Hitohira

[BiZz]

Originally Posted by Matrim

As far as I am concerned yuri vibes are a good thing but I am not going to complain (much) if things remain on the subtext level and not move to yuri relationships.

I Hope there will be a confession with nono and mugi like Paula and Kate in Red Garden xD
Not too much just a few...
(Spoil me if you read the manga )


The episode 3 is good even if I don't understand all the things
Nono For the Win !

[Kaoru Chujo]

I've made a full blog post for episode 3, including a detailed summary.

[BiZz]

Thx for the summary
You make a good job

Are you japanese ? ^^

[dahl_moon]

Kaoru Chujo, thanks for the summary. This episode was a bit over my level,

Spoiler for episode 3:

especially the part about Nono's voice.

Another good episode. I won't say that I had tears in my eyes, but when Mugi's voice suddenly breaks out it sent goosebumps all over. It really was a touching scene. I also loved the part where both Nono and the play overlaps with "I don't want the present to end." The sudden pain in Kasturagi's chest was hilarious.

Spoiler for drama club's president:

About the current drama club's president, it seems that she was close to Nono. I don't understand why she puts on that facade and acts tough around Nono, but we see here and there that she actually is quite insecure. I'm looking forward to knowing more about the secrets of last year.

[Matrim]

I even got impatient enough to watch the raws and I still don't know why I actually the series. Maybe I am in the mood for onee-sama type of character and so far Nono fits the bill perfectly. I would normally expect a character like Mugi to really get on my nerves but this has yet to happen, I do suspect it has something to do with her seiyuu's efforts.

Spoiler for ep.3:

It was nice seeing a flashback Nono being supported in her time of need by the former president of the club, followed by Nono herself encouraging Mugi. It gave a feeling of continuity and also explains why Mugi was picked to be in the club in the first place (though the yuri love theory is not that bad either, especially seeing the encouragement methods in ep.3 )

[Dandruff]

^yuri love theory, lawl, that'd be nice ;P

I'm enjoying this series, a simple slice of life charactor driven story, I'd like to thank Kaoru Chujo for the summaries, really helped me understand the parts I didn't get. ^o^

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Scribble

this could be a great "personal journey" type story, though I'm kind of paranoid that the "main character finding it difficult to speak" will be executed as more of a "moe" thing than "serious" thing.

Although that was posted two weeks ago, it sums up my feelings about the show perfectly - I have high hopes for this story based on the first episode, but they could easily take the (shal)low road and ruin it. I'm not quite at the stage of going hunting for the raws yet, but the comments about eps2-3 make me cautiously optimistic.

Quick question about ep1: around 19:50, just after the tongue-twisters, Risaki says "You'll be able to say these kinds of things smoothly, and when looking for a job or in fields of flowers, there'll be lillies!" Does anyone know what she means here? When Risaki says "yuri!" I immediately think Nono x Mugi

[BiZz]

Episode 4
I don't understand at all but it is a funny episode, especially Nono :3

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

I've made a full blog post for episode 3, including a detailed summary.

Thanks for the blogging.... I've had to backburner this one for a bit due to RL impedes on anime time and bandwidth limits. Hope to catch them on my next visit to a location with a "real internet connection"...

[dahl_moon]

Wow, I don't know what to make of episode 4. We get to see the "don't you dare piss her off" part of Nono...

Spoiler for episode 4:

OMG, Nono is now fully exploiting Mugi's yuri fantasies. Not only that, Nono is fully the not-really-benevelonet dictator. The two below are receiving the "assume sitting posture in mid air, without a chair" punishment. Wow, that brings back memories....

However, the latter part of the episode unravels yet more of Nono's past. She was recruited by the current drama club president, and has trouble making a LOUD voice, it seems. Mugi is moved at Nono's past, and is motivated by encouraging words from the others. We also get to see the real side, kinder side of the drama club president (what was her name?)


Nono: 捕まえた〜。 Caught ya~
Risaki: いやあああ！ NOoooo!

[mintyfresh]

Well episode 3 was certainly a change of direction..

Spoiler:

..with more focus on comedt this time aound. Though it was fun to see different sides of characters. Especially Nono..(what the holy hell, woman?)

But it looks like we'll be getting back to business in the next ep, as it looks to be pretty serious.
My little guess is what with Nono's condition worsening, the amount of patience she's willing to give Mugi's own tendency to go voiceless is beginning to wear a little thin...

Well, whatever the case, I'm looking forward to it. Do your best, Mugi..! ( ´∀`)ノ

Originally Posted by Simon

Quick question about ep1: around 19:50, just after the tongue-twisters, Risaki says "You'll be able to say these kinds of things smoothly, and when looking for a job or in fields of flowers, there'll be lillies!" Does anyone know what she means here? When Risaki says "yuri!" I immediately think Nono x Mugi

Lol, that's a mistranslation, I think.

x yuri
o yuuri (as in 有利)

What Risaki's saying there is that speaking clearly can be helpful when going on to find a job or when going to college. Granted, it's all done within that strange tongue twister speech, so I can see how the translators could get confused..

[Triker]

Spoiler for episode 4:

Wow Episode 4 is really funny. I laughed at Nono when she is pissed and chases after Risaki. She is so scary. LOL With this episode Nono rating will sure increase.

But anyone knows what the doctor says to Nono? I feel like he tells a bad news about her voice but I don't know what.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by mintyfresh

Lol, that's a mistranslation, I think.

x yuri
o yuuri (as in 有利)

Cheers, that does make more sense. Although now you've got me trying to think up jokes about 有利な百合...

Aarghh, I want to see more of this show! Time to start relying on the generosity of those who've blogged the later episodes, methinks.

[Ch1kane]

Originally Posted by Triker

Spoiler for episode 4:

Wow Episode 4 is really funny. I laughed at Nono when she is pissed and chases after Risaki. She is so scary. LOL With this episode Nono rating will sure increase.

But anyone knows what the doctor says to Nono? I feel like he tells a bad news about her voice but I don't know what.

Spoiler for what the doctor says to Nono:

Nono's voice is getting from bad to worse

[Kaoru Chujo]

Episode 4 summary now posted on my blog. Sorry for the delay. Real life got in the way, lol.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Kaoru Chujo

Episode 4 summary now posted on my blog. Sorry for the delay. Real life got in the way, lol.

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy trying to watch anime" (apologies to John Lennon)

Seriously though, thank you for taking the time to blog this series. Thanks to your posts and everyone else in this thread, I've been able to watch eps 2-4 raw without getting completely lost.

Spoiler for question about eps2-3:

However I'm a bit confused about the play they put on, since we're still a long way off from the October showdown. Was this a preview of the full play, or just a little one-off performance? Did they choose to present it, or was this some requirement the club had to meet?

Spoiler for ep4:

I cracked up at that cut-scene of Mugi as a biker chick: she'd be right at home on the mean streets of Shimotsuma

Other random observations:

I'm quite enjoying the incidental music. Instead of an OST we're apparently looking at two BGM / drama CDs - one for Mugi released 2007-05-30, and another for Nono due 2007-06-27. Although the OP didn't grab me at first (and the ED still doesn't, to be honest), I'm liking it more with each listen - enough that I'm tempted by the combined OP/ED single due out on Wednesday.

Visually speaking, this is my favourite bit of the OP sequence - I think it captures the very heart of the show. This, however, is my least favourite bit: I know it's a tradition, but just once can't we have a highschool anime without a beach / swimming pool / onsen scene?

I've also been wondering about the word hitohira. My dictionary gives "a single leaf / petal / sheet (of paper)" - I'm guessing a single petal, judging by the OP and Kayo's speech in ep1. So it refers to the importance of a single fleeting opportunity? That would fit with the theme of Mugi overcoming her fears.

And a final bit of trivia, since someone commented that Mugi seemed an unusual name: the kanji 麦 mugi means a cereal like wheat or barley. I'm not really sure what this tells us...

[Matrim]

LOL, Nono is quite the tyrant in episode 4. The good news is that the combination of comedy and drama still works for and I tend to be picky when the two get mixed up. And yes Kaoru, your blog is a lifesaver, thanks a lot for the summaries.

Spoiler for episode 4:

Mugi as a biker chick was hilarious indeed. I liked that they didn't go down the road of Mugi showing the strength of her voice in the end of the episode once more because it would have become annoyingly repetitive.
I also liked it when Risaki said that the impossible is impossible, implying that "Gambatte!" is not always good enough, whatever anime cliches tell us.
And Nono's current rival Sakaki is her important person from the flashback? Nice!

[Kaoru Chujo]

>>Simon: I thought that performance was a one-off. And that first thing from the OP you linked to is indeed really suggestive/effective/memorable. Somehow, it gives me a thrill whenever I see it.

>>Matrim: You bring up several things in the episode that gave me more confidence that this is not just going to evolve in some standard simple cliched way.

[sei]

This show is getting better and better. I'm enjoying the subtle storyline more than I initially expected. The animation is still neat and consistent(judging from ep.5). IMHO, this series is the hidden gem of the Spring season.

[Kaoru Chujo]

EDIT: Episode 5 blog post up.

Originally Posted by sei

This show is getting better and better. I'm enjoying the subtle storyline.... IMHO, this series is the hidden gem of the Spring season.

No question about it. Ep5 is just terrific: subtle, emotional, real. Maybe the best episode so far. This full feeling in my chest is something I only get from the best: NANA, Simoun, Bokura ga Ita.

And all the VAs are doing so well. Especially Kawasumi Ayako (Nono) and Kimoto Orie (Mugi), but the others, too. Narita Ken as Katsuragi really did it for me in this episode.

It was also interesting to see a beach episode without rampant fanservice. Not that I object to that, but this ep made such effective use of the setting without it.