White Album - Episode 12

Poor old Touya.... Is probably how I'm supposed to start this 'Blog entry, but once again White Album's protagonist reaps what he sows.

Considering her look of utter shock last episode, Rina actually lets Touya off pretty lightly at first when it dawns on her what's going on between him and Yayoi, inviting him out on a date at Echoes (who really need some new background music in their cafe) out of what I suspect is a mixture of protecting Yuki and perhaps a growing desire that she has for him herself. Despite this invitiation, Touya decides to stand up Rina, instead going out with Yayoi and then ending up back at his apartment with her.

It appears to be this final insult that leads Rina (after seemingly trying to run off her worries) to read out the letter that Yuki sent to Touya via Yayoi, but which got way-laid as we already know. We hadn't properly seen the contents of this letter before, but in essence it was a sea of self-doubt on Yuki's part, spurred on by a mixture of her own hectic lifestyle and the little time it afforded her to spend with Touya, plus I would wager her suspicions that he's been avoiding her (which doubtless she put down to her own perceived shortcomings). To top it all off, and with Touya already in tears, Rina fires him as her manager. At this point Touya actually does something quite sensible and worthy for a change, leaving Yuki a message to let her know that he got her letter (although he unknowingly puts his foot in it by mentioning Rina) and to tell her that he's still going to her concert.


This brief moment of clarity doesn't last long however, as the moron never bought a ticket, and this close to the concert (and of course in these days before eBay) everywhere is sold out, and Touya predictably gives up without another moment's effort. So, once more we're left with the same old Touya who has to rely on everybody else to bail him out, in an amusing montage with leaves him with no less than three tickets to the concert. The episode closes with Yuki's debut concert just moments away from starting, although before that we're "treated" to Mizaki being stabbed (well, sort of) and another in-car romp between Yayoi and Touya (who had just been punched in the face by the owner of Echoes, thus living the dream of anime viewers everywhere).

While a fair amount of this episode was quite predictable in its own dramatic and entertaining way, and aside from its excellent sideline in comedy thanks to the whole "musical tickets" scenes, I get the feeling that the real story of this episode is between Yuki and Rina, with the various events we see here likely to drive a wedge between them for a variety of reasons, although I imagine a lot of this stuff will have to wait for the second half of the series in the Autumn - With only one episode to go before White Album "takes a break", there's only really going to be time to cover the concerts and any direct aftermath I would assume. What money on Yayoi licking away Touya's tears of Yuki sings on stage next episode? Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets...