Sometimes good shows sort of lose the plot, and for me that’s what happened with Runway de Waratte. It’s the second 12-episode series this week that for me should have ended after 10, though for very different reasons. And it’s the second adaptation that ended this week which leaves me wondering how much of its shortcomings were due to the source material, and how much to trying to adapt too much manga in too little anime. But in the end that part doesn’t matter, because an adaptation has to be judged on its own merits.
Actually that last part isn’t totally true here, because this ending disappointed me enough to make me hesitant about whether to pick up the Runway manga. This conclusion wasn’t unilaterally terrible, but it was pretty grievously flawed. The whole Kokoro thing was a total asspull, and that was the lynchpin for the entire ending. It was totally unconvincing and just as unsatisfying, and I can’t think that’s all down to the pacing of the adaptation. But some of it might be – as skeptical as I feel right now, maybe if her arc had played out more deliberately I’d feel less cheated right now.
The problem for me is that characters being forced to act out of character for the sake of the plot is a pet peeve, and implausible developments engineered for the same purpose equally so. I didn’t buy Chiyuki dumping Ikuto to work with Kokoro to begin with, and I certainly didn’t buy Kokoro winning the Geika competition with her boring lineup of outfits. Some of that comes down to personal taste of course, but at least do something to try and convince me she’s a brilliant designer or even a talented one before you spring that ludicrous result on the audience.
It worked out great for Chiyuki of course, which was partly why it was necessary for the plot. She basically hijacked Kokoro’s show and made it a personal showcase and that worked a treat for her. She deserves a break even if she did rather stab Ikuto in the back, but the way it came about was highly dubious. As for Toh, again there’s the sense of contorting events for plot convenience. Of course he withdrew his name from competition – if he hadn’t there was no way he wouldn’t have placed first. And if he had placed first, the whole Kokoro subplot was even more pointless.
As for Ikuto, it was rather sad to see him sidelined for the final two episodes when his story was the most compelling in the series. I don’t know where he goes from here – interning for Aphro I dite is fine, but I certainly hope he accepts that Geika scholarship because that’s what he should be doing. It’s not untrue that he was a winner just by showing up, pretty much (and poaching one inquiry for his designs, the one that would have put Toh over the top). And to accomplish what he did as a high-schooler going against fashion college elites was notable. But he needs the kind of technique and savvy (like “don’t hold a fashion show and not bring business cards”) he’d learn going to fashion college, and there’s no reason why he should forego the chance to do that on a scholarship.
Endings are important. That’s just a cold, hard fact – and my overall impression of Runway de Waratte is going to be significantly impacted by the botched ending. But on the whole it was still a very good series, all the more notable for me because the subject was one I came in with absolutely no interest in. The problem is that what really elevated the material for me – Chiyuki and Ikuto struggling side by side against long odds and supporting each other – proved to be pretty irrelevant in the series’ final third. The show was pretty great when it focused on the two of them and pretty average when it didn’t. Factor it all together and you’ve got something quite worthwhile – but still as notable for what might have been as for what it actually achieved.
Taimis
March 28, 2020 at 11:17 amManga reader here. It’s interesting to hear how the anime treated Kokoro’s win because it sounds different from the manga. I felt the manga was quite clear about its stance towards Kokoro as a designer and why what happened happened. (I don’t want to spoil anything.) While I’d say Kokoro’s designs were clever, I just wasn’t moved by them. That said, I’m the type of person who’s pretty satisfied with UNIQLO, so I don’t feel like I’m in the position to comment about the clothes, haha.
Guardian Enzo
March 28, 2020 at 11:23 amUNIQLO is my splurge, GU my everyday. So yeah, very much in the same boat, but Kokoro’s designs really left me cold (which was only a small part of the problem).
LGrey
March 28, 2020 at 2:21 pmI can’t find one particular screenshot about Kokoro’s win here; it’s quite important but since you didn’t include it, perhaps this adaptation omit that detail, changing the tone of the scene? Like Taimis said, it’s very clear in the manga.
Would you check manga chapter 72? Perhaps it can relieve the bitter aftertaste slightly 🙂
Guardian Enzo
March 28, 2020 at 2:35 pmI have no idea which screenshot that might be of course, but it’s possible it was here but didn’t make my final cut. As for the manga, as I said in the piece I’m still undecided on that, but if I did decide to read it I suspect I’d start at the beginning so as to see the stuff the anime cut out.
LGrey
March 28, 2020 at 6:58 pmOkay. I got curious enough to watch just this episode and this episode alone …
Ah yes, now I see why.
The scene in question has two panels + 1 full page in chapter 72.
The adaptation animates Panel #2 first, then a much subtler Panel #1. The Full Page is AWOL.
I repeat, the Full Page is AWOL.
You screencapped Panel #2, BTW.
My guess is that the producers want to wrap & shape up this episode as a ‘happy end’ & don’t want the leave the audience with any sequel hooks (revealing a ‘villain’ in the final episode is a no-no in that light). Other signs of this? Kokoro’s checklists missing the final one & Yanagida *casually* shutting off his brand in the end credits.
Had they adapted the manga as-is, then it would have been a ‘crossroads & cliffhanger end-of-season-1’. Which I bet would be a much stronger one 😀
leongsh
March 28, 2020 at 5:09 pmAs expected, the designs of Ayano Toh looks the best presented so far. He is definitely a cut above the rest. That said, Ayano Toh pulling out because he didn’t get the number of inquiries? Oh.. how so prima donna and so like him. I wonder why I did not think he would so. It should be obvious but only on hindsight. Kokoro winning due to Toh’s pullout is a bit disappointing. There is one bright spot. The judging comments about Ikuto’s designs were spot on.
I am now rather hesitant in following through with reading the manga. Manga readers can convince me otherwise?
BlueBlue
March 28, 2020 at 6:54 pmI am bit confused, so even after the end of a series (as I highly doubt that there will be a season 2), no spoilers rule is sill active even for stuffs which are already passed ?
Anyway, I am not going to battle too much about Kokoro here. As I have said last week, everything is relative and I should say that I myself found ironic to see most better comments about the previous episode and even a website that I won’t named give 5/5 to that episode. So…relativity? Subjectivity?
Well, I’m still gonna say that I am surprised that as a sports manga/anime fan, you are “surprised” by these kinds of scenario. I mean, as already said and strongly implied (even though the horrendous pace of the anime VS manga made it less clear), that series is a Shounen Nekketsu using the tropes seen in any series of that kind. Or, I don’t know. Then, it is surprisingly super convenient that (Major 2nd here) Dolphins lose their game with, oh surprise, an accident? Or maybe Baby Steps should have finished the second season before Ei-chan facing Arata?
Does it make it less irritating regarding the Kokoro stuff? Maybe not. But honestly, I don’t see any big drama (and honestly in the manga, Kokoro/Chiyuki show is gorgeous).
So, as I don’t know about spoiling rules now (and anyway, I stopped “reading” a bit after that arc as it had started to be published in French that I buy), I will just lightly point out few things that anime-only viewers maybe have missed:
– In that very last episode, Sara (the model in the jury) kind of “hijacked” Kokoro results. Indeed, did you notice what she said giving her the prize and the fact that she’s the only one voting for her as a winner? That part is flawed due to the bad anime adaptation, but…won’t say more
– Still disappointed by how other characters background have been absent. Igarashi’s past and her interaction/rivalry with Shizuku and how it influenced her relationship with Kokoro. Same goes for Ayanoh’s “past”.
– The fact that so far, Ikuto is “only” good at patterns which is something stressed early in the manga and subtly repeated many times until that arc and made his loss more obvious.
– Chiyuki who may feel like a selfish backstabber that she’s not due the pace of the last episodes. By the way, then end of that episode is a bit anime original as she’s doing more “for Ikuto” and their relationships when they meet after the results (where is my “Hikaru no go” golden parody…Ezo’la?).
– By the way, a lot of gag/humor scenes have been removed from that anime version. It became even more blatant to me yesterday. So for those who thinks that it is a pure suffering juice only, this is wrong.
And there would be so many other things. Anyway, this is just a beginning of a trip and while the adaptation was poorly paced, we know why…(I am looking at you production committee).
Kim
March 29, 2020 at 12:58 amI wasn’t as enamored by this series as you were but enjoyed it enough. The ending wasn’t the best thing ever but it was solid enough. I was disappointed Ikuto didn’t place higher at first but I think his worth as a designer can still be seen by others in the end and he will only get better. I think him continuing to strive to improve because he didn’t win is only a good thing for his character. And the fact that he still got so far as a 17 yr old I think is driven home by the narrative.
Not really sure if I agree with Kokoro’s win either. Though it may also be because I find her kind of a boring character but I also found her win somewhat uninspiring. Besides the conflict with her modeling agency there was no struggle and the win does feel too convenient for me, especially 1st place.
Though I don’t really think Chiyuki stabbed Ikuto in the back to work with her. Ikuto sees Kokoro as a friend too.
As for the manga I actually did buy the 1st volume today but that was because it was only 99 cents so I thought what the hell.
steelbound
March 29, 2020 at 11:11 amWow! I can’t remember when a final episode has so negatively impacted my enjoyment of an anime series. Runway de Waratte went from what I was considering one of the season’s best to a series I’m sorry I even bothered to watch.
Resolving the quesiton of Kokoro being a fashion designer so neatly by having her actually winning felt like extremely lazy storytelling, having Kokoro winning because Toh Ayano dropped out of the competition was just straight up terrible storytelling. And I don’t even understand how that turn of events was possible. If Toh talked to each of the 52 people wanting to buy his designs for a mere 2 minutes as they pitched why he should choose their business that’s nearly 2 hours of time. I’m to believe that the judges deliberated on the winner for so long that Toh had time to decide he wasn’t going to get 53 buyers and was able to drop out before the winners were announced.
A more realistic result would have been for Kokoro to finish somewhere in the top 10 and working out a compromise from her manager, especially since it seems like her desire to model was ignited by Chiyuki’s success as a model from the show.
I’m also angry the show did such a poor job in educating the viewer on the topic of fashion design and fashion shows. Telling us at the very end that one wins a fashion show contest by creating clothes people aren’t meant to actually wear was once again terrible storytelling. And it seemed doubly mean to the viewer because no one during this entire process bothered to tell Ikuto – the person we’re rooting to do well – not to design clothes people can actually wear but to create completely impractical clothes. Better anime educate their viewers to understand why the winners win. I can’t help but remember how Kono Oto Tomare! ends. We hear the top 3 schools play their pieces of music and we know who will win based on what we’ve learned in the series and we know why the losers lost and what they need to improve upon.
And once again, I don’t understand this anime. If it’s a bad thing in a fashion show contest to design clothes that can actually be worn by people, why do buyers show up looking to buy?
I also don’t like characters that suddenly no longer act according to their character. Either their character wasn’t properly portrayed or the author isn’t good enough at naturally moving the plot the way they want.
Why did Ikuto decide to work for Toh Ayano at the end of this episode? Toh Ayano was portrayed as a pretty evil character. Even if there was backstory to explain that he’s not that evil, I don’t understand why Ikuto would ever decide to go work for him, especially since he will apparently get a scholarship to attend that fashion college and be allowed to work through the school. And Hajime Yanagida deciding to just close his business doesn’t make sense in the slightest and is once again way too convenient for where the story obviously wants to go.
Why should I care that Toh didn’t get 53 offers? And that whole scene where his one assistant is blaming Ikuto for the failure of that one dress left me thinking – why should I care and why should Ikuto care? If Toh isn’t meant to be an actual villain, the show failed at conveying that.
I could go on, but, I’ll end by saying I’m disappointed that the show was sold as two misfits fighting together to find success and the series turned out to not be about that.