Before I get into this week’s Hokkaido Gals, I want to briefly comment on an interesting phenomenon I see in the commentary on this series. Specifically, used in criticizing it. To wit, that it’s unrealistic that these girls would be interested in Tsubasa. You see this a lot with anime fans – there was a lot of it with S1 of BokuYaba, before it became clear that Kyouytarou was such a chad. How, the reasoning goes, could pretty teenage girls like a guy like this? As if being anything but a star athlete or supermodel dude would rule them out.
I find this unsurprising, but kind of insidious in that it’s incredibly sexist. As if a girl couldn’t like a boy simply because he was, you know, nice? I get that teenagers (of both sexes) tend to be shallow. But I also think girls sometimes fall for smart, funny, guys who provide a contrast to most of the rutting bullocks around them. I don’t find it at all unreasonable that Minami would have fallen for Tsubasa, who – while not exactly overflowing with animal magnetism – is indeed very kind and mature for his age. As well as having a bit of Tokyo exoticism in the far reaches of northern Hokkaido. Three of them falling for him sure, that’s a stretch – but only in the sense that it is with pretty much every harem series (which I don’t think Dosanko Gal truly is, but that’s another discussion).
In any event, it’s Rena who’s the focus of this phase of the story. Whether she’s actually fallen for Tsubasa is still a bit of an unknown for me. She certainly likes the fact that he knows how to wear traditional clothing and clearly has an old-school upbringing, given she’s a Japanese history otaku. And she’s a neighbor too, of course, which gives them additional opportunities to chat. And once she determines that he’s under some sort of pressure to rank highly on the exams (she doesn’t know the full reason but grasps that something odd is going on here) offers to tutor him. Given that she’s a sempai as well as the #1 rank in her year, that’s an offer he can’t refuse.
Admittedly, Rena asking for a date as payment for services rendered if Tsubasa meets his top ten goal implies romantic interest. But we have the factor that Rena (as she later admits) has always wanted to go about with a boy in traditional clothing. Also, her attitude towards him seems as much maternal or at least fraternal as romantic. And her services prove to be most valuable indeed. Not only is she a good student but she provides some insider tips on how to outsmart the tests based on her experience with the teachers. All fair game, and exactly what a tutor in her position should be doing.
As for Minami, she’s totally unmotivated to study if Tsuba-chi isn’t doing it with her. As he frets over keeping his study sessions a secret from her (proof that he knows their relationship is more than just friends), Minami watches movies and heads for a rather dismal placement on the exams. Sayuri finishes solidly in the top half, which she seems satisfied with. As for Tsubasa he nabs third place, which is pretty darn elite and more than meets tiger grandma’s demands. It also means Tsubasa gets to stay in Hokkaido, which a bad parent like his Grandma will no doubt interpret as evidence that her methods are effective.
The wrinkle here is wingmom. As Minami sleeps it off till late morning, her mom is out and about and spots Rena and Tsubasa while on their date. Mom sends her daughter a panic text, and it’s going to be interesting to see how Minami responds to this news – especially since she has a major girl-crush on Rena-senpai herself. I’m unwavering in my belief that Tsubasa really only has eyes for Minami, but with someone like Rena – smart, exotic, and an upperclassman – it would be hard for a boy in his position not to have his head turned at least a little.
sonicsenryaku
February 20, 2024 at 5:56 pmI’m glad you brought up the general discourse around the incredulity fans tend to express when it comes to beautiful women being attracted to nice, but insecure men. In Tsubasa’s case, it seems as if some audience members find it inexplicable that Minami would even be attracted to Tsubasa, let alone look his way, when all the justification you need to understand how the attraction dynamic started is in episode 1. As you keenly pointed out, Minami’s interest in Tsubasa simply started as a country girl who found the new city boy a novel point of intrigue. During their conversation in ep 1, Minami expects Tsubasa to be stuck-up, or at the very least, to think he was above being in a “backwater place like Kitami;” but instead, he surprised her by showing genuine appreciation for the kind of lifestyle Kitami offers and Minami is assured by his earnestness responses (both here and when he openly calls her beautiful)”that he’s a good guy. However, what started off as her having a giddy curiosity about a Tokyo boy she found cute turns into budding affection as a genuine friendship grows between the two of them, all of which is developed organically through thoughtful moments of teenage behavior and wholesome humanity.
Besides, if people are still saying Tsubasa has no traits that someone would realistically be attracted to after the man just showed off an impressive level of talent on the piano for the simple reason of cheering someone up, then I’m at a lost of words as to how to proceed any further in the conversation
On a side note, seeing Minami almost instinctively acting chipper upon seeing Rena with Tsubasa without full awareness that she did so defensively just goes to show more and more what you mentioned 2 write-ups back about Minami having gotten so used to playing a role. Even last episode when she sits down with Sayuri during lunch after being miffed that Tsubasa wasn’ studying with them, she gets called out on being slightly annoyed, however her immediate response is somewhere along the lines of: “What are you talking about? I don’t get bothered by stuff like that.” I wouldn’t describe it as her thinking she’s too good to feel negative emotions like that, but moreso that she doesn’t consider that she COULD be feeling a certain way that might be unfavorable.
Anyway, I felt for Minami a bit this ep: something about her trying her best to see if Tsubasa would be willing to spend time with her but at the same time trying not to be too needy or pry made me empathize with the lull she was feeling throughout the exam week
Guardian Enzo
February 20, 2024 at 7:58 pmIf you feed people enough dumb, they becomes unreceptive to smart.
Abs
February 23, 2024 at 10:02 amInteresting take re people commenting on unrealistic relationships. I get your point re Dosanko Gal wa Namara Menkoi as Tsubasa comes across a likable guy and has some musical talent. In my experience I’ve know many people with similar traits that girls find attractive. This show has surprised by how balanced and true to life the characters are. Rena is a bit OTT – liking a guy for wearing traditional clothes is a bit silly but what do you expect when you watch an anime with a title like this one.
I don’t think the same applies to BokuYaba though and I would categorise that as a realist take as opposed to a sexist take. All I can do is speak from my own experience as a student and from conversations with friends who work as high school teachers but have never seen or heard of a tall, extremely popular girl (who works as model mind you) dating someone who at the start of the show is portrayed as being poorly adjusted, extremely introverted, physically short for his age and friendless. He certainly has evolved since then but the attraction first became apparent when those characteristics were more prominent.
That’s not to say the show is bad, it is very good. There are lots of realistic dynamics around the way the relationship progresses but I do have to suspend disbelief that a girl like Yamada would be interested in a guy like Ichikawa based on the relationships I witnessed in high school. But what else would I expect – I am watching a Japanese animation where I the target audience is school aged Japanese boys and it’s much better show than many other romcoms I have seen!
Guardian Enzo
February 23, 2024 at 11:36 amThere are any number of grounds on which I disagree with that BokuYaba take, but if nothing else, one obvious point that Norio has made clear is that (apart from height) Ichi reminds Anna very much of her father. And if there’s any trope I’ve seen prove out in RL, it’s that men fall for women who remind them of their mothers and women fall for men who remind them of their fathers.
Brian Guy
February 24, 2024 at 12:10 amA couple of notes:
Rena certainly hasn’t fallen for Tsubasa; she’s too chill for that too happen so quickly. She certainly finds the points of commonality intriguing (beyond the traditionalist stuff, he’s clearly as serious about his studies as she is [even if his results aren’t QUITE as good], he’s not some horny monkey and, indeed, has a chill vibe of his own, plus he’s y’know, right there), and she wants to see if there’s more to him there. Could she fall? Given time and the right circumstances? Could he, given the deep insecurities and self-esteem issues that his time away from Tokyo has only begun to reverse, even process it if she did?
And speaking of self-esteem issues, it’s clear that Minami has plenty of her own she’s not dealing with. Playing class mood-maker helps her hide (particularly from herself) that she’s a bit empty inside. It’s getting a little better: she’s found two people incapable of putting up fronts that make her feel like it wouldn’t be so bad to be more honest and they’d be a safe audience for her to try, and she finds Tsubasa especially comforting in this sense, but things like romance just aren’t yet in her wheelhouse and that’s fine. Even with this little nagging sense that maybe it’s not as fine as she thinks, she treasures the direction she’s going in right now and isn’t in a hurry to shake things up with these friends.
Abs
February 24, 2024 at 12:42 pmNot 100% sure what you are disgreeing with regarding my take as I was speaking from my experiences and how that impacts my own suspension of belief but I certainly
Unless you are disagreeing with my view that their relationship is not the most believable is realist
rather than sexist take?
I agree i have seen the parent trope you describe play out, but not to the point where an extremely attractive and popular high school girl wants to date a seemingly unattractive and unpopular guy (and visa versa). Maybe your experiences have been different.
More commonly I have seen another trope play out particularly in high school where extremely attractive and popular people date other people who have equivalent if not the same desirable characteristics I.e., attractive, humour, high social standing confidence, musical or sporting talent.
Of course I can only base my opinion in my own experiences and others may have had completely different experiences. Also I am completely unfamiliar with the Japanese high school dynamics which may indeed be very different from where I live.