Super Gals! Season 2, eps 22-26
I think I've realized something that probably contributes to some of my annoyance with the Aya/Rei trainwreck: the first season had a big emphasis on the friendship between Ran, Aya and Miyu, with the romantic concerns taking a backseat. While that theme is still there in the second season, it isn't as prominent. While I don't mind Ran/Katsukichi's becoming front burner for time to time-not only because it's kind of necessary, what with Ran being the main character and all, but also because it didn't get as much attention in the first season, and there were several things there that needed to be ironed out-making Aya/Rei the main problems only emphasized how many issues there were there, and only made them worse.
The funny thing is that I remember that I liked Rei and Aya/Rei at first. The whole "cold, standoffish guy and shy, reserved girl" thing works a lot, but a large part of that is that the guy eventually thaws out and makes gestures to show that he cares. Rei never really does, and doesn't really even react much to anything until near the end of the next-to-last episode. He never puts any effort into it and doesn't see why he should. And, frankly, half the reason we accept these pairings is because the guy usually has some sort of severe angst or issues, and is sometimes prone to dramatic declarations of some sort. Rei has no angst or issues and can barely be made to notice something's wrong. He's just a jerk.
The annoying thing is that in the last episode, he was more like the character I remember liking early on, which just made me sad.
But then there were all the wonderful scenes of Yuuya trying to explain human emotions and wants to Rei. It was a lost cause, but it was sweet.
AND SPEAKING OF YUUYA!!! He finally realized he liked Mami, and decided he wanted closure with Ran. Except he decided to tell Ran in front of Mami. Which was stupid, but of the clueless variety, not the jerk variety. This led to his chasing Mami's limo through Tokyo and attempting to scale the walls of her mansion, and then declaring his love in front of half of Tokyo. IT WAS EPIC! IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! Also, once Yuuya declared his love, Mami never lost a competition ever again. Given her upbringing, that's important. (Really, I think she just never had someone choose her over someone or something else purely because of her before, and she needed that.)
But then there was all the angst over the whole "Rei likes Aya and Ran and Monkey Boy worries Ran likes Rei" stuff. Which, granted, was made worthwhile by Monkey Boy angsting a lot and trying to be serious and mad and Ran walking into a pillar when she was denying being worried that she'd lose him, then her reaction of sheer disbelief and hilarity at the idea of her ever liking Rei. Plus the kogals swearing vengeance against Ran at the idea of her stealing Aya's boyfriend.
Also, i had forgotten how horrid Miyu's mother is. I'm pretty sure she told Miyu that if she needed money, she could always be a whore. At least Miyu has Yamato and Ran and Aya.
I've come to the conclusion that Miyu's mother was horrid to compensate for all the other adult authority figures of import being wonderful, and Rei is a terrible boyfriend to compensate for all the others being great boyfriends. Or something. Except Miyu gets to escape from that and I think we're supposed to be happy Aya stays with Rei.
Anyway, overall a great series, especially if you're looking for strong heroines and a focus on friendship between female characters. The second season, while good, isn't quite as good as the first, though, and the main pairing, despite starting good, is so FUBAR by the end that all I can do is hope Aya meets some nice boy in college and moves on.
The funny thing is that I remember that I liked Rei and Aya/Rei at first. The whole "cold, standoffish guy and shy, reserved girl" thing works a lot, but a large part of that is that the guy eventually thaws out and makes gestures to show that he cares. Rei never really does, and doesn't really even react much to anything until near the end of the next-to-last episode. He never puts any effort into it and doesn't see why he should. And, frankly, half the reason we accept these pairings is because the guy usually has some sort of severe angst or issues, and is sometimes prone to dramatic declarations of some sort. Rei has no angst or issues and can barely be made to notice something's wrong. He's just a jerk.
The annoying thing is that in the last episode, he was more like the character I remember liking early on, which just made me sad.
But then there were all the wonderful scenes of Yuuya trying to explain human emotions and wants to Rei. It was a lost cause, but it was sweet.
AND SPEAKING OF YUUYA!!! He finally realized he liked Mami, and decided he wanted closure with Ran. Except he decided to tell Ran in front of Mami. Which was stupid, but of the clueless variety, not the jerk variety. This led to his chasing Mami's limo through Tokyo and attempting to scale the walls of her mansion, and then declaring his love in front of half of Tokyo. IT WAS EPIC! IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! Also, once Yuuya declared his love, Mami never lost a competition ever again. Given her upbringing, that's important. (Really, I think she just never had someone choose her over someone or something else purely because of her before, and she needed that.)
But then there was all the angst over the whole "Rei likes Aya and Ran and Monkey Boy worries Ran likes Rei" stuff. Which, granted, was made worthwhile by Monkey Boy angsting a lot and trying to be serious and mad and Ran walking into a pillar when she was denying being worried that she'd lose him, then her reaction of sheer disbelief and hilarity at the idea of her ever liking Rei. Plus the kogals swearing vengeance against Ran at the idea of her stealing Aya's boyfriend.
Also, i had forgotten how horrid Miyu's mother is. I'm pretty sure she told Miyu that if she needed money, she could always be a whore. At least Miyu has Yamato and Ran and Aya.
I've come to the conclusion that Miyu's mother was horrid to compensate for all the other adult authority figures of import being wonderful, and Rei is a terrible boyfriend to compensate for all the others being great boyfriends. Or something. Except Miyu gets to escape from that and I think we're supposed to be happy Aya stays with Rei.
Anyway, overall a great series, especially if you're looking for strong heroines and a focus on friendship between female characters. The second season, while good, isn't quite as good as the first, though, and the main pairing, despite starting good, is so FUBAR by the end that all I can do is hope Aya meets some nice boy in college and moves on.