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At the time of this writing, it’s September 9, 2009 (since I know for sure I won’t be able to finish this in time, with my flu and all), the day of my flight back home after my 5-month business trip in Cebu, and coincidentally, the last two anime episodes I watched is that of Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 9 and Hatsukoi Limited 9, both of which are pretty relevant to my situation at the moment too.

That said, please don’t ever make the mistake of reading this post until you’ve seen Tokyo Magnitude episode 9, because the episode might lose its impact if you already knew what’s going to happen. Guess I’ll just place this portion in a spoiler tag (won’t work for those reading in Google Reader, though, methinks). In any case, just click here to skip to my ‘unfinished business’ rambling (past the Tokyo Magnitude spoiler) or here to jump right to my Hatsukoi Limited 9 rambling.

 
you’ve been warned.

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 Episode 9 – On Unfinished Business and Second Chances

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Speaking of ‘unfinished business’, my somewhat sudden trip back home (exile?) left me really unsettled (as though I have some unfinished business), even until now, because I wasn’t able to say a proper goodbye to the people I’ve grown close to during my stay here (particularly my family in church).

Last week, we were told that we’d be coming home by September 9, but then our boss took it back, told us that they’d still discuss a bit about it next Monday before finalizing the decision. So last Thursday, I attended our church fellowship, and even had the chance to spend time with them in a Bowling Fellowship activity last Sunday, but since I’m still not sure if I will indeed be leaving the following week, I didn’t know if I should say goodbye right then and there.

I guess my mistake was that I didn’t really treasure those ‘last few moments’ with them, all the while hoping that our stay will be extended just a little bit longer, denying the possibility that we’ll be leaving next week and I won’t see them again till I come back here (and who knows when that will be). While I did get my ‘goodbye message’ across yesterday — by talking about ‘letting go’ in my Nihongo speech (a little activity we have in our department in the office) and writing down a similar ‘letting go’ farewell message for my church family — I still felt unsettled. Up until this morning, I was dragging my feet to finish up packing all my stuff, hoping ang praying that this was all but a dream.

But alas, I am once again reminded that not all things will work out the way I want them to, and sometimes, the best thing to do is to suck it up, stop being a spoiled brat, accept my fate, let go, and finally, move on. If I focus too much on the past, I might miss out on the possibilities that lie ahead. So yes, be still my heart, stop dilly-dallying, pick up your sandals and move on, treasure what’s right in front of your eyes (or those around you now).

Hatsukoi Limited 9 – The Unfinished Painting

I stopped watching Hatsukoi Limited after episode 7, got the urge to pick it up again this week and continue where I left off. Watching episode 9 made me real glad I did.

For something that has been really limited in terms of character and relationship development (not a derogatory remark, since the show’s ’shallowness’ makes it a light-hearted and fun watch), episode 9 just blew me away, like WOW. My favorite episode to date (followed by the Kei x Kusuda raburabu-filled episode 6). While Kei x Kusuda’s moments never fail to make me giggle with glee, Chikura and Renjou’s brief love affair — poignant and a lot deeper than the rest of the romantic relationships I’ve seen in the series — tugged my heartstrings like no other, made me wish that every episode of Hatsukoi Limited is like this, the same way Stripey-nii did. Though from the looks of it, I’ll be disappointed if I hold to this wish, ne?

What makes episode 9 a cut above the rest (of the episodes I’ve seen so far) is how it capitalized on the use of metaphor — painting as a metaphor to Chikura and Renjou’s relationship, the “juxtaposition of the unfinished relationship and the unfinished painting“, in the words of Kabitzin.

From the time I saw Chikura deep in her thoughts as she walks down the sakura-filled road, I instinctively knew something was different about this episode, that something magical is going to happen. Or I guess it’s just my bias for streams-of-consciousness at play.

Renjou’s sakura painting became a source of inspiration for Chikura — one piece of artwork that probably kept her thinking, “I wonder what it’s like to see things from this guy?”, kind of like how people in H&C feel towards Hagu’s artworks. “The one who painted this is probably a beautiful guy, inside and out”, Chikura might have thought every time she looks at the painting, dreaming of the day she’ll finally meet the guy behind it. Though I can only wonder what would’ve happened if Renjou turned out to be a fugly guy instead, would Chikura still choose him, believing that his beautiful painting is reflective of the beauty that lies within? Or that “she knew she loved him even before she knew him”? Ahh enough silly thoughts.

There’s a certain magic behind metaphors that could so easily turn simple (or even ‘dull’) ideas/things into something really special, from crafting the said metaphors, to deciphering them — both of which requires a ’special eye’ that is able to see the connection between two seemingly disparate elements, an eye that’s able to see things from a deeper point of view. This, in turn, makes the whole crafting/deciphering (module/demodulate?) process personal, special. Most certainly, we can see that magic at work here in this episode of Hatsukoi Limited. A one-shot romance story at its best

I watched this episode just a few hours before my flight back home, and considering how I was having the same ‘I wish this painting will never end’ thoughts right at that very moment, you can just imagine how this episode resonated with me on a personal level. Unlike the ‘unfinished business’ thought, though, there’s a quiet assurance that can be found in the ‘unfinished painting’. For as long as we’re alive, the painting will never end, and while there’s a chance that we’ll screw up along the way, there’s also plenty of chances to turn these stumbling blocks to colors of growth, allowing us to craft our very own ‘masterpiece’ — the very portrait of our lives

It’s not like I’ll never ever be able to meet my friends in Cebu, in fact I’ll be meeting some of them again in an upcoming 5-day Christian Camp! And thanks to the internet and the power of social networking, there can be plenty of means through which we can be connected.

I guess making a blog post like this is my way of capturing all these moments

Related posts:

1. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 8 – Can We Handle The Truth, Like Seriously?
2. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 07 – YUUKI CANNOT DIE
3. Mirage of Mirai and Dr.Chiba: When Dreams Meet Reality (Tokyo Magnitude 8.0

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Related posts:

1. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 07 – YUUKI CANNOT DIE
2. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 8 – Can We Handle The Truth, Like Seriously?
3. Mirage of Mirai and Dr.Chiba: When Dreams Meet Reality (Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 8)
4. Tokyo Tower is Not Overrated, You Are