I haven’t done more than a few minutes of internet browsing, but it has come to my attention that this show is fairly controversial. There are many vocal online haters. Most of the controversy, though, is unrelated to what I consider its true problems. Some naysayers claim that this anime encourages bestiality, which is patently absurd. The beastpeople are clearly mentally “human,” even if they look very doglike. Those are the extreme voices, but more commonly, you just hear people hating on the concept of a furry romance. They find it gross, but don’t necessarily claim it’s pro-bestiality. It’s the same old hate and prejudice against furries as always. I’m tired of it.
This show does have major problems in my mind, but those problems do not include messages that encourage bestiality. If you’re not a furry and you can’t appreciate anthropomorphic animal art, then just don’t engage with this anime. It’s not hard to avoid it. Complaining about legitimate concerns and discomforts in a show is one thing. Spreading hate of a minority group is another. Stop it, loudmouths.
Anyway, let’s take a look at the next two episodes of With You, Our Love Will Make It Through. I wrote a bit about my problems with the series within the episode reviews, in case anyone wants to hear my complaints. Otherwise, these are mostly just recaps.
Episode 4
Episode Rating: 6/10
This episode focused on the friendship between Yukihiro, Tsunagu, and Mari, as well as the intense romantic developments between Mari and Tsunagu. When he heard about the date with the three of them, Yukihiro encouraged Mari and Tsunagu to go alone. He wanted to practice for the basketball team. However, after realizing how nice Yukihiro was to her, Mari stated her desire to have him come along. So, they all agreed to go out the following day after basketball practice. But before that, there were two other things to mention: the unofficial basketball match and Mari’s trip to the infirmary afterward.
Yukihiro was asking Tsunagu to help him practice, when two seniors from the basketball team interfered and starting mocking them. Things were getting heated. Just then, the ace of the basketball team – Yanagi – challenged Yukihiro and his friends to a casual match. It was Yanagi and the two seniors versus Yukihiro, Tsunagu, and Mari. During the match, Mari stumbled and sprained her ankle. Though her team lost, everyone was impressed with their efforts. Yanagi told Yukihiro he could join the team as a starter. The tone of derisive mockery had ceased from the third-years. All’s well that ends well.
Tsunagu had the brilliant idea to carry Mari toward the nurse’s office. I thought he was the one intent on keeping distant. I suppose he thought he could do better than he did. To his credit, Tsunagu tried to withdraw when he got horny, leaving Mari in the empty infirmary. Mari, however, begged him to stay. Unable to control himself longer, Tsunagu embraced and kissed Mari. He was able to stop after that point with great effort. I hated that scene because it was something out of a teenager’s erotic fanfiction. I am just not comfortable with seeing 16-year-old characters having constant sexual tension. I signed up for a shoujo romance, not whatever this turned out to be.
I also hated this scene because the issue from episode 2 is still here and it still bothers me. Tsunagu’s sexual moments with Mari are not explicitly consensual and he has absolutely no excuse for it. If he was a beastperson written with the fictional handicap of being unable to control rut, it would still be stupid, but I could swallow it. Yet as we know, Tsunagu has a more human mind, and simply needs to control his reactions like any typical person. In other words, the narrative suggests that it’s normal for men in love to want to make non-consensual sexual advances. They are helpless to control themselves, don’t you know? Ick. It’s so untrue, and such an insult to good men.)
Anyway, Yukihiro, Mari, and Tsunagu went on their “date” the next day. The places that beastfolk can go in the city were severely limited. Eventually, they decided on the dogpark near the library, which was an acceptable location for Tsunagu. Mari brought her adorable pomerian dog, Yukimi. While everyone had fun at the dog park, Yukihiro suggested being on a first-name basis with Mari, and she reluctantly agreed. However, Tsunagu was not ready for that step with Mari, and continued calling her Asaka. Eventually, Yukimi got thirsty, and Yukihiro went to take her to get some water.
While they were alone, Tsunagu apologized for kissing Mari without her consent. This led Mari to get up her courage and tell Tsunagu that she liked him, and that the kiss actually made her happy. Tsunagu then took her by the hand and led her to a place out of sight and sound from the dogs and people at the park. Here, he returned the confession. It was clear that they both liked each other, but how could they be together when it was so socially taboo? That was still the problem. For the time being, they agreed to keep their distance from each other physically, but to not give up yet on their love. The beastperson and the human girl kissed again one more time.
The conversation was overheard by Yukihiro. Throughout the episode, we saw more evidence of him having a strong crush on Mari. He even acknowledged to himself that he had probably fallen for her. Things are about to get painful for Yukihiro. I hope he doesn’t go off the deep end after being rejected. He’s such a bright and fun character that it’s hard to imagine him being depressed or aggressive, but then again, a broken heart can make people react strangely. I guess we’ll see how he responds soon enough. I also hope it doesn’t take forever to resolve this plotline, because it’s rather predictable and overused in drama anime.
Episode 5
Episode Rating: 6/10
I was assuming that Mari would quickly make her preference clear and reject Yukihiro quickly, but that didn’t happen. Instead, this episode was about increasing the tension and drawing out the love triangle dynamic. I’m bored with this mini plot-line. I wish they would hurry and resolve it. I think I’m starting to lose interest in these characters as so much of the writing feels uncomfortable, awkward, or problematic. Nevertheless, I’m already 5 episodes into this trashy anime, and there are parts of it that I’m genuinely enjoying. (For instance, I like the artwork, the voice-acting, and the potential of the characters to be interesting.) So I’ll keep watching. Anyway, let’s recap episode five.
Yukihiro pretended nothing was wrong at first, but once he was alone with Tsunagu, he asked if the beastperson was dating Mari. Tsunagu explained that they’re not officially dating but that they both told their feelings to each other that day. Yukihiro didn’t see the kiss, but suspected that something like that happened. After some discussion, the boys agreed to be friendly rivals in their pursuit of Mari. Tsunagu didn’t want to even imagine giving up Mari, but he also cared about and respected Yukihiro, so he gave him a fair chance instead of trying to scare him off.
The next big event was the sports festival, which everyone knows is the best time to cheer for the person you admire as they compete in team sports and relays. But before that, there was a lot of preparing to do. While everyone at school was bustling around with preparations and decorations, Ristuka and Ayano had a brief scene. They teased Mari about calling Yukihiro by his first name. They also teased her about liking Tsunagu until it clearly made Mari too thoughtful and worried. Ritsuka immediately felt bad about it and Ayano said they would support Mari from the sidelines. It was good to see the girls again, even if their dynamic isn’t always smooth and perfect.
Mari and Tsunagu walked together for part of the way home. There was a cute moment where Mari grabbed on and held Tsunagu’s tail in a goofy kind of affection. Why are there so many damn cute moments in this anime interspersed with uncomfortable ones? Anyway, we also saw a brief flashback of baby Tsunagu being carried and loved by his parents: a beastperson father and a human mother. They raised him with so much love. Tsunagu wanted to know how their relationship started, but he was too embarrassed to ask them yet, probably for fear of their follow-up questions.
It was time for the sports festival. In the running event, Tsunagu came in first place, beating out everyone despite the social backlash. Mari cheered for him before and then brought him a towel to wipe his face after he won. That was another cute and romantic moment, event though it was also bittersweet, with surrounding people gossiping and calling Mari a weirdo for flirting with a beastperson.
Next was the three-legged race, and Mari was paired up with Yukihiro. They came in first place and worked together extremely well, but it was awkward for Mari because Yukihiro told her to focus only on him. She almost understood that Yukihiro was hitting on her, but then a clumsy bit of wording from him confused her again. (He said he only wanted her to focus on his movements so they could win the race. Clearly, what he meant was something more.) Yukihiro has a bad habit of letting his words backfire.
Another group’s three-legged race also took place, wherein Tsunagu was paired with a tiny, petite girl name Taori. The girl was terrified because she knew she was bad at running. Tsunagu told her to go at her own pace, and supported her extremely well while she ran. Thanks to Tsunagu’s gentle help, Taori wasn’t in last place in a sport event for the first time in her life. I hope we see more of Taori in the future, as she was funny and reminded me a little bit of myself. She also has a cute but simple character design.
Mari saw Taori lighting up as she was treated well and physically supported by Tsunagu. It made her feel a twinge of jealousy. She wanted to be his partner. When Tsunagu came to find her in the empty classroom, she told him the truth of her feelings. Tsunagu responded by hugging Mari and saying he had also wanted to be her partner in the race. Mari looked surprised, since the two of them had agreed to keep a physical distance. Why was Tsunagu suddenly passionately embracing her? Are we going to see yet another scene of non-consensual sexuality of teenage characters? Ugh.
The episode ends there, but I forgot to mention one thing. Yuusuke Ochi, the bully boy with silvery hair, broke up with his two drones. They wanted to keep messing with Tsunagu, but Yuusuke was in a maturation arc and told them they were lame and that he no longer wanted to bully the beastperson. The two cronies now seem to be plotting something, appearing ominously in the hallway and almost dragging Mari away with them. Yuusuke stopped them from bothering Mari and walked away with them. I wonder what they are planning? Anyway, that’s all for today.
~Thanks for Reading~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
Anime Rants 