Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo - 18

"Love with an Alien"

Best moment all episode: Jin getting slugged across the face.

I don't think it's possible to express my relief at finally seeing the Misaki-Jin problem come to an end. Even after being treated to an episode of flashbacks and explanations about his feelings, my judgement on Jin remains more or less unchanged: he's a jerk. Take, for example, the fact that after ignoring Misaki throughout the exam period he expects her to pick up the phone happily after he's done. In the first place, Jin never took the common courtesy to explain to Misaki that he was busy and that he would see her after exams. He simply ran away, literally, like a coward and expected her to come back to him like nothing had happened. What was worse (for me, in any case), was that he never apologized or made any impression that he was sorry or in the wrong for acting like this. He just asks Misaki to wait for him another four years and literally marks her as his own with the ring he gives her, and she has nothing to really say about it all. There's some subtle chauvinism at play here, and it really upsets me that no one other than Sorata had anything to say on the matter, and that Jin and Misaki themselves let it wrap up without having to make Jin accountable for his thoughtless selfishness.

Then there's the love triangle between the three freshmen (not counting Ryuunosuke). Nanami, Sorata, and Mashiro are represented as a trio more often than ever in this episode, and somehow it seems that the playing ground has been evened even further. Before the last couple of episodes, it was MashiroxSorata vs. Nanami, but there's been a not-so-subtle shift to NanamixSorata vs. Mashiro since then and I'm not particularly pleased to see that played out. There's a rather crude Spanish expression from my parents' homeland that roughly translates to "she's throwing her underwear at him" and basically means that a girl is coming on to a guy rather strongly, and now that Sorata is being utterly oblivious and getting closer to Nanami, this is exactly what Mashiro is resorting to. Of course, Mashiro probably has literally thrown her underwear at Sorata (I can't remember if there is such a scene, since Sorata practically helps her get dressed every day), but now she's becoming slightly more possessive and bringing back some of her bantering and innuendos in an attempt to catch his attention. I have to say I preferred the episodes when the banter was a two-way street, and I was a little happy to see the silly "I can see your panties" skit play out while Sorata was getting his ass kicked. Still, with each passing episode I can see the inevitable end coming down to a choice between both girls as equal candidates, which I think is kind of a shame; for me this series has always been about Mashiro and Sorata, and Nanami's inclusion in the relationship weakens the dynamic and drags the storyline out unnecessarily.

Fortunately, some of Sakurasou's strengths are still in play with the depiction of passion and life-goals. While I don't necessarily agree with the idea of making someone wait for you until your dreams come true (*ahem* I'm looking at you, Bakuman), I do think it's incredibly important to chase after your dream with all you have while you still can. Personally, I'm still dealing with this issue, and I'm sure it's something we all deal with everyday. Being talented is great, but for those of us who simply don't have it, we have to work hard and sacrifice certain things to achieve our goals. In a sense, Jin has to give up Misaki to pursue his dream of becoming a better writer, but the problem is in his attitude rather than in his motive. Still, he makes a valid point when he insists that Misaki "do what [she] want[s] to do"; live life the way you want to, not the way others want you to. That doesn't mean you should waste your days away, but it does mean that if you're unhappy, you shouldn't let others impose that unhappiness on you. It's your life, and when you've died, the only person who will have truly gained or lost because of how it played out is you (unless, you know, you become a serial murderer or find the cure to cancer or something).

Relationships and life philosophies aside, the next big issue of the series seems to be an external one: Sakurasou is scheduled for demolition, and of course the residents will have something to say about that.