Ikoku Meiro no Croisée – 03

I’m not the only one who likes the idea of Frenchmen sumo wrestling, right? …Right?

Wow, I really love it here in Egypt. Sure, it’s hot and humid and there’s no air conditioning, but it’s still pretty awesome. The lifestyle here is entirely different than in America. For example, traffic here is CRAZY. There are seriously no rules whatsoever. No speed limit, no lanes. Hell, there are hardly any traffic lights either! Pedestrians have to cross whenever they can and hope the cars will stop for them. It’s every (wo)man for themselves out here. xD But yes, I think it’s rather appropriate to compare my experiences here in Egypt to Yune’s experiences in France. Yeah, yeah…I’m actually Egyptian. Whatever. There’re still cultural differences! 😀

We begin with Claude, as he finds an old violin. He then comes downstairs to find Yune ironing as Oscar looks on. She notes that in Japan they have something similar to an iron, a hinoshi, which is used to straighten kimonos. Claude then asks what it’s like in Japan which gives Yune pause. Oscar then describes it as a labyrinth made of paper and wood. The walls, doors and lamps are made of paper, the floors of hay and everything else of wood. As Oscar continues to describe the Japanese lifestyle that Yune led, Claude doesn’t quite understand…

You know? It seems perfectly plausible that Yune would sleep with bunnies…

YUNE! YUNE EVERYWHERE!  It’s…it’s like HEAVEN.

Sumo Wrestling, French style! I’m digging the boxers. A lot. There’s just something about men fighting in their undies…

Later on, Claude is working on a signboard for a client. However, the order is different than usual – the patron will only buy it if he likes it. Oscar notices that Claude wouldn’t usually accept such an order but it seems as though times are getting tough. Just then, Yune brings out some Japanese cutlery. Claude is surprised by how tiny it all is. Oscar then suggests that, if business fails, they should move to Japan but Claude refuses. He won’t let the Galerie go out of business just yet.

Meanwhile, we find out where Yune’s kimono has gone. It has gone into the clutches of a rich, spoiled blonde girl, Alice, who is in love with Japanese culture. She received the kimono as a present from her sister, Camille, and is upset that all her father gave her was the Galerie du Roy. …Wow. Her sister then points out that she bought the kimono from the Galerie du Roy which Alice doesn’t expect.

Hissy fit.  Exhibit A.

Back at the Galerie, Yune is finishing up ironing and seems bummed out that Claude doesn’t give her more to do. He then suggests that they take a break and asks her about the real reason she came to France. It turns out that she’s always really admired Paris and thus asked Oscar if she could come with him. Claude notes that she’s barely seen any of the Galerie, let alone Paris and she responds that she has no clue what she wants to see yet. Oscar comes in and states that she should get used to living here first. He brings a new dessert for her to try, a pastry called baba, and Yune adores the taste. Before Oscar can throw away the wrapper, Yune takes it and makes a paper crane as thanks for the dessert. Later on, Claude finds Yune writing a letter to her sister. She gives him a brief lesson on Japanese appreciation of nature. He goes back to his signboard and seems to finally have some inspiration.

The next day, Claude is hard at work while Oscar is out on a date. xD Finally, Claude finishes the signboard and presents it to Yune. He used the letters in her name to make the shape of it. As he goes to deliver it, he notices that stores in the Galerie are going out of business. On the bright side, he manages to sell the sign and when he encounters his grandpa outside of the store he informs him of the sale. Grandpa Oscar is very proud. xD Meanwhile, back at the shop, Yune sees a stray cat outside. She wishes to pet it but she promised to watch the store for Claude so she refrains.

Oscar comes up just as it starts raining and tells her that Claude has gone to get paper for her. Yune realizes that Claude hasn’t brought an umbrella and runs out to bring him one. After buying her paper, Claude runs out into the rain and is surprised to find Yune there. Since the rain in Paris is short-lived they go on a walk through town. Finally, Claude takes Yune to a bridge where they can see the sunset in Paris. It’s one of his favorite sights and as they look on they hear a bell which prompts a conversation comparing French and Japanese bells.

In that lighting Yune looks angelic. In fact, I can hear a choir of angels right now.

Excuse me, I’ll be right back. I just puked a buttload of rainbows and I need to clean up.

Meanwhile, Alice and Camille are having tea when the latter mentions that there was a Japanese girl sighted at the Galerie du Roy. This of course excites the Japan-obsessed Alice, who calls her butler and insists that he bring in the girl for tea. Wooh boy… xD

End Thoughts:

And another sweet episode of Ikoku Meiro no Croisee! Yune was frickin’ cute, as usual. Really, I doubt she could ever NOT be cute. It’s just not possible. We learned quite a bit about Japanese culture and seeing Claude misinterpret everything was absolutely HILARIOUS. I know that it’s hard to picture things that you’ve never seen or experienced before, but seeing somebody try to identify with another culture based on things that they’re familiar with is just too funny! He just…completely misunderstood. The artwork at this part was super cute and funny as well; it fit the scene perfectly and only made it more hysterical. xD What made this episode even better was how, despite his previous confusions, Claude was able to use what he had learned from Yune to make an awesome signboard and sell it. Success!

So, I’m not too pleased with this Alice chick. First off, she has Yune’s kimono and frickin’ loves it which makes it a lot more difficult for Claude to get it back. Not to mention she’s a SPOILED BRAT. GOOD LORD. She just got promised ownership of the entire Galerie du Roy when she’s not even an adult yet and probably would have no clue what to do with it and she’s not satisfied. GURL, IS YOU FOR REALZ?!?!! Like, there are people in the Galerie who are getting put out of business and struggling to make a livelihood and dis bitch is over here like “NUUUU I WANT MOAR. MY BROSKI OWNS THE MALL. THIS SUCKS!” What the hell?! Ok, so I may have slightly exaggerated but I still got a pretty horrible first impression of her. She’s cute though, I’ll give her that. Character designs definitely saved her butt here (and what beautiful character designs…). And she IS pretty young after all; sometimes kids just don’t know any better. Blame it on the horrible parenting. Hopefully her interactions with Yune will prove that there’s more to her than just…spoiled, rich brat. I’m crossing my fingers on this one.

I’m still not sure about the age difference between Claude and Yune but I’m just going to assume that she’s not as young as she looks. I think it’s the height that makes her seem so tiny. She’s just a shortie. xD Anyways, age/height differences aside, I adore Claude and Yune together. When I first read the summary of this show, it was suggestive of more conflict between the two. I’m glad to find that that’s not what we have here at all. They’re always teaching each other things and trying to learn from one another. Not only so, but also they’re always looking out for each other and it’s just so sweet. A prime example of this was when it began raining and Yune noticed that Claude didn’t have an umbrella. She, not only NOTICED that he didn’t have one, but also went out into the rain to bring him one! If that doesn’t scream “AWWWWOMGTHEYNEEDTOGETMARRIED” then I don’t know what does. I’m obviously a shipper.

Preview:

I won’t deny that I kind of want to kick Alice. Not too hard though! Just hard enough to send her flying.

About Zabobinator

Doesn't get enough sleep. Dork with a rather eclectic taste in manga and anime. Adores Studio Ghibli films.