minami-ke ~okawari~, hot springs, itadakimasu!
Categories: anime, episodic review, fanservice, minami-ke
Tagged: minami-ke
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“I am a man. You are a woman. Therefore…”
(Blogging Mai Otome without subtitles is much easier than this one. Ugh. Let me be the 4,105th person to make the requisite “can one of the seventeen groups doing Spice and Wolf work on something else?” comment. It’s almost a national crisis at this point.)
… we’re both broken. Well, I’m taking Minami-ke ~Okawari~ as a continuation because the viewer would need to know about Mako-cakes and Touma’s perchance for cross-dressing before stepping in. (Well, “okawari” means “seconds,” so that’s another giveaway.) In any case, I’m relieved that it’s not a remake of a series I just finished watching three weeks ago. I’m also relieved that Asread kept the same voice cast, the same Bible Black effect, and much of the same tone and style we loved from Doumu. Good times all round. Unless you’re Touma, Mako-cakes, or Kana, that is.
Funniest Moments
“I don’t want to be Mako-chan anymore; I want to return being a boy.”
And then Kana shuts the door on him. Priceless. Then Mako-cakes reverts back into Mako-cakes, and Kana lets him in. Way to stand up for your principles. Once we had this scene, I knew we had the gang back. Good times, well, unless you’re Touma, Mako-cakes, or Kana, that is.
I don’t know anymore. I give up. I don’t care anymore. Just shoot me. No way there’s a penis on this. None. I won’t accept it.
Definitely convincing enough for poor Fujioka.
(The animation quality didn’t slip, but I still miss Old Fujioka, blaxploitation music, and I AM BOSS. How you can have Minami-ke without I AM BOSS? I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get over this. Copious amounts of Haruka’s amazingness might help. On the flip side, though, Mako-cakes is significantly… uh… overhauled. Maybe for the better.)
Oh, yes! The Minami sisters. Yes, they’re still at the top of their game, even if they swapped hair colors.
And is it just me, or did they really, really unleash Haruka? They’re like flotation devices now. That school uniform just doesn’t do her… justice. We’re also getting close to the border between amazing and scary.
Haruka is amazing.
Kana’s towel is amazing. Homing mode 4tw!
When I first started watching ~Okawari~, I was honestly worried. The OP, Kokoro no Tsubasa (Heart’s Wing), seemed better suited for a Shaft series. I still don’t get the creepy shots of the uber-gigantic Minami girls, the lack of Mako-cakes in Mako-cakes mode, and the amount of screentime dedicated to Chiaki’s teddy bear. I also don’t understand why everyone walks funny. I do miss Keikenchi Joshochu and Weather Charm Chiaki from it.
(Compare Haruka’s bust in the OP and in the hot springs. It’s like they’re sponges.)
The ED, Sono Koe ga Kikitakute (I want to hear this voice), I don’t really get. Then I realized it’s just a reason to stick Kana shaking her hips for 90 seconds, and that I get. It does remind me a bit of Otome wa DO YOUR BEST deshou.
So predictable yet still so great. Kana baits Haruka into doing something (an interesting comedy act) that she’s reluctant to do using Chiaki. Kana’s definitely like a shadow boss scheming to overthrow the Godfather.
Of course, it created an almost perfect storm of comedy through bad timing. I loved how everyone was jus speechless and just wanted to move on. They’re so traumatized that they’re desperately and actively trying to suppress that memory. I think I’m beginning to feel the same way about Mako-cakes.
(The only way this could have been better is if Hosaka were involved. Frankly, I’m disappointed we’re even discussing such matters without involving Hosaka.)
What happened to Fujioka’s styling? He’s a pretty boy now! He’s like the only normal, non-broken character in Minami-ke, but they’re slowly corrupting him. The odds that he’ll make it to 18 years old without significant mental damage is low, very low. As low as the Kansas City Royals winning the World Series.
(Everyone makes his life hard. Kana’s antics are bad enough, but he even gets pulled aside by Takeru for a “What are your intentions toward Kana” talk that consisted mainly of “…”. Oh man, Takeru giving that talk must be like Eddy Curry giving a talk about weight loss.)
I liked how everyone broke out their DS for the trip to the hot springs; however, there is absolutely no excuse for Mako-cakes not having a pink DS.
I do feel sorry for Chiaki, who does have a pink DS. It doesn’t seem like anyone is playing with her, and, uh, weren’t Touma and Mako-cakes her friends originally?
(I’m wondering what DS games they’re playing; they’re not using the stylus and touchscreen. I love my DS. It’s like the ultimate entertainment device for flights.)
(For people keeping score, Nagi prefers PSP. The Minami troupe prefers DS. Sayoko’s ass prefers DS. I’m not sure what this means, but I’ll keep an eye out for portable game systems in future anime.)
Definitely enjoyed Mako-cakes’ and Touma’s expression as they realized that they’ve been kidnapped for a trip to the hot springs. If there were ever a more perfect comedic setup involving cross-dressing, I don’t know what it would be. While watching Mako-cakes and Touma squirm as the Minami sisters bath us with fanservice wasn’t good enough, the ultimate pay-off for the trip was a solid 10 out of 10.
The comedic highlight of the episode was Kana exposing herself to Fujioka. I was just dying at Kana’s and Fujioka’s expressions. I’m not sure why Kana was melancholic afterwards as I assumed she viewed Fujioka no different than Haruhi and a potato, but I can see Fujioka’s brokenness / mental overload. At least if Kana is ruined for marriage, he’s responsible. Good times, well, unless you’re Touma, Mako-cakes, or Kana, that is.
(Now that Fujioka has seen both Mako-cakes and Kana nakkid, I think we need to get his opinion on both.)
62 Responses to “minami-ke ~okawari~, hot springs, itadakimasu!”
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Woots! Top comment! I’m cool now, first on an anime blog….wait….shi….
The world demands subs. International crisis.
Too bad there are no subs yet; some of the fun might be in the dialogue. Seriously, the sub redundancy for Spice and Wolf, True Tears and Shigofumi is getting ridiculous.
I think the I AM BOSS shirt should be back after they hit spring again; maybe around episode 6?
BTW, they are making up a lot of stuff for Okawari; this was originally one short chapter in the manga (Kana exposing herself to Fujioka was in the manga, though).
I’m up to episode 3 (raws of course) and I’m loving Okawari so far.
For shamu~ ã•ã„ãµãšã
But this series looks rather watchable…Sooo I am off!
Hear hear! While I do understand the language well enough to watch RAWs, I also understand that I’m *also* missing some of the jokes (never did get that shiny JPL1 during university), so subs will help filling the gap.
The annoying thing is though, three episodes on, and still no group would pick it up. It’s as if the second iteration was infected by the Black Plague or something, which I don’t understand even more. The series, at its heart, is still the same. My only quibble with Asread’s interpretation is that they haven’t quite gotten the timing of the comedic parts right juuuuust yet.
.I would be incensed if all of this was brought about by Ayako’s translator dropping it after just eight minutes into the first episode… I mean, c’mon.
When Mako-chan & Touma are sitting on the bench outside the washrooms, I am guessing that, at some point, Touma says something like “Wait! They know I’M a girl! I can go in!” Whereupon Makoto proceeds to cling to her, forcing her to stay outside.
Am I right?
Worry not – there’s more Hosaka and Hayami-senpai sexually harassing Haruka next episode. Kana’s figure got a serious upgrade, which killed one of the jokes from last season (her flatness making her uniform top a ‘good fit’ for Chiaki), but gave Fujioka a nosebleed and also let us get the Minami ojisan in to ask Fujioka about his intentions.
The best part of the episode HAS to be Mako-chan and Touma’s dilemma regarding the changeroom thing, since it’s not a mixed bath… and each is pretending to be the other’s gender, which led to Fujioka’s misfortune. Ah well – there’s more fanservice than I want, but Okawari is keeping a lot of the original series, and the animation style’s getting closer to Doumu’s as the series continues (see episode 2).
FWIW Nagi uses a PSP in HnG 41. And a BRIGHT ORANGE PSP appears in Bamboo Blade.
SilverSix: Nagi had a PSP in Ep 40 too, and had a PSP in the manga
Jason: The Blaxpoitation music does return in Eps 2 and 3, IIRC – I know it’s in 3 anyways. Naturally, Kana has a lot to do with it.
From the impression that I got reading Ayako’s comment board, it seemed like Okawari was a big flop. Not true?
The first episode is fanservice heaven, with regards to the amount of flesh on display. The second episode has more of the traditional Minami-ke humor, however, and the third ep… well, it has Kana doing the costume-raping thing again.
But it’s pretty jarring as far as art shift goes.
>>And is it just me, or did they really, really unleash Haruka? They’re like flotation devices now. That school uniform just doesn’t do her… justice. We’re also getting close to the border between amazing and scary.
I spent at least 10 min rewatching that scene to determine if those were melonpan or just the top of her knees… and I still don’t know.
They’re breasts. You can see her slide down, and there’s flesh connecting them to her chest the whole way until she slips into the water, and there they stay. Even with the ‘onsen adds 2 cup sizes’ theory in anime, this is a tad… extreme.
>>> As low as the Kansas City Royals winning the World Series.
You just made me cry!
For us to know if the comedy was bad, we’d probably have to see a translated version. I can’t really understand enough japanese to watch the raws. I would say that Ayako’s tl team probably doesn’t speak for everyone, and it’d be awesome to actually get a translation so we could determine for ourselves what kind of quality it is.
Dunno, I was rewatching Muteki Kanban Musume today, and I think Kankuro is more broken than Mako-cakes. Mako-cakes isn’t talking like a catgirl, nya.
Yet.
If I remember correctly, last ep or two of school rumble season two, Tenma was playing DS, add to scoreboard plz.
The Tittynaught team somehow was able to influence the production tem on this one
Hrm. I’m inclined to believe those were her knees. I won’t be able to comment on the Sumeragi-class warships until I review the play for myself.
“(Blogging Mai Otome without subtitles is much easier than this one. Ugh. Let me be the 4,105th person to make the requisite “can one of the seventeen groups doing Spice and Wolf work on something else?†comment. It’s almost a national crisis at this point.)”
There are three groups still subbing D.Gray-man at this point, and no one subbing Okawari. That is an absolute, second-half-of-SZS-first-season-level travesty. I don’t know which is the more pissed off group at this point: .jp-illiterate anime fans or Cheeseheads. It’s a close…
Speaking of football, maybe we should institute a fansub draft. Except the team with the best record the previous season gets first pick. That way we don’t have 14 groups subbing Spice + Wolf – Nipples or Gundam: The Latest Sequel, or The [RANDOM NOUN] of Haruhi Suzumiya.
Now, some groups will have the opportunity to sub a second (or third) undrafted show, or even share another group’s show, should they have shown particular aptitude with a certain studio or genre in the past (a.f.k. gets automatic KyoAni rights), or they just have a history of being able to sub a crapload of shows at a time (ie: Shinsen), as long as they keep up with their designated show. I think it’d work.
3…2…1…Cue flames…
Need. subs. now.
jason, would you do it?
For us?
One of the fansub group that did the first season has written off Okawari as crap from the first episode. How brilliant. *rolleyes*
As an anime fan, I usually give three or four episodes before dropping it.
Well, it’s easy to be disappointed when the first season was so unexpectedly good. Anyway, I just saw a release by a new group called “GC.” I wouldn’t expect too much from it.
There was a .ass file released by an anonymous last night too.
never mind, spice and wolf retitle.. crafty anon.
Suddenly, subs by GC.
The quality seems watchable, too.
Although the episode started off quite slow, I am still amused by the hijinks in the hot springs. I think I will hang on to this a bit longer before deciding it is crap like Ayako did.
Sheba, fansubs do not have to sub 4 episodes before they decide to drop it and we do not have the right to demand anything from then.
Even Anime bloggers do not have to watch 4 episodes before having to ditch the series.
Posts I read in Hongfire do indicate Okawari is inferior in all aspects, the fact Ayako ditched it right after the first episode is a further indication it does not hold up.
Someone released subs.
I don’t know what Hongfire and Ayako’s problems are with Okawari. I felt that the comedy didn’t miss a beat from the first twelve episodes.
Since everyone seems so knowledgeable about fansubbing we should just pool resources and start a Derailed by Darry group. The skills I could bring to [DbD] would be…. absolutely nothing. Nevermind.
Eh, people are as usual, overreacting. The show is still as funny as the first iteration (that, or maybe my sense of humor is just wierd), even with the few comedic mis-timings that occured during the first episode. It’s very very likely that watchers are too focused on the art and style change to notice that the heart of the series remained the same.
“I don’t know what Hongfire and Ayako’s problems are with Okawari.”
Since I was the one that brought up Hongfire I have to mention or remind that Hongfire is a forum.
Since its a forum you can check it for yourself.
Also another indication is 4chan that seem to loved Minami-ke barely references Okawari.
“Since I was the one that brought up Hongfire I have to mention or remind that Hongfire is a forum.
Since its a forum you can check it for yourself.
Also another indication is 4chan that seem to loved Minami-ke barely references Okawari.”
Yes, I know that Hongfire is a forum and I don’t know what their problem is.
And the only reason 4chan barely mentions Okawari is the lack of subs. I guarantee, once word gets out and everyone watches it and finds out that the only thing that changed is the artstyle, that the love will flow again.
Drakron: It’s got way more fanservice… which is bad. However, they do keep some of the humor in, and apparently ‘Kana flashing Fujioka’ is straight from the manga, so they haven’t screwed up too badly yet, outside of the extra nudity.
Which appears every episode so far. Way, way too often. But on the upside, Mako-chan and Touma were extremely funny here due to their cross-dressing thing resulting in an inability to enter the hot springs normally, which also meant that Fujioka got to see everyone in somewhat… compromising positions.
Up to Ep 3 now – Kana’s still an entertaining idiot who happens to be a good manipulator, and Chiaki’s still sensitive about her.. ahem.. lack of development, the way she was back in Episode 10 when Touma showed up and Kana compared the two of them.
“Urusai-yo! URUSAI-YO!”
Let me clarify a few things…
1. Those are not knees. Those are flotation devices.
2. 4chan talked about ~Okawari~ incessantly. The translator even used it to get /a/ to help edit his script.
3. I do not understand the ~Okawari~ bashing. It smells of lemmingism without judging with an open mind, and they can’t because they’ve already been tainted with prejudice. Is ~Okawari~ significantly better or worse than Hatenkou Yugi, Spice and Wolf, True Tears, They Are My Noble Masters, Ayakashi, Persona, H20, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Gunslinger Girl, and Rosario Vampire? Because all of those series have more than two fansub groups working on them. Seriously? All of them are that much better than ~Okawari~? Puh-leeze.
4. Mako-cakes in a dead heat with Hosaka! I couldn’t be prouder of you guys; they’re two of the greats. Did Mako-cakes’ new character design help or hurt him? I’d say help.
I lived over twenty years watching anime without having to care about what anyone think. Why should I care about 4chan now?
Perhaps the most “significant” change in Mako-chan’s design is the fact that Asread made the hair change between Makoto and Mako-chan much more noticeable than Doumu. He looks cuter in Mako-chan mode.
…
Somebody shoot me.
And with that picture of Mako-chan, my skull just burst apart from hitting my forehead against the wall.
He is much more… moé, that’s scary. As in manliness-crumbling scary.
While some may dispute that Jun Watarase is much more moé than Mako-cakes, I’d give Mako-cakes the upperhand for having a much more believable motive to turn trap and still clinging to the few masculinity he still have. Puberty will then decide.
Poor Mako-chan can’t even muster up a masculine voice anymore. Seems another group started subbing it. Never heard of them though.
Watched a fansub of this episode. Makoto does look more feminine, and so does Fujioka. To the point that I could see Trap Fujioka being possible.
But despite the new art (which isn’t bad), the comedy (from the first episode at least) still feels like the same Minami-ke. I don’t see the problem.
They’re playing Advance Wars,obv. Kana’s charging ahead with a tank rush,but Ciaki’s decimating her with her artillery.
Okay,just watched GC’s sub of episode 1. To compare,I watched ep.5 of the original right after. Highly subjective and personal criticisms follow.
It…doesn’t feel the same. The pace of the comedy is just slightly increased – where the first series was content to pause and let it sink in,this one moves on to the next joke. It’s no longer Haruka-chilled,and it bothers me – I’d gotten used to that style,and eventually welcomed it as a distinguishing feature. Slow down.
OP is made of Picture Not Related & apparent copypasta of other series’. I see a bit of Bleach,dash of Negima,a toenail off of Paranoia Agent,and an attempt to insert drama into something that doesn’t have any. Minor problem though.
Chiaki’s hair blob is disconcerting. Must kill it before it begins to talk.
Loss of realism – Haruka’s not ‘realistic’ any more. Sad. Mako-chan just as pretty. Happy. Dynamic of sisters still intact. Happier. If Hosaka’s still Hosaka,we have a successful transition. ;-)
Well Jason …
On point 3 I have to say all I read was after episode 1 was aired and comments on the show after it aired.
And on being better or worst that x … well there is always the popularity vs quality ,its funny you mention “Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei” since that show had a drought of subs as “Lucky Star” had no such sub problems.
I could shake my first at how Naruto and Bleach have subs within 48 hours of being aired as other shows are not even being subbed, I am not going to admit that as evidence but when a sub group decides to ditch the 2nd season of a show they subbed the 1st season then its a different matter.
Colin: Hosaka’s still Hosaka. You need not worry about him – he even does the automatic stripping thing in Episodes 2 and 3, with Hosaka-vision for cooking in the most recent episode.
Jason: I think, like Nemo_N and Sixten, his cuteness is increased by the more obvious hairstyle changes, combined with a slightly rounder face and larger eyes which give him a more feminine appearance. His seiyuu’s the same, but he’s.. well, he’s not saying things like ‘wild manliness’ anymore – he just says he wants to stop being Mako-chan… which makes it all the funnier when everyone, including Fujioka, sees him as a girl. Except Touma, but that’s just because those two are destined to suffer together at Kana’s hands.
Sixten: Fujioka’s not looking more feminine – just he’s gotten more bishie with the lighter-colored hair and the sharper features.
Drakron: The fanservice put me off initially, but the Mako-chan and Touma conflict had a lot of the original humor. Episode 2 returns the show more to the form of the first season, and Episode 3’s Hosaka-vision thing… well, it’s different (way more fanservice, and naked fanservice), but it’s a lot more entertaining than most of the shows currently out there. I don’t see why Rosario + Vampire needs 4 groups working on it, and it’s utter garbage when something that has more quality even in the first half of Episode 1 (which were probably the worst eight minutes I’ve seen yet from the whole series) got no love.
Remember – Ayako ditched Minami-ke for Rosario + Vampire, They Are My Noble Masters, and Sky Girls. If one of their TL’s would rather sub Pantsu and Loser… well, there’s other sub groups.
>>It…doesn’t feel the same. The pace of the comedy is just slightly increased – where the first series was content to pause and let it sink in,this one moves on to the next joke. It’s no longer Haruka-chilled,and it bothers me – I’d gotten used to that style,and eventually welcomed it as a distinguishing feature. Slow down.
But they’ll be like “F*** YOU!” And kick you in the face with their ENERGY LEGS!!!
In all seriousness, I can’t seem to find the fansub of this… I take it I won’t find it on Youtube, unless some freak act of God or technology happens and it pops up.
Rosario + Vampire = Gonzo manga adaptation with moar fanservice.
They Are My Noble Masters = Eroge adaptation.
Sky Girls = Sky lolis + Konami “originality?”.
Yes, Haesslich … all raise “ALERT” as when a angel was found in NGE but Minami-ke also raise a bit of concern being the adaptation of a ongoing manga.
Of all those series I watch “They Are My Noble Masters” that I liked (the Pedobear make LMAO among other things), I could not stand the first episode of Sky Lolis (utter lack of originality) as I am not even to bother with R+V (Gonzo, enough said).
>>But they’ll be like “F*** YOU!†And kick you in the face with their ENERGY LEGS!!!
I can’t believe you just referenced picnicface.
>>In all seriousness, I can’t seem to find the fansub of this…
Tokyo Toshokan is your friend.
Drakron: Not all shows raise the fanservice levels when adapted from the manga. H&C didn’t, even if JC Staff was working on it, and Doumu didn’t with the first Minami-ke series. I’m personally a little disinclined to trust a sub group who seems to find more value in R+V (which seems to keep recycling the henshin sequences, as someone else pointed out, to save money each week as they can cut out a minute or two’s worth of new animation) than even… well, this.
Just watched the first episode, am a bit confused. It seems to continue straight on from ep 13 (its new years day). If that is the case them Haruka and Chiaki should be nursing monster hangovers and Kana should be crying in a corner after her ‘assult’. Everything seems fine though…
Andy
It’s probably a few days after, Andy, or at least this is a semi-retelling… given that I was expecting more trauma from Kana after Hayami-senpai Shizuru’d her…. although those two haven’t met since that day. Maybe they’ll have those two meet again, and then we’ll get the proper reaction.
Ah well – Mako-chan’s still a trap, Touma’s still getting stripped by Kana, and Chiaki has her Fujoika-bear punishing Kana for all of her perceived slights and insults.
Episode 2 has been unleashed.
Hosaka is still a Golden God.
That’s not a Golden God – that’s a stripping one. Episode 3 has the sweaty stripping version with Hosaka-vision, however. And Maki gets to see it all… poor girl.
Man, what is with guys these days. All they chant is “Manliness this, Manliness that, Manliness blah blah blah.” Talk about insecurity…
Personally, I think manliness is way overrated. I applaud Mako-cake’s open mindedness. Its too bad he’ll only be cute for a couple more years, then no amount of eyeliner and frilly clothes will hide his adams apple, broad shoulders and knobby knees that come with becoming ‘a man’.
I think whats impressive is that, unlike many crossdressers, he doesn’t try to ‘act’ like a girl, which leads to seeming very fake. He literally becomes a girl without thinking about it, which suggests he may actually be a Trans-gendered person. Trans-gendered’s are born with the brain/psyche of the opposite sex. It’ll be interesting to see if he develops more transgender personality traits.
BTW, sorry for going off on a tangent. Been researching the topic lately and have learned so much, I thought I’d try applying it to his situation. LoL.
It’s a hot topic since saiGAR 2008 is on.
quigonkenny
I don’t know which is the more pissed off group at this point: .jp-illiterate anime fans or Cheeseheads. It’s a close…
Ouch.
Personally, I think manliness is way overrated. I applaud Mako-cake’s open mindedness. Its too bad he’ll only be cute for a couple more years, then no amount of eyeliner and frilly clothes will hide his adams apple, broad shoulders and knobby knees that come with becoming ‘a man’.
I think whats impressive is that, unlike many crossdressers, he doesn’t try to ‘act’ like a girl, which leads to seeming very fake. He literally becomes a girl without thinking about it, which suggests he may actually be a Trans-gendered person. Trans-gendered’s are born with the brain/psyche of the opposite sex. It’ll be interesting to see if he develops more transgender personality traits.
I think the weird part is that Mako-chan started just because he wanted to get close to Haruka, and he had problems acting feminine to start (see Ep 6, where Uchida finds him in the women’s clothing section), and then later on… well, he starts to protest about his manhood being debased even as he becomes more ‘girly’ than Aoi from YUA or Mizuho from OtoBoku. Those two know they’re guys, and dress like women, but don’t complain about their masculinity being degraded by their manner of dress… and all the while, Mako-chan protests and ends up looking more ‘girly’ in comparison.
I don’t think he’s transgendered, but he does end up giving the audience a lot of comedy because he’s internalized Mako-chan all too well, for Haruka’s sake. And in the process, Touma ends up looking even more boyish in comparison, even if she knows she’s a girl and only acts like a guy because it’s convenient and it helps her justify her behavior.
They’re not like sponges!
They just underwent thermal expansion!
Y’know… like from Eva…
I feel old, now…
“Not all shows raise the fanservice levels when adapted from the manga.”
I know, Kenichi did not and the anime is a more tame that the manga that only have some panty shoots here and there.
R+V on the other hand have a lot of “ecchi”, then again its not that much different that similar manga … the point was Gonzo turn the fanservice up from the manga … if they did the same to say Sekirei … well that would be a H series.
Drakron:
http://www.onemanga.com/Minami-ke/73/09/
The onsen chapter is here… and Mako-chan looks very… feminine, at least as much so as the Asread version. Which is kinda scary, given that they loved Mako-chan an awful lot… and spent a lot of time making him look feminine.