Troperville
Editing Help
Tools
Toys
|
|
|
Nogizaka Haruka No Himitsu
|
alt title(s): The Secret Of Haruka Nogizaka
Translation: The Secret of Haruka Nogizaka
Ordinary High School Student Ayase Yuuto happens to be in the same class as the eponymous character Nogizaka Haruka, an Ojou with lots of high class qualities: she's athletic, smart, graceful and a champion of martial arts and piano competitions. Not to mention she's so cute that Even The Girls Want Her, with a tally of refused suitors said to be in the triple digits...wow, talk about a Mary Sue, eh?
But after a chance encounter at the school's library, Yuuto learns her terrible secret: she's been a closet anime and manga otaku for years. Haruka's terrified people will reject her when they find out, but Yuuto accepts her and promises to keep her secret, even though he doesn't understand the whole point in the otaku culture. Talk about a Knight In Shining Armor. As the series progresses, the two grow closer and Yuuto learns more about Haruka, her past, and her family — as well as the otaku world and lifestyle.
The show's light in romance, with plenty of comedy throughout. It's also extremely moe and one of the few series to highlight the actuality that diehard anime otaku are mostly scorned in reality.
Based on a series of light novels by Igarashi Yuusaku. The first season aired in the summer of 2008. A second season, Nogizaka Haruka No Himitsu Purezza, aired in the fall of 2009.
This show contains examples of:
- Accidental Pervert - Yuuto with Shiina more times than should be possible. Also that little incident with Hazuki at the hot springs
- Actor Allusion - Episode 11 of Purezza, where Gentou goes back to his days of Scary Shiny Glasses and commanding robots in an underground base
- Almost Kiss - The master of this trope, especially Purezza.
- And Knowing Is Half The Battle - Each On The Next in Purezza features a pair of characters letting the viewers learn a new piece of otaku terminology related to the next episode
- Badass Adorable - Haruka dosen't have a personal team of maids as much as she has a personal squad of very skilled (and cute) bodyguards, including the Token Loli
- Crouching Moron Hidden Badass - Given her personality, it is very easy to forget that Haruka is an accomplished martial artist with a black belt in Aikido. Demonstrated when she over-the-shoulder throws a guy harassing Yuuto before Yuuto can even start telling him off
- Badass Family - The Nogizaka Family
- Beware The Nice Ones - Akiho, Haruka and Mika's mother, tends to cow husband Gentou into submission with either threats or direct violence; it helps that she has a Battle Aura.
- Big Damn Heroes - Akiho's preferred type of entrance.
- Bird Run - Briefly used by Hazuki when she's about to leap across roofs.
- Bitch In Sheeps Clothing - Kayahara Yayoi, the idol-singer agent.
- Blade On A Stick - In the light novels, Shiina's a naginata enthusiast.
- Bottle Fairy - Namely Ruko, Yuuto's sister, but Yuuto's homeroom teacher Yukari is just as equally drunk, exactly like another, well-known, Yukari.
- Brand X - PDS (Portable Dream Station), which looks like a possible lovechild of the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS.
- Bunny Ears Lawyer - Haruka sees herself as this, and tries very hard to hide the ears.
- Butt Monkey - Gento's overly strict Knight Templar Parent tendencies seems to bring him nothing but hilariously Amusing Injuries, courtesy of Akiho
- Catch Phrase - "Ara ara!" for both Akiho and Nanami.
- Celebrity Paradox - Nanami distracts Nobunaga in episode 4 by telling him she saw voice actress Kana Ueda not far from where they were. Take a wild guess who voices Nanami.
- In the first episode of Purezza, it's heavily implied that Yuuto and Haruka see Mamiko Noto at a special anime event.
- Everything comes full circle in Purezza: N's, the idol group formed from the shows' five main voice actresses, appear as themselves, recording a scene from Nocturne. Nobunaga also informs Yuuto to keep an eye out for Reiko Takagi, who voices the former
- Chainsaw Good - Hazuki, who literally pulls it out of nowhere.
- The Chew Toy - Shiina, who has a tendency to clumsily stumble into Fanservicey Panty Shot and Not What It Looks Like situations that are played for laughs at her expense.
- Christmas Cake - Judging by Hazuki's teenager appearance in Haruka's flashbacks to her own early-childhood, Hazuki would probably be around this age bracket by now, but likely under 30. In any case, she is still cute as a girl 10 years younger than her.
- Cool Old Guy - Yuuto meets one on the beach during episode eleven. Turns out it's Ouki Nogizaka, Haruka's grandfather.
- Cool Shades - Nanami and Gentou both sport them.
- Concert Climax - Type B variation, and it's spread across two events: Milan's concert and Haruka's audition. The first features Suspiciously Apropos Music, while the second has Gentou buying out Three Piece Productions to save his daughter
- Crash Into Hello - Once An Episode (or more) for the first few
- Cross Popping Veins - On occasion, usually with Yuuto
- Crowning Moment Of Awesome - Gentou and his private army bust into Yuuto's house, has them literally pin down Ruko and Hazuki, and levels a katana at Yuuto's face, blaming him for "corrupting" his daughter via their exploration of the otaku lifestyle. Yuuto. Does. NOT. Back down, and figuratively gives Gentou the finger for not letting Haruka persue her hobbies. This triggers a power-up for Ruko and Hazuki and gets them ready for the next attack...until Akiho arrives.
- Crowning Music Of Awesome - Purezza's Opening. It ROCKS!
- Crystal Ball Scheduling — Somehow, Nocture Girls' School Lacrosse Club knows what's going on with Haruka and Yuuto.
- Cute Mute - Alice, another one of the Nogizaka family maids. Doubles as a Cute Bruiser, packing enough strength to crack open the ground armed with a pair of brass knuckles. Purezza attemps to justify this: in episode five, Alice does speak a few words, but since she's German, she has trouble adapting to the Japanese language
- Cute Little Fangs - Most of the female cast exhibit one, usually on the right side of the mouth. The only exceptions are Haruka, Akiho and the Maid Team. Becomes quite prominent whenever a character contemplates mischief
- Dancing Theme - The ending theme "Hitosashiyubi Quiet!", which features a Meido dance party. Purezza also includes more dancing, but it's done in a Super Deformed style
- Death Glare - Given mostly to Yuuto (and sometimes Haruka), by anyone who's too enarmored at Haruka and jealous at the notion of them being together. Even old men...and a cat...
- Dojikko - Haruka's a bit of an airhead. Also, the titular character in the Show Within A Show
- Drop The Hammer - Nanami, who also pulls it out of nowhere
- Drunken Master — Ruko and Yukari, on booze, can do things thought impossible by the Nogizaka maids
- Evil Foreigner - Shute Sutherland, who adheres to Screw The Rules I Have Money. Granted, he's not really evil, just a Jerkass Spoiled Brat, but it's the most "evil" you can get for this light-hearted show
- Fanservice
- Festival Episode — Set on New Years'
- First Kiss - Apparently done in the finale, but the view's blocked during the event by a sizable eel in a tank placed conveniently in the room
- The Girl Wearing The Princess Mask - The reason why she hides her hobby. Granted, she doesn't suffer too much personally, as she's good at everything...except drawing
- Groin Attack — Poor Gentou, courtesy of Alice-chan in Episode 12 of Purezza.
- Go Nagai Sideburns - Gentou
- Gratuitous Russian - In episode two, Haruka's able to converse with some Russian tourists in their own language. It's grammatically correct, but prononunced with absurdly thick Japanese accents.
- Guilty Pleasure — It's almost impossible to find a show so unapologetic about being THIS sweet, heartwarming and romantic since Ah My Goddess.
- Henpecked Husband - Not even the fearsome Gentou can stand up to his disturbingly calm and beautiful wife Akiho
- Hot Mom - Akiho, whom to her delight was mistaken for Haruka's older sister by Yuuto
- Hot Springs Episode - The first episode of Purezza, with plenty of Censor Steam
- In such a way it's only where it needs to be. In fact, it has a well defined edge where it doesn't need to be anymore
- Varies according to which version you watch: some versions have plenty of Censor Steam, some don't. Especially apparent in fan subs of Purezza, where some characters are obliterated with this, while clearly visible in another
- Lets not forget the Last episode of Purezza and the first 10 mins.
- I Didnt Mean To Turn You On - Yuuto's massages apparently brings people to the throes of sexual ecstasy...or something to its equivalent...
- Idol Singer - Milan Himemiya, a star in the background of the show, appears in person in episode six of Purezza
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming - Every episode's a quote from Haruka or another relevant character, though for some reason or other, Purezza's loaded with a lot more innuendo
- A lot more, you say? Try listing them in order: that's NOT innuendo, my friend...
- Innocent Innuendo - Mika, whose mind's questionably dirty for her age, listens in on Yuuto and Haruka behind a closed door and assumes something else entirely when they were making pancakes.
- Then there's the doujinshi drawing scene in Purezza's second episode.
- Instant Fan Club - Haruka, of course, even though she's oblivious
- I Was Quite A Looker - Gentou during his younger years...quite a looker, really
- Jerkass - Shute's a by-the-book Jerkass. Ruko (and to a lesser extent, Yukari) skirts on this trope, considering for most of the time, they're drunk and make Yuuto do EVERY chore in the Ayase household. At one point, just because she's hungry, she indirectly makes Yuuto's hard work in Touka's house only worth...a buck
- Kirk Summation - Yuuto's very fond of this. He delivers it to both Gentou in the first season, and later Shute in Purezza
- Knight Templar Parent - Even when he stops enforcing his views on Haruka's hobbies, Gentou remains endearingly over-protective, but was unhappy enough to try and chop Yuto with his katana when he thought the boy tried to take Haruka's chastity.
- This troper certainly thinks Yuuto was going to take it, and Haruka was more than willing
- The Krusty - Milan's a younger than usual example; bossy, quick to anger, inconsiderate and clearly disillusioned with the idol singer industry she's gotten herself into, though at this point, it's implied that her Manipulative Bitch of an agent Yayoi Kayahara may have had something to do with it, most likely by destroying a past relationship for Milan's career, like she's now doing to Yuuto and Haruka's
- Les Yay - Ruko and Yukari
- Let Her Grow Up Dear - Even if the fearsome
crime boss businessman Gentou wants his little girl Haruka to stay "pure" forever, his very "convincing" wife Akiho isn't going to have any of that, oh no...
- Love Triangle - Type 4, with Shiina in the "A" spot and Yuuto and Haruka in "B" and "C", respectively
- Luminescent Blush - Haruka blushes more than most anime characters in recent memory
- Manipulative Bitch - Yayoi, the idol singer agent; the most malicious character in the franchise, so far
- Meido - Haruka's family has a large contingent of maids, but only a select few take the spotlight. Hazuki, Nanami and Alice are the most prominent, but Purezza introduces the top ten maids. The seventh spot's filled by a group of triplets, and the second rank's curiously absent, for reasons nobody wants to go into
- Moe Ojou - Haruka
- My Name Is Not Durwood — During his temporary stint as a butler, Yuuto ends up with the name "Rodriguez"
- Names To Know In Anime - To drive home the fact the Nogizaka family is a Badass Family:
- New Transfer Student - Shiina
- Ninja Maid - Hazuki, who can roof hop and knock down Gentou's men with ease.
- Not What It Looks Like - Used for drama in episode ten
- Obfuscating Stupidity - Nobunaga seems to know far more than he should....
- Ocular Gushers - Gentou during episode twelve
- Oddly Named Sequel - Season two' titled Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu Purezza♪. Yes, the musical note's part of the title. Curiously, though the second season's subtitle translates to "purity" in Italian, it's more sexually-charged than the first
- Official Couple - Yuuto and Haruka, and it can't fool anymore
- Oh Crap - Episode five; that is all
- Ojou - While Haruka's the one the audience sees most often, Purezza introduces Touka, who's exactly what people think of when they recall the likes of Louise and Shana. She even makes a direct reference to another familiar character
- One Gender School - Mika's middle school, where she doubles as the Student Council President.
- Otaku - Aside from Haruka, Nobunaga, though he's much more open about it
- Overprotective Dad - Gentou, to the point he has his private army hunt down Haruka whenever she's not where he wants her to be
- Panty Shot - A couple of times, though not too gratuitous than it needs to be
- Post Episode Trailer - Borrows On The Next Episode Of Catch Phrases from various other series, such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gao Gai Gar, Martian Successor Nadesico, Gunbuster, Onegai Teacher...
- Proud To Be A Geek - Nobunaga
- Rape As Comedy - End of Purezza's episode two. Poor, poor Shiina.
- Relationship Voice Actor - Gentou is voiced by Fumihiko Tachiki and Akiho by Aya Hisakawa. Now, this troper wants to know whether the Captain of the 11th Division Kenpachi Zaraki is scared of Captain of the 4th Division Unohana Retsu
- If he's smart he is. Kenpachi's mooks are most definately afraid of Unohana.
- Rich Bastard - Shute; picture him as the Distaff Counterpart of Eliza Reagan, except he's less "monstrous" and always get his comeuppance for his Jerkassery. And he gets his own Boy Posse
- She Is Not My Girlfriend - Invoked several times in Purezza and continues to appear more from then on. No one buys it
- I think by the end of Purezza we can assume that this trope is null and void.
- Shout Out - Haruka dresses up as Shana in episode four, and even does the "Urusai, urusai, urusai!" catchphrase. The Comiket episode includes more Shana references with Nanami dressing up as Wilhelmina and Mika as Hecate. Hazuki is Dokuro-chan. Inukami also makes a brief appearance and the second episode features the opening theme to Strawberry Marshmellow's OVA playing in the background.
- In the "next episode preview" of Purezza's second episode, Mika explains Tsundere with a silhouette of a certain someone who looks like The Trope Pantheon's Goddess of Tsundere.
- Said Shout Out gets to be viewed fully in the third episode, where they pigeonhole Shana's voice actress as a tsundere again. Oh, and the palm top tiger is seen on Touka's palm.
- Touka herself might be shoutout to Raoh of Fist Of The North Star, in her penchant to threaten people with walking over burning metal, the desire for world domination, and owning an elephant-sized black "pony", much like Koku-Oh. And her family "inheritance problem" sounds awfully familiar to Hokuto Shinken's...
- Also this one wish by Nobunaga:
- Quite possibly, naming Hazuki's counterpart in Purezza's Show Within A Show as Kuzuha. Haven't we seen something similar in practice?
- In Episode 12 of Purezza, Shiina gets teased into resembling another famous Moe Blob - with head steam, even.
- In Episode 12, nothing emphasizes just how angry Akiho is at catching Gento with a half naked Shiina, who stumbled onto the old-man's Futon thinking he is Yuuto underneath than a Glowing Golden Aura and her hair standing on its ends like a Super Saiyajin.
- Ship Tease
- Show Within A Show - Dojikko Aki-chan.
- Purezza introduces Nocturne Girls' School Lacrosse Club, which borders on Visions Of Another Self, considering the leads resemble Nogizaka's own main characters.
- Sibling Yin Yang - Haruka's naive and quiet, while little sister Mika's more forward and easygoing
- Sound Only Death - Though Shute isn't killed in this case, the audience does get to hear his screamsas the dozens of maids and butlers he spat on and insulted walk ominously towards him, eyes glowing angrily....
- Cant forget to mention Akiho kicking Gento's ass in episode 12.
- Spit Take - Mika's reaction to her friends asking if Yuuto is her boyfriend.
- Spoiled Brat - Shute, through and through.
- Tears Of Blood - Played for laughs at the end of Season 2 when Gentou catches Haruka and Yuuto just as they are about to have sex in a snowed-in cabin.
- Theme Tune Cameo - In episode 7, while cooking breakfast, Haruka hums the show's ending theme
- The Stoic - Hazuki
- Twelve Episode Anime
- Super Deformed - Haruka frequently shifts into this style
- Unwanted Harem - Yuuto has a small one forming around him, as the meddling, matchmaking maids all seem to be developing crushes on him, in addition to Shiina and...maybe Yukari
- Verbal Tic - Not as overused as a certain Rozen Maiden, but Nanami does occasionally follow up Mika's sentences with desu
- Yaoi Fangirl - One of the girl's at Mika's school displays a great deal of curiousness about the state of guys at Yuuto's coed school
- Leave it to Mika to corrupt the minds of today's youth, says this troper
- Yamato Nadeshiko - Namely Akiho, but Haruka definitely inherits some of her mother's traits
- Yandere - Seems to be the focus of episode seven. Shiina might be one to swing this way
|
|