Talk:Junta Nakao/@comment-5534769-20140729224031/@comment-397235-20140730020316

Why Noboru and Matsuko? I'm genuinely puzzled here. I mean, the people who ship Kyouko and Aki are at least doing it with characters who interacted on screen at some point. I don't think Noboru even got lines (he's still funny; go look at his gallery; while rewatching the dubbed anime I found two sight gags involving him I'd missed when I watched in Japanese due to my fixation on the subtitles). Ikuo and Yukari is also an odd one, since the only thing they have in common is they both die very quickly.

The pairings I had for this (and I loathe pairings driven stories, by the way) were, as follows:

Kouichi and Mei: Everyone sees them this way in universe, except Kouichi and Mei themselves. Their relationship is such that it doesn't really need that extra dynamic. They're really close friends who enjoy each others' company, and whatever feelings they have for each other aren't really ever voiced because it'd be...weird. So...basically like it is in the anime.

Kouichi and Izumi: Does not exist. Izumi flirts with Kouichi a little when they go to the ski resort Matsunaga works at (this takes place in Colorado, by the way; no fan service beach episode; personally I think Winter clothing is sexier anyway...), but realizes that's not going anywhere and in any case it's only to try to ingratiate herself with him as Kouichi's gang has been more successful at finding clues to end the curse. She's jealous of his relationship with Mei, but only in a general sense, as she hates Mei's ability to make the best of bad situations.

Kouichi and Aya: Aya flirts with Kouichi at first, decides that's a lost cause, and goes back to hitting on Naoya.

Kouichi and Yukari: Kouichi and Yukari sit next to each other in class, and Yukari makes it a point of showing him around school (to Tomohiko's slight irritation). These two legitimately like each other, and could've probably had a relationship had Yukari not died. Kouichi takes Yukari's death a lot harder than he does in other adaptions because of this; alongside Naoya, she was his first friend at school. She's the first apparation to appear in his first nightmare, and asks him with tear streaked eyes why he couldn't just let things alone.

Kouichi and Takako: Takako is Kouichi's neighbor; this doesn't mean she's willing to fill him in on the calamity, only telling him to butt out and scaring off anyone else who tries to talk to him about it. Kouichi goes out of his way to make life hell for her when the class starts ignoring them by doing things like holding the door open for her, which more often than not makes them both late for class. Following Junta's death, he and Mei both attempt to check on her twice, once at his funeral (where they are rebuffed by Izumi) and a second time at home, where Kouichi apologizes (there'd be an entire episode devoted to Kouichi apologizing to people: Takako for Junta and generally being an ass, Yuuya for Ikuo, Yumi for Aya and Atsushi, Tomohiko for Yukari, etc.). Kouichi punches her in the face to protect Mei, which breaks her glasses; he's shocked and apologizes, but Takako stabs him in the arm before telling him the apology is accepted. Later on, Takako comments sadly and ironically while trying to kill Mei that she and Kouichi have been better friends to her than Izumi.

Naoya and Izumi: Naoya has a massive crush on Izumi, which is more or less not returned. However, Naoya saves Izumi from the Numatas (note the plural; both are nuts and Mr. Numata is a former Green Beret with Vietnam experience). This significantly warms her to him.

Naoya and Aya: The two often flirt with each other. Naoya is genuinely fond of Aya, but isn't interested in dating her. He still takes her death especially hard, and tried to persuade her to stay in town before her death.

Tomohiko and Yukari: Just like the anime, except Tomohiko doesn't blame anyone but himself for her death. He thinks, on some level, he could've done something to prevent it, but didn't take the curse seriously enough. Her death is his wake up call.

Tomohiko and Izumi: Were once very close friends, and this is why Tomohiko became a Countermeasures helper. However, he doesn't find her methods especially effective and her refusal to adapt to changing situations puts a strain on their relationship and prompts him "defect" from her group to Kouichi's shortly before the trip to the ski resort, which is why Izumi brought Junta instead. Following Takako's declaration that Mei is the extra, Tomohiko makes it abundantly clear to Izumi he blames her for their friend's instability, and if anything happens to any of them (Kouichi, Mei, or Takako) he's going to hold her responsible. Their relationship is civil at best folllowing the calamity, and...well, I'll save the spoilers for later.

Tomohiko and Takako: Were also close friends, though their tenure as Countermeasures deputies was rocky, as Tomohiko was constantly frustrated by Takako's refusal to stand up to Izumi. He helped calm Takako down at the inn and is responsible for her survival following the fire. Their relationship is hinted at in the film, but it's more prominent here. No more can be said because of spoilers.

Yumi and Most of the Guys: Yumi is Kouichi's group's little sister. She has a hard time being seen as a girl by the boys. When the group heads to Tomohiko's house to listen to the tape, Naoya comments they can't all go because Mei will be there and she's a girl. Yumi irritably shouts "I'm a girl too!" and hits him. She berates Tomohiko and Naoya for fighting, thus preventing Naoya from pushing Tomohiko out the window and, indirectly, ensuring both he and her old friend Takako survive the curse. Kouichi apologizes to her because he feels his negligence led to her brother and Aya's death. Yumi replies he and Mei have been some of her best friends, and she doesn't blame them for her losses. She's one of Mei's most vocal defenders at the Inn, and is the first to shout at Izumi.

Yumi and Junta: Yumi has a very obvious crush on Junta, but Izumi has the Countermeasures group cut her off following her open friendship with Mei, an event Yumi incorrectly holds Takako responsible for. Junta dies shortly thereafter so nothing more can come of this, and Yumi is never willing to forgive her former friends.

Yumi and Yuuya: Because...why not? When Yumi attempts to calm Takeru and a group of other students hunting Mei, one of them takes a swing at her and Yuuya beats the crap out of him much to Yumi's surprise. They both get blown out of the inn and end up in a snowbank, which leads to some hysterical laughter.

Takako and Junta: Like Yumi, Takako has a thing for Junta. It was not, however, Takako's idea to cut Yumi out of their group, but Izumi's to punish her for stepping out of line. During a snowball fight, Junta takes one to the face and falls over. Takako goes to check on him and discovers he's dead, much to her horror. There's a lot of blood from aneurysms, after all, and when one lets go, it can be...spectacularly gory. Takako blames herself for his death, and it puts a strain on her friendship with Yumi which never recovers.

Takako and Takeru: Are Countermeasures partners, but despise each other. Takeru sees Takako as a weak sycophant for Izumi who isn't willing to go far enough, and Takako sees Takeru as a thug and a weak substitute for Tomohiko or Junta. Takako reassures Kouichi later on she's not going to attack him because she's "not that other idiot;" Takeru responds to Kouichi telling him Mei's not the extra by saying he knows, and "that psychotic little bitch couldn't figure it out anyway."

Sayuri and Yukito: Are dating, because they're both background characters who read. Their relationship isn't especially important, though more often than not they're together. They're both part of a group of students who run afoul of the Numatas at the Inn, and are killed close together.

There are several friendships and relationships which are either hinted at or flat out not present in the various adaptions I implement here:

Kouichi and Tomohiko: Kouichi has a lot of respect for Tomohiko's intelligence. While he's closer to Mei and Naoya, he often asks Tomohiko for advice. He surprises Tomohiko when he asks his friend to forgive him for Yukari's death; Tomohiko didn't think anyone knew. Nonetheless, he tells Kouichi the only person he blames is himself for not making his feelings known.

Kouichi and Takeru: Takeru is one of the main student antagonists (the other being Izumi); unlike Izumi, who's at least trying at first to fight the calamity, Takeru is just trying to ruin Kouichi's life. He becomes convinced Kouichi is the extra (because everyone he's gotten close to ends up dead) and attacks he and Mei after their encounter with Takako. The boys fight with Mei trying to get them to stop, but Takeru irritably tells her he's doing her a favor. It's not until Takeru hits Mei that Kouichi loses it and they get separated, with Kouichi knocking Takeru off a balconey. He prepares to kill Takeru, but stops short, out of respect for Sanae and because he feels their family has suffered enough.

Mei and Yumi: This is one of the closer friendships in the series. Yumi is absolutely petrified of being alone, so she's extremely grateful to Mei for taking her place as the extra, and once it no longer becomes necessary for the class to ignore her, is the first girl to welcome them back, even though it angers Izumi. She and Mei room together at the inn, and Yumi angrily stands up for her friend when Izumi tries to turn the class against her.

Mei and Misaki: Unlike everything else, here they'd only known each other at most for two years, though both remark it seems like they've been together their entire lives. Mei doesn't learn until after Misaki's death they were sisters; since Misaki dies the day Mei becomes the One Who Does Not Exist, she has no one to talk to about this. She and Takako sort of bond by swapping memories of her after the calamity.

Mei and Takako: Have an awkward relationship at first, mainly because Mei reminds Takako of Misaki, but she can't quite remember why that is. There would be a few creepy scenes between them before Takako gets any flashbacks to make her seem really nutty, but Takako isn't as hateful or vindictive toward Mei as she was in the anime because she finally remembers Misaki and gets the sisters confused. When trying to kill Mei at the inn, Takako apologizes repeatedly and says she's only doing what has to be done; after Tomohiko knocks her out and calms her down, Takako has things explained to her and bursts into tears. She and Mei discuss Misaki later on at the hospital.

Mei and Izumi: Izumi at first tries to convince Mei going along with the countermeasures are a good idea: she tells Mei she thinks it was very noble to take Yumi's place, and they'll be heroes if things go according to plan. Mei replies she wasn't doing it for acclaim, but because it's the right thing to do. Their relationship doesn't improve from there. At the Inn, Izumi attacks Mei, not because she believes Mei is the extra, but because she thinks Mei has done everything in her power to ensure Izumi fails as the head of countermeasures (which she feels she must do to atone for her brother's actions the previous year). Mei essentially tells Izumi, who manages to get pinned down by rubble, that all her misery is of her own making, and if she'd spent half as much time doing her job as she did trying to ruin Mei and Kouichi's lives, a lot of her friends would've survived. Izumi takes this to heart, and advises the next head of countermeasures not to make the same mistakes she did.

Yumi and Atsushi: Atsuhi is mentally handicapped following a horrific accident. Yumi loves her brother deeply and takes care of him (he used to do the same for her before his accident). Yumi is devastated by his death; Mei tells her about Misaki in an effort to help her and show Mei knows what she's going through.

Yumi and Aya: Are best friends, but Yumi's association with Mei puts Aya in a difficult position. Yumi opts not to go looking for the tape with the boys so she can spend one last day with Aya before her friend leaves, a decision she doesn't regret as it was the last time they saw each other. Aya rescued Mei, who'd gotten cornered by Takako in the girl's locker room, in gratitude for Mei taking Yumi's place as One Who Does Not Exist.

Izumi and Yukari: Used to be friends, but Yukari notices before anyone else how much Izumi has changed since becoming head of countermeasures. She tries to moderate Izumi, but can't, and likewise tries to encourage Kouichi to understand her situation. Unfortunately, this all comes to nothing when Yukari dies.

Izumi and Takako: Their relationship is less bilateral. Takako's mental instabilities make her extremely clingy toward her few friends, which are mostly Izumi and Junta. Izumi uses this to her advantage, knowing Takako will support any decision she makes. When Izumi berates Yukari and Yuuya for letting things get out of hand with Kouichi, Takako tries to take some of the blame since she probably could've handled things better, but Izumi off handedly replies she doesn't expect Takako to think for herself. Izumi glares off Kouichi, Tomohiko, and Mei when they try to talk to Takako at Junta's funeral. After more or less putting herself back together, Takako seeks Izumi out at the inn and tries to help her to safety, though this almost means her death in the end. Seeing this undeserved selflessness is what causes Izumi to break down. The two remain friends, true friends, after the calamity is over. Their relationship is a hybrid of the film and anime (the film during the calamity, which is very abusive and unhealthy, and the anime before and after, as Izumi calms down some).

Izumi and Aya: Are close. However, once Yumi was ostracized from the group, Aya found herself in a difficult position as she tried to remain friends with both Yumi and Izumi, which put a great deal of stress on her.

Takako and Yukari: Both are members of Izumi's clique, and were her two best friends. However, following the previous year's calamity and Takako's instability and sycophantic devotion to Izumi, Yukari starts to worry for her friend. Takako saw Yukari's death, which upset her greatly, though she only brought it up twice, once to Aya and once to Izumi, who used it as fuel for her confrontation with Mei at the Inn. Yukari, in an effort to humanize the other two girls, showed Kouichi a picture of the three of them from the previous year; Kouichi was shocked, since he didn't know Takako could smile.

Takako and Aya: Both were present when Kazuma killed Aya's older sister the previous year, an event which forged a strong bond between them. Takako's calm veneer is because of this; she's on lots and lots of sedatives, which she slowly stops taking by the end of the year. Takako goes to Aya about things which trouble her, such as seeing Yukari's death. Aya's death was one more weight on her shoulders.

Takako and Misaki: Misaki used to live in Kouichi's house, but as she became increasingly ill, her family was forced to move, three years before the events of the story. Takako and Misaki were fairly close, but didn't stay in touch because Takako, on some level, felt Misaki was abandoning her. This troubles her when she tries to kill Mei, since she thinks Mei is her old friend; by what she yells Mei is able to realize she knew her sister, and after things settle down visits Takako at the hospital, where they swap Misaki stories.

I have one scene in my head for them. It occurs when they're thirteen, and involves Misaki's favorite music:

Misaki *Hands Takako headphones* You'll like these guys, I know it! Takako *takes them and puts them on. Loud music immediately begins to blare and her eyes widen, but she listens for a few minutes*

Misaki *Expectant*: Well?

Takako: It's...loud?

Misaki*Playful*: You're no fun at all!

Takako: Well, I think you're enough fun for both of us.

Well, what do you think?