1 December 2013: Needs more Golden Time Paris-Hen
I like how Banri wears his FUCK YEAH shirt all the time.
If you've been following me on the Twitter, then you've probably figured out that I like Golden Time more than my last entry about it might suggest. Potentially, this is attributable to the fact that the anime has now advanced beyond what I've read of the manga and original light novel.
Sheesh, Banri, give the kid a break.
My previous complaint was that the Golden Time anime adapted some key scenes in ways that failed to do justice to the source material. Perhaps now that I don't have anything to compare it to, I am appreciative of the anime's own merits. So while it is imperfect, I still like it enough to make Golden Time the show I look forward to the most each week.
"My girlfriend started cosplaying as Shimakaze so gradually I hardly even noticed."
In particular, it's refreshing to see an anime relationship actually advance when the norm seems to be a perplexing celebration of celibacy and prudishness bordering on gynophobia. (Infinite Stratos, I'm looking in your direction.) [Golden Time spoilers follow.] Notably, the first kiss between Kouko and Banri passes almost nonchalantly by anime standards, and actually occurs as a natural thing for two people who like each other to do during a tender moment.
Maybe Kouko will flip out and stab Linda in the neck.
In contrast, the interaction in episode nine between Banri and Linda showcases the more common example of anime characters terrified by intimacy. Linda appears determined to be a martyr, refusing to hurt anyone except herself. That I'm not entirely frustrated by Linda is a testament to the charisma that Kayano Ai brings to the role. (As an aside, I really like how she played Fuyumi Ai during her most vulnerable Oreshura scenes. Kayano Ai might be the first new seiyuu I've enjoyed this much since Ito Kanae.)
Banri pretends to be Mitsuo's boyfriend to save him from
the horrors of free food and casual sex with easy girls.
The Golden Time anime appears to be setting up Linda as the ultimate victor for Banri's affection, leaving Kouko to reconcile with Mitsuo. (Or is it the other way around?) I guess that requires 2D-kun to spurn his anime girlfriend for Chinami's 3D charms to avoid leaving anyone in the lurch. However, if it comes to pass, this sort of conclusion will irk me to no end, because it would celebrate the insufferable trope that anime childhood friends are destined to mate. Since the Golden Time anime's OP and ED do make the series out to be Kouko's show, I retain some hope that, between the two most "obvious" possible endings, it will elect to rebuke the one that promotes martyr moé.
