Zettai Shounen 17
Akira's on a ferris wheel in Yokohama taping the scenery while reporting on the odd things happening when it suddenly stops -- the clock on the ferris wheel showed 12:47 before shutting off... Kisa speaks with Shigeki at her usual place. Shigeki tells her about his upcoming shougi match, and the hurdles he faces in becoming a pro. Shigeki notes that Kisa seems to have changed a bit, smiles a bit more. Kisa attributes it to Bun-chan and says that if she weren't there nobody'd notice anyways. Shigeki says that isn't the case, he wouldn't know who to talk to if she weren't there. Kisa gives him a little jab with her elbow :) Makki shows up at the ferris wheel, wondering where Akira's at... while taking pictures of it Mika comes up to talk to him. She tells him that she was there 2 years ago at the Cat Dance and saw the Material Fairies -- she wants to know what he and Akira have been talking about.
Rieko texts Shigeki asking if he'd talk to her about Kisa. They meet on a bridge. Rieko's worried about Kisa not coming to school and asks Shigeki if he'd tell Kisa to go. Rieko thinks Kisa has to change.. she's not like Shigeki, she doesn't have shougi like he does. Shigeki tells her that even though she says she wants to help Kisa, she seems to be doing it all for her own benefit. She doesn't understand anything about Kisa, nor anything about Shigeki's shougi. Shigeki walks away, leaving Rieko... Makki goes to search for Akira at Tokimiya, but Akira's still stuck on the ferris wheel -- it's now 21:49... Shigeki shows up at Tokimiya a bit later to talk to Hana-san. And to play a match with her.
Hana-san and Shigeki start a shougi match while talking over things, mostly about people finding themselves -- that's what Shigeki came to her for, she thinks... Rieko lays at home, rather depressed after what Shigeki said to her. Rieko was wanting to celebrate Kisa's upcoming birthday... Still stuck on the ferris wheel, Akira looks through the photos on her cell phone -- a few silly pictures of herself, but then a picture of her and another man. Her former boyfriend -- but she was looking for a partner to work with, not so much a lover. The ferris wheel finally starts back up just before midnight... Shigeki talks to Hana-san about his worries on the upcoming match -- he's facing someone's who's said to be a genius. He hasn't won yet, too. But Hana-san says that good -- you can't get better any other way. He's got to use his own shougi and face things. Hana-san loses the shougi match -- seems she was the one who taught him shougi.
Akira gets off the ferris wheel, and so does the couple that seemed to be getting along so well -- they won't be together anymore, it seems. A reporter comes up to Akira asking her about what went own. Akira takes the mic herself and talks about the odd happenings in a very reporter-like professional way. The reporter wonders who the heck she was ;) Rieko goes to Hana-san the next day worried about Shigeki. Hana-san gives her the day off and tells her to go see Shigeki... Rieko runs to the place where the shougi league matches are taking place just as Shigeki comes out. She apologizes for the way she acted the day before and asks how his match went. He lost. Rieko thinks it's her fault that he lost... Shigeki says it's his own fault that he lost, not hers. He had thought that today was his first and last chance to become a pro... But, he was wrong. He wants to be able to face his opponent again and get stronger... Rieko doesn't understand -- Shigeki says she doesn't need to understand. Rieko cries.... Back in her usual place Kisa types out another e-mail to herself a year from now. It's almost her 17th birthday, but nobody remembers. But she's not alone this time -- Bun-chan's there with her. She's all by herself, but she's not alone...
Whew, Rieko got it this time from Shigeki. He's probably mostly right about things. Though she's been going about it the wrong way, Rieko does seem to really care about Kisa, remembering her birthday and such. But there is still large distance between her and everyone else. Wonder how much worse it'll get for her from here on... Kisa seems to be getting along better with Shigeki, showing a smile and a bit of playfulness, but she's still keeping her distance. Thinking that no one, not even Shigeki, will bother remember her birthday, still thinking Bun-chan her only real dependable friend.
And yes, no Ayumu this time for those wondering. Was hoping they'd continue where we left off last time with him... As I mentioned before, I'm waiting for when he gets involved with Akira and the other Yokohama characters. So no huge overall story progress this time, just a futher look at all the (crumbling) human relationships -- something Zettai Shounen is very good at, I should say. Upcoming episode titles would seem to point towards some story development. Episode 19, "The/A Winged Fish", and 20, "Material Fairy", sound very interesting, so we'll see where it goes -- I certainly don't have much of an idea where we'll be going so I won't try and guess ;)
Leave a comment