To Heart 2: Episode 4

Fourth episode!

kore de kata to omou nai yo! (don’t think you have won!)

[Game->toheart2-yuma-tonami] – Yuma events
This episode took a lot of liberties over the actual events in the game. Come to think of it, Manaka’s [episode->To Heart 2: Episode 3] was also quite different from the [game->toheart2-manaka-komaki]. If this goes on to be just a 13-episode anime, you most likely won’t see Ikuno (Manaka’s sister) and Yuma the meganekko version. Also, the way their scenarios are converted into anime, it feels more lighthearted rather than melodramatic. No confusing nor lonely stories.

[Game->To Heart 2: March 4] – Bicycle hit!
[Game->To Heart 2: March 5] – Baseball hit!
I define a girl-next-door type of bishoujo game girl as one who often has short hair and angsty/feisty attitude. Yuma fits very perfectly. She is cutest when she is angry! And she points fingers a LOT! She meets Takaaki, hitting him with her own bike. From then on, she attunes her unluckiness with Takaaki. After Yuma got wet at PE because of Takaaki’s softball, she talks to him directly. She declares war, but Takaaki is just oh so clueless.

She meets up with him at the canteen and tried to challenge him in making the canteen conveyor belt a sort-of bowling alley (shooting plates and cups). In the end the canteen manager got angry with them. Yuma unlucky again.

Manaka invites Yuma to her room in the library, and they chat about their differing views of Takaaki, as well as Yuma’s problem. It seems that she is being tutored to be somewhat “elite”. The way Manaka and Yuma talked about the “essence of tea” made me think that Yuma is being trained to be a sophisticated woman. She is going to inherit her grandfather’s business, actually. Obviously, it’s not her ball game, but it seems that her grandpa wants her to do so. Quite a heavy load for a high school student don’t you think?

Back to Takaaki though, Yuma tries to apologize by taking the guy into a movie date. They watched some horror movie, and on goes the classic cliche of scared-girl-holds-guy. While eating, Takaaki asks why Yuma goes so far just to apologize. Yuma tries to use the conversation to open herself up, trying to talk about her problem. But her angsty instincts came in and she failed to communicate.

One day though, Manaka tries to help Yuma by asking Takaaki for a favor. She’s so concerned, aww I oh so love Manaka and Yuma’s friendship! We don’t see it in the game too much.

So this time Takaaki invites Yuma instead. So game center we go. Yuma is up for some air hockey challenge this time. Along the course of the heated battle, the gallery becomes bigger! What a match! Well after some time, it winds down because Yuma starts talking about her problem. The crowd slowly disperses too. Yuma talks about how she going to inherit her grandfather’s business even though she may not like it. Takaaki however suggests that she should open up to her grandfather about it, surely he would put Yuma’s future in an unfavorable situation. Well that cheered Yuma up… and finally… she won over Takaaki in the air hockey! First time she ever won over Takaaki. So she goes home with a smile… end.

Lucy again! I think she’ll be the rare side character who will have two episodes instead of just one. Hmm… fandom may be high for Lucy. As for Yuma, some game players may be disappointed because her story has been changed a lot. On the upside though, the way these stories are told, they are of positive light. There has been nothing too depressing about neither Manaka nor Yuma’s anime stories, while in the game the melodrama peaks a lot because they deal with more serious issues.

[Karin->toheart2-karin-sasamori] is up next.

Correction made with credits to Reim.