Mikakunin de Shinkoukei – 07
Oh God I just love Niko.
The moral of the story is that people from the mountains and countryside aren’t human. All of them.
Kindred Beings
Konoha comes in a close second for best facial expressions.
This week’s Mikakunin takes a step back from Kobeni and Hakuya’s relationship, and takes a larger focus on the characters of a “different breed.” Since they don’t really have a formal name and trying to describe them in a roundabout manner is awkward, I shall just dub them “extra-humans.” So the big reveal of the episode is that Konoha, the blond Benio fan we previously saw in the premiere, is one of the same kind as the Mitsumines. Good to know that it’s not just that one family, I suppose. So far, we don’t know all too much about Konoha, but there are a few facts dropped here and there. She’s from the countryside, which is given away by the accent she relapses to when upset. And she’s allegedly the eldest daughter of her family. Now, I opened with a joke about how all people from the remote areas aren’t human, but this kind of setup does make sense when you think about it. A family or “clan” living isolated from the rest of society would certainly go unnoticed much easier. At least, they could go about their lives more or less unrestrained by human conventions and ways. Though I suspect that they still try to act as human as possible in their own hidden villages so as to better integrate with society if and when they go into town.
Approaching Storm?
Niko is now my favorite character in this show.
Anyway, back to Konoha. Initially she’s set up as just a silly girl jealous of Mashiro and Kobeni for being so close to Benio (I’m sure Mashiro would gladly trade places). But now that she’s had the sleuthing fiasco with Niko, a newly introduced classmate and school newspaper reporter extraordinaire, it seems she might be more interested in Hakuya. And that can have some serious complications. The start of it all is her realizing while talking to Niko that Mashiro has been using some sort of hypnotism to blend in with the rest of highschoolers despite just being grade school age. I’m not even surprised at this point that the extra-humans can use hypnotism. One wonders though, why Konoha didn’t “sniff” them out as Hakuya and Mashiro did to her. But perhaps extra-human powers vary slightly on an individual basis. More to the point, I’m thinking the obvious that Konoha is now going to be interested in Hakuya for… to put it bluntly, mating purposes. It seems that extra-humans have no problems with getting together with regular humans, but perhaps it’s preferable for them not to mix so as to preserve their kind or something.
Konoha sets her eyes on Hakuya.
And actually now that I think about it, it’s not necessarily true that extra-humans are completely compatible with regular humans. Perhaps Kobeni and Hakuya are an exceptional case since the latter transferred half of his powers to the former? So it’s possible as I’ve previously speculated that Kobeni might no longer be completely human and more extra-human. Which would certainly eliminate any issues with incompatibility between species. Though the idea of changing one’s species so easily due to a simple “endowing” of powers is pretty ridiculous. But then one has to remember that the entire premise is pretty ludicrous to begin with (super-powered, shape-shifting beings hiding amongst us) so perhaps such technical details are besides the point. What matters in the end is that for one reason or another, I foresee Konoha attempting to get in between Kobeni and Hakuya. Which she clearly won’t be successful at in the end because those two are more or less OTP, but it’ll definitely make for some interesting dramatics.
Mikakunin made a bold move by adding supernatural elements to what was a seemingly ordinary slice-of-life-styled romcom in my eyes. But that move has paid off by actually making the show so much more addicting without coming across as a messy mashup. That’s not to say that romance can’t find its place in a supernatural story or any other kind of added premise (for instance Inari Konkon is doing a fine job as well). But there certainly was the potential for the show to become overburdened with excess baggage and become incoherent. I for one would have been completely skeptical about the need to introduce the extra-humans if that revelation hadn’t established itself as sort of “just a circumstance” instead of some kind of game changer or genre shift. The show in the end remains a high school romcom at its core, and that’s what I expect to see when I sit down for it every week. So thank you Mikakunin for not ending up as another Samumenco. So far, at least.
Mashiro has found a new natural enemy.
About Sumairii
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 77 comments
Originally I had attributed Konoha’s hairstyle similarity with Mashiro (as seen in the OP) to lazy character designs, but it seems that that could certainly be intentional.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Hata-kun from SYD and Niko transfer to each other’s schools. How different would both anime be?
I like the mix they’ve got, a splash more of one or the other would ruin the balance. How about calling them The Unexpected?
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
You could throw in Minako and Maki along with Tsutako from Maria-sama ga Miteru for good measure in the ‘scoop’ department.
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
another dog exists!
and
i feel a triangle in the future…Can i open Hakuya? For science*o*
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Better Hakuya than Mashiro. You’re not going to find fans of your work either way, but scientific experiments on the later will get you more than just rext.
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
oh i see…then Mashiro shall be my experiment *0*
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
The LOLi Defender issues fair warning here.
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
but…it’s for science*0*
Sometimes one must walk through fire for the next generation, fear not i shall never give give up on science! o/
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
It takes but an instant to become an Avenger…
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
Nah…too much paperwork!
POWUH: Novice (36-50) with 37 comments
Look out, Kobeni! *Covers nose* I smell a love rival…
And I think they can breed with humans, but mixing their bloodline probably weakens their abilities? Which is why they pushed for Kobeni as a marriage partner, since she’s kind of a halfbreed now lol. If Hakuya’s parents (we have yet to meet the father, I’m worried about him) decide that a pure bloodline is more important than their child’s happiness, the current engagement plans might be in for a little shake-up.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
That Love Comedy stench will probably kill Benio.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I really like the way the show is handling their ‘otherness’. Yes, Kobeni is a bit more pushy about it than maybe she should be, but Mashiro is pretty good at deflecting, and when deflected, Kobeni backs off. This show is just a lot of fun to watch, and it’s the one I go for if I can watch one show on Thursday.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I don’t know if the single’s released yet, but the full version of the OP is a lot of fun, with a very chiptune second verse which usually turns me off but it works here.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Dat-tat-tadat-dat-dat-da (ooo ooo!), Dat-tat-tadat-da (yeah yeah!)
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
So Konoha is the same species as Mashiro and Hakuya. If only she knew Mashiro’s relationship with Benio isn’t what she thinks it is. Not to mention she has the same kind of complex on Benio as Raigun’s Kuroko Shirai on Mikoto Misaka.
Niko is the one everyone should keep their eyes on since she’s so nosy. If left unchecked, she could figure out their secret and expose it for the sake of her journalistic ambitions.