Lovely Complex 4: Seiko Time I

Summary
At the end of episode 3, Haruka declared his intentions to Risa and claimed that Risa liked Otani, though Risa has not admitted this to herself. Otani and Risa also made up over his refusing her “giri-choco”. Episode 4 “Kiss! I’ve fallen for you!” [1] starts two months later.

Otani & Risa. A typical teen drama scene drifting by at 5 cm/s.

Koizumi Risa and Otani head to the opening assembly for their second year beneath a shower of cherry blossoms. Otani is still lethargic from spring break. He yawns extravagantly, which touches off an All Hanshin-Kyojin exchange. A scream interrupts their comedic routine. The duo see a girly-girl being threatened by a scarred mongrel.

Damsel in distress? Inquiring otaku want to know.

Answer during the next episode.

Otani calms the cur with his presence. His bravery impresses the damsel. Koizumi comments that he’s hopeless with women, but is gets along with men. These words also affect the new girl for some reason. The damsel thanks him and asks for his name, but he tells her not to worry about it. By the end of his oh-so-cool response, the girl has fallen in love.

Risa and Otani press onward toward school. They find that All Hanshin-Kyojin are together again. Nakao x Nobu (N2) share their class, while Chiharu x Suzuki are paired in the class next door. Risa comments that it’s the same old comedy routine, but admits she may feel a little differently about Otani this year. Otani points out that Haruka has completed transferred.

Summoned by his name, Haruka appears out of the blue and as blue as blue can be. Otani leaves Risa to be cornered by her annoying friend. Nobu saves Risa, which is what girlfriends are for. [2] The girly-girl shows up at Maido High as the crew enter the gym for assembly. She gushes that her savior and love is her sempai.

Their homeroom teacher has returned as well. He immediately shoehorns the two into being the class reps. Risa and Otani protest at first, but Otani quickly throws in the towel. He considers it to be a continuation of their first year. Though Risa protested openly about being the giant of the comedy duo, she warms to the idea of being near Otani for another year.

Et tu, Nobu?

The class reps are ordered to help with the freshman introductory ceremony. Otani tries to sneak off to basketball practice. When Risa stops him, Nakao reveals that Otani is a starter. Risa is duly impressed, but still drags him along for menial labor.

The class reps are pressed into cleaning the gym. Nobu stops by to chat with Koizumi. They see the first years and reminisce about their introductory ceremony, when Nobu showed up in casual clothes. The past repeats as a teacher rounds on a first year for dressing casually; it’s the damsel in distress from before. Nobu identifies her as a fashion rival. Otani’s new fangirl quickly reveals herself to be an airhead, or a reasonable facsimile of one, and immediately pisses off the strict teacher further. Risa creates a distraction to save the freshman.

Got enough sugar and spice, honey?

The freshman thanks Risa and recalls the her from that morning. Risa is struck by the girly-girl's cuteness. Otani stops by before heading off to the BB team; he’s done his time. Risa notices the girly-girl going ga-ga over Otani. Koizumi’s a little surprised.

The encounter with the fashionable freshman femme leaves Nobu shaken. She drags Risa shopping on the next Sunday. [3] While Nobu delves through the outfits, Risa gets a wristband for Otani to congratulate him for becoming a starter. She pictures his smiling face when he receives the gift. Risa gives it to him during the next school day. He’s in disbelief, but happily accepts the present after some rough joking. Risa is bothered that his reaction is sharply at odds with her imaginary shojo moment.

Otani thru RisaVision ver. 2.0

After school, Risa complains that she wants to be more feminine to Nobu. Nobu observes that Risa sounds like a “maiden in love”. Girly-girl shows up, and Nobu’s fighting spirit begins to burn. Nobu befriends the freshman after the girly-girl gives a single complement for the veteran's bracelet.

Otani’s fangirl wants to talk about clubs, but Risa and Nobu are members of the go-home society. The talk turns to the BB team. Nakao is dressing in black [4] for a mystery demo. The fangirl’s cuteness both impresses and depresses Risa.

The next day, Risa and Nobu sneak out of self-study period to see the BB team’s demo for the freshman. [5] The club president claims that even a shorty, like Otani, can dunk after joining the club. Nakao in a black suit, but without a black background, hauls up Otani to the hoop. Nobu is mortified by Nakao's role in the lame stunt, while the freshmen are amused. Otani is bothered by being called a shorty, but does his best to drum up business for his team. Otani's fangirl is blown away by the faked dunk and removes all doubt that she’s a certified airhead.

Nakao’s Kage Ninja Techniques.

Risa lets Otani know that she wasn’t thrilled by the embarrassing display. Otani gets defensive. He explains that they were trying to get more tryouts, because most newbies drop out. Risa needles him about their “lameass” tactics, when the girly-girl shows up to stick up for her man. Risa reminds Otani who the girl is.

Otani thru Girly-girl Vision

The girl is a little disappointed that Otani doesn’t remember her, but glosses over it. She praises her man on his awesome slam dunk. Otani introduces himself, and the girly-girl reveals that her name is Kotobuki Seiko. He praises her as cute. Every word incite’s Seiko’s passions until she kisses Otani.

Seiko crossing the Revlon Rubicon

Seiko declares her love. Everyone is stunned by the development. The strange girl wants to be Otani's friend after kissing him. It gets worse for Risa as Otani, after giving Risa a sidelong glance, accepts Seiko’s friendship.

Risa reacts.

Commentary will follow after Episode 5.

Footnotes:

[1] KissSub fansub.

[2] I had a friend who made the mistake of going out for coffee with a guy from her gym. After “hi”, Mr. Gym proceded to lay out the first two of his five year economic plans. This took up about 14 mins 55 sec out of the opening fifteen minutes of the encounter. She text messaged her friend, who called with an “emergency”. Instant save.

[3] Monday to Friday are school days as are most Saturdays. They are in their street clothes, which means that it's probably a Sunday in the anime version.

[4] This is a reference to Kasou Taishou, which is a variety show. People perform skits with special effects created with people with black suits. Matrix ping-pong and the Pet Shop Boys’ Flamboyant video are famous examples of this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasou_Taishou

[5] Is Chiharu skipping too?