otome wa boku ni koishiteru 4, 5
Categories: episodic review, otome wa boku
Tagged: otome wa boku
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In praise of all things Mizuho. She’s the best.
About halfway through the season, I think it’s time to finally lay down to rest the gender question. I’d rather move onto more important subjects, like “solid” or “striped.” If Mizuho were a male, wouldn’t Mizuho be found out very quickly by either of the two girls in a situation like these? And, if Mizuho were a male, why the hell would Mizuho go through with this weird request to go to a girl’s school? After Mizuho graduates, wouldn’t look awfully weird on a resume or college application: “2006-2008: Studied at Seiou All-Girl Academy”? I’m telling you, don’t listen to the false propaganda all those party poopers are feeding. Mizuho’s gender is not important. Fanservice is important, and Mizuho and friends deliver in spades.
See, Mizuho-oneesama woke up nice and silky smooth when both Yukari and Ichiko ran their hands up Mizuho-oneesama’s cheeks. I get a pretty gritty stubble going by five o’clock let alone waking up in the morning.
And even though Mariya did left up Mizuho-oneesama’s skirt, it’s inconclusive evidence with just Ichiko’s “Sugoi!” Why, she could be talking about the torch that burns with-in. Actually, let’s assume that Ichiko went to this all-girl’s school all her life and with her heavy-sided love for Sashiho, wouldn’t it make more sense that Ichiko is looking for a woman? I.e. a “wink-wink” from Mariya, “Yes, this is a ‘wink-wink’ a boy.” Kinda like that. For one last twist, keep in mind Ichiko refers to itself often as “boku.”
(Basically, for the 25% or so who voted for “male” in the poll, I’m curious. Are you the same people who go to a frat party and ask, “Hey, everyone is 21 here, right?” Or the same people who pop into a fansubber’s forum to tell them, “Hey, Keroro‘s licensed. You better stop fansubbing it.” Or the same people power-tripping as the dude at Costco who checks the receipts as people leave. To all these people: use your powers for good by entering politics and injecting some much needed sensibilities there. But stay the hell out of my delusional anime fantasies.)
(Nevertheless, if you really need to argue about someone’s gender, Otome wa Boku isn’t the series that deserves the attention. Tokimeki Memorial is. I have no clue now, but I think Tokimeki, Crescent Love, and Happiness are all furiously fighting over the title “Worst Harem Anime of 2006” like it were a PS3.)
(Besides, thinking about it logically, how many guys do you know get mistaken for their mothers?)
(Or why did an anime with more overall fanservice than Code Geass show us less Mizuho skin than Karen skin? If Mizuho were a male, why did the camera have to pan away before revealing the upper body? And why did Mizuho instinctively cover the upper body? What man does that?)
(Plus, Horie Yui has completely given up using her fake “masculine-ish” voice by episode four. She’s using her normal voice… and Mizuho ends up sounding more feminine than Eri and Ayu.)
Enough of this hard-hitting gender analysis and just agree that Otome wa Boku is a fun ride either way. Let’s move onto something more fun. It’s stock report time with yuri luvin’ at an all-time high.
Seiou Academy Stock Report
UP Mizuho-oneesama… I don’t care anymore. Just shoot me. No way there’s a penis on this. None. I won’t accept it. An impossibility beyond possibility.
Mizuho-oneesama earns props for bedding not one but two of the haremettes. My favorite part was how Yukari asks Mizuho-oneesama to sleep together, and, rather than flatly rejecting her request, Mizuho-oneesama puts up a feeble effort to discourage her followed by a quick resignation. The two hop into the sack for come cuddling. Bravo. And an encore performance she did!
Wow. I don’t think think The King can even put up this type of performance. Two different girls? Two consecutive nights? Mizuho-oneesama’s the best. I was confused as to how Ichiko was able to hold onto Mizuho-oneesama even though Ichiko wasn’t able to grasp any other physical object– emotions can change physical properies? Oh well, it’s anime. I’ll let this slide since I’m distracted by all the yuri fanservice.
UP Mariya… I thought she had a sub-par episode three, and while she’s not great in this Ghost Girl arc, she provides a serviceable performance. Love the chibi emo facial distortion for when she catches Mizuho with the various other girls in bed– definitely highlight reel material. The “Baka!” is kinda lame but fits with the low calorie nature of Otome wa Boku— still, I think it’s much better if she wielded a weapon or something– like maybe she was making breakfast and had a cabbage-choppin’ knife in her hand.
And loved her “I’m telling ghost stories in my see-thru nightie!” performance. See-thru clothing makes everything better… think Galaxy Bang Bang. Forget Kyoto Animation, we need to have Feel remake Higurashi no Naku Koro ni with see-thru nighties plus replacing both K1 and Satoshi with their Mizuho-class replacements. Now that’s anime. We can even have the murdered characters come back as ghosts. Who wouldn’t want to see Ghost Rika haunting Shion going “Nii-pah!”
And Mariya’s jealousy… a cherry on top. We’re not done with Mariya yet. We’ll get back to her.
UP Ichiko… anytime a character is introduced and fanservice is tossed around like twenties from a drunk businessman in the champagne room, yep, it’s a successful introduction. I enjoyed her hyper-energetic nature– reminds me of the old MicroMachines commercials when I was little. Good times… good times… though her ability to prevent others from talking reminds me of a bad taping of PTI… bad times… bad times…
DOWN Ichiko’s story… her story is very predictable and very bland. If you haven’t figured out the “twist” by the moment Ichiko appears and starts rubbing herself between Mizuho’s breasts, you need to ask one simple question, “Why doesn’t anyone ever ask her what her oneesama’s name is?” Still, if she had gone away and really left during the church scene (kinda odd how all these lesbian anime series like this one, Mai Hime, and Strawberry Panic have chapels yet don’t have pastors around condemning homosexuality) I think the plot would have been passable. I groaned when I saw Ichiko reappear at the end. They had a pretty good scene with Mizuho and Ichiko going in the chapel too.
(BTW, Mizuho has carried yet another girl. And Shion got so few lines… I’m sad. I have Shion ranked right below Mariya too.)
UP Kana… the screenshot that probably is most appropriate, I can’t display for stripe-based reasons, but I’ll link to it anyway. Still, loved Mizuho’s “Hun?!?” reaction that happened concurrently.
(Anyone else notice that all the character in Otome wa Boku have about the same, uh, size, proportion-wise? Either that or their school uniform likes it seem that way.)
DOWN Kei… for being an inferior version of Mahoraba‘s Occult Club President who doesn’t seem to have a name and Ouran‘s Occult Club President whose name escapes me right now. Yep, another example of hard-hitting blogging by AoMM… *sigh*
UP Sashiho-oneesama… “It’s okay. Being late won’t destroy the world…” except when you’re late for an SOS Brigade club meeting.
(Still, I can’t believe that Ichiko would run away from the hospital and die like that… just completely dropjaw ridiculous. If Ichiko and Sashiho were close and the hospital not that far away (if a sickly, Shiori-class patient can make the trek), wouldn’t Sashiho have personally stopped by before leaving? Or no one at the hospital noticing that Ichiko were away?)
DOWN Backhanded compliment of the year.
UP Mariya… for inviting Mizuho to her bedroom. Her reactions upon seeing Yukari and Ichiko waking up with Mizuho are most definitely green-eyed monster related.
28 Responses to “otome wa boku ni koishiteru 4, 5”
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“Onee-sama! Onee-sama! Onee-sama! Onee-sama! Onee-sama! Onee-sama! Onee-sama! Onee-sama! Onee-sama! Onee-sama!”
Were you expecting hearing that kind of performance from Mikuru’s voice actress of all people?
I was honestly so used to the “on the verge of tears” Yuko Goto as Mikuru or the wife-ish but kinda insane Yuko Goto as Kaede that I did not know it was her as Ichiko until I checked some database.
She was so hyper, not on the Tsuruya’s league but pretty close.
“Basically, for the 25% or so who voted for “male†in the poll, I’m curious.”
VOTED MALE, DESU! ^_______^
Why? ‘Cause it’s true, of course. But being generally nonplussed by such things, it doesn’t bother me to know that Mizuho is male, and wish to pet him from time to time. Guys do cute things too, you know? But let’s set the sex and “gender” issue aside, like you said. As I’ve explained before, shows like this “the most beautiful girl/boy in the world” takes a few elements from Japanese culture and turns them on their respective heads. It doesn’t matter that Mizuho is a male or not, in some sense. He is taking up a female role, and that role, that feminine idea is what men seem to love, especially Japanese men. This is what I mean when I say “female worship.” It’s abound in every culture of the world, and it’s something very “Human.” I’ve actually written papers on this sort of thing for school, and I find it extremely fascinating. I’m the sort that wouldn’t mind watching an onnagata [a man who portrays women in Japanese Kabuki theater, also called “oyama”] do his makeup and “transform” in to a woman. After all, men fell in love with these “women.” And still do in some cases. And let’s not talk about the women who seem to worship men of a more feminine nature. It’s all in the same vein. In short, I think it’s fun to play around with what we call “gender,” though for me, it’s not very important.
As for the show, I like it enough. And, for the record, I’ve met a few young boys who could pass for girls well enough to pull this off. Of course, this being real life and not ANIMU, it would probably be a bit harder to pull off.
Now, as for someone ELSE in the cast perhaps being male? I don’t know… that’s interesting though. I’ll be on the lookout.
*raises his glass* Here’s to more entertaining “traps.” May they be constructed properly.
Kanpai.
Kei reminds me of a taller, bustier version of Negima’s Yue Ayase – long braids at the front, a bit frosty, and always saying weird things… while being JUST a little creepy.
Still, it’s an interesting story, in a way – if only because she probably died there on her second day, which would’ve been JUST long enough for the neglectful nurses to wonder where she’d gone to. Still, it gave Mizuho another haremette to follow her around, so I guess the story was serviceable enough in its own way.
Besides, Mariya’s world-class jealousy reaction (minus boxcutter) was worth the price of admission. I just want to see Takako meet Ichiko now…
‘I was confused as to how Ichiko was able to hold onto Mizuho-oneesama even though Ichiko wasn’t able to grasp any other physical object”
You’d be surprised at *what* she can “grasp” with body parts other than her hands.
-Man, I hope they throw in a Mariya/Shion showdown (either subtle or world war class) for Mizuho. I honestly tought that Mariya was a very unusual “childhood friend type” for not having any romantic feelings towards Mizuho, but now…
-I tought Ichiko was an occult freak and not an actual Ghost!!!
-Haesslich said: I just want to see Takako meet Ichiko now…
Seconded!
-Stripes 4tw…
-And now we have a way to excuse ourselves if someone thinks we like Mizuho too much; we just have to say: “oh no, that’s his mother, Sachiho” :P
Dude, are you going through the motions lately? Your entry hasn’t been up par lately. There’s even a recycled words:
“Mizuho-oneesama… I don’t care anymore. Just shoot me. No way there’s a penis on this. None. I won’t accept it.”
>>Were you expecting hearing that kind of performance from Mikuru’s voice actress of all people?
What? Oh right. I was supposed to know that. How come I forgot? *thinking*
Of course. Mikuru, Kaede and Ichiko have slightly different voices, despite having the same VA. You know a VA is superior when you don’t even notice she is “oh, X character from Y anime” at the first try.
Or maybe my ears are getting rusty.
>> Basically, for the 25% or so who voted for “male†in the poll, I’m curious.
Pretty much a very balanced poll. And the top choice isn’t even getting the 50% + 1 vote requirement. Talk about CONFUSION.
(voted “don’t care”, btw. Of course I know what it is, but… does it even matter? Details details…)
>> plus replacing both K1 and Satoshi with their Mizuho-class replacements.
Why? A regular meido K1 is quite fine too.
>> DOWN Backhanded compliment of the year.
Fail. Ok, so I loled at the comment, but you still failed to point out how Takako got all worked up and scared whenever Mizuho talked about ghosts. I need more blushing Takako.
Jace Jace Jace. I look forward to your reactions to episode 6. Swimsuit episode ahoy!
>> Dude, are you going through the motions lately? Your entry hasn’t been up par lately. There’s even a recycled words:
Actually, quoting from episode 2 comments
****
# sagematt Says:
>> I don’t care anymore. Just shoot me. No way there’s a penis on this. None. I won’t accept it.
Quoted for truth.
And it wouldn’t hurt if you keep repeating that to yourself for every review XD
****
Hence the slogan. But jason probably intended to keep using it in the first place, no need for me to ask.
>> And now we have a way to excuse ourselves if someone thinks we like Mizuho too much
I always answer to that with: “What, you ain’t hittin’ that?” :D
>>If Mizuho were a male, wouldn’t Mizuho be found out very quickly by either of the two girls in a situation like these? And, if Mizuho were a male, why the hell would Mizuho go through with this weird request to go to a girl’s school? After Mizuho graduates, wouldn’t look awfully weird on a resume or college application: “2006-2008: Studied at Seiou All-Girl Academy�
Suspension of disbelief is a wondrous thing, second people have been doing things that “seemed like a good idea at the time” only to have it bite them in the ass, oten with a butcher’s bill attached to boot. Third, affirmative action and Brown vs. Board of Education whereby “seperate but equal” was ruled as unconstitutional.
>>Mizuho’s gender is not important.
Very well, but as a token of respect to Mizuho if he/she/it wants to be referred to as a male then so be it.
>>See, Mizuho-oneesama woke up nice and silky smooth when both Yukari and Ichiko ran their hands up Mizuho-oneesama’s cheeks. I get a pretty gritty stubble going by five o’clock let alone waking up in the morning.
I met many a beardless brat and some very odd genetic anomalies as men having no leg hair. Perhaps puberty never hit Mizuho full force. As great as Jason Miao may be he is not the gold standard by which all men measure thier hairiness, only in meido, nekomimi, facial contortion, traiwrecks, Sunrise, and/or any combination there of related topics is AOMM the gold standard. I didn’t surmount the hairless chin until my late teens.
>>And even though Mariya did left up Mizuho-oneesama’s skirt, it’s inconclusive evidence with just Ichiko’s “Sugoi!†Why, she could be talking about the torch that burns with-in. Actually, let’s assume that Ichiko went to this all-girl’s school all her life and with her heavy-sided love for Sashiho, wouldn’t it make more sense that Ichiko is looking for a woman? I.e. a “wink-wink†from Mariya, “Yes, this is a ‘wink-wink’ a boy.†Kinda like that. For one last twist, keep in mind Ichiko refers to itself often as “boku.â€
Ayu refers to itself as “boku” and as much as I wish that Ayu was a boy in disguise to justify Nayuki’s fate via Yuuichi being hardo gay it just isn’t so. Besides seeing a wang would have killed at least half if not more of thier male auidince out of shock.
>>Basically, for the 25% or so who voted for “male†in the poll, I’m curious. Are you the same people who go to a frat party and ask, “Hey, everyone is 21 here, right?†Or the same people who pop into a fansubber’s forum to tell them, “Hey, Keroro’s licensed. You better stop fansubbing it.†Or the same people power-tripping as the dude at Costco who checks the receipts as people leave.
As an officer of the law in US Territorial Waters I do ask the first question, but do none of the latter. Law and Punishment should not know degree nor grade. Letting a bunch of wealth frats go wild and not have to obey the law is not fair and a gross miscarriage of justice becasue they can afford a boat. As much a I would rather sink that ship with all hands the law for bids use of deadly force on my end. Drunken Frat boys and girls ought to drink themselves to ruin as quickly as possible within 10 seconds IMHO, unfortunately they have a tendency to persist and their drunken stupidty often involves some innocent bystander sometimes with less that harmless results.
>>To all these people: use your powers for good by entering politics and injecting some much needed sensibilities there. But stay the hell out of my delusional anime fantasies.
Politics is something I hate with a passion, the manufactuing of lies and deciet to a population that consistently seems to know no better. I have encouraged my fellow students to vote, stay informed, and do more that simply be emo about how the law must be changed. (To my chagrin when I conducted my own limited exit poll it seems to have been in vain) Sure the laws governing alcohol and drugs suck. Stop complaining to me, I have sworn to enforce the law, selectively enforcing it is indisputably corruption. We still live in a democracy with the rights of voting, referendum, and PETITION use them once in while, for pity’s sake. Lastly I will resepct your fanstasy from here on out, if you never again insinuate that I am a prick for writing people up for being dumb enough to break the law and too indiscrete to elude and escape capture. I apologize for any precieved rudeness, but you used what I considered fighting words.
Not to dispute your own deeply held truth, but in the interest of encouraging a formulation of a more coherent dogma of All Woman Mizuho…
>>Besides, thinking about it logically, how many guys do you know get mistaken for their mothers?
Perhaps this only applies to the few incidents I encountered in Chinatowns of NYC, Oakland, and SF, but parents for some strange reason argue who kids get thier looks from regardless of gender. Dudes with long hair can be mistaken as women at a distance and from a rear aspect. In short be specific and not broad.
>>If Mizuho were a male, why did the camera have to pan away before revealing the upper body? And why did Mizuho instinctively cover the upper body? What man does that?
Firstly it is possible that the pan was used to allow for speculation despite statements to the contrary. Mizuho’s rections can be reasoned as Mariya’s conditioning of proper response. Prove that Mariya’s condtioning is pathetic and the point is yours though ruling out the possibility of torture is stongly encouraged as Mariya might be one of those S&M types give her sadistic joy of making Mizuho squirm.
>>Plus, Horie Yui has completely given up using her fake “masculine-ish†voice by episode four. She’s using her normal voice… and Mizuho ends up sounding more feminine than Eri and Ayu.
God forbid that I slight the great Horie Yui, but even she is human and can be tired at times. Perhaps she saw little point in continuing or felt that she simply was unhappy with injecting masculinity into the act. Then there is the issue of being Ayu, again, I doubt that job is emotionally fulfilling as it is after all the same rotund thieving dumpster diver. Then again she could be an Ayu fan.
I would also like the issue of Mizuho learning to use the john be settled from your perspective. Mizuho doesn’t seem so great if she had been standing for over a decade in a vain attempt to avoid pissing all over the floor in some sick recreation of the no man’s land on Blackest Day on the Somme like a blething moron.
I look forward to a more comprehensive dogma from the fountian of knowledge that is AOMM it can be joint operation with Moyism since his chruch seems to be growing daily, he must know something about dogma.
Micromachines Good Grief I still have mine tucked in the basement from years of playing micromachine wars.
Mariya needs to change tactics if she wants some yuri lurvin. Acin/being scared seems like a sure fire way to get in since Ichiko seems like a permanent resident it can end up proving the revered ancient thoery of Male Neanderthal’s Theorom of Women:
Whats good? Woman.
What’s better than Woman? Two Woman.
What’s better than that? Three Woman.
I think that we define male and female a little too easily, not just here, but overseas as well, which might be part of what this anime is all about.
*warning…spoilers for eps 4 and 5*
I would wager a good amount that Mizuho is male, at least in body. Mariya sure seems to think so, or at least believe so right from the start. In addition, in these last two episodes, Mariya flips Mizuho’s skirt, revealing to Ichiko that Mizuho has a package. Ichiko understood right away and was quite happy that “oneesama” could actually marry her :P
*end warning…I think*
My guess is that Mizuho is transgendered…but I’ll leave that discussion for later, as this might not be the place to discuss that (?)
Either way, this is an awesome anime that is fun, and one that I look forward to watching!!
> After Mizuho graduates, wouldn’t look awfully weird on a resume or college application: “2006-2008: Studied at Seiou All-Girl Academy�
Assuming that Mizuho will even need to go to college or apply for a job after attending Seiou, as specified by his granddad’s will, thus inheriting a gazillion yen and a readymade business empire.
The more I watch Otoboku the more an old Slayers episode starts to intrude in my mind. At their graduation, its suddenly revealed that the entire population of Seiou is actually comprised of males dressed up convincingly as women. Damn you Slayers!
Plus Kei reminds me of a bargain basement brew of Negima’s Ayase Yue and School Rumble’s Takano Akira but somehow the sum is lesser than its parts. A bit like mixing two different beers in a vat and then diluting with water.
Kei kinda is like Ayase Yue, 3 years later, minus the juice box. Still Yue > Kei for now.
@Kreor on transgender. I had this feeling as well. Mizuho could ver well be a herm.
FEMALE WORSHIP AND NOTHING MORE
That is all. =)
>>The more I watch Otoboku the more an old Slayers episode starts to intrude in my mind. At their graduation, its suddenly revealed that the entire population of Seiou is actually comprised of males dressed up convincingly as women. Damn you Slayers!
My Lord, I watched that episode. A whole city filled with traps? Gourry and co. would have killed themselves if it weren’t for their mission.
And I guess Kana-chan and Yukari are starting to grow their own “rose gardens”, due to the hormone highs that they get from just being with their Onee-sama. Hell, I bet ANYONE can get a hormone high from just staying within 3 meters from Mizuho, male and/or female.
Now that’s (unbelivable) anime.
Th-there’s a penis on that??? (Goes into shock)
I think Ryan’s hit it on the head. “She-male.”
I voted MALE because that’s the premise/hook of the show (aka Androgyny Moe-ness). It would be rather strange if Mizuho wasn’t a guy.
Well… I’m already completely lost on Mizuho’s gender when they get to that scene where they made him/her wear bikinis… I just don’t know anymore (at least in Pretty Face we’re dead-set that the main char is definitely a guy).
Ichiko is a surprisingly fun character despite the fact she falls under the sick girl (err…dead girl) attribute, haven’t seen a character who talks that fast since Excel Saga.
>>> use your powers for good by entering politics and injecting some much needed sensibilities there.
Is considering this when my life is more secure.
>>> Crescent Love, and Happiness are all furiously fighting over the title “Worst Harem Anime of 2006″ like it were a PS3.)
Crescent Love has shown some improvements in the plot at the latest episode. Don’t know if it can lift its status from bad to mediocre, yet.
It’s a man, get over yourselves and accept that he in she mode is hot. There’s nothing wrong with that.
For all the comments about male/not male:
Do you really think there is a penis on that?
Err…
A penis on this:
http://img296.imageshack.us/im.....okurl6.png
>>See, Mizuho-oneesama woke up nice and silky smooth when both Yukari and Ichiko ran their hands up Mizuho-oneesama’s cheeks. I get a pretty gritty stubble going by five o’clock let alone waking up in the morning.
Hmmm, presumably you’re not asian though. I’m only half-asian and I still only have 5 to 13 hairs on my chin. If I go a year without shaving, I will have 5-13 hairs that are almost an inch long. It’s quite the time-saver not having to shave every morning.
It’s probably safe to suppose that Mizuho reflects the asian trait of not having much facial hair, so that’s why s/he has no stubble.
(Yeah, I was one of the ones that voted male…. I don’t know about going into politics though.)
>>Hmmm, presumably you’re not asian though.
Hmm. I’m asian and I have to wake up every moring to wonderful stubbly facial hair, but maybe I’m just different.
Anyways, I would just love to see an episode where Mizuho gets a hard-on, and everyone is just like, haha funny joke, now what were you saying?
I am kinda surprised we didn’t get an “USO DA!” out of this…
I voted male too, but I’m one of those crazy people who thought the naked men in Inukami were funny. I’m certainly a heterosexual man, but feel free to decide for yourself about the “traditional” thing ;)
Wait, that pic that one guy posted? That’s Mizuho too? The one in the swimsuit?