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Old 03-11-2013, 03:38 AM   #101
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Pretty good ep.

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Originally Posted by Talon87 View Post

The scene where Takeru takes the girls out for dinner was okay. Shame on them for taking advantage of him like that though. ^^;
Don't they always do that though?

Quote:
Didn't like that Chiaki got violent with Mako-chan though. Felt very out of character for her given all the build-up that we've seen towards establishing that Mako-chan ranks right up there with Fujioka in terms of people Chiaki respects. Her punch reduces Mako-chan to Uchida level in respect now. Very strange.
Chiaki finally got fed up with Mako-chan's shit and I don't blame her! What is wrong with him? He's acting like a lame harem protagonist. Can't cuddle up with a cute girl his age? Wants Haruka to button up her cleavage? Runs out of the room in horror when some hot teenage girls start stripping? I was his age once, come on now ... none of us would have reacted in that way!
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Old 03-11-2013, 06:35 PM   #102
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Rewatched Season 3 Episode 4. This was a solid episode! I remembered it being the episode where we first meet Hitomi, but I had forgotten that it was also ...

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... the episode where Haruka does her double face grab of Kana and Chiaki and the episode where Hosaka brings an umbrella for Haruka. Both are classic moments. I also somehow managed to completely forget that Hitomi is Banchou #2. She's even introduced as such! Kind of crazy then that we haven't yet seen a powwow of the banchous. Haruka, Hitomi, the one lesbian middle schooler (Yuu, is it?), Fujioka, and Kana. I guess the recent Hitomi + Fujioka scene was as close as this gets? Anyway ...

Watching Season 3 Episode 5 right now. I've forgotten almost all of these.

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Silly Chiaki. Don't you know that by drinking all that water you're actually making yourself less buoyant by making your body's density more closely match that of water?

This episode seems to be pretty heavy on the loli fanservice.

lol @ Riko and Fujioka trying to get Kana to invite Fujioka to the pool with them.

XFD @ this post-ending credits scene. Completely forgot this. Fujioka too uncomfortable about playing tag with girls ... and then he keeps tagging Touma's chest. XD
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Old 03-12-2013, 04:29 AM   #103
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I re-discovered the only time Chiaki was more crestfallen than after Mako-chan rejected her after going to the beach. When she lost her pet rock, Yamada.

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Old 03-17-2013, 04:52 PM   #104
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Episode 11.

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That. was. awesome. While still not the sort of juggernaut that can topple S3E02 or S1E13, so on and so forth, this was still a fantastic episode with just one great scene after another after another. Easily my favorite of the Tadaima batch thus far. Shall we begin?


The opening scene of the episode shows Hayami telling Hosaka to give up on cooking and to try to win Haruka's heart in some other way. Her ulterior motives soon become clear as Hayami provides a fashion magazine before Hosaka and encourages him to knit Haruka a scarf not unlike the one in the magazine. Clearly, Hayami wants it for herself. This is +1 interesting fodder for speculation regarding Hayami's relationship with Hosaka. While many of her actions, including quite a few later on in this very episode, would seem to suggest that Hayami is not interested in having a boyfriend and certainly is not interested in dating Hosaka, she does seem to go awfully far at involving herself in his pursuit of Haruka, and this episode later sees her even trying to sabotage Hosaka's Haruka fantasy when it threatens to get in between Hayami and her scarf.

Anyway, what sells this opening scene is not so much the Hayami stuff as it is everything else. Hosaka has an amazing line he shoots Hayami down with when she bids him to give up on cooking -- ""The day I stop cooking is the day I die!" He has a hilarious mental picture of Haruka as his own personal smiling Buddha (shown here). And he ends up scaring off yet another of his cute female classmates when he noses his way into her knitting session, curious to learn how to knit himself.


The second sketch of the episode, its weakest but also one of its shortest, isn't too bad. It reinforces past character traits we've seen with Atsuko and Maki, in particular Atsuko. It also sets the stage for the third sketch by establishing that it's winter and it's recently snowed. The first scene of this second sketch has Atsuko and Maki walking to school together. Maki wants Atsuko to ask her about her new coat and Atsuko knows that Maki wants her to ask her about her new coat, and so she asks her, much to Maki's delight. Then the girls run into Hayami in front of the school vending machines and Atsuko unwittingly plays into Hayami's dig at Maki's coat's pale color. This leads Atsuko to wonder about how best to answer questions. Suddenly Hosaka is upon her, presenting her with a vague question of his own. She manages an answer that pleases him and he heads off down the hall talking to himself. The fourth scene of the sketch has Atsuko visiting the Minamis. There, she drinks cocoa / milk coffee while Uchida and Kana are discussing how to get boys to like them. Not listening to their conversation, Atsuko decides that from now on she'll answer questions without even thinking. So she zones out and just starts going "Hmn, hmn" to whatever the girls ask her. By the time she knocks it off, it's too late: the girls are convinced that Atsuko is a master seductress who knows all the best ways to get boys to like them. So she ends up recommending they wear a winter coat that matches the color of Maki's and Haruka's. The end. A cute little sketch that gave Atsuko some screen time, but nothing too funny or epic. On to the third sketch.


This. scene. was one of the greatest scenes I've seen in Minami-ke since first finishing the third season several years ago. Oh my word. I absolutely loved it. It opens with Hosaka and Natsuki doing some senpai-kouhai bonding as they discuss the recent snowfall and their respective reactions upon waking to find themselves in a winter wonderland. Then it quickly cuts over to the nurse's office where we see Hitomi *mroooooooow* :3 checking her temperature. Poor thing has a slight fever. As she readies to head back to class since it's nothing too major, in comes Haruka, who's also feeling a little under the weather. Distracted by this, Hitomi heads back to class ... without buttoning back up her blouse. And so begins ... this.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

Unbelievable. So, so perfect. Hitomi was adorable, the wordplay was perfect, it was just great.


Things only get better when Haruka then approaches Natsuki and now the dialogue roles are reversed. Now it's Natsuki who is aware of the breasts and now it's Haruka whose words about the recent snowfall are being mistaken for talk about her exposed cleavage. Before Natsuki nosebleeds all over the place, he jets down the hall, leaving behind a very confused Haruka.

And then? AND THEN THE GIRLS POWWOW. Oh my God. Natsuki is in the dooooooooooooooog house! The dog house, man! After all the progress he'd made between Seasons 3 and 4, I think he's found himself right back at Square One as far as Haruka's concerned. I guess we'll find out next time.

I don't want to play it up too much since I don't honestly know if it'll wind up being as memorable as many of the all-time greats or whether a little separation from the scene will see it forgotten to the sands of time, but for now, for right now, I think this sketch is without a doubt the best one we've had all season long and probably one of my Top 10 favorites of all time. In hindsight, it's a lot like his sketches in Kyou no 5-2. I fucking love Kyou no 5-2.


The fourth and final big sketch of the episode is another fantastic one. Hayami runs into Hosaka at the plaza near the train station and discovers that the scarf she wants from him still hasn't been finished because Hosaka is too preoccupied with his thoughts of Haruka. So she goes to Maki and asks her to dig up some dirt on Haruka. Something which would turn any man off of her. Maki will feed that info to Hayami, Hayami will then feed that info to Hosaka, and wham: problems solved. Hayami gets her scarf, and Maki gets creepy Hosaka off their back. Maki is only too on board with the plan, leaving a delighted Hayami already feeling the warmth of her soon-to-be scarf around her neck. (I'm not sure Hayami really thought this one through though. ^^; I mean, even if Hayami plans to abscond with the scarf herself, Hosaka is technically making it for Haruka, not for her. So if he were to fall out of love with Haruka, then wouldn't the scarf go unfinished? ^^; )

The two friends, Atsuko and Maki, head on over to Haruka's to try and dig up some dirt on her. They ask Kana and Chiaki pretty bluntly, resulting in Chiaki waylaying Atsuko with a 10,000-word exaltation of Haruka-neesama's greatness but in Kana giving Maki all sorts of legitimate dirt on Haruka. She's laaazy ... she has no drive without competition ... it's impossible to drag her out from under the kotatsu .... Soon after Maki begins to jot these things down, who should arrive but Haruka herself. Asking what the girls are doing, Kana does a terribad job at hiding the fact that they were talking about Haruka herself just now. So what does Haruka do? She plays the hurt victim ... only to sneakily revenge Kana with a juicy embarrassing story of her own! XFD As Kana begs for Haruka to quit telling the other girls about the time she wet Haruka's bed after asking to sleep with her, Maki and Atsuko wonder: could this have been divine punishment? Do people who say bad things about Minami Haruka wind up like Kana just now? And so they go back to school and report to Hayami that, sorry, Minami Haruka has absolutely zero flaws.

And this sets us up wonderfully for ...


... Hayami's prophecy coming to pass, and Hosaka falling too deeply into his worship of Haruka, such that she becomes a living goddess to him. And best of all? Hosaka Fantasy Haruka herself breaks the fourth wall for us in this scene and says "I'm a goddess! ;3" UNBELIEVABLE, AND SO, SO FUNNY. Sakuraba Coharu, you know your fans well. I salute you! Now, let us worship our goddess!
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Old 03-17-2013, 09:41 PM   #105
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It's funny, because a while ago I was thinking about knitting and how it seems like the kind of activity that Hosaka would take up and somehow make manly, and now here we are. I wonder if this was a one episode only gag, or if the author will run with it and have Hosaka pick up a new skill in his quest to become the perfect husband. I am loving the idea of a Hosaka x Hayami pairing more and more, especially since Atsuko has failed to show any interest in him since season 1 . Yes, Hayami drunkenly went after Kana, but imagine if some sexy hunk of man like Hosaka was there instead? She would have mauled him for sure!

We saw Haruka feeding Natsuki at the barbeque. This episode, Haruka said with horror, "Does that mean I'm not young enough?!" Are these tacit signs that Haruka likes Natsuki? That poor bastard, the misunderstanding was never resolved. Now they think he's some sick pervy!

I was hoping that the Christmas theme of this episode was building up to a big heartfelt moment involving Hosaka doing something nice for the Minami family, and they would remain unaware of his involvement. I was thinking back to Fukumoto's manga Ten, and that EXCELLENT chapter where the Christmas tree breaks, so Ten secretly holds it up himself for the entire night, out in the cold. Maybe HE could have been Santa Claus instead of Fujioka?! Ah well, it was still a great episode.
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Old 03-17-2013, 10:41 PM   #106
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In response to one thing you said:

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Well, Hayami's not technically shown interest either. And she's said (in her head, which we the audience were privy to hear) various denigrating comments about Hosaka. But like, for all the signs that they're just old friends, she's quite shamelesy happy to use him, and he's either unaware or else apathetic towards being used by her. At the end of the day we still have these facts:
  • Not only does she eat the meals he cooks but she goes out of her way to make sure they wind up in her belly and not Haruka's. She thinks he's a great cook and she's disappointed when he on rare occasion brings meals of lesser quality.
  • She could make it very clear to Hosaka that Haruka will be at (example) the barbecue he's declining to go to, but she doesn't. Why? Partly because she knows he'd do something stupid there ... but so what? What does that matter to her? Isn't she the sly fox who loves drama? So why doesn't she want to see Hosaka get his heart broken?
  • She knows Hosaka on a level that rivals (and mirrors) how well Hitomi understands Natsuki. Does this simply come with the territory of being old acquaintances? Or ...? (A great example of this is the one time she bluffs to Hosaka and tells him that his love for Haruka isn't the real deal. He brushes her off as being foolish, and as he leaves the room, she thinks to herself, "No, Hosaka. You love Minami Haruka more than anyone. More purely, more ..." And it's like, well how do you know him so well?)
  • For all physical violence with him, that is (in its own perverse way) an act of intimacy. You don't just hit anybody. Not like how she does all the time. You only can do that with someone you trust, and you'd only want to do it with someone you're very comfortable around.
  • Hayami has never once been shown to have any friends outside of Hosaka (her precious kouhais don't count) nor a boyfriend or a girlfriend. It very, very much gives the impression that Hayami is every bit as much a social outcast as Hosaka is. Perhaps these two became friends years ago (we still don't know how they met ^^; ), and perhaps they've been each other's support all throughout high school.
  • They share at least one common interest -- their oldest in the series, volleyball.
  • Hayami doesn't seem the least bit worried that other people might gossip about her and Hosaka given that she's always hanging around him and always eating his homecooked meals. Is it because she doesn't give two shits what others think about her? Possibly. Is it because she's a lesbian and her sexual orientation is known to most of her peers? Possibly. Is it because she likes Hosaka so if people want to conclude that she likes him (if even for flimsy reasons) then whatever? Possibly.
Now, I have to admit, I'm playing the Devil's advocate here quite a bit. Why? Because I do believe Hayami is a lesbian (yes, she could be bi, but ...) and I do believe that she loves Hosaka as a dear friend (as maybe her one true friend ) and not romantically. But like, I do think people who want to argue the case for Hosaka x Hayami have quite a bit of logical evidence to work with.

Some observed problems with the theory, however:
  • In most anime, a character who has a secret crush on another character will try to do things like hang out with them, donate to their charity, eat at their restaurant, etc. Examples: Ryuuji going to that Denny's because Minori worked there (ToraDora); Haruhi wanting to do summer homework with Kyon even though she'd already completed hers (Suzumiya Haruhi); Kyou offering to help Nagisa and Tomoya out with the Drama Club (Clannad); and so on. Well, we know that not every author has to think this way, but we also know that Sakuraba Coharu probably does. Because he has had his other characters do this. Fujioka trying to hang out with Kana. Makoto crossdressing just so he can (on the one hand) see Haruka while (on the other hand) also getting to hang out with Chiaki. Riko trying to tag along with Fujioka, Kana, and Keiko. You get the picture. So my point here is, what about Hayami? Who has she hung out with? Not Hosaka. They only hang out at school; after hours, they've not once spent significant time together. What about helping Hosaka out with his projects and part-time jobs? Has Hayami once eaten at Hosaka's restaurant? No. Did she buy a Christmas cake from him? No. Not that I recall. (In before I'm wrong! ) In typical anime fashion, if Hayami liked Hosaka, I'd expect her to have bought one of his Christmas cakes and played it off as just trying to help out.
  • If she liked him, isn't she coming off TOO strong in driving him away? With all that violence, with all that "don't touch me!" stuff? I mean, there's tsundere and then there's that. It seems a bit much to me.
  • I suggested above that she's historically seemed to show reservation about letting Hosaka's fantasy get destroyed. But in this very episode, we saw her doing exactly that: trying to shatter his Haruka fantasies! You can't have it both ways, me.
So like, do I think she likes him more than she lets on? Absolutely. I think she is dishonest about her feelings to everyone -- and that the person she is most dishonest to is herself. She's just that type of person, I think. But do I think that she romantically loves him? No. I think she is probably a lesbian (say what you will about drunk people doing crazy things -- what alcohol's more known for is lowering your inhibitions regarding things you want to do but otherwise wouldn't, and not getting you to do things that you do not want to do). But I think that Hosaka probably is her dearest friend in the world, even if she's too dishonest to let either of them know that. I totally ship that. And I would looooooove to see Sakuraba Coharu give us that sort of "RIGHT IN THE FEELS! " story for those two before the end of a possible Season 5. Don't hold out on us, Sensei. I wanna know how those two met, became friends, and remained friends.

And if you do want to pair them off? Then I'm not against it. Let's see what you've got, Sensei. Blow me away, like you have so many times before.

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Old 03-17-2013, 11:39 PM   #107
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Yeah I don't necessarily think Hayami likes Hosaka "in that way", I just like the idea of it. I agree that their friendship is indeed sweet and we should get some more background information on it.

Another thing we found out this episode: Chiaki used to cry if Kana wasn't there when she woke up. That is too adorable!
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Old 03-18-2013, 12:10 AM   #108
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mcsweeney View Post
It's funny, because a while ago I was thinking about
Spoiler: show
knitting and how it seems like the kind of activity that Hosaka would take up and somehow make manly, and now here we are. I wonder if this was a one episode only gag, or if the author will run with it and have Hosaka pick up a new skill in his quest to become the perfect husband.
Oh, I do hope it's his newest thing. I don't want to see him drop cooking (and thank God he flatly rejected Hayami's suggestion that he do just that), but I would love to see him add this to his already awesome repertoire. He cooks. He sings. He's the men's volleyball team captain. And now he ...

Spoiler: show
knits. I would love to, love to see him make some winter mittens or coats or something where one is in a young woman's size and the other two are for small children. When asked what they are and who they are for, he answers, "These are the mittens / coats / whatever that I knitted for Minami Haruka and her daughters." And even if Haruka doesn't wind up with the adult-size one, FUCK . YES . if Chiaki winds up with a pair of the kid-sized ones.

Or ... whoa, ready to have your mind blown!? What if Sakuraba Coharu ... decided to have Hosaka take up knitting ... specifically so that he could create a second doll for Chiaki. I kind of doubt we'll see that happen as making a plush doll =/= knitting, but then again, maybe knitting will just be Hosaka's gateway to the wide world of arts and crafts.

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Originally Posted by Mcsweeney View Post
We saw Haruka ...
Spoiler: show
feeding Natsuki at the barbeque. This episode, Haruka said with horror, "Does that mean I'm not young enough?!" Are these tacit signs that Haruka likes Natsuki? That poor bastard, the misunderstanding was never resolved. Now they think he's some sick pervy!
I didn't even really consider the full implications of that, but you're right. Her tone and words both imply that ...

Spoiler: show
... she's disappointed that she doesn't meet his standards. When I first watched it, I just assumed it was a generic female "I am upset that I don't match the image of the ideal woman that real men apparently have" sort of a thing, not a specific-to-Haruka "I am upset that I don't match Natsuki's image of the ideal woman". But still, yeah, who knows, who knows.

What about Hitomi though? ;_; *still ships Natsuki x Hitomi*

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Originally Posted by Mcsweeney View Post
I was hoping that the Christmas theme of this episode was building up to a big heartfelt moment involving ...
Spoiler: show
Hosaka doing something nice for the Minami family, and they would remain unaware of his involvement. I was thinking back to Fukumoto's manga Ten, and that EXCELLENT chapter where the Christmas tree breaks, so Ten secretly holds it up himself for the entire night, out in the cold. Maybe HE could have been Santa Claus instead of Fujioka?! Ah well, it was still a great episode.
That would have been really nice, and I am disappointed that we didn't get that. Still, what we did get with Hosaka was still pretty darn awesome; much as I loved Season 3's Christmas cakes scene, the final scene of this week's episode beat the pants off of that.

But yes, your idea makes me weep for the episode we might have gotten but did not. I am dying for ...

Spoiler: show
Hosaka to get a little more involved in these girls' lives. At least they finally addressed the elephant in the room square in the face this week by having Hayami pointedly remind Hosaka over and over again, "You haven't even ever talked to her. You need to talk to her." There really can't be any hope of Hosaka visiting the Minami residence if he's not even talked to Haruka. I don't even want to imagine the nightmare scenario of Chiaki inviting the Curry Fairy home with her, he innocently tags along, no one else is home, they hang out, Haruka comes home, and then all hell breaks loose. >_< Nah, if he's going to safely and with no poisonous misunderstandings ever set foot inside that apartment, he has got to at least say "Hullo " to this girl once before.

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Old 03-21-2013, 01:56 AM   #109
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Remember how I was talking about how Haruka will never get a boyfriend, because she's too angelic, and then you brought up the joke about her being a banchou? One thing she did that actually does strike me as a bit of a bitch move is when she punched Natsuki after he fell face first into her breasts, even though she KNEW he was pushed by Maki. She punched an innocent man in the face as some kind of self-preservation measure!

That, and her willing participation in the financial exploitation of dear cousin Takeru.
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Old 03-27-2013, 02:08 AM   #110
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A bit of a slow episode this week, don't feel too bad about missing out Talon. Not a bad episode by any means, just a laid back one.

But the time for nice, cute episodes is now over!! The season finale is upon us, and this is their last chance to break out the big guns and give us that epic 10/10 skit we've all been waiting for. According to the next episode preview, there's going to be another encounter between Hosaka and Chiaki. Is it going to be yet another Curry Song rehash? Or is it the beginning of the greatest scene in Minami-ke history, with it alone putting season 3, NAY, season 1 to shame?! Tune in next week for MINAMI-KE ZEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
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Old 04-01-2013, 12:49 AM   #111
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What a lackluster finale. People talking about Makoto picking his nose is amusing, but otherwise nothing really special for me.

For the most part, this season of Minami-ke is nothing more than okay to me. I got a few chuckles here and there, but nothing really made me laugh. Actually alot of the jokes were forced out the ass. I guess as a show to just chill out to and enjoy the cute characters, this is good, but I went in expecting comedy. The 4th season of Minami-ke gets a 6 from me.
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Old 04-01-2013, 06:56 AM   #112
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No doubt eh. That was not the finale I was hoping for. Season 4 was a tale of wasted potential.

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It was too late for the cute skit at the start of the episode, we were all waiting for the big finish. Things started to heat up with the Fujioka kicking stuff gag, and the seemingly imminent confession. Of course nothing happened, but it was a solid bit.

Kana is way smarter than people give her credit for. Remember that her description at the start of the manga describes her as being "a master tactician". She did a lot of social experiments this season, calling people over to the house and manipulating them for her amusement (I especially liked how she set up Mako-chan with a half naked chicks slumber party). The idea behind the ending was good, with everyone coming in to join Kana on the hill, but it could've been executed better to be more emotional. Kana needed to realize that she was all alone for longer, even start crying, then the arrival of her sisters and the rest of the townsfolk would have been more satisfying.

This season's MVP: Fujioka. He had a part in most of the best scenes, such as: dropping the eraser on the board, desperately trying to show that he's hot and sweaty, and getting overly excited about receiving a 100 yen piece. Always a pleasure to have him around.

As great as the show is, I really wish the author would throw in at least a couple major plot developments per season to shake up the same old routine. Season 3 was fine because it was still fresh, and they introduced Hitomi, but with season 4 now, I can feel it. There is serious danger of stagnation. Just think about the MASSIVE potential this story has for heart stopping cliffhangers. Enough with the Hosaka screwjobs, he's been relegated to being a complete joke now. I just want him to talk to her once! Or at least throw us a bone in some other way (more Atsuko crushing on him, more touching friendship moments with Hayami).
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Old 04-25-2013, 04:47 PM   #113
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Episode 12 was quite cute. It wasn't anything super-special -- it's very probably in the bottom half of Season 4 -- but it still had quite a lot of cute moments. I quite enjoyed most every scene. Since it's been a month since the episode aired and more importantly since nothing that went down in this episode is a big-time spoiler for non-initiates ... no spoiler tag this time! Exercise common sense if you haven't seen the episode already.


The first scene (half pre-OP, half post-OP) was the Minamis' third or fourth New Year's shrine visit. I liked Studio Feel's and/or Sakuraba Coharu's approach to this: they gave us some fun visuals, like the girls' gorgeous kimonos or various static screenshots of the various activities they did that day, but they didn't really waste our time on anything we'd already seen done before. This scene set the stage for what would follow: a lot of little highlights but nothing too major. Like ... I liked Chiaki's little hairbun balls. Or like ... I liked just how much fun Kana seemed to be having without getting into any trouble. It was good. The portion before the opening credits, involving the girls disrobing one another in turn, was probably yet another made-for-TV scene, but it was cute enough for what it was. I definitely appreciated it for giving us such close-up looks of the girls' exquisite dresses.


The second scene of the episode was "Uchida the Freeloader" / "Uchida's Put On Some Weight" / "Chiaki the Demon Instructor". It was a cute little scene for anyone who's a fan of Uchida. And I'm a pretty big fan of Uchida, so I had lots to love here.


The many faces of Uchida.

When I was first watching the episode and Kana pulled out that photograph (seen above), I thought "Geez, Studio Feel sure gave Uchida some gumdrop boobies " and looked away, disturbed and disappointed by what they'd done. But in putting together this post, I took a closer look at the picture and discovered ... those aren't boobs, those are cups! D'awww, poor Uchida. ^^; So anyway, yeah. Kana pulls out that photograph and orders Uchida out of the house and into the public swimming pool. Chiaki tags along, Yoshino is invited, and pretty soon the foursome ...


... decide to have lunch. Before this point, though, Chiaki appoints herself the "Demon Instructor", determined to give instructions to Uchida since she has never known what it's like to order someone else around in the swimming pool, having always been the student herself. Yet Chiaki soon mimics a behavior foreshadowed by Uchida earlier in the episode -- a siesta following food. So ends this cute little scene. Not much substance, but a lot of little smiles.


The third scene of the episode was simultaneously my least favorite and one of my favorites this episode. What the scene had going against it was that it was a 5-second gag stretched into five minutes, and also that it was a gag that didn't translate very cleanly into English (though kudos to UTW for doing their best). But what the scene had going for it was the fun nature of the gag. Hearing Riko sprinkle her Tokyo dialect with hints of Kansai-ben was amusing, and I liked that we got a little backstory for her (i.e. that her grandmother lives in Kyoto). Not much else to say here though. The gag really did overstay its welcome. ^^;


The fourth scene of the episode was another one which really hammered home the theme of Episode 12: lots of little laughs but nothing much in the way of big-time awesomeness. Haruka is too lazy to get out from under the kotatsu and sends Kana and Chiaki on an errand for groceries. So the two put on their winter clothes (Chiaki is so god damn adorable! ) and head out. On their way, they run into the elementary school gang and decide to have a snowball fight, something the kids had previously begged Haruka to join them for. So they get fighting, but soon it's 4-against-1 as the elementary schoolers all team up against Kana and utterly obliterate her. This was played for laughs and was pretty funny -- we don't usually get to see Kana so overwhelmed by the little munchkins, but this time she was, and it was indeed cutely funny seeing her sprawled out on the snow like that. Haruka then arrives, having braved the cold to add two important items to Kana's shopping list, but makes a hasty retreat for the promise of warmth under her beloved kotatsu. And then ...


... Kana decides it'd be a good idea to throw a snowball at Haruka. And Haruka does a classic Haruka something that only Haruka can do : she just goes completely still and quiet, bends down, makes a snowball without uttering a sound, and WHAMMO! decks Kana as hard as she can, square in the nose! >_< Haruka, the original Banchou!


The final scene of the episode explores a facet of Japanese New Year's celebrations I first learned about eight years ago. "Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi!" ("Demons, begone! Good luck, come hither!", lit. "Demons, outside! Fortune, inside!"), shouted while throwing beans around the house, is something which many Japanese households do every new year's. Especially loved by children, as we can see here, it's entertained by adults in spite of the mess it makes ... as also seen here. ^^; In fact, real quick note: in the previous scene when Kana throws the snowball at Haruka, what she mutters is a variation on this very catchphrase, only with "sister" substituted in place of "demon". So anyway, back to this episode. It's pretty surprising to me that Makoto would never have heard of this holiday before, so I can appreciate the Minamis' shock that he doesn't know about it and their enthusiastic invitation to let him try it out for himself.


The highlight of the episode for me, though, is the very last scene. A sucker for Haruka always , I just loved it when Chiaki puts on the demon mask and thinks she can maybe persuade Haruka to omit carrots from tonight's dinner, and then Haruka just delivers this ohmygodyouaretoomuch sugary sweet "Daaaaa~me!" (THAT FACE! That face.)

And that wraps up Episode 12 of the fourth season of Minami-ke. With just one episode to go, I've simultaneously high hopes and low expectations for a scene that will knock me into outer space with its awesomeness and officially crown Tadaima as the second best season of the series. Oh, don't get me wrong! Season 4 has been quite the blast, with some particularly memorable scenes I'll not soon forget. But Season 3 was no slouch either, and so far I think it still has the edge over Season 4 for content. And (to use the baseball analogy) with two outs and this being the bottom of the ninth, it's not looking too promising that we're going to get something that matches or exceeds the very best of Seasons 1 and 3. Still! I have hope. So ... on to Episode 13!
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Old 04-25-2013, 07:36 PM   #114
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I always love it when Haruka displays that HIDDEN POWER. The bubble gum blowing scene from season 1 is one of my all time favourites. That was part of an already STACKED episode featuring a bunch of Hosaka gags.
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Old 04-28-2013, 07:30 PM   #115
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Watched Episode 13 just now, and with that finished Minami-ke Tadaima! It was an okay episode, but yeah, it wasn't the strong finish we were all hoping for. Before I write up my own scene-by-scene reply for the episode, I'll go ahead and reply to some of what you guys had to say.

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Originally Posted by big bad birtha View Post
People talking about Makoto picking his nose is amusing, but otherwise nothing really special for me.
Really? ^^; I definitely preferred other scenes in the episode to that gag myself, scenes like the "Fujioka kicks things" scene or the Curry Fairy part III/IV scene.

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Mcsweeney's hopes for Fujioka's confession
Like Fujioka himself said in an earlier episode this season:

Spoiler: show
he's already gone and confessed to her point blank (also in this season) and she still hasn't shown that she's registered it. So I didn't expect anything to come of the hallway confession, even before it was interrupted by Keiko.

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Kana is way smarter than people give her credit for. Remember that her description at the start of the manga describes her as being "a master tactician". She did a lot of social experiments this season, calling people over to the house and manipulating them for her amusement
I don't really remember this myself, I'll confess, but it certainly fits. Kana has always been not just the energetic impetus for many of the Minamis' adventures but also the mastermind behind many of harebrained schemes that create so much of the excitement in their daily lives. I'm not sure if Season 4 was in particular "the Season of the Mastermind," but I'll agree that she had quite a lot that she did this season.

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Mcsweeney's mention of an MVP for Season 4
Oh gosh, this is tough. I'm not sure if I can pick just one. Makoto and Uchida were involved in many of my favorite scenes this go-around (and actually helped Team Chiaki to fare very well in the three-team war for our love and attention), Haruka was a pleasure as always, and Kana and Chiaki were really, really solid. Your MVP choice of Fujioka makes sense too, for all the reasons you listed, but I mean ... I dunno. Nobody really stood out to me this season as the one true MVP. Like, Season 1? No doubt, it's gotta be Hosaka. Seasons 2 thru 4 are harder for me to say though. Season 3's especially tough since Hosaka and Natsuki are exclusively involved in several of my all-time favorite scenes in all of Minami-ke.

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As great as the show is, I really wish the author would throw in at least a couple major plot developments per season to shake up the same old routine. Season 3 was fine because it was still fresh, and they introduced Hitomi, but with season 4 now, I can feel it. There is serious danger of stagnation. Just think about the MASSIVE potential this story has for heart stopping cliffhangers. Enough with the Hosaka screwjobs, he's been relegated to being a complete joke now. I just want him to talk to her once! Or at least throw us a bone in some other way (more Atsuko crushing on him, more touching friendship moments with Hayami).
No, I quite agree. It's why, as much as it pained me to do so, I ended up going with a final score of "8/10 - Very Good" for Tadaima instead of the "9/10 - Great" I so, so wanted to give it. 8/10 is the same score I gave Okawari (Season 2), a score I stand by given the season did have a few of my all-time favorite moments, and I by no means would want people to think that I put Tadaima on the same footing as Okawari. Because I don't. It definitely goes for me:

Season 1 > Season 3 (Okaeri) > Season 4 (Tadaima) > Season 2 (Okawari)

I feel like Season 1 gets a 10, Season 2 gets a 7.5 rounding up to 8, Season 3 gets a 9, and Season 4 gets an 8.5 rounding down to 8. It's a shame that it makes it look like Tadaima is such a regression from Okaeri when I really don't feel that it is -- and in many ways think it's an improvement upon the situation for our beloved franchise, namely the animation -- but like you've said, I'm not happy with the Simpsons / Sazae-san "fruit juice" Coharu's having us drink. I want plot progression. I'm not saying "Make Minami-ke a plot-driven story," no. Because it never has been one and that would be completely losing perspective of what Minami-ke is all about. But I am saying that look, even the most plot-minimalist slice of life series like Azumanga Daioh and Nichijou have got some plot progression to them. In Azumanga Daioh, the kids end up graduating at the end of the year. In Nichijou, a character we'd seen previously outside of school later enrolls. There is some consequence for people there, consequence we've been longing for in Minami-ke for a long time now.

If we confront the obvious elephants in the room that would appear to be terrorizing Sakuraba Coharu, they are ...
  • moving everyone up a year pushes Hosaka and Hayami out of the high school picture
  • having Kana realize (or, if she's already realized, then admit that she's realized) Fujioka's feelings for her terminates the days of the comic relief phase of their relationship and even threatens to graduate Kana into a maturer individual (since it'd be a hard sell for readers that Fujioka would stick with a girl so utterly batty and childish)
  • having Hosaka and Chiaki talk to one another. Maybe even do something outside of the supermart.
    • He escorts her home in the rain 'cause he sees her walking home without an umbrella, feels sorry for her, and doesn't see any sign of Minami Haruka for whom he was waiting with umbrella in hand in the first place?
    • He sees that she looks glum on a swing in the public park so he offers to give her a push?
    • He's selling Christmas cakes again, Chiaki goes to buy one for the family, sees that it's the Curry Fairy selling them, overhears that the baker is understaffed and the guy who was supposed to help Hosaka out this shift just called in sick, and boldly decides (perhaps even against the initial protestations of the fatherly Curry Fairy) to help him out for a few hours, until his shift ends? Then they walk home for a bit and go their separate ways at a fork in the road?
    Whatever. Just have them meet outside the supermart. Otherwise what was once a FUCKING EPIC meeting of unfathomable proportions becomes little more than a hollow "we gotta do it 'cause the fans expect it " tired song and dance.
  • having Hosaka talk to Haruka! This one is just ridiculous. Even I at least talked to my huge crushes once or twice a month.
  • having Haruka pick a guy she wants to be the girlfriend of.
I could keep going, but these are just some of the most obvious elephants in the room. Sensei seems terrorized to confront these problems and so has locked us into Simpsons time, but seriously, there are only so many Valentine's Days, only so many Christmases I want to see with our wheels locked in gear before I too get tired of it. I'm not tired yet, but I am hungry for advancement. Have been for a long time.
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Old 04-30-2013, 03:31 AM   #116
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Yeah, I don't want it to become a plot driven show either. I don't mind if they remain frozen in their respective schools forever, and no one even has to get into an actual boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. I just want one or two big happenings per season! I mean damn, I'm not asking for heavy Clannad After drama here (can you imagine if Seinfeld had a serious episode? "KRAMERRRR, WHY'D YA HAVE TO DRINK AND DRIIIIIVE!").

Right now, Hosaka is this mythical creature known as the Curry Fairy that Chiaki admires from afar. As you suggested, it would be great if they took the next step and actually started talking to each other and hanging out occasionally. There's lots of comedic potential with Hosaka being unaware that she is actually Haruka's sister. f'rinstance, maybe Hosaka can confide in her his desire to confess to the girl he likes, but he's too scared. Chiaki feels bad for him, and since he's a good man and deserves some love, she offers to introduce him to her sister. He says thanks, she sounds great, but assures her that she's no match for the girl he loves!

Wait, that sounds like yet another Hosaka screwjob, but at least he'd get to make another friend. I actually love many stories where good characters suffer constant misery, but it's important to throw us a bone every now and then to make it all worth it. An example being Legend of the Strongest Man Kurosawa. Yes, 90% of the story is him being crapped on and humiliated, but he scores the occasional victory, and those victories are the sweetest things ever. Hosaka had nothing going for him at all in season 4!
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Old 06-22-2015, 02:59 AM   #117
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All right, after getting a blue blazer I just had to do it:

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Old 06-22-2015, 06:09 PM   #118
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Quote:
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All right, after getting a blue blazer I just had to do it:

Sweet! Now I just need you to have a friend or significant other who resembles Atsuko and would accompany you to the library so that you could re-enact the S1 library scene. Alternatively, you could elevate your game to the next level by simply recreating any of the scenes like this one where Hosaka disrobes.

Screencap for posterity, in case you ever change your avatar.
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Old 06-23-2015, 07:04 AM   #119
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I wish I knew a blue haired beauty like that ;_;

I was just looking for an excuse to bump this thread. Doesn't anyone else want to watch Minami-ke? It's lonely in here with just the two of us (with occasional guest appearances by big bad birtha).
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Old 06-25-2015, 01:07 PM   #120
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I watched the first two seasons, it's quite funny despite them saying (in the opening) that we shiuldn't expect too much.
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Shouldn’t the Hoff be doing something if he’s still around? I have strict rules about leaving the pool, and I’m sure vanishing the pool out of existence breaks those rules in some way :P
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Old 06-26-2015, 07:19 AM   #121
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Recently or a while ago? Season 2 is universally regarded as the weakest of the four, so you have a lot to look forward to.
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Old 06-27-2015, 08:27 AM   #122
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A while ago, I think I stopped watching halfway through season 3, since I couldn't be bothered to check for new episodes.


I can also see why season 2 would be considered the weakest yes.
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Shouldn’t the Hoff be doing something if he’s still around? I have strict rules about leaving the pool, and I’m sure vanishing the pool out of existence breaks those rules in some way :P
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Old 06-27-2015, 03:47 PM   #123
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Every season contains some of my all-time favorite moments in the franchise. (Top 10, Top 20, whatever denominator it takes to fit them all in there: they're all gold.) But not all of the seasons are created equal, it's true, and if I had to rank them personally, I'd say it goes something like this:

1 > 4 > 3 > 2

Or like this:

1 > 3 > 4 > 2

I'd need to watch both 3 and 4 again. I remember enjoying 4 a ton as it aired, but I also don't really remember it too well right now. Still. Whether 4 beats 3 or 3 beats 4, 1 is king and 2 is the farthest removed from that regal spot.

The character animation in S4 is really, really good. But my heart still yearns for Daume's S1. So adorable. So perfect.

While writing this reply, I decided to look up what Daume's been up to. Sadly, they seem to have fallen off the radar almost entirely since 2010's Shiki. But on the bright side, I did find this one fellow fan's blog post about the four seasons and the three animation studios. He wrote it right when S4 was just beginning, so it's a little skewed. (And it's hard for me to gauge whether his optimism for S4 would've remained intact by season's end or not.) But it's still quite the fun read, to see what a fellow fan thinks about the studio shake-up.

Spoiler: he agrees that S1 by Daume was the best season.
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Old 06-30-2015, 06:05 AM   #124
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That's a solid analysis of the four seasons. I'm of the belief that season 1 > season 3 > season 4 > season 2. I think most people agree on the quality of seasons, with the most contentious debate being season 3 vs season 4 (although I saw some crazy people claiming that 4 is better than 1). I admit that season 4 is superior to 3 visually, but 3 is better overall. Even the much maligned season 2 is okay. My favourite is the cup noodle scene at the end of episode 10. I find those touching Kana/Chiaki moments to be so awwww, due to their extreme rarity.

I might take on the disrobing cosplay suggested by Talon. I need to spend a month doing sit-ups and letting my hair grow out, then we'll see.
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Old 07-18-2015, 07:47 PM   #125
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Oh lord, I did the suggested cosplay.

Spoiler tagging because this shit is NSFW.

Spoiler: show


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