Because Miu wanted to see Ana's house, "everyone" decided to drop in on her. ("Everyone" somehow excluding Matsuri.) Nobue thinks they should've taken the moped, but Chika reminds the girl who already did it in episode 8, and who's smoking and drinking four years too early, that it's illegal. She had also thought that Matsuri was the only one to have gone to Ana's house, and asks Miu what kind of place it is. Nobue just wants to know where it is and how much farther it is. Miu reveals that she has no idea, and is knocked on her face for it.
Episode 12: Ana's House
(The episode page shows Nobue and Chika kinda just waking up. Nobue's facing a clock, and looks like she's saying something to Chika. Chika is on her knees in the bed, pillow on legs, yawning.)
This episode is the first to have little titles at the tops of some pages.
Totally Mod
They call in Matsuri, who points the way. Right from the exterior, they kind of have an idea of her wealth. ("Dontsu"? That's what the katakana onomatopoeia says...) Miu has "a bad feeling about this", and decides to ring the doorbell and run off. She does, and hides. Ana opens the gate and notes that they're all there. (More than she knows.) They explain that the wanted to hang out, and are invited in. The gate shuts once they're inside, leaving the one whose idea it was out.
Like Fabre
and his Ants
(As of this writing, I see nothing about ants, as such, but he was the only entomologist on the disambiguation page. I see processional caterpillars, which may be relevant later.)
They marvel at her room. Chika says it's really cute. Nobue decides that this is what a foreigner's habitat looks like, and notices her computer. She asks what Ana uses it for. Among the answers: manga fan sites and oekaki boards. Then they hear a scream from outside; Chika wonders what it is. It's Miu, running from Mr. Tadakichi Cherry a large white dog, possibly a Great Pyrenees. Nobue identifies her. Chika asks about the dog. It's their puppy, named Frusciante. Nobue muses that Miu is doomed, and asks if the dog bites; Ana hasn't seen him do so. Frusciante chases Miu around a patio table. (Hence the reference to Fabre.) Miu asks who's being chased now; Nobue figures it's still her.
Magik Touch
Inside, Miu calls the dog psychotic, and says someone should teach it some manners; Nobue says that was the dog's goal for her. Ana offers Miu a drink; Miu accepts, still recovering. Nobue is impressed both by the backyard and by the dog. Miu asks the dog's name. I think this must be Chika or possibly Matsuri answering with "Fu-...Furu-something-or-other?" because Ana would know, and Nobue said it right. Miu decides to nick it down to "Lil' Fu-y", "Fu-rry", or "Fu-tan". Nobue seems to recall her being pissed at him 30 seconds ago...
He'd Be a "White" Man
Over, or perhaps after, cake, Nobue examines Ana's wall of musical artists and groups. She mentions Radiohead and Randy Travis. Ana is delighted that she's heard of them, and has listened to them. Ana has found that nobody else she's met has. Nobue figures that it's because she hangs out with elementary school kids, and notes that her tastes are pretty mature even for an English girl. Miu interjects that she knows who Landy Torabisu is, recalling the Red/White Music Battle from New Year's. Nobue says they're talking about Western music.
Wonderland
Youkoso kimi ni wa -- whoops, sorry...
Chika asks what it's like in the part of England Ana's from. Ana says she's from Cornwall (Ko-nworu), a peninsula in the warmest part of England. She closes her eyes, remembering her early years, and how lovely and natural it was. The Itou sisters picture the lovely and natural scenery. Matsuri pictures a "wall" of cornstalks. Miu pictures a bag of candy corn (though apparently, their candy corn is shaped like cheese curls)... at half price. She asks what Ana is trying to say about Japan, while Chika wonders if Miu's brain is okay.
Unjustifiable Talent
Miu makes a random announcement: her body is extremely flexible. Chika points out that nobody asked; Miu demonstrates by sitting with her legs at a right angle and bending forward. (If you remember Yomi stretching... like that.) Someone says it looks unhealthy. "Amazing, huh?" says Miu. Nobue agrees, but not in the the connotation she was going for. Miu says she's called "the mountain goat", but Nobue explains that it's a nickname for people who run fast.
Fools
Miu thinks Matsuri looks pretty flexible, and decides to test her by pushing her upper back. Nobue cautions her not to break Matsuri's back. Matsuri bends a little bit, but it hurts. Nobue says that neither she nor Chika is very flexible, and confirms this (by asking) with Chika. Miu asks "Coppola", who tells her not to call her that. Miu feels this unsatisfactory, and tells the "fools" that they need to limber up. So she's going to tell them how to bring this about. Chika figures her advice will be along the lines of "bury rubber bands in your backyard". Miu says she's not going to give nutty advice like that. No, her advice is to do stretching exercises after every bath. Chika still thinks it's deranged.
Hands Down Advantage
Chika asks what brought about her pointless obsession. Miu says there are a million benefits. As an example, she drops an eraser. A flexible person like Miu can bend over at the waist and pick it up. Chika would rather just squat.
Name Dropping
Miu calls "Coppola", who reiterates that she doesn't want to be called that. Miu asks why not. Ana vaguely relates that she had a bad experience at her last school. Nobue tries to appeal to her sense of family pride in her surname, but Miu says it's pretty dippy sounding. Nobue brings up the director (probably Francis Ford Coppola), and figures there are other successful people with that name. Miu tells Ana not to let the sound of the world cracking up at her surname bother her. Nobue tells her that what really matters is what's inside, but Miu says that her name and looks will decide how people judge her, and will affect her life more than anything else.
Miu is removed from the room. Ana sobs on Nobue's knee as she tries to comfort Ana. Nobue points out that they have ways of making Miu stop talking. Miu says she's just telling it like it is, but Nobue threatens her with her own weird nickname. Like what? Like "The Consadole Sapporo Division 2 Soccer Team of Hokkiado, Japan". (Probably because they'd been doing terribly as of the year of this volume's publication: 2003.)
Planer
Miu stares at Ana as she sits, reading. She focuses on Ana's chest area as Ana asks if she can help her. Ana, it seems, is slightly, yet noticeably... developed in that area. Miu places her hands on her own chest. Flat. She asks Nobue to pound her on the back. After she does so, Miu looks disappointedly down her shirt. Nobue tells her they're not just going to suddenly pop out.
Open and Shut, Game and Match
Miu is determined that she's not going to lose. Nobue wonders to whom (and remarks that the way she's bent over exposes her panties... not that Miu cares; see episode 7.) She looks into Ana's wardrobe. She thinks the outfits inside are the extent of her clothing, but Ana says that what's in the wardrobe is just her favorites appropriate to the season, and that most of her clothes are in her dressing room. Miu marvels at the quantity and quality of her clothing. Ana seems delighted that she thinks so, and asks why she's crying.
Did Your Mama Never Teach You Right?
Ana thanks them for stopping by. Nobue apologizes for Miu's behavior, and promises to leave her tied up at home next time. Miu objects to this idea. Chika says she'll see her at school.
On the way home, she remarks about her house. Miu plans to bring Satake next time, thinking she can beat up Frusciante. Nobue nixes the dog-fighting aspect of the idea, but says they should go back sometime, like on a day off. Then she notices Miu's bag. It seems stuffed. This is because she grabbed some of Ana's clothes. Nobue yells at her for it.
HALLO WORK
This time, it's Matsuri as a veterinarian. She's sitting, holding a dog.
Next is Miu as a stewardess. She's seated in an airline seat, drinking from a coffee mug with a tray beside her.
Next time: Episode 13!
