Hanasaku Iroha - Character Discussion - Miyagishi Tooru

[.x.crii.x.]

Eeeeh, I didn´t really like Jiroumaru service. I was just facepalming throughout the whole episode.

Eh, I think he looks great in his work uniform. But of course he looks better in a suit. xDD Buuuut, I'd bet he'd look better in his birthday suit.

P.A, I beg you!! Tooru-hot-spring episode!!! NAO, PLEASEEEE! D:

-begs shamelessly-

[cheesie]

This reminds me of the time when I went to watch Thor in the cinema, and half the women in the room gasped in excitement when his chest filled the screen. Shameless perverts, my fellow species, and I love you women for it.

I like what I've seen in Tooru's character so far, but I'm also quite open when it comes to his ships. At the moment, I'm rooting for Tooru x Ohana, more so because his reactions around her are so damn cute, if a bit contrived at times for the sake of sowing drama seeds. It's a bit hard to tell where it's going at the moment, but once they've laid out all the story points, no doubt the shipping will go on full throttle.

As of the recent episode, I've come to the revelation that I frankly don't give a flying hoot about Ko and his passive angst, much less the directions I suspect this will take, so unless some drastic things happen in regards to his stead, it's pretty clear which side of the fence I'll be on for now.

Of course, even then, it could always end with the obvious set-ups, as we've seen with the treatment of Ohana x Ko, and potentially Tooru x Minko, but I've always respected a storyteller who intends to push beyond conventionality, especially when it comes to love stories, and I hope to see some creative liberties taken in this direction here.

[musouka]

As far as I'm concerned, Tohru and Ohana are the more interesting couple to watch, therefore I like them better. They have room to grow both as characters and as a couple in regards to their feelings for one another and how they interact. I don't hate Ko, but I don't have any investment in him either.

To me, the two characters sort of encapsulate the difference between shounen and shoujo romance in general--so it makes sense to me why guys would gravitate towards Ko and girls would gravitate towards Tohru. Generally speaking, shounen romance is usually about the lead and how he feels about the girl of his choice and his struggles in forming a connection to her. Whereas shoujo romances usually are about about the couple, with the girl as our leading perspective. It's about the interplay between them.

So I see flags whenever Tohru teases Ohana about her bust (or lack thereof) and Ohana starts pouting about how she's not good with dealing with him.

Plus they have nice chemistry, which helps.

[Roger Rambo]

Originally Posted by .x.crii.x.

Eeeeh, I didn´t really like Jiroumaru service. I was just facepalming throughout the whole episode.

Sounds like it was fan disservice

Originally Posted by musouka

Generally speaking, shounen romance is usually about the lead and how he feels about the girl of his choice and his struggles in forming a connection to her. Whereas shoujo romances usually are about about the couple, with the girl as our leading perspective. It's about the interplay between them.

Hrmmmm, yeah. That does sound about right. Shounen romance DOES seem to attribute a bit more finality for the guy and girl getting together than Shoujou romance. Allot of shounen seem to end on the couple getting together, where a decent amount of Shoujou romances seem to expand beyond that to relationship dynamics. (The big exception to this I can remember is Love Hina).

Originally Posted by musouka

So I see flags whenever Tohru teases Ohana about her bust (or lack thereof) and Ohana starts pouting about how she's not good with dealing with him.

Plus they have nice chemistry, which helps.

There have been flags everywhere honestly. Aside from Mako or Minchi, Tohru is really the individual at the inn whom she's interacted the most with. And frankly minor stuff even from episode 2 are looking like flags set up by the writers in retrospect. (the car ride, Ohana musing about rebelling by going out with a guy, eye's happening to trace over Tohru).

These interactions ARE amusing. Even though I don't necessarily know if it'll lead to an official couple by the end of the series, it's certainly going to go interesting places plot thread wise.

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

One thing is factual - Tohru is a man, and Kou is a boy. It's not a fair fight when you're talking about a 23 year-old with a career and a motorcycle vs. a first-year high schooler with a part-time job and a discount train pass.

Actually that has nothing to do with it. Really nothing at all. The competition between Tohru the man with a bike, and Ko the high school student doesn't matter. It's functionally irrelevant.

The only thing that really matters is the competition between Tohru the man with a bike, and Ko the funny noises and text coming out of a cellphone.

This might seem like an unpleasant way to put it, but that's simply how it is. Human brains are simplistic. If we never interact with a person face to face, our brains don't quite classify them as being as real as people we talk to first hand. That's the reason I don't particularly believe this ship will work.

[.x.crii.x.]

Lol the Jiroumaru was definitely disfanservice. Far from making me squeal it just make me frown and facepalm. xD;;

Also, supporting what Rambo said here:

This might seem like an unpleasant way to put it, but that's simply how it is. Human brains are simplistic. If we never interact with a person face to face, our brains don't quite classify them as being as real as people we talk to first hand. That's the reason I don't particularly believe this ship will work.

I can tell you that its completely true, from personal experience.

Also, in RL, childhood romances don't work or never even happen. And also, in RL, let's face it, if a guy is a hundred miles away and there´s another guy right in front of you. The guy that´s closest to you has the greatest chance of winning you over.

Also, don't forget that Ko by still putting Ohana first, and making her feel comfortable with him...its like he´s throwing away his few chances he's got. Its like he's burying himself deeper in the friend zone.

Now Tooru, he's a totally different case. He's the new guy who has all the chances to get close to Ohana.

Here:

1. Work in the same place
2. See each other on a daily basis
3. He´s able to get many different reactions and feelings out of her. (i.e: dislike, appreciation, embarrassment, trust, etc)

And Tooru isn´t like Ko at all, trying to make Ohana see him as the "ideal, one and only". He´s perfectly got no problems in letting Ohana see his real personality and he is way more upfront about things. We women like guys like this. I know it sound pretty "M" on our part, but generally the guy that we argue the most with is the guy that in the end we end up falling for. Call it Masochism, idiotic or whatever you may, but its true. We feel that a relationship with this type of guy would be way more interesting and fun than with a typical "nice" guy that always does what we want and is too subtle or slow paced in the things he does.

And personally, his character is way more appealing. Its just, something about Ko just outright scream "Bland" to me. :/

[hanashi]

Originally Posted by .x.crii.x.

Also, in RL, childhood romances don't work or never even happen. And also, in RL, let's face it, if a guy is a hundred miles away and there´s another guy right in front of you. The guy that´s closest to you has the greatest chance of winning you over.

Also, don't forget that Ko by still putting Ohana first, and making her feel comfortable with him...its like he´s throwing away his few chances he's got. Its like he's burying himself deeper in the friend zone.

Woah, there, what's with this talk of "reality?" Don't you know this is anime? But yeah, long distance relationships can work but it's really hard to start a relationship when the people involved are so far apart. We can see them falling into into their previous patterns already. Kou keeps retreating to his comfort zone when things don't quite work out. I've said it before, Ko needs to learn how to put himself first and look to his own emotional needs instead of putting Ohana first. It's funny, because one of the themes of the show Ohana is learning how to do the opposite. She's learning how to open up and trust others and read/reach out to other people.

That's one of the reasons why Tooru/Ohana is appealing to me. They're both two people with a strong sense of self. I think younger kids have this ideal of a relationship where you're together all the time, two halves of a whole, etc. No. Just no. A healthy relationship involves some push/pull to the extent that the parties are happy. Maybe 50/50, maybe not. A person who is willing to be subsumed by my needs is not attractive. Frankly, I don't want the responsibility. That's what my puppy is for.

Now Tooru, he's a totally different case. He's the new guy who has all the chances to get close to Ohana.

Here:

1. Work in the same place
2. See each other on a daily basis
3. He´s able to get many different reactions and feelings out of her. (i.e: dislike, appreciation, embarrassment, trust, etc)

And Tooru isn´t like Ko at all, trying to make Ohana see him as the "ideal, one and only". He´s perfectly got no problems in letting Ohana see his real personality and he is way more upfront about things.

Proximity is king. Lots of things can happen when you're together all the time. That's why office romances are so common.

After putting up with her mother for so long, I think his honesty and dependability would probably be attractive. She trusted him to make things right at Kissuiso in ep 8/9, which was huge. I don't think she even realized how significant that was but Tooru did. The Ohana at the beginning of the show never would have made that leap of faith.

She's even relying more on Kou now. Look how surprised he was when she said that everything wasn't alright. But at the end of the day, there's a limit to how much Kou can help her with her daily life.

[.x.crii.x.]

Lol, it may be anime, but its still a slice-of-life anime. XD So that means that it includes things that would normally be viewed in RL. xD

And yeah, Ohana definitely did not realize how much trust she was putting in Tooru.

"I figured everything would go well if I were to bring you back." - Ohana

Idk about you guys, but that´s extreme trust she was putting in Tooru right there. The Ohana in episode 2 would definitely never have relied on him this much. Remember what she said to him in the van?

"I've decided a long time ago not to rely on anyone."

Huge leap for TooruxOhana dynamics right there. And who was the one who told her that she needed to rely on others? That she wasn't able to do anything by herself?

Tooru.

[Roger Rambo]

Originally Posted by .x.crii.x.

Lol the Jiroumaru was definitely disfanservice. Far from making me squeal it just make me frown and facepalm. xD;;

It's not even that Jiroumaru is physically repulsive or anything...it's more that it's...JIroumaru.

Originally Posted by .x.crii.x.

3. He´s able to get many different reactions and feelings out of her. (i.e: dislike, appreciation, embarrassment, trust, etc)

I did a sort of mental comparison with regards to Ko and Tohru on that subject. Her relationship with Ko seemed sweet, but simplistic. Kinda like a non complex carbohydrate that results in a quick burn of energy, but not much else. Tohru's interactions with Ohana seem more like a complex carb. Not necessarily as sweet, but more developed....if that makes any sense

[.x.crii.x.]

^ I had to read it twice to understand. But yes, I think I get your point. xDD

Its just, there´s more emotions to TooruxOhana than to KoxOhana. Idk, I just prefer Tooru way more. He's an interesting character. Ah gosh, I can´t wait until episode 10.

11h 29m more to go!! >o<

[Pocari_Sweat]

I'm just curious but instead of Tooru x Ohana, why hasn't fangirls/fujioshis considered Tooru x Ko yet, at least for lols?

[.x.crii.x.]

........I...I'm sorry....I have imagined them. D: Yes, I'm a fujoshi, a hardcore one. I'm sorry. u.u

Ko would definitely be the uke in this relationship, he'd probably be a little tsun tsun though. xDD;; I've actually pictured many different scenarios in my head. How they would meet, how they would work out there atraction and um....-coughthehardcorestuffcough-

One involved Ko meeting Tooru at the trainstation, then Tooru giving him a ride to Kissuiso. Ko thinking to himself how hard and manly Tooru's body was and Tooru thinking that Ko was a bit quiet but that it was kind of cute of him.

I've got many, many, BUT MANY more scenarios.

Oh gosh, acejem, why´d you bring it up!? I WAS TRYING TO SUPPRESS MY FUJOSHI DESIRES!!! D:

-blushes sheepishly-

But I'm still all for TooruxOhana. But I wouldn't mind if TooruxKo happened or was hinted at. xDD ....Oh man...oh maaaaaan.....uh...I'm starting to let my fujoshi side loose. I might end up shipping TooruxKo from now on.

[hanashi]

Originally Posted by Roger Rambo

It's not even that Jiroumaru is physically repulsive or anything...it's more that it's...JIroumaru.

I did a sort of mental comparison with regards to Ko and Tohru on that subject. Her relationship with Ko seemed sweet, but simplistic. Kinda like a non complex carbohydrate that results in a quick burn of energy, but not much else. Tohru's interactions with Ohana seem more like a complex carb. Not necessarily as sweet, but more developed....if that makes any sense

That's a great metaphor! [/science geek]

[hanashi]

...I can't see Tooru/Kou at all. And my yaoi goggles are pretty well-worn.

I'm surprised that no one has suggested the obvious solution...a threesome!

[.x.crii.x.]

Oh my, if we're talking threesome then.

TooruxJiroumaruxEnishi.

Jiroumaru being Uke. Tooru and Enishi making him blush, cry and his glasses fog between all his gasps and the steam in the room. OH MY. 8DD

[hanashi]

Originally Posted by .x.crii.x.

Oh my, if we're talking threesome then.

TooruxJiroumaruxEnishi.

Jiroumaru being Uke. Tooru and Enishi making him blush, cry and his glasses fog between all his gasps and the steam in the room. OH MY. 8DD

Aaaah, my EYES. I was thinking Tooru/Ohana/Kou. Pairing war settled! Truly, I'm wasting my talents in academia. I should work for the UN.

[Roger Rambo]

Originally Posted by hanashi

That's a great metaphor! [/science geek]

Well you don't have to be a science geek to understand that Just got to think about how rich whole wheat bread tastes compared to something like cupcakes, in terms of taste and how you feel long term.

[.x.crii.x.]

^ Well I'm not much of a sweet toothed person so.....
xDDD

But anyway....

Spoiler for omg Tooru...DAT BLUSH. 8D:

[hanashi]

Tooru wasn't well-drawn this episode but that blush was adorable. Tooru was pretty adorable all around. "I can't believe they made me cook a meal for a sick person!" Right...

Someone called him a lolicon in the ep 10 post but the fact that he's kind of immature when faced with a person he likes makes me think of him as younger than he actually is. I thought he was 20 actually, before I looked up his official age, because of the way he was tugging Ohana's pigtails in ep 4.

So I wonder where this goes now that everyone except for Ohana either knows or will know shortly that Tooru has a massive crush on Ohana?

[.x.crii.x.]

When I first saw Tooru I actually thought he was 19. xD;; But yes, that damn blush was so adorable. xDD And he really makes a fool of himself when he's around the girl he likes. xD Omg, I'm so happy. xDD

And pffft, complaining that they made him cook for her. Seriously Tooru? Were´nt you the one saying, "Maybe I should make food for her? Maybe rice porridge?" Tsundere much? xDDD

I can't wait until we get the new OP. It´d be great if we got hints of TxO in it. 8D

[Rei.K]

Originally Posted by hanashi

Tooru was pretty adorable all around. "I can't believe they made me cook a meal for a sick person!"

So I guess it's safe to say after watching this ep that Tohru's qualifies as a male tsundere. That was cute to witness.