Hanasaku Iroha - Episode 12 Discussion / Poll
 

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Tooru, I hate to say it but....Yellow is not your color. xD;; And is Minko turning out to be a peeping girl from now on?



And what is up with all those stuffed toys? xD;;

Tooru is officially a giant dork.

I wish he'd give me some tips. I'm awful at the claw games. :heh:

Wow, I hadn't realized how bad my Japanese had gotten. But I'm pretty sure Tooru just said that his condition for helping to kidnap Satsuki was that they had to bring Kouichi back to Kissuiso. :heh:

Edit: And Ohana didn't realize how odd that was until, like, an hour later. Oh, Ohana.

The two insert songs were both by Rey. The first was Tohru's image song Haru no Mukou (The Other Side of Spring) played in the van twice and the second was Nagai Tabiji no Tochuu (In the Middle of a Long Journey).

Hikasa Youko as a young Enishi?!?! :twitch:

Other than that, I need subs. :upset:

And my Satsuki vs Sui is coming faster than I thought! That should be very interesting. :D

me before episode: IT'S FINALLY HERE! :D
after: I WANT MOAR! DX

Hmm? Maybe that Megane (Ishihara?) should be the protagonist. Far more aggressive then I expected her to be, and at least she wouldn't just waste time doing "protagonist" actions like Kou-chan and Ohana do.

Anyways, it didn't really feel like the story moved much. Ohana and Kou-chan don't really settle anything and Tooru overreacts towards females as always.

I guess the last part tried to prove Ohana's mom isn't a terrible person or something, but her past actions are just too astounding to be covered up by a few "motherly" actions.
Samething with Deadman, but whimsical/random characters really are easy to use. If they suddenly go crazy or do something random, you can just say "That's their character" and settle things.

And suddenly, there's an episode that scores a perfect 10/10.

I was already impressed by last week's episode, but this one demonstrated that the series was capable of good drama after all. Episode 12 is not inferior to AnoHana drama at all, in fact, I'd almost say that it is even better. It is a clever mixture of light comedy, dramatic revelations and most important of all, an incredible amount of character development for Ohana.

1. Comedy Aspect

Unlike in previous episodes, the comedic moments blend in well with the rest of the episode. It's much more amusing to watch Tooru as he tries to vent his anger about Ko-chan on eating lots and LOTS of food and getting lots and LOTS of stuffed sushi toys than to watch survival gamers running around in the inn. Minko's woes and jealousy are lightened up by a couple a funny faces which she makes while watching Tooru's weird antics and eating so much that she actually feels like throwing up.
I don't really like how Tooru treats Minko as he literally commands her to eat and doesn't even show the slightest bit of concern for her when she throws up. Being preoccupied with Ohana is not a good excuse for this sort of behavior, it just shows his social deficiencies and not-so-amiable personality. He's lucky that Minko is a masochist who won't ever speak up or disagree (I don't care whether he has a heart of gold or not and I couldn't care less about his tsundere appeal - he should at least possess some emotional intelligence). But that's a whole other issue.

2. Drama Aspect & Character Development

Similar to the previous episode, the drama revolves around Kou-chan and Satsuki. At first I was sceptical about the megane girl (I thought she was rather rude) but her confrontation worked wonders. She reveals a lot about Kou to Ohana which actually causes the latter to THINK about her actions (yay, she finally uses her brain!). For the majority of the series, Ohana has been like a blind ox - always unable to see the big picture because she is too focused on a certain matter. It has been pointed out before but the series sort of forgot about this (it even encouraged her rashnes) until now.
The phone call with Kou-chan completes Ohana's transformation and she realizes that while she might have been trying her best to "fest things up", she also forgot to think about the people who worry about her. As we've seen, Ohana has the tendency to think that she's the only capable person, whether it is to bring Tooru back to the inn or to make her mother visit Kissuiso. (There's also been some breaking the 4th wall going on when Ohana muses over her own personal "drama series" which made me smile) At this point, I think that no one can tell what exactly she feels for Kou. He is important to her without doubt but she is clearly hesistant to enter the "next stage" with him. Ohana is the type of person that pours their heart into everything they do. However she lacks the security and experience to tell whether she can commit to him full-heartedly. Kou is in Tokyo, has a nice girl who didn't cause him pain over and over again waiting for him while Ohana is off in Kissuiso, a place she pretty much calls home now. I don't blame Ohana for being so indecisive, she couldn't shake off her insecurities but clearly acknowledges them. The girl has to grow up first.

After realizing her own shortcomings, she decides not to bother Kou-chan and her mother anymore. Ironically, her mother also had a similar epiphany and suddenly agrees to visit Kissuiso. Satsuki is as cheerful as always, however, it isn't difficult to see that there's something much deeper below the surface. I especially loved Satsuki's dialogue with Tooru (it was beautiful in its own way, even relatable, yes) which proves that with some development she could become an amazing character - not an amazing mother, but an amazing character. Perhaps Satsuki herself is still in the process of maturing and settling down; I'm curious to see where her personal journey will take her. In any case, Satsuki has become my favorite character of the show. She's always in the "wrong" but the fact she can talk about herself like that simply amazes me. I also love how she never directly tells Ohana what she thinks and always masks her thoughts with irrelevant chatter. This mother-daughter relationship is going to be awesome. Not to mention the grandma-mom-daughter dynamic.

Satsuki probably knows that her daughter won't leave Kissuiso because she only asks Ohana to return with her while the latter's asleep. Ohana on the other hand overhears her mother's words but her thoughts wander off to Kou how they can't go back to being friends as before. Ohana has to bid farewell to her old relationship with Kou and whether or not the farewell will make room for something new to bloom (with or without Kou) has yet to be seen. The title "See Ya" is perfect for this week's episode in this respect.

Favorite Quotes:
<< I said "Later", but he responded with "See Ya" >>
<<Having a mother who isn't right should be amazing.>>

Not the magnum opus last week was, but a very solid effort nonetheless. I was ready to strangle Ohana by the end of her "interview" with Bookstore Girl, but at least she redeemed herself by admitting what a selfish person she'd been.

Honestly, I think anyone who sees her ending up with someone other than Kou is kidding themselves. Okada is making it pretty inescapable at this point that their fates are hopelessly entangled.

Another of those episodes that ends before you expect it to. They continue to troll us back and forth on Kou and Tohru. I still think it's Kou or no-one. Or should I say Kou or Kissuisou? We get another meeting interruptus between them, wantonly creating even more dramatic tension. Sigh.

I expect some wonderful episodes as Ohana realizes she does love Kou-chan -- or should I say realizes what love is. But we could also get some wonderful drama as they realize she doesn't have those feelings for him. I wouldn't be surprised to see another rival to him appear sometime.

I didn't think Tohru treated Minchi that badly. More like his normal gentle harshness. At least she got a sort of date (with vomiting, lol). I can easily envisage him gradually realizing how great she is.

Satsuki may be awfully irresponsible, but one gets the impression she understands Ohana better than anyone else does. Not surprisingly.

The worst part of this episode...Now I'm really hungry and my city doesn't have any good Japanese restaurants. :heh:

Poor Minchi. I wondered if Tooru had ever had a girlfriend before and now I know the answer is no. Making her eat all that food has got to count as cruel and unusual punishment.

I don't understand shippers.:eyebrow:

Sorry, but NONE of the possible couples honestly look good right now. The
fact so many people are sugar coating the situation is part of why I'm not a shipper myself.

Minko is taking Tohru's affection for Ohana surprisingly well.

I hope Minko ate a few breath mints. Seeing her and Ohana's faces that close together after she heaved up all that food... :o

I can relate on this matter. I think there's a rather unhealthy helping of optimism on all sides with regards to everything going on in this series.



...Is it wrong that I'm highly amused by the trollercoaster that's going on this series? Where shit keeps getting piled on character after character?


Episode ratting: 9/10.

I think she's already admitted it to herself - I think "If I'd made the right decision, he would be." says that clearly enough. I believe you're right - it's not necessarily Kou, but I think it's likely Kou or no one.

When Ohana silently puzzles over why she doesn't want to return to Tokyo - thinking that she can't can't go back to "the way I was with Kou anymore" - that's a very interesting line, if you ask me, because it sums up a good chunk of the dilemma she (and the series) face in the second cour. Can she commit to Kou - obviously a great barrier to her, though she's admitted she loves him? How can she reconcile wanting to move forward in her life with the fact that Kou is a part of her old one, and lives in Tokyo?

Ohana was the voice of her teen mom wasn't she?

Another very strong episode.

Ohana's epiphany that she is the villain of her own love story hit really hard. I felt so awful for her, but she needed this moment of clarity; sometimes you can act completely without malice, but still hurt others. Kou's parting words to her suggest to me that he may be thinking it's time to move on. Unfortunately for Ohana, she's clearly not quite ready to close the door on him, if episode 11 was any indication. The most telling part last week was when she went to visit the bookstore, and started trying to convince herself that it was mostly just to look up some more creative words to put on her signs. Suuuure, Ohana. The Kou love triangle drama is just getting warmed up, I think. The next time we see him, will he be dating glasses girl?

Tooru continues to shift annoyingly between being my favorite character, and coming off as an icky pervert. Mostly, he was awesome this episode. More of this Tooru, less creepy drooling at 16 year old girls in china dresses, please. :D Maybe I'm crazy, but his comedic abuse of poor Minchi's stomach looked to me like a sign of approval and acceptance of her potential as a chef. I bet he's the tough love type when it comes to instructing.

I'm surprised we're getting Satsuki vs Grandma so soon. I wonder if Sui is going to be in the hospital again during her stay to keep them apart. Maybe not, though, maybe they're really going to resolve it before we get to the second half, and then focus more on the romance dramatics.

Hmm ... another VERY good ep ... 8/10 vote from me.

I really love how nicely the series has been going deeper into Ohana's mind and feelings at such a realistic and "appropriate" pace, if you will. It is very engaging.

Hmm ... I hope the rest of the eps keep up to the level of the past two.

Must admit that I giggled when Ohana's mother walked out the front door and agreed to go to the Inn. :heh: But I also liked how they showed a little more depth with Satsuki ... seems some of the guesses about her character last week were pretty spot on. I don't dislike her nearly as much as at the end of last week.