Much as I can enjoy the tragic background tales that so many anime have for their characters, I rather like this about Keiki - that he can simply be the way he is because that's the way he is. His personality is more inate and self-driven that way.sunako wrote:He doesn't have a tragic background that attributes to his personality: He simply is the way he is.
(Well, in fact, he actually does have a tragic background story, but it isn't used to explain the way his personality developed. His personality was influencing what happened more than what happened influencing him.)
The brief pieces of that which we get to see in the anime are among my favorite scenes in the series. I wish we got to see more of it. (And I really wish I could read the novels. I feel like there's so much more I'm missing.)sunako wrote:His friendship with Taiki is also very endearing, touching a few chords within me during my perusal of the novels. It was the only time that I was induced to tears for this series.
I really like Keiki's personality, possibly because it makes him the character I can most closely relate to in the series. (Serious-minded, but socially awkward, with a difficulty in expressing himself - that would describe either Keiki or me equally well.) It also makes him come across as the most deeply emotional character in the show.sunako wrote:The only thing that prevents Keiki from being my favourite character is the one factor that would make him stand out in your average shoujo title -- His personality. It's not that he's totally devoid of a personality, of course, but his reserved mien is such that people may be given the impression that there is no more to his character than his seriousness and reticence.
This part I have to disagree with. The biggest problem overly serious-minded people have in relationships is not being understood by anyone who doesn't share that trait. The most compatible people tend to be very similar to each other in their fundamental values, with their differences being in more superficial traits. Seriousness is more like a basic value than a superficial trait in this sense (for how it reflects both what's important to someone and even more significantly, just how important it is). The most compatible partner for someone who is overly serious is someone else who is also overly serious about the same things, but whose skills and apptitudes are in different areas.sunako wrote:their incompatibility, personality-wise (serious x serious just doesn't work out, unfortunately).
Niwashi