Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Kimi to Boku. Episode 12--Brothers

Kimi to Boku Episode 12 Screenshot 1

Sometimes I feel like Kimi to Boku is trying to emulate the Like Love segments from Nichijou.

Kimi to Boku Episode 12 Screenshot 2
Kimi to Boku Episode 12 Screenshot 3
Kimi to Boku Episode 12 Screenshot 4

Taking a break from the stories of the main characters, this week we're focusing on Shun's younger brother Fuyuki. His character is basically that of every middle school boy in existence; he looks up girl's skirts, wants to know what boobs feel like and harasses his brother for not having any porn. But underneath all that is a guy struggling a bit with his first relationship, determined not to let the girl he likes see his perverted side. Overall, this is a pretty good idea, but as this episode shows there's a difference between trying to show your best side and becoming so absorbed in what others think of you that you start to not notice the important things. I think that this was the most "slice of life" episode that this show has had, since I found a lot of things in this episode relatable. Who doesn't remember that time in their life when things started changing, cooties were no longer an issue and OH GOD I SAID THE WRONG THING TO MY CRUSH THEY MUST HATE ME MY LIFE IS NOW OVER. It was nice to see the start of a first relationship, especially since episodes in the past have left me wanting something with a resolution to shake things up.

Kimi to Boku Episode 12 Screenshot 5
Kimi to Boku Episode 12 Screenshot 6
Kimi to Boku Episode 12 Screenshot 7

But the most enjoyable aspect of this episode for me was the sibling dynamic between Shun and Fuyuki. And no, I'm not talking about the harassment (although that scene was hilarious). At the beginning of the episode, we're treated to an adorable scene of the two of them with Shun narrating about how excited he was to have a brother. Then later, we get another flashback to when they were kids, with Fuyuki offering Shun a piggyback ride despite being smaller than him. These scenes contrasted with the current situation were a great way of showing that these two brothers still care a lot about each other, Shun especially. While Fuyuki is still worrying about his image (and trying to steal his cell phone back), Shun is taking care of the girl he likes, later revealing that he asked her to "take good care of him." But the best scene was when Shun indirectly told him to go after her, and to stop worrying about trivial things that people say about him. I don't think that we've ever seen Shun look that serious before. For how oblivious he seems to be about Masaki's feelings towards him, it looks like Shun is actually pretty good at giving just the right relationship advice. What a good older brother.

Images from Crunchyroll.com.

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