Hanasaku Iroha

^Is Minko actually called Minchi in the show, or are you getting confused?

Also, despite Nako apologizing and also saving a dude, I still feel like she should eat the taro because.... i dunno. But she should.

Minchi is what Nako calls Minko.

Nako calls her Minchi. I find it amusing.

Edit: Can't wait till Ohana calls her that. The explosion is going to be glorious

edited 17th Apr '11 10:55:17 PM by SakurazakiSetsuna

Okay. I am bad with names in general, names from different languages just makes it worse...

Reaction to episode 3:

"But balut is tasty!"

My reaction the balut thing was "GOD DAMMIT I WANT TO TRY BALUT".

Just to clarify Minko's "She betrayed me" line, I took it to mean that Minko realizes that it's technically her job to make breakfast for the staff. So if there's no breakfast, Minko gets blamed for it, even if Ohana said she'd take care of it.

Oh, Crunchyroll. You had to advertise Episode 3 with a snapshot of Ohana tied up...

Red Savant,

I thought the significance of the revenge meal was this:

Ohana preparing the meal = Ohana is announcing that she is part of the inn Nakama with Nako and Minko, and so they had better stop treating her like an outsider. Oh, and she's also angry at them, and won't accept being blamed for everything without punishing them.

Minko eating the spinach = Minko is signaling that she accepts Ohana as part of the inn Nakama even though she hates Ohana's guts (hence the insult). She also signals that she recognizes that she did do something wrong by telling Ohana to die (hence the change in insult).

At least that is what I got out of it. Basically it seemed a very Japanese thing of accepting someone as a member of the team, even when you personally can't stand them. Also, standing up for yourself indirectly, and apologizing without apologizing.

Nako signaled the same thing (minus the hate and personal dislike) with her offer of swimming lessons.

Speaking of Nakama, in case someone missed it in my other thread, I shall hereby repeat my discovery, that two shows in this season, one about a girl called Ohana, and another one known as Ano Hana, are based around the importance of An Ohana.

^*facepalm*

^^Yeah, basically. It's a way for the girls, Minko especially, to apologize without verbally apologizing, allowing Minko and Nako to set things straight with Ohana while still maintaining their relationship dynamics. Like I said, this show's all about form, its maintenance, and (probably) the later breakdown of obstructive and painful types of form.

Aaaanyway, moving on. Anyone else get an overwhelming feeling of 'Meh' from Ko? Not only does he threaten Minko/Ohana did he receive barely any characterization, what he did get was bland and extremely earnest in a vaguely annoying way.

edited 18th Apr '11 9:13:46 AM by RedSavant

^Well, considering they had only a part of the very first episode to just introduce him before he's shoved offstage, as it were, what'd you expect? I don't hold out much hope for us seeing him again before the end, unless he makes the trip to see Ohana on his own. I'm betting the series ends with Ohana returning to tell him her feelings, which on the one hand I hope she returns (cuz I root for guys like that), and on the other that she doesn't (because the "best friends fall for each other" thing is old and that's not how it works IRL most of the time).

^Not to mention that I doubt Ohana will be going back to Tokyo anytime soon; what with her work at Kissuiso and the Landylady's (entirely justified, looking at Ohana's mother) probable Thing against having her young female relatives run off to talk to boys...

Well, he's in the opening anyway. I could imagine him being a character who she texts a lot, and confides in when she has trouble or whatnot.

edited 18th Apr '11 9:42:13 AM by Clarste

Yeah, I think he will remain a distant figure, like whatsherface in Bakuman.

Wikipedia claims that the manga has not shown the two in contact, but I don't think the manga is very far ahead...

It started in a montly magazine in December, so if it follows a 1 chapter/episode ratio, then yeah, they are around the same time.

I suspect he's going to show up on his spring vacation. Remember he was trying to invite her to come along on their trip?

Chekhov's Gun says that's important.

And the fact that he appears in the OP.

But yeah I want to see that guy back in this show. Actual male characters that are Ohana's age would be nice.

Meh. I'm not actually averse to the idea of heterosexual romance (yuri goggles aside), but god Kou was dull. The very definition of bland.

Ko I don't care much about at the moment because I haven't been given a reason to care. Yet. I feel that I shall in time. Unless of course the opening and that one text he sent is lying to me. If they do get together then who knows what I will think. Depends on Ko's character which we haven't seen much of as of now. I'm not opposed to the idea at this point in time at least.

...still hoping for Minko/Ohana though. Even though I am pretty sure it will just end with them as good friends. LET ME DREAM.

Het romance doesn't bug me at all. I squee over it too, but you know...lesbians. Lesbians is my default when it comes to thinking of relationships. And females in general. At least in fiction...though I admit to being much more likely of assuming women are gay than men. Call it wishful thinking.

edited 18th Apr '11 1:39:09 PM by Aondeug

To be fair to Ko, he kind of acknowledges that.

I honestly suspect bland would be better for Ohana than crazy though. Poor girl has had enough of that in her life.

Hell no. And Kou has two major flaws. A) He's bland, and B) He has a penis.

I could live with one or the other, but both? No way.

Yeah his acknowledgment of being Blandy Mcblandpants is really the only thing the dude has going for him when it comes to regarding him positively if I think about it. He at least knows that he's bland and overly passive. He's aware of this and made at least some effort upon learning that Ohana was leaving.

Actually you know my initial reaction to his confession was rather bad. I don't like passive "I was hoping you'd realize..." shit. Mostly because I did that and it went fucking nowhere until I actually got up and admitted it. All it was was hard and dumb. And then I confessed and shit didn't go well at all. The confession was also amazingly indirect.

Then Ko disappeared and my opinion on him became "Oh...that dude...whatever back to bondage and yelling at Minko for fucking up the radishes again".

Additional note shit: I've noticed that I am much harder on male characters when it comes to them reminding me of my faults. Like Ohana. Ohana's behavior reminds me a lot of myself and I love her for it and want to see her get better and get her ass in gear. I still relate to them but in a way that is more likely to be "Fuck...I'm a fucking tard too...god dammit I hate you dude. Stop being me. Me sucks,". Females that is still likely to occur but I'm more forgiving of it much of the time. None of this means I necessarily do not like the character. I often hatelove the character. LIKE SHINJI. HI SHINJI.

...that's bad.

edited 18th Apr '11 1:48:54 PM by Aondeug

In my world, everyone is hetero until the opposite is textually stated.

I don't mind comical Ho Yay / Les Yay scenes with no relation to their actual orientation, I don't mind actual Yuri stories either, but that thing in-between, when you can't be sure?

edited 18th Apr '11 1:55:18 PM by EternalSeptember