Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Haruchika – Haruta & Chika
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Cyclone1993
 Posts: 947 |
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One of the things that seems to be ignoring is that it's not a mystery series. It's an everyday mystery series, which is an actual genre of fiction. Hyouka fits this mold as well. Add in the fact that for the most part the Japanese mystery genre isn't about the mystery. It's about what it reveals about society or people at large, this is particularly relevant in series like Un-Go. It's not entirely odd got characters to confess to the crime even when there is no evidence against them.
The mystery, like in this series, is secondary to the other plots and action that occur, and the characters. This may or may not excuse the show, but calling it a mystery series and then criticizing it for not having a good mystery is counterintuitive. Will everyone like it? Does it make Haruta less obnoxious? Probably not, but it should allow for a better appreciation of what the show does, whether or not it's effective. That said I agree with the review, and the grading. I don't dislike Haruta yet though, I can't say I like him, but I don't dislike him. But then again the show only just started, that could change. Last edited by Cyclone1993 on Thu Jan 21, 2016 10:55 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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ZiharkXVI
Posts: 348 |
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I think you misunderstand me. I look at things from a storyline perspective and am just guessing in a story where two main leads who share a common desire construct a working relationship to achieve that impossible desire, the storyline tends to be they appreciate each other and the bond between them strengthens, and the original goal is supplanted. You made it seem, at least from your review, that you gave the show kudos for a positive homosexual character. I just feel that the show is going to quickly slip right by that since unlike if the boy was interested in another boy in the class - this is the teacher. When I say solid, I mean lasting. I gotta tell you I think it's going to switch to a romance between students. Sometimes the emphasis is on the desire to be with the person someone respects (the perfect instructor), regardless of sex, and that person can shift in story. I may totally be wrong. |
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SailorTralfamadore
 Posts: 499 Location: Keep Austin Weeb |
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I definitely am worried it could build to a romance between Haruta and Chika instead (anime does have kind of a crappy track record with that, yeah), but so far the characters don't seem to have that tension. I'm remaining hopeful.
The "gay romance as a temporary thing before getting into a 'real' heterosexual one" idea is much more of a lesbian stereotype there than it is a gay male one, though. Japan has a somewhat different history of male vs. female homosexuality, which bears out in the differences between yaoi/shonen-ai and yuri/shojo-ai tropes. I actually can't think of a case in anime where intentionally gay feelings from a boy were treated as something the character "got over" before moving on to a girl. It's usually made clear the character is still bisexual (like with Hatsuharu in Fruits Basket, who is still attracted to Yuki well into his "endgame" relationship with Rin). |
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CrowLia
 Posts: 5505 Location: Mexico |
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Wasn't this what happened in Shin Sekai Yori with spoiler[Shun and Satoru? And with Maria and Saki?] I haven't finished watching it so I don't know if there are any "endgame" relationships, but the episode that focused on spoiler[the kids and their queer relationships implied it was just a phase before they moved on to "normal" heterosexual ones] |
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Cyclone1993
Posts: 947 |
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Isn't that one of the main(ish) plot points of Cardcaptor Sskura? |
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UberAnimeFan
Posts: 28 |
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lol I was just about to say that that person quite simply has not seen or read very many shoujo series if they have NEVER seen it. Certainly it is much less common than with magically turned straight female characters but it happens with dudes too lol. |
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UberAnimeFan
Posts: 28 |
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Despite the fact that I hate that series, I will defend it here. I believe that their homosexual relationships weren't just "phases" as you say but rather that everybody is just bisexual or pansexual in that universe (or something along those lines). You see, again this was just my impression, what I gathered from those situations is that they lived in a world where things like same sex relationships were no longer belittled or labelled taboo by society as a whole so for two people of the same gender to get together wasn't all that strange which is why it was so common in the series between the MCs. So was it just an experimental phase? No, they were just people who were sexually attracted to both males AND females since there was nothing that told them not to be. That doesn't make it a phase just because the relationships would wind up hetero in the end or because they wouldn't be able to stay together in the end (Not to mention, for EVERYBODY to go through the exact same, same sex relationship phase is a bit odd isn't it? lol). After all, biologically speaking, hetero is how u make da bebes lol. Again, did not care for Shin Sekai Yori so I could very well have just missed somebody explicitly saying otherwise in the series so feel free to correct me if I'm just totally wrong lol. |
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SailorTralfamadore
Posts: 499 Location: Keep Austin Weeb |
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Ah ok, I haven't seen all of Cardcaptor Sakura yet. That wasn't the impression I was under about what happens with that character, though. But even if it sometimes happens with boys (it doesn't surprise me that it does), it doesn't change that it's significantly more common in yuri/shojo-ai. FTR: I'm not just basing these judgments on "my personal impressions from the shojo I've watched." These come from academic and critical analysis I've read of yaoi, yuri and their roots in Japanese attitudes about homosexuality. (If you're interested, Gabriella cites a lot of them in her Yurikuma Arashi episode reviews.) |
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wolf10
 Posts: 905 |
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Oooph, kinda sad to see nobody chiming in with "actually, I kinda like Haruta," so I guess it has to be me. I don't think he's perfect, and I don't think he's portrayed as beyond reproach, either. The preview for episode 4 also seems to indicate he's about to be taken down a peg or two. Then again, I also liked Rampo Kitan, so I guess "gay detective finds inexplicable solutions to mysteries that aren't really mysteries" is a genre I'm already sold on. I think this is already going in a similar direction to Rampo Kitan in having the characters themselves as the real ongoing mystery.
Episode 3's deductions, at least, can be handwaved with spoiler[Nagoe's involvement behind the scenes. Maren's parents probably know who he is, eliminating the need for breaking and entering. When Maren takes the case from him, you can see the combination is already set at 2099, which is all Haruta needed. Sensei also seems to have filled in details that Haruta couldn't have possibly known about, though he keeps how much he knows a secret.] Rather... a mystery. *fake wind noises* As for the elephant in the room, I'd like to be cautiously optimistic for Haruta's sexuality, loosely defined as it is. This show has become ironic viewing-mates for me with Iron-Blooded Orphans, as the second show airing this season with Soma Saito voicing a tiny, gay, blond boy. Gundam, however, will surprise me if it goes any further than the longing gazes and disgruntled/jealous reactions to his crush's heterosexual exploits that have been going on all season. (Well, before one of them inevitably dies in the other's arms, anyway.) Haruta has thus far avoided the usual tells that would clue the audience in to a crush on Chika, so unless the final reveal turns out to be "I was faking a crush on sensei to get closer to you, but you're so dense," I think that's off the table. Then again, Cardcaptor Sakura exists, but those characters were in the fourth grade, not the ninth. |
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Merida
 Posts: 1945 |
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Well, i'm not especially invested in this show, so i didn't consider this a fight worth fighting, but Haruta is definitely the most interesting character in this anime and i seriously don't get all the hostility directed towards him. I just hope his being gay won't turn out to be "just a phase" in the end... |
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sunflower
 Posts: 1080 |
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I like both this show and Haruta. He's annoying at times but he's also funny as hell and has a strong personality that makes a scene more vivid when he's a part of it.
I see no chance of him changing to enter a romance with Chika. He plays as someone completely uninterested in her that way, and also as someone quite aware of who he is and secure in his sexuality. Of course, a bad writer could dismiss what she'd already written and go off in some weird direction and end the show that way. But the way he has been written to date shows this is not a bad writer. |
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sunflower
Posts: 1080 |
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I really enjoyed this episode, especially since it nipped the "we're getting the band together" cliches in the bud. I liked how everyone was hanging together to help out, and I enjoyed hearing about Haruta's family a little. The romantic rivalry had a couple of fun moments too, especially thespoiler[ Christmas miracle]. I'm guessing that the next episode will be back to the same old business, but this was fun.
I do agree about the animation quality though. 
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zrnzle500
 Posts: 3767 |
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Actually the former residents believed the sounds came from a priest's staff i.e. those metal rings jangling together at the top of the staff, not bells on their robe. I don't believe Japanese priests, Buddist, Shinto or Christian, wear bells on their robes.
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Hellsoldier
 Posts: 754 Location: Porto,Portugal,Europe,Earth,Sol |
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Cardcaptor Sakura is a CLAMP work, and the women from CLAMP are pretty open on how okay homosexuality and bisexuality are. Cardcaptor Sakura is simply a case where most on-screen characters are bisexual. Same as the Ikuhara work Revolutionary Girl Utena. Simply, I had to comment in defense of Cardcaptor Sakura against an acusation of implied homophobia.
And let's imagine a hypothetical situation where Haruta is bi and eventually falls for Chika. It would still be a fair LGBT portrayal, since in this case he would be bisexual. LGBT,anyone? |
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Merida
Posts: 1945 |
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But it would also still be fairly bad romance, since there's zero romantic tension between those two... I enjoyed this ep. quite a bit. The sister wasn't as bad a character as she's described in the review and it was nice to see Maren's (adoptive) family. The focus might shift from "finding more members for the band" to "solving the mystery around sensei" soon which is fine with me. |
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