Amnesia - 9

"IX"

Excuse me while I die of laughter. This was just that bad.

For once, I have quite a bit to say on this series, and most of it is blatant disbelief at what it is that I just watched. As much as I disliked Shin and Ikki's overtly shoujo-stereotype attitudes, Toma took the cake this week with the most ridiculous behavior of them all. This was actually miles beyond the incredulously bizarre wish that gave Ikki his magical allure and it made me so furious that I ended up becoming unable to take it seriously at all. Case in point, Toma is a psycho. Worse, he's the most shoujo convention-like psycho possible, and the icing of the cake is that Shujinko is ready to forgive him because he did it all "since his love is just too strong". Please give me a moment while I laugh and puke at the same time. Believe me when I say that the phrase "I wish I could put you in a cage" is quite the stock shoujo-boyfriend line. It's one of those preposterous conventions where, his girlfriend having the cliche talent for finding trouble, said boyfriend feels it to be his duty to protect her, to the point where he verbally expresses the wish of keeping her under lock and key. It's pretty disgusting just in theory, but then we get Toma, who actually moves a cage into his apartment and keeps Shujinko in it for days.

First off, what the actual hell, Toma?! How the heck did he get that cage in there (yes, this bothers me more than it should) and why didn't Shin do something when he realized Toma was drugging and keeping Shujinko captive with lies? Of course, Toma was never Shujinko's boyfriend in the first place, and it seems to be true that she and Ikki were in some sort of relationship, which led to the various bullying methods by the fan club. At first Toma simply tries to hide this from her, which, while already controlling, isn't nearly as damaging as when he literally kidnaps her without her knowledge. This, my friends, is psychopath territory. The fact that he continually justifies himself by stating that he's doing everything he can to protect her only makes things scarier, and I don't buy for a minute that excuse about his feelings being so strong that this is the only way. Run for the hills, Shujinko. This is the one time I think I've actually hoped to see her get killed as soon as possible, if only because she'll be free of Toma, but of course, in the eternal wisdom of the universe, this turns out to be the longest arc to date.

Did I mention he puts her in a cage?

By this point, I honestly couldn't take the preposterous nature of it all. Toma is of course selfish and controlling (besides being a psychopath) to the point where even his best friend calls him out on his absurd behavior. His actions have little to do with Shujinko herself; in reality, Toma is concerned with keeping her from running off to Ikki. He has no regard for her feelings, even if they truly do place her in danger. After all, as Shin rightly argues, Toma has absolutely no right to interfere beyond what she asks from him, and his desire to keep her in the dark is only further indication of his unhealthy obsession with keeping her under control. Even Orion mentions how Toma's behavior is like that towards a precious doll or toy rather than to a human being, which is why it's so unnatural for both him and Shujinko to suddenly change their minds about his motives. I mean, he keeps her in a cage. I don't care how much someone loves you; if he's keeping you locked up, something is seriously wrong with him and that is not forgiven by a degree of feelings. The last thing that really bothered me (other than the fact that Shujinko actually managed not to get run over the one time I wish she had been) is how the hell she managed to escape. If it was that easy, why didn't you do it earlier, you foolish girl?!