Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Mikagura School Suite
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Nyaomix
 Posts: 127 |
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Otone had a really flat introduction. Was looking forward to her from how much the ending focused on her Relationship to Eruna. Was nice that this episode Seisa has shown marked improvement from before.
Hope that the energy picks back up next episode, not that many left to spend on quiet uneventful stories. The party was more for Akama`s growth than Asuhi`s. I enjoyed the sitting position scene, exhausted Bimii was really weird. No matter what happens with the series I`m still happy with it, but I hope it manages to be memorable. Surprised the cute girls kicking Eruna club idea didn`t spark an image. |
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BodaciousSpacePirate
 Subscriber Posts: 3017 |
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As someone who isn't exactly a "newcomer" to the Mikagura franchise, it's hard to know how to feel about Episode 7. On the one hand, it was probably the worst episode of the show so far, for pretty much all the reasons the review stated (I'd argue that this is an adaptation problem, but that doesn't change how disappointed I was with this episode, so whatever).
On the other hand, no matter how poorly Otone's introduction was handled, she's finally in the show. It's no mystery why she's heavily featured in the opening and closing animations despite being introduced halfway through the show's run - her friendship with Eruna is one of Mikagura's main selling points, especially for the sorts of people who ship Yui with spoiler[Akira] when they read K-ON!college (ANN Encyclopedia link). From that perspective, it's hard for me not to be excited when I see Otone onscreen. She's the character who literally made me interested in the franchise, so I hope they do a better job with her next week. |
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getchman
 Space CowboyPosts: 9120 Location: Bedford, NH |
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I hope Mecha Bimi comes back. That was very weird, but funny
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11340 |
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Not really. As you wrote, it could have been spiced up with some imaginative animation, but the way to overcome it is so obvious that you have to wonder why no one had thought of that before and why she'd still be using it since it's so easily defeated. As far as the series, Eruna's relentless hyperactive yammering is really starting to wear on me. The last couple episodes, I've been on the verge of dropping this, but I keep hoping they'll find some other source of comedy and energy to balance her bouncing off the walls. They need to give some more time to their other characters, who are mostly pretty appealing. |
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chex mix
 Posts: 415 |
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Otone is so lifeless and dull that she saps the energy out of every scene she's in, and not even Eruna seems to be able to make up for that in these recent episodes. It doesn't help that Seisa has a naturally withdrawn character, and Bimii has been mostly absent or exhausted recently. The only real scenes of interest have involved the drama club or Eruna's other friends, and I don't think that's a coincidence.
I really also don't find Shigure forcing his attentions on Eruna to the point of her constant public humiliation to be funny at all. My husband was bullied so hard in high school after a somewhat similar public humilation that he had to switch schools and his family almost had to move. Not cool, show. Hopefully this show can find its way back to where it was when it was fun. Maybe now that the relationship between Eruna and Otone has been fully established, we can get back to the full group, and raise the energy level back to fun times. 
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Nyaomix
Posts: 127 |
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As far as the nespaper girl`s ability I think she probably just didn`t realize Otone helped. Seems once her attack starts working the opponent is unable to react outside of worry. Was entertaining that everything was about how as a kid she had more fun with Shigure. Also that made Shigure`s character a little more bearable. He`s treating her like a little kid because when they were little she liked him. He is still way too agressive, but while she is horribly embarassed by him constantly I can`t consider the harassment to go too far as she chose to attend his school. I know it sounds like an excuse, but knowing he was there going in does make it less of an unexpected high school issue for her.
Otone still acts weird but I do like her awkward foreign accent. Since there are only a few episodes left it might`ve been a little better to have her more interested in a deeper relationship. We need a reason to like her, and one of the best ways is for her to be the one person not grossed out by Eruna outside of Seisa. The Earlier version of the ending showed the three of them exploring the school so I`m sure that Seisa will be the real third member. I don`t like exhausted Bimii, they need to let him be cheerful for a change. |
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chex mix
Posts: 415 |
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Just because you choose to go to a school where you know someone is, that doesn't give them the right to publicly harass you. The worst scene for me was when he called her out in front of the whole school after the finals of the rookie battle. That was horrible. If that happened to a real person in real life, said real person would immediately become the target of constant bullying and harassment from their classmates, especially since Shigure is the object of unrequited teen love from at least several girls we've seen. Mean girl bullying is the worst bullying, and they would not let her rest for a moment after that.
I know that type of nonsense happens all the time in school setting anime. For some reason it's really bugging me a lot more in this one. Maybe it's the extremely public settings in which he chooses to profess his incestuous love for her in extremely embarrassing ways? Dunno. Maybe it's because there's not been much else interesting going on in the last few episodes, so there's been nothing shiny to distract me from how inappropriate and annoying it is? Either way, that's just how I feel. Also, if Eruna's new club doesn't end up being called some version of "friendship club" by the end, I'll be shocked. 
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BodaciousSpacePirate
Subscriber Posts: 3017 |
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In the light novels, this is exactly what happens... the show cut out that entire chapter and replaced it with the Mecha Bimii fight, though. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11340 |
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Interesting. I must be wearing some sort of goggles because Eruna and Shigure's relationship is one of the few highlights of this for me. I guess it's because I've never taken his declarations of love seriously at all. It doesn't seem to me like she does either.
Her immobilizing embarrassment during the battle with news girl was over her infatuation with him in their childhood. So I see it as sort of a chuunibyou kind of shame over past immaturity (not that she's all that mature now), and he still likes to tease her with it in his own inimitable style. When he does so publicly, it feels more like your mom coming to school and telling everyone you don't call enough or something equally harmless but still embarrassing before your peers. But as I said, maybe that's just me not paying attention and completely reading it wrong.
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chex mix
Posts: 415 |
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Ugh, really? I enjoyed Mecha Bimii, but couldn't they have taken something else out instead? There has been a lot of fillery gunk lately that could have been pruned to put in actual important character development for Shigure and Erune other than "annoying lech" and "exuberant lech." [quote=Gina Szanboti]Interesting. I must be wearing some sort of goggles because Eruna and Shigure's relationship is one of the few highlights of this for me. I guess it's because I've never taken his declarations of love seriously at all. It doesn't seem to me like she does either. Her immobilizing embarrassment during the battle with news girl was over her infatuation with him in their childhood. So I see it as sort of a chuunibyou kind of shame over past immaturity (not that she's all that mature now), and he still likes to tease her with it in his own inimitable style. When he does so publicly, it feels more like your mom coming to school and telling everyone you don't call enough or something equally harmless but still embarrassing before your peers. But as I said, maybe that's just me not paying attention and completely reading it wrong. Smile[/quote] Think about it from the point of a high schooler who has to deal with other high schoolers, though. Think about how the characters in this show deal with this situation, and how the characters in Mean Girls, Heathers, Pretty Little Liars, Buffy, or even South Park would respond to the same situations and behavioral patterns. Both the people involved would be shunned, or, if one was much more established, popular, attractive, etc. than the other, the rivals for the established one's attention would use every means at their disposal to make the girl's life a living hell to force her to leave so their crush could be free game again for them. Actual teenage behavior. Basically, just because we didn't get humiliated or bullied or harassed in high school, that doesn't mean it wasn't happening to people around us. Teenagers are dicks. Likely, we were dicks as teenagers. It's just how we were at that age. I think this particular show and particular situation just ended up being the one that brought me to my tipping point with sexual harassment (not sure if harassment is the right word... sexual harassment seems more correct, but not all the way right either) being played for laughs and even a certain level of victim-blaming or expecting the victim to either sit there and take it or to accept the constant unwanted love confessions and agree to date the other person because if they love you, you must love them, because love, man, it's crazy like that, amirite guys? |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11340 |
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If this were an actual high school, Eruna's own behavior alone would be enough to get her shunned and bullied. She's every bit as in every girl's face with her inappropriate advances as Shigure is in hers. So treating this as if it were a real life situation seems like a non-starter for me.
I don't read the source material, don't care how it plays out there. But solely from how it's been presented in the anime, I haven't gotten the impression that Shigure would continue his antics if they had real consequences for her, especially in the form of bullying by his fangirls. He embarrasses her, but mostly he just seems to exasperate her, since she's so over him. Considering their past relationship where the shoe was on the other foot, he hardly comes across as a stalker, and if she did suddenly agree to go out with him now, I think he wouldn't know how to act. It would take all the fun out of teasing her if she accepted it and he'd probably just stop. |
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Nyaomix
Posts: 127 |
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Yeah, the most important thing for me about this show is that people brush off Eruna`s advances. Shigure goes pretty far, but bringing reality into it, his interest in her would be the least of her problems.
I`m very happy that this show normalizes lesbianity in a not for me but ok type of way. The last thing we need is reality based high school drama. I definitely see him as wanting to take it further. But, a key distinction between the two is that Shigure is shown only acting this way with her. Whereas Eruna goes after every girl she meets practically. I think it`s pretty easy to tell who would be considered the harasser (And they do occasionally put in lines about her copping a feel by the way which Shigure doesn`t do). And yes the show would be horrible if they had her give in to Shigure`s advances. Which is all too often the case. Shouldn`t be this time though. |
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chex mix
Posts: 415 |
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Fair point about Eruna doing the same thing to every girl she sees. I was close to dropping the show several times during the first few episodes because of that behavior. And to be clear, not the lesbian aspect of it, the drooling, grabbing, inappropriate aspect of it. Eruna seems to have stopped almost completely, though, since episode 3 or so, which is why I decided to stick with the show. Up until that point, her character was the one thing I absolutely could not stand about the show, but the secondary cast (Shigure aside) was what kept me coming back (and still is).
I think the reason I'm so much more irritated by Shigure doing it to Eruna is because he's so very public with it, while she keeps it one-on-one or in small groups, and while Eruna has told Shigure to stop multiple times, no one has told Eruna to stop, they just kind of leave. It doesn't make it okay (or comfortable to watch), but there's a clear line there in my head. Mind you, the line only exists in my head, but there you go. 
Anyways, this conversation has totally dragged out too long, so, sorry about that. I feel like we should be talking about the show, not sexual harassment in schools, so, I'll stop now. Thanks for hearing me out though, it helped my brain itch subside some.
I really hope the secondary cast comes back now that Otone has had some focus, btw. I really miss the rest of the cast -- other than the drama club, we haven't really seen them in several weeks, have we? |
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Great Rumbler
 Posts: 327 Location: Oklahoma |
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I really appreciate that this show is sticking with what it knows, instead of trying to shift into some grim-dark cataclysm that threatens the entire world.
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Barbobot
 Posts: 460 |
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Did anyone else notice how Eruna randomly disappears from a scene in their clubroom for no reason? It was in the shots with the Newspaper Club woman when she was talking to Eruna during the shots of the full group in the club room. In one shot Eruna is there as that's who the Newspaper Club woman is talking directly to along with everyone else. The show switches to some closer up shots of the supporting cast as they have creepy reactions to a ghost and then it goes back to the full cast shot. Only now Eruna is nowhere to be found. Seems like a pretty big animation error to forget to put your main character into a scene.
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