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skysenshi (06.22.2001 edit 11.04.2001)
A gigolo in the making... A prick beyond belief!
Why is it that this guy thinks he can sleep with women, forget
them, and get away with it? I actually don't care if he's
young and discovering his sexual identity. He reminds me of
those rakehells you read in romance novels who think that
they can help solve women's problems by taking away young
girls' "cherries" and then leave to continue pursuing
the girl of their dreams. It's almost beyond forgiveable.
I get vindicated at the end of End of Summer 1, but
End of Summer 2 just got my battle instincts going
up. I don't even know what prompted me to include End of
Summer 2 in my library borrower's card because I certainly
didn't like the volume that came before it. I thought I wouldn't
be able to hate Wataru more, but seeing the the sequel certainly
proved me wrong. If I could only meet him in person, I would
probably skewer his balls and fry them with tofu sauce. As
it is, I already had difficulty keeping myself from throwing
the remote control at my TV screen. Here's some sample scenarios:
Girl gets jilted by boyfriend (Wataru's equally spineless
best friend) because she doesn't want to have sex. Ex-boyfriend's
best friend then tells the girl that if she loves the
man, she should just give him what he wants. When girl tries
but fails at giving up her virginity, she gets called selfish.
And dear heaven! Girl decides to lose her virginity--once
and for all--to her ex's best friend, of all people! It's
just one of those irksome moments. There are many other scenes
that had my hair standing on end and made me lose my appetite
for dinner. Truly, a tentacle flick would have been preferable.
At least the beasts there do not bother to hide what monsters
they are.
Actually, End of Summer is like a cross between a
serious movie and a perverted flick. It's perverted in the
sense that everything seems surreal, everything becomes a
reason for having sex. It's also a serious movie because it
deals with emotional entanglements, especially those experienced
by adolescents. Infatuation, love, and betrayal are only a
few of the elements that make up this quite complex package.
I wouldn't know who to recommend it to, though, because hentai
fans might not be pleased with the lack of sexual details
and feminists like me tend to bitch at seeing opportunists
like Wataru take advantage of a woman's vulnerability. I wouldn't
recommend it to guys pretending to be sensitive either, because
they can definitely relate and might think that this kind
of behavior is all right. It could've been a nice film, but
it's just not for everybody.
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Michael
Thomas (01.07.2002)
Counterpoint...
(Skysenshi's Note: Michael wrote this
opinion at my request. I needed a counterpoint for sense of
balance. So please, don't flame him if you don't agree with
him. Likewise, don't flame me if you don't agree with me.
So we can all live in one big happy planet.)
Well hello all, I'd just thought I'd put up a counter point
of Lady Neko's thoughts on End of Summer.
Okay, quick aside, for those of you who don't know End of
Summer is from ADVs adult branch SoftCel. End of Summer is
the "Doukyusei" OVA. It's based of the life-sim
game of the same name. The anime is by KSS/Pink Pineapple
that has the market on quality, bishoujo anime.
Anyway, I must disagree with Lady Neko about Wataru. The
plot of End of Summer and End of Summer 2 deal with Wataru
wanting to be with Mai, the class princess. In the first episode,
yes, Wataru is thinking only with his teenage hormones; however,
as the series progresses, Wataru becomes more and more mature,
and his lust for Mai changes to full-fledged love.
In episode one, Wataru loves the whole princess idol image
of Mai, but doesn't really know her. So the first episode
primary deals with Wataru looking at Mai from afar, and just
dreaming of her. (I.e., idol worship if you would.) As the
episodes continue, he gets closer and closer to her. Another
plot that's going on is with Misa, Wataru's tomboy friend.
Now, Misa ends up getting injured, and doesn't want Wataru's
help to see the nurse. But Wataru says that if she doesn't
let him carry her, she'll hurt her leg even more, and not
have a chance to ever see Nationals (which is one of her biggest
dreams). So... Misa lets him. Why? Because he's the only one
who thinks her dream is worth it and he supports her (even
her parents think that her dream of being a track-and-field
star is silly, and she should give up on it.) When she finds
out that she won't be able to compete anymore because of her
injury, he's the only one to still have hopes in her dreams.
So, Misa wants to thank him for believing in her... when no
one else did.
In episode two, Wataru has built up enough courage to actually
approach Mai. When he bumps into her, he's surprised to see
her reading a racy romance novel (not something that a princess
should read right.) Worse, he finds out she has a date with
the school Casanova. Anyway, as the story goes on, Wataru
bumps into Satomi, who is his co-worker and classmate. He
finds out she just got completely dumped by the class Casanova
(who was on the date with Mai.) Anyway, Wataru sees just how
depressed she is and tries to make her feel better. However
Satomi thinks that the reason he dumped her is because she
was ugly and not very feminine. So... she asks Wataru to "make
a memory with her." Wataru actually doesn't want to do
this, because she is one of his best friends, but Satomi then
says that it would be okay, since it was him, and she knows
that he knows just how important something like this is.
In episode three, he realizes that different people find
different things attractive. Now Kurumi really loves Kazumi...
but she's too shy to do anything about it. Wataru suggests
maybe becoming more intimate with Kazumi, so he'll see just
how much she loves her. Later, Kurumi returns crying, as Kazumi
only wants to date older women. Kurumi thinks she's still
a girl, because she's a virgin (and that's why she thinks
Kazumi doesn't love her.) And, Kurumi asks Wataru to "make
her a woman so Kazumi will love me again." (You do see
Kazumi during this episode trying to hit on an older woman
too.) Wataru... agrees because he can see just how distraught
Kurumi is. Anyway, so they go to an expensive Love Hotel (Wataru
wants to make this special for Kurumi), but Kurumi still cannot
get herself to become more intimate... so she suggests maybe
she needs to be tied up. So Wataru decides to try to make
the best of it, and make the moment very special for Kurumi
(as she did suggest it), by buying the golden, silk cord.
Unfortunately, it's purchased before he can get it, so he
only gets the normal rope. Anyway, after the event, Kurumi
has a newfound confidence in herself. And, she starts to take
charge of the relationship between her and Kazumi.
In episode four, he finally gets his date with Mai. She realizes
he likes Mai, and not Princess Mai. That is, he likes her...
not the image she portrays, or what their classmates call
her, but her... Mai. So, she decides to go on a date with
him to the amusement park. And they have a blast there...
that is, until Mai's father's agents take Mai away. It's done
really dramatically; her glasses get knocked off and shatter,
really emphasizing what's going on. So, he goes to her house,
in the pouring rain... and finds he can't get past the gate.
He loves her, and she knows it. So, disregarding her family
and her parents, she opens the gate for him. His courage gets
him there, her strength opens it. Later, she says, "There
will be repercussions from my father. But don't worry, I'll
deal with them." What a sweet ending to such a long,
arduous quest! You can't ask for a more romantic ending.
Anyway after the credits, it's kind of amusing. Wataru is
late for class again, and starts rushing out of the house...
only to run into Mai, Satomi, and Kurumi all waiting to walk
with him to school.
So... I feel that Lady Neko's thoughts on Wataru aren't really
fair. Yes, he did make love to three other girls before finally
getting his dream relationship with Mai. But, if you look
at each event, you can see that these aren't just "one
night stands." He genuinely cares for his other girl
friends, and learns what it really means to love someone.
He makes love to them each in very special, very tender, and
very intimate ways.
Anyway, End of Summer, and End of Summer 2 are very good
bishoujo anime to pick up, if you want a fairly good plot.
I just hope this counter point gives you all something to
think about again, if you re-watch End of Summer, or watch
it for the first time.
Any questions or thoughts let me know at ltcraggs@three-musketeers.net
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