This is a partial translation of 和紀’s entry. Please check it out for more details.
Structure: A bold allotment of 1 hour and 45 minutes for Act 1, a 15-minute intermission, and 55 minutes for Act 2. My expectation was that it would be divided a bit more evenly and spend more time in the second half, including the student council play, but I think they took the shape of carefully performing the first half without rushing. The first half, in particular, is packed with gloomy, heavy, heartrending things, with Koito-san trying her best, Nanami Touko being sly, Doujima-kun being healing, etc., and the second half has the heartrending love unfold from the student council play. It’s splendid.
Structure and production: I felt like the overall focus was on 『the story of Koito Yuu and Nanami Touko』. What I felt was particularly different from the first performance was the will to portray the characters of Koito Yuu and Nanami Touko in a straightforward and honest manner, instead of producing a 「transparent, mysterious, and radiant view of the world」. Is this because it is an encore performance that includes the final episodes? I wonder if it has become a story that faces people as humans instead of a mystery that unfolds behind a thin, fluttering curtain
A bit of a disappointment in the production: I guess there were many things they couldn’t do because the microphone was on the left cheek. Like kissing, close embraces, and the plap-pull-pull. For the plap-pull-pull, I don’t mind not having the plap, but I wanted her to pull both cheeks instead of pulling the left cheek that can’t be seen from the audience (maybe not actually pulling it). But then she wouldn’t be able to speak and the microphone will pick up the sound, mm~~~ since you probably wouldn’t know what she was doing if you didn’t know the original work, I wanted her to plap-pull-pull…… only pull-pull. But they have microphones. Koito-san’s 「Hyaehi-henhai?」 is splendidly cute. Just cut the microphone here and put it in…… no, they can’t do that. So close to perfect. There were a few scenes like that.
First half: Unlike the RTA aspect of the first performance, there was a sense of security and trust in the performance, which took its time after cutting down the parts that needed to be cut. Maybe that’s why I felt like Koito-san was standing firm, because in the first performance, I felt like she was really running around. Of course, she was getting swept up by others, but when I saw her stop and step forward with 「I have to do this」, I was like 「Koito Yuu is really (amazing)」 and 「Nanami Touko is really (sly)」.
And the umbrella. It was a light purple transparent umbrella, so I thought they would hide the kiss from the audience as with the first performance and was going to go 「There it is!」 but oh dear, they didn’t hide it!!! They kissed without hiding it with the umbrella. 「Is it okay to have seen this?!」 I was so shaken. Maybe this was another part of the production to face people as humans instead of a mystery. Mmmm, both of those productions are hard to discard. I still have a mind that wants to expose what’s hidden. But I don’t want Koito-san to get wet in the rain. Nanami Touko, cool your head a little. No, don’t cool your words.
The rooftop scene where she won’t let her kiss. It’s a very important scene, but when Koito-san takes Nanami Touko’s palm and puts it on her chest to persuade her, I ended up thinking 「……Isn’t Nanami Touko inwardly going 『Yuu’s boobs!!!』 here and not putting it into words?」, but no, it’s an important persuasion scene. Koito-san is trying to persuade with all her heart. Nanami Touko, who was staring at her palm after they separated, felt Koito-san’s heart. Not her chest. Probably.
I’ll come to a conclusion by the third time, but is Doujima-kun ad-libbing his 「Having more girls around will be welcome!」 poses? I’m looking forward to them. Doujima-kun on the YagaKimi stage is healing.
Second half: I feel like the student council play is a simplified version. In the first performance, the student council play was the culmination and a symbol of Nanami Touko’s change, but in the encore, it is a passing point followed by a surge of famous scenes, so I think it had to be cut down to a 55-minute structure, but with the student council play being the student council play, it is still a major milestone, so I particularly wanted it to depict the struggles and changes of the girl who lost her memories, and her relationship with the nurse. There are no fluctuations in the pacing, so it becomes a scene where she worries from beginning to end, or rather, she continuously does the habit of 『touching her hair』 which gets pointed out, so I would have liked something other than that habit to find 『you』. The crutches are just for decoration, and it would be irreverent to say it is a waste. But as for the structure, it seems to be the right choice.
Spill Out. It all spilled out. Nanami good-looking Touko. Her sorry is formidable. I felt like crying at this point each time. I lie, I did cry.
The school trip. This part is the pinnacle of beauty. ManaMido’s healing and Sayaka’s beauty, gentleness, and beautiful tears overwhelmed me. I cried without reserve. Maximum thanks for doing this to the fullest.
Maki-kun’s admonishment scene was also a difficult part performed well. Throughout the whole story, Maki-kun was tremendously Maki-kun. This is Maki Seiji. The part where he isn’t prudent and the part where he is a little unpleasant is also Maki Seiji. His passages in volume 7 are really good, and I particularly like his monologue after Koito-san runs off.
The confession. The culmination of the human beings Koito Yuu and Nanami Touko. It’s deeply moving. Watching the two of them step forward.
Curtain call: When Kawauchi-san said that she delivered her sentiments of three years in the best shape like this, I was so overcome with emotion that I cried. Thank you to all the actors and staff.
various other things
MiyaRiko: Miyako-san has the image of an 『easygoing poker face』 and a 『teasing character』, but on this time’s stage, she feels like a teasable character with an abundance of emotions. It’s a little interesting to see that she doesn’t only get soft in front of Riko-sensei, but that 『her poker face breaks down in front of Saeki Sayaka』. A medium-sized dog overflowing with love for Riko-sensei. MiyaRiko has tremendous mass.
Riko-sensei: She appears a great number of times and seems to have the role of bringing the scenes together. She was also in the student council room after the school trip, but…… did she need to be there? We have MiyaRiko, but there might be Riko-sensei fans……?
Ichigaya-paisen: His articulation was a little rough the first time, but got better the second time. I want him to wound Nanami Touko in an easy but clear manner.
President Kuze and others: Stable. I can watch with peace of mind.
Koyomi: Harusaki-san is really Kanou Koyomi. I hope she will continue to act as the friend who sees Koito Yuu the best and understands her changes the most.
Akari: Akari might be the one walking the most different route from the original work. A representative of love and heartbreak in general. I hope she will get along well with Doujima-kun in this route as well. I think there was a part of Koito-san that longed for Akari’s dazzle, so I hope she will stay by her side without losing that radiance. It shows both cheerfulness and sadness.
Maki-kun: As I wrote earlier, an amazing Maki-kun.
Doujima-kun: Healing. A ray of hope in the student council play.
ManaMido: Super ManaMido. This is the ManaMido I wanted to see. From the sense of distance to the way they talk, ManaMido feels like they’re ManaMido. Thank you.
Saeki Sayaka: A graceful Saeki Sayaka. She rises to her confession. She shows glimpses of childishness in her interactions with Miyako-san, but I want her to show more of it. I want her to plap-pull-pull. Mmm, a pull-pull at least would be great…….
Nanami Touko: Aren’t Koizumi-san’s legs getting longer? An illusion? I think they’ve gotten longer, but…… maybe I’m misremembering. A sly woman with good looks. Surely. But she’s good-looking. Good looks will convince me of everything. It is amazing how she can act out a needy voice, a dark voice, and an honor student’s voice. Her answer to Sayaka’s confession was also very good.
Koito-san: Her composure, they way she tries her best but gets swept up by others, and the bravery she shows when it’s needed. She takes the time to act as Koito Yuu. Reliable. I know she isn’t Koito Yuu, but there’s a part of me that wants to see Kawauchi-san cry. I am confident that if Kawauchi-san cries during curtain call, I will cry. Though even if she doesn’t, I will still cry.
Translation notes:
“There it is” (Kimashita wa) is a phrase that yuri otaku say out of excitement when they see yuri. It originated from Strawberry Panic!, said by Tamao Suzumi.
The episode title 「零れる」 has multiple translations.
One fan translation calls it “Overflowing”.
Seven Seas Entertainment, who licensed the manga in English, calls it “Overflow”.
The various fan and licensed translations for each title are here.
I call it “Spill Out”.
Aletheia 