Jitsu wa Watashi wa – 09
Shiho tries to get Jitsu wa into MetaFap again…
Summer is ending for us, but it’s time for vampires and aliens and werewolves to go to the pool!
Nice Try, Asahi
There’s someone here who doesn’t get it
Asahi’s feeling his oats a little, emboldened by how different he thinks he is since spring, when he first couldn’t confess to Youko and learned about her vampire-ness. So prodded by Oka, he asks Youko to go to the pool. Unfortunately for Asahi, Nibui Youko doesn’t quite get the hint, either time about why he wants to go or who he wants to go with, even though Asahi’s true intentions and feelings are written all over his face. But Nagisa and Shiho play along to get Youko to the pool, where they then try to help out with Asahi and Youko learning to swim.
Thankful for bikinis
Well, I say that Shiho tries to help out, but I don’t know how much help she actually intended with her swimming instructions. But Nagisa (one surprising thing is that she didn’t have a racing one-piece swimsuit) demotes Shiho from being instructor, and gives the two of them some help. And one bit of help is that she keeps Youko from blurting out her excuse for not liking flowing water in front of Oka and Sakura. As Asahi points out, he’s gotten used to the idea of Youko being a vampire, and it also shows that Youko’s gotten used to it being something people know about. I don’t expect Asahi’s three friends to ever really find out the secrets he’s keeping, because the dynamic works better when there’s a little tension to it, especially with Shima being the way he is. Actually, I like the amount of personality they’ve managed to put in Shima (excitable pervert foil), Oka (outright supportive and nudging Asahi), and Sakura (mature and responsible) in the small amount of screentime they’ve had. They’re not amazingly deep characters, but they fill the roles in the comedy very well, and help the rest of the characters be themselves, one of the strongest points of this show.
The wrong message taken
And Sometimes Love Can Blossom
A great representation of how everyone’s doing
This episode made a quick turn as well, right out of the normal “Youko trying to get Nagisa and Asahi together” bit, to a much more sincere deepening of the relationship between Youko and Asahi. And here again, the personalities of Asahi’s friends really helped, as they’re able to give a real reflection on his relationship with Youko, helped a bit by Mikan, who was at the pool with her brothers. Mikan actually points out that Asahi finally seems to have developed an interest in someone who isn’t out of his league personality-wise, someone that he can actually approach without getting rejected, and this puts him on a much more even level with Youko, and might actually be love, not just admiration. Oka’s narration pointing out that the “Heathen Queen” was talking about love was one of the best laughs of the show, but also helped to fill out Mikan’s character, that she’s really not all that bad, even if she wants to be.
Some time alone
And if we’re looking for progress in a romantic relationship, we can’t hope for much more than the second half of this episode, when Youko arranges with Asahi to meet him at the school by himself. She wants to continue learning to swim, and I think it’s also pretty clear that she wants to spend more time with Asahi. And they get some nice time for talking as well as learning to swim, about Youko’s parents, and about how her school life has changed from lonely and distant because of worries about her secret to fun and happy because she’s gained friends and now does things with other people. And this time, instead of denying the similarities when she makes the link between her parents relationship as students and her own relationship with Asahi, she doesn’t get upset and actually shows how much she’s thinking of Asahi by calling him his given name for the first time. Of course, that familiarity doesn’t last when he realizes it, although he does “return the favor” by slipping her given name in the next sentence. But despite the embarrassment caused by that, they still have a successful swimming lesson, leading to a happy hug.
They’re definitely getting closer together
So the whole second half of this episode was just *squeeeeee!!!!!*, and that’s the stuff I love. I think there’s credit to the show for making you feel a little bad for Nagisa as she feels the tugs on her heart watching Asahi and Youko get together, but even then it feels like she is happy for them, too. The same thing with Mikan, who won’t outright admit that she likes Asahi. But it’s undeniable that the main couple is Asahi and Youko, and I think it would be really hard to not like that couple. The show continues with that great feeling that it’s had throughout, and while I still don’t think we’ll get all the way to a confession, I think that the whole show is resolving around that OTP. And one other thing that I’ve thought about for the whole series, but never get around to mentioning: It’s rare, and welcome, for a show to use background music with singing. I think it adds just a little bit to the feel of the show, keeping it a bit more grounded, because it doesn’t make a big deal out of these songs as insert songs. They’re really just background music, but the singing really helps to convey the feeling in the scene.
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 10998 comments
Oh, the pains of Nagisa and Mikan! They did a great job so far building both of these characters as nearly as complete as they could; which make our heart ache for them that much more. Again, these writers deserved gold bon-bons tossed at them..
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
They certainly do. I had 300 words written out as a response, but decided I’ll save that for next week’s post. 🙂
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Actually, I am…an adventurous cook. Inspired by the chocolate cake episode yesterday I made a chocolate cake with a tablespoon of curry powder in it, but no frosting. It has an interesting flavor that I rather like, however it’s not good enough to slam an asteroid into the Earth if you can’t get another. But I suppose demons might like it more.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Honestly, I think there wasn’t any curry spice in Nagisa’s cake. I was just a chocolate frosted cake. The only mix of curry and chocolate in that episode was when Youko tried to make the bar chocolate that Akari made Akane eat.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
My mistake on where the curry was. That doesn’t negate the fact that curry and chocolate make for an interesting combination. But a tablespoon in a chocolate bar would be far too much curry. A demon might like that I suppose.