Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu - 03 July 25
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「おしまいです…」 (Oshimai Desu…)
“It’s Over…”
Episode at a Glance:
Unable to decipher Haruka’s map, Yuuto gets lost on his way to her place, where they had planned to study for exams together. After receiving a real map from a young girl though, he eventually finds his way and is taken through Haruka’s huge estate by the head maid, Sakurazaka Hazuki. In Haruka’s room, Yuuto is surprised to see nothing anime around, so Haruka explains that her hobby is a secret from her family as well. While studying together, Haruka mentions that her family isn’t home today, which causes Yuuto to become easily distracted and almost capitalize on an opportunity. However, another maid, Nanashiro Nanami, and the young girl from earlier crash in, the latter of which turns out to be Haruka’s younger sister, Mika. Wanting a word with Yuuto, Mika drags him aside, confirms that he knows about her sister’s secret, and asks him to not abandon her because of it. Realizing that Mika, Hazuki, and Nanami already know as well, Yuuto simply says that Haruka’s his friend and that he would never do such a thing, much to Mika’s relief.
After finishing their exams, Haruka invites Yuuto to a summer comiket, which he agrees to go to despite not really knowing what it is. Another student then accidently runs into Haruka, knocking her over and revealing a comiket catalog from her bag. Hearing all the instant negative commotion directed towards Haruka, Yuuto lies to everyone by saying that the catalog is actually his. While the other students believe him, Haruka runs off in tears and doesn’t show up to school for the next few days. During her abscene, Yuuto receives a bunch of hate mail in his shoe box, plus the harassment of Ogasawara Takashi. This treatment makes Yuuto question what’s so bad about an Akibakei, and he later visits Haruka’s place to see how she’s doing. There, he’s greeted by Mika, who explains how Haruka’s secret was exposed in middle school and forced her to transfer. Outside Haruka’s room, Mika tricks her into coming out with a bit of jealousy, so Yuuto explains that her secret is safe. However, Haruka’s more concerned about having him losing all his friends like she once did. Yuuto claims that those aren’t real friends then, and says at the very least, she’ll always have him as one. Relieved that she won’t be alone, Haruka asks Yuuto to always be by her side.
On their way to school the next day, the two of them bump into Takashi, who tells Haruka that it would be better to hang out with him than a disgusting otaku like Yuuto. Infuriated, Haruka tosses Takashi aside and tells him not to bad mouth Yuuto. She also explains that the comiket catalog was actually hers, so if he has anything to say about it, to say it to her. With a smile on her face, she then turns to Yuuto and suggests that they get going.
Next Episode:
「変じゃないでしょうか…？」 (Hen Janai Deshou ka?)
“It’s Not Weird Is It…?”
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Impressions:
This episode portrayed the otaku image in a pretty horrible light, where one’s life literally gets destroyed if you’re discovered to be one, but rest assured this isn’t quite like how things are in Japan nowadays. While it’s probably not seen as a “cool” hobby, it’s hardly looked down upon nowadays (as people could really care less outside of online message boards), so unless you take it to an excessive level of fandom and actually look stereotypically “geeky”, you should be alright. It’s not quite what your tastes are, but more of how you dress and act, so I found it a bit extreme for a school idol to be instantly looked down upon if people found out that she likes anime. I understand the comedic factor in all this, but they conveyed everything in a fairly serious tone, which makes me wonder how some actual hardcore otakus take it. i.e. Do they see it as an obvious outcome or an overexaggeration? (If you happen to be a self-proclaimed hardcore otaku, I’d love to hear what you think.)
While I can’t speak for any of the readers here, I personally don’t see myself as a hardcore otaku by any means (despite blogging anime), and you’d probably be hard-pressed to even know I watched anime in real life if I never brought it up. I bet some people would beg to differ though, as this writer position probably bumped me up a few notches on the otaku scale (*cries*), but I’m all for going against the normal stereotypes. In short though, I enjoy anime. It’s a hobby dating well back before anime was even popular outside of Japan, and I don’t hide the fact that I watch it (or blog it) because I don’t see the need to. I don’t “live” anime though, nor do I take part in the online anime community outside of RC, so my level of fandom ends there. (Hmm, my impressions are starting to sound like a mini editorial and a defense of my image (which wasn’t intended), so I’ll leave the article about “the current state of the otaku image” to Natrone should he feel like talking about it.)
As for the episode itself, there was an air of humour all around, mainly from the introduction of Haruka’s younger sister, Mika, plus their two maids, Sakurazaka Hadzuki and Nanashiro Nanami. The maids are played by Shimizu Kaori (Takano Akira in School Rumble) and Ueda Kana (Tousaka Rin in Fate/stay night) respectively, and the latter of the two is reminiscent of the clumsy, blue-haired maid, Mieno Hatsumi, from Suteki Tantei Labyrinth in appearance, but not behavior. (Both are voiced by Ueda Kana.)
As for Yuuto, he sure has a knack for saying and doing the right things at the right moments, seeing as he let himself be labeled an otaku to protect Haruka’s secret. Because of this, he’s become increasingly more amiable in my eyes, but I can’t help but feel that the show is becoming more about romance than comedy at this point. I originally thought this series was going to be centered around the comedy more, but I should probably throw that expectation out the window now and just take the series for what it is. I think the last show I watched that could be classified as romance was true tears, so I’ve been looking for a show to fill that genre’s void. As things stand now, Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu might just deliver in that department.
P.S. The opening and ending singles were recently released, but I haven’t had a chance to listen to them yet.
Cast:
- Nogizaka Haruka (乃木坂 春香) / Noto Mamiko (能登 麻美子)
- Ayase Yuuto (綾瀬 裕人) / Hatano Wataru (羽多野 渉)
- Nogizaka Mika (乃木坂 美夏) / Gotou Mai (後藤 麻衣)
- Sakurazaka Hadzuki (桜坂 葉月) / Shimizu Kaori (清水 香里)
- Nanashiro Nanami (七城 那波) / Ueda Kana (植田 佳奈)
- Kamishiro Yukari (上代 由香里) / Matsuki Miyu (松来 未祐)
- Ogasawara Takashi (小笠 原孝) / Majima Junji (間島 淳司)
- Male student A (男子生徒A) / Oda Hisafumi (小田 久史)
- Male student B (男子生徒B) / Maeno Tomoaki (前野 智昭)
- Female student A (女子生徒A) / Asakura Azumi (浅倉 杏美)
- Female student B (女子生徒B) / Ootake Miyu (大竹 みゆ)
Scarecrowman at 9:06 pm on July 25th, 2008
Is this Hayate no Gotoku?
homina-homina at 9:08 pm on July 25th, 2008
i read in another review that haruka finally admitted to owning the magazine. i can hardly imagine what her “fanclub” is going to think of her in the next episode and beyond. their main goal was to impress haruka while shunning anything “unholy” (like otakuism in this case); let’s see what happens when the reality they don’t want to face becomes the reality they have to face.
Pwnzaur at 9:22 pm on July 25th, 2008
not bad
Andy at 9:51 pm on July 25th, 2008
I admire Yuuto’s self sacrifice. Although I have no problem admitting I’m an otaku (not hardcore).
Drakron at 9:53 pm on July 25th, 2008
“but rest assured this isn’t quite like how things are in Japan nowadays.”
So it mean it was like that in the past, also I think you are slightly off about what Otaku means in Japan that is beyond simply “watching anime” … I do not like using wikipedia but its entry says:
“In general colloquial usage however, most Japanese would consider it undesirable to be described in a serious fashion as “otaku”; many even consider it to be a genuine insult.”
In fact even Genshiken shown that being a Otaku was not exactly a good thing (Saki wanted to get Makoto out of the club and Ogiue had serious issues because of her “Boys Love hobby”).
Considering this is a adaptation of a light novel series I supposed (if the adaptation is true to the source material) the author wanted to show the dual edge of being Otaku, even if it was some years ago.
Its funny but I recall what being a “Gamer” used to be before the Xbox generation …
Eloy at 9:58 pm on July 25th, 2008
maybe the writers had these kind of experiences before and they wanted to convey them.
Monketh at 10:05 pm on July 25th, 2008
Why is it that Haruka and Yuuto are treated so horribly for liking anime while that Nobunaga guy seems to get away with it? Everyone just seems cool with it. Or is he actually tormented too but puts up a happy front to everyone?
Was there something about it in the novels? I’ve only been watching the anime so far.
divine at 10:15 pm on July 25th, 2008
Drakron:
From my understanding, the thought of an otaku doesn’t really have any good connotations associated it with, but nowadays, having an interest in anime doesn’t instantly classify you as an otaku. That’s pretty much the point I was trying to convey. If you were someone like Haruka, I highly doubt anyone would label you as an otaku simply because you liked watching an anime. It’d be more like, “Oh, so you like to watch _anime title_. Cool.”
“Otaku” usually indicates more of an obsessive hobby towards anime, which often shows in terms of personal hygiene and appearance in general. (i.e. you eat, sleep, and breathe anime.) If you stop by bookstores in Japan, you’ll see older people (salary men), high school girls, and high school guys browsing the manga section, and none of them really have an image you can classify as an “otaku”.
Finally, I agree with your comment on the term “gamer” as it used to be associated with “geeks”. However, now that everyone plays games, they’re just a “normal” hobby and playing them doesn’t necessarily make you a “gamer”. This is basically the way anime is seen in the eyes of a lot of people now.
Drakron at 10:17 pm on July 25th, 2008
I never read the novels, I assume it was … in fact we could see this coming since episode 1.
Nobunaga seems to been a Otaku for a long while, its likely he was labeled but you forget people form groups … Nobunaga likely hangs out with his Otaku friends as Yuuto taken that because he was not a “Otaku” and so was not part of the “Otaku group”.
Remy at 10:20 pm on July 25th, 2008
I have no problem admitting I’m a HUGE anime fan…of course, I counter this fact by being a HUGE sports fan and a professional mechanic (both very good manly traits) ^_^. Though, I’ll never admit to anyone that I still sleep with several stuff animals. Something that my girlfriend believe is related to some sort of repress childhood feelings of abandonment.
On the whole though, I love the fact that Haruka just shoulder tossed that jerk fifteen back. Her cuteness factor just plunked to five from seven, but her hotness fact has jump to a strong eight out of ten. I love a broad that can kick my ass if I call her a broad.
divine at 10:25 pm on July 25th, 2008
Monketh:
Now that you mention it, the other students did bring up Nobunaga in a negative tone when they thought Yuuto was an otaku, so he probably gets similar “looks”. However, he simply doesn’t care what other people think I guess, which is the way to go in my opinion.
As for Yuuto, I think the death threats were just because people are jealous that he’s with the school idol all the time, and are lashing out at him now because they have an opportunity to do so.
divine at 10:27 pm on July 25th, 2008
Remy: I lol’d reading that. XD
Drakron at 10:28 pm on July 25th, 2008
divine:
There is maniakku that have a lesser connotation, also you do raise a goof point about manga but anime is not as mainstream as manga in Japan (at least according to the wiki entry) and take a look at what dropped out … Comic Market Catalog … you must know its the Comiket Catalog.
So who goes to Comiket?
divine at 10:36 pm on July 25th, 2008
Drakron:
Hmm, I hate crowds, especially crowds full of people with backpacks and sweaty body odor, but I’d consider going to one just to check it out. =)
Joking aside, I agree that going to a comic festival brings you closer to the otaku image, but if you don’t cosplay or sing/dance around in a giddy manner, it may not be enough to make people think you’re one.
mysterious at 10:52 pm on July 25th, 2008
So Haruka still able hides her secret thanks to Yutoo?
It is not like I dislike Haruka or something but I just want to see how those students and those annoy so called imperial guards feel? I mean they used to look down on Otaku for balalal. But Haruka is far above them in most academic and sport subject. If Otaku is loser then what are they? But I bet they never ask themselves that question though. :<
Drakron at 10:54 pm on July 25th, 2008
Well she still had the guide, I did not notice before but she was carrying the Comiket 2008 guide.
That was what tiggered the Otaku comments, if it was … say, Ribbon I do not think it would attract much attention but the Comiket Guide? and looking at the dates on the cover it should take place during summer break.
Gil at 12:09 am on July 26th, 2008
Haruka amazingly cute!(& hot)
Kadian1364 at 12:45 am on July 26th, 2008
Mysterious said: “I mean they used to look down on Otaku for balalal. But Haruka is far above them in most academic and sport subject. If Otaku is loser then what are they?”
If I was expecting some sort of realistic student body reaction, Haruka’s status at the top of the food chain, so-to-speak, should lend her some/a lot of immunity to criticism normally leveled against her peers. Divine’s point before was that how you speak and act carries a whole lot more weight in people’s perceptions of you than what you do with your personal time. That is, if I were expecting a normal, realistic reaction from this show. I haven’t read the manga, but I’m suspecting the author is going for an extreme reaction where people-find-out-and-instantly-reject-her-because-they-are-judgmental-and-shallow/she-realizes-who-her-true-friends-are bit.
I don’t think Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu is the type of series to do this, but I feel there is a huge difference of general perception between a female otaku and their male counterparts. Where males are juvenile, smelly, and prone to less-than-wholesome purchases, the female otaku enjoys a greater degree of attractiveness, sociability, and overall acceptance. If I’m completely wrong on this, please say so, but these are my conclusions from observations.
Id at 12:50 am on July 26th, 2008
@divine
someone that simply love/like to watch anime wont be/most unlikely to be labeled as otaku.
but when u take it to hardcore level(i think that how you phrase it) such as waiting in line for hours just to buy new adult games or new figure, then you will most likely to be called an otaku.
Justin Olbrantz (Quantam) at 12:50 am on July 26th, 2008
Ehhh. Before this series aired I thought it sounded interesting, and could be good. So far I’ve watched the first two episodes, and while I can tolerate the intermediate levels of ecchiness (the only reason I mention that at all is because that was one of the specific reasons someone I know told me why they weren’t watching the series, with regard to the first episode), I’m not particularly thrilled with the excessive cuteness and fantasy-inspired stuff (Gil’s comment surely refers to material that fits both of those) that seems cheesy to me. We’ll see if it improves in that respect.