What am I supposed to do with this, Crystal? My shipper heart can only take so much in 24 minutes.
Tag: Sam liveblogs crystal
The progression of this hug kills me.
Ami’s reaction to getting the highest score is there but minimal, keeping with how Crystal’s playing her character. Usagi’s more outwardly excited, cheering with her fists pumping. And then she goes in for the hug.
At first touch, Ami is confused. Everything out that face and head turn says “What are you doing?” And then Usagi’s arms are around her and she’s delaring how awesome she is and Ami’s still puzzled. Realization dawns slowly. Usagi is hugging her. Usagi thinks she’s amazing amazing. Usagi is being sincere about all of this. And she smiles that smile and everything is good in the world.
Okay, so even ignoring the sheer adorableness that is Ami, I love this moment a lot.
Earlier in the episode, Ami’s shown to have a cold exterior. She drops it for Luna, of course, because Luna’s cute and cats don’t know she’s the friendless genius. But then Usagi comes up. Usagi does know these things, and Ami knows she knows because Ami very pointedly noticed her at school and everyone at school knows who Ami is.
Yet Usagi talks to her like a normal person.
I didn’t include the cap of when Usagi first says hello, but Ami is so startled by it I have to wonder how long it’s been since someone her own age approached her. And Usagi is being incredibly Usagi, charming and caring and utterly adorable.
So Ami forgets herself for a moment, and says exactly what’s on her mind. She thought Luna was an angel. I’m willing to bet that Usagi coming and talking to her only strengthened that thought. A cat fell from the sky and suddenly someone, suddenly the girl she noticed earlier who was so happy and loved, is being friendly to her? That seems a whole lot like divine intervention to Ami. It’s the exact opposite of cold logic, and I love that that’s how Ami is on the inside.
And then she’s embarrassed. But Usagi thinks she’s cute and invites her to the arcade anyway.
CUTIES.
I’ll never be over Usagi wanting to get to know her senshi because she thinks they’re cute/pretty.
This location intrigues the heck out of me. The first couple shots had me thinking it was another SilMil flashback, but it’s Luna’s computer. I’m curious to find out if this is still meant to be in the arcade.
I love this moment to the moon and back.
Ami has no friends. Enter Usagi. Happy Usagi, with her group and her smile and her joking about her terrible grades.
Ami notices. But she’s unreadable.
I love that she’s unreadable. People comment that she seems cold, and Crystal makes those words not be empty. That is a stone cold face right there. Entirely emotionless. But inside? Ami’s feeling everything. Desire and envy and sadness and more.
She can’t show it.
Seconds before this we see her barely react to people talking behind her back. She’s learned to hide the pain, because nothing’s worse than people seeing you cry over their comments.
Then the second Usagi pays her any attention, she’s as warm and sweet as humanly possible, because she doesn’t have to be so closed off.
WOW CRYSTAL WAY TO THROW UNCOMFORTABLE HIGHSCHOOL MEMORIES BACK IN MY FACE.
I mean wow, my situation was different than Ami’s, but I’m relating hard right now. I had impeccable grades in highschool and ended up valedictorian (college no so much) and people did talk like this all the time. (For me, it was more that my test scores and grades were pitted against other people’s, like I was somehow at fault for scoring higher than someone more popular.)
And it’s a strange sort of thing, because it’d be easy to think that being so well known would make it easy to make friends. But it really really doesn’t. People knowing who you are without knowing you means they’re watching and judging, which is hard to break through anyway, but then the above happens and people outright avoid you because you heard them. It’s isolating, and I’m so happy Ami has Usagi to break through that for her.
THEY ARE HOLDING HANDS.
This episode is a gift.
First thoughts on this episode before I start making posts in earnest:
- I love that is starts out sort of from Ami’s point of view.
- Ami notices Usagi wow my heart
- Ami’s super cute
- I do think the budget isn’t what we initially thought like a lot of people have speculated. However, I think they’re doing an amazing job anyways
- Ami thinking Luna is an angel is forever one of my favorite things, but I like how they play it here better than in the first anime I think. It’s giving me a lot of feelings since we’ve already seen her sadness. Like, she thinks heaven just sent her an angel cat to be her friend I can’t.
- Twenty years has taken Usagi from “I’m warning you I can’t use a computer” to “What if I just press random buttons” and I think that’s beautiful
- All the hugs and handholding and Ami reaching for the power on her own to save Usagi MY HEART
- Mamoru noticing Luna talking that was just A+
- OH MY GOD I’ll have to make a post about that because I just had a thought
- Ami looks like she’s praying in her transformation eeee
I’ll probably have more and better thoughts tomorrow, when I have a day off and can get some sleep, but I really wanted to talk about Ami’s little appearance.
It just seems so incredibly sad.
Everyone else is talking with friends (or, eavesdropping on their friends and talking to a cat, in Usagi’s case). Not Ami. She’s walking alone, most likely to go straight to cram school. It’s impossible to really read her emotion from behind, but she seems pretty okay with it. Probably she’s just so used to it it’s not a thing.
But then it starts raining, and her whole stance changes. Part of it’s just from running, but her shoulders slump and her head goes down and she clutches her bag like it’s the most important thing in her life and the rain must not ruin its contents. Which is probably actually the case (and although Ami is naturally studious and a high achiever, I definitely see her also using her high marks as a way to connect with her mother, but we’ll see if/how that plays out in Crystal).
I just also realized this is a direct contrast to the opening. Ami doesn’t have an umbrella, and it seems to ruin her day a little. But in the opening, when she has Usagi and Rei and Luna and the rest of them, she throws her umbrella away because it doesn’t matter. Then can get soaked and have fun and love each other all day long.
Her bag and her homework?
Not so good at that.
I’m really excited for the next episode, guys. I’m already pumped to see Ami get some love. ❤
SittingOverHereDreaming 