Let my love open the door.
What They Say:
“PAGE.11”
At the end of her first year of high school, the main heroine, Futaba suddenly has a chance encounter with her first love, Tanaka Kou. Three years ago, he transferred schools before she was able to say how she felt about him. After meeting each other again, Futaba realizes that he has gone through many changes. He acts more cool and even had his last name changed to Mabuchi. Gradually the two rekindle their love while piecing together what had happened in the time that they were apart.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
There’s no starting over for Tanaka Kou. There’s no going back to Mabuchi Kou. There’s only healing what’s hurt. And it’s not a process we always want to go through.
We finally learned what changed in Kou’s life. What has affected him so much as to change his demeanor so much?
It’s because he worked so hard for the future. It’s because there is no future anymore. Everything was seemingly ripped from his reach before he even got his hands on it. His mother said, “The time I spend eating dinner or watching TV is much more important [than living comfortably later].” He never got to live because the first chance he got—when he met Futaba—was torn away from him when his parents got divorced. What personality he had was locked away.
But there’s a little light. He meets Futaba again. He becomes friends with Makita, Murao, and Kominato. He hung out with the guys at that hangout because they were nothing. They were his fake friends and neither Futaba nor Kou realized it even though it was so painfully obvious to Kou when he saw Futaba’s own. It’s because he locked away his emotions. The same feelings came out when he thought of the guys than when he thought of Futaba and everyone else. As his brother says, “It’s more like he forgot to put a doorknob on it, or even a keyhole.”
What’s really happened? An early teen boy was forced to cope with the loss of his mother without his father, who was too far away to care or too detached, and without his brother, who just started a new job as a teacher. Kou stared life and death in the face and didn’t know what to do. His future was gone. He was now working toward nothing. And the present? Well that sucked too. The time he had with his mother was spent preparing for the future and now there’s no time left. Worse: He promised to take care of his mother for both him and his brother. He failed and he did the only thing a human being can do at that moment: blame himself.
He is not to blame. But because of it, he locked away everything. Every emotion he might have felt and every possible hurt he could endure. Behind the door with no keyhole and no doorknob. Until a storm comes raring through and breaks it down.
Futaba’s door was already opened by Kou. It was her turn to break down his. Whatever little switch happened in his brain, Futaba flipped it. She changed him irreversibly for the better. Maybe now he can really open up.
In Summary:
Anime News Network is listing Blue Spring Ride at 12 episodes, so we’ve got one left after this. Since Kou has finally opened up, I think it’s a really great spot to end. Futaba’s arc was one of self-discovery and, now that she’s discovered herself, it’s her job to help Kou. I fear that Makita, Murao, and Kominato, as a result of the focus on Futaba and Kou, won’t get full character arcs as much as they’ll get promises for a possible next season.
Grade: A-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Equipment: PS3, LG 47LB5800 47” 1080p LED TV
