Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo - 16

"I've Always Loved You"

Telling someone to read shoujo manga for love advice is in itself the worst advice ever.

I wish someone would help put Mashiro out of her misery instead of letting her wander around like a lost cat. By now it's pretty obvious that she's useless at anything having to do with herself, and it's also obvious that Nanami and Sorata's new closeness is eating away at her, and she doesn't know why. This is one of those rare times where this is actually a believable plot device (though only Mashiro is eligible, not Sorata who's simply being a blockhead) but unfortunately no one is being kind enough to give her a real push in the right direction. Sure, Ayano tries by handing her a fat stack of manga, but wouldn't it have been easier (and faster) to just explain to her why she was feeling jealous? If she were being stupid, like Sorata is, I wouldn't tell her either and let her figure it out on her own, but she's not; she's genuinely lost and is only just starting to understand. Shoujo manga is only bound to make things worse with its overly dramatic and unrealistic devices, and I dearly dearly hope Mashiro won't start mimicking them.

Meanwhile, Sorata has learned a valuable lesson in confidence: don't try so hard that every mistake becomes a disaster. Sometimes, being laid back is far more beneficial than getting everything to be perfect. Adaptability is important, and so is rapport, and sometimes those little mistakes might just make you seem more human in the eyes of those who judge you. He's lucky that Chihiro-sensei has sense, because otherwise the presentation may just have been another disaster; despite only half-passing, it's a step in the right direction for his dream, and that's what counts. This is another one of those times where I point my finger at the author for setting everything up so conveniently, but it is an anime, and I suppose I'm expecting too much if I'm hoping to get a more realistic portrayal of the hard-work/talent problem.

It's unfortunate to see so many little details start to build up and subtract from the quality of this series. For example, at some point the great banter between Sorata and Mashiro started falling through, which made the comedy feel more and more forced. The lack of development between them is frustrating as well, considering how fast things had been moving before. The sudden prominence by Nanami in the last few episodes doesn't help either, because her presence has effectively thrown a wedge in between that relationship, and it's stagnating with the vain hope that Nanami will win (which she won't). Even the drama, which was so introspective and interesting in the first cour seems to have died and been switched out for conventional harem and romcom developments instead, and I have to say it just isn't as satisfying to watch. It's probably unrealistic of me to hope that this will change anytime soon, which is a shame, but at least the series hasn't hit dreadful yet; it's simply become another mainstream romcom which is fun to watch but not nearly as enjoyable to think about.