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Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (My Little Monster) (TV).


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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23669
PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 4:54 am Reply with quote
Beltane70 wrote:
I didn't find that last scene confusing. I was thinking the same thing that dragoneyes001 was.


But what was the point of it, assuming that interpretation is correct? Do you understand what the show was trying to say/do by having that?
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LKK



Joined: 31 Oct 2007
Posts: 426
Location: Virginia, USA
PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 10:26 am Reply with quote
My interpretation of the events in chronological order is this. Natsume, Haru, & Shizuku have dinner together and then fall asleep before midnight. Before midnight, Sasayan calls Natsume to ask her to join him at the shrine for the celebrations. Sasayan hopes to give his buddy a chance to apologize to Natsume and perhaps arrange a date with her. In other words, Sasayan is playing cupid. Unfortunately Natsume sleeps through the phone's ringing, waking up just afterwards. She takes the picture and falls back asleep. Later around 1:00 am, Natsume wakes up and realizes that the three slept through midnight. Sasayan calls a second time with the same intent, to get Natsume down to the shrine where his friend can apologize. The three arrive at the shrine where we see the events unfold. Natsume confesses to Mi-chan who is too stunned to react. Sasayan overhears the confesses and tells his friend that his plan -- to get friend & Natsume together -- has failed.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 10:48 am Reply with quote
I'm begging someone: please respond to this question:

assuming LKK is correct (and it sounds very plausible) WHAT IS THE INTENT OF DOING THAT? WHAT IS THE POINT?

The only thing I can think of was that the writers wanted to show us how close Haru and Shizuku really are, even though they are not prepared to actually dramatize it. I mean, seriously, she supposedly loves him, but says, "okey-dokey, see you next year?" Rolling Eyes
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15433
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:02 am Reply with quote
Possibly a look back from Natsume who in one point is thinking that friendship is most important as she does not want to lessen her friendship with her best friends, but perhaps seeing the two of them like that gave her the confidence to go out on a limb with Micchan.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:06 am Reply with quote
Hmm, that's not a bad thought.
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ookamigirl



Joined: 15 Jul 2012
Posts: 2274
Location: Croatia
PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 12:20 pm Reply with quote
Sasayan & Natsume would make nice couple ^^
Shizuku promising Haru a picknick was kinda sweet.
Well, at least he's easy to please..
The New Year out in the open was interesting.
It was kinda fun as well ^^
This was totally a holiday episode.
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Agent355



Joined: 12 Dec 2008
Posts: 5113
Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready...
PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 1:16 pm Reply with quote
The reason I was confused by Sasayan's "plan" is because when Sasayan told Mi-Chan "I guess I lost..." I assumed Sasayan was interested in Natsume himself, but maybe he was looking out for his friend all along.

In any case, it struck me as unusually, rudely blunt when spoiler[Sasayan blurted "but you're in love with Mi-Chan, aren't you?" to Natsume, and then unusually oblivious when he took her stammering, blushing refusal at face value.]
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LKK



Joined: 31 Oct 2007
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Location: Virginia, USA
PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 2:08 pm Reply with quote
Agent355 wrote:
The reason I was confused by Sasayan's "plan" is because when Sasayan told Mi-Chan "I guess I lost..." I assumed Sasayan was interested in Natsume himself, but maybe he was looking out for his friend all along.

I think we were meant to make that assumption at that point. An intentional mislead to give the New Year's episode a twist.
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Agent355



Joined: 12 Dec 2008
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 2:54 pm Reply with quote
That seems to be what they were going for at this point of the story, LKK. Personally, I'd love to see the cheery Sasayan get together with the shy Chizuru, but I don't think that's going to happen.

I just took a peek at MLM's wiki page, and it seems spoiler[Sasayan becomes interested in Natsume later on. I wonder if the anime will address it.]
I'd actually like to read the manga. It's published by Kodansha, so Viz is out. It's over ten volumes and ongoing, so Vertical is out. That leaves Kodansha USA and Yen Press (maybe? Not sure how much Kodansha stuff they license). The anime seems popular on Crunchyroll, but manga publishing employees have told me that anime popularity isn't always a factor in what they decide to license (a popular anime doesn't always translate to a popular manga Sad ).

I'm really looking forward to whenever the next big license announcement is! Hope springs eternal and all that. (I'm *still* hoping someone will license Princess Jellyfish!)
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crosswithyou



Joined: 15 Dec 2007
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Location: California
PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 5:40 pm Reply with quote
Agent355 wrote:
In any case, it struck me as unusually, rudely blunt when spoiler[Sasayan blurted "but you're in love with Mi-Chan, aren't you?" to Natsume, and then unusually oblivious when he took her stammering, blushing refusal at face value.]

spoiler[Sasayan isn't dense. He knows that Natsume likes Micchan and just doesn't realize it, or doesn't want to admit it. But he's not going to tell her, "Yeah you do," when she herself is denying it (or trying to). Of the group, Sasayan is the "normal" one. He has a lot of friends, is pretty popular, and isn't socially awkward in any (ridiculous) ways.]

Spoiler of something that's yet to happen (not major): spoiler[Because Sasayan is the "popular guy" though, it causes Natsume to kind of shun him as someone who "wouldn't understand her."]

Agent355 wrote:
I just took a peek at MLM's wiki page, and it seems spoiler[Sasayan becomes interested in Natsume later on. I wonder if the anime will address it.]
I'd actually like to read the manga.

I actually mentioned this a few pages back. =) Vol.11 comes out next month! Looking forward to it. If you're enjoying the anime then I definitely recommend the manga.
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OdessaJones



Joined: 30 Oct 2012
Posts: 12
Location: Maryland, USA
PostPosted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 12:21 am Reply with quote
Agent355 wrote:
My favorite line of ep 12:
Natsume: "What did you do over Christmas?"
Haru: "I read a book. Gorillas are awesome!"

Every time I think of this line I laugh out loud--best line ever. It's such a great teenager moment. Haru has more emotional problems than most, but he's like a lot of guys that age (confession: I was a ninth grade teacher for a couple years)--he's like a little kid in an overgrown body, with a kid's enthusiasms (Gorillas!) and unfortunately with a kid's lack of control sometimes.

So I agree with the posters who say he throws tantrums like a six-year-old. But he also has some of the charming qualities of a six-year-old. And if he's like most 15-year-old boys, he'll learn a lot of control by the time he's 18. But how will he get there? That's the fun of MLM for me.

I continue to love the main characters because I don't expect them to act like adults. If Haru and Shizuku were grown-ups, it would be screwed up to see him still getting into fights and her forgetting to even think about their relationship for a month. But they remind me of lots of 15-year-olds, with all the poor impulse control and moodiness--and occasional surprising capacity for sweetness and insight.

MLM doesn't seem to romanticize the dumb behavior (though it does use it for comedy) and it's nice to see a story that doesn't make teenagers out to be miniature adults. I love that even Yamaken, who is closest to the typical shojo "cool guy," with his wealth, smarts and superior attitude, is actually full of insecurities--and keeps getting lost!

I just wish I could get my friends to watch this show so don't have to keep explaining why I'm laughing to myself. "I read a book. Gorillas are awesome!" Surprised
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getchman
Space Cowboy



Joined: 07 Apr 2012
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 2:42 pm Reply with quote
If Shizuku started approaching Haru from the front and not the back when he is pummeling someone, she might get hit less.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23669
PostPosted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 5:45 pm Reply with quote
Naw. The show's writers are too invested in the thigh-slapping hilarity of Shizuku getting accidentally slapped, punched, poked, pole-axed, eye-gouged, groin-kicked, head-stomped, nose-bitten, and bone-snapped by Haru to ever stop flogging that horse.
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12skippy21



Joined: 25 Nov 2008
Posts: 785
Location: York, England
PostPosted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 6:03 pm Reply with quote
Blood- wrote:
Naw. The show's writers are too invested in the thigh-slapping hilarity of Shizuku getting accidentally slapped, punched, poked, pole-axed, eye-gouged, groin-kicked, head-stomped, nose-bitten, and bone-snapped by Haru to ever stop flogging that horse.


What's wrong with nose biting?
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 23669
PostPosted: Sat Dec 22, 2012 6:12 pm Reply with quote
Oh sure, it's all fun and games until someone gets a mouthful of snot...
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