tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19700635659851842382024-03-15T18:10:28.741-07:00Yuri no Boke 百合のボケ 〜百合が好きだ〜A yuri fan's blog containing reviews and impressions of yuri, as well as general silly fannishness. The word "boke" in the title comes from the tsukkomi and boke in manzai comedy.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.comBlogger527125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-22058404743473733052016-04-18T00:26:00.000-07:002016-04-18T11:28:01.304-07:00Sailor Moon Crystal Is My Show of the Season<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The current season of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sailor Moon Crystal </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">isn't my only show of the season- but it's a refreshing drink of water to an extent that most shows can't touch. There is more than one reason for that: it’s a vast improvement over <i>Crystal</i>'s first two cours, it’s <i>Sailor Moon</i> in the first place, and it’s </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sailor Moon </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">with Haruka and Michiru.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I was ridiculously excited about </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sailor Moon Crystal</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> before it premiered, even willing to forgive those first two cours' obvious direction and production shortcomings... despite what they signaled about how much whoever helmed them clearly did not really give a shit about </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sailor Moon</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. But certain changes to the story from the manga it was adapting, ohoho. I gave up on it. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then I heard cour two was an improvement, and indeed it was. It better conveyed at least some of what I originally enjoyed about </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sailor Moon</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and its art suffered from less inconsistency. But this season. This season is the real deal. The characters/my babies are allowed to be expressive and goofy and gel as a group of girls who hang out more naturally than they did in those first two cours. They can do funny faces and be campy. And, like, the ones who aren’t Usagi can do effective attacks. Usagi loves Mamoru and vice versa, but this new season's shiny new director (also notably one of the few successful female anime directors) Chiaki Kon clearly knows that fans are watching for the girls. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Like every other </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">SM</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> fan watching this, I am also happy about this season’s new, more animation/emotion-friendly character designs, and its transformations not being in 3D. 3D transformations are not a deal-breaker for me and I know Toei likes using some 3D in their </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Precure</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> franchise, but I'm not a fan of the plastic-y doll look.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Comparisons to previous </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Crystal</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> aside, this is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sailor Moon</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Like so many nerds in my age range, especially nerdy women, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sailor Moon</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a very formative series for me. It is my gateway anime, and I've bonded with a lot of people over it. Haruka and Michiru were my earliest yuri couple. Though I was not self-aware enough to come out because of them, and the cousin/censoring bullshit they got in English told me "Yo, society doesn't even like heroic queers", they did provide me with a positive early example of a lesbian couple. I am so glad </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Crystal</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> at least got its shit together by the time it got to these two. It's really a joy to see Usagi, everyone in this reboot, finally getting a director who gets it, though.</span></div>
<br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As for the story itself- the first two episodes, which I'm reviewing here, cover the first chapter of the manga. I assume that is why the full transformations/attacks for every Inner Senshi were all used once each episode. It's faithful to the 90's anime approach and I do like the new transformations and attacks, but it's something that I can do without seeing in full every episode. I assume they were meant to pad the content out a little so these episodes could cover one chapter. There are nine more chapters for this arc going forward, but I'm not sure how they'll be spread out. Episode 3 looks like it will cover the next full chapter.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Transformation and attack reuse aside, though, I have no complaints about the pacing so far. The story is moving briskly, effectively setting up plot threads like “here is the new enemy and what they want”, “some weird stuff is happening with Hotaru”, “Chibi-Usa's is befriending Hotaru” (which really is Chibi-Usa's best storyline- she's better with a foil and a significant good friend, and it helps her demonstrate her growth since her introduction to the franchise), “weird stuff is happening with Mugen Academy”, and “omg the two ~mysterious~ Mugen Academy students who are awesome at swimming and violin-playing and race car-driving and apparently travel by helicopter are being ~mysterious~.” Not to beat the “Crystal has improved” horse to death, but the first two seasons didn’t suffer from not being plotty enough. This season’s strength is that it’s leaning more strongly on the appeal of its cast while, so far, not making any story tweaks that mess with what folks have historically loved about </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sailor Moon</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My girlfriend and I watched my Blu-Ray copy of Takarazuka's </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Phantom</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> this past week and started the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rose of Versailles </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">anime (a rewatch for me- I am so damn excited to see what she thinks as it becomes increasingly good), and it drove home the obvious Takarazuka influence on HaruMichi, particularly Haruka. There isn’t much actual in-story romance for them yet, though they are obviously a couple and their classmates know it. The show’s current ending theme plays them up, too.</span></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am loving this season of </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Crystal</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, but should note that it is clearly aimed at folks who are already familiar with </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sailor Moon</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Unlike the 90's anime, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Crystal</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> makes no attempt to hide who the mysterious new Mugen Academy couple are. And I am okay with that. This season is pandering to me as a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sailor Moon</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> fan and as a HaruMichi fan, and I am eating it with a spoon and licking the spoon. Then getting another serving.</span></b>Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-1216242220271084522015-03-24T23:27:00.000-07:002015-03-24T23:27:18.987-07:00Retro Review: Oniisama E (Dear Brother) episode 25<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The last three episodes, the Fukiko's birthday arc, were basically set-up for the events of this episode, in which a lot of what Nanako doesn't know is made plain to her.<br />
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The episode begins with Fukiko's recollection to Rei of how they first met when they were 11 and 10, as we saw in <a href="http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2015/01/retro-review-dear-brother-oniisama-e.html">episode 19</a>. This time, as we see Rei sitting in the clocktower remembering that discussion, we get her perspective of that day. Despite the disturbing "Ah, that's where this unhealthy relationship started" aspect of the scene, it's kind of adorable to see how the characters dressed as kids. I like that despite Rei's mom favoring very conservative traditional women's clothing (you'll see in a later episode flashback that it wasn't just her wanting to project the right image with the Ichinomiyas, who no doubt saw her as a fallen woman- she liked wearing the kimono and haori combo in general), she was apparently cool with her daughter butching out.<br />
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My girlfriend Amy adds that her takeaway from these characters dressing pretty much exactly the same way as children is that people don't change. Or at least that it fits the theme of these characters being stuck in the past- that it's like a girly <i>Great Gatsby</i>, with a bunch of characters who know each other stuck in the past, with Nanako as the interloper who observes it all.<br />
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When Rei meets Fukiko, Fukiko is like "You're the housekeeper's child, aren't you?" and interrupts Rei's explanation to complain about being seated at the worst seat at a friend's birthday party, which she stormed out of because she has always found a reason to ruin birthdays. Thumbs up for Rei's reaction.<br />
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Fukiko is like "Promise you won't tell anyone you saw me like this!" A worried servant comes out looking for Fukiko, and Fukiko acts queenly.<br />
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<br />
And we see the beginning of a pattern.<br />
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<br />
Like Fukiko's flashback butterflies, Rei's flashback rose petals follow her back to the present day.<br />
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Rei ponders what she knows about Fukiko and that summer, continuing to needlessly beat herself up for her earlier ignorance. I guess she did indeed take my advice and go the fuck outside, but holing herself up in the school clock tower so she can be alone with herself and all the fears and shitty memories bubbling in her mind kind of misses the spirit of what she needs right now, if not the letter.<br />
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Nanako finds Rei, telling her she was worried about her not being at home or attending classes. Rei, I guess finding the idea of someone caring about her well-being alien, is like "Was there something important you wanted to talk to me about?" Nanako says no, so Rei is like "Okay, see you", and Nanako is like "Whoah, wait, you shouldn't leave the door unlocked like you did for your apartment." Rei loses her in Seiran's labyrinthine architecture, and Borgia and Vampanella come across her. (I know I've beaten to death how much I love the Sorority seniors' names, but I really do.)<br />
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As they tell Nanako Fukiko wants to see her at the sorority house, Rei listens while lighting a cigarette nearby. When they say Fukiko wants Nanako there at 8:00 tonight, Rei chimes in from a window above them,<br />
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and I wish the camera had followed Rei instead of Nanako earlier so we could see how she got up there in the split second when she lost Nanako. Vampanella is like "She can go home and come back", and Rei jumps down from the window to argue the logistics of that with them. They're like "Butt out" and tell Nanako that Fukiko said it's an important Sorority matter only she can take care of. So she sure is going. After Vampanella and Mona Lisa leave, Nanako turns to Rei, but Rei kind of hilariously sprints away now that her window hiding place is no good.<br />
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A shot of Fukiko arranging flowers in the sorority house, then embroidery time in home ec class, where Kaoru is as excited about it as I would be.<br />
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Later, Nanako tells Mariko that she can't make their movie plans with Tomoko because of Fukiko's request, even though it's the movie's last screening. Even Mariko is like "???" at Fukiko's request.<br />
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In an unusual interaction, Rei approaches Tomoko, asking for information about Nanako's relationship with Takehiko. Despite Tomoko's previous nonchalance towards Rei, Rei's ever-present charm seems to work in her favor.<br />
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<br />
Having obtained her information, Rei goes to where Kaoru is practicing basketball, and asks if she knows Takehiko tutored Nanako in cram school. Rei does nothing to insinuate anything romantic in Nanako's relationship with Takehiko- she just notes the pen pal and asking-someone-to-be-her-brother arrangement is the kind of thing she could see Nanako doing. She's still curious about Kaoru's reaction, but Kaoru gives the expected response.<br />
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Because she isn't obsessive and paranoid like Fukiko, I don't think Kaoru suspects anything romantic. The forced nonchalance of her response seems like it's her pretending she doesn't care about news of Takehiko, rather than pretending she isn't jealous of Nanako as a rival or anything like that. Rei is like "Ha, yeah, probably better you don't consider this your business", and Kaoru is like "Rei!" as she walks away.<br />
<br />
Nanako narrates that she decided to see the movie with Tomoko and Mariko anyway. Sadly, she isn't blowing off Fukiko, she's just going to leave the movie early.<br />
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Rei continues her sleuthing by going to Takehiko's apartment. Unfortunately, her constant pill-popping makes her fall down, but she reassures Takehiko that she's fine because, uh, this happens so often. She decides not to ask any questions, though, for a reason that is very her, given how much she loves Fukiko's pride and facade of invulnerability.<br />
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Normally, I would be against revealing someone's crush, but given how Fukiko has treated other people based on it, I wouldn't oppose it being done here, especially since Takehiko could probably stop her mistreatment of others based on it.<br />
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Nanako arrives at the sorority house and heads to Fukiko's private office there, at the end of a suitably Rococo hallway.<br />
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<br />
Once inside, Nanako is struck by Fukiko's lipstick being red instead of her usual pink, as well as the vanity in the room. Cue Fukiko's version of seduction.<br />
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In her seduction voice, she pats next to her on the couch, asking Nanako to sit down. Nanako sits on the far side of the couch. Fukiko moves closer and puts her hand on Nanako's. Like Rei, Fukiko seems to have cribbed her pick-up lines from <i><a href="http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2010/11/manga-review-love-vibes.html">Love Vibes</a></i>.<br />
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Fukiko now shifts to the <i>Girl Friends</i> approach by putting makeup on Nanako -- the red lipstick she's wearing, specifically. Clearly she didn't read rule 1 of <a href="http://www.autostraddle.com/how-to-keep-a-girl-for-ten-years-5-steps-to-a-better-yall-207062/">this Autostraddle article</a>. Though I guess she would probably still figure Nanako would be thrilled to look more like her.<br />
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And...<br />
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she ruins the mood. Fukiko very much operates in the Class S "Queer behavior is dandy now, but men are our definite endgame" headspace.<br />
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As I've mentioned before, Fukiko is 5,789,340 times harder to read than her sister. Rei behaves the way she does because of how her mom died and her remaining family treating her like a dirty little secret, and her sexual orientation strongly reads as gay, what with her clear interest in the ladies and lack of interest in dudes. Fukiko's reasons for behaving the way she does can only be inferred- or I guess you could say they invite more interpretation- and likewise with her sexual orientation. Her queer behavior towards Rei and Nanako is driven by a desire to manipulate them more than anything else. I've half-joked to Amy that the difference between how Seiran's students approach Rei and Kaoru vs Fukiko is that they want to do Rei and Kaoru while they want to be Fukiko. But Fukiko is so confident in her seduction abilities here that I'm like, "Has she done this successfully before? Or does she just think she's so awesome, anyone would be happy to dump their crush for a night of sex and weird doll comparisons with her? Does the fact that this is her go-to tactic for trying to manipulate Nanako indicate she actually does like women? Especially since Rei later easily guesses what Fukiko's doing, like it's happened before?" Later in the show, if I remember correctly, she's pretty dismissive of the feelings for other women Rei clearly has, but going by her behavior, it could just be internalized homophobia, like with the speech screencapped above? Like I said, it isn't as clear-cut as Rei (or Nanako IMO, but Rei makes more sense as a foil), but some questions to consider if you have the time to sit on a couch overthinking the characters of <i>Oniisama E</i> like I do.<br />
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Anyway, while trying to stammer that she told Fukiko what was actually going on, Nanako runs away, but Fukiko catches her and makes her approach more blatant.<br />
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She kisses Nanako's ear and pushes her onto the couch before Rei bursts in. Rei doesn't do much to improve the situation beyond that, ranting about Fukiko damaging her pride and dignity by doing this, sigh, I usually like you Rei, but shut up, that isn't what matters here. And of course there's thunder for dramatic effect- the power goes out because of it. Rei finally reveals the meat of her message- that Nanako being admitted to the Sorority was just part of Fukiko's plan to make her worship her and thus forget about Takehiko. Nanako is naturally shocked, but Rei starts lamenting Fukiko's precious pride being compromised, seriously, shut up about that. Fukiko denies it and expects Nanako to take her side, because of course she's full of herself enough to think Nanako will take her side at this point. Nanako and Rei don't say anything, so Fukiko leaves.<br />
<br />
Despite not having seen the ear kiss, Rei is like "Which ear did she put her precious lips on?" and kisses the earlobe Fukiko kissed. I feel awful for Nanako, for only getting a kiss from the girl she likes because said girl wants an indirect kiss with someone else.<br />
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Nanako walks home without an umbrella in the rain, pondering what she learned about how she got into the Sorority.<br />
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Back in the clock tower, Rei pops a handful of pills and laments doing something that further "hurt" Fukiko. For her part, being driven, Fukiko laments that her love isn't a secret anymore.<br />
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Fukiko and Rei's actions this episode could be titled "How to use your issues as an excuse for acting like a selfish fuckwad and ignoring other people's bodily autonomy."<br />
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Back home, Nanako decides she should quit the Sorority, and Tomoko calls to tell her about the part of the movie she missed. Tomoko eventually catches on that Nanako is depressed, and Nanako thanks her for asking how she's doing.<br />
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Fukiko returns to her villa and heads straight to The Room. Now that she feels like the sacred-ness of her feelings for Takehiko has been breached, she starts destroying everything there, because she's an all-or-nothing kind of gal.<br />
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The next episode will involve Rei and Fukiko hashing out what happened the day they tried to commit suicide together years ago.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-1791105151570886052015-03-24T00:22:00.000-07:002015-03-24T00:24:18.046-07:00Manga Review (plus some rambling on what I am watching): Akuma no Riddle volume 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2015/03/manga-review-akuma-no-riddle-volume-1.html">Volume 1</a> introduced Tokaku, an assassin, Haru, her target, and the other members of their, haha, high school assassin class, who all want to kill Haru. Volume 2 finishes establishing the rules of this series, showing us that the incentive for the assassins to kill Haru is that whoever succeeds will be granted pretty much anything she wants.<br />
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First up is Otoya, the serial killer who wants legal immunity for life and pretends she wants to be Haru's friend like Tokaku to get her to let down her guard. Unlike in the anime, here Haru isn't knocked out and tied up by Otoya. On one hand, I missed seeing Haru kick Otoya and manage to get away despite being tied up. On the other hand, I'm glad she didn't get stripped here. She uses the same method as in the anime to neutralize Otoya as a threat, but comes to the knowledge she needs for it differently. In the anime, there's some set-up for it, while in the manga, Haru turns out to have the knowledge about what to use when she's running from Otoya. It feels more <i>deus ex machina</i>-ish that Haru happens to find what she needs right when she needs it without knowing it's there (and I liked the karma of Otoya's initial "weapon" being used against her in the anime), but I like the idea of Haru having ways to do what helps her in this situation memorized for self-defense. In either version, Haru's reaction to Otoya makes her more interesting. Otoya obviously isn't likable, or someone you're supposed to like, but she is effectively creepy. We also get mention of Chitaru's motivation for being in Class Black, which isn't Haru, and mention of Haru's most plot-relevant ability.<br />
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The next assassin is Kaminaga, who I remember as the least interesting assassin. Her backstory is being an orphan who is part of some kind of assassin group fronted by nuns. It's an amusingly pulpy backstory, but Kaminaga herself is still very forgettable. She wishes to be able to quit being an assassin, but why she has to kill Haru to make it come true doesn't fully make sense. She has apparently always sucked horribly at her job and it looks like no one in her group except her dead mentor ever liked or believed in her, so why would her group keep using her for assassination assignments? Why is she here?<br />
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Haru continues to be squirrelly about her past to Tokaku, and we see a little more of it. After each assassin fails, she gets transferred out, and their teacher Mizorogi-sensei, who is there to be the cheerfully oblivious grownup in a story about teenagers, is sad and bewildered by it. Cue the first portion of Haruki's arc, which is one of the two best assassin arcs.<br />
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On the yuri front, Hitsugi and Chitaru get appropriately cast as Romeo and Juliet in their school's play, and Hitsugi is very obviously into Chitaru while Chitaru doesn't get it yet. Haruki spells out Haru and Tokaku's similarity to Romeo and Juliet to Tokaku, and Tokaku is only annoyed because she strongly values free will and doesn't see herself as someone bound by fate. Those values are going to be a huuuuge source of angst for her later. This bit of foreshadowing wasn't in the anime, and I think makes for better plotting.<br />
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This volume is the meat of the story kicking in. We get the same pluses compared to the anime as volume 1, with the additional plus of the foreshadowing mentioned above, some new pluses and minuses from Otoya's arc, and Kaminaga's still a lame character. Another plus compared to the anime is the fight scenes here aren't hampered by budget.<br />
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If you like the <i>Akuma no Riddle</i> anime to this point, you will probably like this volume. If you haven't seen the anime, it's still silly, fight-y, yuri-ish entertainment, with continued finger-crossing from me that its ending won't suck.<br />
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<i>Bonus note:</i><br />
Here's what I'm watching from what's airing.<br />
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<i>Yuri Kuma Arashi:</i> AGH. Most recent episode, AUGH. Best of the season so far, but AUGH. My girlfriend and I are sad about the most recent episode's ending because we really liked you-know-what-I-mean-if-you-are-watching, like anyone else with a soul.<br />
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<i>Yona of the Dawn:</i> Still a compelling fantasy-adventure. Also almost over, ugh. I know there's a lot more manga material, so even though I can just read the manga for more (and I plan to read it regardless), second season, please.<br />
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<i>Maria the Virgin Witch:</i> Also compelling fantasy. I'm scared for Maria right now despite the most recent episode's Disney-like happy resolution for [spoiler], since [spoiler] is such a sociopath. One more episode, ugh.<br />
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<i>Death Parade:</i> Jesus Christ, why didn't I try this show sooner? I hadn't started it at all before this past Saturday, and I finished catching up Sunday. (Being stuck at home sick helped, but still.) If you like <i>Jigoku Shoujo</i>, you will probably enjoy this show, too. I described it to a friend who also just got into it as a great mixture of sweet and soul-crushing tragedy. lol<br />
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<i>Go! Princess Precure</i>: Still pretty much the same pluses and minuses as <a href="http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2015/02/this-show-so-far-go-princess-precure.html">initially</a>, just with a new magical girl.<br />
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I still need to try <i>Shirobako</i>, since everyone and their grandma loves it, and I need to try <i>Rolling Girls</i>, since it seems like it could be fun.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-12483897024239136102015-03-24T00:21:00.000-07:002015-03-24T00:21:06.280-07:00Manga Review: Akuma no Riddle volume 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you read my writing on the <i>Akuma no Riddle</i> anime, <a href="http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2014/04/first-impressions-akuma-no-riddle.html">here</a>, <a href="http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2014/05/this-series-so-far-inugami-san-to.html">here</a>, and <a href="http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2014/07/anime-review-akuma-no-riddle.html">here</a>, you might remember that I started out apathetic, warmed up to it, then was irritated by its ending's hand-waviness and failure to deliver as much yuri as its marketing promised. The <i>Akuma no Riddle</i> manga, which is three volumes long so far and still running in <i>Newtype</i>, has been licensed by Seven Seas. Its first volume is due for release in English this October. I obviously can't vouch for how the manga will end, but so far, it's an improvement on the story we got from the anime.<br />
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Azuma Tokaku, our butchy lead, has mad assassin skills, but hasn't actually killed anyone. She is sent by the, uh, assassin school, where she is the top student, to Class Black, a class in a normal high school composed of twelve assassins and one target. Class Black's assassins quickly figure out who the target is: the only aggressively nice one out of all of them. After getting to know said target, who is conveniently a cute girl named Haru, Tokaku decides to defect to her side.<br />
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So... the manga really doesn't move as quickly as the anime, but I actually think it's for the better. It ends before Tokaku attends the meeting where all the assassins are briefed on the rules of how they can target Haru, which happens in episode 2 of the anime. The payoff is Tokaku, having just protected Haru from one of the assassins, Isuke, telling Haru she will protect her rather than carry out her assignment. This happens after a volume of their getting to know each other while their classmates get some characterization- Haru and Tokaku still get the lion's share, befitting their status as leads, but the side characters get more than they got at this point in the anime, which I appreciate. For example, at the tea party where Isuke tells Haru she has two dads, we get the flashback to how one of her dads adopted her after rescuing her from an abusive home, which provides some nuance to her character. When Chitaru and Hitsugi meet Haru and Tokaku, we also see how they met, which helps establish why they have the dynamic they do. I still enjoyed the bulk of the anime, but I like that the manga doesn't reserve development for every character who isn't Haru and Tokaku for their respective arc, shortly before they leave. The manga has the luxury of more room to breathe, without feeling slow.<br />
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The art does what it's supposed to. It isn't going to win any awards, but it's clean, consistent, and easy to follow. The anime adapted the manga's art style closely.<br />
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Yuri so far is Tokaku's obvious desire to protect and attraction to Haru that she has a hard time explaining, and the beginnings of the Hitsugi x Chitaru pairing.<br />
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Btw, most Japanophiles know "haru" means "spring", but the kanji for Haru's name is the kanji used for "to clear up" or "to be sunny", which fits given how she reminds Tokaku of sunny places. I'll add that if you're learning Japanese and looking for manga with a lot of furigana to practice reading, this series is an option if you want something aimed at an older audience than shoujo and shounen. The bonus pages don't have furigana, but the story does.<br />
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In short- this series still isn't high art, its premise is still ludicrous, but it's entertaining and better executed in this medium than in its animated form. Admittedly I benefit from knowing there's some calculated reason for Haru's friendly behavior (though she does genuinely like Tokaku) and she can defend herself better than she has in this volume, though this volume still indicates that there's more to her than people assume. It might be foolish of me to hope for this series to correct the flaws that most hurt the anime in my eyes, but I would love to see more titles that feature blatantly lady-loving female characters in a story that isn't strictly school romance or slice-of-life (which is one of my many reasons for enjoying <i>Yuri Kuma Arashi</i>), so here's hoping for better than what we got from the anime.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-11617423844608409802015-02-20T20:20:00.000-08:002015-03-25T12:45:13.408-07:00Retro Review: Oniisama E (Dear Brother) episode 24<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After the obligatory previous episode flashback, we see Rei sitting on the beach as the sun rises, wondering why Fukiko loathes the song she played.<br />
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Nanako calls Rei's apartment from a payphone (oho, how quaint) on the way to school, only catching the train because Tomoko points out she'll be late if she doesn't move it. Nanako called before and never got an answer, so she figures out that Rei never returned home last night. She notes that she is rather scared of the insulated little world Fukiko and Rei are in, from what little she knows of it.<br />
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Despite catching the train, Nanako and Tomoko miss the bus, and I remember how much of a bitch Japanese high school commutes can be. (I did some study abroad there in high school.)<br />
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Pulling his car out of his university's parking lot, Takashi sees Rei, and she gets in the car. She plays a CD with the song Fukiko hates, stirring my nostalgia as a 24-year-old old person. Takashi is then like "So, uh, I guess yesterday's still bothering you." Rei explains that she figures he might know something about why Fukiko acted the way she did, and they go to the ocean so they can enjoy the salty sea air while Takashi explains his version of the most awkward backstory ever.<br />
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Six years ago, Takehiko visited the Ichinomiya summer villa for a week. The Ichinomiyas had their usual end-of-summer party coming up after he left, so he said he would be back for it. Fukiko began practicing the now-hated violin piece with gusto.<br />
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Interesting use of the blacked-out face effect for Fukiko here. It's normally used when she has some malevolent intent -- though it was used on Rei when she tried to fulfill her and Fukiko's double suicide pact with imaginary Fukiko. You also may have noticed it, less prominently, on Rei in the music box screenshot above -- there, the blacked out faces serve to make them more doll-like, befitting the imagery around them. Regardless of the context in which blacked out faces are used on Fukiko and Rei, they serve to underline their respective unhealthy obsessions. In the case of the screenshot right above, the beginning of Fukiko's obsession with Takehiko.<br />
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Anyway, Fukiko did a fantastic job playing the piece at the party and her audience wanted an encore, but Takehiko wasn't there since he had to take care of an emergency, so no more violin.<br />
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The title of this episode is the English word "Encore", spelled in katakana. It's clearly symbolic of the fact that Fukiko refusing an encore after playing that one song wasn't her ending her mini-concert before others wanted her to. It was her refusing to let the damn thing ever really end, continuing to practice in secret with the fantasy of getting the ending for her concert that she really wanted.<br />
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Takashi just now mentions that he never heard Fukiko play that song after the party. Rei notes that she's seen Fukiko play it loads of times since then... but never with other people around.<br />
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Rei asks if Takehiko ever came back to the villa. Takashi says nope and connects the dots regarding Fukiko's obsession. Arriving home, Takashi sees Fukiko arranging red and white roses in a vase. Demonstrating amazing subtlety, he mentions that he and Rei chatted about that summer six years ago and Takehiko. Fukiko cuts a red rose in half and is like "WHOOPS, THIS ROSE IS RUINING THIS BOUQUET, THIS ENTIRE BOUQUET IS NO GOOD NOW" and tosses it in a trash can.<br />
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Then she leaves, and Takashi is like<br />
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Back in her room, a trembling Fukiko puts her hands, bleeding from the rose thorns, together and is pissed at Rei for what just happened. It was unwise of Takashi to make it obvious that Rei was involved in his realization about that summer.<br />
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Meanwhile, poor Rei is talking to The Doll as a stand-in for Fukiko, apologizing for not knowing her feelings about the song. Even more than usual, she needs to get out of her apartment and go outside.<br />
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Speaking completely seriously and not in an "I'm trying to be witty and snarky" way, if I knew someone like Rei, I would tell her to go the fuck outside, albeit in a more gently worded way. I guess that is what Nanako has been trying to do, though there should be more people trying to genuinely help Rei (as opposed to backhanded help like Fukiko) than just Nanako. (And Kaoru, albeit in a different way than Nanako.) Rei has made some progress over the course of the series--like attending her exams and playing for the basketball team again--but every time she takes a step forward, Fukiko lashes out and Rei is set back again to varying extents. Overall, Rei is better than she was at the beginning of the series, but this scene was still painful to watch.<br />
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Still in her room, Fukiko reminisces about that summer, and we finally get her full take on it. Takashi first introduced Takehiko to her when they were vacationing at the villa. Fukiko was taken with Takehiko right away, even moreso when he saved her hat from a waterfall.<br />
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Present-day Fukiko recites Shakespeare's <a href="http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/sonnet/18">Sonnet 18</a> while remembering spending time with Takehiko.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Guess which one that is.</i></div>
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Takehiko read the poem every time she requested it, took her rowing on the lake, took her to a cabin to shelter her from the rain, and let her have his book since he thought she just really liked the sonnets when she memorized Sonnet 18.<br />
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I can see how, given her initial taken-ness with him and the setting they were in, Fukiko had the reactions she did at the time. (Though obviously, thank god Takehiko considered her nothing more than his friend's little sister.) The day she learned he wasn't staying longer than a week, she made him pinky-promise that he would come back for the party, and we cut back to the Fukiko we know.<br />
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In another "subtle" bit of symbolism, Fukiko seems to imagine the butterflies that were fluttering around when she met Takehiko in her room when she's thinking about that day.<br />
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My girlfriend Amy adds an excellent observation, which she's typing here: Fukiko's story is fascinating because she's a teenager looking back on when she was twelve the way you normally see some adults look back on their teen and childhood years, making her feel older than she is, in a way. Teens usually want to distance themselves from their younger selves, but in this case the sense of heightened reality in the story shifts the dichotomy from "adult and child" to "teen and... younger teen" and that makes the story feel more like it's for mature readers.<br />
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We see Nanako go to Rei's apartment to check up on her. The Doll and the violin CD are on the bedroom floor, and Nanako plays the CD in the stereo nearby. She recognizes the song, and finds this behind her.<br />
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Fukiko unplugs the stereo and, breathing heavily, asks if Nanako visits the apartment often. Nanako answers honestly that she came several times when Rei was sick, and Fukiko is like "I told you not to see her!" If Fukiko were more astute regarding Nanako, she would know that letting Nanako spend as much time as she wants with Rei would beautifully complement her designs on keeping Nanako away from Takehiko.<br />
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Later outside, Nanako can clearly tell that Fukiko's issues with her aren't just about her visiting Rei, and that the song has to do with it.<br />
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Later while being driven, Fukiko ponders what a tragedy that day was<br />
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and we flash back to her being fussed over by her maids before the concert, before she runs into Takashi and he tells her Takehiko can't make it. Cue concert.<br />
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After the song and cries of "Encore!" and bouquets of red roses given to her, Fukiko tosses away her bouquets, beginning her habit of taking her feelings out on roses. She runs off, telling her maids not to follow her.<br />
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She tries to drown herself in the lake, but floats up and cries on the dock. Back in the present, we see that she views what happened that day as a betrayal, despite her still wanting Takehiko and seeing that time before the concert as the happiest of her life. She is then like<br />
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D=<br />
<br />
So, um, yup. That was a backstory. When I first watched this, I was like "What the fuck, what a stupid thing to try to drown yourself over." It is still a picayune reason for attempting to drown oneself, but I guess... in the larger context of Fukiko's making-a-mountain-out-of-a-molehill behavior, it's in character. And what Amy said above, regarding what seems to be the intent of this plot point.<br />
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Between what we've seen regarding Fukiko's obsession with Takehiko and her willingness to commit suicide with Rei when they were younger... yeah, her time with her crush aside, she hasn't been happy in a long time. Rei's issues can be easily explained by the way her mom died (which I won't spoil) and the fact that her remaining family treats her like an embarrassing secret. Fukiko is harder to quickly explain because she has grown up taken care of way more than Rei. Clearly because of Rei's existence, which she knew about before the events of that summer, she knew her dad had a mistress, the same reason Mariko acted out until Nanako was like "Holy shit, your behavior." And from what I remember, despite numerous scenes taking place in Fukiko's home, we never see either of her parents, unlike Nanako's very involved parents and Mariko's mom who's trying to provide the most stable family she can for her daughter. So... I assume her latching onto Takehiko's willingness to spend time with her may have been caused by loneliness related to that. If I think about it, I can see reason for her behavior, however overblown and destructive.<br />
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On that delightful note, next time on <i>Oniisama E</i>, Fukiko will try to seduce Nanako away from her non-relationship with Takehiko and Rei will come upon it. Nanako just can't win.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-66331542389383963832015-02-13T19:00:00.000-08:002015-02-18T09:19:02.040-08:00Retro Review: Oniisama E (Dear Brother) episode 23<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This episode opens with a flashback to the lake incident before showing Mariko, back to school from the holiday, reciting Matthew Arnold's <a href="http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/172856">"Requiescat"</a> in English class. I should clarify here that the summer holiday they took wasn't full-time summer vacation, just an extra-long weekend because of their school's founding anniversary.<br />
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Mariko and Kaoru both look towards Nanako's empty seat. Nanako is faking a fever to avoid going to school.<br />
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Fukiko approaches Tomoko and Mariko to ask about Nanako's absence, and gets the sick excuse from them. The contrast between the facade she's presenting to Nanako's friends and what she's capable of makes her blacked out face of doom creepier than normal here.<br />
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As Fukiko walks away, we see what at first looks like her remembering what happened at the lake, shot from a third person perspective as we saw it before. It turns out to be Nanako having a nightmare about it. She isn't physically ill, but she's clearly feeling what happened.<br />
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Tomoko brings her some cake after school, and they go down to the beach on Nanako's request. Tomoko is like "Oho, I figured you were faking it", and Nanako gives her an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omamori">omamori</a> she brought back from the trip as a souvenir.<br />
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Tomoko asks if something happened on the trip because of Fukiko asking after Nanako today. Nanako plays it off as a perfectly delightful trip, but Tomoko can tell something is amiss.<br />
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She doesn't press her about it, though, and they race each other along the beach.<br />
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When Nanako gets home, her mom lets her know she's got a call from Fukiko, since Fukiko is nothing if not persistent. Nanako has the least surprising look ever<br />
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and her mom is like "What's wrong?", but she's like "Nothing, I'll take it in my room." (If you're wondering why Nanako isn't busted here, it's because she told her mom her fever was lowering earlier in the day.)<br />
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Back in her room, she stares at her phone like it's a hissing cockroach before taking it. Fukiko asks her about how she's feeling. After Nanako lies that her fever's gone down, Fukiko is like<br />
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She then asks if Nanako stayed home because of what happened on the trip, and after Nanako says no, issues a very Fukiko "apology", complete with her recent penchant for rose destruction.<br />
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Fukiko also lets her know that at today's Sorority meeting, it was decided that the first-year Sorority members would basically serve as staff at her birthday party. In case you couldn't tell almost being drowned was traumatic for Nanako, this scene hammers it home pretty clearly.<br />
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As you can see, there's some train imagery here- the warning sound and lights used at train crossings, which cast a glow on both Nanako and Fukiko as they talk, presumably to symbolize the fact that Fukiko's a dangerous bitch. The slanted camera angles used here also underline the uneasiness in this scene.<br />
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Here I take a break to eat a kouign-amann from <a href="http://www.crumbleandflake.com/">Crumble & Flake</a>. It's so fucking good. (My girlfriend Amy: "It's like bread candy.")<br />
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To answer your question, gentle reader, about why Nanako doesn't just tell off Fukiko for being a horrible bitch: Fukiko frightens her, as evidenced by her physical reaction to interacting with her. Most crucially, I think, Fukiko also <a href="http://counsellingresource.com/features/2011/11/08/gaslighting/">gaslit</a> her in this scene and right after the near-drowning, making it seem like, contrary to how Nanako might have interpreted it, the near-drowning wasn't a violent assault, just a prank- or at least, that Fukiko has a story that can contradict anything Nanako says otherwise. "Why doesn't Nanako switch schools?" Easier said than done at this point in the school year and it would still unfairly punish her in a way. I'm not saying Nanako should stay at Seiran with all this bullshit, just why I can see why she reacts like she does.<br />
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Amy also adds "<i>Oniisama E</i> is like sad <i>Glee</i> with no music", what with the heightened-ness and the utter ineffectiveness of its adult authority figures. <i>Oniisama E</i>'s writing is too consistent to be <i>too</i> similar to <i>Glee</i>, though.<br />
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The next day at a café, Mariko and Nanako are having tea and Mariko's like "So, what are you getting Our Lady and Savior Fukiko for her birthday?" Apparently getting Fukiko a great birthday present is to Sorority members what the Hunger Games are to the citizens of Panem.<br />
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Since Fukiko loves red roses, Mariko plans on buying her enough red roses to sink a ship.<br />
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Later, Nanako and Tomoko window-shop a fancy jewelry store. For once a brand is referenced in anime without its name being changed.<br />
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It is missing the "& Co.", but normally it would have its spelling changed to "Sniffany" or something like that. Tomoko is like "You're not thinking of buying Fukiko something from here, are you?" and Nanako's like "lol like I can afford it." Nanako pulls Tomoko behind a corner because the Sorority's Lady... I shit you not, Lady Medusa, is exiting the shop, clearly a regular patron who just bought Fukiko something there.<br />
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Nanako keeps looking for jewelry she can afford, and Tomoko suggests that instead of focusing on cost, she give a gift that only she could give, like her fabulous cookies. Nanako doesn't want to repeat what she gave Mariko, but hey, if it's good enough for her friend, it's good enough for the asshole who almost drowned her.<br />
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The next morning, Rei bring flowers to her mother's grave for the anniversary of her death.<br />
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Fukiko shows up with flowers and prays in front of the grave also,<br />
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and Rei gives us confirmation that after her mom died, the Ichinomiyas gave her her apartment and an allowance. She thanks Fukiko and Fukiko is like "No worries, it's nothing, we do share a father." It's an unusually pleasant, functional moment between them, and Fukiko invites Rei to come to her birthday party, for once with no ulterior motives.<br />
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<i>Oniisama E</i> being what it is, you know this party won't go off without a hitch, though. The scene transition music knows it, also.<br />
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At the party, Fukiko sits as guests present her with gifts one-by-one. There's even some kneeling, in case the queen-receiving-tribute aspect wasn't clear.<br />
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She gets a diamond necklace from Medusa and her favorite French perfume from someone else among her gifts, before Mariko demonstrates how serious she is about her gift idea, giving her eighteen hundred roses because she's turning eighteen.<br />
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Nanako is embarrassed by her homemade cookies and their lack of exorbitance. Nonetheless, Fukiko seems happy with them. I assume <i>Maria-sama ga Miteru</i>'s Oyuki Konno had this scene in mind when she wrote the birthday gift scene in <i>Maria-sama ga Miteru: Vacation of the Lambs</i>--where Yumi had to give Sachiko's grandma a birthday gift in front of a party of rich assholes and pleased her with a simple gift, a song she sang.<br />
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Apparently this was just the Sorority-only portion of the party. More people are arriving in thirty minutes, and first-years are to prepare the reception room by then. After guests arrive, the first-years take up their positions hostessing and serving food and drinks.<br />
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I guess one could argue that my college dorm's traditions of A) each first-year serving a Senior at the Senior Banquet at the end of each school year, and B) rolling in the tea service for Friday tea once in the school year are similar to this, but I do think this is annoying in a way my dorm traditions weren't (owning that, yeah, I'm biased) because 1) my dorm traditions dictated that it was no biggie if a first-year declined to participate, and 2) it's a bit different to ask your kouhai in a school organization to help you with a school tradition vs a personal event. This event isn't some horrible trauma for the first-years, but how full of yourself do you have to be to be like "Yo freshmen, come to my house so you can staff my birthday party."<br />
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Takehiko and Takashi arrive, and Nanako, apparently not heeding Fukiko's desire for her to have no communication with Takehiko, walks right up to greet and thank them for hosting her and her friends at the university festival. When someone knocks into Nanako, causing her to spill a drink on Takehiko's suit, she starts trying to clean it with a handkerchief, causing Fukiko to glare and walk over to send her away for more drinks. It's kind of like <i>Cinderella</i>, if Cinderella's stepmother wanted the Prince and Cinderella was more interested in a chick. Apparently Takehiko showing up is a surprise, and he unwittingly gives Fukiko the most lesbian of flowers.<br />
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It would be sweet how moved she is by this gift if she weren't generally such a raging dick about her crush.<br />
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Nanako gets some more drinks and comes across Rei.<br />
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They exchange pleasantries, and Rei teases her a little (a good sign that, despite the failed confession, she still genuinely likes Nanako, since she otherwise only acts that way with Kaoru) before being swarmed by fangirls. They ask her to play a song for Fukiko and yell like Rei just promised each of them a car when she agrees.<br />
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Rei starts playing the piece Nanako remembers Fukiko playing at the villa, to the delight of everyone,<br />
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until Fukiko slashes the strings of Rei's violin with a knife before running upstairs to her room. A very alarmed and confused Rei follows, being like "Fukiko-sama!" Rei stands outside Fukiko's room asking why she acted like that, and Fukiko tells her she hates that piece, despite her regularly playing it.<br />
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Like I said, Rei can't win. Fukiko tells Rei she never really wanted her to come, and Rei starts crying.<br />
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Despite Takashi's game attempt at making the party still work, the guests leave, since there's no recovering from a party's hostess acting like a homicidal five year-old. Takashi offers Mariko a ride home and Takehiko starts to walk Nanako home, but Mariko has Nanako walk home with her. Rei walks alone, un-umbrella-ed in the rain, Nanako and Mariko find the events of the evening too shocking and weird to talk about,<br />
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and the lesson from <i>Oniisama E</i>, dear reader, is that <a href="http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2014/06/retro-review-onisama-e-dear-brother.html">birthdays always end horribly</a>.<br />
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Fukiko also burns Nanako's cookies and Takehiko's flowers in a furnace, so I guess she's starting to get pissed at him as well for his culpability in... uh, pleasantly interacting with Nanako.<br />
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Next episode, Rei asks Takashi if there's a story behind Fukiko's actions, and we get the whole enchilada.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-82624063769045601552015-02-13T15:08:00.000-08:002015-02-20T11:11:39.724-08:00This Show So Far: Go! Princess Precure episodes 1 & 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday, I described my experience watching the first couple episodes of <i>Go! Princess Precure</i> to my girlfriend as "It's like <i>Sailor Moon</i>, <i>Utena</i>, and <i>Maria-sama ga Miteru</i> had a magical girl baby." The <i>Sailor Moon</i> part is obvious to anyone who knows about the <i>Precure</i> franchise as a whole. The <i>Utena</i> and <i>Marimite</i>-ish bits are what's unusual.<br />
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When she was little, the wonderfully named Haruno Haruka received a key from a guy who looks like <i>Utena</i>'s Dios if he wandered into the <i>Precure</i> franchise, telling her not to give up on her dreams. (This will shock you, but he is a prince here too, of the kingdom-that-needs-to-be-saved of the season.) Now 13, Haruka is starting a new school life at Noble Academy, a fancy boarding school where, despite being co-ed, the standard greeting is "Gokigenyou" and there's a very Oneesama/Ogasawara Sachiko-like girl who all the girls "Kyaa!" over. <i>Precure</i> Sachiko's name is Kaido Minami.<br />
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As expected, the first episode is Haruka being introduced to how the school operates, by a girl named Yui. <i>Utena-</i>like spinny screen corner embellishments happen. Haruka dreams of being a princess but is too embarrassed to admit it, which makes sense since she is 13. But this is a magical girl show aimed at a grade school-aged audience where its protagonist attends fantasy anime boarding school, so it's easy to roll with here. Yui dreams of being a picture book author, so the bad guys target her by literally locking away her dream and creating a monster-of-the-day from it. With help from some familiars, Haruka decides not to back down on <s>love</s> her dream and goes all magical girl on the monster, giving Yui back her dream.<br />
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In episode 2, having been told that to be a Princess, as she now has the power of the Princess Precure, she must be strong, kind, and beautiful, Haruka starts running training, figuring she doesn't know much about beauty so she'll start on strength. She is late to the school commencement ceremony as a result, and is chewed out by the teacher who chewed out Utena for her non-gender conforming uniform. Sachiko, who is the student council president at this school, intervenes on Haruka's behalf though, proving that this really is fantasy anime school by successfully making the case that Haruka should choose her own punishment.<br />
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Haruka chooses to do weed-pulling and an apology note, which she gives Sachiko before asking if she could teach her ballet, since she is of course amazing at ballet. Sachiko feels her heart grow three sizes because of Haruka not being too in awe of her to ask that, unlike many other students. Lessons happen and Haruka starts improving. This time, a boy who is one of the school's runners is targeted by the bad guys, and Sachiko joins Haruka in the show's magical girl roster.<br />
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This is a fun show so far- I can see myself enjoying it as a kid, and as an adult, it scratches some very specific nerd itches. lol The fight scenes are well-choreographed, also.<br />
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Even though it's an enjoyable show and I like its classic <i>Precure</i> "You can be both feminine and strong!" message, I'm not keen on its "Every girl wants to be a princess!" message and wouldn't include "beautiful" in the list of attributes every princess should be. As someone who loved princesses as a kid like this show's intended audience, I'm spoiled by all the stories I've consumed that examine and/or subvert what it means to be a princess more, like Strangely Katie's <i>Princess Princess</i> comic or...well, <i>Utena</i>. (Despite this show's obvious fondness for <i>Utena</i>, I'm not sure it got a lot of what <i>Utena</i> was actually saying. I would love to be proven wrong in future episodes, though.) Right now there are a couple other princess-y anime shows aimed at older viewers airing that sort of do that by making their leads react to harsh circumstances, but in hugely different ways- <i>Cross Ange</i>, which I tried an episode of, has a neat premise, but the creepiest, shittiest execution of it, while <i>Yona of the Dawn</i>, which I've caught up on, has me hooked.<br />
<i><br /></i>Anyway, I mostly enjoyed the first couple episodes of this show, but I wish it handled its central theme with a less broad stroke approach to what girls want and should aim to be. As it is, it feels dated, like seeing Rogers and Hammerstein's <i>Cinderella</i> musical on Broadway a couple autumns ago- still enjoyed it, but there are more progressive updates of the fairytale princess theme by now. I like that strength is included as one of the three princess values (and despite Haruka's current interpretation, I don't think the show means literal physical strength, since her biggest distinguishing trait so far is getting the courage to protect others and go for what she wants; the character who embodies princess-iness to her, Minami, has a strong personality, also), but beauty is pushed so much by media in general as a value/thing to aspire to for all girls and women, why does that have to be explicitly pushed as a measure of value here too. <i>Princess</i> <i>Precure</i> still has plenty of time to be more subversive regarding that, so I'll wait and see how it goes. As it is, I'm not sure I'd recommend it out of the <i>Precure</i> seasons to my friend who has a 9 year-old daughter who loves anime- probably <i>Heartcatch</i> or (though I haven't finished it yet; I like what I've seen, but really need to catch up) <i>Happiness Charge</i>.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-74630946666356511782015-01-22T20:31:00.003-08:002015-01-23T22:48:28.270-08:00Retro Review: Oniisama E (Dear Brother) episode 22<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome to <i>Oniisama E, Natsuyasumi-hen</i>. We've seen some of the skeletons in Fukiko's closet, but primarily from Rei's perspective. These next few episodes will take us down the rabbit hole of what Fukiko's perspective is like.<br />
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We open with Mariko and Nanako in the Sorority house, being praised for their mad flower-arranging skills by Fukiko. Fukiko asks if they have summer holiday plans, and Mariko is like "No, Mistress, tell us what you want." Fukiko wants to bring them to her summer villa in the countryside to help her prepare something for her birthday party, and Mariko is like<br />
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The episode then switches back and forth for a bit between Nanako being irritated at Mariko while they take the train to Fukiko's villa, since they planned to travel somewhere with Tomoko, and the aftermath of Mariko's promise to Fukiko before they leave. Nanako protested that she's traveling with Tomoko anyway, but she still winds up on that train, since doubtless a trip with Tomoko would provide less drama fuel. Even though Nanako profusely apologizes for the change of plans, Tomoko is understandably upset, but tells her she might be forgiven for the right souvenir. Despite her irritation, Nanako is charmed by the surroundings where she and Mariko are going.<br />
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(My girlfriend Amy: "God, so many -ko names." Those sure were extra-popular then.) A driver brings Fukiko and her two righthand women Borgia and Mona Lisa. Fun fact: Borgia, the one with her hair up, is voiced by Shinohara Emi, who played Makoto in the original <i>Sailor Moon</i> anime. And Fukiko played a <i>Sailor Moon</i> villain. lol Esmeraude from <i>Sailor Moon R</i>.<br />
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Fukiko gets a key from a maid named Mineko, asks for privacy, and walks upstairs to whatever she needs it for as Mineko watches her with concern. (Amy: "There's a Mineko now?")<br />
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Fukiko enters a room upstairs, and</div>
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Yup, totes normal room, nothing weird going on here.</div>
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It looks like a childhood room.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgWOOqi1I1w8x8Md5ncHt1udMjGDFSUZtphjdkNOP10owZvsCx9E5ti3Q0KyhhjLz9zPj1KC6z96TzJm6bInomhzuT3OIqfnKBP_z-5WpDfb0KqnsocVsP0SRiNffCA3YPddUf3McyDn8/s1600/room.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgWOOqi1I1w8x8Md5ncHt1udMjGDFSUZtphjdkNOP10owZvsCx9E5ti3Q0KyhhjLz9zPj1KC6z96TzJm6bInomhzuT3OIqfnKBP_z-5WpDfb0KqnsocVsP0SRiNffCA3YPddUf3McyDn8/s1600/room.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Everything is as it should be.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzci5JHWWWY_DNFMKFG2cJWcPb0lOY66skw0yf22sbVQlwdz9x4PkWcTGZaupw2rZVTxEg9UyuTjgopLC11tFR5digU9r-pFWwz_DmlRv3FeZ2f5R90UwXQ5ziT0NTTBaT9WHHqHuy2Uk/s1600/here.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzci5JHWWWY_DNFMKFG2cJWcPb0lOY66skw0yf22sbVQlwdz9x4PkWcTGZaupw2rZVTxEg9UyuTjgopLC11tFR5digU9r-pFWwz_DmlRv3FeZ2f5R90UwXQ5ziT0NTTBaT9WHHqHuy2Uk/s1600/here.png" height="236" width="320" /></a></div>
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But... oh?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURddg5dlpzl7hpob-RARKVirIBoMnnhXtnQDKfFCUy4nvhjWllSR2PCswHP21CihNBrrugtIwSfHeJ1-8fO0RneU_i5wkSyh4AyiIsfCja1COUe7aFQKs6WTy236m1DB4m_dZBTbgyq0/s1600/wrongplace.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiURddg5dlpzl7hpob-RARKVirIBoMnnhXtnQDKfFCUy4nvhjWllSR2PCswHP21CihNBrrugtIwSfHeJ1-8fO0RneU_i5wkSyh4AyiIsfCja1COUe7aFQKs6WTy236m1DB4m_dZBTbgyq0/s1600/wrongplace.png" height="237" width="320" /></a></div>
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Oh?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwNnAJyTlfuqL7Ln-5M1QmpHRJHJ1Yt9ubXHSlHUMhOiMtz52Cg6zGc-RZN1m2D_6Fh7EcSt7WXOtowz6Eabq55fq8hURpKSd4CMC8cIBoAzZ6za616vn__qAOoXDf8-t7NKhPev9_tSI/s1600/kumashock.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwNnAJyTlfuqL7Ln-5M1QmpHRJHJ1Yt9ubXHSlHUMhOiMtz52Cg6zGc-RZN1m2D_6Fh7EcSt7WXOtowz6Eabq55fq8hURpKSd4CMC8cIBoAzZ6za616vn__qAOoXDf8-t7NKhPev9_tSI/s1600/kumashock.png" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Kuma SHOCK!</i></div>
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What... what is this. What the hell is this, Mineko. How could you not leave EVERY item in this room exactly as it was when you last cleaned it. How could you break the illusion that no time has passed at all. DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD MY LIFE IS, MINEKO, DO YOU.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgP9Ymzrj54-k7wBg5q1mW7KtmeV0WV5_lMlkLxeThEH6jPvJMSO3d1At_YrinLItHnuHyYeJlKdRB45f-ytHwfXXYVFk-XPWnjm23ep-0VdxDxi94snmKrJoQQ92UAXwOj7DDvZI-J6I/s1600/tiniest.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgP9Ymzrj54-k7wBg5q1mW7KtmeV0WV5_lMlkLxeThEH6jPvJMSO3d1At_YrinLItHnuHyYeJlKdRB45f-ytHwfXXYVFk-XPWnjm23ep-0VdxDxi94snmKrJoQQ92UAXwOj7DDvZI-J6I/s1600/tiniest.png" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span id="goog_1882145644"></span><span id="goog_1882145645"></span><br /></div>
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Nanako and Mariko then arrive, and a butler shows them to where Borgia and Mona Lisa are having tea. Borgia promptly congratulates them for the experience of being invited to Fukiko's villa.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhteEqzRHzLh0zPQ2mpwEbaLGOCJkSf5XwveM_PzE3OC6g7gSs68gQzez3Hda9Mp0DRoAfzZ_mpLTxRU_GLW3krVecAIAFVYXEacID2s7maH8LNjTOwVRzCWl-zruz8FoFq4O1n3_WjhMk/s1600/honor.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhteEqzRHzLh0zPQ2mpwEbaLGOCJkSf5XwveM_PzE3OC6g7gSs68gQzez3Hda9Mp0DRoAfzZ_mpLTxRU_GLW3krVecAIAFVYXEacID2s7maH8LNjTOwVRzCWl-zruz8FoFq4O1n3_WjhMk/s1600/honor.png" height="237" width="320" /></a></div>
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Since Fukiko is on a walk, Borgia and Mona Lisa orient Nanako and Mariko with what they're supposed to do, which is write and address the 300 invitations Fukiko needs to have mailed for her birthday party in the next couple days. In other words, they're basically Fukiko's unpaid interns.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXl2xVw_64M-NwQS8JH4jHzijxhsYz6ZyP4vijOpPOYnHYINmN2nyRHzEeBeAgNzvFAN1CWw2OD09Ta0UtkGuWjTPJwUCexq1kyr5EgAjFSJPXyKP1hGEZDBe7y2PHvgELw1ntVSltgYA/s1600/birthday.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXl2xVw_64M-NwQS8JH4jHzijxhsYz6ZyP4vijOpPOYnHYINmN2nyRHzEeBeAgNzvFAN1CWw2OD09Ta0UtkGuWjTPJwUCexq1kyr5EgAjFSJPXyKP1hGEZDBe7y2PHvgELw1ntVSltgYA/s1600/birthday.png" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
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Isn't it a bit late to send invitations? Amy suggests that Fukiko can afford to have mail carriers for each individual letter who will ensure it is delivered the day it's sent out.</div>
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Nanako takes a break by taking a walk through the beautiful grounds (Mariko's too tired to do it), and comes across Fukiko playing the violin under a tree near a small waterfall. She is surprised to see Fukiko in such a romantic/Romantic scene. Nanako feels like there's a tragic desire for someone hidden in her song... somehow.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw6hHfBdTtj462WGTHqQ5mUlIsP4Q7fmBKCbolg8lkLB2-TDmQ3HlL1u8HCpF2-OPXtKCJa8kTxZ9d7VWbekRNORPzaLzsLzRQnON1ChH0XVbrQnIxmPTKH8UjnLTRZxl441jb7rO4Z5g/s1600/tragiclove.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw6hHfBdTtj462WGTHqQ5mUlIsP4Q7fmBKCbolg8lkLB2-TDmQ3HlL1u8HCpF2-OPXtKCJa8kTxZ9d7VWbekRNORPzaLzsLzRQnON1ChH0XVbrQnIxmPTKH8UjnLTRZxl441jb7rO4Z5g/s1600/tragiclove.png" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
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Let's go with Nanako's empath powers. Or it's the setting combined with her natural affinity for romantic interpretations of things. A bit like <i>Northanger Abbey</i>'s Catherine when she visits Northanger Abbey, or <i>Anne of Green Gables</i>' Anne... pretty much everywhere she goes. The difference is that Nanako has the right interpretation of what's happening. lol She describes this while looking sad behind a tree, which she's been doing a lot lately.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_8zzqrtN7_s463CyYY0E0XkalIviiDm2lR8bIBGiLCvZd1gyMm8Tpip48BY9qZOQj2L_MkQzLhyphenhyphenf4pSIy3feoSk0E1TgrUVSEb_DST32GPsdkLK7OUX7IjDk41E_4UVvJAc383nImm34/s1600/tree.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_8zzqrtN7_s463CyYY0E0XkalIviiDm2lR8bIBGiLCvZd1gyMm8Tpip48BY9qZOQj2L_MkQzLhyphenhyphenf4pSIy3feoSk0E1TgrUVSEb_DST32GPsdkLK7OUX7IjDk41E_4UVvJAc383nImm34/s1600/tree.png" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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That night, Nanako can't sleep. At about 1:00, she hears splashing in the pool outside and sees Fukiko swimming from her window. </div>
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We get Fukiko's interior monologue, thinking about "that summer day" ("ano natsu no hi") from back when she was younger and more old timey-looking.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-OaSudTCD4ZxM6MtAWtrUWIC4nBGrF65_Q2sQgQWttYQQ-u7sV63qgh7lrDTIqAvXhfzckIG-_eH2gAKD1DViWnC8Q79OzfbW_FoyWjFqQTxUv2jZaodKONbVdU84Ye3Z-Ak0TvXuYA/s1600/anonatsunohi.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-OaSudTCD4ZxM6MtAWtrUWIC4nBGrF65_Q2sQgQWttYQQ-u7sV63qgh7lrDTIqAvXhfzckIG-_eH2gAKD1DViWnC8Q79OzfbW_FoyWjFqQTxUv2jZaodKONbVdU84Ye3Z-Ak0TvXuYA/s1600/anonatsunohi.png" height="243" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybiufw7hr3O7U4w5wIrAGjDaT_E5B7jSbHnaBzoaJv_n4DaoQoT65j2N7Yr63h6Ic7HKoXefOPVtuXSrCKFF7YeAAsb3HVhZdvlM8uOVfLn5P-Blf71Axe4VKGPLvvYt5bHTtYvVCwRE/s1600/violinfukiko.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybiufw7hr3O7U4w5wIrAGjDaT_E5B7jSbHnaBzoaJv_n4DaoQoT65j2N7Yr63h6Ic7HKoXefOPVtuXSrCKFF7YeAAsb3HVhZdvlM8uOVfLn5P-Blf71Axe4VKGPLvvYt5bHTtYvVCwRE/s1600/violinfukiko.png" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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The darkened silhouette makes it very mysterious. Going all pretentious and literary, since we know who Fukiko is talking about and the show knows we know, I interpret the shadowy silhouette version of Takehiko as highlighting the fact that Fukiko is in love with the idea of him- her ideal- without actually knowing him. Even more than usual, since heavily idealizing someone you dig before getting to know them better isn't exactly uncommon. Anyway, yup, Fukiko sure does love her idea of Takehiko, frozen in time.</div>
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When Nanako makes it down to the pool, Fukiko is gone, but she has left a wet trail that Nanako follows. Nanako hears Fukiko inside "that summer's day"'s room, reciting Shakespeare's <a href="http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/sonnet/18">Sonnet 18</a> and crying.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRVNi0Pgxo7E6hzw95C_XqiTqSQH7cAvTKj7vofK55_pcSpXDMh1QVmW32pYczwIG7jNoCgugE_o91vX2Mk4X_Rt2ZVm-LfI565PlL6jS15n74auFcbeKbpKS8hISMIZjQYMIKU7OgJo/s1600/eternalsummer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRVNi0Pgxo7E6hzw95C_XqiTqSQH7cAvTKj7vofK55_pcSpXDMh1QVmW32pYczwIG7jNoCgugE_o91vX2Mk4X_Rt2ZVm-LfI565PlL6jS15n74auFcbeKbpKS8hISMIZjQYMIKU7OgJo/s1600/eternalsummer.png" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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This scene seems to use the dolls in Fukiko's room as a motif similar to the doll Rei keeps in her apartment, I assume as representative of a past she needs to outgrow.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4irqGQyjQc1KtgfhMBAF074fuN-NVIFoT5LQ9omc66U3khGpSnrTkp-GRjZhRmxztYkfTLCDOqaQHQpVGYrol19MPAVTQpmSqj3ilfVAnXR5LpEWoBZjiW2KdMA8kUVui8KjGOMmg_ew/s1600/dolls.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4irqGQyjQc1KtgfhMBAF074fuN-NVIFoT5LQ9omc66U3khGpSnrTkp-GRjZhRmxztYkfTLCDOqaQHQpVGYrol19MPAVTQpmSqj3ilfVAnXR5LpEWoBZjiW2KdMA8kUVui8KjGOMmg_ew/s1600/dolls.png" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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Nanako slips down some stairs while backing up, and Fukiko hears it, rushing out to catch whoever she heard. </div>
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Fukiko walks out of the piano room where Nanako hides and things seem to be in the clear. But when Nanako returns to a worried Mariko and lies that she went to the restroom:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQaEJzfGqqknS-6sJMRmKNqmP-netGrAjJalpMdzBeeubDX08ENUNSrmhquCJFLm2KGZF2Zi1Cy7iyXrFnRcxH5jXMDkqNxPCUeXz6CLmnuaCb4GdLObQ7aC249WRW4FlKUe3R02edx_c/s1600/leave.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQaEJzfGqqknS-6sJMRmKNqmP-netGrAjJalpMdzBeeubDX08ENUNSrmhquCJFLm2KGZF2Zi1Cy7iyXrFnRcxH5jXMDkqNxPCUeXz6CLmnuaCb4GdLObQ7aC249WRW4FlKUe3R02edx_c/s1600/leave.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgua4se2n0zBoeSMIkHu7adZ9rCI1RbvPLlUrs89j9VcVLmC_4ufT2bACgTKn8McDcs5RV1BszrukgSVhyphenhyphenUWMk_1QAiZiwWCuY3Rsm6lsmKxQ7aEhwWDfZU-W6QOCsToFhiEg9n7zLcj1I/s1600/dunnnn.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgua4se2n0zBoeSMIkHu7adZ9rCI1RbvPLlUrs89j9VcVLmC_4ufT2bACgTKn8McDcs5RV1BszrukgSVhyphenhyphenUWMk_1QAiZiwWCuY3Rsm6lsmKxQ7aEhwWDfZU-W6QOCsToFhiEg9n7zLcj1I/s1600/dunnnn.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Next is the best scene transition this series has done, with a knife blade coming down while making a <i>shing</i> noise like it's being whipped out against a black background, only for the rest of the picture to fade in, turning out to be an egg yolk Fukiko is slicing at breakfast.</div>
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Nanako has a hard time reconciling the Fukiko she usually knows with the Fukiko from the night before. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzj6mKHysGN4eG9VOz7wpQHi401P6umkDow7EDCjmmy4jFNML5HP5zj4GmKp8faCl6zASo62ORhJGryUUChyuIXBlPT_utUyH8VZVysifzLb-d4vH081txQbJdMUIluouGLb7H5kKGGM8/s1600/dream.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzj6mKHysGN4eG9VOz7wpQHi401P6umkDow7EDCjmmy4jFNML5HP5zj4GmKp8faCl6zASo62ORhJGryUUChyuIXBlPT_utUyH8VZVysifzLb-d4vH081txQbJdMUIluouGLb7H5kKGGM8/s1600/dream.png" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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Fukiko, Borgia, and Mona Lisa drink and play badminton while Nanako and Mariko try to finish the last of their invitations. Mineko brings Nanako and Mariko drinks, and Nanako follows Mineko inside to ask whose room The Room is. Mineko explains that The Room was Fukiko's until she was twelve but has remained (effectively) untouched since then. When Nanako asks why, Fukiko chastises Mineko... then immediately fires her. Like, she has to leave right now. Mineko wasn't as professional as she should have been there, but what the fuck. And nothing says "That room isn't worth learning about" like firing someone to prevent them from discussing it. Nanako tries to get pardon for Mineko by telling Fukiko it's her fault, but that unsurprisingly doesn't work. Nanako catches up to Mineko driving away from the house. Nanako apologizes, but Mineko reassures her that she wasn't invested in being a maid, she just likes to try out different types of jobs. The story of the room would be quite the future job interview story. She also lives with her parents, as young adults in Japan are more likely to do than here, so she doesn't have to worry about housing until she finds another job. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyBCIfhd-33hA6Hi2APz1zJk5oNLS9JXpPu7H0HViQGfQ9-WLiSTcfUKFW6XBuHhhY_DvrdVYHcyhpc7ZKxnVP-ZV-vgXn2X7Q5DrvQPn-xxCJPTub5iNsr7zUczsfvcM_sPSSWaqtrr4/s1600/maidslife.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyBCIfhd-33hA6Hi2APz1zJk5oNLS9JXpPu7H0HViQGfQ9-WLiSTcfUKFW6XBuHhhY_DvrdVYHcyhpc7ZKxnVP-ZV-vgXn2X7Q5DrvQPn-xxCJPTub5iNsr7zUczsfvcM_sPSSWaqtrr4/s1600/maidslife.png" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUQ2O-LD43eweXgZ0Pf_n6lp4jZTxpiEZEfiMOosYhtMRUfht5znjzwAoZRdfSQ2ohOHjExX1f23rQsTALfuKCRHcm2o7C0WTAl4EX8FH55ejrSE01-t3K0NM4U9JQmlJw0QVJPLMTpSQ/s1600/fedup.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUQ2O-LD43eweXgZ0Pf_n6lp4jZTxpiEZEfiMOosYhtMRUfht5znjzwAoZRdfSQ2ohOHjExX1f23rQsTALfuKCRHcm2o7C0WTAl4EX8FH55ejrSE01-t3K0NM4U9JQmlJw0QVJPLMTpSQ/s1600/fedup.png" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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I would make a comment about Fukiko being an unusually shitty employer of household staff, but sadly, since her worst crime as an employer was getting mad at her staff for not giving The Room its due reverence, she isn't remotely the worst.</div>
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Anyway, now that she has nothing to lose, Mineko can tell Nanako the story of The Room without any self-censorship.</div>
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Mineko knows what we've seen so far about The Room, but not why Fukiko holds it sacred. After Mineko drives off, Nanako sees Fukiko riding in a boat in the lake nearby.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseBfIHu1gQmqqsWprR9m6RlininqC4pHYLLuYyuhU8VG1whUsb1i1-vQviM_DFA2g1gi0T1LbCrrZOGAoRcyqP9xqDPw5a3cOEgzav_ZYJeuT2aYhZb-spw1K7ZgS3gIjGEKDtBVD6hw/s1600/pond.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseBfIHu1gQmqqsWprR9m6RlininqC4pHYLLuYyuhU8VG1whUsb1i1-vQviM_DFA2g1gi0T1LbCrrZOGAoRcyqP9xqDPw5a3cOEgzav_ZYJeuT2aYhZb-spw1K7ZgS3gIjGEKDtBVD6hw/s1600/pond.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPccA9pHTLwVuPXb9T-MWYp915FwEaElgJLl67VcE6TnURZKostCARVGU8LmvsyzV08FnGtD7xtPnTolYzW1rrmgoBoGiqpot34qoqCnVuWVasDG_6Oqvp6wSSRPmiA5Qzb0E9KEq81lA/s1600/nanakosan.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPccA9pHTLwVuPXb9T-MWYp915FwEaElgJLl67VcE6TnURZKostCARVGU8LmvsyzV08FnGtD7xtPnTolYzW1rrmgoBoGiqpot34qoqCnVuWVasDG_6Oqvp6wSSRPmiA5Qzb0E9KEq81lA/s1600/nanakosan.png" height="236" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY29emBuuMUx3MQxOZ0oH9xs3zIcNbUjdng28bfrMaAESJDtvZlShaApdXr_gzahVJ3nzm0WO5EDlY2oPMTZVd7jV9WPk5pMYnhx6PvKuqVS96WYJ_em_9K67-BapWMg7Mcw2tVfZn6KQ/s1600/lake.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY29emBuuMUx3MQxOZ0oH9xs3zIcNbUjdng28bfrMaAESJDtvZlShaApdXr_gzahVJ3nzm0WO5EDlY2oPMTZVd7jV9WPk5pMYnhx6PvKuqVS96WYJ_em_9K67-BapWMg7Mcw2tVfZn6KQ/s1600/lake.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span id="goog_739996381"></span>And, welp.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVYRwQc_TkxIWHhZqXlUb2TP6toObyrQPsfjwMuKOk9pr0-rIEnHYsApBHVWA9lzVeLi9k6eEJgKyf4Nt8pSgeGVwcWnUerBil0ZmjkDkvADj43ASmo_DuyZDm3opbe-TElmXAKXIuEU/s1600/jump.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVYRwQc_TkxIWHhZqXlUb2TP6toObyrQPsfjwMuKOk9pr0-rIEnHYsApBHVWA9lzVeLi9k6eEJgKyf4Nt8pSgeGVwcWnUerBil0ZmjkDkvADj43ASmo_DuyZDm3opbe-TElmXAKXIuEU/s1600/jump.png" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
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Nanako climbs over the water on a log to yell for Fukiko, and looks down to this.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPx0NiIChXjn8T9W7rW57ZU9hHcI6Sc9fPHA_W2__n28lUL419m-unjkloOkjfb5VhhzQeZnk2sM4kEKwzkUPR3-tOEbO1_35_bMhMQvp-9Ds7fmQ1Rfpacagakopgk3D9z-i4RpV7YTY/s1600/wateryfukiko.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPx0NiIChXjn8T9W7rW57ZU9hHcI6Sc9fPHA_W2__n28lUL419m-unjkloOkjfb5VhhzQeZnk2sM4kEKwzkUPR3-tOEbO1_35_bMhMQvp-9Ds7fmQ1Rfpacagakopgk3D9z-i4RpV7YTY/s1600/wateryfukiko.png" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBN5ZQ6NcjHepXdG8IsKSH5b0ERDyhk60uBXcIl7TQu5G6YYTJXjnI8iLfA85IljfWice5i6i4LQk1F05-nXkBRY5zGN8dJLqk7McsUaTTyRR3n6k52qe2tInJ8MvxR__f-1oQ1bPtClc/s1600/comehere.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBN5ZQ6NcjHepXdG8IsKSH5b0ERDyhk60uBXcIl7TQu5G6YYTJXjnI8iLfA85IljfWice5i6i4LQk1F05-nXkBRY5zGN8dJLqk7McsUaTTyRR3n6k52qe2tInJ8MvxR__f-1oQ1bPtClc/s1600/comehere.png" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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And</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfA9hEM3feEi1QBYs5x7PXyMLV7DnZbdsB6CBfR_yl1jYZ4BGLSSCqxa1zv9_vAguO2qVhBpED4KM7OXs0MBbpg19bRoEIEwuMU4PrHuGwZAi_wa1Pmb068KPQffpg9ah1VQ5Kp4gxQk/s1600/pulleddown.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfA9hEM3feEi1QBYs5x7PXyMLV7DnZbdsB6CBfR_yl1jYZ4BGLSSCqxa1zv9_vAguO2qVhBpED4KM7OXs0MBbpg19bRoEIEwuMU4PrHuGwZAi_wa1Pmb068KPQffpg9ah1VQ5Kp4gxQk/s1600/pulleddown.png" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
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winds up here.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-A0ByTQ8iUOvrCmXvRUB_rANXPUtq2ZBg0b4-YY9bMGn8voGdrDfScDgotrXYIhL3qzFuFutEubInYsUWvHekBXyfgy7a_Qp9EgxBmgQNMCNHClzcvFS_eZS15OavbbgGA5EhG2O1KE8/s1600/drowning.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-A0ByTQ8iUOvrCmXvRUB_rANXPUtq2ZBg0b4-YY9bMGn8voGdrDfScDgotrXYIhL3qzFuFutEubInYsUWvHekBXyfgy7a_Qp9EgxBmgQNMCNHClzcvFS_eZS15OavbbgGA5EhG2O1KE8/s1600/drowning.png" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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Fukiko pulls her to the surface right in time not to kill her.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizPUXoQHICl_-7mMZZ_mk-SsgSTO3B2zQenxC-C1wzIKmlwYaEwPRjw9Ym8KAyKyJGitUrRMKwvpWk0EhdoNYeR4JQmOidfK7zK7nXSe-zr-1qNCLLAMJXTuir9-Zkh8MgYpJ_uhHPPYw/s1600/swim.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizPUXoQHICl_-7mMZZ_mk-SsgSTO3B2zQenxC-C1wzIKmlwYaEwPRjw9Ym8KAyKyJGitUrRMKwvpWk0EhdoNYeR4JQmOidfK7zK7nXSe-zr-1qNCLLAMJXTuir9-Zkh8MgYpJ_uhHPPYw/s1600/swim.png" height="243" width="320" /></a></div>
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Why would Takehiko ever pass on this.</div>
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As far as Nanako's apologizing, it's obviously the opposite of what Fukiko deserved to have said to her, but it's true to how a lot of people would react in that kind of situation. You're weak from what just happened, and you sure don't want to piss off the perpetrator when they can easily do it again right there.</div>
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When Nanako and Mariko take the train back home, we learn Fukiko lied that Nanako fell into the pool and swallowed a lot of water. When Mariko is like "Are you really okay?" Nanako pretends she's totally fine. Silver lining is that she stands up for herself for the first time this episode by refusing to help Mariko with the invitations she still has to finish. Nanako has put up with enough shit for this trip. She also narrates that today was something.</div>
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Next episode, Fukiko gets pissed when Rei plays a song she thinks Fukiko loves to please her on her birthday. Rei just can't win.</div>
Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-88719451748010651142015-01-21T20:30:00.000-08:002015-01-22T20:37:49.566-08:00Retro Review: Oniisama E (Dear Brother) episode 21<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We're finally at the festival, where this week's pop culture reference is <i>RoboCop</i>.<br />
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Tomoko comments that Mariko seems tense, and Mariko acknowledges that with great power comes great responsibility.<br />
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Nanako, Mariko, and Tomoko meet up with Takehiko and Takashi and make introductions. Mariko lays all her cards on the table right away.<br />
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I assume that if you like this show enough to be reading an episode 21 recap of it, you know better than to think that a woman with Mariko's views, even if you disagree with them (which I do), is equivalent of a man who hates women, societal context and all. Even though Mariko's constant snarking about them is understandably awkward for them, Takehiko and Takashi do the mature thing as hosts and show the girls a magic show and a historical art exhibit.<br />
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Mariko finally makes things the awkwardest for everyone by insisting the girls go through the festival's haunted house in a separate group from the guys, screaming and running away from a "grim reaper" before running into Takashi and screaming when she realizes what she ran into. When they all sit down at a table outside, Tomoko tells Mariko to knock it off, and Mariko and Takashi get into an argument about her views. Even though I don't agree with Mariko and would respond like Tomoko by then, I think Takashi should read about the #notallmen hashtag. I'm also reminded that I like Takehiko's laid-backedness when he just laughs at seeing Takashi fail to win the argument while Nanako and Tomoko gape.<br />
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Mariko and Takashi have a conversation that is filled with more subtle symbolism.<br />
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Nanako, Tomoko, and Takehiko find themselves separated from Mariko and Takashi, but Tomoko is okay with it because she's kind of sick of Mariko's behavior.<br />
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Back where Mariko and Takashi are, Mariko is trying to find the PA room so they can make an announcement to find her friends, but Takeshi points out they won't do that for the festival day. He insists on following her because he feels responsible, which I don't mind, but the bit where he says she needs him to be her bodyguard, or maybe her practice date if she'd prefer, while tongue-in-cheek, is something I would be annoyed at too if I were her. Thankfully he doesn't push it.<br />
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Nanako and Co. enjoy an indoor concert while Mariko and Takashi walk through the grounds outside. A bunch of women working the booths greet Takashi since they know him from classes and clubs, so Mariko thinks he's a player and that strikes a nerve because of her dad's infidelity. He explains that he likes to have a lot of friends but only wants one significant other. Noticing her defensive, pensive reactions during this scene, he seems to be starting to understand where she's coming from.<br />
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Nanako's group is seated for tea outside, still enjoying their day. Tomoko asks Takehiko if he likes anyone, and it strikes Nanako that for all she's told Takehiko about her life, she hasn't found out much about his. Tomoko keeps questioning him, and Nanako feels guilty and realizes that it's kind of weird she chose someone she didn't really know to be her confidante. In a way it makes sense, though, since it can be easier to tell things that are weighing on your chest to people you sense are good people but don't have too much involvement in your life. I did some similar secret-dumping in high school, albeit not in a regularly-writing-letters way.<br />
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<span id="goog_1179803097"></span><span id="goog_1179803098"></span>Takehiko notices she's preoccupied and asks about it, and she lets him know she worries her making him her brother is a nuisance to him, especially since he's busy with school.<br />
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He reassures her that he's never thought of her as a nuisance, and likes her letters because they remind him of how he was in high school, complete with worrying about things that aren't a big deal when you're an adult. It's a nice moment of understanding.<br />
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Mariko and Takashi wind up at a later concert performance by the same band and aren't super-optimistic about finding their group again. They then walk through the fortune-telling area, and Mariko gets her palm read by someone who unnerves her by saying she has family issues. She runs away distraught, but Takashi is held up from following her by needing to pay the fortune-teller. lol<br />
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When Mariko stops, a couple sleazy pick-up artists try to do their thing, even following her after she rebuffs them. When one of them grabs her wrist, she pulls away, and if you too have dealt with creeps, you will probably find seeing Mariko tear into them as satisfying as I did... until she starts crying, which is distressing to watch. Creepy stranger harassment is a not-uncommon thing, and while I haven't cried from it, I've felt like it. Takashi finds her like that and apologizes for not having been there to do something to help. He stays next to her until she collects herself and announces she's leaving like it wasn't a big deal for her. He seems to like her not seeming to give a shit about what the onlookers gawking think of her.<br />
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They catch up with Nanako's group at the main gate a little later. Mariko nixes the idea that they all go out for tea since the sun's setting,<br />
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but Takashi isn't bothered by her reason anymore, presumably because of the incident earlier.<br />
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On the train, Tomoko and Nanako discuss how much fun they had and the elephant in the room that is Mariko's fear of men and the role her family plays in it.<br />
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Back at home, Nanako tells her mom about the good time she had at the festival, and the episode has a rare totally happy ending in which Nanako is glad she had such a nice day. Twenty-one episodes in, she deserves a breather.<br />
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Next time, Nanako and Mariko visit Fukiko's summer villa to help Fukiko prepare for her birthday party, and Nanako starts learning about more of the skeletons in Fukiko's closet.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-28491652989888539952015-01-20T23:30:00.000-08:002015-01-22T20:38:13.180-08:00Retro Review: Oniisama E (Dear Brother) episode 20<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This episode begins with Nanako coming home to a letter from Takehiko. In it, Takehiko invites her to his university's festival using formal language. He also notes that she hasn't been sending as many letters lately, but he's glad because they're usually filled with horrible things, so presumably no news is good news.<br />
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Tomoko gets excited when Nanako shows her the festival program at lunch at school- which seems to have an <i>Ace wo Nerae!</i> reference-<br />
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but Mariko almost does a spit-take at the idea of Nanako being at a location where men will be, especially one with a flirty event like the masquerade. Mariko runs away with the program, and she and Tomoko get into an argument over it. Tomoko is tactical, though, and uses reverse psychology to get Mariko to come with her and Nanako, if only to protect them from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5aZJBLAu1E">all the men</a>.<br />
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Takashi drives Takehiko to his mansion, where Takehiko sees Fukiko watering the roses. He greets her and makes some small talk, but she responds with clipped answers before walking away. I would normally be sympathetic to someone having trouble talking to their crush and I know she's seventeen or so, but considering how much energy Fukiko expends on keeping Takehiko's pen pal from maybe someday having a relationship with him and how pissy she gets at their having any communication at all, it's hard not to be like "Really?" when she doesn't make the effort to just talk to him when she has the chance.<br />
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<i>Pretty sure that impression there wasn't because of Nanako.</i></div>
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Being Fukiko's brother, Takashi makes the least surprising declaration ever and says he doesn't get her.<br />
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Fukiko returns to the rose garden, and unfortunately for Nanako, hears Takehiko and Takashi seated inside, discussing meeting up with Nanako and her friends at the festival. As Takehiko leaves, she not-at-all-portentously beheads a large number of roses.<br />
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<i>No matter, the Ichinomiyas can buy all-new roses.</i></div>
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All this rose symbolism is very subtle. We also saw Takehiko pricked by a rose when Fukiko was brusque to him earlier, and the camera lingered on a rose in a vase when Takehiko remarked to Takashi that she's pretty.<br />
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Cue the next morning at school. This part is adorable- Mariko gets Nanako to ask Kaoru to go out with her to the festival in exchange for asking Rei out for Nanako.<br />
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<i>This shot is appropriately rainbow-tinged.</i></div>
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Rei knows that Kaoru won't go for reasons she won't tell Mariko that are obviously Takehiko-related, so she says she won't go either. Kaoru does indeed beg off, with the excuse that she has to do sports training that day. Sadface for Nanako and Mariko.<br />
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That night, Nanako plans her outfit for the festival and asks her mom for some sophisticated grown-up jewelry to wear. Little does she know of how college and grad school students actually dress.<br />
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Her parents also confirm that yup, they sure aren't telling her about Takehiko being her stepbrother yet.<br />
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Fukiko calls. More subtle rose symbolism as we see her break the innocently white rose- contrasted with all the red ones earlier- while beginning her conversation with Nanako.<br />
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Fukiko also gets the shadow face of doom again.<br />
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After confirming Nanako is free Sunday morning/the morning of the festival, she tells Nanako she invites a Sorority member to have tea at her home every Sunday, and could she come this week, oh, and don't tell anyone about it since she hasn't invited a first-year before. That kind of request should be a red flag, but their classmates are so petty and political that it's plausible. Then as if it's an afterthought, Fukiko calls again being like "Oh my glob, I almost forgot! Please go into the Sorority basement and get the extra-fancy tea set for this." As a teacup collector, I appreciated the slow, lingering tea-set porn that came when Fukiko name-dropped <a href="http://www.collectorsweekly.com/china-and-dinnerware/meissen">Meissen</a>.<br />
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More subtle rose symbolism.<br />
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Come Sunday, Nanako makes her way to the basement storageroom, and while looking for the tea set, is locked in by Fukiko, surprising no one watching this show. She can't tell it's Fukiko, though.<br />
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Fukiko takes the festival program and leaves, ripping it up outside.<br />
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Tomoko meets up with Mariko, and they're like "Huh, guess she's running late."<br />
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Kaoru does running cardio on the school ground while Rei smokes a cigarette on a bench nearby, and they rib each other for constantly exercising and smoking, respectively.<br />
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Now that Kaoru's past with Takehiko is coming to light, we're getting more moments that switch from the usual Kaoru-being-sensible-while-Rei-avoids-really-confronting-her-issues dynamic.<br />
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Here my girlfriend is like, "Have you noticed that Kaoru looks like an anime Tig Notaro?" and digs for compelling photographic evidence.<br />
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(Source: <a href="http://www.people.com/article/tig-notaro-stephanie-allynne-engaged">People</a>)</div>
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Kaoru sees the torn-up program and hears Nanako playing waltz music in a sad effort to entertain herself.<br />
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<i>Praise be.</i></div>
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More shadow face- albeit less all-covering- as Fukiko listens to Nanako apologize on a payphone from not-in-the-basement.<br />
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After the call ends, Fukiko throws the key she used against the floor, and we get our last destroyed rose imagery for this episode.<br />
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Next time, Nanako finally gets to enjoy the festival.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-25834112468360911912015-01-19T23:29:00.000-08:002015-01-22T20:38:33.185-08:00Retro Review: Oniisama E (Dear Brother) episode 19<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As you can tell from the screencap above, Nanako's confession to Rei went super-well. We start with a flashback to the confession at end of the previous episode, before we get Rei's awkward non-reaction. Then title, then Takehiko and his friend Takashi talking about Nanako and Rei playing hooky. Takehiko reminds Takashi they cut classes together in high school, making the previously livid Takashi be like "I too committed such youthful follies, it is true."<br />
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Takashi asks Takehiko about Kaoru, and Takehiko's pleasant nostalgia becomes sad. Takashi's like "Are you sure things are good?", and Takehiko is still melancholy, and hmm, I wonder who Kaoru's lost love is.<br />
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Nanako and Rei arrive at school for afternoon classes. To avoid further awkwardness, Nanako sprints ahead while monologuing into the wind.<br />
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I guess someone got lazy drawing Nanako's feet.<br />
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Mariko and Tomoko ambush her. Apparently Mariko convinced Tomoko that Nanako being absent from school one day is reason enough to call Nanako's house multiple times. Luckily for Nanako, she knew her mom was going to be out today and has a plausible excuse, so she isn't busted. (Granted, she probably would have gone with Rei in the excitement of the moment regardless.)<br />
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Nanako is distracted in French class, mulling over the morning's events. My friend Mathilde, who is a native speaker of yuri's favorite language, assured me that this show's French sounds as awkward to her as its English does to me.<br />
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Cue montage of Nanako finishing her classes and taking the bus from school while telling us she can't stop thinking about that morning. Tomoko prods her into paying attention to her surroundings, and they browse shops.<br />
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Apparently Nanako is a glass half full kind of gal. She doesn't expect anything beyond the time she spent with Rei that morning, but she's so happy she got it, she drops 3,000 yen on a bouquet of flowers.<br />
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Nuance puts a couple in Tomoko's hair and they go up the Tokyo Tower, where Tomoko punches a hole in Nanako's excuse for missing class. She doesn't make anything of it, even when Nanako guiltily tries to discuss it, since she is glad Nanako is finally happy after months of Sorority hell. Nanako comes down from her high because Tomoko leaving means she has to deal with everything bothering her alone. Tomoko stays a bit longer as a result.<br />
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At Château Ichinomiya, Takashi arrives home while Fukiko plays the piano, pouring himself some fancy rich people wine from their wine cabinet.<br />
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He asks Fukiko how Rei is doing in school, and she gives the polite version of "Hell if I know."<br />
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He tells her about the hooky, and when she doesn't respond, is like "You always pretend you don't care." Takashi, you innocent lamb, you don't know the half of it. He says the hooky involved some first-year named Nanako, does she know her? Oh shit, yes she does. Fukiko asks if he knows Nanako, but when he's like "Why do you ask?" pretends it was nothing to keep up the facade of not being a driving force in a clusterfuck of drama. He hears her slam her piano keys after he leaves, but his reaction isn't shown.<br />
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Walking home, Nanako angsts about her confession to Rei being her first time expressing feelings like that to someone. Her parents surprise her with a dress that reminds me how much what these characters wear looks like they shop on Modcloth.<br />
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When she's alone, she sits in front of her mirror to angst over what Rei could be thinking.<br />
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The next morning, despite Fukiko not wanting Rei to have fun that isn't approved by her, Rei practices with Kaoru and the rest of the basketball team, being squealed over by fangirls as per usual.</div>
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Hot though she thinks Rei is while playing, Nanako watches sadly. As Kaoru and Rei leave the locker room discussing the coming game later, Rei notices Nanako watching her from behind a tree</div>
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and is not impressed.</div>
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Nanako slumps down, feeling like she ruined their friendship, and Kaoru asks Rei if Nanako's her groupie.</div>
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Nanako clearly sucks at being stealthy.</div>
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Rei is like "I don't what you're talking about", and Kaoru doesn't push the subject. If Kaoru and Tomoko sat down for coffee, they would bond over dealing with best friends who harbor a lot of secret romantic drama. Unlike Tomoko, Kaoru has her own, though- as evidenced by Rei stopping her in her tracks by saying Nanako knows Takehiko. Rei tells her about the park encounter, and she pretends her and Takehiko's history is water under the bridge.</div>
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In English class, Nanako translates a poem that reminds her of Rei, and starts crying before she can finish. (As far as I can tell, the poem isn't a reference. If I'm wrong, please let me know!)</div>
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Having seen what happened, Kaoru invites Nanako to a cafe after school.</div>
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They laugh over a lame joke Kaoru makes, then Nanako starts crying and beating herself up for crying. Kaoru knows better than to be a dick about it, telling her she isn't "okashii"/weird.</div>
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She also warns that Nanako is better off not being hung up on Rei for obvious reasons.</div>
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Kaoru expounds her philosophy on love, </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0K9o3wSfLF_HXBfkdE1Yfpv1RBlDNg6T01QM9dRa2J88wN1UcFBTWIFdtNGl24Pyt1IgV4JZQqGgyCB_cIACC05xEvtTRgmLxPBBv7rvJQaw4pts-Y3zMLju2r-tlwtSg8uPR9LgbzR4/s1600/tolove.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0K9o3wSfLF_HXBfkdE1Yfpv1RBlDNg6T01QM9dRa2J88wN1UcFBTWIFdtNGl24Pyt1IgV4JZQqGgyCB_cIACC05xEvtTRgmLxPBBv7rvJQaw4pts-Y3zMLju2r-tlwtSg8uPR9LgbzR4/s1600/tolove.png" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
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making it clear to Nanako that she has some baggage.</div>
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More hard-earned life advice from Kaoru.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSxpqHzv8ZuNqnPH16IrDskvRVEMliDkRr0fWQcEF8eA8fSPVNY2fFbhVI8SpMM1u7a1QqnyfZZox5QmtRurOQ2cm2UlQkNEwdWRe4QtBagTJ1Lo54DlKDwBboX2DDWDBoQ6jc1cIIwr0/s1600/fleeting.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSxpqHzv8ZuNqnPH16IrDskvRVEMliDkRr0fWQcEF8eA8fSPVNY2fFbhVI8SpMM1u7a1QqnyfZZox5QmtRurOQ2cm2UlQkNEwdWRe4QtBagTJ1Lo54DlKDwBboX2DDWDBoQ6jc1cIIwr0/s1600/fleeting.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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In a way it's an optimistic speech, though, because Kaoru makes the point that life is short in the grand scheme, but we still make the most out of it by seeking love, and even if love, like life, doesn't last, it can be worth experiencing. ...Although not every fleeting thing is great, i.e. dying in high school because of a terminal disease. (My girlfriend: "So this is basically anime <i>The Fault in Our Stars</i>.") Either way, Nanako is moved by it. She has good reason to be emotional since she's not only seeing Kaoru's most vulnerable side, this was her first time directly talking to someone about her feelings for Rei.</div>
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Fukiko calls Rei late at night to reminisce about a childhood memory,</div>
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and we see that even as children, they looked like Rococo nobility.</div>
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Here my girlfriend and I discuss how we would describe Rei's style, and I settle on Dandy-Butch. This scene makes it clear that even though Fukiko has a more controlled facade than Rei, she feels like she feels she needs Rei as much as Rei feels like she needs her, however unhealthy their interaction based on those feelings is.</div>
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Going from the ominous panning after Fukiko says that, you can tell the director doesn't approve.</div>
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Back in Nanako's room, she narrates to Takehiko that she isn't sure confessing to Rei was the right thing, but she couldn't suppress it.</div>
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The point of this episode is whether love is worth the pain it can cause, and Nanako's answer- both here and in the series overall- seems to be yes.</div>
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Tune in next time to see Fukiko be pointlessly jealous and lock Nanako in the Sorority basement to keep her from going to Takehiko's college fair. </div>
Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-35148473445535892092015-01-14T00:24:00.000-08:002015-01-14T12:49:43.353-08:00This Show So Far: Yuri Kuma Arashi episodes 1 and 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I ship it.</div>
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Anyone who knows my anime and manga tastes well knows that I adore <i>Utena</i> and Morishima Akiko, so no surprise that I've been extremely excited about a show with Morishima and <i>Utena</i>'s creator Ikuhara Kuniko's names attached to it. With "Yuri" right in its title, no less.<br />
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Out of Ikuhara's animated work so far, <i>YKA</i> has the most out-there premise, which is saying quite a bit. Once upon a time, the planet Kumalia exploded, raining meteors upon the Earth. That caused Earth's bears to start eating people en masse, so the remaining people put up the Wall of Extinction to keep them out. (Cue a million <i>Attack on Titan</i> jokes.)<br />
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Our protagonist Kureha hates bears because they killed her parents, to the point of spending a goodly amount of time shooting bear statues in her house. She gets more reason to hate them when her bland girlfriend Sumika is eaten, apparently by Ginko and Lulu, two bears disguised as humans who transfer into Kureha's class and seem to be into the ladies also. Lulu wants to eat all the girls pretty equally (although I guess she finds Ginko especially attractive) while Ginko thinks Kureha smells especially delicious. Cue a load of obvious metaphors for "tipping the velvet", and more story weirdness that seems to be coming together into an allegory about sexuality and how people react to it? (<span style="color: red;">Edit:</span> Should be "love and sexuality.") That's what I'm getting so far, but I know that as with <i>Utena</i> and <i>Penguindrum</i>, the picture will get ever clearer. Still not really sure what's going on, but yeah, I know how Ikuhara rolls and that you're not really supposed to by this point in his stuff, and if you keep watching, you'll get some rewarding brain candy. Throw in a lot of funky, inventive visuals, a hearty dose of camp, and enough gayness to power a fleet of Olivia cruise ships, and I am being entertained.<br />
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Other observations:<br />
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<ul>
<li>As noted elsewhere, the photo in Kureha's room is a hoax photo associated with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sankebetsu_brown_bear_incident">Sankebetsu brown bear incident</a>. Incidentally, Kureha sounds an awful lot like Ookawa Haruyoshi, someone who survived the Sankebetsu incident as a child and vowed to kill at least ten bears for every person who died because of it. <i>Utena</i> took a ton of inspiration from old shoujo, but as far as I know, didn't incorporate any actual history. <i>Penguindrum</i> pretty obviously incorporated a domestic terrorist attack based on the Sarin gas attack into its plot. It's interesting that Ikuhara has moved towards incorporating real historical incidents into his most recent shows.</li>
<li>What exactly does being eaten entail? Deep questions.</li>
<li>Ginko has Kureha's mother's necklace. I'm curious what happened with Kureha's parents. "Bears ate them" is the obvious answer, but <i>Penguindrum</i> gave its leads' parents a storyline I did not expect.</li>
<li>Not mourning Sumika being written out, since she is Blandie McBlanderson. Ginko is morally dubious right now, but easily more interesting. The opening theme ships her a lot more with Kureha, also.</li>
<li>Shaba-da-doo.</li>
</ul>
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Here's to seeing where the hell this goes!</div>
Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-12507568791265142002014-12-05T23:56:00.000-08:002014-12-05T23:56:40.749-08:00Retro Review: Dear Brother (Oniisama E) episode 18<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is the episode in which Nanako gets high, partly explaining the episode title "Into the Dream", and confesses her feelings to Rei. I guess that's one way to resolve a character hesitating to confess.<br />
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Nanako almost forgets she doesn't need to wait for Tomoko for a morning commute, because she has her head in the clouds over Rei. She helpfully recaps how amazing and hot and gorgeous Rei was playing basketball and how Mariko has a crush on Kaoru, before the bus lurches like it did when she first met Rei and she spies Rei reading in the back. Because the bus driver is a dick, the bus pulls away before she can get off even though she's lurching against the door right when it closes.<br />
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Rei is pretty chill about missing her stop, though, and invites Nanako to play hooky with her.<br />
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We get our obligatory shot of Mariko worrying about Nanako's absence in class, before we see Nanako and Rei put their school things in a locker.<br />
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Another shot of Mariko looking like she thinks Nanako died or something<br />
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even though for all she knows, Nanako could be sick since this is before the days when people could send texts. If this show took place today, Mariko's texting would probably have made Nanako's patience with her run out well before the birthday party.<br />
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Rei and Nanako walk through a park, Nanako being jittery about the possibility of people knowing they're cutting class, yet still elated to be doing it with her crush. Rei leaves to buy lunch, a truancy officer comes up to Nanako being suspicious, and Rei gets them out of the situation through a lie in which she feels compelled to explain that Nanako is from a village where you can see mountain boars. (I guess "We're college students" is too common of an excuse.) She's obviously a pro at this, to the point that she cooly lights a cigarette in front of the officer. Moments like this are the bread and butter of Rei's fandom.<br />
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And the show sort of lampshades that the non-freshman teenagers in this show look like the animated version of older actresses playing teenagers. "It's shocking that Katherine prefers this approach to character designs over the current baby-face trend" said no one ever.<br />
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Rei lols about that as well as the officer obliviously assuming she's a dude instead of a super-butchy chick.<br />
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She drops her cigarette and apologizes when she sees that Nanako was a lot more shaken by the encounter with the officer than she was, though.<br />
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Back at school, Kaoru raises Mariko's spirits by inviting her to her basketball practice, so that settles that.<br />
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Rei and Nanako have some banter in which Nanako learns Rei skips a lot and chides her for her ridiculous lie before panicking on seeing Takehiko and his friend in that same park. Surprisingly, Nanako doesn't try to hide in any way, just coolly walks by Takehiko and exchanges glances with him, before he's like "Oh, hey!" He invites her to attend his college's festival and asks if she's on holiday, causing his friend to be like "REI, SHE'S OBVIOUSLY SKIPPING BECAUSE OF YOU." You know Rei is agitated because she's chewing a twig.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Shit is on.</i></div>
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Rei sarcastically bows and reveals that he's her brother. Rei is <i>Oniisama E</i>'s version of Rumplestiltskin from (the shittiness that is) <i>Once Upon A Time</i>- everyone's related to her.<br />
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Taking advantage of the awkward pause of the moment, Rei takes Nanako's hand and runs away from her brother and Takehiko.<br />
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Nanako stops her and get some exposition from her, and guesses why her surname isn't Ichinomiya like her two siblings. All will be confirmed in good time, Nanako. In a "subtle" bit of symbolism, we see three ducklings trailing their shared mother, all in one unified family.<br />
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Nanako takes a bite of her sandwich and notices that it's old and gross, but Rei didn't notice because she's used to eating the godawful expired food she peckishly eats from her fridge. Rei compares the significance of human life to an ant's life, and it's obvious she's talking more about herself than people in general.<br />
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Ah, nope, Mariko's still very worried, and consults with Tomoko, who figures Nanako just might be sick like most people would. Mariko has the comfort of lunch planned with Kaoru along with the basketball practice.<br />
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Kaoru (whose dub name according to autocorrect is Karol) finds out from Rei's fans that she's skipping<br />
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because Rei can apparently do nothing without their noting it and praising her as a free spirit.<br />
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Nanako enjoys her alone time spent in a lovely park with her choice for loveliest lady,<br />
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and they rest beneath a tree, where Rei lights another cigarette.<br />
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Being a true queerio, Nanako processes the implications of Rei saying "Ma chérie la poupée" and where to go from there,<br />
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but doesn't forget to enjoy the moment.<br />
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<br />
The opening theme's Cinderella imagery seems especially created with scenes like this in mind.<br />
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Rei mentions that one of her fans wants her cigarette butts so she can smoke them later, so Nanako (mentally noting that she tried to use one of Rei's butts for that) asks if she can try the cigarette she's smoking. Rei expects it to be too much for her, but she insists, so Rei suddenly acts like a Disney villain, being like "Ohoho, you want to smoke a cigarette, eh? *mustache swirl* We'll see if you can handle it."<br />
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And, uh, this happens from Nanako's perspective.<br />
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This is supposed to be Nanako spinning. Use your imagination, because I'm too lazy to make a .gif, although it would be a pretty great .gif.<br />
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Then the doll spinning, less entertainingly.<br />
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Cue symbol for another portion of Nanako's innocence being gone.<br />
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Back in reality, Nanako wakes up from her dream, and ponders what it's like to be attracted to her school's Heathcliff.<br />
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Rei says her point was to show Nanako that she's too good to regularly get high like her, and to some extent Nanako knows that having a thing for someone like Rei (personality-wise, not gender-wise) is a bad idea, but she still has them feelings... and then confesses while crying. (She uses "suki", but the context makes it obvious it's romantic "suki", not platonic.)<br />
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On that not at all awkward note, the episode ends as a bird flaps away. Godspeed, Nanako.<br />
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The next episode involves Nanako trying to read Rei's reaction and consulting Kaoru about it. This recap turned out pretty decently considering I wrote it with two straight liquor shots and a sad tolerance for alcohol. I've been meaning to try a couple nips (Jim Beam Honey bourbon and Dewar's Highlander Honey whiskey), and they're pretty decent if you want something concentrated but like sweet drinks. Sadly, they came with no hallucinations of my girlfriend playing a spinning piano while wearing a kabuki mask.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-21367676463129647792014-12-01T21:46:00.000-08:002014-12-01T21:46:13.058-08:00Anime Review: HaNaYaMaTa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>HaNaYaMaTa</i> is one of the better examples of the "a bunch of girls start a club" subgenre of anime, this time focusing on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosakoi">yosakoi</a>.<br />
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Naru, like many an anime protagonist, is nice but kind of directionless. She wishes someone would whisk from her mundane life into a different, more dazzling world. Enter Hana N. Fountainstand (I love her name), an American girl who insists that everyone has the potential to be dazzling and introduces Naru to the world of yosakoi dance, which Naru develops a passion for. Hana and Naru start a club consisting of: Naru's childhood friend Yaya, who puts up a cool girl act but has a soft spot for Naru; Naru's other childhood friend Tami, who is your classic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamato_nadeshiko">Yamato Nadeshiko</a> but learns that it's okay to not always do what's expected of you; and Tami's friend Machi, who is the most mature and buttoned up one of the group, befitting her bespectacled-ness. Their club chaperone is their teacher "Sally-sensei", who works as the cynical adult who cares until episode 7, when the writing for her character becomes inexplicably horrible. The girls also get some mentorship from Masaru, the guy who runs the local yosakoi shop and looks like a yakuza but is basically a big teddy bear.<br />
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The series follows the girls forming their club, with each new club member getting at least one spotlight episode, and their preparations to dance in a yosakoi festival. Hana's mom unwittingly causes some drama towards the end by flying to Japan and instigating the most "yup, this is fiction" resolution to a divorce you'll ever see. I'm not complaining since more realism in that plot point would have ruined this series' tone. Befitting this series' <a href="http://nakama-britannica.animeuknews.net/2008/05/14/a-moment-of-stillness-the-appeal-of-iyashikei/">iyashikei</a>-ish-ness, everything turns out well, it's only a question of how.<br />
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Yuri comes in the form of some crushy interaction early in the series. (My girlfriend dubbed it "the gay dance show" when we watched episode 1.) You have Naru's lily-scented reaction to Hana playing the role of the Prince she wanted to her Princess by showing her a more exciting world, Yaya thinking Naru's cute and being willing to do pretty much anything Naru gives her puppy eyes over, and Naru's googly-eyed admiration of Tami as her ideal Princess. The <i>eau de gay</i> was pleasant, but in my ideal world, it would have gone somewhere instead of being bait-y and thus par for the course for this show's subgenre.<br />
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My only other knock on the show is that in episodes 7, 8, and 10, Sally-sensei acts like a stand-in for a creepy portion of this show's intended otaku audience that I never want to meet. I wouldn't have liked it in any show, but it was especially jarring here since until then, the show was something my friend could have shown his 9-year-old anime fan child, and I enjoyed it as a relaxing, optimistic show. It's also baffling because it's an obviously pander-y move, but anyone still watching the show seven episodes in would presumably be happy with it not having any weird shit like that. (The one show with a creepy teacher where I'm not bothered by it is <i>Azumanga Daioh</i>, since its characters react realistically to Kimura and the point is that he's creepy. Sally-sensei is a Frankensteinian combination of the ickiness of Kimura, the wackiness of Yukari, and the caring mentor-ness of Nyamo.)<br />
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Despite the baitiness of the yuri and Sally-sensei being turned into the kind of person I want to curb stomp for no good reason, overall this show was pleasant to watch. It develops its characters more than most shows in its subgenre bother to and Studio Madhouse does a much better job on the visuals than they needed to. It also has an unexpectedly great, unsurprisingly dance-themed opening animation.<br />
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<i>HaNaYaMaTa</i> is <a href="http://www.crunchyroll.com/hanayamata">streaming</a> on Crunchyroll. All Crunchyroll Premium members outside of Asia can watch it, and all Free members in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden can watch it.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-33597864031010484302014-11-05T23:07:00.001-08:002014-11-06T16:29:01.923-08:00Retro Review: Dear Brother (Oniisama E) episode 17<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is the romanciest episode of this show so far. It's about how Mariko's feelings for Kaoru make Nanako come to terms with her feelings for Rei, with a bitter dash of Fukiko manipulating Rei's feelings for her on the side.<br />
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We open the morning after Kaoru checked into the hospital, Nanako and Mariko waiting with flowers in the lobby. Mariko presents them to Kaoru. Mariko says she couldn't sleep out of worry, and coming from anyone else, I would think that was hyperbole.<br />
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After Kaoru is like "Thank you, Mariko-san" for the flowers, Mariko gloms onto her and is like<br />
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While most of the onlookers mirror my reaction,</div>
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Nanako is kind of hilariously like</div>
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Back at the beach, Nanako and Tomoko discuss Kaoru's release from the hospital and how surprised they are by Mariko's thing for her. When they talk, Tomoko uses "suki", which could easily refer to non-romantic love, but when Nanako internally comments on it, she uses "koi", which is always a word for romantic love, not platonic. Although regardless of Nanako's interpretation, that scene was pretty gay. Tomoko is like "Dang, Mariko beat me to her" and Nanako takes her seriously, but Tomoko passes it off as a joke. Pretty sure this whole portion of the episode just between Nanako and Tomoko illustrates the difference between the girls at Seiran who engage in queer behavior over the Magnificent Three without actually being queer (or at least not in a remotely self-aware way) because "lol this is a girls' school, <a href="http://okazu.yuricon.com/2012/09/02/the-study-of-yuri-part-2-akogare-on-the-edge-of-desire/">akogare</a> amirite" and someone like Nanako.<br />
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Writing to Takehiko, Nanako reflects on how she is jealous of Mariko's ability to be honest about her feelings (which I attribute as much to Nanako's feelings having more depth to them as Mariko having less of a filter) and how she's grown to like Mariko quite a bit. Here my girlfriend's like "My opinion of Mariko is still kind of meh" and I agree. Why do I think Nanako's feelings have at least somewhat more depth than Mariko's even though she kind of has your typical "I don't know better yet" thing for an angsty chick is...(my girlfriend: "Because she's the protagonist?") I guess because...eh, hmm, actually, I think it's the opposite and I'm projecting Nanako being more private about her feelings as evidence of there being more depth to them, especially given that she's in an environment that's very friendly to the idea of akogare, but not to actual "I might want to settle down with another lady someday" queerness.<br />
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Nanako takes an, uh, old cigarette of Rei's out of her desk and gets ready to light it,<br />
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but is cockblocked by her mom being like "You're dad wants to talk to you!"<br />
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Fukiko surprises Rei in the morning by picking her up so they can talk about Rei playing in the basketball game. Oh, shit.<br />
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When Rei says she had fun playing in the game despite Fukiko squeezing her hand, Fukiko is like "Oh really?" and squeezes harder. (As you might infer, these aren't affectionate squeezes.) Fukiko asks again if she had fun, and Rei is like<br />
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Their relationship is pretty well encapsulated by Rei telling Fukiko to let go of her hand and Fukiko pulling it towards her and being like "Never forget that I know what's best for you." Ugh.<br />
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Because popping pills has been Rei's way of numbing herself to the general pain she feels about her life, she almost does so after she gets to school- contrast this with how happy she seemed to go out on her way to school earlier. Kaoru conveniently shows up yet again, and stops her. Rei acts like she wasn't being serious, which I don't believe, but Kaoru did lighten her mood and cause her to toss away the pills, so like Kaoru, I am glad when she walks off as harps play and doves fly through the golden sunshine around her. No one ever said this was a subtle show.<br />
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Sadface for Mariko because Kaoru can't join her for lunch because of basketball stuff. We see this episode's Chekhov's gun, which is Nanako's latest letter to Takehiko that she brought to school.<br />
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Nanako and Mariko see Rei playing a flute surrounded by fangirls, and Nanako-<br />
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Well, then.<br />
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As a nice way of showing how much of an impression seeing Rei there made on Nanako, we continue to hear Rei's flute music for a bit after the cut to Nanako, Mariko, and Tomoko having lunch elsewhere.<br />
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Tomoko (who autocorrect named Tomato) gives Mariko (a.k.a. Mark) tips on how to bake a cake obviously meant for Kaoru, and Nanako, too distracted to participate, leaves to buy a stamp for her letter.<br />
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Nanako passes by a flower shop, and the flowers remind her of the corsage she saw on Rei when she was playing the flute.<br />
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Later in her school's gym, Nanako remembers Rei playing basketball. Rei shows up, and speaking like she's in a play monologue for the gajillionth time, says she can tell Nanako's there because of love ("koi"). Sadly for Nanako, Rei thinks her feelings are for Kaoru.<br />
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Nanako yells that she's wrong, but Rei just laughs while dribbling a basketball and runs off. I feel bad for Nanako, but Rei's behavior is kind of amusingly "wtf" here. </div>
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Nanako tosses rocks into a pond while being like "It isn't Kaoru, damn it." And of course her letter falls out of her pocket when she runs back to class. She notices but can't skip to search for it. And from Nanako's perspective, we see that Mariko's feelings for Kaoru have made her even prettier.<br />
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When they have a class break, Nanako retraces her steps, Mariko being like "Watchu doing?" behind her, but has no success.<br />
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Mariko is like "Is this letter to a man? *gasp shock*" and like twenty students hear and are like "Whut, a man?", so before Nanako can respond at all, Mariko takes Nanako aside and is like "YOU CAN'T GO OUT WITH A MAN, THEY'LL HURT YOU" before crying into Nanako's arms. That sure escalated quickly.<br />
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To calm Mariko down, Nanako says she'll stop looking for the letter, figuring it's a pretty harmless letter, so whatever. But dun-dun-dun, the Sorority's Mona Lisa-sama and Borgia-sama are here to tell her Fukiko wants her to come to her mansion after school.<br />
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Have I mentioned that I kind of love this school's nicknames?<br />
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We once again see Fukiko's face completely blacked out as her cronies tell Nanako she pissed her off and Mariko is like "Uh-oh, did you make her mad?"<br />
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Cut to Fukiko continuing the fine tradition of prominent piano playing by ojousama in yuri, as Nanako waits anxiously. Fukiko's face is almost entirely blacked out as she turns from a window toward Nanako before making it clear she has the letter and knows it's for Takehiko. Fukiko unfairly tells Nanako off for being a potential target for gossip among the gossipy assholes at their school, and for ignoring her order to stop writing Takehiko. Unlike Rei, Nanako obviously doesn't personally give a shit about Fukiko, so she protests that it's just a letter.<br />
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Fukiko is like "Can you promise me that this letter-writing couldn't possibly ever lead to something romantic?" and Nanako doesn't answer. Why? Going by the overall show she likes guys too, but I'm not sure that's it in this immediate situation since she could have said yes to get Fukiko to leave her be. Maybe it's because the stress of the situation made her freeze, maybe it was another way to defy Fukiko, since she is one of the few students willing to do that. I think it is open to interpretation.<br />
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Fukiko is like "Tear up this letter"<br />
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but Nanako still doesn't do anything and starts crying, so she's like "lol it's just a joke" to play the classic asshole card of making it seem like the person you're being a dick to is just oversensitive.<br />
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Despite the pain in this episode, it ends on a triumphant note because Nanako decides to mail the letter as quickly as possible, noting that it's all the more valuable because of all the trouble she went through to be able to do so. She happily notes that her heart still goes doki-doki whenever she's around Rei, also.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-43291288294479580792014-11-03T20:35:00.000-08:002014-11-04T11:08:24.938-08:00Psycho-Pass 2: This Show So Far, episodes 1-4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As anyone who followed me on Twitter when <i>Psycho-Pass</i> season 1 aired knows, I loved its first season. I thought it was a thoughtful example of its genre, with a wonderfully-developed female lead ("You really like Akane, don't you?" said my girlfriend as I put the Akane magnet I got at GeekGirlCon on my fridge) and a refreshingly grown-up (for anime) lesbian couple I shipped hard.<br />
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This season, we get a new creepy bishounen who wants to overthrow the Sibyl System, Kamui. Kamui has his own following of latent criminals like season 1's Makishima did. Unlike Makishima, Kamui cries, sees himself as helpful to the people he manipulates (while Makishima, evil though he was, made no such pretensions) and has the ability to manipulate other people's crime coefficients so they can be unpunishable by the Sibyl System while committing actual horrible crimes. Makishima's people were just stealthy about what they did. (I just joked to my girlfriend that Kamui is like a more lesbian Makishima because he wants to talk about feelings.)<br />
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The current Division 1 team dynamic is that Akane is still a seasoned badass Inspector, Gino, now an Enforcer, is more mellow and at peace with himself for sad reasons, the woman who joined the group at the end of season 1, Mika, is now a rather dickish Inspector with 1.5 years of field experience under her belt and a thing for Yayoi, and a couple new folks, Tougane and Hinakawa, have joined Yayoi and Gino as Enforcers.<br />
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Re the two new members of the team, I don't care much about them (I don't think anyone does), but I have some thoughts:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Tougane's behavior is similar to Kougami's around Akane and he sure is evil-looking in the OP, but I think the obvious signs of him being ~evil~ are a red herring. Unless the writers are counting on us thinking he's a red herring and not really making him one. Unless they're counting on us thinking that they're trying to make us think he's a red herring... I'll stop. </li>
<li>Hinakawa is voiced by Makishima's seiyuu, which either A) indicates he's ~evil~ or B) is just a way whoever made that casting choice decided to fuck with viewers. For now, I think it's the latter. I am ready to be totally wrong about either of these characters, of course.</li>
</ul>
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So far, this season has dealt with a sequence of people Kamui set up to cause horrible shit for the sake of a plan that is becoming clearer.<br />
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The most recent Kamui-follower-of-the-week's case ended in a really horrific way. It is the darkest this season has been, but flows logically from what happened in episode 1 of season 1. (What would have happened if a key person hadn't been there?) The ineffectiveness of everyone who wasn't a law enforcement person in the face of immediate danger in this season's most recent episode is frustrating, but follows from what we saw in season 1 of the system fucking with most people's ability to deal with threats that the system hasn't deemed a threat. (i.e. The beating-in-public scene and Akane's inability to attack Makishima halfway through season 1 without relying on a Dominator despite what he was threatening.)<br />
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Given how much of the show has been set-up so far, I'm not ready to judge it yet. Imho, what'll make or break this season is how everyone reacts to what happened at the end of episode 4. Mika has been a dick since episode 1, but her attitude didn't result in any really awful consequences until now. Her cowardice failed to prevent the horrible thing in episode 4, and Akane, Yayoi, and Gino are pretty obviously pissed that it happened.<br />
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So yeah, Mika sure is a dick. Given how her introduction as an Inspector paralleled Akane's, I expected her to be sort of an Akane II like everyone else who watched season 1. But nope, she really hates latent criminals, including the Enforcers, and doesn't think Akane knows what she's doing.<br />
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I don't like Mika, but given her backstory, her behavior makes more sense than a lot of people think. You might recall that when we last saw her during the girls' school arc, she was mourning her murdered friend who she was in love with. And for all she knew, the killer got away. (Of course we know she didn't.) It doesn't make Mika's loathing of all latent criminals any more justifiable than Gino being shitty towards them in season 1 because of his family issues, but it does follow from her backstory. It also helps explain why she doesn't think her co-workers know wtf they're doing. Her still hating them as a group even though one of them, Yayoi, comforted her when she cried over her dead friend and saved her life after she became an Inspector, isn't unfathomable for me either because Yayoi could just be the exception that proves the rule. In real life, there are people who broadly hate certain groups while being fond of individual members of those groups, so yeah, it's shitty of her, but I can see it. Hopefully what happened in episode 4 will will jolt her into realizing she's doing it wrong.<br />
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As for her thing for Yayoi, the moment Mika's crush became obvious was funny, but I will not be a happy camper if she gets paired with Yayoi since Yayoi already has someone loads better/Shion. Given that Mika and Yayoi's most recent interaction involves Mika being cowardly despite Yayoi being like "Yo, we need to help these people" and Yayoi being pissed by having her hands tied from being unable to do anything, I don't see that happening, but let's not jinx it, eh?<br />
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Anyway, I actually think this season is interesting, but it's still mostly set-up. Hopefully the story will hold together as a whole.<br />
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Also, some Yayoi x Shion goodness, please. So far they've been separately competently doing their own thing on their jobs, but I'd like to see them lez it up together more.<br />
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Anyway, have some (partially NSFW) Yayoi x Shion fan art.<br />
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Source: zunda's <a href="http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=manga&illust_id=36360677">Pixiv</a>.</div>
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Source: fio's <a href="http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=36204840">Pixiv</a>.</div>
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Source: さいとう's <a href="http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=44234359">Pixiv</a>.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Source: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">自动铅's </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=46559077">Pixiv</a>.</span></span></h1>
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Shion: I'm tired...</div>
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Yayoi: Thanks for your hard work.</div>
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Shion: Thanks. Kiss me for luck.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Source: やま's <a href="http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=43941992">Pixiv</a>.</span></div>
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Text: "YayoShio, please", YayoShio being one of Yayoi and Shion's fan portmanteaus.</div>
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Sound effect: *squeeeze*</div>
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The background text says "YayoShioooo"</div>
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Source: なまあし's <a href="http://www.pixiv.net/member_illust.php?mode=medium&illust_id=44984854">Pixiv</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/kiiro_nmas/media">Twitter</a>. This person is one of my favorite Yayoi x Shion artists. I have a couple of her doujinshi, and recommend keeping an eye out for her stuff if you dig this pairing, which of course you probably do if you're reading this.</div>
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And, that's it!</div>
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Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-21367331894446876892014-10-11T23:29:00.001-07:002014-10-12T00:20:33.772-07:00Retro Review: Oniisama E (Dear Brother) episode 16<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In this episode, <i>Oniisama E</i> becomes a sports show.<br />
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We open with Rei chilling in bed, getting a phone call from Kaoru, who is nostalgic for how they used to compete against each other in basketball in middle school. Rei is like "God, not this again" because Kaoru has brought it up before to try to convince her to re-join the basketball team.<br />
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Kaoru makes it clear that playing for Seiran's basketball team is like shilling drugs for a crime gang- once you've helped them, you can never really leave.<br />
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Next we see Kaoru practicing shooting at Seiran at night, <span style="text-align: center;">with Rei walking up to comment in a very theatrical/Rei-like way.</span><br />
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Kaoru is like "I'm glad you're here to play!", but Rei is like "No, I just came to school at night to chill", because who doesn't do that. She clearly used the same sixth sense to find Kaoru that she used <a href="http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2014/07/retro-review-oniisama-e-dear-brother_26.html">to find Nanako at the beach</a>.<br />
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They have some banter, and Rei is casually like "Oh yeah, one of your fangirls has been watching you from behind that tree." Kaoru is like "Who are you?" to the silhouette that is obviously Mariko. Mariko runs into the woods, and there is a hilarious chase sequence that involves Rei giggling while running sideways through the woods. In a horror show, she would probably make a good villain.<br />
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You know Mariko is tsundere for Kaoru because she's like "I-i-it's not like I was hiding in the woods for you, or anything!"<br />
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Kaoru humors her, but Rei won't let it go and grills her about why she would be at school at night for no real reason, completely unlike Rei's stated reason. I wonder how many girls come to school at night for no real reason because of Kaoru.<br />
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Mariko admits she's worried about Kaoru's condition since her first comeback game is tomorrow, and gives her a nicely wrapped present before running away.<br />
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While the hiding-behind-a-tree thing is reminiscent of her behavior when she was obsessed with Nanako, everything else about this scene feel more awkward blushing schoolgirl than creepy, which I think illustrates the shift her character is undergoing. Guess it helps that A) she did realize she became hella creepily possessive and B) even if she didn't and tried the same thing here, a more seasoned student like Kaoru would be harder to pull that kind of thing with than the baby lamb finding its legs that Nanako was when she started Seiran.<br />
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We see Nanako in her room, just letting Takehiko know that for once, everything is going pretty well, even though we know whatever allowed Fukiko to find out that Nanako became Takehiko's pen pal will let her know that Nanako ignored her order to stop writing Takehiko.<br />
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On the commute to school, Mariko tries to excite Tomoko into wanting to see Kaoru's basketball game with her and Nanako, but Tomoko's too disinterested in sports and too straight for it to work.<br />
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Tomoko ribs her about it, but Mariko pretends she isn't interested in butches.<br />
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At school, Nanako and Mariko see Kaoru being fangirled over even more than usual, and Mariko is like "Harumph, she doesn't even like that kind of behavior" and walks away.<br />
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Nanako and Rei have a short, friendly conversation, and Nanako is extra-chipper while thinking it's going to be a great day.<br />
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It's time for the game. Kaoru's coach gives her a pep talk about how doing her best is what's important, but Kaoru responds with the polite version of "Fuck that, I'm going to win." Once she's alone, her speech about winning turns to the subject of her trying to forget lost love and suddenly there are fireflies and she's naked. When I watched this scene next to my girlfriend and went "Awww" she looked just in time to see Kaoru's butt, which was awkward timing.<br />
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Fukiko and her two righthand women show up dressed like they're going to a gala to give Kaoru a bouquet. Kaoru effectively tells Fukiko to fuck off because of her treatment of Rei, including the fact that Rei doesn't play basketball because Fukiko forbade it.<br />
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The game starts and we get some imagery from the perspective of the students comparing Kaoru to Genji, in keeping with her school nickname. I always found that comparison amusingly inappropriate because Genji is a horrible person, despite the novel he is in wanting us to think otherwise. (But I know, it's Kaoru's looks and grace that are being compared to his even though their personalities are completely different.)<br />
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The way Kaoru's basketball dribbling is directed looks a lot like Utena's, so as a bunch of other people have noted, given <i>Oniisama E</i>'s very distinct Osamu Dezaki directorial style and obvious influence on <i>Utena</i>, it's pretty clear the way Utena is animated playing basketball is a homage to this series.<br />
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The opposing team decides to pile on Kaoru. As they start racking up points, the other students are annoyingly like "Why isn't Kaoru single-handedly fending off this entire team going after her?" even though they know she just got back from being so sick she had to skip a year of school.<br />
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Kaoru gets a fresh rush of GUTS or whatever powers anime characters to suddenly pwn their opponents. Her coach is worried, but as an athlete, she is happy to be able to feel like she's pushing her physical limits again. We see that her love of the game can't make her forget her sad lost love because she suddenly looks like she's playing surrounded by nothing but fireflies,<br />
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like the fireflies in her sad flashback, but that bit of symbolism is cut short by some girl playing dirty and elbowing her in the chest. If someone intentionally elbowed me in the chest, there is a decent chance I would punch them back, but because Kaoru apparently had surgery there, she bleeds and collapses.<br />
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In a moment that probably fueled the Kaoru and Rei shippers, Kaoru refuses anyone's help and calls for Rei.<br />
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Rei starts to take her to the infirmary, and Kaoru insists that she play in her stead.<br />
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Rei does an awesome job and is cool, but I still feel the need to share this screencap.<br />
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Nanako notes that she looks more alive than she has ever looked before. Like me, Nanako finds hyper-competence sexy.<br />
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We get a scene of Fukiko being pissed while riding her horse because a Sorority member told her about Rei playing, although she has the comfort of knowing Seiran lost the game.<br />
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Rei finds Kaoru at the hospital and recounts the rest of the game, and like Fukiko, they laugh in response, but in a way that shows they're still happy with what they were able to do.<br />
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Mariko practically pushes Rei aside to get in and see how Kaoru is. She goes tsundere again, but drops any pretenses when she realizes Kaoru is genuinely glad she came.<br />
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Nanako has a realization about Mariko<br />
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and quietly leaves with Rei.<br />
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The next episode involves Nanako being jealous of Mariko's ability to be open about her feelings for Kaoru, and Fukiko trying to bring Rei back under her control.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-37457185666789155942014-09-14T20:31:00.000-07:002014-09-14T20:32:35.559-07:00I Enjoyed Playing a Huge Bitch in a Lesbian RPGI guess weirdly for a nerd, I was never very interested in gaming. I have enjoyed some games, like <i>The Walking Dead</i> computer game (zombies are a hook for me) and what I've tried by Christine Love. And before I played this game, I hadn't played a role-playing game since a miserable middle school attempt at <i>D&D</i>. So given my non-gamer-ness, clearly I am the perfect reviewer for this role-playing game!<br />
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Origin story for this game, <i>Blossoms In Winter</i>: my and my girlfriend Amy's friend <a href="https://twitter.com/balehman">Ben Lehman</a> birthed a historical m/m role-playing game called <i><a href="http://www.tao-games.com/hot-guys-making-out/">Hot Guys Making Out</a></i>. Amy subsequently <s>convinced</s> influenced (Amy: "Convinced is a strong word.") him to write a lesbian game despite his reservations about being qualified to write one. It is still in development, so you can't buy it yet if you're interested. This review is based on a play test. Since Ben is my friend, there is a conflict of interest here, but if I didn't like the game, I honestly wouldn't be writing a post about it, so take that as you will.<br />
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In <i>Blossoms</i>' case, the promise of a lot of lesbian content was good bait<span style="color: #474b4e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: x-small;">, </span>but I wasn't sure how much I would like the actual role-playing aspect of it.<br />
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<i>Blossoms in Winter</i> is about two high school girls coming out<span style="color: #474b4e; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0px;">—</span>or not, depending on how you play it. It's set in Taiwan, or as the game puts it, "the version of modern-day Taiwan that appears in TV shows and romance comics." On a smaller scale, it is set in territory familiar to yuri fans, an elite girls' school. Its protagonists are the secretly lonely girl who everyone worships because she is gorgeous, smart, and, most crucially, filthy rich,<br />
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<i>Pictured: filthy rich girl Ximen Peiwen</i><br />
<i>Art by <a href="https://twitter.com/kamapon">Kamapon</a></i></div>
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and the earnest, principled scholarship student who attracts bad attention after she and the rich girl hook up.<br />
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<i>Pictured: the Yumi/Nagisa/Nanako of this game, Peng Lihua</i></div>
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<i>Art by <a href="https://twitter.com/kamapon">Kamapon</a></i></div>
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Peiwen is one of Meihua Girls' Academy's four "Beautiful Blossoms", like <i>Oniisama E</i>'s Magnificent Three except that they're all friends. Amy and I played as two of the Blossoms who aren't Peiwen.<br />
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The game begins the morning after Lihua and Peiwen sleep together, when the magic of their night together has given way to "Oh shit, what does this mean for us?"<br />
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The role-playing for this game requires only two people, but you'll obviously get a better experience out of what is essentially improvised storytelling within a set of rules if you have more people. Before starting to play, you'll also want to decide if you want to play this game in one sitting, a regular-length three to six sessions, or an epic-length extended game, which might take a dozen or more sessions. I played this game in one sitting.<br />
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You also get a list of places in which scenes can happen, and can set scenes in a limited number of them. And there are some other rules to provide structure, but it would be tedious if I listed them all. I didn't have trouble following them, though.<br />
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My girlfriend planned on making her character kind of an asshole, in true high school soap fashion, but she wound up being the good cop to the other non-Peiwen Blossom (played by our friend Karen) and I. In the case of Karen's character, she was very guilt trippy towards Peiwen, but slowly, scene-by-scene, I crafted a blackmailing sociopath. Amy compared my character to Fukiko from <i>Oniisama E</i>, if Fukiko had a media empire and spying drones and a sterile, all-white, cushion-covered office in Taipei 101. The drones and office were my invention. My character card simply reads:<br />
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<ul>
<li>level-headed, practical, political</li>
<li>trades favors</li>
<li>from family that owns newspapers and TV station</li>
</ul>
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I just took the potential evil of this character to its logical extreme.<br />
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Basically, this game took off for me when I was able to start fleshing out my character and take her deeper and deeper into the abyss. I made her closetedly into Peiwen also (the blackmail entailed her and Peiwen having previously been at a lesbian club at the same time), and the other Blossoms were implied queer also. According to Ben, the Blossoms tend to be played as queer.<br />
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So there you have it, folks. As much as I love happy love-love romances, I made my character into a coldly vicious, intentionally destructive bitch in the lesbian thing I had a say in, although it was Peiwen's conglomerate-owning mom who ultimately drove the final conflict to its post-high school conclusion. If you want a gentler game, the nice thing about role-playing is that you can go for that when you play, unless you turn out to have fun being a fictional villain.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-50451838034936451492014-08-10T00:54:00.000-07:002014-11-06T16:58:19.964-08:00Retro Review: Oniisama E (Dear Brother) episode 15<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This episode opens with an upbeat ditty playing as Nanako and Tomoko browse dresses for Nanako to wear at the Sorority's post-midterms party on Fukiko's private ship. It's the last day of post-midterm holidays, and the next day, exam scores will be posted. Tomoko aims to be average. Nanako is concerned about her score (although still not as much as your average Sorority member), and Tomoko is like "You get good grades, you're good."<br />
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The next day, we soon see that Nanako and Mariko ranked in the top 50. Their celebration is cut short by a Sorority candidate named Nakaya Junko crying and running away because she ranked 73rd because she got too sick to write anything on the first day of exams. (Tomoko notes that's still better than what she got.) The Sorority being as compassionate and sensitive about its members' well-being as it is, you know Nakaya will be fine.<br />
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In English class, Nanako thinks about how it's been three months since she fell down the rabbit hole that is this school. She feels more settled, and like weird shit is less likely to happen at this point, hahahahahaha.<br />
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(Fyi, the subs at the top are from her teacher's English speech example. It didn't seem as weird before I read it after screencapping it.)<br />
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Nanako's perspective reconfirms that even though Seiran has enough architectural and pastoral beauty to make Marie Antoinette's Petit Trianon jealous,<br />
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its ruling elite is pretty brutal. Like pretty much everyone at Seiran except Kaoru, Nanako didn't fully put together the implications of the Sorority's rules until she saw them used on someone. (I see what happens with Nakaya being for Nanako what seeing how a typical lower class family's life was like was for <i>Rose of Versailles</i>' Oscar. Obviously a starving family doesn't equal what happens to Nakaya on the horribleness scale, but I just think their respective effects on Oscar and Nanako's awareness of the shitty systemic aspects of the worlds they know, however different their scales, are similar enough to mention.)<br />
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At this point I mention the similarities between Oscar, Rei, and Claudine's character designs to my girlfriend Amy and tell her what I think their differences are. And then she pulls up <a href="http://media.comicsblog.it/o/osc/oscar.jpg">this picture</a>, <a href="http://img1.ak.crunchyroll.com/i/spire2/e4320b0fa74b89862e84af30e61e7a611233358661_full.jpg">this one</a>, and <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/df/ClaudineManga.jpg">this one</a>, and proves that they are triplets. (Amy: "They're cosplaying as each other, basically.")<br />
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Anyway, Fukiko pulls a pretty cruel bait-and-switch. (Not sure it's intentional, since I'm not sure she is cognizant of how hurtful a good amount of her behavior is, despite her guilty hallucinations of Rei a couple episodes ago.)<br />
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Since pleading with Fukiko alone doesn't work, Nakaya asks her two best friends to help her out,<br />
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but they don't say anything on her behalf, which I think is loads worse than Fukiko's treatment of her.<br />
<br />
Nanako stands up to vouch for Nakaya, though, and tells Fukiko she doesn't think the rules by which she's being judged are valid for good measure. I've seen Nanako criticized as a weak character, but lol she's the only one besides Kaoru vocally questioning Fukiko at their school for a good while in this show. (It reminds me a little of Akane from <i>Psycho-Pass</i> being called weak early on in the show even though she acts on what she thinks is right contrary to the shitty system that controls her world from episode 1 on. She does act in ways you would expect of a rookie cop, like Nanako acts in ways you would expect of a 15 year-old freshman. They both show poor judgment at points, but neither of them is weak.)<br />
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Fukiko ends the discussion by being like "Who do you think you owe your Sorority membership to?", leaving Nanako in shock because it confirms the rumors that she didn't get in fairly that she didn't think were true, because they were predicated on her being complicit in getting in unfairly. Mariko gives her the obligatory "OMG don't ever oppose Fukiko, what was that" speech and tells her to apologize to Fukiko with a big bouquet of red roses.<br />
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But first we see Nakaya asking two of her Oneesama, drinking tea and smoking in their private waterfront clubhouse(?) for help. Obviously that doesn't work.<br />
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When I first watched this episode, I thought Mariko was being melodramatic as usual with her red rose suggestion- not that this was an established custom for people begging pardon from Fukiko- until this scene.<br />
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Well, then.<br />
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In case we can't tell that Fukiko is being mean, we see her face ominously shadowed as she plays the same piano tune she always plays.<br />
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We see the party on Fukiko's private ship the next day, where Nanako can't enjoy herself. Mariko tries to cheer her up (and get her to apologize to Fukiko if she hasn't), but Nanako is just disturbed by how Nakaya could be kicked out just because Fukiko wants it, and how her admittance might have happened the same way.<br />
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Fukiko breaks out the champagne, and the party continues at her beachside mansion. Nanako steps outside, and Fukiko follows with her face completely blacked out, which has only happened so far in creepy scenes- and only with Fukiko, aside from Rei when she was high and thought Nanako was Fukiko in the previous episode.<br />
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Fukiko suddenly wants to be reconciliatory,<br />
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and her apology turns into an "apology."<br />
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The bird motif seems to be replaced by moths in this episode. I guess the director wanted to switch it up a bit.<br />
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After Nanako accepts her apology, Fukiko hugs her, and this apology gets weirder.<br />
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They walk along the water, and Nanako notes Fukiko's physical similarities to Rei. She also feels that Fukiko hates her life like Rei, although she doesn't know why.<br />
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Fukiko also somehow knows about Nanako exchanging letters with Takehiko. She presses a promise to stop writing to him out of Nanako, but Nanako intends to keep writing to him, and how would Fukiko find out anyway. (Nanako isn't thinking this through too well, because why wouldn't it be possible for Fukiko to find out it was continuing if she found out about it in the first place? That's some powerful wishful thinking.)<br />
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Nanako and Tomoko talk on the phone later, but it's interrupted by a call from Nakaya, who is waiting at a pay phone nearby.<br />
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Nakaya tells Nanako about how she's looked up to the Sorority since she was a kid, assuming its members would have the character to justify the prestige and glamour associated with them. Now she realizes it isn't true, and that looking back, she hasn't had a single happy moment as a member of the Sorority. Nanako is shocked because what Nakaya is saying is how she feels but hasn't articulated, and she isn't alone.<br />
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Nakaya admits she had a grudge against Nanako for Fukiko's favor towards her, but now sees that she misjudged her.<br />
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In a nice parallel to the obligatory red rose apology bouquet from earlier, she gives Nanako a single white flower, because she wants to.<br />
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Nakaya tells Nanako she won't ever forget what she did and leaves. Nanako admits what she thinks of the Sorority also,<br />
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and even though this is another bittersweet episode, I think Nanako's disillusionment is more sweet than bitter.<br />
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The next episode will feature Kaoru's basketball comeback, and conflict involving her illness and Mariko.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-21422838258596190342014-08-01T21:00:00.000-07:002014-08-01T21:04:17.410-07:00On Finding Trans Men in Old Manga<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So a commenter left a comment on <a href="http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2012/11/manga-review-paros-no-ken-volume-1.html">my review of <i>Paros no Ken </i>volume 1</a> rightly critiquing my initial written interpretation of the titular character of Ikeda Riyoko's <i>Claudine...!</i> for finding Claudine's gender identity somewhat ambiguous instead of "this character is a trans man." They also made a good argument for <i>Paros no Ken</i>'s Erminia being read as a trans man. Because they brought up some great discussion points, I wound up practically writing an essay in response to it, and I think those discussion points are worth a blog post instead of being hidden in the comments of an old review.<br />
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The primary point of the comment was- why my interpretation of Claudine and Paros no Ken's protagonist Erminia as having some ambiguity to their gender identities?<br />
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In response to that, I wrote:<br />
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I am much more sure that Claudine is a trans man than I was when I first reviewed it years ago. As you read in my writing about <i>Paros no Ken</i>, it's harder to determine bona fide trans men in old manga because the folks writing older lgbtq stuff didn't have a lesbian lingo vocabulary (or couldn't use it) and somewhat clumsily described some characters (like <i>Oniisama E</i>'s Rei and <i>Sailor Moon</i>'s Haruka) as having "the aura of a man" (this being in the text of <i>Oniisama E</i>) or "the heart of a man" (which the creator of <i>Sailor Moon</i> said before clarifying that she did intend to write two girls who were a couple.)<br />
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I hesitate to definitively call Erminia a trans man (although there are definitely grounds for that interpretation) because of the broader context of the time, and the fact that whether Erminia is "both a man and a woman" or "neither a man nor a woman" is a major plot point in <i>PnK</i>. Regarding Claudine, when I first reviewed it, I was looking too much at historical context and not enough at how Ikeda Riyoko went the extra mile to make it more trans-specific than the other examples I mentioned in my discussion of trans straight male vs cis gay female identity in old manga. I will add a note to <a href="https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=yuri+no+boke+claudine&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8">my review of <i>Claudine...!</i></a> about that.<br />
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In response to the points that "even in clearly trans stories like <i>Hourou Musuko</i> the mangaka have missed the importance of the chosen name. Since Nitori is a girl, the title should have been <i>Wandering Girl</i> and not '<i>Son</i>'. (The same goes for Claudine and <i>Paros no Ken</i>'s Erminia :/)", I wrote:<br />
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Re chosen names, yeah, <i>Hourou Musume</i> would better reflect Nitori's gender- ditto with <i>Claudine...!</i> being changed, although it's better there imo because Claudine himself didn't mention wanting a different/true name, like Nitori did. In the cases of Claudine and Erminia both not saying they wanted different names, I'm also pretty lenient because Claudine lived in the early 20th century and subsequently didn't seem to know what being "transsexual" is and how it applied to him until right before the end of the book, and Erminia (assuming the trans reading to be the right one) lived in some kind of Medieval kingdom. I'm reminded a little of how at the women's college I attended from 2008-2012, there were some trans men who didn't realize they were trans before they started school and were exposed to the queer awareness on campus, causing them to realize what they were and start publicly identifying as such- that's my reading of what went on for Claudine until the doctor told him what being transsexual is and what might be going on with Erminia. I realize that I am not the best judge and could be wrong about something, though. Anyway, that is the end of my long rambling!Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-90958529490821041682014-07-26T00:59:00.001-07:002014-07-26T00:59:06.834-07:00Retro Review: Oniisama E (Dear Brother) episode 14<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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At the beginning of this episode, we are back in the clock tower, with Nanako discovering the awkwardness of being embraced by the girl she has feelings for, while said girl hallucinates that Nanako is the girl she loves who she once made a suicide pact with. We've all been there, Nanako.<br />
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From Rei's perspective, we see that she and Fukiko are in a flurry of pink shoujo petals<br />
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with Fukiko acting to fulfill the pact by cutting her wrist<br />
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so Rei tries to "fulfill" it on her side, but after she stabs the wall trying to do so, she comes to her senses, sees Nanako crying, and appropriately feels like shit. (My girlfriend Amy after I mentioned this scene to her: "That [a tortured backstory] is the kind of thing I would have found romantic in high school, but now I'd be like, 'I don't have time for this bullshit.'" I was like "This storyline works better in execution than when you just hear about it, but I'm not entirely sure why." When Amy asked if I would actually date someone like Rei, I was like "lol no" though, although I too probably would have in high school or early college. I do think she works as a character I can like- and ultimately like with Nanako, regardless of whether they would have worked in the long-term instead of being each other's first girlfriends- through some alchemy of writing, though.)<br />
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On her way home, Nanako processes what Rei said to her while thinking she was Fukiko and what it says about Rei and Fukiko's relationship and history.<br />
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The next morning, Nanako sees that Rei isn't in her homeroom and Fukiko is like "Whatchu doing?" Fukiko points out that she hasn't been attending the Sorority study sessions for the midterms, and is very subtle about her real reason for being vexed at Nanako.<br />
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The funny thing is that she has a point. I think this episode knows that Nanako should be focusing more on her midterms, even though it also knows that Fukiko's motives towards Nanako are dubious.<br />
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After school, Nanako stops by Rei's place and finds the front door not only unlocked, but ajar. She finds Rei lying motionless less to a mound of partially empty pill packets and is relieved when Rei wakes up. She warns Rei about someone dangerous entering with the door left open, but Rei is like "Eh, they can kill me for all I care."<br />
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The next morning on the way to school, Nanako impresses Tomoko with the mnemonic devices she learned from the Sorority for the exam. Tomoko picks up on Nanako having another secret thing, so she's like "lol Here we go again" and Nanako doesn't quite get how much Tomoko knows about how her school life rolls now.<br />
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Nanako falls into the all-too-common mistake of being too distracted by her crush to concentrate in class, so Mariko nudges her into jotting down what she needs for the exam. (Amy when she read my draft of this recap at this point: "Why does Nanako have a crush on Rei?" Me: "Because she is us in high school." Amy: "Well I was stupid in high school, and so were you." And then we laughed for no real reason.)<br />
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After class, Mariko tries to find Nanako to ask her something about French, but finds Kaoru in their classroom instead. Kaoru makes her day by offering to help her out instead.<br />
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This scene is too easy to make a double entendre about.<br />
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Back at Rei's place, Nanako enjoys watching Rei eat decent food and goes into the kitchen, where she sees yet more pills and tries to throw them away, before Rei is like "MY BABIES."<br />
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Rei is like "Leave me alone, I never asked for your help!" so Nanako runs away and heads to the beach to be sad.<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
This message brought to you by <i>Oniisama E</i>. Don't pop pills and leave expiring shit in your fridge, kids.</div>
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We also learn from Nanako's humming that she knows her own theme song.<br />
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Somehow Rei knows that Nanako is at this beach, so she shows up and says something about looking at the sea, and they have tea at her apartment, and even Rei is like "Thank you for seeing me home, but shouldn't you be focusing on your test right now?" Rei says that, at least for today, she won't take any more pills, and Nanako asks her about the doll. Rei hesitates, so Nanako decides to leave.<br />
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On her way to the elevator, Nanako runs into that guy who is Takehiko's friend and they briefly re-introduce themselves. We already know he knows about the Sorority and Nanako and Takehiko being pen pals, and he says he's here to meet "a friend" before saying bye to Nanako, before we see Rei be like<br />
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The significance of him referring to her that way is awfully sad knowing what their relationship is. I won't spoil it, although someone who has only seen this far can probably sort of guess if they eliminate romance based on Rei being gay.<br />
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Inside Rei's apartment, she and Takehiko's friend have a rather awkward conversation.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Buuurrrrn.</div>
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Takehiko's friend asks how she's doing, and she responds like someone who is inured to people pretending to care but not following through on actually showing it. I feel like she tests the patience of people who care about her because of that- sort of pre-empting the abandonment she expects by being flighty and distant herself.<br />
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Nanako and Tomoko are silly on the way to school, and Rei gives her the memorization cards she accidentally left at her apartment at school.<br />
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Kaoru shows up for their usual banter<br />
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and Rei responds in turn<br />
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and all is right with the world. Or something.<br />
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And it's time for midterms, which will determine whether Nanako stays in the Sorority. I wonder how much Nanako's lack of concern for the Sorority's exam requirement has to do with how little good the Sorority actually seems to be doing her.<br />
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The next episode involves Fukiko telling Nanako ~secrets~ on a Sorority party aboard her private ship.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-1678884035849013702014-07-20T17:01:00.001-07:002014-07-21T14:10:46.796-07:00Manga Review: Poor Poor Lips volume 4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I originally meant to review this volume in the form of JManga's release. But then JManga folded and my paper copy of this book was in a different part of the country from where I was, then I picked it up in my hometown and brought it when I moved to Seattle and, uh, just didn't get back to it until now. So here, finally, is my review of it!<br />
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You may remember that previously on <i>Poor Poor Lips</i>, our impoverished protagonist Nako got a job at a jewelry store belonging to a woman from a filthy rich family named Ren, who is a lesbian who developed feelings for her. Ren lost her store and other assets to her homophobic mom Nei, moved in with Nako, and grew from realizing how sheltered she was. Ren found out Nako was perpetually scraping by because her uncle made her think she was indebted to him. Ren got Nei to use her clout to stop him, at the cost of agreeing to an arranged marriage. After realizing she is head-over-heels in love with Ren, Nako got a job as a maid at Ren's family's mansion so she could stay by Ren's side. It is obvious to everyone they know that they are in love, but they still don't get that it's reciprocal. And raise curtain on volume 4, this series' final volume.<br />
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Nako sees Nei watching some movies of Ren as a child, and learns that her motive for trying to stick Ren in a marriage to a dude is a little more sympathetic than it previously seemed, although this series knows that her plan is horrible regardless. </div>
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Nei tries to speed her plan for Ren along by introducing her to the heir of another rich family, Kenmochi. While not really attracted to Kenmochi, Ren finds herself not actively repulsed by Kenmochi the way she has been by her other suitors, which is an awkward way of foreshadowing that Kenmochi is a pre-op trans man. He wants to find a wife from among the ladies considered suitable for him and figures he can do a <i>Princess Knight</i> scenario by making Ren fall for him when he dons a long wig and dresses the way he occasionally has to to please his transphobic grandpa who thinks he's delusional. Thankfully, the storyline with grandpa is resolved satisfactorily, as is the Final Boss to Ren and Nako's love that is Nei. Just as basically every character who isn't Ren has been learning what being gay is since volume 1 (including Kenmochi), now Ren and Nako (and Kenmochi's grandpa) learn what being transsexual is, in this series' characteristically goofy manner.</div>
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Further misunderstandings happen, and Nako turns in her resignation because she is afraid of the <i>Princess Knight</i> plan working and doesn't want to see it. Ren, wanting to make Nako happy in some capacity one last time, tells her she will give her anything she wants. This leads to what everyone who likes this series has been waiting for.</div>
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Ren still needs to deal with the engagement, though, and I won't spoil how it resolves, but things turn out happily and the epilogue is wonderful.</div>
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If you rooted for Ren and Nako, you will find it immensely satisfying to see them get the hard-won happiness they deserve. I didn't expect Ren's fiancé's being a transsexual man to be a major plot point in this volume, but I thought it was handled mostly well<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;">.</span> Ren sensing Kenmochi's pre-op-ness before Kenmochi is outed is problematic for the emphasis it puts on Kenmochi's body versus his gender early on, although that changes later.<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: xx-small;"> </span>I know I'm not the best judge and could be wrong about the getting-it-wrong-to-getting-it-right ratio for how Kenmochi is written, though. As with the previous volume, this volume is angstier than the first two (tangent: spellcheck tried to make "angstier" into "gangster"), but it works because it isn't overwhelming and this series' author Goto Hayako still uses humor liberally. This is still a 4-koma, however unusually plotty it might be for its genre. </div>
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As it has been from the beginning, this series is a sweet romance that is unusually blunt about lgbtq identity, starring a likable pair of leads. I am glad I tried it despite volume 1's cover, and you will probably enjoy it also if you're looking for a good romance starring adults.</div>
Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-59355572274483180712014-07-17T00:30:00.000-07:002014-07-17T00:37:52.711-07:00Retro Review: Oniisama E (Dear Brother) episode 13<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This episode begins by replaying the previous episode's confrontation between Kaoru and Fukiko. Kaoru shouts "Who's there?" and Nanako conspicuously runs away. Fukiko turns to leave, but Kaoru is like "Wait wait, we're not finished here" and Fukiko is like "Mind your own business." The way she says it has some blink-and-you'll miss it implications about Kaoru and Rei's friendship that are extra-interesting in the context of this episode.<br />
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Still shocked by what Kaoru said, Nanako makes her way to Rei's apartment, pondering what a sad and mirror-filled life she leads. She finds the picnic basket still outside Rei's apartment with the food untouched. Back home, she tries calling Rei and has an internal monologue about not wanting to intrude too much on Rei's life, just make sure she's alright, which you know means she's going to get very involved in Rei's life.<br />
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Tangent: If you haven't watched this show's theme song in a while, you might want to replay it after seeing the objects in Rei's apartment, especially the ones in the doll screencap above. I still think they primarily symbolize this show's coming-of-age theme. Re symbolism in the opening theme, you have a lot of childhood inconography, like the doll (which we now know is the doll Rei has) and the Cinderella imagery (you'll see a miniature version of the coach in Rei's apartment), with even the people in the Cinderella imagery who aren't supposed to be dolls posed in a doll-like way. The imagery of the necklace breaking, beads flying everywhere past the doll and the doll being shrouded in shadows at one point, along with the image of the doll in a puddle in front of what appear to be soldiers evokes the lessening of innocence that comes with growing up. The contrast between the childish-looking doll and the fully grown Cinderella, who look similar to each other, also fits the growing up theme, IMO. In short, <i>Oniisama E</i>'s opening animation's theme seems to be letting go of the past. As my girlfriend pointed out, it's interesting to consider in the context of the events of this show (like the Nanako's storyline with Rei, Rei's storyline with her issues, Mariko's storyline with her issues, Takehiko's storyline with his issues, Fukiko's storyline with her... you get the picture) as a whole.<br />
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Getting back to the episode, Nanako ponders the why's of what she learned about Rei and Fukiko. We see Rei stopping in front of Fukiko's gated mansion while Fukiko plays piano inside, before walking away while downing more pills. Kaoru pops out of a cab that she must owe a ton of fare, since she's been looking all over for Rei.<br />
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In the cab, sadly, Rei still wants to apologize to Fukiko for not waiting longer under the elm tree, and Kaoru gently argues with her about it, but just wants to get her home.<br />
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I guess Rei's electricity that was never really gone is still working, because Kaoru turns on the light in her chandelier before tucking her in, and her cordless phone continues to function as Nanako calls. Kaoru answers, and Nanako is hugely relieved that Rei isn't alone. Even though it's late, Nanako decides to sneak out to get some food at a convenience store for Rei. I relate to Nanako being kind of fussy about making sure people eat properly. When she asks Kaoru what Rei likes, Kaoru isn't sure because she's never seen Rei eat anything with an appetite, which to me speaks volumes about how happy she is as someone who ate like a bird as a teenager at some hugely stressful points.<br />
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Anyway, Nanako makes it out of the house. Rei wakes up, hearing the piano song that she and Fukiko frequently play. She runs screaming to the shower and turns it on without removing her clothes, making her self-hatred abundantly clear.<br />
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Kaoru dries her off, Rei tells her she's cold, and I guess they are comfortable being naked in bed together.</div>
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(My girlfriend when I pointed it out: "That's weird. It's weird unless it's gay.") The Kaoru x Rei fodder in this episode is interesting, because I don't remember the manga having any.</div>
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Nanako arrives and doesn't seem to think anything of Kaoru still buttoning her shirt when she answers the door. Nanako helps Kaoru get Rei into her old-timey pajamas, and she and Kaoru leave. Kaoru and Nanako watch the sun rise and bond over being in Rei's harem. They both want to be there when Rei is ready to stop trying to deal with the shitty aspects of her life on her own, although Kaoru isn't sure she'll live long enough for it.</div>
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Nanako's outfit and body language in this portion of this episode are noticeably butchier than normal, which is interesting. I'm not sure it has any significance beyond whoever is in charge of the characters' gajillion outfits thinking it'd be neat to see her like that, though.</div>
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Anywho, Nanako compares her friendship with Tomoko to Kaoru and Rei's, and feels like there's not only more maturity between them, but a sense of destiny.</div>
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That day at school, we see Nanako, Tomoko, and Mariko having lunch together, and it feels a little creepy that they're getting along so well.</div>
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Fukiko's guilt starts catching up with her as she imagines seeing Rei under the elm tree. The students make up some spooky rumors about the school (hi, every later girls' school series featuring supernatural school mysteries), including one that hits a little close to home for Nanako,</div>
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and Mariko explains that they do that every year before exams.</div>
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Then Mariko explains the spookiest rumor from the previous year.</div>
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It's basically about a butchy suit-wearing girl and a refined, ladylike girl who were students long ago being seen playing the piano together and going up and down a particular stairwell holding hands. The students the rumors are based on felt the weight of society against their being in love, </div>
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and apparently committed suicide together under the elm tree.</div>
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Nanako's commentary on this story is interesting in light of how her romance with Rei turns out. It feels a little meta, and I wonder if that is intentional.</div>
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Nanako and Fukiko both hear Rei playing the piano in the clock tower and rush there. Fukiko doesn't see Rei there and thanks she's hallucinating again, but Rei pops up again.</div>
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Rei confronts Fukiko about her lying about meeting at the elm tree, and Fukiko falsely comforts her, Nanako watching all this in bewilderment and a little horror.</div>
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It isn't a coincidence that Fukiko's face is blacked out as she laughs while leaving. The direction of this scene in general is effectively creepy.</div>
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Rei jumps off the balcony, into a tree. She safely lands like a besuited cat and dashes off while Nanako calls to her. Nanako follows her to the clock tower, and finds that she is too hopped up on pills to distinguish her from Fukiko. Rei is like "Remember when we promised to die together?" and Nanako is like "What in the ever-loving fuck" and the episode ends there.</div>
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I was mistaken that there are daggers in this episode- they are in the next episode, along with more drama surrounding the layers peeling back from Rei and Fukiko's storyline.</div>
Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-31310631214294241192014-07-09T17:12:00.000-07:002014-07-15T13:15:45.359-07:00Manga Review: Gakuen Polizi volume 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I still love that all of the English language releases of Morinaga Milk's books tout her status as a yuri icon. She is a hard-working mangaka who has been drawing<span class="st">—</span>and helping pioneer the growth of<span class="st">—</span>good yuri for over a decade, and she deserves all of the success she has gotten. I am thrilled that her work has sold well enough in English to warrant multiple licenses of her work, so even though this series wrapped up sooner than I (and most readers) expected at two volumes and I am a little worried about it not getting the breathing room to satisfactorily conclude the slow burn it seemed like it was going for when I first read it (review <a href="http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2013/05/morinaga-milks-newest-gakuen-polizi.html">here</a>), I am still happy to be reviewing this volume. Fingers crossed for that second volume.</div>
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Anyway, I don't have much in the way of new thoughts about this book<span class="st">—</span>I last read it a little over a year ago, and enjoyed it as Morinaga Milk trying something different while indulging her love of police dramas, with dashes of her other favorite things, magical girl shows and yuri. </div>
I still appreciate this volume's on point social commentary about stalking, law enforcement's failings in response to stalking, and creeps in general, especially given the incredibly male gazey magazine this series ran in. Social commentary has been a thing in Morinaga's work since <i>Girl Friends</i>, as GAR GAR Stegosaurus's Day and I discussed about <i>Girl Friends</i> <a href="http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2012/10/another-yuri-classic-revisited.html">here</a>, and as I mentioned <a href="http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2013/06/im-still-wowed-that-this-happened.html">here </a>in my review of the <i>Kisses, Sighs and Cherry Blossom Pink</i> omnibus.<br />
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This volume is very pre-yuri- it has a lot of set-up for the relationship that should develop between its leads Sasami and Midori later, following your classic "they don't get along, but warm up to each other" model, unlike most of Morinaga's famous work, in which her leads tend to have a fondness for each other right off the bat. That works for the buddy cop dynamic Morinaga is going for as a starting point, though.<br />
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As expected, no complaints about this as a physical release either. Seven Seas' translation and editing is strong as usual. If you're wondering why Seven Seas went with <i>Gakuen Polizi</i> for this series' English release title instead of <i>School Police</i>, it's because they figured <i>Gakuen Polizi</i> would grab more attention than <i>School Police</i>, and its starting with a <i>G</i> would allow it to be placed closer to <i>Girl Friends</i> in bookstores.<br />
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In short, this volume is a light buddy cop school comedy with hints of darker characterization ahead that becomes a kind of kick ass social commentary by the end, with a good amount of set-up for a potential relationship between its characters. I enjoyed rereading it, and look forward to seeing what volume 2 has in store.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1970063565985184238.post-7635210212957588992014-07-09T00:15:00.002-07:002014-07-09T20:11:38.746-07:00Retro Review: Oniisama E (Dear Brother) episode 12<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This episode enters right where we left off again, with Rei hugging Nanako then sinking to the floor because she still has a fever. Nanako is like "????" so Rei shows her the doll, and I guess she is at least aware that Nanako isn't the doll. Rei clearly hasn't read <i><a href="http://yurinoboke.blogspot.com/2010/11/manga-review-love-vibes.html">Love Vibes</a></i> if she thinks this approach is going to win her over.<br />
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Then because, at this point, Rei fainting is like Old Faithful, she faints again and Nanako pulls her up and tucks her into bed, wiping her face with some water.<br />
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Inside Rei's head, we see that she's swimming with her doll, and riding in a horse-drawn cart in what I assume is a French countryside because one of this show's <i>Rose of Versaille</i>s-est music themes is playing.<br />
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We also see Fukiko, meeting her.</div>
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Then she wakes up and Nanako, unaware of the blighted wasteland that is her fridge, offers to make something. She shortly discovers that all Rei has to eat is some expired food that should no longer even be refrigerated because there no electricity (and yet somehow there is light in the fridge- that's my job, ruining emotional moments),<br />
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and starts tearing up imagining what it's like to live in Rei's situation.</div>
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Kaoru arrives because Nanako called her. She does not seem to find Rei's French greeting as charming as most <s>women with any trace of queerness in them</s> people would and slaps her, being like "Whatchu doing??? Fukiko hates you and likes toying with you and you should lose that damn bracelet that reminds you of her."<br />
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But before she can chuck it into the canal outside, </div>
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Rei sure wants that bracelet. I've seen Fukiko described as an influence on <i>Utena</i>'s Juri, and I can see it (much as I love Juri), but Rei's storyline is feeling more similar to Juri's, what with her having a jewelry memento of a girl who causes her a lot of grief that she can't quite get rid of.<br />
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When I replayed this scene to my girlfriend, after being like "wtf", she said "Could you imagine an actual seventeen year-old girl being like *imitates dagger-throwing*. Someone should totally reshoot the best scenes of <i>Oniisama E</i>, but with actual seventeen year-old girls." IMO, a live-action <i>Oniisama E</i> thing of some kind would be amazing.<br />
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Despite Kaoru trying to tell her her relationship with Fukiko is hurting her, Rei puts the bracelet back over the slits on her wrist and peacefully ensconces herself on her bed, reciting the first words she used to describe her dream of meeting Fukiko. It feels like this evening is not the first time she's cycled through it.<br />
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Kaoru tells Nanako to think of what just happened as nothing more than a dream,<br />
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but obviously it's a tad hard to forget your classmates having a mirror-breaking, dagger-throwing fight over the bracelet that covers the slits on one's wrist and reminds her of the girl who puppeteers her.<br />
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Kaoru cuts get-well apple slices for Rei, which is cute, and tells Rei off again for her masochistic devotion to Fukiko. As great a friend as Kaoru is, her approach to getting Rei to listen is clearly not working. If she wants to be process-y enough to function in a queer lady ensemble, she needs to bring over some appropriately angsty Tegan and Sarah to play, gently hold Rei's hands, and have a heart-to-heart with her about every nuance of what she is feeling. Bonus points for commiserating with her as a fellow "womyn" with a "y."<br />
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Nanako calls Fukiko and gives her a credible fake excuse for not returning to the study group, but Fukiko didn't become the head of the evil Yamayurikai with a bad bullshit detector.<br />
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Nanako wakes up early the next morning to make Rei a feel better picnic basket, and it's one of those sitcomy scenes where a girl is doing something special for a boy she likes and gives her parents a fake reason for it and her dad believes her but you can tell her mom caught on and is like "Aww, my baby has a crush", except it's a girl instead of a boy. =)<br />
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However tearjerky this storyline ultimately is, I can't help thinking how valuable Nanako's thoughts- and tone- during this scene might have been to some self-hating queer teenager watching it.<br />
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Rei doesn't answer the door, so Nanako writes and rewrites to compose the perfect note and leaves it in front of her door with the basket. She even leaves an origami crane as an extra "get well" touch.<br />
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At school, Mariko fills Nanako in on what happened at the study group after she left, and Nanako asks Tomoko to corroborate her fib that she got soaked and went to her house nearby the night before.<br />
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Nanako finds Fukiko in what looks like an equestrian country club on school grounds<br />
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to return her umbrella, and Fukiko calls out her fake excuse by telling her not to associate with Rei. Her slapping her own hand with her riding crop is a subtle bit of symbolism.<br />
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Nanako finds Kaoru to check how Rei was last time she saw her, and we see that Kaoru told Fukiko to meet her at the same time and place Fukiko told Rei to meet her. It would be funny if Kaoru never showed up.<br />
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We also see Rei lying in her apartment, her cordless phone (how did she charge it with the electricity cut?) counting the time next to her as the food lies untouched outside her apartment.<br />
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Nanako decides to visit Rei's apartment, but sees the Kaoru vs Fukiko confrontation. Kaoru tells Fukiko what you would expect, until she drops this.<br />
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Next up, we'll get a much better idea of why Rei's relationship with Fukiko is the way it is, and more daggers.Katherine Hansonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00209832803059188448noreply@blogger.com0