Inou-Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de – 09
It’s all fun and games….
Welcome back, Battlers. This is the episode in which we explore the many shapes of love. It looks like we have a triangle…uh…square? Well, it has many points, and therefore sides. So yeah, Summer Break is shaping up to be very interesting indeed…
The Fated Encounter
The reaction is priceless
First up in our cavalcade of young romance is Tomoyo. I have to admit bias, as this is the ship that I’ve been laying keel for since the beginning; and it’s a bias I cannot let go of, won’t even pretend. They just work well with each other. He doesn’t carry an abundance of negative points, nor is he as shapeless as another self-insert male lead. So in this case, I don’t have to wonder what the girl sees in him. So, from my point of view, He’s no Ichika to whomever in IS, nor Rito in To Love-Ru to anything that moves near him, nor is he Kyousuke to Kuroneko. I realized that I’ve laid down some very wide brush strokes there, but that’s they way the paint box comes sometimes.
For me it’s the give and take they share. Neither one of them can gain the upper hand over each other for long. She may beat him senseless at times, but he has the habit of knocking her out of her senses with just a few natural words. They both like discovering that the other has hidden depths. But, is the boy receptive? Yeah, he doesn’t have that going for him quite yet. Not that some people are any help.
Rice has an obligation to the curry
So, which one is the curry, which one is the rice?
This was a cute little scene. For a child, I would imagine the question of whether or not curry is a snack or a drink is not out of the realm of the possible. There are curry flavored drinks and snacks available in Japan, and of course there is the ubiquitous “gohan” offering as well. But all that was just a lead into asking him to go to the pool with her. What makes it cuter is how she tried to play the game. It was clumsy, but it had all the markers of baiting, and shutdown, and coaxing back that relationships always seem to start with.
This is my LOLi, there are many like her but this one is mine!
Chifuyu even started early. Her worry over Andou’s perceived lack of empathy was well played. She drew him right in. But what possible relationship is able to begin without confiding in a friend? They’ve already established Cookie as a reliable friend, and someone that has Chifuyu’s best interests in mind, and I think we will get an evolution of that come next episode. Lots of frantic Cookie will make for some fun times.
I want you to be the main heroine
Ominous Dutch angle is ominous
I have to admit, this was a bit of a curve ball to me. It wasn’t that I considered Sayami out of the running for the Andou Bowl, it’s just that I didn’t expect this particular angle of play. And yes, I was just as suspicious of Sagami as she was. But for all the creepy talk, I was intrigued by his turns of phrase. Not that that makes them any less weird in tone. He wants to be a “reader” and just observe. But now he’s taking an active part in helping to “write” the scenario. I wonder if this guy is an advanced sneak attack by either Fallen Black or F.
The Chosen One
“That’s not fair…”
You can read a good volume of subtext into that statement. Hatoko is willing to go the distance, and wants the best of both or any world she can be part of. This has become a character that is steeping in parts of Childhood Friend and I Want my Love to Be Happy tropes. And I agree with her. It isn’t fair that life has cast her into the role of the former trope, nor made her an emphatic player of the latter. But all is fair in love and war. And I do wonder if she is prepared for any of the possible outcomes? If she forces Tomoyo to confess, she has to live fully with the loss. If Tomoyo can’t, or if Andou doesn’t accept, she has a clear playing field (well, as clear as Sayami and Chifuyu…but come now). Or there is the third option, of everyone not wanting to upset the apple cart and keeping a false status quo going. That could make folk snap…
Brilliantly paced scene with another great Hayami performance
And a few more things
So yeah, these guys “F”ed around some….
I love how this show loves to frustrate and tease. Way to save that Cliffhanger last episode for another dangerous ride. So yes, his Dark and Dark awakened to something far more powerful, or to put it another way, it awakened in such a way that none of the girls every want to see it again. Not a single mild reaction from them. They even added a nice little wrinkle how Andou handled it. He claims he wasn’t being serious about it. He was just joking around. Oh, no, he was serious, and he wasn’t joking. He wants to talk about it, and not in the chuuni sense he would typically use. Two big old elephants in the Literature Club room now.
Heck yeah, Mecha Chifuyu Musume!
Well we have three episode left to pack in quite the rest of the story. Something tells me the Summer Break is going to be hotter than they expected. Either F is going to reform or something will change in Fallen Black, and that will get the Lit Club involved. Then you mix this in with the all the romantic angles that have finally begun to form….going to be a very interesting ride. What are you looking forward to?
About skylion
All around nerd that enjoys just about any anime genre. I love history, politics, public policy, the sciences, literature, arts...pretty much anything can make me geeky...except sports. Follow me @theskylion
POWUH: iLurker with 9 comments
That love talk near the end was more intense than anything i have seen recently and yet there wasn’t any fighting or bloodshed involved.
After the outburst , Hatoko has been getting a little scary. That or she has always been so, not that i hate her for it or anything. I am liking her character more and more.
Like someone said, this episode doesn’t answer anything more about the Fairy War last ep, but i feel strangely satisfied.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
I didn’t go too much into the narrative stuff with the post. But, Hatoko sees Tomoyo as a rival, not in the sense that she is a potential suitor, but as someone that knows Andou better. But, she is kinda playing a shipper, just like I do.
She is getting a handle on the situation more than the other characters have.
Who said this? Well, those two F’ed around, like I said, so we have a potential plot thread to explore…
POWUH: iLurker with 9 comments
I agree.
I also forgot to add, in that love talk scene, i also felt sad for poor Hatoko. She got a better handle on the situation more than others, but in a sense this also means she knows where she stands the best in the race for Andou’s heart.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Personally, I think the show’s done enough with the Fairy War to satisfy the “Why do people have supernatural powers?” question, and think that it could leave it at that. They’ve told us why it exists, that it’s the capriciousness of fairies selfishly getting their jollies, and that Hajime wants to keep Tomoyo and her group of friends out of it. To me, that’s pretty much open and shut, and they could just let that go. Plus, then the audience can continue to wonder about it some. I think “Fairy War” is a pretty perfect hand-wavey way to dismiss it for the purposes of the show.
I love Hatoko getting serious. When it was just friends with everyone, and Tomoyo and Sayumi antagonistic with Andou, she seemed to be content to be the one to walk home with him and come over to his house and spend time on weekends with him. But she has to get credit for when she sees a threat to her future with Ju-kun, she steps it up, not letting things slip away like most “childhood friends” do.
And what I loved more was her not playing Tomoyo’s (and the usual school girl) game of “Oh, there’s noone I like.” Hatoko’s forthright and straight as an arrow, and she wants everything out there. “Here’s who I like, here’s what I want, here’s what I’m going to do. Now, would you like to reconsider your answer?” I wonder if Hatoko is sensing any pressure from Sayumi as well, or if she’s kind of dismissed her like Chifuyu (who’s honestly not any sort of potential girlfriend for Andou, whether he jokes about it or not).
I love girl characters who recognize what they want, and then act to make that happen.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I agree that Chifuyu isn’t really a choice for Andou, but she thinks she is. She’s at the age where she probably would have a crush on an older boy, especially one who’s been paying some attention to her. It’s not romantic attention, but it’s unlikely she realizes that. I hope she’s let down easy, but it’s still going to hurt for her. Hopefully Cookie will help her get over it.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
There are so many plot threads hanging now that it’s going to be quite a ride getting them all neatly tied up. Sure looking forward to the final three episodes!
I like how the romance aspect is coming to the fore. And how we’re not getting all that shy, beating around the bush so many rom-coms have. Hatoko has laid down her marker to Tomoyo and even Chifuyu has started her play for Andou. Now it remains for Tomoyo to make her play and for Sayami to decide if she wants to try for Andou. As rom-coms go that’s quite a lot of progress. It’s even possible by the end Andou will make a choice.
I wonder how this is doing in Japan? Basically, is there hope for a second season?
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
This is one of those times where I think it doesn’t matter which side plots are done anything with. And I actually hope they don’t bother wasting time with too much Fairy War stuff, or supernatural powers stuff, from here on out. They’ve superficially answered the question “Why do kids have superpowers?” and even added a little depth with “there are multiple factions”, but apart from that, it doesn’t matter (at least to me). I feel like if they even tried to get into that, the show would get utterly sidetracked. It was enough to get the other characters in, but we barely even know if they have names. So as far as I’m concerned, dealing more with that in the episodes that are remaining would be a poor use of the show’s time.
I like that the question posed by the title has been answered. “What happens when supernatural battles become commonplace?” The answer is that they pretty much get ignored, and we go back to the same things that occupy us now: love and life.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I would also be okay with the Fairy War storyline being dropped (if there is a second season it’d be more suitable to cover it there when there’d be enough time to cover it the way it needs to be), but with those two from the start of this episode I fear it won’t be dropped. Unless that was laying the ground work for a second season. Like you I’d prefer the remaining episodes concentrate on the romantic issues. Even three episodes might not be enough time to adequately resolve them.
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
skylion with his bad possessive habits again. Chifuyu is ours!
I can’t help but cheer for Tomoyo, they really fit well together. Hatoko seems a strange fit because she’s too normal and naive but it could work somehow. Unfortunately, Sayumi-san is the worst fit and by the looks of it, they made it intentionally. The guy said out loud that she’s the least popular main character and indeed, I cheer more for Student Council President-chan than her.
Should I mention Chifuyu? This is really so weird…
So yeah, that F guy who escaped, he’s probably going to do something for the plot, right?
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I think Hatoko is a good fit precisely because she’s so normal. Unless Andou mostly grows out of his chuunyi by the time he graduates from high school he’s going to need her to keep him grounded. And remember what’s often said about relationships: “Opposites attract.”
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
I don’t believe this phrase. It’s such infamy u.u
But Andou isn’t that off the ground like most chuunibyou. It was already shown that Andou wouldn’t do everything for his chuuni, he has principles that override his chuuni, so I’m not really if he really needs Hatoko to keep him grounded.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I think Hatoko is a good fit because she’s awesome. Plus, it’s not like she doesn’t know what Ju-kun is like, she knows perfectly well. And she also knows that he can get along with her, because he does. Does he always get to do what he wants? No, but I’ve been married for 20 years, and I don’t get to do what I want. It’s not really about that. Plus, I liked when Hatoko asked Tomoyo a plain question about “why does he always talk about ‘cursed’ or ‘tainted’?” that Tomoyo answered it plainly, and Hatoko accepted the answer, now understanding. Yeah, you kind of have to explain the joke to her, but once you do she enjoys it in her way.
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Yeah, that’s what’s expected from real life. But I can’t help but think that Tomoyo has a better chemistry because when the two of them talk, it just flows and that’s not the case with Hatoko. They walk side by side without talking anything interesting, if they start to talk about something interesting it suddenly cuts off because she can’t keep up.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 154 comments
Tomoyo definitely seems like a good fit, but I can see Hatoko working if they both work at it or he grows out of his Chuuni phase. Otherwise I would only see more friction like what was shown in the series, but we have not seen/remember how he interacts with her interests and that could change things.
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Indeed. I would love to see a side of Hatoko that’s not related to Juu-kun. All she wants to do is to live for him and it kind of makes me wonder if she has anything she likes besides fixing dinner for her loved one…