White Album II episode 1 review; nothing changes, as time goes by.

      I know that at the end of the first season of White Album I said that I wouldn’t be covering the second season. Call me a glutton for punishment, or call me a sadomasochist, or call me stupid, but I just can’t help myself, so I’ll be punishing myself for the next twelve episodes of White Album.

      The second season begins on Christmas Eve, at the local hospital, with Yayoi leaving Mana’s room after getting her admitted, and we also see that Touya, Misaki, Akira, and the Master (Franky) are there because Touya’s father has also been admitted.  When Touya sees Yayoi leaving Mana’s room the others try to stop him from going to her, but he just ignores them and walks towards her for a talk.

      As Touya and Yayoi are talking, we see that Mana has gotten out of bed and is spying on them until she gets caught by Haruka. As Haruka is talking with her, Mana gets light headed and passes out again.

 

      The next morning we see that Rina’s and Yuki’s concert victory over the Sakura-dan group is all over the newspaper. Then we see that Yuki shows up at the hospital after being informed of the events by Yayoi, but Touya is at his father’s house getting some things.

 

      After Yuki is comforted by Misaki, a nurse says that he’s finally awakened and asks if they’re family members, and Misaki says yes. Yuki goes in and visits him where he tells her that she hasn’t changed at all, no; he tells her that she’s matured beautifully.  After they talk for awhile, Yuki tells Touya’s father that she loves Touya just the way he is, and then Yuki has to leave.

 

     When Touya returns to the hospital he gets in an argument with his father because he let Yuki leave without seeing him, and Misaki calls him outside and chews him out about how he’s acting with his father.

 

      Then we move over to the Sakura-dan manager’s office and we see that the missing singer (Menou) has been found. When they head over to her location she’s passed out from a night of drunken partying, and all she has to say is that the other girl probably got along fine without her. The manager (Mana’s mother) physically abuses the girl for her behavior and orders her locked out of her apartment and inside a storage closest until she repents her behavior.

Damn, I wish I could have been there to party with her. 

       Later, as Rina is waiting for Yuki to arrive for a meeting with Eiji she asks him if they won and he says that there are more important things to talk about, more important than me? Yes. When Yuki finally arrives, Eiji informs them that they won, and he feels that both Rina and Yuki improved, and it’s important to capitalize on their success next year. Eiji tells Yuki “Merry Christmas”, and you have the day off.

 

      Then we see Eiji receiving his victory prize from the Sakura-dan’s manager, a painting of a young girl that kind of looks like Rina. He asks her if this is the first time she’s admitted defeat? She tells him that the game has just begun and she’ll win next time.

 

      Later, we see that Haruka is looking after Mana at her house when her mother comes home and Mana’s mother says that if she had just listened to her this wouldn’t have happened.  As Haruka is leaving, Mana’s mother says that she’s glad that her daughter has such good friends like Haruka and Mana’s tutor. As Haruka is hanging out in the park Mana shows up saying that she feels better and her mother is gone for the day, so let’s hang out, it’s Christmas. Then we get a montage of what everyone is doing at the time; Haruka and Mana hanging out, Touya in his father’s hospital room, Menou getting a visit from another Sakura-dan member, and a flashback of a much younger Eiji seeing the painting for the first time.

     Later, Yuki asks Yayoi if she’ll join her at Echoes for tea, but Yayoi says she has another engagement planned.  Then we see that when Yuki decides to visit the hospital again she sees that Yayoi’s car is already there and decides to turn back while inside the hospital Yayoi and Touya decided to use an vacant ward to have sex in, with Touya thinking that for just this night Yayoi can be Yuki’s replacement. Well, that’s all for this episode.

      OK, here we go, nothing’s really changed from season one, and I still don’t like most of the main characters; Mana’s still your lonely anti-social schoolgirl who’s screwed up because her mother is a bitch, Misaki shows a little backbone but jumps on Touya without knowing all the facts, Haruka’s is still lonely and messed up, and Touya and Yuki for being young adults still act like middle school students when it comes to how they feel about each other. So, why the hell I’m I still watching and blogging White Album II? Well, three reasons, and they’re named Rina, Eiji, and Yayoi.

      Like I wrote in reviews of season one, I think that the whole Touya/Yuki relationship problem/frustration/impasse could be solved in one episode if either of them acted like young adults instead of middle school kids. All Touya has to do is show up at Yuki’s apartment one evening, and tell her how he feels about her and then they can proceed to break her bed with a couple of hours of animal sex, or the problem could be solved if Yuki would have included a key to her apartment and condom inside her Christmas gift to Touya, problem solved, no more frustrated virgin.

      But, what really intrigues me about White Album is what drives Rina, Eiji, and Yayoi. Is Yayoi just having sex with Touya because she feels that it’s keeping him away from Yuki, or is she really a lonely person that thinks that having sex with Touya as a Yuki replacement is better than going home alone and having no sex at all?

      Rina, what drives her to feel that she needs some sort of approval from her brother? Rina, as an established pop star surely doesn’t still need him, and she could easily take care of her own affairs and career. Does Rina feel that the only way she can keep her relationship with her brother is to put up with his cold and distant moods? The new OP for White Album also raises some questions as the girl in the OP is the girl from the painting, but she also looks strikingly like Rina.

      To me, the most interesting character in the whole series is Eiji. We know from the first series that he really doesn’t have much interest in his sister, or her career because he told Touya that he considers her a completed project. Eiji also fawns over Yuki because he wants her to reach her full potential, but does Eiji really care about his charges or is it all just a game to him? Eiji’s reaction to the painting also raises some serious questions about Eiji and his real world relationships with women; does Eiji view women as a work of art that can bring tears to his eyes? But, does Eiji’s view of women as art make him unable to have a real life relationship with a real woman? Is Eiji’s driving desire to complete his women equal to the desire of a sculptor or painter to create the perfect art object? If so, does that mean he can never have a real relationship with a women because a real woman isn’t perfect, a real woman has flaws, desires, and needs.

Here’s one for Yuki and Touya if they ever can get to spend a night together.

“As Time Goes By, 1931, written by Herman Hupfeld”

You must remember this
A kiss is just a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh.
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by.

And when two lovers woo
They still say, “I love you.”
On that you can rely
No matter what the future brings
As time goes by.

Moonlight and love songs
Never out of date.
Hearts full of passion
Jealousy and hate.
Woman needs man
And man must have his mate
That no one can deny.

It’s still the same old story
A fight for love and glory
A case of do or die.
The world will always welcome lovers
As time goes by.

Oh yes, the world will always welcome lovers
As time goes by.