Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, episode 2: the RETURN of the crack
Only in Japan, man.
note: Still don't know Japanese aside from a few words and phrases, and am going by complete context and my own snarky sensibilities.
A gravelly voiced announcer recaps us from the premiere episode - Ashiya Mizuki leaves her home in California to fly all the way to Japan in order to attend an all boy boarding school with her idol, Sano Izumi. He is nothing like she imagined, being surly and aloof, and after a series of embarrassing encounters, not all that thrilled with her being his roommate. And naturally, he assumes she's a boy....just really girly faced and possibly gay for him. After the stalking box explodes? Totally gay for him.
Mizuki's in the nurse office, where Umeda-sensei point blank asks why there's a girl in a boy's school. He goes after her, at one point squeezing her injured foot, so she can't go away - which is completely messed up, and it does add to the confusion about his character. Everytime he's encountered Mizuki, there's been a threatening/intrigued air about it, which is backed up by the musical cues (I love the background FX, music cues in this show). Fanwanking it, as a doctor, he should do no harm, but as an employee of Ohsaka Gakuen, he has to consider the safety of the 'legitimate' students - why is there a girl in a boy's school, and why is she trying so hard to blend in? Could she be a stalker? Etc, etc.
But still, considering that Mizuki is wee and at a disadvantage (her injured foot) and he's all looming over her, it does strike an uncomfortable tone.
Which is promptly broke up on the arrival of Yujiro, who comes to Mizuki's rescue and the Doctor immediately covers his privates, as Yujiro seems to be heading yonder....
Mizuki escapes and finds Sano, who is looking for Yujiro. She tries again to bridge the gap between them, but Sano isn't having any of it.
On her return to the dorms, Mizuki is confronted with the sight of Dorm 1, and Tennouji all on bended knees, asking for forgiveness in the great Tobasco affair.
The vice principal barges in, telling the students that the new candidates for Yet Another Wacky School Sponsored Event (Mr. Ohsaka) have been posted, and surprise, this year there's a new contestant - Ashiya Mizuki. Or he may be talking about Sano or the events of the marathon - since Dorm 3 cheated, and Dorm 1's victory is in question, a new way to determine a winner. I'm not sure. Nanba is still pissy about Nakao ratting him out to his harem of girlfriends, Oscar does his best Phantom of the Opera impression, and Mizuki wonders, not for the last time, if she's in a boy's school, or a mental ward, full of sexually confused morons.
Sekime, as the cutest voice of Exposition ever, fills Mizuki in on the Mr. Ohsaka contest and the previous contestants/winners - Sano is number one of course.
Also, back to sexually confused morons.....Nakatsu's GAY LOVE storyline is flipped on, and Toma runs with it, often having the best scenes in the entire episode. When he tries to apologize to Mizuki about abandoning him in the marathon, and then slings a comradely arm around him -- his [Nakatsu] heart starts beating incredibly fast.
Heart palpitations. We all know what that means.
Nakatsu's due for a heart attack. OF THE FUNNY KIND.
Mizuki is of course, blissfully unaware of Nakatsu's great big chest monster.
The St. Blossoms girl appear for their slated cameo/plot interfering ways - setting up the tiny side OTPs - Kanna for Tennouji, and um, whatsherface for Nakatsu. However, the Enforcer (the tallest Blossom) warns them not to get close - they're only there to watch, not get involved, and a pure platonic blah blah, there are teenage girls and there are teenage boys. Hormones are going to get involved, and I predict a bitchy catfight.
Stepping out of a gap ad, Sano stares off into the blue sky, shows off his scar (if that's what an Achilles tendon snapping scar looks like....) and Umeda-sensei tries to give him some kind of inspirational talk.
Meanwhile, Dorm 1 tries to escape from Tennouji's wrath, but finding the door locked, resign themselves to whatever Tennouji wants.
Dorm 2 are eating lunch, when Sano, in an oddly giddy and swaying mood, stumbles inside. He's smiling, and he asks Mizuki to accompany him somewhere. After Mizuki and Pod!Sano leave, Nanba sees the half empty plate of POSSIBLY ALCOHOLIC DRIED VEGETABLE (or is it fruit?) and puts two and two together. Sano's in full on kissing monster mode, and he's just left with an innocent Mizuki! OH, THE HORROR.
For some reason, Mizuki has a huge torch (flashlight) to shine into the dark, abandoned room that Sano wants her to go into. There's no sign on the door that says, "OBVIOUS YAOI SETUP", so you can forgive Mizuki for not catching on to the fact that Sano is not like himself - actually answering her questions, stumbling around like a drunken gazelle, KISSING HER........
I think I made a noise like a small squeaky toy when he did it. The setup is that Sano goes down like a tree, knocking various things off the shelves, and Mizuki attempts to shield him with her body, and Sano, in a gesture of appreciation lays one on her.
Now, as kisses go - it was a flat peck on the lips, but the way Oguri Shun rises up from drunken stupor made it seeeeeeeeeexy. Alas, my squeaker joy is shortlived, as Mizuki leans back and slaps him into unconsciousness, which is how her dormmates find them, a few seconds later.
And then explain that is just Sano's 'thing.' When he gets drunk - he kisses people, and a hilarious pan through of all the roommates in the dorm - "I got kissed." "I got kissed." He's even kissed the R.A.s of Dorm 1 and Dorm 3, Oscar being rather fey about the entire matter.
Oh, boy school romance. Mizuki is not happy.
Also, Nakatsu slaps/pats Sano's hip when he's safely put to bed, and it looks sometimes like he's being spanked. Seriously, they are working the yaoi fanservice here.
Like Juliet from her balcony (seriously, the distance between their beds cracks me up), Mizuki ponders the eternal mystery of Sano. Who is he really? The smiling number one golden boy from her memory, the surly and unemotional robot of her present, or......the kissy silly drunk?
Before Mizuki can get too emo, we are treated to the photographer making Umeda-sensei incredibly uncomfortable. HA! See how you like it.
Sano comes in to get some kind of release/medical form, and after that, he walks off to conveniently run into Mizuki....who is being tailed by Nakatsu and Kayashima. Honestly, this love triangle is becoming a square.
Kayashima tells Nakatsu his aura is pink.
Now the Mr. Ohsaka participants are listed, Nakatsu casually tries to put his hand on Mizuki's shoulder but finds he can't (very Akira move, Nakatsu), and then later takes him on a date. Er, out to eat teppanyaki.
But it's a total date in Nakatsu's mind.
Oh, and if you hadn't noticed - when Mizuki is with Nakatsu, I use 'he,' but when it's with Sano, I use 'she.'
Their date is significant for a number of reasons - they're by themselves, away from the usual school environment, and well, Nakatsu not so subtly hints that Mizuki's attention to Sano's activities may paint him as well....gay. That's the mauve kettle calling the teapot a sissy, don't you think?
Nakatsu glows pink and then my MOST FAVORITEST THING EVER: NAKATSU-VISION. Mizuki's bathed in pink light, surrounded by a frame of flowers. Total. Shoujo. Manga. Shout. Out.
(and that is why I cannot hate on this show for all the tiresome back and forth comparisons between the TW version and the manga, and because of the unfortunate social issues I'll get into later)
BECAUSE THE CRACK. IT IS SHINY.
Nakatsu is temporarily blinded by his vision of Mizuki, and dribbles water.
Mizuki switches over into Mom mode and gets up and dabs the water off of him like he's a little kid, which breaks Nakatsu out of his stupor, and forces him to run to the nearest open space and proclaim his masculinity - I SUPER LIKE WOMEN.
Oh Nakatsu. That's how it starts.
Sano walks Yujiro, which is not a euphemism in this episode, and hey, there's Shirota Yuu! Who has really spiky hair for someone who's on a jog, but yeah, as Kagurazaka, he's gorgeous, and appropriately tall enough to look Oguri Shun's Sano in the eye and be all disdainful. Or in my theater of crack, 'Man, why don't you call anymore? Or write?'
Because everyone is a little gay in this show. Seriously.
Nakatsu is a LOT, though - super gay for Mizuki, that is. As he grabs onto Nakatsu's hand and pulls him undercover behind some bushes, you can hardly blame the poor boy for heart palpitations. Because, hey! Behind some bushes! That is practically FIRST BASE for some boys.
Also, the visual gag of seeing Maki's small hand grabbing sideways to Toma's suddenly HUGE seeming hand is priceless.
And then they move it to a tree. SO STEALTHY.
The sight of Mizuki and Nakatsu exploding out of the background to protect Sano's honor from Kagurazaka, who is clearly talking SMACK about their boyfriend, is just....yeah.
And you can totally see Kagurazaka sizing Mizuki up and going, "You're kidding me, right. Sano, you left me for these two dweebs?"
Nakatsu puts his hand on Mizuki's shoulder and immediately spasms, as pink hearts burst out. That's infectious, you better get it looked at.
Dorm 3 is doing a Beetlejuice type exorcism, or Oscar's been infiltrated by a ghost, who knows? They're drama kids. It's like Monday, to them.
Despite Mizuki embarrassing him totally in front of Kagurazaka, they still have a heart warming game of catch with Yujiro as the mediator. Yujiro is the dog of love, I say. You can totally see them a few years down the road, being That Couple. The one that says, "go to mommy!" now "go to daddy" about their pets.
I kind of hate those people, but I'm just a bitter person, so let's roll with that.
Speaking of rolling...the highlight of the first half of the Mr. and Miss Ohsaka competition (yes, it's like Prom King and Queen) is Nakatsu stripteasing while doing tricks with the soccer ball. Yes, Ikuta Toma fans, if you've ever wanted to watch Toma strip off and suggestively kick around a soccer ball, this was the episode for you.
And the highlight of the second half? Mizuki in girl drag - though the plan was actually to have 'him' be completely naked. Seriously, WTF is with this school. Hazing and pranks = love, clearly here. Her roommates steal her clothes but the good doctor is on hand to hand her a shiny pink frock. And a Cher wig.
The real reason behind Mizuki's arrival in Japan is also revealed - apparently Sano was in the states for an overseas meet, and JUST HAPPENS to come across Mizuki getting roughed up by a bunch of hoodlums, who as per Japanese drama (and unfortunate racism) are black thugs. He jumps on them, they come after him and as he's trying to climb a fence, they cut his ankle.
yeah, say it with me now - as much as I think this type of framing device to give depth to Mizuki's feelings for Sano (it's practically on board with most TW dramas about triads and gangs! I mean, baseball bats magically appear out of nowhere!) is good, seeing the careless stereotyping isn't. America's not a paragon of virtue by any means, but there's been more and more barriers broken on mainstream television about accurate portrayals of minorities. For every black gangsta, pimp, and criminal, there's a teacher, a lawyer, a doctor, and so on - it's not about being overly sensitive or Politically Correct, it's about realizing words and images do have loaded connotations and being truthful. Since Japan's majority population are ethnically Japanese, and a very small percentage of their citizens are black (or Other), it's easy to go for the exotic stereotype. However, since the hip hop culture is so wildly marketed and embraced and loved internationally, the race issue and blackface and minstrel type of gags...seems at odds.
Also, as an Asian girl, I have been brought up in the ways of smart fear, ie, don't go around walking in shifty areas at night BY YOURSELF. California isn't all sunshine and Disneyland, we have poverty here, and we have gangs in the cities, and we have corrupt politicians just like anywhere else - and the chances of violent crime happening to a woman are significantly decreased when she DOESN'T WALK AROUND BY HERSELF AT NIGHT IN SHIFTY AREAS.
I mean, come on, train tracks! Have you never seen a horror movie? Any place by a train track is ripe environment to get murdered/raped/eaten by zombie hordes.
So yeah, Mizuki and Sano meet cute that way, and now here she is, being the butchest boy in the school.
Dressing up like a Barbie doll.
The reaction of her classmates is gold. Nakatsu gets a nosebleed, Nakatsu-vision takes over, and Mizuki wins the title of Miss Ohsaka....
with Mr. Ohsaka going to Yujiro.
He wins a LCD tv, by the way.
The gang celebrates in Mizuki and Sano's room (clearly because it's the largest) again, and Sano gets into the alchoholic vegetables again, and Nakatsu lunges in for the kiss Sano would have dropped on Mizuki, because he's protective that way.
Protective, and a little bit gay.
Next episode, Mizuki's big brother comes to visit, and it's played by none other than the poetry teacher/shifty underling from Nobuta Wo Produce/Sexy Voice & Robo (which really, was a series you shouldn't have missed.)!
NWP reunion in the house!
AND SANO FINALLY FINDS OUT MIZUKI'S A GIRL.
Accurate episode summaries are archived at doramasums
note: Still don't know Japanese aside from a few words and phrases, and am going by complete context and my own snarky sensibilities.
A gravelly voiced announcer recaps us from the premiere episode - Ashiya Mizuki leaves her home in California to fly all the way to Japan in order to attend an all boy boarding school with her idol, Sano Izumi. He is nothing like she imagined, being surly and aloof, and after a series of embarrassing encounters, not all that thrilled with her being his roommate. And naturally, he assumes she's a boy....just really girly faced and possibly gay for him. After the stalking box explodes? Totally gay for him.
Mizuki's in the nurse office, where Umeda-sensei point blank asks why there's a girl in a boy's school. He goes after her, at one point squeezing her injured foot, so she can't go away - which is completely messed up, and it does add to the confusion about his character. Everytime he's encountered Mizuki, there's been a threatening/intrigued air about it, which is backed up by the musical cues (I love the background FX, music cues in this show). Fanwanking it, as a doctor, he should do no harm, but as an employee of Ohsaka Gakuen, he has to consider the safety of the 'legitimate' students - why is there a girl in a boy's school, and why is she trying so hard to blend in? Could she be a stalker? Etc, etc.
But still, considering that Mizuki is wee and at a disadvantage (her injured foot) and he's all looming over her, it does strike an uncomfortable tone.
Which is promptly broke up on the arrival of Yujiro, who comes to Mizuki's rescue and the Doctor immediately covers his privates, as Yujiro seems to be heading yonder....
Mizuki escapes and finds Sano, who is looking for Yujiro. She tries again to bridge the gap between them, but Sano isn't having any of it.
On her return to the dorms, Mizuki is confronted with the sight of Dorm 1, and Tennouji all on bended knees, asking for forgiveness in the great Tobasco affair.
The vice principal barges in, telling the students that the new candidates for Yet Another Wacky School Sponsored Event (Mr. Ohsaka) have been posted, and surprise, this year there's a new contestant - Ashiya Mizuki. Or he may be talking about Sano or the events of the marathon - since Dorm 3 cheated, and Dorm 1's victory is in question, a new way to determine a winner. I'm not sure. Nanba is still pissy about Nakao ratting him out to his harem of girlfriends, Oscar does his best Phantom of the Opera impression, and Mizuki wonders, not for the last time, if she's in a boy's school, or a mental ward, full of sexually confused morons.
Sekime, as the cutest voice of Exposition ever, fills Mizuki in on the Mr. Ohsaka contest and the previous contestants/winners - Sano is number one of course.
Also, back to sexually confused morons.....Nakatsu's GAY LOVE storyline is flipped on, and Toma runs with it, often having the best scenes in the entire episode. When he tries to apologize to Mizuki about abandoning him in the marathon, and then slings a comradely arm around him -- his [Nakatsu] heart starts beating incredibly fast.
Heart palpitations. We all know what that means.
Nakatsu's due for a heart attack. OF THE FUNNY KIND.
Mizuki is of course, blissfully unaware of Nakatsu's great big chest monster.
The St. Blossoms girl appear for their slated cameo/plot interfering ways - setting up the tiny side OTPs - Kanna for Tennouji, and um, whatsherface for Nakatsu. However, the Enforcer (the tallest Blossom) warns them not to get close - they're only there to watch, not get involved, and a pure platonic blah blah, there are teenage girls and there are teenage boys. Hormones are going to get involved, and I predict a bitchy catfight.
Stepping out of a gap ad, Sano stares off into the blue sky, shows off his scar (if that's what an Achilles tendon snapping scar looks like....) and Umeda-sensei tries to give him some kind of inspirational talk.
Meanwhile, Dorm 1 tries to escape from Tennouji's wrath, but finding the door locked, resign themselves to whatever Tennouji wants.
Dorm 2 are eating lunch, when Sano, in an oddly giddy and swaying mood, stumbles inside. He's smiling, and he asks Mizuki to accompany him somewhere. After Mizuki and Pod!Sano leave, Nanba sees the half empty plate of POSSIBLY ALCOHOLIC DRIED VEGETABLE (or is it fruit?) and puts two and two together. Sano's in full on kissing monster mode, and he's just left with an innocent Mizuki! OH, THE HORROR.
For some reason, Mizuki has a huge torch (flashlight) to shine into the dark, abandoned room that Sano wants her to go into. There's no sign on the door that says, "OBVIOUS YAOI SETUP", so you can forgive Mizuki for not catching on to the fact that Sano is not like himself - actually answering her questions, stumbling around like a drunken gazelle, KISSING HER........
I think I made a noise like a small squeaky toy when he did it. The setup is that Sano goes down like a tree, knocking various things off the shelves, and Mizuki attempts to shield him with her body, and Sano, in a gesture of appreciation lays one on her.
Now, as kisses go - it was a flat peck on the lips, but the way Oguri Shun rises up from drunken stupor made it seeeeeeeeeexy. Alas, my squeaker joy is shortlived, as Mizuki leans back and slaps him into unconsciousness, which is how her dormmates find them, a few seconds later.
And then explain that is just Sano's 'thing.' When he gets drunk - he kisses people, and a hilarious pan through of all the roommates in the dorm - "I got kissed." "I got kissed." He's even kissed the R.A.s of Dorm 1 and Dorm 3, Oscar being rather fey about the entire matter.
Oh, boy school romance. Mizuki is not happy.
Also, Nakatsu slaps/pats Sano's hip when he's safely put to bed, and it looks sometimes like he's being spanked. Seriously, they are working the yaoi fanservice here.
Like Juliet from her balcony (seriously, the distance between their beds cracks me up), Mizuki ponders the eternal mystery of Sano. Who is he really? The smiling number one golden boy from her memory, the surly and unemotional robot of her present, or......the kissy silly drunk?
Before Mizuki can get too emo, we are treated to the photographer making Umeda-sensei incredibly uncomfortable. HA! See how you like it.
Sano comes in to get some kind of release/medical form, and after that, he walks off to conveniently run into Mizuki....who is being tailed by Nakatsu and Kayashima. Honestly, this love triangle is becoming a square.
Kayashima tells Nakatsu his aura is pink.
Now the Mr. Ohsaka participants are listed, Nakatsu casually tries to put his hand on Mizuki's shoulder but finds he can't (very Akira move, Nakatsu), and then later takes him on a date. Er, out to eat teppanyaki.
But it's a total date in Nakatsu's mind.
Oh, and if you hadn't noticed - when Mizuki is with Nakatsu, I use 'he,' but when it's with Sano, I use 'she.'
Their date is significant for a number of reasons - they're by themselves, away from the usual school environment, and well, Nakatsu not so subtly hints that Mizuki's attention to Sano's activities may paint him as well....gay. That's the mauve kettle calling the teapot a sissy, don't you think?
Nakatsu glows pink and then my MOST FAVORITEST THING EVER: NAKATSU-VISION. Mizuki's bathed in pink light, surrounded by a frame of flowers. Total. Shoujo. Manga. Shout. Out.
(and that is why I cannot hate on this show for all the tiresome back and forth comparisons between the TW version and the manga, and because of the unfortunate social issues I'll get into later)
BECAUSE THE CRACK. IT IS SHINY.
Nakatsu is temporarily blinded by his vision of Mizuki, and dribbles water.
Mizuki switches over into Mom mode and gets up and dabs the water off of him like he's a little kid, which breaks Nakatsu out of his stupor, and forces him to run to the nearest open space and proclaim his masculinity - I SUPER LIKE WOMEN.
Oh Nakatsu. That's how it starts.
Sano walks Yujiro, which is not a euphemism in this episode, and hey, there's Shirota Yuu! Who has really spiky hair for someone who's on a jog, but yeah, as Kagurazaka, he's gorgeous, and appropriately tall enough to look Oguri Shun's Sano in the eye and be all disdainful. Or in my theater of crack, 'Man, why don't you call anymore? Or write?'
Because everyone is a little gay in this show. Seriously.
Nakatsu is a LOT, though - super gay for Mizuki, that is. As he grabs onto Nakatsu's hand and pulls him undercover behind some bushes, you can hardly blame the poor boy for heart palpitations. Because, hey! Behind some bushes! That is practically FIRST BASE for some boys.
Also, the visual gag of seeing Maki's small hand grabbing sideways to Toma's suddenly HUGE seeming hand is priceless.
And then they move it to a tree. SO STEALTHY.
The sight of Mizuki and Nakatsu exploding out of the background to protect Sano's honor from Kagurazaka, who is clearly talking SMACK about their boyfriend, is just....yeah.
And you can totally see Kagurazaka sizing Mizuki up and going, "You're kidding me, right. Sano, you left me for these two dweebs?"
Nakatsu puts his hand on Mizuki's shoulder and immediately spasms, as pink hearts burst out. That's infectious, you better get it looked at.
Dorm 3 is doing a Beetlejuice type exorcism, or Oscar's been infiltrated by a ghost, who knows? They're drama kids. It's like Monday, to them.
Despite Mizuki embarrassing him totally in front of Kagurazaka, they still have a heart warming game of catch with Yujiro as the mediator. Yujiro is the dog of love, I say. You can totally see them a few years down the road, being That Couple. The one that says, "go to mommy!" now "go to daddy" about their pets.
I kind of hate those people, but I'm just a bitter person, so let's roll with that.
Speaking of rolling...the highlight of the first half of the Mr. and Miss Ohsaka competition (yes, it's like Prom King and Queen) is Nakatsu stripteasing while doing tricks with the soccer ball. Yes, Ikuta Toma fans, if you've ever wanted to watch Toma strip off and suggestively kick around a soccer ball, this was the episode for you.
And the highlight of the second half? Mizuki in girl drag - though the plan was actually to have 'him' be completely naked. Seriously, WTF is with this school. Hazing and pranks = love, clearly here. Her roommates steal her clothes but the good doctor is on hand to hand her a shiny pink frock. And a Cher wig.
The real reason behind Mizuki's arrival in Japan is also revealed - apparently Sano was in the states for an overseas meet, and JUST HAPPENS to come across Mizuki getting roughed up by a bunch of hoodlums, who as per Japanese drama (and unfortunate racism) are black thugs. He jumps on them, they come after him and as he's trying to climb a fence, they cut his ankle.
yeah, say it with me now - as much as I think this type of framing device to give depth to Mizuki's feelings for Sano (it's practically on board with most TW dramas about triads and gangs! I mean, baseball bats magically appear out of nowhere!) is good, seeing the careless stereotyping isn't. America's not a paragon of virtue by any means, but there's been more and more barriers broken on mainstream television about accurate portrayals of minorities. For every black gangsta, pimp, and criminal, there's a teacher, a lawyer, a doctor, and so on - it's not about being overly sensitive or Politically Correct, it's about realizing words and images do have loaded connotations and being truthful. Since Japan's majority population are ethnically Japanese, and a very small percentage of their citizens are black (or Other), it's easy to go for the exotic stereotype. However, since the hip hop culture is so wildly marketed and embraced and loved internationally, the race issue and blackface and minstrel type of gags...seems at odds.
Also, as an Asian girl, I have been brought up in the ways of smart fear, ie, don't go around walking in shifty areas at night BY YOURSELF. California isn't all sunshine and Disneyland, we have poverty here, and we have gangs in the cities, and we have corrupt politicians just like anywhere else - and the chances of violent crime happening to a woman are significantly decreased when she DOESN'T WALK AROUND BY HERSELF AT NIGHT IN SHIFTY AREAS.
I mean, come on, train tracks! Have you never seen a horror movie? Any place by a train track is ripe environment to get murdered/raped/eaten by zombie hordes.
So yeah, Mizuki and Sano meet cute that way, and now here she is, being the butchest boy in the school.
Dressing up like a Barbie doll.
The reaction of her classmates is gold. Nakatsu gets a nosebleed, Nakatsu-vision takes over, and Mizuki wins the title of Miss Ohsaka....
with Mr. Ohsaka going to Yujiro.
He wins a LCD tv, by the way.
The gang celebrates in Mizuki and Sano's room (clearly because it's the largest) again, and Sano gets into the alchoholic vegetables again, and Nakatsu lunges in for the kiss Sano would have dropped on Mizuki, because he's protective that way.
Protective, and a little bit gay.
Next episode, Mizuki's big brother comes to visit, and it's played by none other than the poetry teacher/shifty underling from Nobuta Wo Produce/Sexy Voice & Robo (which really, was a series you shouldn't have missed.)!
NWP reunion in the house!
AND SANO FINALLY FINDS OUT MIZUKI'S A GIRL.
Accurate episode summaries are archived at doramasums