minami-ke, hosaka
Categories: anime, episodic review, minami-ke
Tagged: minami-ke
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I can’t help myself… Haruka-neesama is amazing. Suki da desu da desu nyoro~n.
(You know what they say about girls who can blow bubbles within bubbles… I sure don’t!)
It seems as if each sister has their own “destined” male foil or nemesis. Chiaki has Mako-cakes, who are like oil and water. They know each other exists, but they don’t want to admit that to each other. Kana has Fujioka, who just don’t understand each other the way that the other wants to be understood, much like common sense and Setsuna F. Seiei. Now, finally, Haruka gets a foil. Haruka has Hosaka, who is just as amazing as she is, but for completely and utterly different reasons.
Hosaka is amazingly out-of-touch with reality. At first, I was thinking that he’s a poor man’s Kamina. After thinking about it a bit more and catching an episode of The Office in the process, I think he’s more of a cowardly Michael Scott. The problem is that while Kamina is just as out-of-touch with reality and bombastic and outrageous as Hosaka, Hosaka is a bigger coward than Ninomiya from Ninomiya-kun (the anime with the Stopgap Mikuru, not the one they make fun of in Minami-ke). Kamina is no coward. He’s bombastically, outrageously brave, which is the opposite of Hosaka. More importantly, Kamina is more concerned about others than himself or looking good. Hosaka is all about saving his cowardly ass and looking good while doing it, despite really looking like a completely oblivious douchebag… hence, Michael Scott.
Hosaka does continue the trend of having great male foils to backup the already awesome Minami sisters. I would definitely watch a spin-off involving Mako-cakes, Fujioka, and Hosaka meeting at a “I loved a Minami sister” support group.
Funniest Moments
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Ladies and gentlemen, Troy McClure!
My favorite subplot this episode is Hosaka’s simulations. They’re fantastic by themselves, but coupled with his desire to shed clothing, it really pushes it up a notch. He seems so damn serious when he first goes into simulation mode, but it just gets more ridiculous as it goes on. He reminds me of any mecha pilot (Shinn, Athrun, Kashim) when they’re playing back battles, looking for an edge. I do feel gypped that we didn’t get a “Just as I planned!” moment with Hosaka. It seemed like it would be right in his wheelhouse.
Is it just me, or did every simulation that Hosaka run involve Haruka waiting and Haruka being cold? I betcha Hosaka is a huge, ginormous Kanon fan.
(Then again, Haruka-neesama is amazing, even when frozen and stood-up.)
Someone needs to create an image macro out of this screenshot, only instead of chopsticks, Simulation Kana is wielding a butcher’s knife and going at it with Chiaki in a way that would make a Sonozaki blush.
When Kana didn’t make the rice… that was a classic Mob Boss Haruka moment. Haruka is definitely a mob boss. They’re usually quiet, letting their underlings scurry around, but when they get ticked, you know it. And, if you don’t, you’re probably sleeping with the fishes, and not in a Troy McClure kind of way. Around a real mob boss, you don’t wait around for them to tell you to cut off your pinky, you just do it. Haruka’s that kind of mob boss, not the shitty kind from Seto no Hanayome. She’s definitely more Michael Corleone and not Onizuka.
(It is funny that out of everything, she is most fired up about rice.)
Hosaka is amazing. Him learning to cook (and not doing a bad job at it) so quickly just puts him lightyears ahead of Kei Shindo.
I cannot believe that someone with as much hot air as Kana cannot blow an effective bubble. In a completely unrelated story, I can’t blow an effective bubble either.
(It’s actually too bad that this episode was about Hosaka as it didn’t push the whole bubblegum chewing escapade into subplot of a subplot territory. Of course, if this happened in Lucky Star, we would have had a 17 minute discussion about bubblegum blowing with the obligatory Haruhi-reference, a choco-cornet mixed in, and at least two “A Tsukasa is fine too” moments.)
(We did get one “A Haruka is fine too” moment when she bit into the onigiri still in its wrapper. A Tsukasa would definitely have moe’d like that. I swear to Kyrios that I don’t kill my old English professor when he sees my English usages nowadays.)
Question: is it even physically possible to contort one’s face like that? Even remotely possible? And does this qualify her for the emo facial distortion pantheon? It just feels right that Kana would be in there, but she really hasn’t had an awesome and memorable facial distortion yet.
And, finally, from last time…
Ilya: Mascara, blush and eyeliner totally costs more than $20. I give you props for trying, though.
It’s expensive dressing up as a woman… we should start up a donation fund for Mako-cakes. Anyway, this reminds me of something that I’ve wanted to rant about for some time but either keep forgetting or not having an appropriate segue (not that this matters to me). What the heck happened to The Price Is Right? I haven’t watched in a while and I know Bob Barker retired, but seriously Drew Carey is the best that they could find to replace him? How hard were they looking? OJ after the real killers hard? And they downsized the number of Barker’s Beauties to just three?! Outrageous. Bob Barker had an arrogant sexuality to him, and that’s probably why a lot of the women (and a few of the college guys, presumably hammered) go up and kiss him. But that’s what made the show fun to watch. I’m sure not watching to find out the prices of everyday household objects. He definitely also had that mob boss aura to him, where you just didn’t want to know what happens if you throw down a Pinko token the wrong way or if the wheel doesn’t go around at least one full revolution. Drew Carey? No one kissed him during the week that I watched. He sits there making awkward conversation that basically boils down to “Where are you from?”
You know who I think would be a great The Price Is Right host? Jason Mewes, from Jay and Silent Bob fame. Since I think the audience for that game show is half stoned college students and half retired people, he’d definitely appeal to the stoned college students like how Bob appealed to the retired people. Plus, I’d love to hear him say, “What’s your bid, cock smoker?”
(Who else would be good? Hosaka! He’d be perfect! Look at all the old women blushing when he was, uh, wrangling some cod. See, I had a plan! Wasn’t completely and utter off-topic… and now about honeycrisp apples…)
Sheba: Why do I get Maya Natsume vibes from the first Haruka screencap?
Do these vibes lead to copious amounts of softcore Haruka? Please tell me it does.
Sixten: Oh, and I agree that the real boss is Kana. She even has the shirt.
Disagree. Kana’s the Fredo to Haruka’s Michael Corleone. Chiaki would be Sonny. Ironically, wasn’t Sonny the oldest and Michael the youngest? It’s been ages since I watched that movie.
quigonkenny: Haruka-banchousama was amazing, of course, but I think my favorite part was watching Kana hold off her Harukagasm long enough to bully Keiko-chan out of her notebook. Good times, good times…
LOL @ Harukagasm… because it is extremely appropriate. I’m just glad that Fujioka was there with a “I don’t think I could ever give Kana that kind of pleasure” look on his face.
Tim: Also, I’m disturbed by the lack of Chiaki in the last two episodes. We need more teru-teru-bozu, we need more killer techniques, we need more ruined for marriage Uchida, and more Mako-chan mental scarring.
If I had to make a bet a month ago as to who would ruin Uchida for marriage, I would have said Kana. Seeing Mako-cakes attempt it… well… the Gundam 00 equivalent would be Tieria ruining Felt rather than Christine.
zoupzuop2: AND! Regarding drinks: Compared to the number needed for Mizuho (0), you’d need a VERY fast, very-many-digit-hosting calculator. And more straight-up whisky than you’d EVER thought imaginable.
You had me at (0). Yep… these are my readers.
25 Responses to “minami-ke, hosaka”
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Well, Jason, that just means she’s VERY good with her tongue, to put the second bubble in the first. No wonder Hosaka’s cuddling with fish whenever he thinks of Haruka and gets lost in la-la land, if he’s seen any hint of her talents, as well as her beauty. And no, not all the simulations involved cold Haruka – just they involved dating sim cliches, with everythign but the last when he’s staring at the fish – then it’s a ‘poor family story’.
But yes, Chiaki gets torture Kana for a change. Good times, good times. It just needed more Haruka undressing like Ep 6 to make it perfect.
I’m starting to miss those “Sensei! Ninomiya-kun!” moments. First post!
omg.. you stole my first post….
For some reason the eyecatch with Hosaka in it with his shirt sorta off scared the shit out of me… Maybe its because I feel myself up at work (while serving customers no less :P) in a very similar way to what he does. Well minus the undressing. But his face scared me… hmmm. Oh yeah, and I actually think Hosaka is kind of cool, or maybe that is because I am attempting to justify dramatically pantomiming procedures in the air. I mean I gotta practice my typing, Kanji, cooking, laundry, surgery, driving, piano, chess, fighting, eating, and flying somewhere right? :3
Epic.
“I’ll teach you how to blow a big one.”
Chiaki trains Kana by dressing up in a funny outfit, abusing her, and making her get in all sorts of uncomfortable positions.
Then Haruka upstages them both by blowing two at once.
Everyone gets their faces splattered.
I could swear I’ve seen this plot used before.
>>I could swear I’ve seen this plot used before.
Plot? That’s not plot.
I knew you were going to use Double Bubble Haruka as the OP pic.
And I don’t think Hosaka is a coward; that would require him to have a better grasp of reality than he does right now.
“I do feel gypped that we didn’t get a ‘Just as I planned!’ moment with Hosaka. It seemed like it would be right in his wheelhouse.”
Hosaka is the poor (very poor) man’s Yagami Light.
Bishounen? Check, until he opens his mouth.
Ridiculously over-dramatic? Check, big time.
Full of himself? Check.
Unrealistic goals based on being full of himself? Check.
Bat-shit crazy? Check.
Brilliant? …Well, that’s why he’s the poor man’s version…
I know I’m not the only one who was hearing overly dramatic classical music during the cooking “simulation” pictured above or the scene with the “white crows”, or ominous Latin chanting while Kitsune-senpai (who needs much more screentime) was sampling his cooking.
Speaking of, I about fell off my chair when she dropped the food after realizing he made it.
Kana has the potential for emo facial distortion, but the animation staff has too much self respect to give her a good scene in which to exercise it. I’d support Kana’s induction into the Emo Facial Distortion Pantheon only if I get to see her roar while holding a bowl of noodles.
0rion: <i”I’d support Kana’s induction into the Emo Facial Distortion Pantheon only if I get to see her roar while holding a bowl of noodles.”
You know, I can totally see that.
Hosaka! How dare you whack off to my Haruka!
Kana’s the Fredo to Haruka’s Michael Corleone
I stand corrected, sir. I’m starting to see Haruka’s “boss” powers more clearly. Despite her being manipulated by Kana in some instances, Haruka does seem to be able to unleash absolute authority and command obedience through shock and awe. The way her sisters scrambled to make up for forgetting to cook rice shows how much they have submitted to her. Haruka also has skills (cooking, bubble-blowing, etc) that instantly bring her sisters to their knees. It just took me a while to see her power because it’s covered by a blanket of genuine niceness.
And I don’t think Hosaka is a coward; that would require him to have a better grasp of reality than he does right now.
Yeah, I don’t think it was cowardice that made him fail to convey his feelings or lunch box to Haruka during the opportunities that Hayami made for him. He was just too lost in his delusions to take advantage of the opportunities. And he has no sense of shame, so I don’t think he has much fear either.
I would definitely watch a spin-off involving Mako-cakes, Fujioka, and Hosaka meeting at a “I loved a Minami sister†support group.
So would I! I’ve been cheering for the awesomeness of the boys of Minami-ke from the beginning. And although I said before that nobody watches moe comedies for the boys, now the boys have become my primary reason for watching. I’m hoping the Sick Kana episode leads to a visit from Fujioka and another lovely misunderstanding.
I love how it seems that whenever Chiaki gets violent Kana just sits there and takes it, like she knows she deserves it.
And I don’t think Hosaka is a coward; that would require him to have a better grasp of reality than he does right now.
Same here. He’s arrogant, a perfectionist, and a dreamer. He doesn’t not take action because he’s scared but because he won’t be satisfied unless it plays out like one of his simulations, and he spends too much time in those simulations to realize just how whacked they are.
I know I’m not the only one who was hearing overly dramatic classical music during the cooking “simulation†pictured above or the scene with the “white crowsâ€, or ominous Latin chanting while Kitsune-senpai (who needs much more screentime) was sampling his cooking.
I’ve certainly noticed. Now I need to go back and identify the song playing in the “white crows” scene. I recognize it, but I don’t have the file with me at work to conduct further time-wasting research.
Why? Why do I laugh so much at Hosaka embracing that huge Fish as if it were Haruka? And why do I keep going back to it?
Is he a Nodame Cantibile refugee, stuck in Minami-ke land? ;)
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Ah well – back to watching Haruka in his fantasies, all the while ignoring his ‘stripping and cuddling with fish’ bits.
I like minami-ke as much as the next guy here, but some part of me feels i should mention it’s downsides, if just to keep up the pretence that i’m not a mindless fanboy. And one point i’ve noticed is that besides the 3 sisters and their respective nemesis, the series seems to expect us to keep track of a plethora of side characters that rivals school rumble.
Ofcourse this might play into a larger scale later on much like the older huy who showed up and dissapears leaving questionmarks in the eyes of the viewers, only to then beautifully have the sisters ask the same questions we had ourselves. If storytelling like that is continues then i can only look forward to it.
>>the series seems to expect us to keep track of a plethora of side characters that rivals school rumble.
No, this has waaay less characters than School Rumble.
>> “Haruka-neesama is amazing.”
I see that you didn’t get the memo… Haruka-neesama is legendary!
Beyond that, there’s not much to say without getting into details, and there were a lot of those in this episode. My current thinking is that Minami-ke is actually getting even better with passing episodes.
Definitely best series this season(though I admit to not watching gundam, as I refuse to watch any gundam series till I can just watch the whole thing in marathon without bloody stupid cliffhangers).
Haruka-neesama IS amazing, IS legendary, IS something the english language is just completely unequipped to properly express with something as weak as mere words.
“White Crows” is set to Air by Bach. Kinda fitting, given the scene.
It makes me wonder what they’re going to mix in the next time Hosaka gets stuck on stupid.
If they did give Kana an emo facial distortion, I’m sure it’d be in their ‘realistic’ style. A realistic emo facial distortion. Man. That’d be in a category all it’s own.
“Someone needs to create an image macro out of this screenshot, only instead of chopsticks, Simulation Kana is wielding a butcher’s knife and going at it with Chiaki in a way that would make a Sonozaki blush.”
Gimmie like 3 days.
I can only imagine how Mako-chan would’ve reacted to double bubble Haruka-nee-sama. Definitely a killer technique.
@ will:
Thanks so much for telling us what the song behind the “White crows” scene was. I’ve been looking for it for so long!