Completed: Say "I Love You"

if the sappy title of this show doesn't mkae you gag then the contents of the show probably will.

This was the second Romance themed show i saw this season, the first being "My Little Monster" which i felt was a silly show that in the end was fairly harmless and pretty forgettable.

so whats this show about?
it's about a shy girl who doesn't speak much catching the attention of probably the hottest high school boy ever and their innocent romance over 13 episodes.
I use the word innocent because this girl is even shy about gestures like holding hands... and you know what i find nothing wrong with a story about a shy girl who isn't ready for all the things a relationship entails and a boy who is willing to take it slow with her.

no my problem with this show is the fact that the boy in question is a saint.
he can do no wrong.... and when he does do something bad he is instantly forgiven and it barely phases the relationship.

"well nice guys do exist in real life" i hear you yell at me
and you're right, i've met guys who are like that and they are completely real and blah blah blah BUT that doesn't mean i want to watch that kind of relationship for 13 episodes.

a common trope in anything romance is boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back.
In this show there is barely any conflict so he never really loses her. theres a thing where he becomes a model and can't spend as much time with her so he spends more time with the girl model and even goes to her house for dinner once but this never causes a breakup... Mei, the girl, just kisses him in public to show she's trying to be brave and he quits modelling and they talk about why it all upset her. then they are back to normal with her being the shy little mouse and him giving her the time she needs to become braver.

"whats wrong with that?"

Nothing... and thats the problem... no conflict makes for a boring and forgettable show. we have another character who likes mei come in but that gets brushed aside as fast as it's introduced. we have her making friends for the first time in a long time but then we never see them around here and when they are it is just to give her minor confidence boost (most o the time over a phone call) we have the boys sister (who is way too close to him for my personal taste..) who doesn't approve of mei till she suddenly does... but then at the last episode doesn't want her coming near her brother.
it's just.... this show is so confused that it doesn't know what it's really about.

but all those reasons aren't why i really disliek this show.... those reasons just make it boring...
no the reason i actually quite dislikethis show is cause it has some terrible messages.
in the penultimate episode Mei goes to a festival with Yamato, the boy.... finally remembered his name, and since she just came from work she didn't have a chance to dress up in a yukata.
and he's okay with this cause he just wants to be with her.
awwwwww thats so sweet (cause at this point while the show was forgetable and borign it was still cute)
so she heads home and her mom scolds her saying she had the yukata ready.
awww that was nice of her mom, oh well festivals over and yamato accecpted her for who she is and not what she looks like--
mom: no you have to put this one, do your hair pretty and wear makeup for him, it';s a girlfriends job.
me: what? no.... no you were on the right track saying that he really liked her because he liked her not all that superficial shit... what is this you have to doll yourself up cause thats you job as a girlfriend bullshit.... NO. He likes her for who she is... all the awkwardness aside... isn't that enough?

luckily thast really the only instant of that in the show but it bugged me and it turned a mediocre show to one that left a bad taste in my mouth.

maybe if the show had made the characters have actual arcs (i'm sorry but going from not being able to say i love you to being about to say i love you is NOT a character arc) or had more focus on the interesting characters (anyone aside from mei or yamato) or hell just have some conflict somewhere... anywhere.... you may argue the whole modelling thing was conflict but in the end neither mei or yamato did ANYTHING to help solve that... it was all this side character who was just introduced... so no i do not cite it as conflict.

i know normally i try to list off the good in a show but honestly i can't remember half of it...
the ending song is good (i hate the intro song, it's apparently an homage to a singer who died suddenly and thast really sweet but i still don't like the song)... um... the animation is pretty decent with all the humans having good proportions (except yamato who must be 7 fee tall) and it has some sweet moments.......

but wow is it ever boring.

still if you like romance but hate all that nasty forced conflict give the show a shot. It can be seen over at crunchyroll completely for free http://www.crunchyroll.com/say-i-love-you so please go make your own opinion.

considering how many 5 stars it has i must be in the minority.... the thing is i watch/read a lot of shoujo and romance and i can think of 5 titles off the top of my head that are better then this...
Kodocha (kodomo no omacha/child's play)
Lovely comples (love . com)
Clannad
Otomen
Kitchen princess
there you go.... 5 completely different completely full of conflict and tears titles that are way better then this one.