At least the roles between Naoki and Kotoko have been reversed, Kotoko may not have the quantity but she has more in the way of quality.

KEITA LIKES HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS!

@L-chan
Why that cranky fugly old coot, if some one had the gall to do that then I would have not only gave them an unnecessary de-fib but some surgery as well. It will cost them and scar them at the same time…

@Dubbykinz
I would have tolerated a 52 ep run if only to see Naoki at the mercy of Kotoko.

@Gypsy-chan
I am sure things will slow down once this arc is done.

@D.J
I watch only to see Kotoko get the better of Naoki, it makes me smile everytime. Hopefully things will change soon.

I guess the main problem is as a few of have already pointed out that their relationship hasn’t really changed all that much. Since its supposed to be about the progression of their relationship, lets see some damned progression please!

I must be as masochistic as Kotoko because I keep watching this endless circle of Kotoko cries, Naoki says enough to stop her leaving and back she returns like a nice abused wife.

And yes I hope Keita finds happiness too, I also hope Naoki finally gets over himself and Kotoko gets the happiness she deserves too.

Also, has anyone notice how Kotoko never kisses Naoki? She is always shown daydreaming about how wonderful it would be to be kissed by her husband. Kotoko acts as though she needs to get Naoki’s permission before kissing him or something like that. And check out the sleeping arrangements. Whenever they show a bedroom scene Naoki always has his back to her. What’s up with that? Every time I see that I think back to what Keita said when he asked Kotoko why did Naoki bother marrying her? In the manga, it said something about Naoki telling Kotoko’s father that he loved Kotoko more than she will ever know. How can that be? Not only does he not show her affection, he ignores her and almost always disrespects her in front of a large crowd. Geez!!

I think if the anime/and manga author wanted to keep Naoki’s character cold-hearted, then they should have let the fans into his mind more. Like after ignoring or saying something cold-hearted toward Kotoko he could go to a dark lonely place and chide himself for being such a jerk to her. In that way his character would be better understood. I mean look a Kinnosuke and Chris. During their relationship, Chris was always the affectionate one and Kin-chan was the cold-hearted jerk. That was because he didn’t want to give up on getting Kotoko back. However, when it came time to confess his love and feelings to Chris he didn’t say, “I’m the only one you can love with your leg disfigured, so marry me.” Kin-chan stepped up to the plate when he was willing to disfigure his own leg to prove his love to Chris. Mr. Cold-heartedjerkwad simply told Kotoko that she loved him and could love no one else. Lovesick Kotoko cries and agrees. Sheesh! I think Naoki only married Kotoko so that Kin-chan couldn’t get her. Same with the thing with Keita. Naoki stepped up to the plate after Kotoko left his sorry butt only to get his number one fan girl back. I think also if Naoki didn’t get Kotoko back his mother would have killed him or did something to totally embarrassed him. (go mama Irie!)

Back to this episode. I was a little surprised with what they did with Keita. The manga had Keita giving Kotoko flowers after becoming a nurse and also telling Naoki that he decided to give up on Kotoko after seeing how happy she was with Naoki. Naoki gave a smug reply something like he’s the only man that Kotoko could ever love. I think that would have been kinda fun to see. However, Keita simply scolded Kotoko for acting all fangirl over her husband. I guess that wasn’t a bad thing for him to like tell her to grow up already (even though she still looks 17) Anyway, the only saving grace in thie eppie was when Naoki allowed her to recite her vows to him. That was cute for all of 30 seconds. I’m really hoping that in the final episodes they don’t rush things. Like Naoki getting all sappy and stuff. He just needs softens up a bit to preserve his cold hearted attitude.

I think too much of this. But I’m guessing yea, next few episodes will be all NaokixKotoko crap. I did grow to somewhat like Naoki after the whole Rika shit (forgot what volume). ^_^; And I liked when he broke his leg~ So cute. ;-;

Uh yea. >.>

I think the major reason to keep watching the anime right now is to see the ending. As most people know the manga never had a proper ending due to the untimely death of the author, but they have apparently scrounged up some old notes and past assistants and have an idea of what the ending was supposed to be like, and this shall be presented in the anime.

The manga ended on a cliffhanger. Is Kotoko pregnant or not? Watch the anime to find out!

This seems to be the rinse and repeat cycle of the show. Naoki acts like a jerk. Kotoko sobs. Naoki throws her a bone. Kotoko (apparently being devoid of any affection in her life) swoons over his scraps of attention and magically we’re back to where we started before Naoki started being a jerk with Kotoko worshipping the ground Naoki walks on. This is the kind of relationship reset we’re used to seeing with Zero no Tsukaima except in the opposite direction (two steps backwards, one step forward).

I can’t stand how, even after being married for 5 years+, she still calls him “Irie-kun”.

If nothing else at least Naoki is fighting off new suitors for Kotoko who seem to be coming out of the wood work.

Eh, I wouldn’t call 3 suitors in 5+ years to be ‘coming out of the woodwork’.

I guess Naoki being a jerk has warded off all the other women while now that some boys have grown into men they decided that going for the stupid girl wasn’t such a bad idea. If Naoki pisses off Kotoko again I hope Naoki ends up with that old hag who’s been stalking him.

Yes, this.

I’d like to see Keita wind up with his new love object. They paired up Kinnosuke and Chris and god knows Kinnosuke suffered for 5 years before he finally got his consolation prize. I guess 4 years is about the standard for guys to get over Kotoko and find a new broad.

Nobu-chan being back didn’t surprise me but I don’t think he’s going to be a ‘love rival’ for Naoki. It seems he’s a burnt out idol who’s looking for some kind of comfort or solace by looking for something familiar in his past. It’s shocking to see how much Nobu-chan changed from his early days in the hospital. He looks nothing like he did when he was younger. From the previews it doesn’t look like Naoki’s kid brother aged much during the time skip either. He might’ve grown taller but his face is generally the same.

The one thing I didn’t like about this episode is how they glossed over Kotoko passing her exam. It would’ve been nice to see SOME bonding between Naoki and Kotoko but I guess the writers decided the 30 seconds they scheduled before the time skip was more than enough time before returning to the Grey’s Anatomy dorama fest.

I think the series might have peaked with the Keita arc. I’m hoping, as they wind down the show in the last 5 or 6 episodes. that they spend more time on building a relationship between Kotoko and Naoki instead of returning to the same old angsty formula we’ve been seeing all season long. I’d like to see more romance between the two main characters before the show ends (as much as I enjoy seeing Kinchan happy and Keita working on his happiness the show is really about Kotoko and Naoki’s developing relationship).