(CR) Seishun Buta Yarou Series

[AC-Phoenix]

'Never open the Cabinet in the Japanese styled room.'

Gosh, if you want him to look into it that badly just replace the handle with a red button and a 'Do not press' sign

[blakstealth]

Mai and Nodoka's parents are pretty shitty. the dad must have some bad taste in women

[Frontier]

This was definitely a very sister-centric episode, with Mai and Nodaka's relationship in full focus, Shoko wanting a sister, Kamisato talking about her own sister, and Kaede still trying to be the best little sister she can be .

The body-switching was pretty fun to watch play out, and Mai and Nodaka's VA's did a good job of portraying each other's characters. I was especially impressed by Maaya Uchida as Mai since she sounded so much like the genuine article just from the performance. It's kind of funny to think we've heard her more as Mai in Nodaka's body then we have as her actual character .

Mai owns her apartment building, or just her respective apartment? You can do that? Mai must be seriously loaded if she could afford that on her own .

That moment when you're ogling your girlfriend's legs but it's somebody else in your girlfriends body...

It was nice to see Koga again, still creeped out by her Senpai's lecherousness.

Honestly, I think idol practice might actually do Mai some good, since the choreography and singing might end up benefiting her acting career to some degree. Although I wonder if this might lead to a scenario where Mai ends up being better at being Nodaka then Nodaka is ?

It was interesting learning more about Mai and Nodaka's family life. Not only are they half-sister but their overbearing mother's were competitive with each other and forced their daughters to compete against one another, with their dad seemingly not caring at all beyond having the two both in the business. It's no wonder there's so much resentment and awkwardness in their relationship, even if it seems like to some degree they both want to be closer as sisters then they are .

"Sweet Bullet." That is actually a pretty cool name for an Idol group .

I loved Kamisato begrudgingly having to talk to Sakuta because Kunimi asked her to. You can tell how much she hated even being around him, let alone talking to him for more then a second. Maybe the reason she's so high-strung is partially because of her self-consciousness and issues with her impressive big sister ?

I wonder what's so important in the cabinet that Mai absolutely doesn't want Sakuta to see it. Possibly something extremely embarrassing about her feelings for him? Or something about Nodaka that she doesn't want Sakuta to find out about ?

Originally Posted by blakstealth

Mai and Nodoka's parents are pretty shitty. the dad must have some bad taste in women

Considering Mai's mom is a looker he might not have married them for their personalities...

I do wonder if Nodaka's hair is dyed or if her mom might be a foreigner.

[kari-no-sugata II]

Originally Posted by Frontier

Honestly, I think idol practice might actually do Mai some good, since the choreography and singing might end up benefiting her acting career to some degree. Although I wonder if this might lead to a scenario where Mai ends up being better at being Nodaka then Nodaka is ?

I think this is already happening, in a way. If we assume that Nodoka is not intentionally trashing up Mai's apartment out of resentment (which would be stupid considering that it's her living there now) then it's because she's lazy or easily distracted or she'd used to others taking care of her. In other words, while she complains about her lack of success and so on, is she genuinely putting in the required effort or is she in fact a bit spoilt?

Meanwhile, we see Mai training Nodoka's body in order to be better at the dancing etc. She says she's "improving" her stamina rather than simply keeping in shape. In other words, Nodoka's body didn't have enough stamina.

Perhaps the big difference though is that Mai actually wants to be in show-biz - she enjoys is. She's not that motivated about success in of itself as far as I can tell. Does Nodoka actually enjoy it or have any kind of personal motivation? Doesn't seem so to me. No wonder all these negative emotions have built up within her...

[Keila]

Despite how Kamisato seems to be a mechanism to drive the plot forward they've managed to lay the foundation of her character and make her adorable in her own way, even if that way is to always be annoyed because of something.

[xellos2099]

Originally Posted by Frontier

This was definitely a very sister-centric episode, with Mai and Nodaka's relationship in full focus, Shoko wanting a sister, Kamisato talking about her own sister, and Kaede still trying to be the best little sister she can be .

The body-switching was pretty fun to watch play out, and Mai and Nodaka's VA's did a good job of portraying each other's characters. I was especially impressed by Maaya Uchida as Mai since she sounded so much like the genuine article just from the performance. It's kind of funny to think we've heard her more as Mai in Nodaka's body then we have as her actual character .

Mai owns her apartment building, or just her respective apartment? You can do that? Mai must be seriously loaded if she could afford that on her own .

That moment when you're ogling your girlfriend's legs but it's somebody else in your girlfriends body...

It was nice to see Koga again, still creeped out by her Senpai's lecherousness.

Honestly, I think idol practice might actually do Mai some good, since the choreography and singing might end up benefiting her acting career to some degree. Although I wonder if this might lead to a scenario where Mai ends up being better at being Nodaka then Nodaka is ?

It was interesting learning more about Mai and Nodaka's family life. Not only are they half-sister but their overbearing mother's were competitive with each other and forced their daughters to compete against one another, with their dad seemingly not caring at all beyond having the two both in the business. It's no wonder there's so much resentment and awkwardness in their relationship, even if it seems like to some degree they both want to be closer as sisters then they are .

"Sweet Bullet." That is actually a pretty cool name for an Idol group .

I loved Kamisato begrudgingly having to talk to Sakuta because Kunimi asked her to. You can tell how much she hated even being around him, let alone talking to him for more then a second. Maybe the reason she's so high-strung is partially because of her self-consciousness and issues with her impressive big sister ?

I wonder what's so important in the cabinet that Mai absolutely doesn't want Sakuta to see it. Possibly something extremely embarrassing about her feelings for him? Or something about Nodaka that she doesn't want Sakuta to find out about ?

Considering Mai's mom is a looker he might not have married them for their personalities...

I do wonder if Nodaka's hair is dyed or if her mom might be a foreigner.

Spoiler for Spoiler:

It is dyed

[TinyRedLeaf]

Ah yes, the classic body swop scenario straight out of stories like Your Name., and just like in Your Name., the biggest fun comes from watching how the pair of voice actors maintain the personalities of their characters, albeit in a different skin. Massive props to Asami Seto (Mai in Nodoka) and Maaya Uchida (Nodoka in Mai) for pulling it off convincingly!

A major takeaway for me is how fully realised Mai has become as a character, such that even when it is Maaya who's playing her, she remains fully recognisable as Mai, the consummate professional who takes on every task that's assigned to her with absolute dedication.

And that lies at the heart of poor Nodoka's condition, as Sakuta himself observed: The natural delight that Nodoka felt when she heard of Mai's confidence in her, versus her obviously fake smile when she practised behaving like Mai ahead of her interview. Nodoka, unfortunately, has been placed in a position where her sense of self-worth comes from how well she compares against her older sister, and not from how far she has come in fulfilling what she truly wants to be. Mai loved acting, and threw herself completely into her chosen profession. But for Nodoka, it has been all about catching up with Mai by being a celebrity idol.

But what I also loved about this episode is how it portrays the level of professionalism that goes into being an idol. It isn't necessarily a shallow job, as can be seen from the amount of effort that Mai herself had to put in on her little sister's behalf, in order to pass off as a genuine song-and-dance performer.

The two sisters have an obvious affection for each other, and this chance for them to live, for the moment, in each other's skin will hopefully boost their mutual empathy, and hence repair their strained relationship.

[thundrakkon]

I'm convinced now. Puberty Syndrome is caused and created by Sakuta! How else would you explain that all the Puberty Syndromes patients revolve around Sakuta?!?!

[MeoTwister5]

The most critical aspect of this episode is the fact that Futaba now sports the ponytail look. I am pleased.

[4th Dimension]

Originally Posted by AC-Phoenix

'Never open the Cabinet in the Japanese styled room.'

Gosh, if you want him to look into it that badly just replace the handle with a red button and a 'Do not press' sign

Yeah. And she should know by now that he is inquisitive by nature. I guess she assumed he would be tidying up after her sister, so didn't want him getting into it by accident. But on the flip side, she should know him...

Originally Posted by blakstealth

Mai and Nodoka's parents are pretty shitty. the dad must have some bad taste in women

My thinking exactly when I was watching that scene

Also, either he REALLY picked them, or he is partially to blame for constantly comparing his new and his old wife. Because it's kinda strange that the "winner" would be jealous of the looser. Unless daddy dearest started spending more time with Mai once she got into the BIZ and so the new wife felt threatened.

Originally Posted by Frontier

The body-switching was pretty fun to watch play out, and Mai and Nodaka's VA's did a good job of portraying each other's characters. I was especially impressed by Maaya Uchida as Mai since she sounded so much like the genuine article just from the performance. It's kind of funny to think we've heard her more as Mai in Nodaka's body then we have as her actual character .

To be honest I didn't even notice that Mai isn't voiced by her actress... I just thought, oh look, a differently styled Mai. I guess that's a sign how well a job those two did. Or their voices are similar... even though the characters are different. And that's where I'd like to commend the artists, because from first sight it was obvious that Mai is not Mai when Sakuta first saw her on the street.

Originally Posted by Frontier

Mai owns her apartment building, or just her respective apartment? You can do that? Mai must be seriously loaded if she could afford that on her own .

I thought she said she bought the apartment.

Originally Posted by Frontier

That moment when you're ogling your girlfriend's legs but it's somebody else in your girlfriends body...

Unfortunately for little sister he has original body's owner's EXPLICIT permission to ogle it to his heart's content

Originally Posted by Frontier

It was nice to see Koga again, still creeped out by her Senpai's lecherousness.

She needs to bring her sempai onto the right path... but first things first... FASHION!

Originally Posted by Frontier

Honestly, I think idol practice might actually do Mai some good, since the choreography and singing might end up benefiting her acting career to some degree. Although I wonder if this might lead to a scenario where Mai ends up being better at being Nodaka then Nodaka is ?

I initially thought they could iron this by letting Nodaka walk a mile in Mai's shoes and see that she could do it, and therefore receive a boost in confidence. But given how she crumbled under pressure of being practically a working adult I don't think that's likely to work.
But it seems this has more to do with constantly being reminded how better Mai is and how shit she is, so failling at being Mai is actually making things worse.
....

I wonder if that cupboard might contain Mai's embarrassing first performances or something like that. But then I doubt she would be ashamed with Sakuta seeing them. I'm wondering, because I wonder who that girl in the preview was. I'm thinking it's either Nodoka or Mai. I'm leaning towards Nodoka given that that probably is not her hair, and I would NOT be surprised if she is wearing blue contacts to be more like Mai.

Originally Posted by Frontier

I loved Kamisato begrudgingly having to talk to Sakuta because Kunimi asked her to. You can tell how much she hated even being around him, let alone talking to him for more then a second. Maybe the reason she's so high-strung is partially because of her self-consciousness and issues with her impressive big sister ?

Yeah. The Miss Bitch Girlfriend has had a LOT less bitchiness in the last two encounters. Hell in the last one she almost had little to no incentive to tell Sakuta about that account. If she wanted, she could have made Futaba's life a misery if she publicized it in school.
It's fine if she doesn't like her BFs friend or friends, where she earned the title of Queen Bitch was DEMANDING the friend stop being friends with her BF, just because it was dragging his image down, and consequently hers.
So yes, her deliberate struggle to cultivate the image of queen bee, is possibly influenced by having a perfect older sister. And this is her way of making herself popular at least. By making sure her record was impecable. Which it wasn't if she was dating best buddy of the "Violent delinquent and loner" Sakuta.

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

The most critical aspect of this episode is the fact that Futaba now sports the ponytail look. I am pleased.

You mean, that she kept the glasses and the labcoat right? of course it's all about the labcoat and glasses.

[Lex79]

I'm pretty sure Mai mentioned the cabinet knowing very well that Sakuta was going to open it and find something that he could use to help her sister.

[Dark Wing]

Originally Posted by Dextro

Spoiler for episode 9:

I like how the MC just goes "Again?" when he realizes he has yet another case of puberty syndrome to tackle.

It's like he was born for this kind of work. Like I said before he should do this professionally at least he'd get paid for his troubles.

[EroKing]

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by EroKing

Mai in a yukata .

[blakstealth]

no futuba, huh....

[nojay]

Originally Posted by Lex79

I'm pretty sure Mai mentioned the cabinet knowing very well that Sakuta was going to open it and find something that he could use to help her sister.

He knows she wants him to open the cabinet and look at what's inside. She could have gone back to the apartment and sanitised the cabinet before he got the key or not mentioned the cabinet and where it was located (he's not the sort to just randomly open drawers and cabinets in someone else's home) or just not given him the key at all. It was just her way of telling him to go and look along with maybe some plausible denial for her own peace of mind. Very Mai in its own way but it only works if it's aimed at someone she trusts like Sakuta.

[Archon_Wing]

So this is like Monogatari if the characters weren't insufferable.

But seriously, I like most of the characters, though especially Mai since I think she's similar to one of my favorite characters.

[~Yami~]

so... I rushed 9 episodes in 2 days

Spoiler for quite long:

I only read the manga.. and they only adapted until first part of kouhai's arc

1st arc : best girl got worse arc... In every anime, usually first arc won't be the best one... but they put the best girl in it.. this is just like Monogatari Series
anyway, I really hope they could put one more episode for this arc... I still feel that it ended too fast although the conclusion is superb.. that confession is awesome and Mai's character is great

2nd arc : so far, I loved this one little bit too much... I have fluctuating opinion toward Koga. She looks silly at first... then looks desperate... but in the end, she showed great maturity.
But still, we can't forget to give credits to how Mai handled this situation
I started to think that Mai is too good for someone like Sakuta

3rd arc : my favorite char finally got her arc... Glad that she finally concluded her feelings although she really need a great ending. If I could create alternate universe, I'll put Futaba as main heroine (well I like nerdy heroine).
This is also the first time where Kunimi played important part... aaahh... if only Futaba could be happier in the end of this arc

Current arc : This looks little bit anticlimactic if we compared them to previous arcs... but still Mai finally played her heroine part again so it's okay
I think the conclusion is kinda simple... both sisters should just talk.. choose what they like.. and delete their parents' contact from phone go and live together already!

The greatest thing about this anime is that I can't find anyone to hate... probably that basketball senpai.. but somehow I could not hate Kunimi's girlfriend, Rena, or anyone else

my last hope beside Futaba's happiness... is to see Kaede go to school again
about Shoko, I don't really care about her I don't know how significance her part in the future, except if she have a power to reset time and cut off Sakuta-Mai's relationship in a blink...

[Metaneo]

The snap at the end made me flinch a little.

[Stark700]

Episode 10

It's kinda interesting the way this show explores human emotions honestly.

Nodoka's inferiority is pretty much her own self doubt because she constantly have them. I think it was an interesting experience for Mai too since she was able to connect with someone else on a different level. Hopefully Nodoka takes her advice and be herself.

The idol performance itself was kinda entertaining, nothing groundbreaking but I thought Mai nailed it in her role.