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Minami-ke Okaeri 11: The Joke So Nice, They Used It Twice

Haesslich — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:43:40 +0000

Yes, they really were BOTH laughing in that daydream. Just like a certain stripping senior…

Once again, as seems to be par for the course, Minami-ke Okaeri manages to lurch along from amusing to ho-hum all within the same episode. The twist this time is that we get an episode that focuses more on Riko for the first few skits, including a daydream which seems to have been stolen from Hosaka’s inventory of Haruka-induced delusions.

Actually, scratch that. There have been complaints about the style of posting that I’ve been using the past two episodes. Especially about with comments about ‘funny episodes’ being ruined by a moderate amount of reading. Word to the reader: humour is a subjective thing, as a scan of the blogosphere (or flipping through channels on a television set) will often prove. But never let it be said that we don’t do requests. There is the now ‘non-joke-explaining’ funny version of this post to go along with the ’serious’ version hidden under the spoiler tags to avoid abusing the sensitivities of our more special readers.

It must be repeated: humour is a subjective thing, which is why some of Okaeri episodes flat-out suck.

Keiko Speaks For the Audience

A Yandere In the Making

Hiroko, in a moment of clarity, realizes that the running gag will end if she interferes

Because the real Fujioka cost too much to rent

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Oh no… not the imagine spot…

Not quite there… try harder, Riko

That’s more like it

Riko takes another step down the Hosaka side of the Force…

… and promptly falls right off the other side. At least Hosaka imagines that he succeeds.

Kana hanging out with her classmates? ZOMG!

Kana noticed? OMG! OMG! The world is about to end!

Yes, he’s coming to Kana’s. No, not in that way.

Then Riko came. And yes, in that way.

Kana, acting normal? The oddest scene in the series so far.

Kana’s idea of hospitality = Warm Things

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She means the bath, Fujioka, not the bedroom

And the loli Chiaki convinces Fujioka to take the bath, where Kana failed. Hmm…

And, as the loser harem male, Fujioka sets the pattern

Kana discovers that a chili pepper bath is burning hot, not warm and hospitable

Dunno… how WAS the bath?

So… who wants to tell Kana that she looks like a lobster?

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Riko once more starts down the Hosaka side…

… but this time, she actually talks to Hosaka in the daydream.

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… oh god, she even got Hosaka’s smile. Heaven help us all.

… and meanwhile, in the real world… no stripping. Damn, I’m disappointed.

Kickin’ it up a notch

… and cue the mad laughter

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Good job, Riko-sensei

Back to the drawing board

Why not? You hang around with MakotoMako-chan

… says the guy in the skirt.

Seeing Touma from a girl’s point of view.

Touma gets the joke. Mako-chan doesn’t.

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Kana’s train of thought has derailed

Kana should know – look how she turned out

Mako-chan’s version of “wild manliness”

Why so serious, Chiaki?

Kana dropping a subtle(?) hint

… he says, while he whispers “Haruka” deep in his heart.

Kana suggesting that Makoto give chocolates to someone other than herself? Impostor!

Tsundere?

Chiaki learns the secret of dating: lowered expectations.

Someone who doesn’t matter

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Minami-ke Okaeri 10 – Poor Communication And You

Haesslich — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 04:26:39 +0000

Natsuki’s version of “The Look”

An episode about attitude, ideas, and communication – or lack thereof. Also an excuse to show Chiaki’s more childish side, as well as give the animators a reason to show some skin.

The driving force behind much of the humour is how poor communications or its lack, create the situations from which the comedy stems – from the ‘creative’ reinterpretation of Fujioka’s love-letter which set the pattern for his relationship with Kana, Touma and Mako-chan’s gender confusion, to Hosaka’s inability to talk to Haruka – which results in a series of ever more outlandish fantasies which he acts out on inantimate objects. Almost every joke the manga and show uses derives from this, unlike other series which use a more physical form of comedy (like slapstick) to entertain.

Keep this shot in mind for later – trust me, it IS important.

The first part is amusing, if only because it focuses on one of the misunderstandings which is a running gag in the series; Touma’s gender, and specifically Fujioka’s ignorance of Touma and Mako-chan’s true identities. Combined with Natsuki’s advice to Touma regarding male behavior (having apparently forgotten the Other Minami household’s hopes of making Touma act in a more feminine manner), we get an amusing if not spectacular skit. Most of the other parts of the episode follow this pattern, especially with regards to the last, where Natsuki finally gets a new gag which plays on his insensitivity in a new and more entertaining fashion. The middle portion focuses on first how Chiaki relates to her friends, then on how she interacts with Fujioka with others observing the relationship and making comments regarding their closeness. Overall, an improvement on the previous episode if only because, while not a storm of laughs, it manages to remember what made the series successful the first time around – the relationships between the characters, and how those could be exploited for entertainment purposes through a failure to understand or to be understood.

If Touma dresses like this, no wonder Fujioka thinks she’s a boy…

Winning Friends and Arguments, A Short Essay

PART I: Word Choice

When trying to communicate, your opening statement, choice of vocabulary, and the speed and intonation used in delivery are crucial in conveying a message to an audience.

An unguarded (and unwise) comment may hamper an effective exchange of ideas – but so can situations that create a bias against you in the mind of the listener. A good speaker is always aware of these factors, as they may influence the language he or she uses.

Also, it is important to consider the target audience’s viewpoint and prejudices – even a definitive statement can be misinterpreted, due to the listener’s biases. Young dictators-in-training should keep this in mind when communicating with their parents, caregivers, or other adults – an indulgent smile and a non-committal response may be your only answer when you declare your intention to rule the world.

Sometimes, repetition may help convey the seriousness of a message by reemphasizing the salient points…

… but other times it can result in failure, as the audience ‘tunes out’ due to overexposure.

When attempting to initiate an exchange or request for material, a respectful tone can be helpful.

Other times, an aggressive demand may be more fruitful in achieving your objectives. However, one must always be conscious of both the balance of power between you and the audience. Understand that when speaking from a position of disadvantage, you should be careful to avoid confrontation – especially if you cannot back up your threats with action.

Try not to contradict yourself – map out your arguments ahead of time, and plan your speech to that your points are communicated clearly.

If repetition fails, it may be acceptable to raise one’s voice to emphasize key concepts. But be prepared for an immediate (and loud) backlash should this fail.

One more note: when making a speech, it is important to watch out for flying bears or other items from the audience. Don’t be afraid to duck.

I must emphasize the importance of how you choose your words. A misconstrued statement can be quite hurtful…

… or even provoke a physical confrontation.

However, a good speech or a well-couched request can have a very positive reception, and open the door to unexpected new opportunities.

But, always, always, ALWAYS make sure that all parties involved share a common context and concepts, as otherwise your message may be misinterpreted.

PART II: Empathy

When trying to gain minions (or friends), please be conscientious and remember that not everyone is as fearless as you are. Sensitivity (and empathy, by definition) is required when dealing with others with whom force is not the first resort to gaining their willing compliance.

A soothing manner may be something that you will wish to cultivate. A reassuring smile and calming words often accomplish what no amount of blustering can. But on that note, an indifferent expression may cause one’s attempts to backfire.

It helps to show others that their feelings and well-being are of great – or at least genuine – concern to you. Proper body language, such as leaning forward or establishing eye-contact, can help reinforce this impression.

A poor example of eye-contact

A more successful example of somatic communication.

On the other hand, you may find more physical gestures to be a much more effective method of establishing a positive relationship with others. Experiment to find the style which best suits you; insincere attempts can do more damage to relations between you and others than an indifferent attitude.

However, you cannot depend on non-verbal communication alone to impart important ideas; it can be used to add nuance and emphasis to a message, or to alter its meaning in a very specific way. In other words, just staring will not work.

But a push at the right time, on the other hand..

… can get things going.

PART III: The Smile

This is a Good Example of a Smile

A Bad Example of a Smile

One of the most subtle (or not so subtle) means of communicating involve facial expressions. These can vary depending on culture, but generally a smile is considered to be a universal indicator in both East and West. A good smile can express your good nature to others – it can betray your general attitude towards the world. But please be sure to turn off the slasher music when you practice your smile.

Even with this, it is important to maintain an awareness of your body language – a smile alone may not offset (and in some cases, can actually make worse) the intentions that one’s stance or persistent attempts at eye contact hint at.

Excessive eye-contact may be viewed negatively

Also, for those of you who seek to court others, may we suggest not ignoring their families? A good manipulator should make use of all tools to influence opinion – this includes the target’s circle of confidants and kin.

But be aware that intimidation may not be the best tactic, especially in front of those who you wish to gain the favor (or affection) of. Constant vigilance is required, as cultivating an awareness of the environment is key to perceiving the non-verbal cues which betray the feelings (and thus, biases, intentions, and desires) of those you seek to collaborate with or bend to your will.

Be sensitive to the moods of others as well as the situation you’re in. Learn when to tone back your body language, and when to press more aggressively. Perhaps consider that the family room is not the best place to stake your claim on the body of your future wife in front of her older sisters.

CONCLUSION

Winning arguments and allies is not easy; there are many factors to consider as an orator, a manager of situations and events, and as a would-be Dictator For Life leader and communicator of ideas. The situational factors are always of import, both present and future; the immediate surroundings must always be kept in mind, as are the views and beliefs of your audience. Working around, taking into account, or even pandering to, those prejudices and biases is important to spreading your ideas and winning the support of the masses; body language and facial expression, along with the proper choice of words, are the small details which can spell the difference between success and dying at the hands of a faithless minionfailure to pass on your notions and views.

And don’t be afraid to show your smile.

Next Week on Minami-ke: Okaeri – A Discussion on How Sex Sells, and Non-Representative Previews

Minami-ke Okaeri 9 – I See (Dead Horses Being Beaten)

Haesslich — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 07:53:09 +0000

Hi, I’m Troy McClure. You may remember me from such blog posts as…

After heckling everyone on this blog, among others, for so long, the green-haired trappy overlord of THAT has put his pump-wearing foot down. So, my penance begins with forcing myself to watch through a rather humdrum episode of Minami-ke Okaeri. Still, it’s better than listening to some of the tracks off that recent “Pun-Colle ~voice actresses’ legendary punk songs collection” CD that was recently released.

About the best thing that can be said for this episode is that it includes Hosaka. Lots of Hosaka at the end. Oh, and the characters in the background have faces. Otherwise, we have three unimpressive skits and a Hosaka fantasy at the end. It’s very much ‘more of the same’, and probably is inspiring similar entries from the other blogs covering the series. So, in honor of the same jokes being reused, we’ll be exploring the same screenshots everyone else has posted and using the same (tired) memes that everyone else is sick of.

Summary:

As usual, it seems any story involving Kana and food inevitably causes problems.

The first skit centers around Kana’s obsession with food – an old, recycled joke which gets milked once again. What was unusual was that the ‘damage’ splashed over onto Touma and Chiaki, who somehow end up getting upset with one another rather than turning their ire on the true cause of their misfortune.

If this was Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, these two would have been carried off to the temple for a wedding.

This leads to some tension the next day, with Touma and Chiaki at odds and exchanging harsh words the way they did early on in their relationship. For some reason, Uchida sees all this tension and decides to turn to one person in whose hands Chiaki’s and Touma’s future rests.

Uchida’s last, best hope for peace. FISSION MAILED.

“Makoto-kun! You’re my only hope!”

Maybe he really is smarter than Uchida…

Unfortunately, Makoto’s burst of common sense promptly burns out shortly after giving this response, and he lets himself be dragged into the situation. This is also the point where Uchida discovers more than she probably ever wanted to know about Makoto-kun and his hobbies. Also, unfortunately for the audience, this is also where the animation budget apparently starts to tank and we are treated to a minute of KWALITY faces.

Makoto decides to emulate Detective Conan

He’s on a roll…

… and promptly falls right off. Stupid is as stupid does.

So now Makoto-kun not only crossdresses, but he carries a makeup kit and spare skirt everywhere?

Even Uchida can’t believe how far he’s fallen.

Mako-chan and Uchida make their way back to the Minami household, only to discover the cause of the fight between Touma and Chiaki, who have since made up after realizing just how stupid the issue they were arguing about was,now the infection of Kana-derived idiocy has been fought off. It, however, continues to afflict Uchida and Mako-chan, who promptly draw Chiaki back into the middle of things.

Strike one!

Strike two!

Strike three! YERRRRRR OUT!

For those of you who were hoping for the old ‘Bible Black’ faces, as I was, this was as close as we got in the whole episode, even counting Haruka’s ‘banchou’ mode.

So close…

… and yet so far. No shadowing around the eyes, no dramatic lighting…

Part two is even more uninspiring, centering around Chiaki’s large stocking and what she wants for Christmas. Fujioka ultimately suggests mittens, and while Chiaki seems to like them she still seems a little lost in thought, or at least distant, throughout most of the episode.

Keep this image in mind for later. It’ll be important – I promise.

A Poorly ’shopped Kana wearing a stocking for Christmas. I’m sure Fujioka wishes he was there… and speaking of which, where’s the bear Fujioka? I thought she kept him close at all times.

Part three deals with Natsuki being his usual idiotic, insensitive self, and forgetting Touma’s Christmas present. One scolding by Haruka later (showing no emotional response all the while), he finally delivers the present… by leaving it on the table with a ‘don’t forget to give this to Touma’ note. On the living room table. After school. When he knows she’s on the way home. All so he can pound on Akira on a game console. She tries to let him off easy by lying about how she found it, but in the end Natsuki undoes the lie and earns himself a well-deserved shot to the head. Very boring, just like Natsuki when he’s not fainting and having nosebleeds over Haruka’s cleavage.

This is the only screencap you’re getting of Part Three. You do NOT want to mess up around her.

The last part returns to the glorious Hosaka, and his nefarious plans to BE FRIENDLY with Haruka. Remember that shot linked to earlier?

This is why I wanted you to remember that screencap.

Hosaka, stalking Haruka as he usually does, overhears the conversation Haruka and company are having regarding Chiaki’s Christmas present. And, as always, he completely misses the point and links it all back to his daydreamsdelusions about Haruka, and goes off to hunt for a suitable present for his dream woman. Approached by his minion, Natsuki, he bounces ideas off of Natsuki regarding having a Santa Hosaka deliver presents to the good girls at the main Minami (versus Other Minami) household. And, as always, his plan fails as Haruka’s already gotten a cake from elsewhere, and ends the show with an “ORE GA SANTA!” declaration before lapsing into mad, booming laughter.

Reactions:

Almost a complete waste of time, save for the very end whose saving grace was a full-blown Hosaka delusion, complete with mad laughter and someone pleading for him to stop molesting the cake. Despite the complaints that the previous episode was boring as hell (I’m looking at you, Aroduc), this one took the cake – literally. There were a few amusing parts in the first bit (thanks to Mako-chan and his amazing magical bag of accessories), but the middle half was about as boring as most of Okawari. All that saved this episode were Hosaka and his daydream version of Haruka. I actually kept an eye on the clock through the first viewing; that’s not a good sign when I’m measuring the time until the episode ends, so I can properly take screencaps.

And now, to save the best for last: the screendumps of the Hosaka Delusion:

You can tell it’s a delusion because he’s actually talking to Haruka

This is Fantasy…

… and this is reality.

And as Haruka walks away into the distance, we hear that mighty cry…

ORE WA GUNDAM!SANTA!

And to close things off…

“A girl should be elegant…”

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn’t belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

Here’s a hint: he kept Haruka’s dress, the one Chiaki claimed would shape the figure of the wearer to be more like Haruka’s.

Minami-ke Okaeri – 08: The Art of Seduction

Crusader — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 06:38:02 +0000

Why yes I would gladly open that up…

Well it will be the final stretch in the coming weeks for schooling and sadly the lab report on Azotobacter and the English Paper took precedence over Minami-ke. Well I suppose winding down a hellish week with finals in about two weeks. Uchida seems to be hitting puberty with full force last time she was using area denial ops against Touma and now she’s doing recon on Yoshino. Kana has been trying to run female development courses with the primary goal being how to attract men and to this end all of Chiaki’s soda is brought out. I am not sure how the inability to open a can of soda is moe, but I do find in irritating enough that if I see someone one who’s having trouble my multi-tool usually does the trick. Uchida fails at feigning weakness while Yoshino is a consummate actor. Maki seems to have tried to use that gambit back in her middle school days though it seems she suffered a string of defeats. Atsuko is really that weak and has to ask Maki for help. Maki and Kana lock on target and start hounding Atsuko who promptly GETS FRIENDLY with Haruka and hides behind her. Chiaki returns and snatches back a can of her soda from Kana, like an idiot she opens it and gets a face full of high fructose corn syrup. Kana adriuotly lays the blame on Atsuko and her witchcraft. All in all it seems that Maki, Kana, and Uchida form an unbroken line of succession for BOSS. Still Chiaki is going to get fat after drinking all that soda laden with high fructose corn syrup which bypasses one glycolytic pathway.

If only it were my home…

At least she gave it a shot…

Ah now I know the origin’s of Maki’s hostility to Hosaka.

I am surprised the Maki was considered to be a role model for Kana’s school for young girls. I am sure that had Haruka not intervened Yoshino, Uchida, and Touma might have simply ended up single for most if not all of their middle school and high school years were it not for Mako-cakes in the case of Touma and Uchida. As Maki is other wise occupied by Haruka Atsuko is brought in as a substitute, and Yoshino clever as ever wants to know about the night part Maki mentioned. Touma becomes a MAN and comes to Atsuko’s rescue but her rudeness earns Touma the wrath of Kana. Kana defeats Touma who is sent right into the happiest place on Atsuko. Touma enjoys a nap in a most enviable place, but Atsuko forgot if Touma was a boy or a girl in her shock. Kana thinks that this new offensive hugging tactic is the way to win arguments against boys, I heartily concur, that would shut us up right away or make us scream in abject terror. The next day Mako-cakes runs into Touma who is also undergoing puberty and the old Alliance seems to have unraveled. It makes me sad that the old camaraderie between Mako-cakes and Touma has been sundered as of late. Touma even hit Mako-cakes right where Chiaki dinged him last time. Still all is not lost as there is room for old allies to settle their quarrels. Funny how now that puberty is starting to hit that Touma and Chiaki have gone tsundere on Mako-cakes, if he only knew why his friends were acting strange. I am sure that fans of tsunderekkos are green with envy.

Atsuko can serve a ball, but not open a can?

The three Fates.

There there its okay.

Kana starts unintentionally lording over that fact that Fujioka is dancing to her tune which Keiko for once gets furious over. Reiko is uncharacteristically happy over how Fujioka accidentally hugged her, Reiko is asked to discern the meaning of this and correctly guesses the events that came to pass. She freezes up however and then decides to give Kana a taste of her own medicine and puts the fear into her. I Highly suspect that the cast of Minami-ke are in fact the progenitors of the some of the later characters already it seems that Mako-cakes was the founder of the Saotome Acting School that Alto-hime belonged to which was to later received a healthy infusion of a meltran bloodline to produce the greatest Oyama in the galaxy. Now I suspect that Reiko is the an ancestor Kati, for one thing Reiko like Kati seems to have a superior grasp of their situation and that of others, though for now it seems Reiko had yet to meet her Patrick-esque book dumb paramour. Sadly the questions that Keiko raised were not answered with the braking out of orange stunna shades…

Gimme that!

LET”S BE FRIENDLY

BURN HER!

Atsuko seems to quite the volleyball player and her serve earned her the attention of Hosaka. Poor Atsuko seems to have a budding crush on Hosaka who loves only Haruka, but unlike the losers from White Album Atsuklo’s loyalty to Haruka overrides any desire for Hosaka. Moreover Maki seems intent on protecting the virtue and honor of both Haruka and Atsuko. I approve of Maki’s zeal, aggressive defense, and blistering counter attacks. Natsuki is late and is made to pick up balls. Only now though does Atsuko inquire about Maki’s wariness of Hosaka, this tips off Maki that Atsuko seems to be falling for Hosaka. Hayami tries once again to get them to convince Haruka to join the volleyball club and tries to pry into the lives of her juniors. Thankfully Atsuko and Maki are not so foolish as to be that trusting of Hayami. I just love how Maki can sense Hosaka’s Haruka lust a mile away. Hayami then plants the seed for a Hosaka Fantasy.

I was mildly disappointed that it was so tame this time, but much of that was swept aside as the glory that was haruka in bloomers with LEGS. I was most pleased to see Haruka with a pony tail as I have a fatal weakness for those, I just don’t see many women have them any more it makes me a bit sad, but Fantasy Haruka does deliver. Words cannot convey7 how delightful it was when Haruka sallied forth with a towel in hand.

Ah well next time it seems that Mako-cakes finds himself in the middle of a war as Chiaki and Touma start leering at eachother while Uchida is getting REAL FRIENDLY with Mako-cakes at school. Looks like Mako-cakes will have to break out the color coordinated hairclips next time! Ain’t puberty grand?

Flat.

Stacked…

But Maki they already have learned plenty through Mako-cakes…

Ah Haruka-mama.

You’ve just been adopted Maki…

I’d be hot for this teacher…

LET’S!

I see Uchida really wants to know about the birds and the bees…

Wait you don’t know either?

I see some one is setting themselves up to be the sports girl…

Some guys have all the luck.

Most impressive Touma.

I heard you leik mudkips like shoutas.

I see that it was Dark Touma that did it…

That was just a FRIENDLY head butt.

I guess Touma can act feminine after all.

Dang, that’s two already…

It’s hard being popular isn’t it?

You need another one?

Sheryl Nome?

I propose that from now on we get Reiko fantasies too.

Come on Fujioka we have been over this, TIME FOR TAG!

Hmm… I wonder how Megane Reiko would look.

Mein Oberst is that you?

Mako-cakes had more sparkles.

My aren’t we shallow.

And he never opned that can for you…

Maki is a Jedi.

Your thoughts betray you Atsuko…

And I thought
You look just fine to me

You look just fine to me
You look just fine to me

Shall we liquefy
Oh you and I
And mingle in the stream?(Pony Pony PONY!)

Shall we liquefy
Oh you and I
And mingle in the stream?

Still sleeping you woke me up
Muttering in your dream
In darkness I could feel your
Your little body breathe

What could they be quarreling over?

Kimi wa dare to kisu o suru

The face that lauched a thousand ships…

Minami-ke Okaeri – 07: Going ALL THE WAY with Mako-cakes

Crusader — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 04:06:13 +0000

Boss Kana wants to know… WHY SO SERIOUS?

So yes its sports festival time and Mako-cakes gets paired up with Chiaki in a manner most FRIENDLY. Chiaki called it quits early with Makoto who ended up face planting more often than not. As Mako-cakes though he gets into the Minami home but is almost discovered by Chiaki who recognizes that Makoto and Mako-cakes has the same body type. Mako-cakes wished to help out Chiaki, but Kana warns him that he runs the risk of beind discovered, all the while of course while Chiaki is still in the same room, I wonder what kind of fantasy Chaiki had while Kana and Mako-cakes were debating the risk involved in a three-legged race. Nevertheless Mako-cakes elects to help Chiaki and they do get better not to mention FRIENDLIER, still it seems that Makoto and Mako-cakes being one and the same did not register for Chiaki. When Chiaki practices with Makoto again Makoto gets too FRIENDLY and gets a face full of fist. Despite the pain it seemed Chiaki seemed to like this friskier Makoto, as indicated by her blushing. I am simply amazed that Mako-cakes is getting more action than Hosaka and Fujioka combined hell he made more progress than both of them on the Haruka and Chiaki fronts. I am shocked that Mako-cakes even has a shot at one day dating All Woman Chiaki. Go Mako-cakes, he already went for broke and then some.

Because once is never enough…

Indeed Mako-cakes has been practicing a lot the results…speak for themselves.

ZOMG Chiaki beind considerate?!

Uchida seems to be delighted that Kana has protected Mako-cakes identity for so long to the point she allows herself to be robbed of takoyaki. Indeed Mako-cakes owes much to Kana as he was enjoying Haruka’s tea while they were alone. Sadly though it seems that Mako-cakes has yet to be able fully adapt to hi role and was almost exposed for failing to lock the bathroom door and taking a piss while standing. It seems that Mako-cakes was ignorant of how women take a piss and could not fathom how to properly use toilet paper. Haruka almost waked in on Mako-cakes but Kana was able to blind fold Haruka as Mako-cakes tried to make a mummy out of himself. I fell out of my chair at that one. Kana seems resolved to maintain the secrecy of Mako-ckaes, so he can rest easy for now so long as he learns to lock the bathroom door from the Toilet no Yousei.

There’s the green one…

Oh dear…

Uh Oh…

Whew…stand down Mako-cakes stand down.

Things are looking up for Mako-cakes as Reiko’s bragging about her hopes and dreams incites Kana’s rage. Mako-cakes thinks that bust size and ego have no correlation as the very existence of Haruka, who has seen how AMAZING she really is. Maki-chan makes a visit to the house and quickly feels up Mako-cakes and notes how flat he is. Mako-cakes asks Kana for help, but she points out how he just said that he would quit once people got suspicious. Nevertheless it is clear that Mako-cakes had long ago crossed the point of no return, and he finds a savior in Chiaki. Chiaki gifts Mako-cakes with Haruka’s dress which would magically grant the wearer a nice set of hopes and dreams. Mako-cakes thinks that he is unworthy of such a gift though he was fantasizing how life would be like if he had hopes and dreams the size of Haruka’s. Still he hesitates at which point Chiaki gets mad over how Mako-cakes is rejecting her love, the gift was after all in recognition of mako-cake’s past service for the three-legged race. Having to choose between fight or flight, Mako-cakes chooses to flee…right into Haruka as she was getting ready to get measure by Maki. Seems as though that Haruka is so AMAZING that she needs custom tailored garments, and that makes Mako-cakes one very lucky guy to have seen it all.

Umm…she’s sitting right there.

We already way past that boss.

You need gender reassignment leik NAO.

Kana also notices how close and FRIENDLY Chiaki and Mako-cakes are getting though the moment is interrupted when Chiaki spills orange soda onto Mako-cakes’ dress. Chiaki not knowing any better tries to get Mako-cakes to disrobe, and failing at that gets a towel to rub down Mako-cakes before it gets sticky…the innuendo ends though when Kana tells the story of a tanuki that disguised it self to be with humans, clearly this is aimed at the resident Tanuki and certified loli-con Stripey who has indeed taken on the guise of a human in order to BE FRIENDLY with little girls, as we all know that no human being could possibly feel any sympathy for Takyuki. Fortunately for Mako-cakes Chiaki doesn’t mind having a tanuki for a friend, so Makoto gets all shoujo sparkly and dumbstruck the next day. Stripey was last seen looking up the addresses of every Minami in Japan.

I see that there is still some manliness left in Mako-cakes aferall…unlike that loser Touya.

LET”S BE FRIENDLY

Wow, Kana is just eating all their snacks.

Chaiki later breaks all their cups and so they go shopping for some new ones, Kana goes by herself while Haruka gets paired up with Maki and Chiaki gets paired up with Uchida. I think Uchida is going to grow up to be Maki-like as there is no Hosaka equivalent for Uchida to oppose, in fact in the future I bet Uchida will still be helping Mako-cakes with his charade. In the end though they all get pink cups which makes none of them happy, Haruka and Chiaki get new ones as Kana gives away two pink ones to Touma and Fujioka. Touma thinks her cup is perfect while Fujioka had hoped that it was some indication of Kana’s love, but ended up sorely disappointed.

Try some more!

MOEEEEEE :3

He who dares wins.

All in all a great episode for comedy and it was very much dominated by Mako-cakes, although they finally animated Haruka in a good manner. As I have said before Mako-cakes is the luckiest of all the guys in Minami-ke given how he is scoring mucho points with Haruka and Chiaki, with Uchida and Touma not even thinking about exposing him. Indeed Mako-cakes has shown what is possible when dignity is the first victim in the pursuit of love, to see Haruka in her unbridled glory there is no price too high. I laughed the hardest I have all season at this point and it certainly beats out White Album’s Comedy of Losers in round 7. Let’s see here we were again reminded of how AMAZING Haruka is, and we got into new levels of brokenness when Mako-cakes broke out all three colored hair clips he now posessess, and we also got Kana with claws and a very considerate and forgiving Chiaki. I like this new kinder gentler Chiaki a bit more although she seems to be a bit tsundere for Makoto. I’ll say it again, in the curious case of Mako-cakes it seems that dignity is such a small price to pay, indeed I bet Mako-cakes can now die a happy man after what he’s been able to see. In the end though with Mako-cakes and Chiaki getting FRIENDLY it seems that puberty is starting to hit, and Touma might yet recover, if so and this continues then I will enjoyu watching them all grow up. Next week it seems that there might be juice and Maki-chan is looking a bit evil there.

dokun dokun dokun,,,

Why are you blushing?

Hosaka would like to know…

But how can something that bad feel so good?

Dear, Hosaka, there is one way you can get this close tho her face…You know what to do.

I suppose Mako-cakes has every right to be smug right now.

It certainly won’t be the last at this rate.

Oh you can sense it can’t you Mako-cakes…

YES WE CAN DO.

You’re doing it wrong…

Kana is BOSS afterall.

I think we need more Reiko now…

Hoho did Kana just get catty right there? Truth is Fujioka seems to like flat ones.

BE AFRAID.

Mako-cakes is indeed becoming more woman than man…

He gets to look often… the lucky git.

Nuts we almost had a Mako-cakes fantasy to make for the lack of Hosaka.

Where Haruka is most AMAZING of course.

Well he won’t be a man for much longer.

Liar, you’ll never stop.

Man how come girls can feel each other up, but when a guy does it we get arrested and such? Its discrimination I tell ya!

Wait lemme see…

Thanks to Haesslich for this one… That’s quite a gift there Chiaki.

‘

HOLY SHI- that thing has Haruka’s scent!

Yeah Mako-cakes wants to have HOPES AND DREAMS of his own, soon to be her own though.

That’s very generous of you Chiaki.

Wa that a confession?

…

It certainly has been Mako-cakes’ lucky day…

And Haruka is still trying to unhook it…Hosaka if you are out there, if you are desperate enough…

The most AMAZING part… yes?

I bet Asread is broken again…

And HOW!

LET”S BE FRIENDLY

Lecherous Chiaki is lecherous.

Watch out Stripey Kana is on to you…

In more ways than one it seems…

LET”S BE MEDIEVAL FREINDLY

Yeah Chiaki was being nuch nicer than usual…

Mako-cakes could get use to this…

I haven’t seen this many sparkles around a guy since Kaiser Reinhard.

Chiaki is tsun tsun,

Maki-chan likes to bully Haruka.

I see puberty is starting to hit for Touma as well.

Fujioka must really like DFCs…

Were it so easy…

Nice cup.

Why fish bones though? Or maybe Haruka is a fossil nerd too…

What’s going Uchida?

Minami-ke Okaeri – 06: Kana’s Confession

Crusader — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 08:18:48 +0000

Opportunity… It only knocks once.

Well now that I can type more comfortably with this new ergonomic keyboard I can go full tilt in praise of this episode, the beach episode was fairly well done especially since Haruka did look most dashing as she was better animated this time around. How it took this long for Kana to demonstrate her car sickness. Still I think that the reasoning behind his loli powered burial was lost on Takeru. Fujioka sure was lucky to get to go and I nearly fell out of my chair when it looked like he was about to feel up Haruka. I don’t think any of us would have blamed him if he did… Surprisingly enough it seems that Uchida is one step ahead of the rest in laughing at the notion that Chiaki only wants to be Fujioka’s imouto. Fujioka sadly though had his hopes raised and then brutally dashed when Kana made a confession, to everyone. I am still not sure why Kana didn’t just throw up on Takeru in revenge but going for Chiaki’s bag was evil enough I suppose. Still just what did cross Fujioka’s mind when Haruka said that Chiaki was always using it?

(Sorry it took so long I am still getting use to the trackball)

So Fujioka’s whose tuckus is the best?

Every loli-con wants to be Takeru some day.

I think not…

Not sure why Maki is the only one of Haruka’s friends who came to her home, nut I suppose that Maki is keen on BEING FRIENDLY with Haruka. I think I know why Hayami always sets Hosaka on Maki, it might well be to train a successor. After all Maki was able to screw with Fujioka’s mind in a way reminiscent of Hayami with Hosaka. The spoon thing was delightful, but the best part was when Fujioka challenged Touma to an eating contest. Just as Mako-cakes is starting to lose his gender identity, so too is Touma for the short term as she’s quite enthusiastic when partaking of manly contests with Fujioka. They are very much BEING FRIENDLY. Fujioka is definitely becoming more like Hosaka though he doesn’t know it yet, already we have seen him get FRIENDLY with Touma, and now it seems that Fujioka has adopted the food offensive portion of the Hosaka doctrine. Those Japanese watermelons seem rather small, but I guess not all of them have to be square. Still I find it weird that people would put salt in their watermelon, I know Southern folks do it, but their weird and pile on sugar on peanut butter… Kana has learned some new skills it seems as she can actually cook “Ninjin Loves You Yeah!” curry now that will not kill people and can spit a respectable distance. Still would have been more awesome if she sang the Ballad of the Curry no Yousei. Even if Hosaka and Hayami are missing I guess we can console ourselves with Hayami in training, Maki-can, and Hosaka in training Fujioka. Though we need to have a Fujioka fantasy just to be sure that Fujioka can stay the course.

That’s some self control ya got there Fujioka.

Thank you Asread I forgive your minor bikini continuity error.

I suppose twin-tails are one of the benefits that make up for the lack of that lovely yellow one she had.

Poor Uchida can’t seem to get the better of Chiaki, but at least she still has Mako-cakes. I was not expecting Mako-cakes to make a return and it seems that once again that Mako-cakes is getting a bigger animation budget. So far it seems that Mako-cakes is at least learning the art of subterfuge though he is stumbling in intelligence. I love how Mako-cakes was going to help Uchida and then copy her. Once again Mako-cakes proves how dignity is such a trifling thing as Chiaki whispered in his ear, and he liked it… Perhaps he is vaguely aware of how awesome Chiaki will be once she becomes All Woman Chiaki (whom I sorely miss). In the end Mako-cakes wins over Chiaki and Uchida gets to copy the summer homework (thank goodness we don’t have that BS in the US). I am impressed that at such a tender young age that they already know how to cheat. Touma was right though why shouldn’t she be allowed to copy? I suspect that Uchida is starting to take an interest in Mako-cakes and sought to deny Touma any help from Mako-cakes. Sad to see that the special relationship between Touma and Mako-cakes is not as it once was, though I suppose that Touma could have jumped Mako-cakes after Uchida left. Yoshino seems to have stopped harassing Mako-cakes for reasons unknown, and I did enjoy the terror that Yoshino instilled in Mako-cakes, maybe it will make a return. Perhaps this is the beginning of Mako-cakes’ youth and all it cost him was his manhood and his dignity. Truly the female gender is quite enamored with itself, even grade school girls seem to be attracted to guys who look like girls. Once again it seems that Mako-cakes is going to keep with the color coordination and has no problems going out into public by himself. He didn’t even bring a change of clothes or even think about changing once he knew that Haruka was out.

Is it ever?

Fujioka has waited all his life to hear those words…

He’s still waiting.

Chiaki has definitely been losing out to Kana this season as for most of the summer it seems Chiaki made the same mistake over and over again in trusting Kana bearing food. The soy sauce ice shavings was so evil, I have to try it sometime. Touma has discovered the greatest gift for Japanese in Matsutake mushrooms which seem to be pricy as hell. Chiaki scores a moral victory by eating all of Kana’s choicest dishes, but it does nothing to mitigate Chiaki’s string of losses to Kana. Even if Chiaki claims that this will be her season Mako-cakes is probably going to usurp it once again. Hell even in the preview he’s bleeding out femininity in his male clothes… Still this might be the year when Mako-cakes and Chiaki finally start BEING FRIENDLY, he still won’t ever get to go back to being Makoto though.

It was a good episode that had its real juicy moments in the middle especially when Mako-cakes was trying to out wit Chiaki. Maki-chan bullying Fujioka was good though I can only hope that in the future it gets better. Haruka is still not getting her fair share of the animation budget though at least for the beach segment she did look AMAZING.

Is it Hayami with juice?

Hosaka told him to do it.

Don’t you start stripping Fujioka, or Maki will fix you.

Yep it seems Hayami has been training Maki to be next overlord of the volley ball team.

Then Tag!

You should try making Kana a bento.

So you enjoy spooning eh?

And here I thought that Mako-cakes would ne MIA.

Wait why does he care about where Kana is?

Your Lucky Day.

Mako-cakes don’t you think you might want to change?

Mad at Uchida? Never…

Great Idea Mako-cakes.

She’s out cold, try kissing her.

Mein Gott he’s really lost in character now…

Well at least Uchida is getting smarter.

Oh Oh! here comes the nibble!

You saw All WOman Chiaki didn’t you?

Don’t forget to thank Mako-cakes.

Well…

Touma has not forgotten how much you owe her…

What else could it be…?

Touma, Touma, Touma the trick is to get in CLOSE.

Kana was far from subtle too…

And yet Chiaki still trusts Kana…

Bow before your new GOD.

Bow puny humans!

LET”S BE FRIENDLY

That pose…

Prelude to Brokeness, brought to you by Comrade Haesslich

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Minami-ke Okaeri – 05: Mako-cakes Returns…

Crusader — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 02:26:21 +0000

I guess Yoshino has some Banchou in her as well…

Well this marks the triumphant return of Mako-cakes to help Touma out on her path of brokenness. By Jove was it terrifying to behold.

That first skit made me feel dirty…still it must be great to be Chiaki, she gets to be the brattiest of them all in not helping out to clean, as if she is one the level of Haruka Bacnhou…what impertinence. It seems to me that Chiaki has gotten dumber over the seasons, it use to be that she was smart, but now Uchida, Yoshino, and Mako-cakes are getting the better of her…I guess Chiaki was broken by Kana in a more subtle way and soon I bete even Mako-cakes will be able to outsmart her some where down the line. Mako-cakes though was living the loli-con dream, even if Mako-cakes is so whipped that he reached for the buckets before the order was given I can’t say Mako-cakes got the short end of the deal, even if Chiaki is still flat Yoshino and Uchida are undergoing normal progression, not that I am paying particular attention of course…

Oh now you’ve done it…

Good God how are they getting away with this?

Remember kids misplaced silence is better than misplaced words…

Chiaki giving the tap felatio to get water poisoning was weird, though Uchida is starting to have Uchida Fantasies that for now hold the promise of rivaling those of Hosaka and Kanako. I wonder which gave the local loli-cons more of a fit, Uchida cooling herself off or Chiaki at the tap. I also have taken a likening to Kumada-sensei that was one cutting remark about Chiaki’s inability to swim. I definitely think Chiaki’s intelligence is on the wane if she has started questioning the usefulness of swimming, I have to know how to swim it’s a useful skill depending on one’s occupation…besides wasting away pool side is not my idea of fun.

Wait Chiaki, you have nothing to hide…Looks like Mako-cakes is learning about what women want.

Uchida is indeed shameless…I wonder how’d she turn out by high school…

Correction human corpses are designed to float.

Poor Riko and Fujioka could not get through to Kana, though it was kind of sad how Kana jumped at the chance to invite Chiaki’s friends instead of people from her own age group…I also fail to see what could have cause such a dynamic shift from two piece suits to one piece, but either was is fine really. Strange how there so many pool skits when the Northern Hemisphere is in the dead of winter… Riko might actually have a shot, it seemed as though they were on the same wavelength though with Kana as designated leader nothing ever works as planned. Quite how Riko planned to peel off Fujioka is beyond me I would have thought keeping Kana out of the picture might have been more beneficial. Still why Kana saying sorry in an almost sincere manner is the school pool that much of a hell hole?

That counts as an “an Hero” attempt Chiaki…

Along with some morphine…

Wot? No “Please”…?

Kids say the darnest things…

The last segment was AMAZING, never mind that for once Kana got up before, but Mako-cakes used color coordinated hairclip. My goodness this is a first, it seems Mako-cakes is also maintaining a superior sense of style though once again it seems that Mako-cakes is getting a bit more animation budget than Haruka, who was noticeably MIA for most of the episode. Too bad Haruka was not playing tag too, I am sure Mako-cakes would have loved that. Fujioka seems to have sissied out when it came to playing tag, he had the perfect cover and yet did nothing, he deserved to be kicked by Kana because Kana is Boss. Also it seems that Riko and Keiko had some reduction… Ah well at least there is hope for Fujioka when he started ignorantly groping Touma, you would think that the most developed of them would have had more trouble hiding her developing phenotypic characteristics, but for now Touma can still fool Fujioka into thinking that she is a boy. Fujioka also chose the weirdest angles of attack, though I guess since he has a bit of Hosaka in him that it was to be expected… Indeed when it came down to it Fujioka wanted to BE FRIENDLY with Touma, it was by fare the funniest part of this episode, scarily enough it looked as if Fujioka was much better animated when he got into Hosaka Mode. All things considered Fujioka like Mako-cakes is a lucky bastard, he gets to hang out with more female company than most guys his age, though Mako-cakes has seen far greater things in the time since brokenness ensued.

Next week it’s a return to the beach though Mako-cakes looks to be tragically absent, though with any luck Haruka will finally get some more of that animation budget.

Takeru should forget about what’s her face and take this desperate nurse instead.

Chiaki is getting fatter…?

…

Don’t worry Chiaki, you’ll catch up, and HOW!

Riko is has plans…

Kana’s Virgin Mary Cosplay…

There’s hope for you yet Riko…

Fortune favors the bold, Riko

Kana’s Hosaka Fanstay…

There’s nothing wrong with a 1:2 ratio, Kana.

You’re bringing the lolis?

Varying degrees of want…

We have now entered the Twilight Zone….

Kimi wa dare wo kissu?

I think you just triggerd a Kana Flag Fujioka…

Too bad they are all tsun tsun flags…

Well DO YOU?

Mein Gott Mako-cakes is color coordinating the hair clips now…

Poor unwitting Touma…

Funny how with each season Mako-cakes has inched this close to Haruka without Chiaki getting pissed. Who needs manhood when you have Haruka?

Touma’s giving man lessons now…

Were it so easy…

Be AFRAID Mako-cakes Kana’s coming to get ya.

See Mako-cakes has no problem with this, what’s your excuse Fujioka?

I wonder how Touma’s emerging phenotype will work out in three years…

You already had the hard part covered you know…

Not him…

Put it there pal.

I am surprised Mako-cakes did not take this opportunity to grope Haruka…

Hosaka is that you?

LET”S BE FRIENDLY.

No cheating Touma, take it like a man!

Best shot of Haruka I got… T_T

I liked the yellow one more…

Minami-ke Okaeri – 04: Fighting Touma, Hidden Banchou

Crusader — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 09:15:27 +0000

Don’t worry your best friend will be there shortly…

It’s certainly shaping up to be quite the year for Touma, for the past four eps it seems that Touma has applied for adoption by Haruka. Given the quality of her brothers I cannot say I blame her, with an oppressor like Natsuki who is by all accounts exceptionally thick Touma’s headbutt is probably more effective against Kana in snack defense, I already have a job suggestion for Touma, I hear Terry Tate needs some help in his office linebacker business and Touma is already a promising candidate. Quite how the other Minami family came to the conclusion that Touma was getting more lady-like under the care of Haruka and her sisters is for now a mystery. I just loved how Kana lost her nerve when Akria was thanking her as the truth is quite different. Kana thinks that reverse psychology might work, but quickly changes her plans and resolves to make Touma a gentleman. The great thing is that Touma could probably do it for a while until she could no longer feign flatness. If kana put her mind to it I am sure she could make Touma into a reverse trap for life, but I for one am against gender reassignment, as manliness is 99% attitude 1% balls of a physical sort.

Haruka shamelessly restoring order in her kingdom.

Sadly Haruka was not shamelessly undressing.

You know I am beginning to wonder if Touma will grow up to be like Kanako, lusty for women along with one very talented trap

So who is better between Kana and Chiaki, we all know Kana is an evil genius, and certainly Chiaki is capable but not always willing to listen to her All-Woman Half, speaking of which, I miss her already… Whatever your opinion on the matter Haruka is still queen of the house, and Touma it seems has become a vassal of Queen Haruka, as a result Haruka-sama no longer fears beating her jesters before Touma. I hope one day that Haruka get the crest of the King of Hearts to upgrade her Iron Claw. Also any one wonder what Touma and Fujioka’s work out routine is? Touma has gotten wonderfully more aggressive, but I still see no increase in muscle mass. Despite touma’s increase in martial prowess it seems that she still cannot best Natsuki who has been cooking more often than Hosaka as of late. Still the use of Touma’s proof of girliness was inspired on the part of Kana, and none too shameless on the part of Touma, though I too would have liked to see the proof of girliness. It looks like Natsuki does have the fear of the dreaded first and greatest Banchou. Also I have also noticed that Haruka has become quite rough around the edges, despite the public façade Haruka does have a bit of Hosaka still in her, if only it happened more often, or at least we had more proof of it. Maybe this was the fabled Permit that some privileged A-Laws carry? If so Ribbons is a genius.

Natsuki is no sis-con that much is for certain…

Madness…?

This is HARUKAAAAAAAA! I hope Natsuki was staring at Haruka, otherwise…

Touma certainly had it tough as a kid getting some of the crappiest gifts a girl could get for her birthday, some sis-con manga by Stripey, a dating sim, and a broken GBA knock off (as if you could break a GBA so easily) with one of those 99 in 1 cartridges. I remember getting those from Hong Kong back when Game Boy was still in heavy use. I remember when I was so excited when I got my first one only to soon discover there were like maybe 10 games that were named differently. Still I loved that thing toughest pieces of hardware I ever had, I still have the thing too, and it still works. Radar Mission still holds a special place in my heart.

Renge’s renai game?

I wanna PSP for Christmas dawg…

What do you prefer men or something?

We meet a new friend in Hitomi who was the second person to bear the coveted title of Bancho clearly while inferior to Haruka the Great, Hitmoi nonetheless has some formidable combat skills as she could best the delinquent Natsuki. Touma shouls start taking lessons from Hitomi. Speaking of Banchous I wonder who among Chiaki’s class would earn the title of Banchou? Chiaki? Uchida? Yoshino? Touma? Mako-cakes? If only we were not stuck in a temporal anomaly…I suppose we will never know for sure though. I am betting on Touma though. Poor Hitomi though she’s running up against haruka and doesn’t have a chance, and despite her ability to read Natsuki, her skills are not yet complete…Still I suppose once Natsuki gets his heart torn to shreds that Hitomi has a shot, I like her no tie policy by the way, very Banchou-like. Maki on he otherhand is not up to speed with Natsuki’s eyes. I am sure if Maki had caught wind of Natsuki’s admiration of Haruka-sama Maki would have shut him out quick. Suffice to say I shall enjoy watching Hitomi try and claim Natsuki. I am sure Touma would tell Hitomi all kinds of dirty secrets she has on Natsuki in exchange for CQC training.

is it in his eyes?

Oh no you’ll be deceived.

If you want to know if he loves you so it’s in his kiss.

I am not sure if Hitomi is dumb or smart, asking Maki about maturity might not have been a good idea, though the line of thought that Maki had to take journey to maturity made some sense. Although following Hosaka’s advice lends more support to Hitmoi being a bit dumb. We must introduce Hitomi to Kana. Still Hosaka being Hosaka was rather tame this time, it all seemed so plausible and lacked the signature wackiness I have come to expect. Of course I would love to have Haruka under my umbrella, but it still lacked some zazz. Not sure what to make of the miracle at the end, was God saving Haruka from Hosaka? Was God merely saving Natsuki from a pink umbrealla? Or was God just punishing us all by denying us a hawt and wet Haruka with nekomimi burruma? Still Natsuik seems to have weakness to pink umbrellas with bunnies, Touma would pay good money for that little piece of Intel, I hope Hitomi has the good sense to sell it at a high price.

Make Hitomi your vassal my Queen.

kimi wo kimi wo aishiteru…

Couldn’t you have used it on the way back to school?

Maki is indeed sickened by hetero lust, I know which team maki is playing for. I wish her the best of luck with Haruka onee-sama.

I think Hitomi got much better animation than Haruka this time, it sort of sad, but I find Hitomi to be almost as delicious.

Touma got screwed in the end with the worst birthday gift of the year and no pineapple cakey to go with it…Still there is hope for poor Touma as it seems her partner in crime is prepping for aerial deployment. Yes Mako-cakes is coming back and I am sure it will be terrifying…next week will be awesome.

Kana would like to have a word with you…

Remember to thank God, my Queen.

Every girl should have a .22 rifle at her age, this is just silly…

Look who’s decided to come join the party… There is no escaping your fate Mako-cakes…

Minami-ke Okaeri – 03: Runaway Touma

Crusader — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:10:28 +0000

This ain’t no Jello boy NO JELLO pudding

The ultimate gift for women has finally been discovered! We must find this store by the station at once and identify this grand pudding that can serve as tribute to Haruka nee-sama. Not only must this retailer be identified so that we may save it from this economic downturn, but we must find out the brand, its manufacture and then seize and disseminate the recipe and take control over the means of production to arm every man and lesbian with the ability to appease females everywhere. Production must be nationalized so that a steady supply can be guaranteed and not subject to market forces that might produce scarcity due to overwhelming demand. Great scientific and cultural discoveries, aside it was a rather Touma centric episode this time, though sadly it seems Touma was better animated than Haruka in some scenes. It’s rather odd to see Takeru coming to the rescue and actually succeeding for once, usually he gets shot down towards the end. BTW is it a bad thing that the first thing that came across my mind after hearing that the three Minami sisters shared a cup of pudding was ZMOG INDIRECT KISSU? …I’ll got back to my corner now.

Oh Haruka, next time buy in bulk, it’s like construction better to have too much rather than too little.

Takeru to teh Rescue? Either the stars are aligned or Takeru is going up on Reiko to join the Shiratori club…

I was expecting either rocks or clothes for Mako-cakes…

Natsuki is a classic dumbass whose skull must certainly be thick, not only is he oppressing Touma but he serves as Hosaka’s gofer and yet has the gall to make Haruka angry. I suppose the run down for marrying Haruka among the guys and nominally guys has Natsuki as dead last. Where as Hosaka had at least managed to feed Haruka through Curry no Yousei powers and gotten praised for it Natsuki is losing points faster than a CoH player down three victory points against Sepha (yeah I need to start playing again). Even Mako-cakes has more points than this guy. Natsuki and the other Minamis go MIA and already after given a chance for a running start he blows it big time. I guess when you are the strongest person amongst sheep that Natsuki feels that he’s entitled or something. I can’t wait for Banchou Haruka to fix him when they meet face to face again. So far Haruka is still up two on the field of combat. IIRC correctly Natsuki even got beat by Mako-cakes in the Hosaka cosplay by Haruka department. Even his later ploy to get Haruka to talk to him was a failure, if he really wanted to learn how to make sweets he’s already best buddies with Hosaka. As such Natsuki even fails at being a dirty sneak. Oddly enough I had a bit of trouble telling Natsuki and Akira apart as well, I guess they should start selling the Mysterious Minami Pudding to raise funds to supplement the animation budget.

Hello Clarice…

I guess there is a Dark Kana after all…

OH SHI-Kana’s being nice…

Poor Uchida can’t get a break, but fortunately she demonstrated a good degree of situational awareness. Kana being kind was rather scary…usually Kana is busy being BOSS, but it was almost as if a bit a Haruka was leaking out. I was scared Kana was saying so many considerate things I had to check the alcohol content on my drink to make sure I wasn’t too wasted. Kana was letting her minion Uchida rest and saying things like thank you…Nevertheless I guess now we now know the Banchou gene is indeed dominant to the point that the Kana who seems to have inherited most of the recessive traits is capable of dark mode too. Here I thought that Kana’s default mode was not as evil as I had dared believed possible. I was wondering what was in the box, a heart broken Takeru perhaps, clothes for Mako-cakes maybe? I did not expect the doom of men to show up in force.

I suppose it is a bit poetic how women brought down the wrath of God by eating the apples, and now the red devils have come back in force to become the bane of this band of merry lasses. I know that it is possible to have too much of a good thing, but there are other ways of fixing apples, juice, tart, pie, fruit salad, chips, sauce, etc. You can always use them as projectiles; it can cause a sizable welt if given enough velocity… Poor Touma becomes the second casualty of the Ringo Menace after Uchida surrenders after two baked apples. Worse still for Touma the terror did not end when she got home because her idiot brothers thought there was some hidden meaning in the apple or something, so at least Uchida got off rather light in contrast.

Kana is BOSS.

Goddamn Lit Majors over analyze everything…

ab.net is down again…

I don’t know about Chiaki these days, it seems that her intelligence was just down graded for letting Kana cook. I suppose the purple plate disaster has long since been forgotten now, but to forget the Ballad of the Curry no Yousei is just atrocious. Even with her tight nit circle of people who are allowed to be around Haruka, Mako-cakes still remains undetected and is one of those trusted few, I guess Shock and Awe does work… Still if it’s any indicator of how much Banchou Haruka regards Natsuki with contempt it was amply demonstrated in how she wasn’t even really giving him a recipe. Touma was getting kind of one-sama-ish there with Chiaki, but it soon fell apart when Touma started drinking from the carton LIKE A MAN. If Mako-cakes is on the fast track to losing his manhood, by middles school Touma might be awfully manly to compensate. It’s as if this time it will be Touma who might end up spreading brokenness until her ally arrives. I know for certain that this vacillation between being a guy behavior and blushing and crying is making me confused as all hell. It’s almost as if a bit of Mako-cakes had rubbed off on Touma because with Natsuki in the picture some one is bullying Touma for once. By Jove we have get crying Touma, and blushing Touma in rapid succession. Touma sure is lucky to be able to runaway to the Minami house whenever things get crappy in the other Minami home. Wish I could do that, but people always seem to have problems with me bringing a gun into their home and storing ammunition, fucking pansies.

Yeah he hast to dress up like a girl first, rule 63 in…

I see the Purple Plat Massacre has since been forgotten, I suppose it was Hayami’s juice

INDIRECT KISSU!

Speaking of Mako-cakes I wonder when Touma’s other half is going to show up… the longer the lull the more I think that something terribly broken is going to happen. We all know it’s coming but this wait is dreadful. If Kana the Kind is making me uneasy then the return of Mako-cakes is like running smack into a Panzer VI in a night action. I can feel the earth shaking, the slow grinding of its treads, and the electric hiss of the turret traversing as it searches out its prey. I digress though. The music oddly enough was rather catchy, though I feel like curry again… Speaking of music blaxploitation music returned to make omelets more interesting. Still bright ideas don’t always work and if you really want to keep people away from your food, disguise them as leftovers.

Next time Touma finally meets Banchou Haruka and has no escape route… I’ll go make that curry now and buy my family pudding for Lunar New Year.

For a good time call Haruka at…

Pouting Touma…

Blushing Touma…

Hey Touma, LET”S BE FRIENDLY.

Haruka needs more AMAZING animation not QUALITY animation damn it.

Varying degrees of want, yes?

On Courtship: The Legend of the Galactic Suitors

Crusader — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 10:27:28 +0000

Designation: Liberty Prime. Mission: the Liberation of Mankind from Tanuki Propaganda. Primary Targets: Any and All Red Japanese Harem Leads. Emergency Communist Acquisition Directive: Immediate Self Destruct. Better Dead than Red.

While it has been some time since I last wrote on this subject it was Stripey’s heinous Jominian efforts to spread a spate of lies and propaganda to loser harem animu leads has forced me to create a Clausewitzian response. I also wished to restore the balance of power on the field of courtship because IKnight was ill at ease that there was no treatise for the menfolk. To be sure this article is not for the loser harem animu lead that only needs his mysterious musk to attract women. This guide is for the average man who lacks such miraculous powers and Marty Stu qualities and is in anime that is superior to harem. I am quite well aware of how women operate and my knowledge has compelled me to instead marry my job, nevertheless I am not without mercy and hope that in writing this some of you might happily put on the ball and chain of marriage or otherwise make yourself a nuisance to women everywhere, so that my years of slavery under their continued tyranny might be avenged if only slightly.

(Note there are LOGH spoilers aplenty)

Shock and Awe

If you think the one in the middle is the dude, I got news for ya…

The sad truth of the matter is that for some reason women like to praise each other’s good looks, and sense of style. Men, more often or not, do not do this for fear of catching “the gay.” As such those who have the daring to do what ever it takes to find some one to love, take the view that the ends fully justify the means. After all what is the price of a man’s dignity? Not worth nearly as much as staying single or worse yet a virgin. Shock and Awe, is a doctrine based on the use of overwhelming beauty, dominant aesthetic awareness, dominant maneuvers, and spectacular displays of femininity to paralyze a target’s perception of their feelings and destroy their will and ability to resist. It can only be used by a select few who are able to pull off the infiltration tactics necessary to make the best use of this doctrine. To this end since women often take more notice of other women, an infiltrator must do the utmost to look the part. Once that is complete one’s strategies must remain offensive, but the tactics defensive. The effort that must be put into looking the part by an infiltrator often creates a superior feminine sense of aesthetics that puts real women to shame as such an infiltrator will attract all sorts of attention from women and most terrifyingly of all other men. As such Shock and Awe requires superior situational awareness lest things go awry, getting attention is rarely an issue the primary danger remains attracting unwanted attention and singling out the desired target to bring forth acceptable levels of affection.

There are some risks if the infiltrator is discovered but the hallmark of a gifted practitioner is the ability to be openly male while looking the part in male attire. Not only do women pay more attention to an infiltrator, but they will often feel more at ease as well as many men make the mistake as coming off as being predatory and unscrupulously perverted. Not so with Shock and Awe as women will be asking for advice and will more readily accept a man as they will be asking him for fashion tips and the like and that alone makes for much less awkward conversation. Women are always dragging their men folk around on shopping trips as such an infiltrator has a distinct advantage in such adventures because they are capable of making recommendations (and as such exert some influence over what the target wears with the possibility of the infiltrator dictating the entire wardrobe to boot). Once trust is earned the rest is easy. As they say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, despite protestations to the contrary women love to be flattered. Women like bishounens and nothing a man can do will alter that, thus for Shock and Awe practitioners knowing that much is half the battle. After all why haggle over rules of engagement when the ones in place favor those who put in the effort? Time wasted haggling is time not spent lurvin.

Noted Practitioners:

At first it took me a while to realize it was not Sara.

Alto-hime (Macross Frontier) – The blood of Meltrans doth flow strong in this one. Raised since his childhood to out-women women, Alto-hime has perfected the art of infiltration to the point that the unwary often mistake hime for being a girl. Hime is a classic example of where an infiltrator is so adept that there is no shortage of admirers, many of them un-wanted and some of a less than savory nature. Nevertheless after years of oyama training hime’s skill set is indeed formidable where Ranka makes death pills out of cookies and Sheryl needs help chopping hime beats them both in being able to make something edible by himself. Such prowess by the time of hime’s sixteenth birthday was already second nature, and try as hime might to be a pilot the old oyama habits die hard. To be sure hime’s fame as the greatest Sakura-hime of his age if not all time, hime’s reputation earned the notice of nearly the entire female contingent of SMS. Coupled with hime’s skills as a pilot even Mr. Bilrer took notice as did Grace.

When the end came and hime donned the heirloom of the Nome family it suited hime to a startling degree. Even in the end the PR campaign for the movie could not hide the fact that hime blended in seamlessly and in some cases stole the spotlight altogether. Clearly between Sheryl and Alto-hime Miyo-sama’s undoubtedly fantastic wardrobe will be put to good use for years to come. The ultimate testament to hime’s prowess was when Grace admitted her first true defeat and took solace in the fact that the one who delivered the coup de grace was the greatest oyama that ever lived. Despite hime’s good looks he still boasts some decent combat abilities even as he is out classed by cyborgs, veterans, and Zentradi. Nevertheless being adopted by Meltrans is in itself its own reward, so what if hime looks like a girl? At least he has a Klan onee-chan and getting more female interest without being a loser harem animu male. As they say any female interest is good interest.

Yeah I think Mako-cakes is too far gone…

Mako-cakes (Minami-ke) – By far the only infiltrator to have taken it this far is Mako-cakes, and despite claims that he wishes to reclaim his manhood, there is no denying that Mako-cakes will pay almost any price to be near Haruka. Truth be told Mako-cakes has had the most success in getting closer to Haruka as rival Hosaka is being waylaid by Hayami, and Natsuki was MIA after being beat to a pulp by Haruka, I suppose the coward fled from Haruka the Terrible. Clearly dignity is a small price to pay by Mako-cakes’ book for getting a front row seat to a Haruka disrobing; he also got an unintended bonus when he was felt up by Haruka. Certainly there are those who say that a man’s dignity is not worth losing for getting closer to Haruka, to that I respond: your numbers are negligible and you are stupid, and/or possibly interested in only men; also may your virginity last forever. While most boys his age flee from girls in terror of the cooties, Mako-cakes has enlisted Uchida and fellow infiltrator Touma to keep his identity secret. Even if he’s no Kamina at least he will live long enough to enjoy his female company until puberty hits, and there are ways around that…

Mako-cakes’ reputation is indeed infamous to the point that brokenness became incredibly widespread and millions await in abject terror at the return of Mako-cakes. Given the lazy nature of women when it comes to chores (what you think that they like cleaning?), it is abundantly clear that should Haruka refuse out of concern for age, I am sure Touma will take him. At the very least Mako-cakes has many a year to spend with Haruka, which is more than can be said for the other potential suitors and admirers.

Guerre de course

Opportunism at its finest.

Otherwise known as “Raiding,” this doctrine is most often used by men who cannot stay in one place for very long, in complete opposition to the loser harem animu male who stays in one place and is often subject to retribution. However, on the flipside men who adopt Guerre do course will often find in their old age that all was for naught and they become despicable ero-ji. Thus for the greatest practitioners (Pyrates) the goal has always been to live a short and merry life. Women love the idea of a mysterious wanderer that will whisk them away to the far corners of the land on some sort of adventure. Indeed there is a slew of bodice ripper trashy romance novels that is proof positive that such women are out there, and if those publishers have survived this long then clearly their numbers are significant. They say a sucker is born every minute, while doubly true for men it is also true to an extent for women as well. While letters of marque are often granted or more often out right forged Pyrates roam the world and the universe in search of fleeting liaisons. Although they might never experience love, they will nonetheless have the experience of joy of the hunt and the thrill of the pursuit. While ideally Pyrates are not long for this world should life become exceedingly long it is they who feel the hard hand of Grandfather Time the hardest. Indeed it is often said that old Pyrates are often bitch slapped repeatedly by Grandfather Time in a temporal loop where time itself no longer advances. While suicide is often chosen only the best practitioners of Guerre de course find some way to die heroically and without the shame of an heroing oneself.

One last word of caution though, when starting out you must keep in mind that this a purely opportunistic modus operandi as such rookies are liable to get anything and everything that comes by. Just remeber just because you can doesn’t mean you should…

Noted Practitioners:

Cuz, old Walter wants to pay her a visit after he kills you.

Walter von Schenkopp (Legend of the Galactic Heroes) – While the number of lovers this man has had remains in dispute it cannot be said that his genes were some how inferior given how one of his daughters turned out. Nevertheless while many of his secrets died with him courtship theorists have surmised that as leader of the famed Rosen Ritter that formed the core assault force of Yang Wenli’s fleet Schenkopp was able to mover from one location to another without much trouble from the authorities as the needs of war took precedence. Given his reputation and that of the Rosen Ritter there were many women who suffered from khaki fever, it is to his credit or discredit that Schenkopp took full advantage of this, much to the lamentation of Admiral Attenborough. Whatever his misdeeds in love his reputation as peerless and gallant soldier often overshadow his many vices. His daughter would never forgive him fully for what he did, but he died a hero so at least his Katerose cannot spit on his grave, not only because of the law but because Julian respected him. He remains an example to all would be Pyrates, setting forth a high standard for martial might and martial honor to cover up his infamy as a womanizing cheat. It is said that he once remarked that it was far better to be controversial than to be universally loathed, the monument to him in the Soldiers’ Memorial on Phezzan is testament to his successful use of controversy.

Chevauchee

While Guerre de course advocates a more opportunistic approach a Chevauchee is much more proactive in creating vulnerable women. Don’t let the polite name fool you, a Chevauchee is essentially a grand raid undertaken to loot or destroy everything in one’s path to undermine the local authority’s power in demonstrating that you are above them and beyond whatever justice they might try to mete out. It is by far the most brutal doctrine to ever be employed it is still worthy or study if only because we must acquaint ourselves with the darker side of courtship. In Chevauchee the practitioner simply destroys every resource that a woman might posses, her family, wealth, property, and any other means of support. The objective is to so damage a woman’s circumstances that a burning desire for revenge is lit. If the one who initiated the Chevauchee the impending assassination attempt will be botched and then the rest is easy as the woman is all but helpless before the law as any assassination attempt is by default Murder in the First Degree, which often carries a harsh penalty. The downside is that not all would be women assassins are of sound mental health by this stage and if they still had their mental faculties intact, the impending assassination might very well succeed. The methods of Chevauchee are indeed brutal and there is little room for mistakes. It is in effect a risky gamble one that might cost the practitioner dearly.

Noted Practitioners:

Allegedly out of context…

Oskar von Reuenthal (Legend of the Galactic Heroes) – Reuenthal had it all good looks, power, and the ability to charm women. However his ruthlessness in dealing with the hated Lichtenlade family was far from complete and carried unintended consequences. There was one survivor of that accursed house who did make an attempt on his life, but the former noble woman was no warrior and was easily overpowered. What crimes were committed that day are too awful to contemplate, but by morning the last survivor of the Lichtenlade family was with child. Flush with success Reunthal’s own ego was inflated to a staggering degree that he willingly fought against his Kaiser in his quest for more power. The crushing of Reuenthal’s Rebellion was characteristically harsh and it is often said that he paid the price for his misdeeds. Had Reinhard not been alive perhaps it would have been Reuenthal that would have been Kaiser, but the heterochromatic womanizer was no match to Kaiser Reinhard who was his complete opposite when it came to the art of courtship. One can only wonder what would have been the outcome had Reunthal’s ways been more gentlemanly and his ambition lessened (Note: I declare the Britannian experiment to be a complete and utter failure, thank goodness Reinhard was a better Kaiser).

Mahan

If at first you don’t succeed…

The idea of having one Decisive Date is often mistaken for the penultimate form of courtship, such is never the case as love at first sight more often than not only applies to a single party, in the case our concern the male’s. This is one method that is only for those who are certain of their feelings and are willing to endure many months if not years of hardship in getting their feelings across. Women are perfectly capable of being as dumb, and at times, dumber than men to the point that they cannot see the likable bloke next to them in favor of other less devoted and less savory suitors. As such those who adopt a Mahanian strategy should be prepared for a long campaign and be fully prepared for initial rejection and a long stalemate. There is of course the very real danger of holding everything in reserve in preparation for a Decisive Date that might never come, and even if there is one a botched attempt at a premature Decisive Date might entail irreplaceable loss of treasure and materiel from which any further expenditure of effort is futile. While Orange-kun talks of loyalty the amount of loyalty required for a Mahanian strategy makes the Lance of Britannia look like Benedict Arnold.

Noted Practitioners:

Hard to imagine that Patrick use to get rides from blonde chicks. Now look at him, after Katie had dinner with him he sprouted wings…

Patrick Colasour (Gundam 00) - Often the butt of everyone’s jokes poor Patrick tried his hand at Guerre de course and gained quite a reputation to he chagrin of other skilled and straight pilots. Nevertheless upon suffering the backhanded blow of love he fell hard for a woman that was quite out of his league when it came to intelligence. It was his misfortune to have fallen for Katie, but to his fortune that he was the only one (until recently) to try. While outwardly good humored and obnoxious poor Patrick knew that he was no ace, but in Katie he found a woman who could make a man out of him. Despite being book dumb Patrick pledged his loyalty to the only person in the world who could accomplish such a feat. He gave up his old ways and made many grand gestures to his beloved Katie. Night after night he went to her house and professed his undying devotion and love, eventually she had to give in if only to get a night’s sleep. Even when parted, Patrick improved his piloting skills to become an A-laws gofer (gofer coffee and the like) to rejoin Katie in the field. Such devotion ingratiated himself to his beloved and made her think for once that he was serious and not merely an idiot, but an idiot that was very much in love. Seeing as how many women like to believe that they are smarter than the men they marry Patrick had enough sense to take full advantage of this. Not only was he finally attaining some martial renown, but now he no longer had to think as hard for himself, and with Katie his infamous stupidity was reduced threefold. While Patrick is rather thick, he did manage to gain a real chance at marrying way above himself; given that women always marry beneath them it is to his credit that he managed so wide a disparity.

The man who conquered a galaxy…

Reinhard von Lohengramm (Legend of the Galactic Heroes) – Kaiser Reinhard was undeniably a military genius whose ambition and intelligence forged the greatest empire the anime has ever known that spans a huge expanse of space. Despite his military achievements when it came to courtship Reinhard was as helpless as a quadriplegic in a swimming pool. One day Reinhard got uncharacteristically sad and a lass named Hildegrad von Mariendorf went to set him straight. One thing led to another and they spent the night. Upon waking up the Kaiser was clearly smitten and being a gentleman wished to take full responsibility for what had happened. Now mind you the Kaiser had no idea that Hilde was with child, but that hardly mattered to Reinhard whose first and tragically last experience in love compelled him to make Hilde his wife and Kaiserin. Unfortunately or fortunately for Reinhard, Hilde was not a woman of such loose morals and spurned his advances telling him that she would carry the child to term without him. All that was Reinhard the Admiral was lost in Reinhard the Suitor and while he could have taken her by using his authority as Kaiser, he did not. Instead after a long campaign and embarrassing himself before his men, who were quite certain that their handsome Kaiser was above dallying with women, Reinhard finally won Hilde’s consent to marry him. The lengths to which Reinhard went are astounding and the full story can only be told if one watches Legend of the Galactic Heroes, to be sure it was completely unexpected.

Minami-ke Okaeri 01-02: Cori-Cori-Coriander~

Crusader — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:00:13 +0000

I just love Haruka’s hair.

Ah yes so Minami-ke is back, it seems to be a mild return to form even if Chiaki and Haruka look kind of the same…and QUALITY animation aside this was still a good start. Seems this time around Touma, Fujioka, and Hosaka are getting a stronger start while Mako-cakes is MIA. I guess given how they got broken so quickly they are holding Mako-cakes in reserve. Still Hosaka being Hosaka is great.

I’ll just highlight the parts I really liked instead of trying to summarize it.

They remembered her this time.

Uchida will one day play games like Fallout 3 and Diablo III the kid likes to loot rooms, hell she looted the entire festival and was already taking out loans. I found myself at the edge of my seat when Uchida’s fated one was destined to arrive. I was thinking, Touma, Mako-cakes, Takeru, or even Haruka I didn’t expect Fujioka to be the one, but hey this might be his season after all (more on that later). Gotta love how Chiaki fought off fate and dragged off Fujioka and made him her throne.

God hasn’t given up on you yet Takeru…

Takeru gets no love at all, even as their guardian he’s getting zero respect and Kana is still shooting him down. He needs to go for the almost thirty single women group because at this rate he’s going on borrowed time and only Kumada sensei finds him funny in a non-deprecating way. Props to Takeru for turning a parent teacher conference into a marriage interview; hot for teacher indeed. Still once Fujioka showed up it was just no coming back still it seems that Takeru shares some of Haruka’s evil genes as she struck fear into the heart of the young usurper. In the end though once Kumada sensei spilled the beans on Chiaki’s physical, well I hope he got her number. He’s got a neat pen trick though it seems that it is startlingly accurate.

I see they have a little more in common than I thought…

He doesn’t even know its yuri…

Situational Awareness, Kana gots it.

Poor Fujioka seems to be getting the love of everyone but Kana who remains oblivious to his attempts to get her favor. Still it’s an ideal match considering Fujioka is easily manipulated and Kana will probably realize how much she can lord her trophy Fujioka over Chiaki. Even if Fujioka is book smart he remains ignorant of Touma and Mako-cakes, still he almost had it right in trying to grope Kana, oddly enough his evil side seemed to be a bit more sensible and less lecherous. Kana made a good save though, I guess her early warning system can override her gluttony. Still it was about time he tried to make a move otherwise he’d end up like Takeru.

I need a full body shot of All Woman Chiaki…

Chiaki seems to be getting more of the spotlight and I am quite impressed by evil All Woman Chiaki…Perhaps Chiaki will look like that for reals someday. I loved how Chiaki did no have to choose and bullied Kana to save her own conscience, that’s pretty crafty. If they promote this light and dark thing I hope we get to see the same thing with the rest of the cast. One wonders what will happen should it be Mako-cakes’ turn, I am also curious to see loli-Haruka.

Good idea or GREAT IDEA?

Hosaka being Hosaka was fucking GREAT, Hayami is indeed the dark lord of the school in pitting Hosaka against Maki and Atsuko. LET”S BE FRIENDLY was the best bit I was in fucking stitches, Hosaka even went for Hayami. Words cannot describe how glorious it was, still I wonder if it really works… any one up for BEING FRIENDLY? Hosaka the Curry Yousei had a pretty catchy song though it was comparatively tame in regards to other Hosaka Fantasies still great song. Too bad Hosaka will never know that he did indirectly feed Haruka some of his Fire Bomber Curry. Still I wonder what became of Hayami after Hosaka opened up that bento. If Hosaka is lucky he will finally get an invite to the Minami home as Chiaki’s Curry Yousei.

My only gripe so far barring the animation is that Touma by herself is a bit empty…I think I got too used to seeing Mako-cakes and Touma together. I miss watching them BE FRIENDLY, I suppose though Mako-cakes is being kept in reserve in order to prevent her from breaking the rest of the cast. Otherwise Makoto might finally reclaim his man-hood, though I hope his love for Haruka prevents that.

LISTEN TO MY SONG!