Is Futakoi Alternative deepu?

Evirus and I have been having an overly analytical discussion about Futakoi Alternative recently. He should be writing his own thoughts soon enough. Some observations (many from him):

• If you watch through every episode you’ll know there’s the Ominous Scary Music at the very end, after the sponsor messages. The music actually doesn’t appear until the fourth episode, after Kimihiko tries to call Rentarou.


• In the OP, Ai and Mai are the only ones to clash with each other. Also they’re shown laying down, in opposite directions. Coincidentally, Ai and Mai are the only sisters in the show that have parted ways, except Sara and Soujyu of course.


• Ai and Sara both don’t like or appreciate coffee drinks much. Ai was the first one to abandon the relationship. Coincidentally, so was Sara.


• The eyecatches. Sara and Soujyu are always shown together except in three episodes: 4, 8, and 9. In all three Soujyu is depicted alone. But only in 9 is Sara seen alone, and with her back to the camera.


• This one is a bit of a stretch. In the original Futakoi we learn about the Futagozuka Curse, which states that when a man doesn’t choose between two twins who love him, terrible things will happen. In high school Rentarou falls in love with Ai and Mai but even after Ai confesses, he doesn’t choose. Some time later, his father dies. We know that Rentarou is still in high school when Ai confesses. His father died 3 years ago (unconfirmed, have to check) and Rentarou is 21 now…the dates seem to match up. With Sara and Soujyu, Rentarou again fails to choose. Then the whole Kimihiko crisis pops up, and then their apartment burns down.


• Throughout the show we see scenes where Rentarou seems closer to Soujyu than Sara. Sara and Rentarou are never seen alone, but there’s a fairly lengthy segment where Rentarou and Soujyu are together in episode 5 (and of course 9). In 6 when Sara and Soujyu are walking to the spa, we see Soujyu looking up at the VIP room (presumably). In 7 it’s Soujyu’s note that gets Rentarou out of his slump. This could be explained by her personality though, so maybe it doesn’t mean much.


• The whole sky motif. The sky appears repeatedly throughout Futakoi Alternative and seems to represent innocence and happiness. But the most troubling message comes from Sara’s commemorative photo, which depicts the sky as something resolutely in the past that one can never return to or reexperience. The lyrics for Bokura no Jikan generally confirm this. Rentarou’s frequent there-are-no-ifs-only-now monologues are even more confirmation. But the end of 9 seems to speak of a hope that can’t be destroyed no matter what, and the sky embodies this hope. Nevertheless I think this puts a superhappy everyone-gets-together ending in doubt. It’s not at all clear how Kimihiko will ever give up on Sara.


• The apartment fire was a powerful literary device and in many ways serves as a capstone for the above point. Sara was gone. Soujyu and Rentarou were depressed. But at least they had their apartment, where they shared so many of their memories. It was one last line of connection to Sara. But after the fire, even that was gone. It was as if the past had been walled up and neither Rentarou nor Soujyu could go back anymore. So they spend a night on the town and try to forget their problems, much like their fun at the department store. But at the love hotel, the reality of their situation come crashing down. Sara is gone. Gone. Evirus argued that it would be tremendously gutsy if the anime continued on this path, where Rentarou and Soujyu learn to cope with the situation and learn to love each other in the absense of Sara (perhaps like Takayuki and Mitsuki in Kiminozo). I can’t dispute that, but given the way this show is set up, it seems that a reunion ending is inevitable and I think for the best. Rentarou and Soujyu just seemed miserable this episode, despite all their smiles and laughs, and we can’t forget what Sara must be feeling (her icy “hai” in response to Kimihiko made it sound like she had lost her will to live).

This is batshit insane
I tend to believe many of these things are intentional because (1) the superlative level of writing and direction tells me the creators know what they’re doing and (2) the promo video contains footage from episodes as far ahead as 9. ufotable clearly planned most of FutAlt in advance, again evidenced by the lack of filler episodes (episodes that seem tangential turn out to have some signifiance later on).

Wild Conjecture
We see squid wanted posters in the police station while Rentarou is getting questioned by Kinoshita and Harry. I’m betting the squid that Ainosuke kicked in episode 2 survived, and set fire to Rentarou’s apartment in 9. The squid may have even played a role in causing Ainosuke’s death. Lulu and Lala are probably in town to track it down. Beyond that, what happens is anybody’s guess.