Happy Holidays. I’m still far behind where I wanted to be this time of year, but I’m having fun going at a slower pace. Today, we are covering episodes 6 and 7 of the somewhat trashy yet still appealing furry anime, With You Our Love Will Make It Through. These two episodes left me disappointed with the poor writing at several points. I’m also tired of the repetitive scenes, slower pacing, and horninesss of the teenage characters. Nevertheless, I can’t say I truly regret watching it. It was worth a try, and I will see it through to the end even if I am not particularly impressed.
Episode 6
Episode Rating: 6/10
There’s a short scene of Tsunagu and Mari making out and whatnot, interrupted by the sudden yells of students from outside as it started raining. The rain would definitely make the running track more difficult and muddy. Once they were outside again, Tsunagu and Mari were surprised to hear that Ochi would not be able to run in the relay because he supposedly sprained his knee. It was clear from his appearance that Ochi had been attacked by bullies. Tsunagu took his place and won first place in the relay. Everyone cheered for Tsunagu this time because the whole team depended on him.
Right before the relay, there was a moment where Mari talked to Ochi, who sat quietly with a bloody knee and a dirty, disheveled appearance. Mari encouraged him not to hid his pain alone, a kindness which surprised Ochi. Mari was so cute when she smiled at Ochi. No wonder everyone likes her. Thanks to that conversation, Ochi started feeling more comfortable talking to Mari, which is why they had another conversation later. But before we get to that, there’s another important thing to mention: Tsunagu and Yukihiro’s friendship.
There were several moments in this episode highlighting the not so subtle “bromance” between Tsunagu and Yukihiro. For example, they played in the water with the hose and then sat side by side (Tsunagu shirtless) talking about how much fun they had. It seems to me that this show is doing a little bit of baiting. It’s obvious that Tsunagu and Yukihiro are not a thing, and yet they keep framing shots of them to look romantic – probably to raise the hopes and interest of fujoshi who would ship the boys. (I am not immune to being fujoshi myself, but in this case, it’s too obviously just bait.)
Yukihiro had to go home early to pick up his brothers, but Tsunagu still had to finish cleaning up and get his clothes out of the dryer. Mari went to get the key to the laundry. Before leaving, Yukihiro had a tender moment with Mari in the hallway. He carefully removed a bit of dirt from her hair and told her that his eyes were always on her. Mari is dense if she still doesn’t get it. Regardless, the moment was interrupted by Ochi.
Ochi asked if the two of them were going out, and Yukihiro said no, but that he wished Ochi would get the wrong idea. After Yukihiro left, Ochi ranted about how beastfolk and humans will never get along and can’t fall in love. He also believed that Mari and Yukihiro are only play-acting as Tsunagu’s friends. As for why humans and beastfolk can never see eye to eye, his main argument was the existence of the great wall surrounding the beastfolk town. It had stood as a barrier for centuries. Mari was getting depressed, but Tsunagu came to get her and they walked away holding hands.
As Mari was blow-drying Tsunagu’s fur, he asked what was on her mind. She responded by asking his opinion on the wall. In Tsunagu’s eyes, the wall was sort of a blessing because it was also an entrance: the entrance to his world, into which he would one day bring Mari. He wasn’t joking either. They decided that Mari would come visit Tsunagu’s home soon, hopefully over summer break. Once again, Tsunagu and Mari kissed and hugged and reminded us that Tsunagu still has no self-control. He was still tempted to assault Mari. Though the initial kiss was very sweet, the rest was annoying and toxic.
The episode ends with the appearance of Kisara, the first beastfolk we’ve seen who takes after a cat instead of a dog. She was a very pretty, cute little cat-girl. She called Tsunagu by his first name and embraced him warmly, so she’s probably his childhood best friend. In addition, she’s almost certainly competition for Mari. I know Kisara has been in the opening song since the start, but why hasn’t anyone mentioned cat-folk before? It’s poor writing and world-building to just never mention it until now. Regardless, as summer break begins, new drama starts too.
Overall, the episode was not great due to the predictability and trope-ness of it all. I’m also really tired of the scenes of Mari and Tsunagu touching each other, kissing, etc. I’ve already explained how I feel about that in earlier posts. But I am still watching this series – 60% because of pure stubbornness and 40% there are still aspects of the anime I am enjoying. At the end of the day, I love the concept of the romance and I enjoy the characters and their interactions. I hope Kisara is a good character, too.
Episode 7
Episode Rating: 6/10
As expected, there was no information given about the cat variety of beastfolk. We got a tiny little bit of info about the dog variety, so what’s with the lack of consistent world-building? This is one reason why I complained about the writing. Anyway, let’s talk about Kisara. She didn’t piss me off, but I was hoping for better. She’s rather obnoxious and immature, prone to lashing out at others. This is normal for a teenager and I also think loud, brazen female characters are important in many stories. But with Kisara, it feels like she’s a walking trope. I love her cute character design, but her personality is the hot-headed childhood friend with a crush, and she feels one-dimensional.
Leaving that aside for now, we’ll recap the events of the episode. Kisara smelled Tsunagu’s scent on Mari and did not react well. She grabbed Mari by the collar and growled at her, demanding to know why she was so conscious of Tsunagu. Speaking of Tsunagu, he managed to make Kisara calm down and walked away with her. Yukihiro and Mari felt disappointed and slightly annoyed to be left out. Tsunagu went home with Kisara, so Yukihiro invited Mari to hang out with him. He took her to the beach.
Since this is episode 7 in a drama/school anime, I was afraid that this would be the fan-service episode. In this kind of anime, episodes 7 and/or 8 usually involve the characters going swimming, either at the beach or a pool. There are almost always gratuitous shots of the girls in swimsuits. Anyway, in this anime, Mari and Yuki did go to the beach, but they didn’t go swimming and there was no fan-service. That was a relief. Mari and Yuki took off their shoes and stood in the shallow water to relax and take pictures. Yukihiro snapped a great photo of Mari laughing after getting freaked out by a sea cucumber.
While Yuki and Mari were at the beach, Tsunagu had a rough time talking to Kisara on their way home. The cat-girl was enraged that Tsunagu had fallen in love with a human. She claimed it was because she didn’t want Tsunagu to get hurt, hiding the fact that her main motivation was her own desire to be with Tsunagu. When Tsunagu didn’t deny that he was in love and had even marked Mari with his scent on purpose, Kisara flew off the handle. She punched his chest and told him she would never accept his relationship. Then the cat-girl ran away as if she was the one who was hurt.
I suppose Kisara deserves a bit of sympathy because she felt bad for lashing out and because she’s a young person blinded by love. But Tsunagu was also hurt, since the person he viewed as his little sister hatefully rejected his first attempt at a relationship. That’s right – we learned that Tsunagu had never been interested in anyone before despite being popular. He also seemed to misunderstand Kisara’s love as familial whenever she tried to make a subtle move. Kisara had never been able to just tell him.
Tsunagu was gloomy after this fight with his childhood friend. He felt even worse when he heard that Yukihiro and Mari were on a date, but he brightened up again after seeing the photo of Mari and talking to her on the phone. They confirmed their date to meet in the beastfolk town in two weeks. Once that time was over, Mari went through the heavily guarded security gate and proceeded into beastfolk territory for the first time.
Some of the art is beautiful in this anime, at least to me. Maybe I’m impressed by subpar art – I have no way of telling apart “good” and “bad” art. Anyway, one example of a pretty moment was the flower field scene. Mari found a gorgeous field of flowers on her way toward the main town. That’s where Tsunagu met her. The lovers were overjoyed to see each other again. From there, they went into the town, which was bustling with beast-folk. Mari was slightly nervous but mostly just excited to be there.
A friendly dog-person with light cream-colored fur called out to Tsunagu and asked him to help him carry some boxes. When he saw Mari, the friend tried to say never mind, sensing that he was interrupting a date. But Mari insisted, so Tsunagu went to help carry the boxes. He told Mari to stay put nearby, and she quietly waited. However, luck was not in her favor. She happened to see Kisara passing by. The cat-girl noticed Mari and came to a stop. The episode ends here, with the two girls staring awkwardly at each other.
Kisara was not what I hoped for, but perhaps she will come around. Despite being disappointed in much of the writing in these episodes, I’m sticking with this anime to the end. That’s all for today, so sayonara until next time.
~Thanks for Reading~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
Anime Rants 