One Minute Of Love

I wonder if it's just the calm before the storm, but it sure is eerily quiet. Perhaps Megumi was right in Memories of Lily when she said that people simply forgot about SaeKano when the new season and shows started rolling in.

Not much of a surprise and slightly old news now, but Volume 8 will be released on June 20th. While I had imagined that Izumi will be featured on the cover – which does not seem to be the case now – the synopsis seems to suggest that Eriri may be heavily involved in the story.

That said, I don't have much time until the next volume to summarize Girls Side and since there is no guarantee if I'll be able to do a comprehensive summary – feels a bit like an oxymoron – at all, I will leave here a quick-bite version for the lazy and the busy.

Girls Side is divided into two parts, the first one – originally released in several issues of Dragon Magazine – is about Eriri and Utaha's first meeting and the shenanigans followed after. The basic gist is that both girls admire each other's talents and are fans of each other's creative works, with Utaha spending some 50,000 yen to purchase Eriri's 8-page Koisuru Metronome doujinshi off an online auction. If it weren't for Tomoya, the two would have probably got along a lot better.

The second part, consisting of 5 Acts, is about the girls' meeting with Akane Kousaka, how it leads to their eventual depature and the aftermath.

The prologue is about Akane approaching an unsuspecting Utaha at the Winter Comiket, claiming to be a fan of Utaha's. Having somehow obtained and played a copy of Cherry Blessing, Akane praises the game. During their conversation, Utaha knows that this so-called fan of hers is no ordinary person and becomes particularly alarmed when Akane claims to be Eriri's fan as well. Akane hands Utaha her business card when asked about her identity and disappears into the Comiket crowd, leaving a shocked Utaha behind.

Act 1 starts with Eriri asking Tomoya to go out and play together when she finishes drawing (Volume 6 Epilogue), but soon she realizes that her drawing quality has regressed back to that of the old and ordinary 'Eri Kashiwagi'. The scene then fast-forwards to middle February. Tomoya gets in trouble for bringing games to school when his class has their belongings searched. After Tomoya goes to the staff room, Utaha notices a definite change in Eriri when they start talking about the new package art for their game. Eriri tells Utaha that she still hasn't fully recovered from her sickness from last year and so she isn't in her best condition. Utaha knows that the usual Eriri would not give up so easily and chooses to believe in the artist's ability to recover by suppressing her doubts about changes in Eriri's attitude.

Act 2 kicks off with Utaha receiving an official offer from Mars to become the writer for Fields Chronicle. Utaha is confused as to why a romance comedy writer such as herself would be chosen to write the main scenario of a fantasy RPG. Machida says that many publishers are fighting to obtain the rights to (the novelization of) the game series, and it'd be an advantage for Fushikawa Shoten if Utaha gets the job, though Machida herself is conflicted about if they should let Utaha go. Still confused, Utaha asks Machida for the person who has sent them the offer and correctly guesses that it comes from Akane who Machida describes as a pro among pros. Machida then asks if Utaha knew about Akane targeting both her and Eriri, as Utaha recalls how Iori tried to recruit Eriri last summer.

Utaha meets up with Eriri to discuss their offers. While neither girl has decided if they would accept the offer, Utata tells Eriri that representatives from Mars have arranged a face-to-face meeting with her. Eriri says she will go to the meeting as well, so they can turn down the offers together. Utaha says Tomoya should be there since he's the leader of their circle and throws in a joke about Tomoya confessing to her at the critical moment when she gives in to Mars' tempting demands. Eriri says that she alone will be going with Utaha, and that Tomoya is troubled by Megumi not coming to their circle. Utaha wants to ask Eriri if she has realized that Megumi not showing up isn't the only thing that is troubling Tomoya, but holds back. Although the girls have decided that they will turn down the offer, Utaha becomes uncertain when she asks Eriri about the package art. It's not that Utaha has no confidence in her own abilities. It's just that she has no confidence in Eriri's current state, choice and future.

Act 3 is the fateful meeting. Akane invites the girls to a luxury restaurant atop one of Japan's top hotels. She gives the girls her game proposal before they can do anything and tells them that they have half an hour to finish reading it. Unwillingly, the girls look through the proposal and are completely captured by the vivid drawings and settings.

Half an hour later, Akane asks the girls for their thoughts on the proposal. Eriri and Utaha are unsure if they should say anything about a proposal of such high quality. Utaha tries to buy some time and asks Akane what she wants them to do by showing them the proposal. Not giving Utaha a moment to rest, Akane bluntly tells her to die.

"This is the work that you will die for...from now on, you will always think about it, you will live for it, and you will give your life for its completion."

Eriri's hardly pleased with what she's hearing and asks Akane what she's saying all of a sudden. Akane tells an angry Eriri to use her new style to design the characters.

"Once more, burn your life like you did 'that time'...if you can't do that, then there's no point in coming here."

Eriri says she won't join Akane's project and is surprised when Akane points out that she's no longer able to draw in Tomoya's circle and that they'd only hurt each other if Eriri stayed in the circle. Eriri refutes that what Akane is saying isn't true but finds it hard to believe that Akane has utterly seen through Blessing Software and Eri Kashiwagi's problems. Akane says that she expects Utaha to fulfill the role of a catalyst that brings out Eriri's potential and to support Eriri as an old friend when needed.

At that moment, Utaha felt a shock even greater than Eriri's...
No, she was overcome with humiliation.

"I am...Sawamura-san's chaperone...?"
"The scenario of 'Cherry Blessing' was touching alright. But if Eri Kashiwagi isn't coming, then there's no reason to keep you around."
"Uh..."

Eriri tries to turn down Akane's offer and tells her to find another illustrator. Akane says the proposal will have to be burned here and now if Eriri turned her down. Eriri asks if Akane is threatening her, but Akane explains that since the proposal was written with Eri Kashiwagi's drawings in mind, it's meaningless without Eriri on board. However, Eriri says she can't do it because though the project is amazing and she's interested, she cannot stand the pressure.

"It's not like I'm asking for that kind of high level drawing. I'm merely asking you to keep the level you had at Nasu...no, at the game's finale..."
"Impossible! I can't do it!"

Feeling insulted that Akane calls the drawings that she's put her heart and soul into not "that kind of high level", Eriri cries.

"What? What's wrong? In a bit of a slump?"
"Not just a bit! I'm at my limit! I can never draw like that again!"
"Sawamura-san, that's..."

Utaha wants to tell Eriri not to give herself a limit so easily, but is startled by unexpected outbursts from their nemesis.

*Akane's speech pattern becomes quite masculine here

"Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahaha! Don't fuck with me, you little piece of shit!"
"Wha-?!"
"You haven't even reached your own potential! After just one transformation and you call that a slump? What the fuck do you think drawing is?"
"Seriously! Here I am, expecting even better drawings from you! But I'm going to take that back, you're fine the way you are~ don't get ahead of yourself, you suck!"
"That's not slump! That's just talking crap! That just means your're bad at drawing! It means your arms can't keep up!"
"And yet, you've managed to draw well once so only your eyes have gotten good. Did you look at your own drawing and think 'this isn't my drawing~ this isn't my drawing~'?...Well, just having a sense of shame helped you grow a little, didn't it? Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha~"

"Stop...stop it..."
"That's enough, Kousaka-san, stop it..."

The sudden downpour of verbal insults send both girls into a state of panic.

"Well, Eri Kashiwagi's art is like this though? I'm sure it's something like this, is it not?"

Returning to a more feminine way of speaking, Akane shows the girls her Cherry Blessing doujinshi which goes well over 100 pages. Akane asks Eriri if Eri's art feels like the ones in the doujinshi. Eriri notes that while it is a little simplified, the design and everything clearly follow her techniques. More than anything else, Eriri realizes what truly puts Akane's work on the same level as the original.

"I managed to draw it so...of course, you too should be able to do this much, right?"
"Ah, ah..."
"Sawamura-san..."

Eriri doesn't want to admit it, but the 'soul' of their works are similar.

Not a whole lot happens in Act 4, aptly named Calm After the Storm. Eriri and Utaha discuss about their meeting with Akane. Utaha says the only thing she can agree with Akane is on Eriri's current inability to draw. Eriri asks Utaha if she's okay (with how Akane has treated her) and says that she will not join Akane. Utaha tells Eriri that she hasn't actually made a decision on her own future. Eriri asks if Utaha would like her to leave Blessing Software, or if Utaha would stick around Tomoya like a landmine once Eriri is gone and tell him to forget about the traitor since it's already been five years (White Album 2 reference). Briefly discussing the prospects of working on Fields Chronicle, Eriri gets a little excited as Akane has penned the proposal with her in mind. Utaha gives vent to her frustration and tells Eriri to prepare herself as Utaha aims to crush the doujin artist should she join the project. Eriri is surprised to witness such a childish Utaha.

Composing herself, Utaha says she's made her position clear, but since she's just an added bonus for Akane, Utaha doesn't have much of a choice regarding the offer – Eriri will have to be the one to decide for both of them. Even so, Utaha knows that this is her chance to team up with Eri Kashiwagi again.

Iori wakes up Akane in the restaurant. He asks if she'd just met Eriri and Utaha, and if she really plans to make the girls main contributors to Fields Chronicle. Akane remarks that Iori was the first person to recognize Eriri's talents and says she's rather surprised by his foresight. Iori reminds her that she should let Tomoya know about the offers she's sent to the girls. However, Akane doesn't care enough to do it. Iori tells her that she'll always make enemies in the industry because of her personality, though he says it's fine when her works are still selling. Akane replies that if she weren't selling she'd be dying a dog's death, since the only place she could survive is the creative world in which she works. Iori reminds Akane that she's already got too many people under her and the chaos that would be generated by her fall is not something anyone would like to imagine. Akane complains that it's all too troublesome, and Iori tells her that because she's taken in all the creators she likes, Akane has made her own life difficult as a result.

Akane says Fields Chronicle is about to change with her and the two girls. Iori asks if she's talking about how the old development team were kicked out. Akane says her condition for agreeing to work on the game was a complete personnel reshuffle of the staff, and Mars merely fulfilled that condition. She expresses her disdain for the old team, who were talented but kept living off their old successes instead of creating new content. A somewhat intoxicated Akane says she will crush people like those by creating similar but better titles. She tells Iori that the old team seem to have founded a new company and are making a Fields Chronicle-esque game, and says that she did nothing wrong. Iori tells Akane that he too wishes to run a circle just for himself. Akane realizes that he's leaving rogue en rogue. Iori thanks her for looking after him all this time. Akane reminds him that it's a long and difficult road to the top filled and he will be hated and attacked along the way as he desperately climbs his way up. Iori says he'll leave those troublesome things to someone else and he'd like to become more of a 'fixer'. Akane says that it'd be nice if he could find a partner who would stand up for him. Hearing that, a subtle smile emerges on Iori's face, though Akane does not notice it. Iori notes that Akane might be similar to the Nasu Highlands' harem representative (Tomoya). Akane replies that in that case, it's becoming increasingly unlikely that she and Tomoya will get along.

Utaha goes back to Fushikawa Shoten to report to Machida after parting ways with Eriri. After briefly discussing about Utaha's choice and its implications, Machida asks if Akane is doing well. Utaha wonders if Machida and Akane knew each other. Machida says she and Akane used to be in their university's manga club and they attended Comiket together. Utaha is surprised to learn that Akane is an alumna of the university that she will be attending. Utaha asks what Akane was like back then, Machida says she was quite a typical female-oriented doujin artist. Born into a wealthy family, Akane was raised like a sheltered princess. She was not avaricious nor did she have a strong ambition, back then she just enjoyed being with people who shared her interests (in other words, a bit like Tomoya).

Machida shows Utaha a photo of her, Akane and two other ladies doing poses of popular characters from that time. Akane had the same hairstyle as Utaha back then. Machida says the photo was taken when Akane first went commercial. Utaha asks if becoming a professional changed Akane. Machida says there was a bit of a time lag for Akane, whose debut work, Gotanda no Cardinal, sold a million copies and was green-lit for anime adaptation in half a year's time. Machida says it all happened too soon and Akane was too young at the time. Akane tried her best to contribute, but in the first place the adaptation was meant to do nothing more than filling in empty airing slots. The final product was of course, a completely butchered adaptation that was dubbed 'a pointless anime that even fans wouldn't bother watching'. Maruto is probably alluding to the terrible (and also the first if I'm not mistaken) adaptation of one of his own works here.

The failure of the adaptation changed Akane. Having lost fans and even some very important friends, Akane prohibited any of her work from going cross-media for the next five years. During those years, Akane didn't just publish creative works, she worked tirelessly amassing funds and talents for herself. Five years later, with her in total control of everything, Akane's works blossomed across different media. It's been almost ten years since then, and there has not been a single failed project by Akane Kousaka, the Queen of Media Mix.

Machida says having a complete personality change because of that one failure actually shows Akane was mentally weak, but it was amazing that she managed to turn things around. She tells Utaha that regardless of the past, the Akane Kousaka right now is an absolute monster. Machida asks Utaha if she has the ability and mental strength to work under Akane. Utaha doesn't respond, not because she isn't confident in herself, but because all she can think about, is the crying face of Eriri.

Act 5 is about Eriri's revival and the girls' final decision. Three days before the graduation, Eriri calls Utaha to the art room. Utaha gets overexcited when Eriri says that she's able to draw again. Utaha wants to go to Eriri's place to look at her sketch, but Eriri says if Utaha just wants to see her drawing, they can do it in the art room. Eriri asks Utaha to give her 30 minutes. Sensing the change in Eriri, Utaha notes that the girl before her is no longer the indecisive Eriri who relies on others.

The next half an hour or so is a blur for Utaha, who is shocked but overjoyed to watch Eriri complete her drawing (of Meguri). The first time Utaha saw Eriri's drawing was in this art room. Since then she has secretly been a fan of Eriri's. That's why her emotions are running wild when she sees the results of her encouragement and support for Eriri.

And then, Utaha asks.
Her junior who is not here, and who she wishes were here.

"Rinri-kun, have you seen Sawamura-san like this?
Have you ever seen her burning her life and enjoying drawing like this?
You have probably never seen it...
Because, had you known that she could be like this,
Then you wouldn't have such insolent thoughts as to 'protect her'."

"Ahh, really, what a waste.
And, I'm really glad.
If you had seen her right now,
You will surely fall in love with her again, and know the despair of not being able to reach her with that love."

"Do you think you understand Sawamura-san the most?
Sorry to tell you, but you understand absolutely nothing.
She is this strong, this dignified, and this beautiful...
And she's such a wonderful artist.
The only one in the world who doesn't understand is a clown like you." 

Finishing her drawing in just 21 minutes, Eriri asks Utaha if it's close to what she had drawn at Nasu Highlands. Utaha laughs because what she sees is well above everything Eriri has done so far and almost at the level that Akane expects of Eriri. When a person overcomes their limit and improves at such a rapid speed, it just means that there are still hidden talents within that person. Utaha feels that Eriri right now is probably someone like that, and though it makes her angry, Utaha knows the person who can bring out those talents is none other than Akane.

Eriri asks Utaha what she should do. Utaha says Eriri will have to decide for herself. Eriri says that Tomoya's told her that it's okay if she couldn't draw. Utaha tells her that it's either she leaves the circle to continue drawing or she stays and stops drawing. Utaha says Eriri's motivation for drawing up until last year was due to her and Tomoya's estrangement, as she wanted to prove herself to the person who introduced her to the otaku world. However, Tomoya no longer wants anything more from Eriri and so she has lost sight of who she should be in their circle. Utaha says that yet an opponent has appeared, an formidable opponent that the 'Eri Kashiwagi' inside Eriri would love to challenge.

Eriri tells Utaha that she betrayed Tomoya when they were kids. Utaha says she knows and Eriri says this would be her second betrayal and Tomoya would definitely not forgive her. Eriri says that she has promised Tomoya to become better than anyone and that extends to a monster like Akane too, so it isn't betrayal but rather she's doing it to fulfill her promise with him. Utaha chuckles at Eriri's logic but understands full well that is how a creator's thought process works. Utaha accepts Eriri's decision and thinks that Tomoya will eventually come to accept it too, though she cannot guarantee who would be by his side when that happens.

Without a doubt, Eriri Spencer Sawamura...Eri Kashiwagi is moving forward.
Because Utaha Kasumigaoka...Utako Kasumi knows.
Here stands a person who's loved by the gods, it's impossible for her to defy them.
She's a genius, and a foolish creature known as a creator.

Utaha reminds Eriri that the days ahead will be difficult, and Eriri says she's prepared for it. Utaha tells Eriri to call her if the blonde girl ever needed a shoulder to cry on. Eriri says she won't cry anymore and asks Utaha to be prepared too. Eriri tells Utaha that Akane has overlooked the writer's talents and efforts, and that Akane is a nobody if she couldn't understand Utaha's greatness.

"Let's take down Akane together..."
"Well, be careful not to play any trick on me okay?"

Sitting on the cold floor and leaning against the cold floor, the two girls bump their fists together.

The first epilogue starts with a replay of the scene where Megumi confronts Eriri in Volume 7. Eriri calls Utaha to her place afterwards. Both girls have gone through a lot since the day they vowed to defeat Akane. Utaha asks Eriri about her and Tomoya. Eriri says she has messaged Tomoya but received no replies. Eriri tells Utaha that she and Megumi have ended their friendship, though Eriri isn't entirely sure about it herself. Utaha says it can't be helped since it's Megumi they are talking about. Eriri remarks that she did not expect Megumi to be so angry and cry. Utaha says Eriri's at fault no matter how one slices it.

After all, she's not a creator.
After all, she's Eriri's best friend.
After all, she deeply wishes for the circle to continue.
And, she is probably, the person who understands him the most...

Losing Tomoya and Megumi proves to be too much for Eriri and she starts crying despite promising not to cry any more a few days earlier. Utaha puts her hand on Eriri's shoulder, and a teary Eriri falls into Utaha's arms.

"Uwaaah...uwaaaaaaaah!"
"Don't cry. You don't need to cry."
"But, but...waaaaaaaaaaah..."
"It's true that you're at fault...but at least I'm on your side."
"Wuh...really?"
"Well...I'm an accomplice after all."
"K-K-Kasumigaoka Utaha...fueeeeeeh, ueeeeeeeeh..."
"W-wait..."
"U-u-uwaaaaaaaah, uwaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Ahh stop crying already...Eri Kashiwagi!"

Looking at the crying Eriri, Utaha has made up her mind. She will become Eriri's shadow; she will become the princess' shield. The girls are going to reach their absolute limits and defeat Akane together.

The second epilogue takes place after Tomoya leaves the girls at the train station. It's taking a long time for Eriri to calm down after witnessing Utaha and Tomoya's kiss. Utaha tells her to stop crying and Eriri accuses Utaha of catching her off guard and taking advantage of her. Utaha asks Eriri if she'd like some sweets. Eriri says the sweets are given to her by Tomoya. Utaha says they are meant for both of them, but Eriri claims the sole ownership of the sweets.

"...Well that's fine. The sweets will be the only thing I'm letting you have, Sawamura-san."
"What are you implying there?! You really are my biggest enemy! Utaha Kasumigaoka!"

Well, that wasn't as quick as I had hoped.