Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, episode 3
Or as I like to call it, "The amazing adventures of Chibi-san and the Emo Kid."
You know the drill - I snark (with LOVE!), intense graphical overload, and wild speculation abounds. Not as wild as the speculation/spoilage for Harry Potter, but I thought everyone knew Harry was made of rice pudding.
Lots of lovely little character embellishments this episode, the OTP for Sano/Mizuki finally makes a case for itself, Nakatsu continues to fight the GAY!, and really, no one ever goes to class in this school.
So, leaving off from the previous episode, Mizuki realizes to her horror, that her older brother has come to fetch her back home to America, but she can't go just yet, she's made friends! And is rooming with the object of her idolatry/personal guilt/slowly blossoming true love! Priorities, people, priorities.
Sano is less interested in her personal angst over being deported to California, where they have less cross dressing and more debates about whether or not Paris Hilton received preferential treatment in prison.
I really hope for his sake, that Masaki doesn't go bald by the time this series is finished shooting. But I think he's stopped wearing the wig and this is his real hair, just colored brown.
After rejecting Nakatsu's second date offer, Mizuki legs it into (what is apparently a real store in Japan) Romeo y Julieta.
Where she emerges in girl drag (and that's a nice little quirk through out this episode - Mizuki's so used to living as a boy now, that her mannerisms have switched over - the way she walks, the way she talks, and very much like the manga.)
Her brother is thrilled to see her.
And they literally skip off, arm in arm to get hamburgers, which are apparently Mizuki's favorite. The siblings Ashiya are really adorable.
Yuu Shirota makes his contracted appearance, to come leering out of the bushes and to taunt Sano, who apparently has an established routine of walks, as he keeps on just 'happening' upon people. Also, Ohsaka Gakuen must share its grounds with another school besides St. Blossoms, if rival students just 'happen to be there.' Like Mizuki just happened to get the same exact room as Sano did. Shoujo Manga Logic: Stalking approved since ........
The magazine Kagurazaka shoves at Sano contains an article on an up and coming high jumper......who is Sano's younger brother, Shin.
Gee. I wonder if he's going to make an appearance later on in the series?
While Sano angsts over potential sibling rivalry, the wacky boys of Dorm 2 are at it again, with Shinji creating a lie detector. Because you know, he had the parts. Lying around.
Nakatsu volunteers to be the guinea pig. Because Nakatsu has clearly never played "Truth or Dare" or see any of those movies where lie detectors = Not Good Things.
Coincidentally, the helmet looks like something from Dr. Who and Chinese Opera. And the theatricality of both + Nakatsu? Equals all the sense in the world.
And so the lie detector lights up when you lie. Nakatsu has just been asked if he prefers men over women. And .......
And his aura-reading roommate has just outed him to the rest of the dorm,
Which is a bit hypocritical, as Nakao is CLEARLY not straight and openly crushing on Nanba-sempai, who's not exactly the straightest pencil in the box, either. But, eh, comedy.
Nakatsu gets out of a potentially dicey situation by running after another scapegoat - Mizuki's brother, who's on the lookout for his runaway sister, after she ditched him when he revealed that she was LIVING A DOUBLE LIFE.
And as SOON as Mizuki confirms that he's her brother, Nakatsu's right in there, trying to make good with the future brother-in-law.
Mizuki drags Shizuki off to the relative safety and quiet of her dorm, where Big Brother interrogates her on:
Idol Worship, Dressing like a Man, Talking like a Man, and Walking Like a Man, and basically, where did my sweet baby sister go?
Sano overhears that 'sweet baby sister' bit and SUDDENLY, IT ALL MAKES SENSE. Instead of a tiny effeminate boy with unnaturally (for a Japanese) forward intentions and cheeriness following his every move, it's a tiny girl.
This revelation is making his world all zoomy. You can take it, Sano. The truth is hard, but it'll set you free!
The stalking box I see has been upgraded into a more compact and tidy stalking folder.
Oh, the way he was.
This screencap is just to remind you, in case you've forgotten, about how AWESOME Yujiro is.
The St. Blossoms come over and complain about how their laundry has been stolen, namely their underwear. The boys of Ohsaka Gakuen will not tolerate this gross and indecent behavior, and vow to track down the culprit. In as exaggerated a fashion as possible.
Armed with the revelation that Mizuki is a girl, Sano sits by the lake and angsts.
In the pale moonlight, obviously.
While Mizuki does the same in their dorm.
Umeda-sensei meets Shizuki.
Poor Shizuki-san.
This is like Nakatsu-vision, only evil.
After putting the holy fear of Umeda into Shizuki, Umeda casually strolls back to do a little Febrezing. And to fight with the photographer.
Nakao makes his move.....
And is denied.
Nakatsu ponders the eternal question that has plagued all of us, at one time or another....
If my dairy products says I am, does that mean I am a homo?
Kayashima: "Yes."
The Odd Couple, because one of them is actually a girl in disguise!
"Look at his face, look at his face, look at his face...."
Mizuki tries her best motivational speech, and it backfires spectacularly.
BOYS MAKE NO SENSE AND THEY ARE STUPID. It's okay, sweetie!
Sano realizes he might have overreacted a tad. Most notable is the way Oguri Shun flops onto a bed. No one does it quite like him.
While Sano and Mizuki are having communication problems, Umeda-sensei is having no problem in getting his point across.
Oh, Shizuki-san. Run while the running's good.
In a last ditch attempt to point out, "look, our entire student body isn't gay, or 'experimenting'", Boys meet Gravure. You just know Nakao is going, "I would look SO MUCH BETTER in that outfit than that bitch would," secretly in his head, while Kayashima is not sure it's the aura he's reading.
Yeah, that? Totally your fault.
Could it be.......
Oh, Nakatsu. My sexually confused knight in backlit uniform!
Please note the seating arrangements.
Must. Resist. Overwhelming. Urge. To. Snuggle. Also, NOT. GAY.
DAMN MY TRAITOROUS EYES.
"No one's watching, right? Yeah, play it cool, Nakatsu. Hokkaido ice cool."
WELL, CRAP.
Don't worry, Mizuki! Not all your romantic encounters with men will involve them fleeing off into the wilderness to destroy incriminating photos!
I do not assume the gay symbolism in Japan is the same as it is in the West...or certain areas of San Francisco, but Nakatsu is wearing a Rainbow bracelet.
Ahem.
THERE'S GIRLY UNDERWEAR IN THE DUNGEON, BOYS DORMITORY!
Is this a superpower that I'm not aware of, Nakatsu? I mean, it's a little early to be doing the victory dance.....
Huh. Um. Nakatsu....about not being a homo because you were excited by the sight of female underwear......the usual reaction is not
to put them on and do a little song and dance number.
Unless you are a) a theater student, b) a high ranking politician, c) a member of Monty Python, d) British or European, e) ............
Even Oscar is appalled, and he dresses like every day is Miami Vice/take your cape to school day.
Don't think you can cute your way out of this.
Preparing himself for the hissy fit of his LIFE.....
The dorm heads offer up the entire dormitory for the St. Blossoms to search.
And being Ohsaka Gakuen....they have to make a competition out of it. There must be some kind of footnote about it in the introductory pamphlet - Welcome to Ohsaka Gakuen, where every day is a challenge! Of wits and costumes, and possible sexual humiliation!
Far far, far away from the crack going on in the school, Sano and Shizuki have a nice little chat about Mizuki.
Wherein Sano proves to have a change of heart (or proof that he's actually got one) as he basically pleads Mizuki's case and to allow her to stay in Ohsaka. In the dorms. With him.
Is this the same sullen, sometimes casually cruel, Emo Kid? My word, I do believe it is!
The white blossoms stand for clear/clean dorms free of girl undergarments and perversion. One assumes. And I have no idea why the Dorm 1 students have their shirts off.
Only that it amuses me. And usually this would be the part where someone shouts, "Orgy."
Man, none of these actors are high school age, are they?
Uh oh. They've found Mizuki's contraband bra, from when she was pretending to be a girl again for her brother's sake!
Mizuki attempts to conceal the evidence.
And before she gets into yet another hissy fit, EMO KID strolls in to save Chibi-san's honor!
By twirling around a pair of panties. Hey, not everyone can have x-ray vision or superhuman strength, okay?
Sano points out the real culprit.....
Yujiro. Hey, he can't help it if he likes the ladies, or more accurately, their underwear.
YOU CANNOT HATE ON THAT FACE.
And you were going to let me take the fall.....
Chibi-san: A limited range of shelves coming to an Ikea near you!
How not to improve your decor.
You've got mail!
"Dear brat that I love, fine, you can stay in Japan, but come home around Christmas or New Years, at least. P.S. Sano please take care of my little brother WINK WINK NUDGE NUDGE."
FUTURE POSSIBLE EPS SET NEAR CHRISTMAS OR NEW YEARS? Also, Mizuki doesn't know that her brother knows that Sano knows or that Sano knows, so it's a totally new secret.
Also, I might not be 100% accurate on the wording of said email. Ahem.
"Wait...you talked to my brother?"
"I don't know what you mean."
Now it's Mizuki's turn in the lie detector! And what her dormmates want to know is....
Is this your bra? It didn't match up with any of the St. Blossom's lingerie....
Do not try this next scene anywhere besides the safety of a locked room.
SEE WHAT I MEAN? NANBA-SEMPAI.
Nakatsu: *Must keep eyes on face. On face. ON FACE.* "Wait! I have next week's plot point!"
It's the remodeling/dormitory shut down arc!
Next week on Hana Kimi:
Nakatsu moves in
Sano is not Pleased
Nakatsu gets confessed to by a Real Actual Girl
Venus and Mars go on a date, realize they cannot stand one another, while Hibari tries her best line on The Emo Kid
Sekime cosplays, Tennouji actually touches a girl instead of macho posturing all over the place
Mizuki wonders when all this madness is going to end
Nakatsu TRIES AGAIN
and somebody tries to get freaky with Mizuki
The screencaps from the third episode I took are here.
You know the drill - I snark (with LOVE!), intense graphical overload, and wild speculation abounds. Not as wild as the speculation/spoilage for Harry Potter, but I thought everyone knew Harry was made of rice pudding.
Lots of lovely little character embellishments this episode, the OTP for Sano/Mizuki finally makes a case for itself, Nakatsu continues to fight the GAY!, and really, no one ever goes to class in this school.
So, leaving off from the previous episode, Mizuki realizes to her horror, that her older brother has come to fetch her back home to America, but she can't go just yet, she's made friends! And is rooming with the object of her idolatry/personal guilt/slowly blossoming true love! Priorities, people, priorities.
Sano is less interested in her personal angst over being deported to California, where they have less cross dressing and more debates about whether or not Paris Hilton received preferential treatment in prison.
I really hope for his sake, that Masaki doesn't go bald by the time this series is finished shooting. But I think he's stopped wearing the wig and this is his real hair, just colored brown.
After rejecting Nakatsu's second date offer, Mizuki legs it into (what is apparently a real store in Japan) Romeo y Julieta.
Where she emerges in girl drag (and that's a nice little quirk through out this episode - Mizuki's so used to living as a boy now, that her mannerisms have switched over - the way she walks, the way she talks, and very much like the manga.)
Her brother is thrilled to see her.
And they literally skip off, arm in arm to get hamburgers, which are apparently Mizuki's favorite. The siblings Ashiya are really adorable.
Yuu Shirota makes his contracted appearance, to come leering out of the bushes and to taunt Sano, who apparently has an established routine of walks, as he keeps on just 'happening' upon people. Also, Ohsaka Gakuen must share its grounds with another school besides St. Blossoms, if rival students just 'happen to be there.' Like Mizuki just happened to get the same exact room as Sano did. Shoujo Manga Logic: Stalking approved since ........
The magazine Kagurazaka shoves at Sano contains an article on an up and coming high jumper......who is Sano's younger brother, Shin.
Gee. I wonder if he's going to make an appearance later on in the series?
While Sano angsts over potential sibling rivalry, the wacky boys of Dorm 2 are at it again, with Shinji creating a lie detector. Because you know, he had the parts. Lying around.
Nakatsu volunteers to be the guinea pig. Because Nakatsu has clearly never played "Truth or Dare" or see any of those movies where lie detectors = Not Good Things.
Coincidentally, the helmet looks like something from Dr. Who and Chinese Opera. And the theatricality of both + Nakatsu? Equals all the sense in the world.
And so the lie detector lights up when you lie. Nakatsu has just been asked if he prefers men over women. And .......
And his aura-reading roommate has just outed him to the rest of the dorm,
Which is a bit hypocritical, as Nakao is CLEARLY not straight and openly crushing on Nanba-sempai, who's not exactly the straightest pencil in the box, either. But, eh, comedy.
Nakatsu gets out of a potentially dicey situation by running after another scapegoat - Mizuki's brother, who's on the lookout for his runaway sister, after she ditched him when he revealed that she was LIVING A DOUBLE LIFE.
And as SOON as Mizuki confirms that he's her brother, Nakatsu's right in there, trying to make good with the future brother-in-law.
Mizuki drags Shizuki off to the relative safety and quiet of her dorm, where Big Brother interrogates her on:
Idol Worship, Dressing like a Man, Talking like a Man, and Walking Like a Man, and basically, where did my sweet baby sister go?
Sano overhears that 'sweet baby sister' bit and SUDDENLY, IT ALL MAKES SENSE. Instead of a tiny effeminate boy with unnaturally (for a Japanese) forward intentions and cheeriness following his every move, it's a tiny girl.
This revelation is making his world all zoomy. You can take it, Sano. The truth is hard, but it'll set you free!
The stalking box I see has been upgraded into a more compact and tidy stalking folder.
Oh, the way he was.
This screencap is just to remind you, in case you've forgotten, about how AWESOME Yujiro is.
The St. Blossoms come over and complain about how their laundry has been stolen, namely their underwear. The boys of Ohsaka Gakuen will not tolerate this gross and indecent behavior, and vow to track down the culprit. In as exaggerated a fashion as possible.
Armed with the revelation that Mizuki is a girl, Sano sits by the lake and angsts.
In the pale moonlight, obviously.
While Mizuki does the same in their dorm.
Umeda-sensei meets Shizuki.
Poor Shizuki-san.
This is like Nakatsu-vision, only evil.
After putting the holy fear of Umeda into Shizuki, Umeda casually strolls back to do a little Febrezing. And to fight with the photographer.
Nakao makes his move.....
And is denied.
Nakatsu ponders the eternal question that has plagued all of us, at one time or another....
If my dairy products says I am, does that mean I am a homo?
Kayashima: "Yes."
The Odd Couple, because one of them is actually a girl in disguise!
"Look at his face, look at his face, look at his face...."
Mizuki tries her best motivational speech, and it backfires spectacularly.
BOYS MAKE NO SENSE AND THEY ARE STUPID. It's okay, sweetie!
Sano realizes he might have overreacted a tad. Most notable is the way Oguri Shun flops onto a bed. No one does it quite like him.
While Sano and Mizuki are having communication problems, Umeda-sensei is having no problem in getting his point across.
Oh, Shizuki-san. Run while the running's good.
In a last ditch attempt to point out, "look, our entire student body isn't gay, or 'experimenting'", Boys meet Gravure. You just know Nakao is going, "I would look SO MUCH BETTER in that outfit than that bitch would," secretly in his head, while Kayashima is not sure it's the aura he's reading.
Yeah, that? Totally your fault.
Could it be.......
Oh, Nakatsu. My sexually confused knight in backlit uniform!
Please note the seating arrangements.
Must. Resist. Overwhelming. Urge. To. Snuggle. Also, NOT. GAY.
DAMN MY TRAITOROUS EYES.
"No one's watching, right? Yeah, play it cool, Nakatsu. Hokkaido ice cool."
WELL, CRAP.
Don't worry, Mizuki! Not all your romantic encounters with men will involve them fleeing off into the wilderness to destroy incriminating photos!
I do not assume the gay symbolism in Japan is the same as it is in the West...or certain areas of San Francisco, but Nakatsu is wearing a Rainbow bracelet.
Ahem.
THERE'S GIRLY UNDERWEAR IN THE DUNGEON, BOYS DORMITORY!
Is this a superpower that I'm not aware of, Nakatsu? I mean, it's a little early to be doing the victory dance.....
Huh. Um. Nakatsu....about not being a homo because you were excited by the sight of female underwear......the usual reaction is not
to put them on and do a little song and dance number.
Unless you are a) a theater student, b) a high ranking politician, c) a member of Monty Python, d) British or European, e) ............
Even Oscar is appalled, and he dresses like every day is Miami Vice/take your cape to school day.
Don't think you can cute your way out of this.
Preparing himself for the hissy fit of his LIFE.....
The dorm heads offer up the entire dormitory for the St. Blossoms to search.
And being Ohsaka Gakuen....they have to make a competition out of it. There must be some kind of footnote about it in the introductory pamphlet - Welcome to Ohsaka Gakuen, where every day is a challenge! Of wits and costumes, and possible sexual humiliation!
Far far, far away from the crack going on in the school, Sano and Shizuki have a nice little chat about Mizuki.
Wherein Sano proves to have a change of heart (or proof that he's actually got one) as he basically pleads Mizuki's case and to allow her to stay in Ohsaka. In the dorms. With him.
Is this the same sullen, sometimes casually cruel, Emo Kid? My word, I do believe it is!
The white blossoms stand for clear/clean dorms free of girl undergarments and perversion. One assumes. And I have no idea why the Dorm 1 students have their shirts off.
Only that it amuses me. And usually this would be the part where someone shouts, "Orgy."
Man, none of these actors are high school age, are they?
Uh oh. They've found Mizuki's contraband bra, from when she was pretending to be a girl again for her brother's sake!
Mizuki attempts to conceal the evidence.
And before she gets into yet another hissy fit, EMO KID strolls in to save Chibi-san's honor!
By twirling around a pair of panties. Hey, not everyone can have x-ray vision or superhuman strength, okay?
Sano points out the real culprit.....
Yujiro. Hey, he can't help it if he likes the ladies, or more accurately, their underwear.
YOU CANNOT HATE ON THAT FACE.
And you were going to let me take the fall.....
Chibi-san: A limited range of shelves coming to an Ikea near you!
How not to improve your decor.
You've got mail!
"Dear brat that I love, fine, you can stay in Japan, but come home around Christmas or New Years, at least. P.S. Sano please take care of my little brother WINK WINK NUDGE NUDGE."
FUTURE POSSIBLE EPS SET NEAR CHRISTMAS OR NEW YEARS? Also, Mizuki doesn't know that her brother knows that Sano knows or that Sano knows, so it's a totally new secret.
Also, I might not be 100% accurate on the wording of said email. Ahem.
"Wait...you talked to my brother?"
"I don't know what you mean."
Now it's Mizuki's turn in the lie detector! And what her dormmates want to know is....
Is this your bra? It didn't match up with any of the St. Blossom's lingerie....
Do not try this next scene anywhere besides the safety of a locked room.
SEE WHAT I MEAN? NANBA-SEMPAI.
Nakatsu: *Must keep eyes on face. On face. ON FACE.* "Wait! I have next week's plot point!"
It's the remodeling/dormitory shut down arc!
Next week on Hana Kimi:
Nakatsu moves in
Sano is not Pleased
Nakatsu gets confessed to by a Real Actual Girl
Venus and Mars go on a date, realize they cannot stand one another, while Hibari tries her best line on The Emo Kid
Sekime cosplays, Tennouji actually touches a girl instead of macho posturing all over the place
Mizuki wonders when all this madness is going to end
Nakatsu TRIES AGAIN
and somebody tries to get freaky with Mizuki
The screencaps from the third episode I took are here.