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Blue Spring Ride Episode 12 – “Yoshioka, Arigatou.”

September 29, 2014

The final episode of “Blue Spring Ride” begins with Kou and Futaba finally arriving at the same point emotionally. That’s why I like this imagery of them being under the same sky. They may not be facing each other yet, but their thoughts are on the same wavelength. That’s why the title of this post quotes what Kou says before they part as well. Because it’s thanks to Futaba Yoshioka that Kou has begun to move forward from his withdrawal and grief.

The last episode ended with the two on the riverbank, and this episode picks up from that point. Kou is embracing Futaba, and he won’t let go, to her embarrassment, because he doesn’t want her to see his tears.

But Futaba is soooo cute here! She thinks Kou is cute and docile, and likes the way he smells. (which we already knew) She likes holding him. She wants to see his crying face, but realizes that she needs to hold back on her own desires in order to support Kou. I really like her thoughts in this scene. It shows the strong attraction as well as how much she really cares about his feelings.

Awww that face! ^^^

After Kou compliments her on her running face, Futaba considers that maybe they’re close enough, she can confess her feelings. Most of us are sitting in the audience at this point cringing. You want them to move forward, but I’m also thinking it’s bad timing on Futaba’s part. If she confesses now, it might push Kou away.

Luckily, the mangaka saves us from having to watch as she inserts comedic timing. Right when Futaba is about to confess, her stomach growls and Kou breaks the moment.

While Kou suggests they go eat, Futaba recalls Tanaka sensei cooking dinner. She tells him about his brother worrying that Kou resents him, because he couldn’t be there when their mother was ill. Her advice to Kou is spot on, and it helps him to move forward as we see in the next scene.

As they get to the neighborhood and part ways, you get the vibe that they don’t really want to say good-bye. There’s a lot of stalling and talk of tomorrow. As they finally walk away, Kou turns back and thanks Futaba. She watches as he leaves and remarks to herself that Kou’s heart opened. She got through the door.

Their thoughts as they walk away are in sync, as I mentioned earlier. Futaba remarks that she’ll continue to pound down the door over and over again if she has to. While Kou thinks of how she always comes running to his rescue even if she fails again and again. The mutual affection here is palpable. It makes me want to pull Futaba from the current manga arc and show her this scene- “See here…you said you’d pound down the door over and over again – don’t give up!!!” I’d tell her.

The next scene shows important character development for Kou and resolves the family issue that has been lingering since the first episode. When Kou arrives home he runs into Tanaka sensei. He mentions dinner but Kou just breezes by. The disappointment on his face –

But Kou has second thoughts up in his room as he hears his dad and brother talking. And to sensei’s surprise….

Even Kou’s dad is happy to see him and gives him a pat on the head which surprises Kou. They sit down to dinner and that’s when Tanaka sensei stabs us all in the heart.~

Oh, the feels! He’s so gosh darn cute! Kou goes on to explain how he didn’t feel right coming back to the Tanaka house without his mother. He didn’t know if his mom would be unhappy about it. His dad tells him that his mother wasn’t that petty of a person. The three Tanaka men have a bonding moment. Then Kou explains that he will change his name back to Tanaka, but wants to wait until high school is over to avoid confusion.

^^I just want to point out in this picture how Tanaka sensei has the same gestures as Kou. It’s really darling of the pair. I just love both brothers!

The next scene sets up the study arc and Futaba and Kou’s relationship. Futaba is worried about how to act around Kou, then Kou shows up. His reaction is so dang cute, that Futaba can’t help but smile.

Kominato offers to help Kou study and this time Kou agrees, to the group’s shock. With Futaba’s help he’s going to move on. When test results come out he’s actually ranked #15 out of 100 and the rest of the group has ranked too from all the studying.

We have one more incident with Touma in this scene, Kou’s future rival. He notices Futaba and runs away thinking she’s the pervert girl, and Kou notices.

The day is over and the group is going to make summer plans. Unfortunately Kou has already gotten away, so Yuuri and Futaba go after him. The girls challenge each other, that they are going to go after Kou more seriously. Poor Kou getting attacked in the hall. I hope Yuuri gets a clue soon that he’s not interested in her, only Futaba.

Meanwhile Murao has an encounter with Tanaka sensei and Kominato gets up in arrears as well. This scene makes me so confused. Ughh!! I just can’d decide which couple I ship in this case. I like them both!!! 🙂

^^Awww, Murao. Completely red with blushies!

^^Doh, Kominato-kun’s face. So cute!! I love him to death, but I like Tanaka sensei too!

The group heads out to make plans for the summer break. Kou gets dragged along, but in the end he’s happy to be with them. Futaba remembers about how this trip started. She reminisces about her times with Kou and the group. This is just a scroll back through memorable scenes in the anime.

Then we get an ultra cute flirt scene where Futaba and Kou make eye contact, twice. I love this scene! It sums up their attraction nicely.

^^ Pftt. Kou actually has to turn away. He acts so cool, but he’s really shy! So cute!

Finally we get the closing scene explaining the meaning of the title of the manga and anime. Which is nice, because I had yet to find an explanation from the mangaka and I always wondered where the title came from.

That’s it. All 12 episodes. It’s not enough, I tell ya! Everyone is asking for season 2 on Crunchyroll. There’s a lot more material and story left, so I can understand why. There will be a live action movie that covers a lot more of the story coming out in December 2014 in Japan. Still, I want to see it animated. Live action just doesn’t do it for me because the actors don’t look like the drawings.

Well, what did you think? Ready to read the manga? It’s an emotional, stormy ride, as the author promises. You can check out my license request here and show your support. I’m hoping to get the attention of the publishers if I can get enough requests.

Oh, and just for reference purposes, the anime leaves off after chapter 14. That would be volume 4 of the tankobans. And that kiss, yeah, it doesn’t happen until Chapter 21.

C’mon season 2!!!

UPDATE: Shortly after this ran, Sentai Filmworks announced they acquired the license for it, so we will be getting the anime in North America. No word on the official release date.

Blue Spring Ride Episode 12 – “Yoshioka, Arigatou.”

September 29, 2014

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