Da Capo II side cast, rainbows are straighter

So following normal harem conventions, this episode should have taken place about three or four episodes back, but nonetheless I still have hope that DCII may redeem itself in its dying moments. If harem cliches are anything to go by, ones that defy them being few and far between, the promise that Yoshiyuki and Koko made at the end of this episode is sure to end up broken. With a mere four episodes left and not much time to rebuild another relationship, this either yet more trouble for the series’ iconic couple, or better yet, their complete shattering and the most rushed couple forming since Canvas 2’s Hiroki/Elis WTF end. I’m hoping for the latter (Yume ftw!).

Episode Rating: 6.5/10

With the whole Minatsu ordeal behind them, the school field trip is upon the DCII cast. Otome and Yume bid their nii-san farewell, Otome playing overprotective sister, doting over Yoshiyuki to no end while Yume takes on the role of a spoiled child, listing off a bunch of souvenirs she wants. Before leaving, Sakura makes a surprise visit, giving Yoshiyuki the girliest pendant I’ve ever seen in my life and telling him to keep it on him at all times.

After the boat ride to Nara island where Wataru dreams of a love filled school trip, the class transfers to a train where Akane gives Koko some help in getting some alone time with Yoshiyuki. But Yoshiyuki is pretty tired, having been kept up all night by Otome’s history lesson on Nara which went in one ear and out the other, he thinks that Koko probably knows the area just as well and counts on her to be his guide. Koko agrees and says it’ll be a good chance to make some memories. Wataru and Suginami are listening in and tease them for acting more like a couple on their honeymoon rather than a school trip.

Upon arriving, the gang has a lot of fun visiting random attractions like a gigantic Buddha statue and a feeding wild doe, but Koko’s dreams of spending couple time with Yoshiyuki are fading with every moment they spend as a group. To make things worse, Yoshiyuki, rather than spending what little alone time they do have preciously, ends up talking about Minatsu of all people. And as if that isn’t bad enough, Wataru and Suginami start to horse around with Yoshiyuki, leaving Koko sitting alone, looking rather bored.

That evening, while taking a bath, Anzu and Akane notice Koko is looking a little down. It doesn’t take them much time to figure out that she’s disappointed she hasn’t been able to spend any time alone with Yoshiyuki. They’re quick to tease her about having grand dreams of a romantic date ending with a romantic kiss, but Koko says that’s not it, just that she wonders if this is really what it’s like to be dating someone, she thought it would be a little more special. Seeing their friend really concerned about this, Anzu and Akane promise to help get Wataru and Suginami away so they can spend some time together.

The boys are finishing up their bath as well and commence their plans to visit the girls’ room, Yoshiyuki passes but ends up being “convinced” by the rest of the guys. Meanwhile, the girls have similar plans, but are stopped dead in their tracks by the class rep Maya. But the boys have no such voice of reason and end up barging in on the girls anyways, carrying Yoshiyuki rolled up in a futon, dropping him right in front of Koko, whose underwear happens to conveniently fall out of her bag right at that moment, causing her to instinctively slap Yoshiyuki.

Wataru suggests leaving the rabu rabu couple alone, but the party is interrupted by a servant robot bringing a cell phone which a girl left in the bathhouse back for her. This irks Maya into a rant, saying that she hates robots and thinking we’d be better off without them. Obviously biased by Minatsu, Yoshiyuki gets upset with her comment and the two get into a little fight.

Apparently Maya isn’t one to let go of grudges very easily, as their little argument carries through to the next day, Maya defiantly looking away when Yoshiyuki spots her with her friends the next morning.

This pretty much ruins the rest of the day, as Yoshiyuki spends all his time thinking about Maya and her hate of robots, even when he’s alone with Koko. Things don’t get any better for them when Koko brings a cute pair of matching deer charms she picks out at the souvenir shop, only to be completely ignored by Yoshiyuki who is whining about Yume and her souvenir requests. Afterwards, Anzu and Akane try to cheer Koko up, telling her to give it her all for the last day.

When they get back to the hotel, Koko asks to speak to Yoshiyuki alone and asks him if he wants to go to a shrine with her tomorrow, just the two of them. The shrine is supposedly famous for the heart shaped charms they have there, if a couple writes their name on them it’s said they’ll be together forever. Though a bit surprised at the suggestion at first, Yoshiyuki agrees to go with her, even pinky-swearing on it.

Of course, with Akane, Anzu, Wataru and Suginami having eavesdropped on their conversation, Yoshiyuki gets teased to no end about his date.

However, trouble seems to be brewing. As everyone goes to take a bath, Yoshiyuki makes a call home and gets some troubling news from Yume…

Thoughts

For once, Koko is showing some smarts. Unlike her previous over trusting self we’ve seen in the past, I’m surprised that she’s actually beginning to show doubts in this episode, questioning whether this is really what a relationship is like. And about time too.

PROTIP: If you’ve been ‘dating’ in excess of a month and still haven’t done anything besides hug and hold hands, YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG!

This is far from the high tension drama I expected from DCII, but in comparison to the yawn inducing events of the rest of the series, I’m just glad to see the slightest bit of drama finally unfolding. We’re not exactly on track to see a tear filled Koko pouring her heart out, but hey, I’ll take what I can get.

And for once I’m not just running on blind hope here. The phone call at the end of this episode makes for some interesting possibilities for next episode. The absolute ideal scenario would be that Yume is calling Yoshiyuki back home for her own selfish desires, causing Yoshiyuki to run back home, ignoring the promise he made with Koko for his little sister. Random drama ensues and the two break up, leaving Yume (or Nanaka) free to swoop in and claim Yoshiyuki for themself.

But there’s absolutely no pretense for that, so what’s more likely is that something went wrong, probably with Minatsu. Yoshiyuki still ditches the promise with Koko to go back home, but it’s for a legitimate reason and Koko will probably forgive him once she hears the story. This is your typical low-level “misunderstanding” type drama, but it is drama nonetheless and is 10x better than seeing Yoshiyuki and Koko fumble their way through writing their names on the heart charm and blushing profusely as they hold hands watching a sunset, or something equally cheesy along those lines.

Either scenario, I’m pretty sure that Koko and Yoshiyuki’s promise isn’t going to be kept. The Da Capo series is a pretty standard harem and it’s pretty much a given that if an important promise is made, especially if accompanied by a yubikiri, it will go unfulfilled or at least be delayed by a fair bit. If they do end up going through with the promise and don’t have them kiss at the end, or otherwise affirm their relationship, I’m going to fly to Japan, buy the DCII game and shove the disc down the lead scriptwriter’s throat.

And speaking of the temple with the promise of everlasting love, is this a common theme in Japan? Are these types of shrines scattered everywhere around the island? Because a lot of anime have legends of similar temples, whether it be buying a love pendant, walking under a bunch of tori gates, blindfolding oneself and walking between “love stones”, there are so many variations of traditions that supposedly grant eternal love. I know the specific one mentioned in this episode actually exists, but are there really that many of them in Japan, or are they really not all that common, rather a fictional anime plot device. I’m too lazy to research this on my own, haha.

Well, as usual, the fastforwarded preview speech at the end of the episode is beyond my level (or perhaps patience) to understand, so we’ll have to wait until next week for any ideas as to what will come from Yume’s late night phone call.

I’m never going to be able to look at boats in anime ever again without thinking back to School Days

~ Shirukii ~