Product: Boys Be..., Vol. 3 - Autumn
Rating: 5.0
Number 3 Is The Charm
Volume 3 of Boys Be... contains 3 episodes, two of which are completely disposable and one of which is indispensable.Let's get the lesser ones out of the way. The first episode on the disk features Kyochi, his broken heart, and his "rebound" relationship with a wannabe rock star named Shoko. Kyochi doesn't come off at all well here, first kissing, and then standing up, Shoko; yes, I know it's because he can't get Chiharu off his mind, but ultimately it looked to me like Kyochi and Shoko had just severely wounded each other; I just couldn't see how any of this led to the "insights" we were supposed to conclude they had achieved.The other episode that I thought was a dud concerned Kyochi and a male friend from his art class/side job. The friend is a "pretty boy" and some of Kyochi's friends (especially Makoto) infer that there is a gay relationship here, but really the guy is just too shy to approach the girl he adores. He finally does, when Kyochi advises him to (a classic case of not practicing what one preaches, of course...) The episode has "arty" pretensions, but really there's not that much there, except at the very end, where we behold one little ray of sunlight in Kyochi's own situtation.The best episode, titled "The Category of Happiness", finds Makoto deciding that he must be introduced to Erika, a friend of Yumi's, and Yumi reluctantly consenting out of obligation (she broke Makoto's computer.) When the first attempt at an introduction falls flat, Yumi agrees to "train" Makoto with a date- she says she'll pretend to be "Erika", and grade him accordingly. What transpires is possibly the funniest thing I've ever seen in ANY genre, as the eccentricities of the comic relief of the girl's side collide with the eccentricities of the comic relief of the boy's side, and yet... there is a VERY surprising conclusion to all this that is nevertheless somehow satisfying. All I can say is that I'm filled with admiration that Yumi, a character that I was afraid was doomed to "second banana" status with her glasses, bad hairdo and odd outfits, becomes a major player (and there will be more of this in the succeeding disk.)On the strength of this episode alone, I've got to give this volume 5 stars overall.