Kokoro Connect

[Buffalobiian]

I don't see the connection between Kokoro Connect and Kaibutsu-kun, but I enjoyed the former more because I feel that it actually did somewhere (even if the answer is "It's okay to be myself" most of the time).

I like Kokoro Connect because of the characters, particularly Inaba and Iori (who I used to hate until these 4 episodes). I can really relate to those two characters, so there is definitely bias there

Me too. If Kokoro Connect happened in real life, I would imagine I'd run into much the same problems as Iori here. I don't feel confident in saying that I could have reached a resolution.

As for my impressions on the last 4 episodes, it's pretty much as Barles says:

Well damn, those episodes are better than everything that came before, making for a wonderful end. I nearly choked while laughing when Iori started putting Inaban in her place in that first episode (episode 14). I'm a big fan of the new Iori, which frankly is really the same as the old Iori, minus the self-censoring. I also kind of feel bad that she didn't end up with Taichi, but by the time all of this was done, it just wouldn't have made sense for either of them.

I have some mixed feelings about how it finally ended up. It's entirely expected that Taichi/Iori's relationship would end the way it did. From a realistic point of view, I have no problems with it at all.(On a personal scale, I felt bad for Iori..) The main thing was that Taichi's words prior to the white-space talk gave me the impression that he not only still loved Iori, but he loved her to the same degree even now. "Betrayed" would be the best word to describe how I felt about the sudden "I loved you. Loved"

The "reset" also didn't end up rebuilding a love-triangle, which further supports the point that Taichi doesn't love the new Iori in the same manner he did with the old one.

Talking about old/new, what confuses me (and to a degree, pisses me off) is how similar New Iori is compared to Old Iori. If the "real" one was so similar to the ideal one, there wouldn't have been such clashes of dark thoughts in the first place. New Iori should have been someone more .. different.

[Uchiha Barles]

Talking about old/new, what confuses me (and to a degree, pisses me off) is how similar New Iori is compared to Old Iori. If the "real" one was so similar to the ideal one, there wouldn't have been such clashes of dark thoughts in the first place. New Iori should have been someone more .. different.

Iori is only "new Iori" to everyone who is not Iori. I initially missed the point of what her problem was. I thought she had identity issues in trying to figure out who she really was. Going back to those episodes with the information from the last 4 we just got, it wasn't quite that. The whole time she was really worried about was how she was perceived by others. She was always crystal clear on who she really was. So in essence, she was lying about who she was.

This is why Taichi couldn't have possibly been in love with her anymore. Not because the "real Iori" is someone Taichi could not love, but because she's essentially a stranger. He doesn't don't know her, none of them do. I'm with you though, I felt a pang when Taichi said "loved". Such an unfortunate cost for the choices she's made. For what it's worth, she's awesome enough to not have to worry about finding an excellent mate.