Yes, they really were BOTH laughing in that daydream. Just like a certain stripping senior…
Once again, as seems to be par for the course, Minami-ke Okaeri manages to lurch along from amusing to ho-hum all within the same episode. The twist this time is that we get an episode that focuses more on Riko for the first few skits, including a daydream which seems to have been stolen from Hosaka’s inventory of Haruka-induced delusions.
Actually, scratch that. There have been complaints about the style of posting that I’ve been using the past two episodes. Especially about with comments about ‘funny episodes’ being ruined by a moderate amount of reading. Word to the reader: humour is a subjective thing, as a scan of the blogosphere (or flipping through channels on a television set) will often prove. But never let it be said that we don’t do requests. There is the now ‘non-joke-explaining’ funny version of this post to go along with the ‘serious’ version hidden under the spoiler tags to avoid abusing the sensitivities of our more special readers.
It must be repeated: humour is a subjective thing, which is why some of Okaeri episodes flat-out suck.
Keiko Speaks For the Audience
A Yandere In the Making
Hiroko, in a moment of clarity, realizes that the running gag will end if she interferes
Because the real Fujioka cost too much to rent
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Hiroko, after an entire two-season hiatus, returns to point out the glaringly obvious to our less-than-perceptive side-characters. This focus on Riko, and by extension, the other characters in Kana’s peer group is a welcome change from the previously Other Minami-centered episodes preceding it. And, unlike everyone else, she and Yuu (the previous Banchou) actually understand what’s going on. Unfortunately for Riko, they also manage to lead her down the wrong path, solely for their (and our) amusement… the same path that Hosaka currently treads alone, lost in his own imagination.
Oh no… not the imagine spot…
Not quite there… try harder, Riko
That’s more like it
Riko takes another step down the Hosaka side of the Force…
… and promptly falls right off the other side. At least Hosaka imagines that he succeeds.
Kana hanging out with her classmates? ZOMG!
Kana noticed? OMG! OMG! The world is about to end!
Yes, he’s coming to Kana’s. No, not in that way.
Then Riko came. And yes, in that way.
Kana, acting normal? The oddest scene in the series so far.
Kana’s idea of hospitality = Warm Things
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And once again we get an example of Kana’s unconventional thought processes. Whether she’s really a genius at manipulating people, a complete idiot who lucks out more often than not, or a mixture of both with a form of mild autism is once again up in the air. Taking an abstract concept such as ‘warmth’, and extrapolating it to be physical warmth…
She means the bath, Fujioka, not the bedroom
And the loli Chiaki convinces Fujioka to take the bath, where Kana failed. Hmm…
And, as the loser harem male, Fujioka sets the pattern
Kana discovers that a chili pepper bath is burning hot, not warm and hospitable
Dunno… how WAS the bath?
So… who wants to tell Kana that she looks like a lobster?
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… and Kana ends up as the butt of the joke one more time, on top of having her own butt burned by the capsaicin-filled bath. Kana’s weakness, as demonstrated previously, is hot things – wasabi-flavored Valentine’s chocolate, and now a hot-pepper(spray) bath.
Note to Kana: ‘warmth’ does not necessarily mean ‘heat’. All that planning, and all that preparation.. wasted because everyone was more self-conscious than she herself is, and she couldn’t imagine them not taking advantage of a hot bath, since she herself would without a thought to social mores or manners.
Riko once more starts down the Hosaka side…
… but this time, she actually talks to Hosaka in the daydream.
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The focus returns to Riko as she engages in the bad habit that Hiroko unintentionally led her to (the Hosaka daydream), and starts to imagine that she could tutor Fujioka for a test by showing that she’s smarter than he, believing that he has issues with his academic performance. Kana stumbles by looking for help, and unwittingly receives some useful advice from Riko.
And, as is typical for Minami-ke, the one setting up the plans gets shot down as they go awry. Come for the Hosaka-style daydreams, stay for the Hosaka-style daydreams and the shut-out by Kana.
… oh god, she even got Hosaka’s smile. Heaven help us all.
… and meanwhile, in the real world… no stripping. Damn, I’m disappointed.
Kickin’ it up a notch
… and cue the mad laughter
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Up until now, the romantic scenario daydream has been limited primarily to Hosaka; Riko’s deluded imagination is the first time the joke gets recycled elsewhere – no thanks to Hiroko and Yuu’s interference – and it works almost as well with Riko as it does with Hosaka, although there’s more interaction between her and her (unwitting) target. Which makes her inevitable failure that much more amusing, minus the rest of Hosaka’s tendency to act out his fantasies.
Good job, Riko-sensei
Back to the drawing board
Why not? You hang around with MakotoMako-chan
… says the guy in the skirt.
Seeing Touma from a girl’s point of view.
Touma gets the joke. Mako-chan doesn’t.
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This is probably the second-best skit of the episode; they take two old jokes (Mako-chan and Touma, Kana’s selfishness and gluttony) and combine them with some Chiaki-manipulation to abuse Makoto one more time, in a different, but very Chiaki-like, way. Even Touma and Mako-chan have completely forgotten their original gender-roles, which makes Mako-chan’s insights into why Touma was so attractive to other girls more amusing..
Kana’s train of thought has derailed
Kana should know – look how she turned out
Mako-chan’s version of “wild manliness”
Why so serious, Chiaki?
Kana dropping a subtle(?) hint
… he says, while he whispers “Haruka” deep in his heart.
Kana suggesting that Makoto give chocolates to someone other than herself? Impostor!
Tsundere?
Chiaki learns the secret of dating: lowered expectations.
Someone who doesn’t matter
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Well… at least we got to see Makoto as a guy getting dumped on, for once. A slight various on the same old joke, with the difference being that he made the chocolates for himself – or, in other words, he’s only able to get chocolates from himself. Or Chiaki’s secretly tsundere for Makoto.
Poor guy can’t win, even if he does get to see Haruka half-naked on several occasions.
11 Comments
Guys, can I start the “hey, you suck!” responses?
Ugh, it’s not like people’s comments are even representative of what most readers think. I myself get plenty of picture+joke from the many other blogs out there and was appreciating the greater level of analysis.
Anyway, I would venture to suggest that Mako-chan doesn’t even remember that he should be giving chocolates to Haruka anymore. And I reiterate that Touma should just go ahead and show up on White Day in a tux, handing out gifts to all the girls.
I think its a pity that we get abogged down version now.I enjoyed the lenghty posts.Im not really interested in merely recaps of an episode and more interested in the writers view on the whole thing.Just my two cents
Kana isn’t stupid, in fact she might be the smartest Minami sister just by observing her machinations (witness the creation of Mako-chan, selection of the Banchou, teru teru bozu Chiaki, the pie incident, etc.), it’s just that she has absolutely no common sense at all, and is a bit of an attention whore. Also, like Caesar, she is every man’s woman and every woman’s man (or BOSSU).
Hiroko is probably like her sound-alike Hayami-sempai, she enjoys the setup and likes to watch the approaching lulz.
Also some episodes of Okaeri fail from sheer QUALITY.
aww, i liked the style of the last post. reminded me of the “how to win friends and influence people” style.
@kherubim – agreed, kana is not to be trifled with. i always thought of her as street smart, but not necessarily book smart, but it looks like i underestimated her
Riko’s fantasies were creepy and funny. I don’t mind seeing another one, but I don’t want her or her Fantasy-Fujioka to laugh. That’s just disturbing. I prefer Hosaka’s half-naked manliness and his less creepy laugh.
How was the bath? It was not what I imagined when Kana wanted to show her hospitality. Now we have a Lobster Girl.
There will be a day in which Makoto won’t be taken for granted. Until then, he shall enjoy his already dropped and prepackaged chocolates from Chiaki. He should have asked Haruka-neesama to give Mako-cakes some homemade chocolate lessons.
@ Haesslich
Truth be told, I look forward to your posts, Haesslich, because when I watch the episodes, I watch for the lulz. When I read your post, I can see there are incidents or themes I might have missed. With your sarcastic and analytical style, it gives a different tone, placing your mark on THAT.
@kherubim
I agree with your statement. Kana is like a hidden gem inside one big hard rock. After you crack that rock open and dust off the remnants, you’re left with something precious and valuable and boy, are Kana’s ideas priceless! ^^
I told to do what you like comrade…
Ah well Riko-sensei can tutor me any day. I think Mako-cakes can still make greater progress on the Haruka front. I think Chiaki is just putting Makoto in debt for White Day.
Kherubim: I think I’ve said as much elsewhere – the problem is figuring out if she really is a Light-class genius, or just an idiot who manages to be in the right place at the right time… especially since she fell for her own trap here, as she’s previously fallen into similarly obvious traps before (like eating Chiaki’s chocolate heart after stealing the bag of chocolate some minutes previously, and then eating the bowl of melted chocolate without expecting some sort of retaliation after). On the one hand, she can create a lot of chaos by being herself (and her creation of Mako-chan was sheer genius, in that it gave her a whole new set of minions like Uchida and Makoto along with Touma)… but on the other hand, her thought process seems so far out there that it’d take two years for light from our sun to reach wherever her mind is.
Or else she’s just an idiot whose gluttony and selfishness is so great that she lets nothing get in her way, which means if she has to do well on a test to be the center of attention, she WILL do so. Look at how she reacted when Fujioka was the life of the party during the pool episode.
soya: He’s already gotten the ultimate praise from Haruka – the perfect yamato nadeshiko has already claimed he’d be a very good wife… and we’ve seen his chocolate-making prowess in the past. Boy always talks himself into a corner, though…. and always shoots himself in the foot, like Kana, when it comes to situations. He really ought to have given Chiaki more attention than he did as Mako-chan, without going the sullen route.
Hasselich: Truly, Kana only suffers when her attention seeking gluttony exceeds her common sense. Chiaki has already touched upon these traits in her 10,000 word disseration.
Soyahoney: I found Riko’s imaginings hard to watch really, just lots of creepy laughing. And I generally enjoy imagine spots (such as in Kannagi, Wagaya-no-oinari-sama and even the Curry Fairy himself). Can’t imagine how a Hosaka-style shirtless scene could make it funnier (unless it involved whipping)
@Haesselich
Very true. We shall see if there ever will be a Makoto OVA. ^^
@Kherubim
I agree and I approve of whipping. ^^
soya: If there is, it’ll probably be part of Maria+holic or Otome wa Boku, since those are the two routes open to Mako-chan – ‘good’ versus ‘evil’. Mariya’s like a Mako-chan who got smarter, yet more twisted by Kana…