Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou – 09

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I think I saw Tadakuni’s face on a milk carton when I opened the fridge this morning.

I was interested to see that in a recent Danshi Koukousei character poll in Japan, Tadakuni placed 2nd (Karasawa was first), prompting a discussion of “pity votes” and such things.  I’m no expert on manga fan polls but I was certainly surprised to see that result, given that not only is Tadakuni the great disappearing main character, but that the mangaka actually ignores him as part of the joke.  I can’t help but feel sort of trolled in a sense by the preview chapters Sunrise released, not just because of Tadakuni but because that was a completely different series from the one we’re watching now.  And frankly, I liked that series better, and it was the one we also saw in the first few eps.  Since then, the effectiveness of the comedy has become somewhat intermittent for me.  Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I don’t – and this was another one of those weeks.

When did I laugh?  Not all that much during the pre-open, featuring Hidenori’s brother and Yoshitake’s sister.  Nor the first scene, featuring Hidenori on a visit to his grandparents in the country.  There he met Emi (Mizuhashi Kaori) who mistakes him for her childhood friend Kiyohiko (Iguchi Yuichi) and thus kicked him into the river.  The subsequent boy meets boy gag fell flat, and the punchline too.  There were a couple decent laughs in the sketch where Hidenori “lost” his glasses, which were on his forehead – mostly courtesy of slow-witted Mitsuo, who finally figured out the others were playing a gag on Hidenori only to be proved that no, they were just being bakas.   Probably the best sketch of the episode followed, as the student council invites witless Ringo in for a demonstration of the impact panty sightings have on the adolescent male psyche.  Lots of Aoi Yuuki goodness in this sketch.

The rest of the student council material fell pretty flat, including a visit to Central High to install their computer systems, where we meet their VP (Konishi Katsuyuki, Gurren Lagann’s Kamina) and the punchline is a trip gag.  Fortunately the omake – while not a “Funky Girls” chapter – provided some of the better comedy of the episode.  It’s Habara’s “Archdaemon” origin story, flashing back to that fateful day when the best & brightest of the schoolyard gathered to put an end to her reign of terror – a group that includes Rubber Shooter and (surprisingly) a young Yanagin.  This memory is obviously painful for both Habara and her most prominent victim, Karasawa.  It’s funny stuff, but oddly dark – as much of this series is proving to be lately.

I can’t shake the feeling that somewhere along the way this series, which is being adapted in basically the same order as the manga, lost its focus – or else I was just incorrect in what its focus was all along.  While always rough-edged the comedy seems meaner now somehow, for one.  As well, early on there seemed to be a unifying theme of satirizing the gender politics of modern anime otaku trends, and that seems to have largely dropped out of the equation lately – the comedy now is more scattershot and random.  Satire has given way to slapstick.  Physical comedy was always a big component, but serving what seemed to be a larger purpose.  Maybe I was just wrong about what this show is, and maybe my expectations were just too high, but I’m not laughing as much as I used to.

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13 comments

  1. g
    gandalf8
    March 6, 2012 at 11:06 pm
    Reply

    I could be wrong, but did they really show that Yanagin's reason to fight against Archdaemon Habara was to get revenge for Karasawa? And lol at "Rubber Shooter" Yoshitake being the only one conscious after the fight.

  2. A
    Anonymous
    March 7, 2012 at 3:17 am
    Reply

    While its true that the humor of this show is very much hit and miss…..it is still something I look forward to every week. Please give us another skit with Nago!

  3. admin
    March 7, 2012 at 3:21 am
    Reply

    Which one? Apparently, there really are two – and that's not even counting the Nago/CMG dual identity.

  4. A
    Anonymous
    March 7, 2012 at 1:57 pm
    Reply

    Another Nago/Yanagin encounter would work for me….and there really are two of them?

  5. M
    Myssa Rei
    March 7, 2012 at 2:47 pm
    Reply

    Yes there are. The popularity poll that GE referred to actually has a note in "Nago's" character description saying, to the effect: "This is not that Nago-san. This is another Nago-san", even showcasing the different ways their names are spelled in Kanji.

    Relevant poll image here: http://i.imgur.com/HIWuq.jpg

  6. B
    Beckett
    March 7, 2012 at 7:01 am
    Reply

    Hmm I agree with you to some extent but I thought the part where Hidenori offers his hand to the guy in the river and then hugs him was hilarious. Probably my favorite part of the episode actually. Not really seeing it when you say it's getting more "dark" either, the darkness of those parts seems like pretty obviously part of the gag to me, intentionally over the top and not to be taken seriously.

  7. d
    deafvader
    March 7, 2012 at 7:37 am
    Reply

    But is it Funky High school gals! Look at the bottom left corner. It was in small print.
    So in a fight with a girl who can break a plank in two you bring along… rubber bands? water pistol?

    Hidenori's chance of love is always one step away.

  8. admin
    March 7, 2012 at 7:45 am
    Reply

    Without the theme, it's not officially a Funky Girls chapter in my book…

  9. d
    deafvader
    March 7, 2012 at 8:24 am
    Reply

    Heh. It is like saying Steins Gate last episode 24 was not Steins gate cause they did not have an OP.

  10. K
    Kinny Riddle
    March 7, 2012 at 9:48 am
    Reply

    Hidenori may have the luck in meeting all the girls, but he sure can be dense in reading them. Still, it's hard not to like any Sugita character, even if he's a clueless harem lead.

    This episode reveals that not only the Student Council does nothing fitting of its name (not counting doing favours for complete outsiders), it is now in the shady business of tricking dumb schoolgirls into getting their panties peeked at upskirt.

    (LOL at President also joining in and gasping at Ringo-chan's panties
    http://lh5.ggpht.com/-qT3p6ETKukg/T1aSTB72UII/AAAAAAAA1qk/WGgrvwl5AvA/s1600/%25255Bsage%25255D_Daily_Lives_of_High_School_Boys_-_09_%25255B720p%25255D%25255B10bit%25255D%25255B7773298E%25255D.mkv_snapshot_16.04_%25255B2012.03.06_13.47.07%25255D%25255B2%25255D.jpg )

  11. A
    Ani_BEE
    March 9, 2012 at 6:15 pm
    Reply

    I wasn't completely clued into why the sister, their sister friends or their Friends sisters don't have a face in this series until the first skit in this episode. The punchline at the end made me laugh was they are trying to figure out how to describe Yoshitake’s sister to their on friend on the phone. Off limits girls in all the guys minds. lol

    Can I say I hate the Blogger comment options. Prefer Disqus.

  12. admin
    March 9, 2012 at 6:20 pm
    Reply

    Disqus (and all third party comment systems) slow down site performance, and I didn't think the tradeoff was worth it.

  13. s
    scineram
    March 9, 2012 at 10:03 pm
    Reply

    Racial diversity in my animu? This isn't America.

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