The Amagami thread - an introduction to the cast

[CountVonNumenor]

I am back. And this time, I would like to announce that I have completed my watch of Amagami SS. But before I am doing an overall review of the series, I have to catch up with talking about the arcs and extra content.

 

The Rihoko Sakurai arc

Oh, this one sure has been different from the rest. I do not have very much to say about it, besides the fact it focused quite a lot on the development of the high school tea club (apparently a common complaint towards this arc), while leaving aside the romantic plot we got all so used to in the previous arcs. This is probably the only arc where the story is not complete, the viewer having to wait until next season (Amagami SS+ Plus) for a proper conclusion. It was a little sad to see things not going very far, but I guess childhood friends ended up getting closer and working together in trying to make things better for the club.

Spoiler

Still a little bit heart-breaking though...

Some things I found interesting:

• this arc goes beyond Christmas, until the next spring (since apparently the action of the game is placed through 40 days, with the conclusion coming on the Christmas Eve)
• Rihoko just can't keep to her diet, be it by delaying when she wants to start it or ending up doing exactly what she she wanted to stop doing 
• both Kaoru and Tsukasa are not the kind to offer "obligation chocolate" on Valentine's Day 

Spoiler

Oh, poor Umehara...

 

 

The Tsukasa Kudamaki arc

Along with the Kaoru arc, probably my favorite of the series. Tsukasa is a very interesting person, whose personality is greatly explored through the episodes. She can be sweet, she can be scary, she can feel anxious and insecure, even if trying to pose in one way or another. She's also extremely dedicated to her goals. I really do not want to go into the details here, as I think the arc is worth exploring on your own. However, there are a few things I would like to mention:

• this is probably the arc, outside of hers, where Kaoru gets the most screen time; and oh boy, each time she shows up it's quite a treat for all the reasons
• looks like someone has skipped one too many PE lessons:

• bonus, for anyone wondering where Keiko disappeared in the previous episodes, this is also the arc giving her most screen time (even more than the second arc)
• on today's "Reasons why Kaoru is the best girl" topic, probably way too many good moments, quite ironically, in someone else's arc:

Ready to support Tsukasa in an argument regarding the organization of the Christmas festival

Again, ready to side with Tsukasa just when everyone was against her. Kaoru turned the whole situation from "Tsukasa vs everyone" into something more manageable

And mere moments after Junichi decided to join in too

And of course, despite skipping some of the PE classes, it seems that Kaoru is strong enough to beat a guy at wrestling (continuation of the discussion about that punch from her arc)

• Tsukasa: "Alright, just don't make your outfit too risky"
  Haruka & Hibiki: "Got you" 
  Also Haruka:

(bonus for that white dress, it looks very good)

• oh, we are also learning about an old decision that Umehara regretted up to this day, and which haunted him for quite a while; therefore, he just wants Junichi to avoid his mistake
• Keiko is back even more

• we all knew that the arc would get a good end, but I sure was not expecting such a sweet end as we got. It was a very good way to end the show...

 

 

The Kamizaki Risa special episode

...until we got to the specials. Once the 6 protagonist's arcs got over, there were two more specials. First of them was dedicated to Risa. I... this is probably the only episode of the series that seriously left me with a bitter taste and dislike for the supposed heroine. She pretty much represents the "stalker with a crush" archetype, and since this is just one episode, I don't think it will matter if I just talk about it.

Spoiler

The episode starts in a rather unorthodox way compared to the rest of the series, having Risa confess her crush for Junichi in the very first minute of the episode. Everything seems to be going nicely for Junichi, until details start showing up... Apparently she was interested in Junichi for many years, and was afraid that any girl would end up hurting his feeling in the end. Therefore, us, the viewers, are set through an excruciating sequence in which Risa interacts with each of the 6 heroines and ruins their relationship with Junichi. The way each of the girls reacts varies, but it is still heat-breaking that after you spend 6 full arcs with them developing their relation with the guy, you just se this Risa girl coming out of nowhere to ruin everything exactly at the moment down their timeline when the relationship was going to happen. And oh boy, some of them don't take it really well, from disappointment to shock and if not outright crying. 

To make it worse, we are also learning that the famous girl that stood up Junichi two years prior, did not do so because she wanted to mock him, but because Risa intervened and said Junichi changed the date location, therefore the two waiting for each other without knowing what happened. This happens as we actually have the chance to meet her in the episode, and we are finally given her name - Mika Makihara. Later when confronted with the situation, Risa says that she did it for the good of Junichi, as she was apparently in the group of Mika who was going to turn the date into a prank to mock our hero. Whether this was true or not, it is left ambiguous, since we only got her side of the story. In the end, the even bigger surprise - Junichi not only forgives Risa, but also accepts her as his girlfriend. This seems to be suddenly changing her way of being, and in the end there's a sequence of Risa going around and apologizing to each of the 6 protagonist girls for the manipulation. 

Overall, I do not know what to say about the episode. I guess it was nice to see the final heel-face turn, but it still comes after giving you a very bad taste of everything that happened up to that point. Some wish other bonus character got this special episode, while others simply recommend skipping it at any rewatch of Amagami SS.

 

The Miya Tachibana special episode

The final episode of the series is dedicated to Miya, Junichi's younger sister. This was a more enjoyable episode than the previous. There's not a lot happening, but it get a sweet conclusion and the proof that there's love and caring even among brothers. Again, I will not spoil this one, since there are some interesting parts about Miya trying to understand her brother, as well as the way they interact. Oh, and since Risa was established as a character in the previous episode, from now on she will appear in every episode left, be it in her side quest with Miya this time, or as someone observing Junichi from the shadow each time he is with a girl. I have to say though that the final shot of the episode, even if for comedic purpose, might be what triggered all the incest fanart I was talking about when I was making Miya's character introduction...

 

The OVAs

Not so much to say about those ones either. There are two episodes in which we are getting an extra interaction scene between Junichi and each of the 6 girls:

• sharing a dessert with Haruka
• helping Kaoru with a selling cake before Christmas (she has 5 part-time jobs, how can one deal with that many?!)
• receiving a birthday present from Sae
• cheering up Ai when she was going through a rough patch
• cutting Rihoko's toenails with a special nail clipper (yeah, this was a bit of a weird short)
• going for a melon bread with Tsukasa

Just some nice interactions, 3 per episode and around 5 minutes long each. And just to be biased one more time, from the Kaoru short:

Is it just me, or she looks great no matter what she is dressed with? Be it the high school uniform, a leather jacket, a swimsuit, a dress or the Santa outfit. Oh God, I am fanboy-ing again...

 

Alright, next time I am writing something, that will probably be the overall review of the series. Until then, I might start Amagami SS+ Plus, I also got my hands on a digital copy of the Amagami: Precious Diary manga with English translations thanks to SoundOfRayne. See you around next time!

Edited March 1, 2023 by CountVonNumenor

[CountVonNumenor]

Oh shit, it's been a long time since I posted something here. As I am in that part of the year when my hype for Amagami gets back to high charts, I might be doing something for Christmas. I am not sure yet if it will be a more substantial comment part of this thread, or if I will write a new, special thread in which to put things into perspective (like a "Retrospective: Amagami"). That could be easily helped if I am also watching SS+ Plus, just to wrap up things nicely and have the whole series completed...

[CountVonNumenor]

Oh no, looks like I promised something again, yet did not come to actually fulfill that promise...