History Headscratchers / AiYoriAoshi

*** Aoi's father uses the exact phrase "playing house" in one translation of the manga scene when Aoi is to be married off to someone else besides either Kaoru (the son of a trader, who isn't discussed in any more detail except for him being someone who isn't the Kaoru Aoi loves). That marriage deal is somewhat strange, especially since [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/ai_yori_aoshi/v17/c134/14.html the terms of the will technically don't apply to the other Kaoru]]. It's possible that there's more to the Sakuraba family leadership than Aoi's parents, as Aoi's mother notes in Chapter 102 that it would be difficult for the Sakuraba to accept Kaoru considering his prospects (as opposed to specifically talking about her husband), despite her deciding to trust Aoi and Miyabi's favorable views of him.

** Having read Volume 17, this troper thinks that what Kaoru and Aoi ''did'' do [[{{CrowningMomentOfAwesome}} kicked ass]]. [[spoiler:Essentially, "Take the name, the money, and the status, and shove 'em. That other dude can have it."]] Though he was very polite about it.

* This one may not quite rise to the level of this page, but : Just what was Miyabi confabbing with Kaoru about all those times in private? I would have assumed that she was asking him about rejoining the Hanabishis, but he did not seem reluctant to speak with her, and they often were shown looking over ledgers. ItJustBugsMe that the business they were discussing was never elaborated upon. Please--no jokes about K/Miy.

* Is it safe to say that Miyabi's hostility towards Kaoru isn't personal, just part of the job?
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* The {{Fanservice}}. This is the only manga I've read where the fanservice actually started to get in the way of my enjoyment (without actually driving me away). Not so much the [[FuroScene bath scenes]] (most of which are either funny, or just don't seem out of place), or the [[ContemptibleCover cover art]] (...what? Aoi's cute). It's the [[MaleGaze gratuitous camera angles]] that really get to me...
** I completely agree about the fan service. But I went on. Heck, I like half-naked college girls. But when it devolved into half naked (or completely naked) twelve year olds, I dropped it faster then a hot potato. And to make it worse, if that is even possible, the twelve year old characters are blitheringly insane.
*** I didn't mind Chika's parts so much. Partly because I don't mind her character that much (I was surprised to see her listed in TheScrappy page), and partly ''LoveHina''-induced comedic ''ofuro'' fanservice desensitization (if it's supposed to be humorous, whether or not I find it funny, it doesn't bug me, since it at least ''has'' a purpose beyond titilation). That said, I ''do'' question some of the twelve year-old's scenes (like them watching porno)...
**** Were they quite that young? I got the impression of fourteen to sixteen, though I did begin to wonder, both about the manganka, and for that matter, myself. I will say, it was refreshing to *not* see Kaoru get the beatdown for all these sequences, with the girls actually recognizing their own roles in being exposed. As to cover art being a bit much, some of the ones for ''Manga/ElfenLied'' are to fanservice what the story within is to horror, and many of those feature Nana and Mayu! Mayu-EL in particular is a girl I do not want to be thought of in that way. So while the covers for AYO went a bit there, they were not as bad as they could be. The intent might be less lecherous than 'appreciate the blossoming beauty of a young woman', but the half-off swimsuits and bathroom exposure scene did kind of throw me. SOT : I constantly hear the lament/joke in animanga after an exposure scene, particularly full frontal, that the woman 'can no longer get married' Precise genesis, anyone? A link will do.
**** Chika and her friends are not twelve. They were at the youngest late middle school, but as I recall they were in high school as of their first appearances. The perceived youth may be because the main cast is drawn similarly to high schoolers (and early college students) from series like LoveHina (early on) with characters like Chika being middle schoolers. In fact, the reason Chika moved to the house may have been her starting at a nearby high school.

<<|ItJustBugsMe|>>

** Japan is not America. If his grandfather is as powerful and rich as he appears to be, nothing would probably happen and Kaoru would probably be further punished for the attempt to "shame the family."

** Once again, Japan is not America. There's family loyalty, ''but it's expected to flow mostly from children to parents.'' Children are expected to obey their elders without question. Admittedly, this is a very old-fashioned attitude very few Japanese families still follow strictly, but the Sakurabas are ''exactly'' the sort of stick-up-the-rear old fashioned types who would treat it as truth.

*** Doesn't Kaoru's behavior here seem a little [[OedipusComplex Oedipal]], sure his dad's dead, but his grandfather, who took him in, beat him up for protecting the only thing that reminded Kaoru of his mother, and then kicked him out of the Hanabishis for it, not to forget to mention that he thought the Hanabishis would resort to offering a girl (in this case, Aoi) just to bring him back, or am I just being overanalytical here?

*** That's so evil. Then move onto my Plan B, and just kill the old man. Maybe poison, and knife, or a gun, but at that point I'd do it if I was maltreated so horrifically. Use your aggressive feelings boy. Let the ''hate'' flow through you. [[Main/TakeThat Now where ever did I get those lines?]]

**** Were they quite that young? I got the impression of fourteen to sixteen, though I did begin to wonder, both about the manganka, and for that matter, myself. I will say, it was refreshing to *not* see Kaoru get the beatdown for all these sequences, with the girls actually recognizing their own roles in being exposed. As to cover art being a bit much, some of the ones for ''Manga/ElfenLied'' are to fanservice what the story within is to NightmareFuel, and many of those feature Nana and Mayu! Mayu-EL in particular is a girl I do not want to be thought of in that way. So while the covers for AYO went a bit there, they were not as bad as they could be. The intent might be less lecherous than 'appreciate the blossoming beauty of a young woman', but the half-off swimsuits and bathroom exposure scene did kind of throw me. SOT : I constantly hear the lament/joke in animanga after an exposure scene, particularly full frontal, that the woman 'can no longer get married' Precise genesis, anyone? A link will do.

**** Were they quite that young? I got the impression of fourteen to sixteen, though I did begin to wonder, both about the manganka, and for that matter, myself. I will say, it was refreshing to *not* see Kaoru get the beatdown for all these sequences, with the girls actually recognizing their own roles in being exposed. As to cover art being a bit much, some of the ones for ''Manga/ElfenLied'' are to fanservice what the story within is to HighOctaneNightmareFuel , and many of those feature Nana and Mayu! Mayu-EL in particular is a girl I do not want to be thought of in that way. So while the covers for AYO went a bit there, they were not as bad as they could be. The intent might be less lecherous than 'appreciate the blossoming beauty of a young woman', but the half-off swimsuits and bathroom exposure scene did kind of throw me. SOT : I constantly hear the lament/joke in animanga after an exposure scene, particularly full frontal, that the woman 'can no longer get married' Precise genesis, anyone? A link will do.

**** Were they quite that young? I got the impression of fourteen to sixteen, though I did begin to wonder, both about the manganka, and for that matter, myself. I will say, it was refreshing to *not* see Kaoru get the beatdown for all these sequences, with the girls actually recognizing their own roles in being exposed. As to cover art being a bit much, some of the ones for ElfenLied are to fanservice what the story within is to HighOctaneNightmareFuel , and many of those feature Nana and Mayu! Mayu-EL in particular is a girl I do not want to be thought of in that way. So while the covers for AYO went a bit there, they were not as bad as they could be. The intent might be less lecherous than 'appreciate the blossoming beauty of a young woman', but the half-off swimsuits and bathroom exposure scene did kind of throw me. SOT : I constantly hear the lament/joke in animanga after an exposure scene, particularly full frontal, that the woman 'can no longer get married' Precise genesis, anyone? A link will do.

* Having read Volume 17, this troper thinks that what Kaoru and Aoi ''did'' do [[{{CrowningMomentOfAwesome}} kicked ass]]. [[spoiler:Essentially, "Take the name, the money, and the status, and shove 'em. That other dude can have it."]] Though he was very polite about it.