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Now in Japan
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Thursday, 22 March 2007 00:00 |
 The great backlog clearance continues, with another pair of episodes from I''s Pure. Ichitaka's still having problems juggling Iori and Itsuki - both in keeping them apart and in deciding which of them his affections really lie with. Itsuki's a lot quicker off the mark and realises she may be on a hiding to nowhere, but Iori can't see the wood for the trees and keeps mistaking Ichitaka's friendships with other girls for something else. Will they ever get themselves together..?
3 - Adieu
Ichitaka's still trying to figure out what he feels for Iori and Itsuki - and being laid up in bed for a few days with a fever gives him plenty of time to think about it. No sooner is he feeling better, though, than he has to deal with both girls at once. Itsuki's been staying over since her flat burned down, while Iori drops by to see how he is - put the two together and things get awkward, especially when Itsuki mistakes a present that Iori bought for Ichitaka as one that he bought for her, and Ichitaka's too nice to put her right. Having Itsuki in the house leads to a whole set of other problems, too. Meanwhile, Iori ends up in photo-shoot problems again...
4 - Vertige
Itsuki heads back to America with one last instruction for Ichitaka: "Grab Iori-chan as soon as possible!". His usual indecisive attitude means that doeasn't happen, though, and months pass before he even bothers to really make any effort with her. When summer evenutally comes around, Teratani suggests going away for a while - "a summer camp to prepare for exams", he says, although it soon turns out to be a trip to the beach with very little studying on the agenda. Iori's been invited, with Teratani being quite upfront about his plans to use the trip as a way to get her and Ichitaka closer together - but no sooner has Ichitaka arrived at the hotel than he meets Izumi Isozaki - a girl on who he makes an immediate impression, but whose presence soon gets in the way of Teratani's plans...
I was kinda glad to see the back of Itsuki, to be honest - she was awfully clingy for someone who claimed not to be interested, even if everyone knew that wasn't true. Any hopes that her departure would speed the Iori angle along were soon dashed, though, with Izumi's arrival - a nice enough girl who has some good words of wisdom for Ichitaka, to be sure, but yet another distraction that fires up Iori's jealousy and keeps her from getting settled with Ichitaka.
Iori's also apparently not one to learn from past mistakes. A word of advice: when a "photoshoot" turns out to be in an abandoned warehouse and people have a history of using shady tactics to see you naked, don't go - Ichitaka may not always be there to save you. She's equally as daft at dealing with Ichi's fairly obvious attraction - it's only when the pair get blind drunk at the end of episode 4 that they finally admit their feelings for each other. With that incident being left on a cliffhanger it's unclear if that'll finally bring them together, but somehow my money's on them both agreeing it was just drunken ramblings and not pursing it further - I''s Pure certainly seems to be that sort of annoying show.
The links between scenes with current-day Ichitaka and Teratani on their way to meet Itsuki and Iori (remember the show is mostly told by way of flashbacks) are quite strange, too - for two people going to meet friends they haven't seen in however long, Ichitaka and Teratani are awfully downbeat. It all adds up to make I''s Pure a decidedly hard series to rate - it's got plenty going for it, but plenty against. As I said in my last review of it, though, I can be very forgiving of flaws in a short series - it's not like you have to put up with them for long - so with only two episodes to go, this stays on my watchlist. Could definitely be better, though... |
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