So here we go. The futility of love and dim reality of life.
I've just finish the last episode of White Album 2. Bear in mind that I watched White Album 1 and 2 back to back in a record time of 4 days. That's 39 episodes. That's pretty awesome to me. And White Album 2 in less than 24h.
So what can I say and why am I writing a review - because I need it.
I don't have anyone to speak about anime - nor do I have friends that I can really talk about this or my feelings for that matter so I write here and that must be sufficient to help me.
I am feeling melancholic almost on the verge of crying - and for a 38 year male to admit that - yeah.
Let starts from the beginning... White Album and White Album 2 are independent stories that happen to have the same name & musics. One is set 10 years after the other and occasionally they will tell something -remember that pop idol ? Yeah that's almost all of it. The story is different. The characters are different and even the way they made it it's different.
And lets start from the finish - the rating. White Album 1 I would give it a rating of 2/3. White album 2 I would and will rate at 9/10. That's how different they are.
White Album 1
Both are based on a visual novel but in white album they screw up. A visual novel you play a character and then you must either guy the affection of a girl or another (or a dozen for that matters). When you "evolve" your stats in one basically the others hate you and so on. If everything goes okay you end up with one of them... Basically it's that. What they tried to do was amalgamation of all routes but end up screwing everything up.
You got our main protagonist Touya who is dating soon to be idol Yuki but along the way of work she gets a bit distant (although she loves him deeply) and other girls try their pieces out of him and basically he sleeps with a half-dozen girls -branding himself to the viewers as a bastard. This screws everything. If the authors wanted to make an anime with all routes they could have done something like Amagami SS where they gave you all routes in 26 episodes format (3/4 for each one) and got to decide which ending you enjoyed most. Here you ended up with a bastard who ended up lonely. Tough luck. The characters were bad - frankly bad and the main characters had no personality whatsoever. End of story.
White Album 2
In White Album 2 they learn their lesson. Out are all other side characters and we've got Haruki (The boy) who convinces Ogiso (the popular girl) to have a band after hearing her singing. They also convince Touma Kazusa (waifuuuuu!) to play with them. She is the daughter of a known artist and it's passing a rebel phase. The three of them rehearse a lot sometimes only Haruki and Touma and other times all together and play a fantastic gig in the school for all to see. Afterwards everything went down the hill.
Ogiso after the concerts asks Haruki do be her boyfriend and he happily agrees. Ogiso then tells Touma who says she doesn't care - she is a typical Tsundere character by the way.
The school is ending and so they do a lot of stuff the three together never parting although Touma is getting distant and then stop talking all together. Ogiso is having a birthday party and invites both. Touma doesn't answer and Haruki is preoccupied and starts to understand he has feelings for her. He goes to her house and then there are reunion where Touma initially says she doesn't care about him but then breaks up crying - making all the viewers crying - in the train - and they kiss. We then have a two episode flashback of Touma and her falling in love wth Haruki - basically her point of view. We thought that Haruki only recently met her but it seems for the last 6 months or so, she frequently played piano while he play guitar (although he doesn't know who she is and she does) while at the same time he tries as the class representative to get her to school because she misses a lot. She falls in love in love and after the concert while he was sleeping she kisses him and Ogiso saw and that is why she made her move to make him her boyfriend. Flashback ended we return to the present and Haruki kisses her and she runs away. He doesn't say anything to Ogiso although she has her doubts. (She knew from the start that Touma loves Haruki and Haruki has feelings for her)
Jump forward to the end of the school (a couple weeks later) and Ogiso says that Touma is leaving to Vienna to live with her mother. When he hears this he leaves Ogiso and runs away after Touma to the dismay of Ogiso and some other minor characters -friends of them all. We later learn from Ogiso flashback that she knew everything and everything was planned (the boyfriend move) and she feels bad about it.
Touma then calls Haruki saying that she is leaving and Haruki sees her through the window and while she is talking he met her and they kiss. They made love - this scene was so interesting to see in a non-adult anime. Usually they skip these parts because the animes but here it was very nicely executed (no nudity whatsoever) but the photo on the background of the three, the cloth, the missed called from Ogiso... It was flawless.
Afterwards she says she is going to leave and he should let her go. Ogitso then learns that her plane is leaving and wants to catch up to Touma but Haruki doesn't want to go and says he wants to talk with her (probably confess or break up). Ogiso says she won't listen to him unless he comes with her to get Touma (she probably knows everything...)
As they go in the train Haruki confesses everything and Ogiso says she always knew and don't seem that upset for that matter. She admits that she made him date her because she likes the spotlight - interestingly she almost hints she doesn't love him.
In the airport they meet Touma while they are talking and Haruki embraces crying Touma. Touma looks at Ogiso and ask for forgiveness and kisses Haruki. Ogiso starts remembering some parts and admitting that she loves Haruki deeply - as much as Touma. We then see the plane carrying Touma leaving while Ogiso is holding Haruki who is crying (just to be clear - he is facing forward and she is on her back holding him).
Despite Haruki telling her to leave him, Ogiso refuses to leave, saying she'll stay with him so that her heart won't freeze over...
And then we hear the last song they play in the concert - made by Haruki all those months.
Music - Sound - if you wanna hear - it's Japanese though.
The Lyrics
Are you pretending to be lonely? Why? I'm curious about it
Before I even realised it, I was completely charmed by you
What should I do to have my heart reflected in the mirror?
Even though my love is unreachable, I wonder if the day it is reflected will come
Until I can start to see that blurred answer
My heart cannot come alive
That day when I first called out to you and you turned around to face me
You were so dazzling that I couldn't look straight at you
What should I do to have myself reflected in your heart?
Even though my love won't come true, I wonder if the day it is reflected will come
If I can see that blurred answer, even a little
Then my love will surely start to stir
And thus end the tale. In the visual novel there are several endings but probably the most wanted it's Touma and Haruki dating and marrying... but unfortunately in the anime we don't see anything. It frustrates me.
All characters have flaws - so many flaws and they each one is selfish little interest, from the start to finish they are selfish who brought into themselves everything...
Why the creators went so far to making a great anime and then not giving us a ending. Maybe they were hoping for a second season? Who knows...
There is a complete website dedicated to the visual novel which enlighted me more... if you want to check it out.
There is so much I wanna talked but words escape me... I read a dozen reviews - this is also very good
So why did it touch me so much? I really don't know. The love concept; the lovelorn situation, drama, the mix feelings, the tragedy and then it comes to, why people watch tv shows? or animes for that matter? It's because we relate to them? It's because we put ourselves in their shoes? It's because that didn't happen to us and we wanted them? It's because...
So many questions... this anime made a dent in my heart and mind like Toradora did. Both are about romance. One with a happy ending and other not. Tsuki Ga Kirei another romance story (this one with happy ending - more perfect than the princess from disney).
I am melancholic and devastated. Need to listen to my depressive black metal. This band is helping music to hear...
Farewell...
I've just finish the last episode of White Album 2. Bear in mind that I watched White Album 1 and 2 back to back in a record time of 4 days. That's 39 episodes. That's pretty awesome to me. And White Album 2 in less than 24h.
So what can I say and why am I writing a review - because I need it.
I don't have anyone to speak about anime - nor do I have friends that I can really talk about this or my feelings for that matter so I write here and that must be sufficient to help me.
I am feeling melancholic almost on the verge of crying - and for a 38 year male to admit that - yeah.
Let starts from the beginning... White Album and White Album 2 are independent stories that happen to have the same name & musics. One is set 10 years after the other and occasionally they will tell something -remember that pop idol ? Yeah that's almost all of it. The story is different. The characters are different and even the way they made it it's different.
And lets start from the finish - the rating. White Album 1 I would give it a rating of 2/3. White album 2 I would and will rate at 9/10. That's how different they are.
 |
| White album 1 main characters (missing the boy) |
Both are based on a visual novel but in white album they screw up. A visual novel you play a character and then you must either guy the affection of a girl or another (or a dozen for that matters). When you "evolve" your stats in one basically the others hate you and so on. If everything goes okay you end up with one of them... Basically it's that. What they tried to do was amalgamation of all routes but end up screwing everything up.
You got our main protagonist Touya who is dating soon to be idol Yuki but along the way of work she gets a bit distant (although she loves him deeply) and other girls try their pieces out of him and basically he sleeps with a half-dozen girls -branding himself to the viewers as a bastard. This screws everything. If the authors wanted to make an anime with all routes they could have done something like Amagami SS where they gave you all routes in 26 episodes format (3/4 for each one) and got to decide which ending you enjoyed most. Here you ended up with a bastard who ended up lonely. Tough luck. The characters were bad - frankly bad and the main characters had no personality whatsoever. End of story.
White Album 2
In White Album 2 they learn their lesson. Out are all other side characters and we've got Haruki (The boy) who convinces Ogiso (the popular girl) to have a band after hearing her singing. They also convince Touma Kazusa (waifuuuuu!) to play with them. She is the daughter of a known artist and it's passing a rebel phase. The three of them rehearse a lot sometimes only Haruki and Touma and other times all together and play a fantastic gig in the school for all to see. Afterwards everything went down the hill.
Ogiso after the concerts asks Haruki do be her boyfriend and he happily agrees. Ogiso then tells Touma who says she doesn't care - she is a typical Tsundere character by the way.
 |
| Damn.... |
Jump forward to the end of the school (a couple weeks later) and Ogiso says that Touma is leaving to Vienna to live with her mother. When he hears this he leaves Ogiso and runs away after Touma to the dismay of Ogiso and some other minor characters -friends of them all. We later learn from Ogiso flashback that she knew everything and everything was planned (the boyfriend move) and she feels bad about it.
Afterwards she says she is going to leave and he should let her go. Ogitso then learns that her plane is leaving and wants to catch up to Touma but Haruki doesn't want to go and says he wants to talk with her (probably confess or break up). Ogiso says she won't listen to him unless he comes with her to get Touma (she probably knows everything...)
As they go in the train Haruki confesses everything and Ogiso says she always knew and don't seem that upset for that matter. She admits that she made him date her because she likes the spotlight - interestingly she almost hints she doesn't love him.
In the airport they meet Touma while they are talking and Haruki embraces crying Touma. Touma looks at Ogiso and ask for forgiveness and kisses Haruki. Ogiso starts remembering some parts and admitting that she loves Haruki deeply - as much as Touma. We then see the plane carrying Touma leaving while Ogiso is holding Haruki who is crying (just to be clear - he is facing forward and she is on her back holding him).
Despite Haruki telling her to leave him, Ogiso refuses to leave, saying she'll stay with him so that her heart won't freeze over...
And then we hear the last song they play in the concert - made by Haruki all those months.
Music - Sound - if you wanna hear - it's Japanese though.
 |
| Rivals and Friends |
Are you pretending to be lonely? Why? I'm curious about it
Before I even realised it, I was completely charmed by you
What should I do to have my heart reflected in the mirror?
Even though my love is unreachable, I wonder if the day it is reflected will come
Until I can start to see that blurred answer
My heart cannot come alive
That day when I first called out to you and you turned around to face me
You were so dazzling that I couldn't look straight at you
What should I do to have myself reflected in your heart?
Even though my love won't come true, I wonder if the day it is reflected will come
If I can see that blurred answer, even a little
Then my love will surely start to stir
And thus end the tale. In the visual novel there are several endings but probably the most wanted it's Touma and Haruki dating and marrying... but unfortunately in the anime we don't see anything. It frustrates me.
All characters have flaws - so many flaws and they each one is selfish little interest, from the start to finish they are selfish who brought into themselves everything...
Why the creators went so far to making a great anime and then not giving us a ending. Maybe they were hoping for a second season? Who knows...
There is a complete website dedicated to the visual novel which enlighted me more... if you want to check it out.
There is so much I wanna talked but words escape me... I read a dozen reviews - this is also very good
So why did it touch me so much? I really don't know. The love concept; the lovelorn situation, drama, the mix feelings, the tragedy and then it comes to, why people watch tv shows? or animes for that matter? It's because we relate to them? It's because we put ourselves in their shoes? It's because that didn't happen to us and we wanted them? It's because...
So many questions... this anime made a dent in my heart and mind like Toradora did. Both are about romance. One with a happy ending and other not. Tsuki Ga Kirei another romance story (this one with happy ending - more perfect than the princess from disney).
I am melancholic and devastated. Need to listen to my depressive black metal. This band is helping music to hear...
Farewell...
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