| Updated 08-07-03 |
Kono Te Hanasanai |
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As he was walking in
town, Nakano Kou sees from the corner of his eye a girl
who looks like his first love - Mitsube Yukako. He first
met the girl when she transferred into his fourth grade
class. Kou was the brightest in the class, until Yukako
appeared, who turned out to be a good athlete and cook as
well (for a fourth grader). Eventually, his jealousy
turned into love when he saw behind her smiling mask a
little girl who could cry. He also learns from his father
about how her father racked up debts, and now the mother
and daughter are running away from the collectors. The
day of their first date (in Kou's mind), Kou finds an
empty apartment with a sheet of paper: "Sorry,
Kou-kun. Sayonara." Six years later, Kou talks to his brother about seeing a girl who looked like Yukako. His brother asks if he still loves the girl. Kou laughs in reply. It was just an elementary school crush. A short time later, Kou walks their dog "Pat". After a successful mission of chasing away some crows, Kou sees a girl who looks like Yukako hiding in an alleyway. Before his eyes, she steals some food from an outdoor stand and has to run away from the owners. Kou manages to save the girl from getting caught. Once alone, he calls her Yukako, and she's surprised that he knows her name, instantly worried he's a collector. Then she recognizes him as "old man" Kou. During the brief walk to her apartment, Kou begins to fall in love with her again. However, the happy girl from his past has become thinner and more stern, a victim of hard times. There is also a scar across her wrist. She is practically a different girl, but he can't stop thinking of her. If you are expecting something similar to Kodocha, don't. Kono Te is a serious, but sweet romance story between a girl who hates life because of her past and a boy who thinks of the good times in the past, afraid of the present. He tries to help her, even though he himself has to work hard to make a living to go to school. Kou even sacrifices a family dream for her. It is a story of two wounded people who end up needing each other in order to achieve a happy life, but realizing this isn't an easy thing for Yukako. Rating -- 7.5
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