Kappa Ball - Eva Link

Momoe from Oofuri Anime Eps. 6

As a follow up to the Kappa Balls post. The coach Momoe looks to be casted from the same mold as Misato-san.

Oofuri anime & Shion no Ou - impressions

The Oofuri anime [1] is close to the manga, but is nicely
paced and the animation is well done. There are bits
'n pieces that are nice additions like the Mihoshi
Academy boys paying homage to the Nishiura younger
manager. It does well in retaining the alternatingly
goofy and dramatic scenes of the manga. Like when Abe
went looking for Mihashi right before the practice
game, there was just enough super-deformed and tension
breaking lines to make that scene work.

The Shion manga [2] was well drawn and I liked the overall
feel. The anime [3] kept close to the original, but I felt like the
director sleep walked through the adaptation except
when he transformed Shion into a lollicon. The
manga had a clean presentation that was lost in the
animation, especially when it came to the color
palette. Shion herself was made more scruffy with her
hair and her unbuttoned navel button. Where the manga
had a more cool and eerie air to her character design,
these subtleties were entirely lost on the animator
who gave her reddish, doughy cheeks a la Kamichu. Ugh.

Shion manga, I give a read rating. To the Shion anime,
I would say skip except when bored.


[1] fansubbed by Entropy & Saizen (watched up to eps 4)
[2] "Shion no Ou" scanlated by Hanashi (Vol 1 & Vol 2 ch 7-9) and Xiphias (Vol 2 ch 10-11).
[3] "Shion no Ou" anime episode 1 fansubbed by Live Evil, who did a good job, but I just didn't like the source material.

Recommended Scanlations: Kappa Ball & an Inverted Aunt

Today, I have two recommendations from manga scanlations. The first is Higuchi Asa's "Ookiku Furikibatte" [1] or Oofuri. It's been made into an anime series already. The quickest description would be: what if Ikari Shinji played baseball? The main character's actual name is Mihashi Ren.

Ren loves baseball. He is caught looking in on the baseball team during practice and is dragged into the team meeting by the manager Momoe. Once Momoe learned that he was a pitcher in Jr. High, she tries to make him the ace. Strangely enough, he refuses. Ren confesses that his teammates hated him in middle school, because he was put into the position by his grandfather who owns Mihoshi Academy. They also lost every game with him at the helm.

The catcher tests Ren and finds out that he lacks power, but has incredible accuracy. The first roadblock to Koshien is Ren's insecurity stemming from his previous team's ostracizing him.

Ren (bottom) in action confronting his old junior high team.

Hisaguchi is effectively at creating and growing her characters, which takes Oofuri beyond just-another-baseball-manga. It's a human journey with lots of weird and quirky travelers. The artwork is effective, the action is well paced, and the writing is skillful, making Oofuri a standout work.

Ren in Kappa-deformed mode

The second recommendation is Unita Yumi's "Usagi Drop", which was scanlated by the relatively new group J-sis. J-sis, Josei Shoujo Independent Scans, specializes in older shoujo and josei, which is a welcome change of pace from the dominance of shoujo and shounen.

The story starts with 30 year old Daikichi who is attending his grandfather's funeral service. At the memorial, he runs into a quiet girl named Rin. He is shocked to find out that Rin is his grandpa's illegitimate and unwelcome daughter. Little Rin is actually his aunt.

After the memorial, all of his relatives want to pass off Rin and even talk sending her to government services. At that point, Daikichi becomes disgusted and rashly offers to take her in.

On the surface, "Usagi Drop" is reminiscent of "Baby and Me" [2], "Aishiteruze Baby" [3], or obliquely of "Asatte no Houkou" [4]. However, the snarky Daikichi and silent Rin gives it a very different atmosphere from these other works. Unita manages to connect the characters through the deceased grandfather with feeling, without resorting to sentimentality. The quiet main characters are also well served by Unita's clean dark lines.

Daikichi & Rin share a quiet moment.

Another well placed element is Reina. The other adults favor her energy. She also repeats and reflects the opinions of the adults, which are conventional and spiteful. Both of these aspects annoy Daikichi.

Daikichi spending a less quiet time with his niece Reina.

So far Daikichi comes across as a stand-up guy, who isn't popular because of his honesty. He is a sympathetic and realistic. "Usagi Drop" has a lot of potential, much of which depends on what Daikichi decides to do next.

The character designs are also fresh and well drawn. We can hope that more character driven works like Oofuri and "Usagi Drop" get brought over in the near future.

[1] Volume 1, most of 2, and parts of 3 scanlated by Entropy. The end of Vol 2 to 6 scanlated by Raep Time as of this entry.
[2] "Baby and Me" features a boy that takes care of his little brother in the absence of a mother. Featured in Shoujo Beat by Viz.
[3] "Aishiteruze Baby" has idiot, bishounen Kippei become a surrogate parent for his adorable cousin Yuzuyu. This one has a lot of heart. The anime is more focused than the manga. I count the lead female's unusual voice acting as a plus. The manga is available in the US an a takubon under the Shoujo Beat imprint.
[4] "Asatte no Houkou" starts with a man taking care of a young relation Karada. Karada makes a wish with her guardian's ex-lover and manages to switch ages with her. Things become awkward in a hurry.

English Adaptation/Proofing

I just finished proofreading my 2nd assignment for Ivy Scans. From what I've seen, scanlations are usually broken up into 4 roles: scan, translate, edit/typeset & proof/QC. Scanning is the transfer from paper to digital copy.

Translation is usually from Japanese or Chinese to English. The first one that I worked on Desert Storm Story 3 passed from Japanese to Chinese to English. The second "Hana Saita" is directly from Japanese to English.

Editing seems to focus on visually cleaning up the scan. I've seen the raw scans and realize how much work goes into a cleaned up version that you see on their website. Typesetting transfers the translation onto the digital image. In a one-otaku show like Janimes, one font fits all. The Ivy Scan team has its own standards, I was impressed when I first saw it. They're more organized than my workplace when it comes to presentation.

What is called proofreading by scanlators is known as English adaptation to professional translators. In theory, the translator should be able to skip this step. In reality, there are precipitous gaps between languages and a wide gulf between readable English and enjoyable English. An example of a gap between East Asian languages and English is the "identifier". I'm not a linguist, so my explanation may be off, but in Japanese and Chinese there are words that specify a round object or a machine or tool.

For example, we say "three sheets of paper". Sheets identifies the paper as a flat, thin object. The difference is that objects take on identifiers the majority of the time, also there are a bunch of identifiers. We don't say "six machines cars" or "three round-objects balls". A common Chinese joke is the kid that mixes up the identifier and object. Now imagine trying to translate that. In construction, we often say "it is what it is" when it comes to prices. The same tautology gives a reality check in languages.

As for the gulf between muddling through a story and liking it, I will paraphrase a business writing teacher and say "we work hard so the reader doesn't have to".

Quality control is the final check of the cleaned up and text set scan, ready for public consumption.

Anyway, I've always thought that Ivy Scans produced high quality scanlations, so I'm happy to be contributing and hope that I can keep up.

03/22/08 Addendum: Innocent Dragon Chapter 1a is out, it's the first work that I contributed to. I was excited.

Fancy Lala: Bits and Pieces

In the shadow of Cardcaptor Sakura lies a maho-shoujo series called "Fancy Lala" [1]. Unless you've had a strong dose of shoujo in the past, I recommend staying away from this series. Otherwise, please read on.

The TV series opens in the neolithic era where a young girl meets a strange middle aged man and then escapes an attack from a pair of towering saurian monsters. The attack becomes dream for a dreamy third grader named Shinohara Miho. She draws manga and dreams of fame. In an early scene, Miho buys screen tone, which is cut out and glued to a drawing as shading. The young protagonist also bears an uncanny resemblance to Fukuzawa Yumi from "Maria-sama ga Miteru" or Mihama Chiyo from "Azumanga Daioh".

Miho & Lala

Miho meets the strange man from the neolithic era again and receives a pair of plush toys as a gift. Once home the plushies come to life and give the girl a magical board that can create clothes for her and transform her into her older alter ego Fancy Lala. Lala is discovered in a fashionable sector of Tokyo by a talent agency and begins her adventures in the world of show business.

My first, second, and third reason for watching this series were (ranked in order of importance)

1. TAKADA AKEMI
Lala again

2. TAKADA AKEMI
Ayukawa Madoka from "Kimagure Orange Road"

3. TAKADA AKEMI
Painting called Moon on her Pierrot website

Her character designs captured a following during the eighties with "KOR" and "Maison Ikkoku". Her depictions of women are often beautiful, sometimes sensual [2], but always evocative. In "Patlabor", her designs brought the misfits of the SVII to life.

As for the series itself, the first episodes are spent setting up the series. While they look quite good, the plot and dialogue do not stand out. The end is open and leaves the audience with a sense of loss. The middle episodes have some gold nuggets.

During a publicity shoot, Lala's gay make-up artist [3] tells her that adolescents on the cusp of growing-up can become sensitive to what they loose by leaving childhood behind. A later episode explores this idea when she remembers a teddy bear that she discarded as a child. These scenes are directed at the adults and contrasts Miho the child and Lala the grown-up. They remind me of the theme of growing-up in Pokemon, when Ash let Pikachu choose whether he wants to evolve to his next stage or not. There are other instances when Ash bucks the conventional wisdom other trainers and let his Pokemon grows-up the way that they wanted, which is a metaphor for children growing-up. In both series, the moments were sparse, but welcome.

The clock episode, the student teacher, and some of the other episodes display noteworthy animation with creative camera angles and direction. However, the overall series does not rise much beyond have good scenes and episodes to appeal to a larger audience. If you want to see old school character designs and animation, this is a good one to check out. Give this one a pass otherwise.

As a side note, the Italian opening [4] is ridiculously good.

[1] summary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fancy_Lala
[2] As opposed to the loli trends that are in demand these days.
[3] I am not making Komi-san up.
[4] The Italian versions are sung by Christina Avena.

Ashita no Ou-sama (Tomorrow's King)

The fan group Wingtip Cafe recently translated Yachi Emiko's "Ashita no Ou-sama". This work dates from 1996 [1] and follows a Japanese Literature student Sasaya Yuu. Yuu is a country bumpkin and stands out from her modish classmates. The story starts out when Yuu sees a live theater production for the first time, which ignites her passion for drama.

The art work is distinct from most of the character designs put out today, but doesn't feel dated. The author also has a great eye for detail. Yuu wears neat and conservative clothes. She also uses the postal system [2] instead of credit cards. I've read up to volume 1 chapter 3, which is all that's out, and this is a well paced and well drawn series with an appealing main character.

My older brother made some observation, which I am fleshing out.

1. There parallels between Yuu and Kitajima Maya from "Glass Mask" [3]. Yuu is a hick [4] and Maya starts out as dirt poor. Her mother is a helper at a noodle shop in the Yokohama Chinatown. During the early part of "Glass Mask", they board in the upper level of the noodle shop. Both young woman are strangers in a strange land in modern Tokyo.

Maya's passion for drama ignited when she saw a professional production of "La Traviata". Yuu similarly started by going to the theater. Yuu also shows an uncanny talent for drama, though she is more of a theoretician to Maya's acting talent. With their passion ignited both women also take the next step toward acting: joining a troupe. Both naive women stumble, uninvited and derided, at the doorstep of major troupes.

The structures of the stories sharply diverge as Yuu helps out at a small amateur troop. It seems to be more modest than Maya's frontal assault on the national stage in "Glass Mask".

They also come into the acting world cold and attempt to apply to experience acting troops that are way out of their league. Where Maya is discovered by the mysterious Tsukikage, Yuu starts out modestly in a small acting troupe.

The parallels are noticeable, but do not detract from the story. As an outsider, it is actually refreshing tag along with a fellow outsider into Tokyo college life.

2. "Ashita no Ou-sama" is also a throwback to mangas when shoujo heroines strove for a non-romantic goal like contemporary shounen heroes. More shoujo stories seem like Lovely Complex, where Risa pursues Otani and gives little thought to her own future. In "Glass Mask" and "Swan" [5], the passionate protagonists pursue their life dreams.

Compare this to "Fushigi Yuugi" (FY) and "Marmalade Boy" (MB), where the boy pursuit takes up most of the story. In Saboten no Himitsu", the main character changes her entire appearance to attract a boy and the pursuit takes up most of the story.

This theme of pursuing a goal (versus a guy) also marks the NHK anime series "Princess Nine" (baseball) and "Twin Spica" (astronaut). The trials usually leads to a stronger and distinct female lead than say Miaka (FY) or Miki (MB) and is a refreshing change of pace. My brother has a harsher opinion of the contrast.


I almost skipped this manga, because of the strong parallels to "Glass Mask". The similarities don't detract from "Ashita no Ou-sama", which stands well on its own two feet. I look forward to reading more of this quality work.

= = = =

[1] http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=11368

[2] Before the reforms being rolled out by the Diet in 2007, the Japanese postal system also stored and transferred money like Western Union and private banks in America. This will be broken into several companies, including what will become one of the largest banks in the world.

[3] Miuchi Suzue's classic manga that started in the '70s about girl who gave up everything to be an actress. http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=260

[4] Since Yuu is so out of touch with fashion, she is probably from inland Tohaku (think Kikuchi Yume from Someday's Dreamers). Shikoku is another area with a hick reputation, but is associated with fishers and the sea, which do not appear in Yuu's background.

[5] Ariyoshi Kyoko's manga about an aspiring ballet dancer. This also from the 70s. It is released by CMX. http://www.dccomics.com/cmx/?action=on_sale&i=2419

With the Light - "Hikari to Tomoni"

Impressions from the first few pages.

What would the genre be called? Josei is for young woman, but is there an ouk-san [1] category? Tobe Keiko's "With the Light" initially feels like Lifetime in still life. The artwork is clean. The initial set up is familiar; a cute woman pursues a handsome guy, beats out rivals, and gets her man. He's successful, they live in a spacious apartment, and she has some fellow young mothers in the neighborhood. That's just the summary of the first few pages, but in the afterglow of josei romance, the husband behaves coolly towards our protagonist Azuma Sachiko and sides with his mother.

Part of the Lifetime feeling comes from the introductio, which focuses on her as opposed to meeting the Azumas all at once. The blurp says as much, which focuses on the young mother who raises a child with autism. Then again, having the Japanese husband mixing up with the family would have lost most of the audience.

[1] a way of addressing a married woman

Heptagon: A Life Relived

A quick recommendation of a scanlation. The scanlator group Dragon Voice brought over the first three chapters of Hijiri Chiaki's "Heptagon" [1]. It's about a 24 year old girl named Nana who takes a hit to the head and wakes up in her 14 year old self. The older Nana drifts by in life, writing checks from M&D Bank [2] for a living. By contrast, her middle school self is insecure and immature, but also full of energy.

I've heard this question posed several times: "If you could go back to you teenage years, would you?" Most people answer that they would take back their youth if they could bring their knowledge and wisdom. Though Nana is not a particularly wise character, she takes her baggage with her on this trip through time. Hijiri creates a medley of complex relationships, and I'm looking forward to her answer to the musing on a life relived.

Update:
I read the ending for the second time. The first time was minus a few too many hours sleep and didn't make that strong of an impression on me. It seemed to convenient. It's kind of like Borges-lite. He had written a story about a man who had two pasts. In one, the man was a coward who ran from the battlefield. In the other, he had fought bravely.

Absolving Nana of her past regrets seemed a little overdone. A more nuanced and longer ending would have worked better. 7 chapters would have been perfect to close this Heptagon.

[1] Published by Margaret Comics.
[2] Mommy & Daddy Bank.

The Identity of Kiel Lorenz

There is no proof that the character Kiel Lorenz from Gainax's "Neon Genesis Evangelion" is based on any figure from myth or history. However, there is a good chance that the Gainax crew ran across the name Rabbi Joseph della Reina during their research of the sephiroth (tree of life), Lilith, elemental angels (as opposed to guardian angels), and Kabbalism in general.

In the myths, della Reina is a powerful mystic who uses Kabbalistim with good intentions, but fails. One version tells of della Reina trying to trap Samael (Satan) and Lilith to bring for the Messiah. Though mighty in magic, the demons trick him into breaking his asceticism (which in needed to harness the spiritual energy for the ritual) or interrupting the ritual. The demons then corrupt the Kabbalist and make him their minion. Another version has della Reina attempting to create a superbeing. [1] This superbeing is reminiscent of the joining of minds, the oneness that is the human complement project. There seems to be a general consensus that this oneness is drawn from a Buddhist tradition, but this does not preclude influences from della Reina's legend.

Joseph della Reina's stories warn against hubris. Modern Kabbalist Rabbi Chaim vital from Kabbala Online writes this warning:

"This is the significance of the Practical Kabbalah. It is forbidden to make use of it, since evil necessarily attaches itself to the good. One may actually intend to cleanse his soul, but as a result of the evil, he actually defiles it... Learn a lesson from Joseph Della Reina and Rabbi Shlomo Molcho, who made use of the Practical Kabbala and were destroyed from the world." [2]

Mystic Judaic and Christian imagery and references are used throughout the series, so it is easy to read too much into the mash of Western symbols. "Nadia: Secret of the Blue Water", which was also written by Hideaki Anno and Gainax, mentions (Red) Noah, the Tower of Babel, and Adam, though these references bears little resemblance to the original source material. [3] There are connections, but the references are mainly for visual impact, as opposed to exploring Judeo-Christian themes or using a Judeo-Christian framework to explore other themes. It is widely agreed that the ideas behind Evangelion came from Hideaki Anno's personal crises, the accompanying psychology, science fiction, and other sources. [4]

A very rough analogy would be the campy TV show "Hercules", which used an ancient Greek setting, but featured little of the violent ethos that characterized the time.

With that being said, there was a method behind Gainax's madness. The original series came out in 1995. The new millennium inspired apocalyptic fiction and cults that even infected science. News stories speculated about the Y2K bug creating mass disaster. The post-apocalyptic milieu of "Evangelion" was reinforced by the Judeo-Christian imagery and the strong emphasis of these traditions on the endtime. The popularity of "Evangelion" shows that this imagery and atmosphere were striking to the Japanese viewer. Likewise, it would be easy to read too much into the potential connection between della Reina and Lorenz.

Nevertheless, the connection informs us of how to view Lorenz's failure. In episode 21, Prof. Fuyutski tells us that 2nd impact is a disaster for humanity. He intended to unmask Seele as criminal against all of humanity. Kaji reveals a more personal view of the tragedy in the manga Vol. 7 stages 3-4 to Shinji, but echoes the younger Fuyutski's sentiments. Yet in the movie, Lorenz's final moments paint him sympathetically, as he creates these tragedies not for personal gain, but to save humanity. That is the downfall of della Reina. Though he tried to save humanity by bringing forth the Messiah, his venture is ultimately of human will, not divine, and therefore doomed to fail in the end.


[1] "Reimagining the Bible: the Storytelling of the Rabbis" by Howard Schwartz, pg. 70 from NetLibrary.
[2] http://www.kabbalaonline.org/Meditations/jewishmeditation/Practical_Kabbala_Today.asp
[3] Noah is a spaceship that became an island, the Tower of Babel is an energy cannon, and Adam is a giant prototype of man.
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neon_Genesis_Evangelion_%28TV%29

Lovely Complex 14

Blogger’s Note: I’ll get back to the earlier episodes. Please bear with me.

Summary

Lovely Complex has reached about the halfway point and the third year has begun in episode 14: A Killer Crush on Maity! [1] In episode 13, Otani and Koizumi capped off their second year with an Umibozu concert. Otani managed to catch a fever right before the concert, and Risa visited her bedridden friend. She met his parents, and they talked.

Risa was thunderstruck when Otani revealed that he didn't have any attractiton to Risa. He said: “Even though the two of us are alone in this room right now, I don’t feel a thing.” Moments later, Otani leaned close to Koizumi, brushed his lip against hers. This light kiss seemed to contradict his earlier words.

­ Otani puts the moves on Koizumi?

Otani recovered in time for the concert and when they met for the concert, Koizumi showed up with a surgeon’s mask, which signified that she was sick. Otani seemed ignorant of where she might had gotten the cold, which was his lips. He then revealed that he did not remember the kiss. Koizumi fell into the black pit of despair.

Another family watches powerlessly as their child is enslaved by otaku-dom.

The first fresh scene from episode 14 displays the horrified faces of the loving Koizumi family coming to grips with their daughter transforming into an otaku. She specifically indulges in the smooth, suave electronic seduction of a dating sim character known as Cain-sama. Risa eats up Cain-sama’s canned lines with gusto. Even as she tries to escape into her fujoshi fantasy land, the images of Otani’s denials gnaw at her still.

Risa becomes a full blown fujoshi.

Risa drags her carcass to school the next morning. Nobu excitedly tells her that they are all in the same class: Risa, N2, Chiharu x Suzuki, and Otani. Risa spazes out at Otani’s name. When the real McCoy shows up and starts joking as usual, Risa jumps down his throat. Nobu beats a hasty retreat, leaving Risa alone with Otani. He confronts Risa about her foul mood since the Umibozu concert.

Risa grabs him by the collar and demands her first kiss back. Otani is taken aback by the tearful request, moreso because he can’t remember the alleged smooch. After pretending to call for an ambulance, he tells her to pull it together and stop hallucinating. In short, our short friend is throwing napalm on the fire. Koizumi predictably explodes.

Risa readies for her guest appearance in the next “Devil May Cry”.

Risa spaces out while walking with Nobu and Chiharu. Nobu asks Risa if something happened at Otani’s place. Risa hysterically denies it. They are interrupted by a bishonen trying to get by the hallway. The newcomer is the spitting image of Cain-sama.

Legacy of Cain-sama: Shojo Reaver

The smitten Risa moves aside, but the mysterious stranger does not go quietly. Instead, he smooths Risa’s furrowed brow with the tip of his finger, warning her against wrinkling her cute face. He entreats her to smile, just like Cain-sama.

Risa is moved. Chiharu is stunned. Nobu undergoes hypovolaemic shock [2]. Nobu is not sure why she feels so cold, until Risa squeals “Cain-sama”. Much of the remaining female studentry is as drawn to him as the male students are repulsed. Risa waxes on about his tall, glacial good looks. Chiharu points out that Cain-sama is the diametric opposite of Otani. Risa doesn’t deny this; rather, she declares that Cain-sama is the One for her.

Risa is still mooning over Cain-sama during the year’s first homeroom, when Otani asks about her syrupy mood. She reveals that Cain-sama said the she was cute. To Otani, Cain-sama is just a video game character. Coupled with her earlier allegations of a kiss, Otani is chilled to the core.

Otani fails his SAN check.

The familiar homeroom teacher waddles in and immediately picks out All Hanshi-Kyojin as his class reps again. They contest the nomination in stereo. Nakano-sensei interrupts them by announcing that there is an assistant teacher for homeroom. It is none other than the beautiful Cain-sama who reveals his true name as Maitake Kunimi or Maity. The girls go wild. Nobu and Otani are creeped out.

Risa's senses go on an extended vacation.

Caught by Maity’s spell, Risa volunteers to be a class rep and volunteers Hanshin as the other nominee. The class enthusiastically accepts. The teacher calls them All Hanshin-Kyojin. Risa objects until Maity approves of it, and then she eagerly embraces the name. Otani becomes physically ill at this point.

Nobu begins intervention, demanding to know if Risa has cast aside Otani in favor of a hollow dating sim character. Risa laments that she could reset if it were a game. Nobu swiftly chastises her for being unrealistic, but beneath Risa’s fujoshi madness is a growing fatigue at Otani’s refusals and rejections of her.

Risa walks home with Otani after an eventful first day. Otani asks her about what’s been eating at her. She tells him to drop it. He then remembers to give her a souvenir Umibozu towel from the concert. Though she is happy about the gift, she feels worn down by the pendulum of push and pull with Otani.

Koizumi in doubt.

In English class the next day, the girl go ga-ga over Maity-sensei while the guys are grossed out. Maity calls on the slumbering Otani. Nobu tries to awaken him, but to no avail. Maity blows into Otani’s ear. Otani screams in primal, soul-wrenching horror at the queer ambush.

Maity’s Super Flaming Critical-Strike Rose-Scented Assault

After class lets out, Maity calls Risa to help out as class rep. Risa zealously agrees. Nakao tells his teammate that the coach is out, so Otani skips on class rep duty to organize the basketball club.

Risa isn’t happy about being stuck with the work by Otani and wonders why she’s drawn to him. She stops by the gym to complain to Nobu. Nobu steps up in Otani’s defense and informs Risa that Otani is the new team captain. Risa is again impressed by his resolve and focus. Risa leaves a message for Otani that she’ll be in the classroom. As she leaves she still wonders why she’s drawn to Otani, but frames the question in a positive light; there are too many reasons to pin any one down.

Otani on the mind.

While alone in classroom, Risa reminisces about the strange guy she’s fallen for and the good times. Otani shows up tired. Risa expects him to help; he complains about her dragging him back into the role of class rep. She answers that she would have felt bad for Maity if there were no volunteers; the name sends him into convulsions. The needle digs deeper as she jibes about the ear-blowing incident. Risa enjoys teasing him.

Otani turns serious and tells her not to go for a “cold” guy like Maity. His words lead Risa to believe that he wants to stake a claim over her. They make her happy, but she refuses to get her hopes up again. Just when she’s mulling over her thoughts, Otani remembers what happened during the sick visit. He reenacts the event by bringing his face close to hers.

A dramatic re-enactment.

She flushes at the possibility that he recalls their first kiss. He describes each detail, until his face came close, then he drops the bomb: he saw a grain of rice stuck in her hair. Koizumi digests this revelation for a moment. Instead of a kiss, the dumbass got close to make a crack. She tells him that she ate quickly to visit him, which is why the rice ended up in her hair.

Rice, rice baby.

He apologizes about the rice, but it was his brutally honest words that wounded her: “Even though the two of us are alone in this room right now, I don’t feel a thing.” Compounding the pain, he accidentally kissed her and raised her hopes in spite of the harsh words.

Otani says what any man would say in this situation: “Huh?”

Koizumi grabs him and kisses him. When he freaks out, she knows for certain that it was all a paradox-laden bit of vulgar shojo magick [3]. With her built-up hopes demolished, she declares that she’s finished with loving Otani and flees from the classroom. Otani is stunned. He follows her from the classroom door, but doesn’t follow. She barrels past Maity-sensei with tears flooding her eyes.

Maity looks thoughtfully at her retreating back. Otani sinks into his own heavy and perhaps dark thoughts, while Koizumi is at the end of her rope.

Direction of Tomorrow

Commentary

The series has slowed down, not in time, but in the movement of the story. The plot has ebbed and flowed with Risa’s emotions and hopes. This has not made the comedy fans happy, but is a necessity to develop and ultimately move forward the shojo storyline. Being shojo these days means that emotions are paramount, and unless Risa is annealed by fires and hammers of rejection and struggle, her happy ending will be too easily won.

While the end of this episode was melodramatic, it was built up well by genre standards. Risa was made to hope and brought the audience up with her fond memories, which all came tumbling down with one grain of rice. The dramatic end also sets up the next episode.

In the defense of Lovely Complex, this IS her first love and her self-esteem is at stake. She is painfully aware of her height when it comes to boys and his rejection doesn’t help her self image.

The scene still maintains some of the humor that has brought it this far. After Otani tells Risa about the rice, she screams “I am Japanese! Rice is a staple in my diet! I eat plenty of rice!” The outburst was well timed as are many of the jokes in the series.

While Risa has donned the angsty role, Nobu picked up the comedy mask. Her super-willies at Cain-sama’s phoniness are the perfect foil to Risa’s fujoshi gushing. She also serves as the bridge between Otani and Risa. When Risa didn’t know about his captainship, Nobu filled her in. And logically, she would know about Otani through Nakao. When Otani wanted to know about Cain-sama, Nobu gave him the scoop on Risa’s illness. The directors have expanded Nobu’s role, and the voice actress and the animators have stepped up to the challenge.

Episode 14 also introduced a new opening and ending sequence. At first blush, the new music can suck a golf ball through a garden hose. Despite the audios, the visual maintain their quality. The opening is more dynamic and has a flying scene reminiscent of the Karekano opening. The ending visuals are a real treat and shows series of painted stills. I would guess that they emulate oil colors on canvas. I’m not certain, but these images ARE emotive.

Clean Closing Shot

= = =

[1] KissSub fansub.

[2] Symptoms of hypovolaemic shock:

· Cool, clammy skin due to vasoconstriction and stimulation of vasoconstriction.

· Rapid and deep respirations due to sympathetic nervous system stimulation and acidosis.

· Hypothermia due to decreased perfusion and evaporation of sweat.

· Thirst and dry mouth, due to fluid depletion.

· Fatigue due to inadequate oxygenation.

· Cold and mottled skin, especially extremities, due to insufficient perfusion of the skin.

[3] Vulgar vs coincidental magick. Vulgar magick was a flagrant disruption of reality and invoked an immune response from reality. What we saw was definitely an entropy rote known as Accidental Kiss. Reference: Whitewolf’s Mage: the Ascension 1^st Ed.