Blu-Ray 4
Cover
Text: 4
White Album 2
Bonus postcard (back)
Text: Winter is coming on—
That bittersweet, eternal moment
Bonus postcard
*no Japanese text
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Text: White Album 2
Winter is coming on—
That bittersweet, eternal moment
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01: #7: The Last, Greatest Day
Script: Fumiaki Maruto/Staging: Seiya Numata/Storyboarding: Seiya Numata/Animation directors: Rina Iwamoto & Kousuke Yoshida
The day of the Festival Concert has arrived, and with it, the day that the trio finally give their big performance. As if to cancel out all the turmoil and ordeals that had swirled around them up until the previous day, they sing, play, and dance onstage, enjoy themselves body and soul, and have what is undeniably the best time of their lives thus far. That fact, however—that very fact of their having had so much fun—serves to exacerbate the feelings of emptiness following the Festival, as well as a sense of uncertainty concerning their future together. And so, that night, Haruki has a single, momentous, hasty decision thrust upon him.
02: #8 Winter Finally Begins
Script: Fumiaki Maruto/Staging: Tsuyoshi Tobita/Storyboarding: Tetsuya Watanabe/Animation directors: Tomoe Tanaka, Yoshihiro Nagata, Shunta Sakamoto
On the heels of their successful School Festival show, Haruki and Setsuna have begun dating openly. It is their wish, however, to continue on as a trio with Kazusa, as they have been. Kazusa responds in kind by acknowledging Setsuna as her best friend, and to all appearances, little changes. Before they know it, their second term has ended, and Winter Break begins. Setsuna and Kazusa’s overenthusiasm leads the three of them to a hot spring inn for Christmas, where they goof off and enjoy themselves fully for the first time since the show—and for the last time.
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03: Takeya Iizuka (VA: Takuma Terashima)
Houjou High School, Class 3-G. Haruki’s best friend and the leader of the Light Music Club. Better at playing the guitar than Haruki. Coupled with his easy-breezy looks and behavior that matches his image, he is rumored to have a girlfriend in every class; whether or not this is true is uncertain.
04: Character Commentary by Fumiaki Maruto
Takeya Iizuka. The one who will (among other things) come to be Haruki’s true best friend, a few years down the line.
Granted, even at this stage he makes full demonstrations of “best friend”-ness that have him fully loaded with opportunities for people to go, “Why the hell do you like Haruki that much?” But I wonder whether all of you are aware that Haruki is in fact the second best friend Takeya has made in his life?
Though, regarding Takeya’s relationship with the first best friend he made in his life… Ever since their third year of middle school, when he actually made something like a serious confession inside the closet of the girls’ room on a school trip and was completely laughed off, things have been a little complicated. And, yes, one could with righteous indignation ask, “Why did she have to be that harsh?!” But all of the other girls who saw him dying of indignation there in the room went up to him during the free activity period the next day and asked whether he might be okay with dating them instead, and he got plenty more like that, so there’s no need to feel that sorry for him.
Still, as a result of that incident, we have this frivolous boy who is extremely sensitive to the movements of others’ feelings, except for one specific person, about whose feelings he has no certainty or confidence at all… Maybe? Could one look at it that way?
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05: Fumiaki Maruto
Text Commentary
Episode 7: The Last, Greatest Day
The Concert episode: eagerly awaited by Haruki and the girls, and perhaps awaited with some trepidation by the audience. Talking in terms of a roller coaster, this is the peak immediately before a sharp nosedive.
According to what a few people have told me, the screenplay for this episode seems to have ignored a large part of anime theory, what with a concert scene taking up the entirety of the pre-credits through to the A part, and the full chorus of “Sound of Destiny” being played, for example. But, (controversial statement alert) as I have been doing this one hundred percent according to my tastes, I must stand by it. Therefore, I find myself thinking upon the hard toils of the entire anime staff, beginning with the director, to whom I left all of the decision-making with nothing but a “Make it work somehow.” Thank you all for your work.
Then, the B part. In a sudden change from the lively, sparkling first half, we have something quiet, but with a turbulent drama beginning to roil beneath. To keep on with the roller coaster metaphor, this is that moment when your sense of gravity suddenly disappears.
That being the case, as Ono-sa—I mean, someone on the cast said of Setsuna’s actions, “Who the hell raised my daughter to be so greedy?!” When I initially wrote it, it didn’t seem that aggressive, but when I watched the video… Whoof.
The part where she wrapped her fingers around his so he couldn’t get away, the part where she buried her face in his chest and then looked up at him from beneath her eyelashes, it’s gone beyond trivial questions like, “Was she wearing them or not?” After all, in our hearts, she definitely wasn’t.
After this, if I were Haruki, I think just about anything could happen… actually, it would be weirder if something didn’t happen… So, why did things end up like this (I ask, reading the script for the final episode)?
Episode 8: Winter Finally Begins
And now, with the eighth episode, we begin the second half. An episode to be commemorated (or cursed?) for the split of three into two and one, and the hot springs episode that is required to happen once in every anime series.
Additionally, there is Setsuna and Kazusa’s (extremely contrived) vow of best-friendship. Kazusa has become quite (clearly bizarrely) calm. Setsuna is (dangerously) brighter than ever. Haruki is earnestly (the deception can only go so far) glad that the three of them are so close to each other now.
…What we have is an episode that takes the month in which these myriad complicated feelings are in motion, and flies through it at tremendous speed in mere minutes; but it’s all so that we can have the two girls interacting with their yukatas open, and tossing off their bath towels to leap into an open-air bath. I’m certain all of the viewers will understand how essential this is.
By the way, the provisional title for the first draft of Episode 8 was “White Love.” Part three of the “throwing it in as a one-off reference” series, following “Akujo” and Miyazaki-sensei. With this, Fumiaki Maruto’s schemes were fully exhausted.
Of course, now that we had reached a third time, King Records Producer Morii had become highly accustomed to responding to it: “All right, who do we want this time? Speed? Okay, we’ll get in touch with so-and-so and so-and-so…” Very dependable.
06: Staff Credits
Cast
Haruki Kitahara: Takehiro Mizushima
Setsuna Ogiso: Madoka Yonezawa
Kazusa Touma: Hitomi Nabatame
Takeya Iizuka: Takuma Terashima
Io Mizusawa: Ikumi Nakagami
Chikashi Hayasaka: Noriaki Sugiyama
Takahiro Ogiso: Yuuki Kaji
Youko Touma: Rio Natsuki
Akina Ogiso: Ryouko Ono
Tomo Yanagihara: Miyuu Kashiwagi
Staff
Original Work: White Album 2: The Other Side of Happiness (Aquaplus)
Director: Masaomi Andou
Series Composition & Script: Fumiaki Maruto
Original Character Design: Takeshi Nakamura
Character Design & Overall Animation Direction: Satoru Fujimoto
Minor Character Design & Overall Animation Direction: Rondo Mizukami
Chief Director: Seiya Numata
Costume Design: Sachiko Oohashi
3D Set Design: Kenichi Morioka
Art Director: Kenichi Tajiri
Color Design: Aiko Shinohara
Cinematographer: Youichirou Satou
Visual Effects: Kento Sasaki
SFX Director: Kumiko Taniguchi
3D Director: Hisashi Akimoto (T2 Studio)
Director of Audiography: Jin Aketagawa
Editing: Gou Sadamatsu
Music Director: Naoya Shimokawa
Music: Shuntarou Kobayashi
Aquaplus
Animation: Satelight
Production: Project W.A.2
Opening Theme
Rena Uehara (F.I.X. Records), “Love Out of Reach ‘13”
Ending Theme
Rena Uehara (F.I.X. Records), “On Saying Goodbye”
Featured Song
Setsuna Ogiso, “White Love” (VA: Madoka Yonezawa)
Music & lyrics: Hiromasa Ijichi
Product Staff
Package Illustration
Original Illustration: Satoru Fujimoto
Finishing: Aiko Shinohara
Background: Shintarou Inoue (Mukuo Studio)
Photography: Natsumi Iriguchi (T2 Studio)
Art Direction: Ai Nonaka & Tsuyoshi Kusano (Tsuyoshi Kusano Design)
Designer: Hiro Kondou (Tsuyoshi Kusano Design)
Authoring Coordinator: Kentarou Kai (McRAY)
Authoring Engineer: Hiroyuki Kido (McRAY)
Menu Design: Nao Hanaue (McRAY)
Product Coordinator: Sayuri Yamashita
Promotion: Kou Ebata
Asuka Noda
Marie Wada
Sales Promotion: Natsuko Moro
Production Management: Toshiaki Satou
Supervisor: Kusao Mishima
Assistant Producer: Renta Suzuki
Producer: Yuusuke Morii
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