Genderbent: From Seiko Time to the Wandering Son

After watching Lovely Complex episodes 4 & 5, fellow otaki-in-arms causeiambetta was bothered by Otani's easy acceptance of Seiko's homosexual crush and cross dressing. I explained to him that cross dressing and gay relationships are accepted staples in shoujo manga. The rank 800 pound gorillas lurking in the background are shounen ai [1] and yaoi [2]. Lovely Complex is published in the shoujo anthology Best Margaret and can expect its audience to accept the conventions set in other shoujo publications, even if the story is not primarily shounen ai.

One only needs to look through the science fiction and fantasy section at a bookstore to see other examples of the unusual becoming convention. Dennis McKeirnan's LoTR clones and Dungeons and Dragons fiction followed in Tolkein's footsteps and made human-like elves and dwarves staples of swords and sorcery stories. Rice's "Interview with a Vampire" and Vampire: the Masquerade helped to push a shift from eternally damned monsters ("Dracula" and "Salem's Lot") to suavely sexy immortals.

A bit of digging unearthed an article by post-doc Mark McLelland from around 2000. [3] Most yaoi manga are fantasies made by women for women. At one gay film festival, about 8 out the 10 audience were women. The reasoning is simple, shounen ai create fewer female characters to clutter the eye candy.

The manga series "Hana Kimi" and "W Juliet" feature protagonists in drag. "Hana Kimi" features a girl infiltrating a girl's school, while "W Juliet" has a guy going the other way. Old school manga "Here is Greenwood" takes place at a boy's school and features shounen ai relations. Even the kiddy series Cardcaptor Sakura has BL elements between the heroine Sakura's older brother and his best friend. Her grade school rival Li also has a boy crush on Yukito.

The pretty boy potential for slash fics in "Fruits Baskets", "Prince of Tennis", and even Gundam Wing cannot be ignored. The last two aren't shoujo, but intentionally or incidentally drew some of the shoujo fanbase.

Shounen ai is a prevalent theme in girl's comics. It also appears in some non-girls comics as a nod to the fans. The accepted convention is that gayness is accepted or, if it is not, it should be. Since these are fantasies for non-homosexuals, the eye candy is played up, while the challenges of being in an often reviled minority are played down or all together ignored. McLelland wrote:

"An article in the American gay magazine The Advocate (February 4, 1997, p. 66) discusses the 'gay' relationship between Ranmaru and Enjoji portrayed in the Japanese animation Kizuna based on a manga by the female artist Kazuma Kodaka. The review is dismissive of the plot, stating that 'never once is their gayness questioned or explained'."

McLelland then tries to defend the omission of the gender identity issues.

"However, it should be remembered that YAOI is not written by or for gay men and should not be criticised for failing to represent their concerns accurately."

I disagree. Try this quick thought experiment. Substitute gay with blacks. Imagine if a sub-genre of gangster rap and hip-hop were entirely produced and made by non-blacks for a largely white suburban audience. Gangster rap IS largely consumed in the the white suburbs, and I think that's strange and crosses the line into soft exploitation. [4]

I also believe that it is possible for a non-gay to write a sincere story with homosexual themes. Otherwise, we could automatically dismiss the opera "Porgy and Bess" consign Tennessee William's "Streetcar Named Desire" to the rubbish bin. Nor does every story that features gays need to relentlessly hammer home the gender identity struggle. The strangeness lies in the pervasiveness of homosexual depictions with nary a gay reader in sight. [5]

The other factor that cannot be ignored is the Lowest Common Denominator or MTV factor. Metrosexual fashion, "Real Life" unreality, and shounen ai manga are inundating young minds with a usually neutral to positive image of homosexuals as opposed to vilification. The effects of these depictions should be evaluated for what they are worth. My stance is read it if you like, but recognize the fantasy for what it is.

Shuuichi getting his temperature taken by his mother in "Houro Musuko". The author brings the reader close enough to feel the characters' body warmth.

On the flip side of shoujo convention is "Houro Musuko" by Shimura Takako . [6] The story follows a 5th grade boy Shuuichi Nitori, who transfers to a new school. The quiet and feminine Nitori meets a tomboy name Takatsuki. Takatsuki wants to be a boy badly enough to dress up in her brother's castoff middle-school uniform and eventually gets Nitori to come out with her in her sister's old sailor uniform.

The pair ventures into town in drag. A comradery develops between Nitori and Takatsuki and the others who share their secret. The story goes far beyond dressing up and delves into their complex feelings and the condemnation of their classmates. The Kotonoha team is up to volume 3 chapter 20 and the ring of secrecy and safety around Nitori has been broken, driving a hard wedge between Nitori and his best friend. The pain and tears are palpable.

A less warm moment between Shuuichi and his sister Mahou. (right to left)

Shimura breaths life into her distinct cast. Nitori's sister Mahou has a fantastically defective personality. His friend Saori has the potential of becoming as crazy and charismatic as Kashiwa-sempai from "Welcome to NHK". The mangaka give the characters' families important roles. If there's one genderbent work that you read, make this it. [7]

[1] Shounen = boy, ai = love. Shounen ai is also called boy love or BL. This is the softer side of the genre. Yaoi is the harder stuff. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaoi#Yaoi_vs._BL

[2] forum writers for the Naruto fansite www.tokehgecko.com invented the term Yaoimaru as a dark presence that infects fanfiction.net and other websites. I thought the idea was hilarious until I heard read about Harry Potter slash fics in the Boston Globe.

[3] McLelland, Mark. "Why are Japanese Girls' Comics full of Boys Bonking?" http://web.archive.org/web/20050401090315/http://www.cult-media.com/issue1/CMRmcle.htm

[4] In the movie "The Office", there is a scene of geeks destroying a fax machine to hard core gangster rap. It's kind of like that.

[5] Blogger disclosure: I suppose that I might sound stridently pro-gay rights in this article. I'm actually not, frankly I believe that there are a lot more important issues to be dealt with in the political arena at this juncture. However, I want to clarify what I think about this genre.

[6] scanalated by Kotonoha, which fan translates some great stuff. Houro Musuko can be translated as Wandering Son. http://kotonoha.monkey-pirate.com/ongoing-series/hourou-musuko/

[7] As an aside, I think that Kano Yashuhiro's "Pretty Face" is second. It has a dumb-as-dirt premise with a dumber-than-dirt hero, but manages to pull off the mess with heart. This manga is better and funnier than it has any right to be.

Lovely Complex 5: Seiko Time II

Summary: Episode 5 “Send Forbidden Love Flying” [1] starts with a recap of Seiko pecking Otani on the cheek. Risa was left stunned.

Risa tries out the powers that she acquired from the Great Old Ones.

The next morning, we find Risa glumly accusing Otani of being ‘shameless’. They exchange taunts. Otani’s jibes land on the mark, and Risa is reduced to screeching nonsense at him. Seiko’s affection has also gone to Otani’s head. He declares that small men have joined small cameras, computers, and phones in the limelight. Well, he can always dream.

"Small is in!" he proclaims from a tall place.

Risa is irritated by Otani as she and Nobu head to the physical exams. Nobu points out that Seiko is the only girl that considers him cool rather than cutesy. Risa is surprised by Seiko’s boldness; that’s the first public kiss she’s seen.

Risa and Nobu meet Seiko in the hallway. Seiko continues to gush about Otani. The girl’s intensity weirds out Risa and Nobu. Seiko asks Risa to support her pursuit of Otani. Risa agrees, but has second thoughts afterwards.

The Seiko Horror Picture Show

During the physical, Nobu comments that Seiko is sex kitten, which is the opposite of Risa. Nobu also tells Risa to do her best. Risa colors and demands what she needs to do her best at. She snarls at Chiharu, when Chiharu calls her up for a measurement. [2] Risa quickly apologizes and steps on the scale to be measured. She disparages her height, especially when compared to the petite Seiko. Thus it is the absolute wrong time for her timid friend to report that the giantess has grown 2 cm.

Risa wants a redo, on her whole skeletal structure.

Otani has grown 2 mm and gets pissed. He bolsters his ego by referring to Seiko’s declaration to him. N2 calls him a little pervert as Seiko shows up to meet her man. He happily meets Seiko at the door. Nobu warns Risa that Seiko will end up with Otani if Risa doesn’t act. The Kyojin stubbornly refuses to admit her feelings for the Hanshin.

The meeting leaves Otani insufferably smug. Koizumi trips him, which triggers another All Hanshin-Kyojin dispute. During the argument, Risa notices that Otani is wearing her gift. Her mood brightens when she finds that he likes the wristband. He wears it during practice.

Seiko unexpectedly joins Risa and Nobu in watching the BB practice. Seiko calls out encouragement, which distracts Otani. Risa warns him about the incoming ball. Otani stubs his finger. Seiko freaks and drags Otani to the nurse’s office. Risa is perturbed when Seiko slithers her arms around Otani’s arm. Nobu narrates of seduction in the infirmary. Risa tells her to knock it off as one of the team members approaches Nakao with information about Seiko.

Nobu’s does a good Seiko impression.

In the infirmary, Seiko is acting out Nobu’s perverted fantasies. However, there is an unexpected twist. Nakao’s teammate reveals that Seiko is actually named Seishiro. The damsel in distress was actually a tranny in trouble; Seiko is a guy. Risa busts into the infirmary to find Seishiro half-naked and Otani aghast. Otani fails his constitution check and faints.

Otani is a self-proclaimed sinful man.

The next day, Otani tries to put the incident out of his mind, while his friends try to contain their laughter. When Otani demands to know what’s so funny, and they can't hold it anymore. Risa indulges in schadenfreude in response to Otani’s earlier arrogance, but the prevailing feeling is relief. The feeling surprises her.

Nobu and Risa meet Seiko on their way to watch BB practice. Seiko declares that she must have been simply born into the wrong body. Seiko apologizes to Risa for insensitively asking the second year to support her relationship. The freshman astutely reasons that Risa must like Otani as well, since she gave Otani the nice wristband.

Otani just might be avoiding Seiko.

Risa once again denies it. She argues that it would be strange for a giantess and a midget to go out. Seiko counters that her feelings for Otani would even be stranger.

Seiko fears that Otani might find her disgusting and might be avoiding her. Risa assures the freshman that Otani is a little confused. Seiko is relieved and declares that they are rivals for Otani. Seiko hasn’t given up, not by a long shot. Risa protests the rival label, but to no avail.

Magical Pretty Soldier Seiko-chan declares war on her nemesis: the Kyojin.

Later on, Risa is down and slouching. Nobu points out that she might be hung up on the 2 cm, because she like a shorter guy. Risa’s traitorous eyes immediately turn toward Otani. Seiko bursts into to the room to glomp onto Otani. She is dressed as a cheer leader. Otani is in disbelief over the girl part. Seiko doesn’t catch onto his sarcastic tone.

Risa observes the exchange. Before she found out that Seiko was guy, she admired Seiko’s petite attractiveness and boldness. Even after finding out that Seiko is a guy, Risa still admires Seiko’s unrelenting spirit. Risa quietly berates herself for hiding her own feeling for Otani, because of her height. In the face of the divide that Seiko is trying to cross, Risa’s 16 centimeters is a small distance to cross.

Inspired by Seiko’s outfit, Nobu convinces Risa to join the cheer squad for the Sports Festival. The pair approach Seiko about the squad. In the course of the conversation, Nobu asks Seiko “Say, why do you like Otani? Wouldn’t you prefer someone stronger and more manly?” Seiko replies that Otani is plenty manly and adds that the difficulties he’s faced over his height might make him more sympathetic toward her own struggle with gender identity.

Though the leading question was ostensibly aimed at Seiko, Nobu’s eyes look straight at Risa. Risa admits that Otani is kind. Seiko agrees and glomps onto Otani. His three basketball fan girls are present.

In the next scene, Risa finds that the three basketball followers have cornered Seiko and are grilling her. They state that Otani and Seiko could not possibly being going out. While this is true, the tone and proximity make the words cruel. The words echo the comment they made about Risa. Risa confronts the three on Seiko’s behalf and the three girls retreat.

Hunter & quarry.

Seiko tries to ignore the painful words, but is cut to the quick. Just as she is sinking into despair, Otani comes to rescue her with kind words. He does state that, though, that he won’t become Seiko’s boyfriend anytime soon.

The Sports festival arrives and Otani finds out that the guys are wearing the mini-skirts, while the girls are dressed in gakurens. He runs to avoid dressing in drags. Risa hunts him down and carries him back to gym to fulfill his duty in the cheer squad. More importantly, she decides that she going to let herself be embarrassed about being next to a shorter guy. After many denials, Risa admits that she likes Otani.

Let Lovely Komplex Begin!

Commentary: Lovely Complex continues to solid characters and laughs. Nobu looked like another pretty sidekick in the manga, but her voice actress plays her like a hardened veteran of many campaigns of the heart. Her kindness and offbeat sense of humor, that makes her compatible with Risa, are well developed. Her ability to sink an octave with Risa, then switch it back up around the guys also plays off of Risa well.

The seiyuu and the character designer have made me into a Nobu fan.

The emotive Nobu.

Episodes 4 & 5 introduced Seiko in a dramatic fashion. Like Haruka and Kanzaki, Seiko looks like a rival at first blush. However, the story introduces Seiko to further stoke the fire under Risa's tush. Risa may be half of Hanshin-Kyojin, but the internal thought are Risa's and the perspective is also Risa's.

Kanzaki made Risa think of life without Otani and how much he meant to hear. Koizumi also rejects the tall and handsome Haruka, because height is a hangup, but isn't the main motivator for her affections. Finally Seiko's struggles inspire Risa and remind her of how kind Otani is.

The author used the three almost rivals well to the run up to the first main event; Koizumi's romance with Otani.

[1] KissSub

[2] This is Chiharu’s fate, to quail at Risa’s fierce and bizarre turns of mood. It must have been some strange stroke of fate that this shy girl fell into the clutches of these weirdos.

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?

Scales of Law and Chaos or Why I blog.

One of my favorite computer games is Dominions. You take command of a powerful supernatural ruler fight other Pretender Gods to become master of the world. In the first edition , the player picked between 14 nations and customize his pretender's

• Physical form
• Magical power
• Dominion.

A pretender's dominion was his sphere of influence and what his sphere of influence looks like. Most Pretenders to Ermor would spread death, magic, and cold as their undead legion conquered countries. I played Ulm with a pretender that spread the opposite, life, order, and stability.

Ulm sat directly north of Ermor on my favorite battlefield map and it often came down to my thin black line of pikemen backed by a dozen clerics and mages facing down massed undead and necromancers.

The battle was not just about troops and spells, the dominion raised or lowered your troops' morale. Fortresses needed to be built or magic items made to supply troops in regions tilted toward the death scale. Cold and heat affected fatigue. Simply put, the pretenders fought to reshape the world.

When I stepped back from the game, I had a crude, but simple and quick stat to describe the world. My friends and I would joke about a 5th level player or a computer programmer level 3 or a drum 'n bass dancer level 9, but it made sense to us. I look at dynamic and divergent America and see a scale leaning 1 out of 3 toward Chaos, but also leaning toward life, productivity, and creativity. Japan is 3 on the order scale and high on productivity, but lower on creativity [1].

In the current Japan or '60s America, rebellion was obvious and easy. Dress differently and read differently than the mainstream. What happens when the body of water you paddling in becomes a lake? There is no guiding flow. The suburbanite life script has been spliced with a hodge podge of Eastern philosophy, a mega-dose of individualism, and seasonings of the bohemian.

Think you're tough because you have a tattoo? So does the cashier at Starbucks. Piercings? Pagoda anyone? Goth, emo, punk, grunge, go to Spencers. Once society at large moves towards the chaotic end of the scale and the strictures on behavior are removed, moving against the gentle flow of the mainstream is an aimless motion. In fact, the larger problem becomes drift. A purpose driven life becomes more attractive.

To have drive, discipline becomes necessary and self discipline becomes a necessary components to freeing oneself from the malaise of drift. Discipline can lead to freedom, that is why I blog.

[1] This may seem like a contradiction to an anime fan, but there are many reasons that are tied to why one likes anime. There are the Asian aspect and 20 years of untapped archives that I talked about in the Tao of the Otaku. All of those years of animation and drawing experience has created an unrivaled industry in both fields. However, Japan also publishes its defense white papers [2] in manga format and has a shouta mascot for their armed forces; that is, their other fields of creativity suffer.

Talent is being funneled into manga and anime that would go into prose, acting, and other fields in America and other countries. South Korea's movie making industry is growing as are their attempts at sequential art and animation. I believe that American and other Far East Asian industries will mature and rival the Japanese.

[2] The white papers discuss the official Japanese military's stance on territorial and other issues and the character of their response. Most modern countries publish one. This is one way how the People's Republic of China (former commie bandits, now ruthless capitalists) and the USA communicate their stances on the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Lovely Complex 3

Haruka who?

Synopsis

The start of episode 3 “A Guy you Like, or A guy from the Past?” [1] backtracks to Otani and Risa gushing about the Umibozu concert. Risa is ambushed by a passerby. After the initial shock passes, the fashionable teen introduces himself as Fukugawa Haruka, who was a childhood friend. Risa's memory unzips the data as shown on the progress bar at the lower right of the screen.

Risa OS Loading....

Haruka moved overseas as a kid. As she enthusiastically greets Haruka, Otani gets morose and leaves. Risa wants to stop him, but vacillates as Haruka continues chatting. Haruka ignores Otani's presence.

Otani Blues

Though Xmas ended on a down note for Risa and Otani, they don't seem phased by it when they meet with their friends for a New Years shrine visit. Otani asks if Risa has grown taller. She isn't thrilled by the jibe, but they fall into pace after the couples pair off. Risa asks Otani about his non-existant progress with Kanzuki. Otani responds by asking about Haruka. Risa replies that Haruka is just a childhood friend. She wants know if he cares. Otani responds that she started the thread by bugging him about his ex.

Risa chants. "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn."

Risa prays to the Great Old Ones for a boyfriend, and spies Kanzaki perusing shrine amulets. She pushes the unsuspecting Hanshin at his ex. He runs the last few steps to greet Kanzaki. His ex mistakens Risa as his girlfriend. They explode into a storm of NOs.

Risa declares that she will support Kanzaki getting back together with Otani. Despite the comedy team's half-assed assumptions and full contact argument, Kanzaki manages to spit out what she wanted to say to Otani: that she didn't choose Baba the Giant for his height. Koizumi is mortally embarrassed.

Risa begs Otani for forgiveness, but Otani waves off her apology. He thanks her for helping him hear Kanzaki's message. More about this in the commentary.

Kanzaki confesses, but to what?

A month or so later, Valentine’s day rears its ugly head. Nobu and Chiharu are planning chocolates, when Risa shows her ugly-face. Not that she is inherently ugly, but that girl's face has muscles that Jim Carey would envy. Nobu tells Risa that she should make apology chocos for Otani, because she made an embarrassing mistake over Kanzaki. Otani saunters into class listening to a vintage Umibozu album. He and Risa go to Umibozu-land and the peanut gallery comments on what a fine couple they would make.

As they head home, Nobu tries to draw Risa into their group bake again. Otani jibes that no one would want chocolates from an amazon like her. Risa unexpectedly takes his comment to heart and bugs out. Otani offers to take her chocolate. Koizumi doesn't want his pity. Otani responds that he just likes sweets. The mood lightens a bit as Otani puts in a request for chocolate cake.

Don't pity the Deep One

A little while later, Koizumi is watching Otani’s practice. His fangirls ask Risa if they are an item. Risa denies it. The three girls cruelly agree that Otani would never date such an amazon. Risa concludes that Otani will probably get sweets from the fangirl trio and won't need hers. Nobu is split between sadness and exasperation, when Haruka springs a surprise attack on Koizumi. Otani is distracted by the sight of Koizumi getting glomped again and in pummeled by a stray pass.

Haruka-shojo-secret-bishonen-koi-attack-O!

The next day, Otani asks about Koizumi again about her relationship with Haruka. Koizumi describes Haruka as a crybaby, and wonders why Otani is asking. Otani again denies any real interest about her background. Otani invites her along to look for Umibozu CDs. Nobu interrupts them with a chocolate cake recipe. Otani quips that he should prepare stomach medicine, and Koizumi denies that she'll bake a cake for him.

Things seem to be going well between Hanshin and Kyojin, until Haruka springs another ambush. Otani is finally introduced to Haruka. Haruka declare that Risa is a beauty, which she laps up this praise. Otani is called a midget, and Nakao holds him back. Haruka proceeds to declare that Risa is his personal hero. Risa & Co. are dumbfounded. Haruka drags off Risa in the ensuing confusion. Otani belatedly protests.

Haruka vs Otani Round 1

Otani is still smarting about Haruka’s comments the next day, when the model-esque Haruka shows up to school with Risa’s lunch and a fresh barrage of low blows at Otani. Risa drags off Haruka, who isn’t even a student yet, to prevent bloodshed.

Their classmates comment that Risa’s attractiveness comes out next to Haruka, while Otani merely makes her look like a sideshow attraction. He takes umbrage that they would reinforce Haruka’s opinion and snaps at Risa when she gets back, which is a nasty surprise for Koizumi.

Haruka vs Otani Round 2
"Your words scratch the back of my eyeballs."

Risa carries her ill feeling to the girls’ group bake. The girls interrogate her about Haruka. Risa responds that isn’t thrilled about being considered a “hero”. Risa finishes the cake with mixed feelings.

Sugar, spice, and human sacrifice.

Another quick cut brings Risa to Valentine’s day. She presents Otani with a cake. He adopts a bratty attitude and refuses it. Their argument draws a crowd. First, they deny to the rubberneckers that it’s chocolate. When that ploy fails, Otani claims that the chocolate is for Haruka. Risa agrees out of exasperation and stalks away with the cake. Otani glares at her back and then turns away. Unlike their usual tussles, this leaves an ill feeling in the air.

After school, a dejected Risa meets Haruka on the way home. Haruka declares that he will treasure the cake like all the other Valentines chocolates that he received from Risa in the past. His strange hero worship irritates her, but she asks Haruka to keep her company. She's still blue over Otani’s refusal.

Hot Osaka Nights.

They hang at the arcade until nightfall. Haruka calls Koizumi “cool”, which she denies. Risa counters that she’s just All Hanshin-Kyojin, which her admirer blames on Otani. Haruka sadly concludes that Koizumi likes Otani, which she still denies. The outing ends with Haruka telling Risa that he likes her.

Otani apologizes to Risa the next day. Risa accepts and tells him that the chocolate wasn’t a romantic one (intended for friends or co-workers: giri-choco). We are left with the image of Haruka being crushed by the discovery of the choco-giri.

Finish Him!

Commentary

By the end of episode 2, Koizumi's feelings toward Otani edge toward romance. Otani's fits of jealously are small, but are present. The shojo romance trajectories seem to be set. However, if Haruka's presence is any indicator, it promises to be a bumpy ride. Since I read the manga and seen the future episodes it is one.

Haruka's presence is interesting for a romance story. He puts himself forth as a contender for Risa, but he is not truly a rival. Otani isn't romantically inclined toward Koizumi (yet). Haruka's modelesque and rude presence adds to the height hurdle. This hurdle looms large to Koizumi mind.

Another interesting point is Koizumi's insecurity. She feels insecure about the cake and about what the girls think about her and Otani. Risa reflexively denies Haruka's admiration, and it doesn't seem like false modesty. Lovely Complex continues to build one of the best rounded set of characters since M. I. or Adachi's Katsu!

Nobu's role improves in the anime. In the manga, I got the sense that she didn't exist unless Risa needed her or for an anti-Otani gag. While the anime plays her small motions up, and she comes across as a caring friend, but also one with her own needs (for Nakao) and preferences.

As for the Kanzaki scene, the manga built up this scene more. Otani's misgivings about hearing Kanzaki out are more pronounced and his thanks to Koizumi and her mortal embarrassment are fleshed out more in the manga.

Episode 1 covered about two months through the summer to the next semester. Episode 2 skipped fall to get to the romantic winter holidays and covered about 4 months. Ep 3 went from Xmas to Valentine's day, a jump of 1.5 months. The anime chugs along at its own consistent momentum and continues the set-up that was begun in the previous episodes. Fortunately, it does so with the continuing wit and quality.

[1] KissSub fansub version.

Haruhi Prediction Volume 9-10

As of today, the baka-tsuki site has translated Volume 9 prologue, 5% chapter 1, 50% chapter 2, and 17% chapter 3. So far, Kyon has met his middle school friend Sasaki, Kyoko the psuedo-esper, Fujiwara the time traveler, and Kuyoh the Canopy Domain alien. The opposition brigade only lacks a mundane like Kyon.

At the halfway point of chapter, Kyoko drops the bomb. She declares Sasaki as the real God, not Haruhi. Both causeiambetta and I discussed this and we both believe that Haruhi has set up not only the opposition, but Sasaki's abilities as well. During first volume, Kyon listed every faction that has shown up:

• Aliens
• Time Travelers
• Psychics
• A secret organization and it's enemy

The only groups that haven't appeared are the dimensional sliders and unidentified animals.

We believe that Haruhi created a rival to herself in every way, including in the paranormal. She may be seeking a rival as a ready reason for why Kyon hasn't fallen for her. I do not believe that Haruhi created Sasaki, rather Haruhi's subconscious dredged Sasaki out of Kyon's past and augmented her.

Where causeiambetta and I diverge is the extent to which Haruhi understands what's going on. I believe that she does not have an inkling of her power and this is powered by adolescent thoughts and understandings about relationships.

causeiambetta's chain of logic is more complex:
1. Haruhi has an idea of her own ability
2. Her subconscious wants a tiebreaker to see if Kyon sticks with her because of her abilities or for her
3. Hence the power-up of Sasaki.

Update via Windows Messenger at 9:45 PM Friday:

causeiambetta:
for my reasons, can you add that haruhi is testing kyon if he would stay with her for her abilities or for her being able to destroy the world?... reality is that only haruhi can, sasuki is a fake but the test is that she's as real of a threat...

the opposition was never meant to have a 'mundane', its kyon who in the entire series, that we both theorize, as the only 'mundane.' This ofcourse makes him more special than everyone else...
can you explain your side more?

Margaret Man:
A rival is an easy answer for an immature girl: "he doesn't like me, because he likes someone else."

As the chapters unfold, we shall see who is right and wrong.