means.
Now that the fate of Touya and his goddesses have been intertwined, whatever he does for one of his goddesses will more or less affect the other ones in his ‘harem’ as well, thanks to the tangled web of deceit he weaved (and is still weaving). He refuses Haruka’s invitation to go to the pool, also Rina’s offer to meet her up; he also ignores Yuki’s phone call, despite knowing well that she is going to call him, all for the sake of one of his Goddesses — Misaki. Haruka isn’t really showing any signs of EMOTIONS up until now and it’s becoming a depressing sight, but anyways.
We’re not too sure how Rina took Touya’s rejection of her invitation. Yuki, on the other hand, is obviously affected by her inability to connect with Touya, in more ways than one. She’s probably thinking that Touya is mad at her for what happened (and otherwise) the last time he went to her apartment. She can’t concentrate on singing because her personal life is meddling with it, and I can only wonder if Eiji Ogata will resort to something Sonna Koe Dashicha Iya-ish for her Vocal Training. I’d bang my head against the wall if *that* happens.
Well played.
Touya thinks he has a responsibility to fulfill.
“I have to repay the goddesses” That’s what’s been running through his mind lately, much more than “I have to make it up to my everyday Yuki”. “Touya’s idea about repaying his “goddesses” is going to bring him down eventually”, says Xcomp, and I couldn’t have said it any better.
Whether or not this a similar case to that of Makoto’s ‘useful’ uselessness to the girls in School Days, only the further episodes can tell.
As for Misaki, I honestly didn’t understand what the heck was up with her and the drama club, and what’s she being blackmailed for. Hanners speculates it’s got something to do with Misaki going to drastic lengths for her script to get the club members’ approval, though I can’t be too sure about this just yet. Tamaru’s “This is nothing compared to what you did to me” line intrigues the heck out of me nonetheless.
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10 comments for “White Album 04-05: This is Why We Can Have NICE BOAT”
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Misaki is a dumbass what she thinks is of little consequence as Akira abandons her while Touya proves more than useless as she gets gang raeped by the drama club that she idiotically insists on being in.
Touya is a parasite, he can repay no one with his lack of work ethic, he has time to goof around but not once does he try to find a real job. He has no future we are better off if he was dead. We must never blame his father for expelling him from the house, Toya deserves to be put out like a mangy dog. I still have no idea what kind of landlord would tolerate some one who was two months behind on his rent…was 1986 Japan populated by idiots or something?
Crusader: Maybe the landlord is a hot young lady. Then it would all make sense.
In his mind, Touya is crafting his perfect woman. This one true goddess has Yuki’s personality, Rina’s lips, Yayoi’s boobs, Misaki’s literary skills, and Haruka’s bike.
My Nice Boat comment left a lasting impression on you, huh? Just kidding. ^^
My favorite speculation was about Grace O’Conner’s twin Yayoi. I’m not expecting anything spectacular from the way Touya acts. He may have some redemption, but at the end, all those girls are way too good for him.
Misaki may have slept with the dude to get them to look at her work or she could have used some of Tamaru’s ideas for her own benefit. Considering her character though, she may have liked Tamaru, but switched to Touya. I don’t know, but I’m still keeping my speculation about Eiji and Yuki getting down and clean.
Kimi wa dare to kissu wo suru? The people should have suggested Akira in the Triangular. If not, then a male harem suits Touya more. Seriously though, either Touya steps up his game to deal with these situations, or else he’ll forever be a good-for-nothing. (I’m rooting for you Touya. So, please, do something smart or decent for once!
)
http://scrumptious.animeblogger.net/2009/01/21/white-album-are-you-my-lovely-trainwreck (Nice Boat)
http://www.seaslugteam.com/archives/2009/02/03/white-album-05/ (Yayoi)
Sorry, if I forgot the links earlier.
White Album, or how to lose all dignity as a lover…
Touya wouldn’t last long on a battle field, as his intuition sucks. I think the failure comes down to his lack of proper intimate communication with Yuki; they don’t have their own world in which they feel comfortable talking about anything. Generally, wouldn’t it be wise for a boyfriend to mention these things, even if they may be false pursuits… Yuki is out in the dark about basically everything, and I’m sure if her and Touya worked together none of these girls would be an issue.
If Yuki knew her manager was purposely trying to get rid of Touya, what would be Yuki’s recourse?
Unfortunately, even if Touya and Yuki had an unbreakable relationship, I believe Yayoi would still be trying to disrupt it. So regardless of Touya, I feel Yuki’s representatives are looking out for the benefit of business more so than her own well-being…. in Kantian terms, Yuki is treated as a means.
Shit pisses me off… It’s surely no true tears, it’s not beautiful, it’s just silly.
Stone-faced, eyes open… that’s not savoring a kiss. If you’ve never had an opportunity to use it (or had it used on you), that kind of non-response is the ultimate rejection of a kiss. If that weren’t a dead enough give-away, his thoughts make it plain: “the cold lips of a doll.”
Touya is a college-age virgin (presumably) with a knack for attracting female attention. He’s naive when it comes to intimate relationships, and he doesn’t pick up on signs well–at all. None of this makes him a bad person, and he certainly isn’t anywhere in the same universe as Makoto of School Days. He is to blame for some serious facepalm moments, but just about everyone but Yuki deserves blame to an extent in this series.
Every one of his potential harem girls knows that he is dating Yuki, and if they aren’t outright trying to lure him from Yuki, they seem to be aiming for the “Once Yuki and Touma break up” spot on the roster (Haruka, I’m looking at you). Of course, no one pays any mind to the kind of pressure and confusion this is bound to cause a guy who probably just had his first close encounter with a woman’s breast.
Touya is a complex character, dealing with conflicting desires and making mistakes the way a person would. The only thing unrealistic about this is the way he attracts so many women–but when do “realistic” and “harem” really go together? Regardless, I’ll be rooting for a Touma and Yuki Happy End. Barring that, I’d also be content with a Touma and Haruka Happy End. What can I say? I’ve got a soft spot for damaged, “nice” girl types.
Even if Touya’s makoto-like playboy aura annoy the shit outta me, girls still want that axe cologne smell like crazy. Such a thing takes away time for each girl. Instead of having time to develop flat characters such as Misaki, we get stuck at nowhere…
Maybe it’s time for a little more C/D before proceeding to the more gruesome causes of the multiple murder we will probably see.
And let me go against the tide, Yayoi’s hot. There’s something in that “masked” attitude of hers. She makes the other girls (except Rina) look like airheads. She ain’t scary… of course she’s gonna be flattened in bed if that’s the case IRL… Even the most stony-demeanored girls moan in ecstacy when touched right.
Wow, we’re SO on different trains in many many aspects.
I’ve written up a long-winded long-assed analysis of ep5 myself, so please forgive me if I want to reuse it here. That’s the link:
http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=2198762&postcount=500
@Crusader: Misaki looks so helpless it’s frustrating to see. She’s even worse than Touya >_< Anyways, I’m still giving her the benefit of the doubt, that despite how she seems really onto Touya, and whatever act of kindness he’ll show her will only make her cling to him more, she can still redeem herself.
@Kabitzin: Sounds pretty logical to me! If you can’t have the perfect woman, you make ‘em! and well Akira did say before that Touya’s goddess represent part of his body or whatnot (can’t forget the exact line orz).
@Ryan: well if Touya and Yuki’s relationship was all well and good there will no longer be any drama!
It’s just frustrating to see how this show hinges on Touya’s ‘quintessential’ indecisive loser harem lead qualities, and how it’s pretty much the cause of all this drama =/
@EqualOpportunityHater: and I stand corrected. True that Touya didn’t respond to Yayoi’s kiss, and I applaud him for being able to fend her off, at the very least. But the rest of his actions and decisions still frustrates me… gah. There are two ways to view Touya, as a complex character who can’t be blamed for his indecisiveness, since it’s caused by the environment he’s in and whatever’s been happening around him, or that he’s a totally helpless wuss, and there’s no one else to blame for all that’s happening in his life but him alone, nature vs nurture, and I’m still weighing which side I’m in.
@Thingle the Asian Sensation: I believe Misaki will have her chance to be fleshed out soon enough. Haruka is still flat as ever though, I can only wonder if we’ll ever get to see her and what lies in her past.
There’s no denying that Yayoi’s hot, and uhm, experienced? She’s totally on top of Touya, in more ways than one.
@Mentar: You are a monster, as always
Your analysis of Touya makes me rethink how I interpreted much of his thoughts and actions in this episode. My prejudice against Touya’s infidelity blues is affecting how I perceive much of his actions, I have to be cleansed before it gets the better of me!
Anyways, great commentary/analysis on the episode, it adds much needed layers in what I see of White Album, in just about every episode.