What does it mean to be special to someone else?
That question just bugs me when I watched the recent development of Ameagari. Maybe it has more to do with what I experience in my real life, but Tachibana and Kondou’s relationship has gotten to that “special” category so I might as well delve into it. The question, to be more precise, is about the extent of letting some stranger become a great part of your life, be it best friends, lover or somewhere in between. Most of these developments come natural, you don’t question it, it just happens. It takes a situation where it doesn’t work, or in this particular case, where the two seem to be in two different world, for us to really question the very nature of what ‘relationship’ entails. I am certain that this episode pretty much confirms that Ameagari won’t make them a couple, in fact last couple of episodes the show moves away from the romance into “friend” territory. But how have their relationship been shaping so far? It’s clear that Tachibana sees Kondou as someone special to her. I’m most impressed with Tachibana’s recent actions, she moves from aggressive, clearly invading Kondou’s comfortable space in the first few episodes to pushing him towards his most comfortable but long forgotten space – writing the novels. She has changed from a slightly negative to become a positive force for Kondou.
But what’s about Kondou? Is Tachibana someone special to him? I can’t tell since he’s always the one who goes with the flow, who is content with whatever direction he finds himself heading. The two impressions that he does feel about her though, that she reminds him a great deal to his own youth, and that she’s willing to read his novel. I reckson it makes sense that the last development Ameagari want to explore, is him telling her how special she is to him, and gets her literally back on the track. At this point, they produce such a strong and unique bond to each other that everytime they’re together is a feast to watch.
That is to say that the real magic of Ameagari is when the two of them together, so naturally this week, when the show digs into each character’s story, doesn’t impact me much like when they’re together, but it’s still a well-developed one nonetheless. On Tachibana’s side, after seeing another girl breaks her own personal record who had the same injury as Tachibana, Haruka visits Tachibana while she’s working, and lays everything down to the table. She wants her back. And when she’s back, they can be close friend like they used to. I don’t agree with Haruka’s method at all, but it does affect Tachibana, since she still isn’t quite sure what she likes better. Running or her love affair. Or even more pointedly, she’s afraid of going back and experiencing that loss again, the feeling of young hope crushed down by injury and disappointment. This for me is a grounded, albeit a bit late to the game, issues that Tachibana has to face.
Kondou’s side is a whole lot brighter, Chihiro visits his home uninvited and from there, they share a great times together reviving their old passions. Kondo always looks at his old pal as a more successful version of his, but in truth, Chihiro is far from happy. The install success of his book (that makes its way into film adaptation) makes him feel vary, both because he himself doesn’t regard it as his best, but also the on-going pressure from his publication and his fans. Visiting Kondou is a way for him to revisit his own passion, why he wanted to write in the first play. Once again, another people encourages him to write. The reason he has put writing off is not because he doesn’t have anything to write, but because he’s afraid that his writing will let his young, passionate-self down. But like his friend Chihiro said, the only solution to this is just write.
From what I gathered, there are still 40 plus chapters yet to adapt and we only have 1 episode left. There is a high chance that the anime (plans) and goes for original route, with honestly I think for the better. Whichever way the two end up going, I’m sure I will remember them fondly.
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