Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou – 06
Making a big deal with a lot of bamboo
Shows just can’t resist throwing in a kid, can they?
Chibi Chinatsu
Is this the beginning of the end?
Before I watched this week’s Kawaisou, I saw some discussion on twitter relating to the new character that was added, and it was pretty much 100% negative. So I went into the episode with a little bit of worry about how it would end up going. So maybe my reaction is from expecting the worst, or just because I’m a different person than other people, but I really didn’t have a bad reaction to Chinatsu’s guest appearance in the show.
Mom certainly was uncomfortable
Yeah, I think it’s completely a guest appearance: A one-shot character who is on the show to make a point. And I thought it made a points that needed to be made. We’ve constantly seen Shiro claiming that he’s not interested in little kids, yet he keeps getting busted for creeping around the elementary school, and his actions are almost always highly questionable. His claim has always been that he’s not into the kids at all, and is into their mothers. It’s really weird, but hard to prove. So what did this episode do? Brought a kid and her mother around, under the guise of thanking Shiro for his effort in returning Chinatsu’s cute wallet, and showed us that, yes, Shiro is much more interested in mothers than their kid daughters.
A Replacement Friend
Mayumi doesn’t exactly cover herself in glory here
Surprisingly, Shiro was really good with Chinatsu. Maybe it was her budding sadism, maybe it’s just that he’s actually a pretty nice guy, but for whatever reason, he was really a good friend for Chinatsu, even after she declared that she was in love with him. Of course, him handling it well is kinda broken by Mayumi, whose attempts to ‘save’ Chinatsu from someone like Shiro just make Mayumi look petty, childish, and pathetic. This was definitely the worst we’ve seen out of Mayumi, and her inability to back down really caused her to dig her own hole to be trapped in. Unfortunately, this isn’t the kind of thing Mayumi is likely to learn a lesson from. But Shiro is well-tuned into to the wavelength of kids, and realizes that Chinatsu’s really just running away from her fight with her friends. And when she’s finally given the support to go try to make up with them, she really doesn’t need to hang around anymore.
When you fight with friends, you can make up with friends
This really wasn’t “The Annoying loli Episode” that a lot of people seemed to make it out to be. It certainly wasn’t a Sakurasou Episode 7 (with Yuuko), since it’s just so easy to compare this show to that one. I thought Chinatsu was a character that stood up on her own, not just put in for cheap fanservice or laughs. And it was nice to take the spotlight off of Usa and Ritsu for a week and give those two characters time to breathe in their development. Shiro really showed that he’s only a specific kind of fetishist, not a general one, and not one that’s particularly objectionable. And everyone putting in the effort to search for Chinatsu when she was missing was nice to see as well. Overall, not a bad episode, in my opinion.
About Highway
Proving that you don't have to be young to love anime, I enjoy all genres and styles of shows. If it's not hurting anyone else, you should never be ashamed of what you like!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Wow, I saw some of the same fandom reactions elsewhere, and it just added up to “why you put loli in muh show. me no like stupid lolis”
Having said that, this was fine and fun. It was interesting how Chinatsu just fit right in with everyone. And it underscored a vibe that did need to be addressed. Accusing people of hardcore stuff without any real proof.
Nope, not Yuuko at all. But that would have killed the show. Yuuko belongs in Sakurasou.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I don’t even know if she counts as a loli, since Chinatsu’s just a kid. She was completely age-appropriate, and depicted as a kid. And Shiro handled her confession perfectly, using the ambiguous meaning of ‘suki’ in his favor.
It’s a good point that most fetishists, even ones with fetishes that would be beyond the pale if acted upon, *never* act upon them, and *never* do anything actually ‘wrong’. Cracking down on them gets very thought-crime-y and difficult to justify, imo.
Although I think I kind of understand how the rest of the group feels around Shiro sometimes, as I kind of liken it to the co-worker I have who seemingly always has to comment to us on every woman he sees. Whether it’s good, bad, or out of bounds, he just has to say something. Most of the time the rest of us just roll our eyes and tell him to cut it out.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Yeah, I made that distinction during the Skylion’s House podcast. It’s an important distinction.
It’s a real shame, most people will justify any old whim they have based on little or nothing.
Guy needs to have an endless chain of women dress him down, let him see what it feels like.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
She is definately a loli or a most an overaged toddler. The anti-loli faction should just be quiet. As a counter-retort: “Who put all these useless oppai in the show??!”
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
Didn’t read anything about this episode, Me and fosh where thinking wouldn’t it be funny if she was actually Shiro kid hehe. But we both knew it wouldn’t turn out like that.
The episode itself wasn’t bad really, Im glade it turned out how I wanted, just enough to satisfy me. I’m happy it didn’t turn into something…quite different. Shiro did handle himself well with Chinatsu and makes me see him in a better light, but he still a weird guy but is a super fun character.
ahh good old Sakurasou. yep I get that vibe too, easy to compare it too, and for some reason after watching this episode I want to watch Bunny Drop/Usagi Drop again..
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
…the reason is it being awesome…You should follow up with Ikkoku Meiro.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Oh, man I just searched for Ikoku Meiro on this site. Saw the old school author banners. We should totally switch to that for the anniversary. Cause I want one!
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
Yesh, make this happen, your skylion demand it.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 386 comments
Hmm watched this one, about 3 episodes we dropped it, just too slow maybe? though i should solo watch it, i don’t think Fosh is liked it much hehe