Yosuga no Sora Arc Breakdown – Episodes 3 and 4 (Kazuha’s Arc)

Plot: Haruka develops a relationship with Kazuha while trying to help her with her relationship to Akira and her problems with her father.

Breakdown: I’m not going to lie, this arc really isn’t bad. It’s not great, but it’s okay.

Obviously, one of the worst offenses this series is making is trying to cram four visual novel routes in 13 episodes, minus three technically because those are meant to provide foundations for the actual routes, so ten episodes. Each route has two episodes to play with (except Sora, who gets three….) so, of course, that means every relationship develops at a breakneck speed.

That being said, the relationship between Haru and Kazuha is pretty good. He’s very supportive of her without being pushy. He helps her get through some major hurdles in her life and backs off when she clearly needs space. Likewise, while Kazuha does does try to keep Haru at arm’s length, she obviously can’t do it for very long and eventually gives in to her feelings.

She’s not overly preoccupied with Haru in this arc, either, as she spends a lot of time doting over Akira to the point where she even proclaims that all she wants to do is dedicate her life to Akira, making Akira question if she loves her romantically, so obligatory (incest again…) yuri kiss~~ She rejects Akira, though, even though it wasn’t really Akira hitting on her so much as pushing her to admit she loves Haru, which she wouldn’t do because she felt that would be betraying Akira….It makes more sense in context.

I do have to say, for being the prim and proper ‘princess’ of the harem, she dives a bit too hard into the heavy physical stuff too quickly. Her first kiss with Haru is a full makeout session, and the next time they show physical affection outside of hand holding, they’re having sex on her bed immediately after a festival. They get into the ‘I love yous’ really quickly too because it feels like Haru’s known Kazuha all of maybe a month.

Also, I think he’s too forward when he puts his hand on Kazuha’s (clothed) breast when they take pictures at the fair. I’m quite certain that’s literally their first date. It was also pretty random. Like, hey, funny pictures, whee, Immagropeyanow, say cheese!

Edit: It was brought to my attention that Kazuha was probably touching her own chest here (feeling her heartbeat) and I agree. The art of the hand and the way they’re positioned gave off the suggestion that he was doing it. Sorry for the confusion.

At this point, at least by normal anime standards, they might be dating and holding hands regularly, possibly kissing on the regular, but not saying “I love you” and having sex.

As for the story itself, it’s also pretty good. I think Kazuha has way too much of a personal guilt complex, and it’s a bit unbelievable that Akira never told Kazuha that she was happy the way she was and that she actually had a much better relationship with her father than Kazuha knew about, but it’s not that bad.

In addition, they leave plenty of Akira’s story open, despite the two being so closely intertwined, so Akira’s arc will have plenty to go over.

Oh and in case you’re wondering about Sora’s role here, she mostly does what she’s been doing this whole time, which is standing around doing nothing and really only being a reaction shot. She has one kinda nice conversation with Akira about how Haru and Kazuha are similar in their desire to help other people before thinking of themselves. Thank god she’s actually conversing with other characters, and she….kinda….ish gives advice….ish…stuff to Haru about Kazuha? But not really. She mostly just points out that his gift of a birthday cake on Kazuha’s birthday is too predictable.

Also, we’re shown a shot where she’s fiddling with a cross necklace. I really hope they don’t slap us in the face with religion when we get to the incest. I got enough of that with Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru.

If this arc had more elbow room and incorporated Akira’s story into it without also including her romance arc and included more of their father, this arc would be perfectly fine as the main plot of the show.

…..But it’s not, so onto Akira’s arc!

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Yosuga no Sora Arc Breakdown – Episode 2 (Base of Kazuha and Akira’s Arcs)

Plot: Starting off the branching storylines of Kazuha and Akira, Haru gets to know the girls better and becomes very curious as to what they really are to each other.

Breakdown: I mentioned in my Episode One-Derland entry for this series that I was going to continue looking into this show on my own while also denying giving it the green light to continue because I, personally, wanted to see how screwed up this series got. I finished episode five when I realized something very odd about this anime.

You remember in my review of Amnesia where I said the format was perfect at least in regards to letting the MC date all of the possible suitors (or explore all of the visual novel dating routes) without cheating or seeming like a tramp because she could cross dimensions and take over the life of the heroine from that world where she was currently dating one of the guys? Yosuga no Sora does something similar, but it doesn’t even bother trying to actually frame the different routes with some other plot.

Instead it just opens a new story where Haru is entering into a relationship with one of the girls. When the story is over, or when the two of them crotch wrestle, they end the story, even putting ‘The end’ on the screen and the next episode starts a new route.

There are three episodes detached from this structure, according to the incredibly helpful flow chart on the Wiki (Thanks for that, whoever made it!) The only way these arcs are framed is through episodes one, two and seven. One introduces the full story and branches off into either two or seven. Two, our episode today, is our gateway into the Kazuha and Akira arcs. Seven is the gateway to the Nao and, yes, Sora arcs.

Since the structure is as such, I thought it might be better to review the series in segments based on arc instead of eventually reviewing the entire thing as a whole. However, episode two is one of the base episodes, so we don’t really have an arc to review here.

So what does episode two entail, you might ask? Not a lot.

Sora proves what a clingy, creepy and useless human being she is yet again. Haru leaves for school, and he’s not more than three steps out the door before she’s screaming bloody murder…over a mosquito. If you know me, you know I absolutely deplore mosquitoes, and even I would never freak out a fraction as badly as she is in this scene over one. And yes, it’s just one.

But that’s not all – she’s absolutely filling her bedroom with spray trying to kill it……Hair spray.

And when Haru tries to go off to kill it, she vehemently refuses to not cling to him, in her flimsy might-as-well-be-lingerie nightgown. Oh and later she gets all pissy when Haru texts her and says he’ll be a bit late because he’s stopping off at Akira’s place to get mosquito netting for her.

Then, when Kazuha comes over to sew the buttons on Sora’s school uniform, because Sora can’t do that either, of course, Sora just pouts in other rooms….and eats a popsicle in a suggestive manner…..Then later has a pouty tantrum when he gives her the uniform.

As Haru’s off in school having all the girls, though in this case Kazuha and Akira, try to hide that they’re all swampy for him, Sora stays at home being bored, lazing about and eating chips. If only there was a place people her age could go to spend time during the day. Doing productive things like learning and socializing. Oh my bad, she couldn’t go to one of those places even if they did exist because she is so clearly too weak and sickly. Look at her, running around like crazy over a mosquito and not even coughing in a room filled with hair spray. Why isn’t she hospitalized? 😐

(Being fair, by the end of the episode, she is in school, but it still miffs me that she was ever kept out of school for that excuse in the first place.)

Other than Sora, we have the plot with Kazuha and Akira, showing off their dynamic as friends. Akira is very much a people pleaser, typically tending to the needs of others before thinking of herself, and everyone asks her for help with various things so she tends to leave herself to the wayside quite often, even refusing to go to excuse herself to the bathroom when someone needs help. In addition, she’s an ‘orphan’ who lives alone in a massive shrine, meaning she’s forced to take care of herself, though she does have Akira and the local candy shop owner, Hiro, looking after her.

Meanwhile, Kazuha is very proper and responsible, basically to the point of nagging and scolding Akira all the time, but she actually cares very deeply for Akira and wants her to be happy and healthy.

It’s a bit weird in regards to setting up the two arcs, because it puts quite a bit more focus on Akira than it does Kazuha but Kazuha is the arc that occurs first. Akira is my favorite character, so I guess setting up her story better is a good thing, but it’s still weird.

Also, they’re cleaning the pool this episode so wet fanservice abounds. Also also, they purposely make it sound like Akira and Kazuha are having sex in the changing room because audio fanservice.

And then the bomb is dropped that Kazuha and Akira might actually be sisters.

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Admittedly, this episode was a lot better than the first one. It’s still covered in every breathing human with a vagina lusting after Haru (Except, refreshingly, Hiro, but she’s just rude so it even out on annoyingness.) but the plot with Kazuha and Akira is actually quite interesting and leaves me intrigued to learn more.

Sora is once again the weakest link here because she’s obnoxious in her nothingness. She’s so useless and overly clingy I’m surprised she’s able to breathe without Haru inflating and deflating her lungs for her. She is probably the closest I’ll ever get to finding a character as useless and flat as Herione from Amnesia with the only difference being that Sora is far too much of a brat, meaning she does at least have a notable personality trait unlike Herione.

The other incredibly annoying character was Ryouhei who’s only purpose in this show so far is to be as big of a pervert as humanly possible. That’s it. Every line out of his mouth is somehow perving on one of the girls. What is it with harems and having the main guy have an obnoxious pervert friend? Usually it’s to make the horrible scumbag main character look better by comparison, but there’s nothing really wrong with Haru so I don’t understand his purpose.

Also, the little short omake animation with Motoka the maid has her showing off her panties to Haru and grabbing Haru’s ding-dong totally ‘on accident.’ Lovely. She’s an adult, by the way. They never confirm her age, but she’s old enough to drink and he’s 16.

(Final note: I’m aware Haru’s name is actually Haruka, but he keeps getting called Haru so I’ve taken to calling him that.)

Coming up next, a full review of the Kazuha arc, episodes 3 and 4.

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