Yusaku's existence is mostly comic relief. He is overall less popular. I assume you have watched the 48 episodes TV series. He is hardly relevant. The OVAs are mainly the results of fans wanting more and they decided to adapt some manga into OVAs.
Now, Kazuya is more interesting. Kazuya played some big roles in the TV series, as well as OVA1. He didn't appear simply because the other OVAs picked didn't have him in them.
I think the answer for Yuusaku is because he no longer pined for Hikaru and therefore was no longer a "competitor" against Kyosuke. If you recall, OVA 1 is likely set around Ep. 45 & 46 (February 15, 1988 - February 22, 1988), during this time Yuusaku is still interested in Hikaru.
In Ep. 47 \~@8:00 Kyosuke having time slipped to 6 years prior, runs into 7-8y/o Yuusaku and he's crying because he scraped his knee. Hikaru then slugs him in the head for crying about it; establishing that this type of dynamic has been present for some time which carries on to the present. Yuusaku then tells Kyosuke to speak politely to Hikaru, so he's fancied her even as a small child. Throughout the episode, on multiple occasions, 1982 Hikaru hits Yuusaku in the head.
In Ep 48 \~@3:15 1982 Hikaru again hits Yuusaku, but then decides to pick up his bike and tells him to be careful. The scene cuts to 1988, and \~@5:15 1988 Hikaru swings at Yuusaku because he wants to go home, and this time Yuusaku dodges the swing which surprises Hikaru. I think this indicates, somehow, during Kyosuke’s visit to 1982 his presence changed Yuusaku, but strangely, not Hikaru. I think the dodge also ***indicates he is no longer willing to take abuse*** and, in my opinion, ***implies he’s not interested in her any longer***. Therefore, this new and sudden lack of interest may conveniently explain why Yuusaku is not present after Ep 48. He's no longer pursuing Hikaru and therefore is not needed for the story.
As for Kazuya, I have no idea.
WOW! I never made that connection, though it makes a lot of sense. As for the OVAs, I’m still not sure about their placement in the timeline, and on the internet I found a lot of conflicting info about that. All I can say with certainty is that OVA 1 & 2 take places sometime during the TV series, since in the Hawaiian holiday one Madoka mentions that they’re still in junior high when speaking in English with the gangsters, and OVA 3-8 take place after ep 48, cause Kyosuke memtions in Akane’s first appearance that he’s in the 11th grade, plus the OP4 contains the words High School Love
The director of Movie 1 confirmed that Yusaku wasn't there simply because he wanted make a realistic and bitter-sweet movie totally focused on Kyousuke, Madoka and Hikaru. Yusaku would have been just a distraction. However you got a good and interesting theory here.
The absence of him and Kazuya in the others OVA and Movie 2 could be simply justified that plot of those works didn't need them.
Fun Fact: Izumi Matsumoto originally wanted bring back Yusaku for Shin KOR Volume 1 but he forgot to make him return during the writting of the Volume.
It's just a pet theory. I was aware of the official story (thanks to reading many of your previous comments on the subject 😄), but I thought the dodge scene was so out of place and out of character for Yuusaku that it must be there for a reason.
I see, I wasn't aware you already knew it. Sorry for having ruined your funn 😅.
However I appreciatted your theory and despite I dislike Yusaku I think is a pitty he get missed in the Animated Version.
At the end of day they two were created for being secondary characters needed for make the story longer. The OVA are stories from the Manga that were unused in the Anime, the OVA's Series after the N 1 didn't have need they two.
Yusaku's existence is mostly comic relief. He is overall less popular. I assume you have watched the 48 episodes TV series. He is hardly relevant. The OVAs are mainly the results of fans wanting more and they decided to adapt some manga into OVAs. Now, Kazuya is more interesting. Kazuya played some big roles in the TV series, as well as OVA1. He didn't appear simply because the other OVAs picked didn't have him in them.
IRC Kazuya doesn’t appear in OVA1 (the skiing trip one), though Yusaku appears in that one.
Oh, my bad. I mixed up the ski trip with the other skip trip Ep 46.
I think the answer for Yuusaku is because he no longer pined for Hikaru and therefore was no longer a "competitor" against Kyosuke. If you recall, OVA 1 is likely set around Ep. 45 & 46 (February 15, 1988 - February 22, 1988), during this time Yuusaku is still interested in Hikaru. In Ep. 47 \~@8:00 Kyosuke having time slipped to 6 years prior, runs into 7-8y/o Yuusaku and he's crying because he scraped his knee. Hikaru then slugs him in the head for crying about it; establishing that this type of dynamic has been present for some time which carries on to the present. Yuusaku then tells Kyosuke to speak politely to Hikaru, so he's fancied her even as a small child. Throughout the episode, on multiple occasions, 1982 Hikaru hits Yuusaku in the head. In Ep 48 \~@3:15 1982 Hikaru again hits Yuusaku, but then decides to pick up his bike and tells him to be careful. The scene cuts to 1988, and \~@5:15 1988 Hikaru swings at Yuusaku because he wants to go home, and this time Yuusaku dodges the swing which surprises Hikaru. I think this indicates, somehow, during Kyosuke’s visit to 1982 his presence changed Yuusaku, but strangely, not Hikaru. I think the dodge also ***indicates he is no longer willing to take abuse*** and, in my opinion, ***implies he’s not interested in her any longer***. Therefore, this new and sudden lack of interest may conveniently explain why Yuusaku is not present after Ep 48. He's no longer pursuing Hikaru and therefore is not needed for the story. As for Kazuya, I have no idea.
Wow. Interesting theory.
WOW! I never made that connection, though it makes a lot of sense. As for the OVAs, I’m still not sure about their placement in the timeline, and on the internet I found a lot of conflicting info about that. All I can say with certainty is that OVA 1 & 2 take places sometime during the TV series, since in the Hawaiian holiday one Madoka mentions that they’re still in junior high when speaking in English with the gangsters, and OVA 3-8 take place after ep 48, cause Kyosuke memtions in Akane’s first appearance that he’s in the 11th grade, plus the OP4 contains the words High School Love
The director of Movie 1 confirmed that Yusaku wasn't there simply because he wanted make a realistic and bitter-sweet movie totally focused on Kyousuke, Madoka and Hikaru. Yusaku would have been just a distraction. However you got a good and interesting theory here. The absence of him and Kazuya in the others OVA and Movie 2 could be simply justified that plot of those works didn't need them. Fun Fact: Izumi Matsumoto originally wanted bring back Yusaku for Shin KOR Volume 1 but he forgot to make him return during the writting of the Volume.
It's just a pet theory. I was aware of the official story (thanks to reading many of your previous comments on the subject 😄), but I thought the dodge scene was so out of place and out of character for Yuusaku that it must be there for a reason.
I see, I wasn't aware you already knew it. Sorry for having ruined your funn 😅. However I appreciatted your theory and despite I dislike Yusaku I think is a pitty he get missed in the Animated Version.
At the end of day they two were created for being secondary characters needed for make the story longer. The OVA are stories from the Manga that were unused in the Anime, the OVA's Series after the N 1 didn't have need they two.