The focus turns back to Ritsu, much to my delight.
What They Say:
One day Ritsu Onodera runs into the author Ryouichi Sumi who he had worked with at his old company. Ritsu also gets introduced to Ryouichi Sumi’s new editor and gets in contact with the literary world again after a long hiatus, but…
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As the series gets closer to the end, the focus shifts back to what’s largely considered the primary characters of the show with Ritsu taking the lead. His time at the manga publisher’s editorial side has been instructive to say the least and he’s thrown himself into things heavily, learning a lot along the way and gaining a solid, diverse education on the editorial world that can only help to serve him well in the future with his experience. Of course, spending that time with Takano and his brusque ways is definitely not what he expected. The opening meeting he participates in here over what size print run for a new serialized series from a well known author has Takano making it clear that they’re all lacking vision and guts in order to capitalize on it. It’s amusing to watch, especially when Ritsu gets drawn into it by being asked his opinions.
Much as life goes, random events can spin you into a new direction. When Ritsu ends up meeting a writer he knew from his previous job, Ryouichi Sumi, he makes that contact with the literary world once again and it sparks something within him. His reminiscing about the past from this is a nice change for him and he gets a bit of background on Takano while talking with Sumi’s editor. All of it starts to get Ritsu more interested in the world of novels again, but Takano is pretty territorial about his employees, and Ritsu in particular, so he takes offense when the other editor starts to make nudges towards swaying him towards that kind of position rather than working in manga. A lot of it is owed to his family line though since he’s in the waiting for taking over Onodera Publishing some day.
That territorial nature leads to a confrontation later on as Ritsu’s frustrations about even trying to be friendly with anyone else has him making jokes about it, but that only leads to the situation turning more serious, especially after Ritsu nearly falls and Takano catches him before he lands too hard. The two have had a lot of tension in their relationship for a long time, truly going back to their high school years, and seeing that reflected on and brought out so openly by Takano is definitely a welcome event. Of all the couples, these are the two that I find myself rooting for the most and seeing events finally start to progress again, even with the denials that are mixed in, is fun to watch. Ritsu has been so conflicted for so long about things that all of this has him reacting wildly. Bring it all to the surface again for himself, it gives him the opportunity to really think on the past and all the changes that have occurred since that time in the school ten years prior.
In Summary:
With only one more episode to go, it’s only natural that the focus shifts heavily to that of Ritsu and Takano. And this is a good thing as their relationship has been the most fun to watch with the best setting as well, though I do like the bookstore segment as well. The relationship between the two has had its strains from the start and the emotions are really ramping up here in a lot of ways, both between the two and through a third party that’s getting involved. I love the emotions of it all and the way they all act and react with each other. You can’t help but to root for them, even as Takano is more forceful than he should be, especially with Ritsu still very confused about what he wants. But it’s the kind of shock to his system that he may need to finally figure out what he needs to do. Good stuff and definitely has me looking forward to the finale.
Grade: B
Simulcast By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
