Natsuyuki Rendezvous

Well, that’s the end. Final verdict: I still think Atsushi is a jerk. All this “send Rokka with him to the other world” business…didn’t see it coming and it made for decent drama, I guess. It really seemed like he was considering going through with it too, which is why I still think he’s a jerk.

Oh well, an interesting experience. If I take a step back and really look at it, it was unconventional, but I feel like it didn’t do too much for the series. Maybe you hopeless romantics out there can help me out…I’m a robot after all. Not really much for me to contribute.

And the role reversal phase has begun. Finally Hazuki is able to influence the physical world (even if it’s only through Atsushi). And with great timing too because Rokka’s actually quite sharp in catching that Hazuki has been forced out. She’s not just going to forget about him and let Atsushi take over quietly. Well played. Atsushi’s comment about Hazuki still being able to cry brings up an interesting question.

I wonder if Atsushi could be labeled as a corrupted spirit of some sort. The fact that Hazuki was still alive meant that his ability to cry was still intact. Does that mean that Atsushi’s emotions could possibly be damaged in some way? Or at the least, hindered in some way such that they’re not who he actually is? Because if not, then I really hate this guy. Next week is the last episode maybe? Wonder how it will end up panning out. I mean, there are the things that have to happen (like Hazuki returning to his body), but not everything is so straightforward (like Atsushi’s final fate).

So I guess this is the more tense moment of the show. Now that Atsushi has been found out, it’s starting to be suggested that Hazuki will be trapped in the subconscious world forever (to take his place). So I guess Hazuki will have to break his way out? I doubt Rokka will help him and Atsushi is likely fine with these things. He doesn’t seem to show much remorse for taking over Hazuki.

How exactly does Hazuki go about breaking himself out? I’d say the problem is that there hasn’t been any hint so far that he can affect the physical world in any way. I feel like it would seem more plausible if at some point earlier, he had been able to make Atsushi think something or maybe make an involuntary move…just my thoughts. Oh well, we’ll see.

Am I supposed to be so pissed off at the dead husband in this show? I really have a lot of trouble feeling sorry for him. I mean…he leaves Rokka in the dark and goes about doing whatever with Hazuki’s body. And now, we get this sense that Hazuki’s mind might be in danger from prolonged time in this subconscious world.

I suppose the alternate interpretation is that it’s not really all Atsushi’s fault…just a tortured soul thing and Hazuki has to make him see the light from within or whatever. I dunno…that could be it, but Atsushi still comes off as a jerk when I just look at him. Either way, there’s probably some really deep symbolism I’m missing, but that’s just really not my concern.

So is Atsushi just supposed to stay in control of Hazuki’s body for the rest of the show or something? This is kinda absurd…he finds Hazuki in a moment of weakness and just refuses to give control back. Oh well, his attempts to keep Rokka away have been unsuccessful because she confessed to him anyway.

At least he has the decency not to say he’s actually Atsushi…that would surely make things confusing. Or maybe he plans to do it at some point…who knows? I wonder if the point of the show is just for him to realize that he needs to let go from his experiences living again. Suppose that would make sense. And what’s the point of Hazuki going around in the dream world? Is this supposed to be an extension of Atsushi’s subconscious that Hazuki needs to understand or help or something?

I can’t believe Atsushi’s taking advantage of being in Hazuki’s body to try and distance him from Rokka. He jumps in while Hazuki’s in a vulnerable state…kind of a jerk move. He also stayed in longer than I expected. Typically, you’d expect him to be forced out once Hazuki’s regained consciousness, but apparently he can stay as long as he wants. I dunno…I just see entering another body to be similar to entering another house…there’s common decency, right?

I suppose the funny thing is that his attempts aren’t working, since Rokka initially fell in love with his behavior and he’s simply transmitting them through Hazuki. But meanwhile, Hazuki’s trolling around through a storybook world…I assume it’s similar to walking around in a dream, but the question remains: whose dream is it? And how long does Atsushi plan to keep Hazuki out? Could he theoretically stay there forever? If so, that’s kinda…messed up.

Huh…Hazuki’s so depressed that he just lets Atsushi in with no problem. It certainly raises a lot of questions…the most important of which being: how did Atsushi know he could enter Hazuki’s body and how did he know how to do it? He had to go through all that glowing and jazz…I highly doubt it’s an intuitive process. I’ll never understand ghosts…

And what happens now that he’s in? Will he tell Rokka that it’s actually him or just pretend to be Hazuki and temporarily enjoying being alive again? If he tells her, then that’s probably the most awkward love triangle ever. I can almost see the scenes with Rokka being angry at Hazuki and yelling at him to let Atsushi out instead.

Haha…I got the feeling things were moving way too quickly…but nope, Hazuki gets screwed over by the ghost. Admittedly, I do feel sorry for Atsushi…unable to do anything to help his wife when she’s sick and forced to watch. It’s scenes like that that make me think that maybe he’ll remain invisible to everyone but Hazuki…to illustrate these sorts of dilemmas.

Not completely sure where the show goes from here. I can honestly see both endings. Hazuki could get to be with Rokka with Atsushi accepting this (possibly by passing on), which would make it a story of moving on. Or Rokka just remains alone and Hazuki gets friend-zoned. This is more of a thing about devotion transcending death or something. I can’t really say which is better, but either works…