Hourou Musuko – 01
OP Sequence
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OP: 「いつだって。」 (Itsudatte.) by ダイスケ (Daisuke)
Watch the OP!: Download, Streaming ▼
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「おんなのこって なんでできてる？ ～01＊Roses are red, violets are blue～」 (Onna no Ko-tte Nande Dekiteru?)
“Girls, What Are They Made Of? ~01*Roses are red, violets are blue~”
On the surface, it seems like the uplifting calm palette and art style of Hourou Musuko will tell a tale of happiness, life, and a little bit of love. While the latter two might still be true, happiness is nowhere near to be found for the protagonists in this series, leaving only a growing desperation for acceptance.
Hailing from AIC Classic with Aniplex, and airing on Noitamina, Hourou Musuko is the adaptation of an eight-year still running manga. The story begins right from the beginning of middle school, a time in a child’s life where “changes” begin to occur. It’s a rather fragile period, yet exciting, and while most kids find themselves moving along without issue, those with different interests soon realize a terrifying predicament. At a time when “fitting in” is crucial, as anything else may result in unimaginable bullying, Nitori Shuuichi (Hatakeyama Kousuke) finds himself well aware that he is different, hinging on less than a handful of people for support.
It’s hard to tell at times, but Nitori Shuuichi is a boy. A pretty-faced boy to be exact, one that was good enough to model, but quit. Yet, he finds himself wanting to dress as a girl. Dressing as one makes him happy, and getting complimented on his looks makes him happier (probably as a girl). He doesn’t seem to feel like it’s an issue, but his schoolmates might, giving him a dilemma that has plagued him since elementary school. On the other side, Takatsuki Yoshino (Seto Asami) is a girl, except wishing to dress as a boy. I assume she deals with the same issues, but her narration only began near the end, perhaps continuing next episode. I’m not sure if their likeness led to Nitori confessing to Yoshino, but she rejected him, and they hadn’t made up until, well, this episode. Confessing probably screwed up their trio friendship with Chiba Saori, who is implied to have feelings for Nitori. There’s also a ton of supporting characters with past relationships from grade school, and it’s pretty cool to see such a web of relations not only with young kids like these, but actual meaningful bonds that will definitely surface in the coming episodes. Apparently these relationships were developed slowly with the manga, since it started them off as fifth graders, but AIC decided to jump the adaptation to seventh grade, or their start of middle school. I’m not sure how they’re going to deal with skipping so much development, but that might be the reason the first episode was a little hard to follow. Curiously, as I was watching, I wondered if it was more effective if you could tell what gender a character is, or the fact that anime makes it so easy that you can’t. At one point, I was on the verge of losing it to the idea that everyone might be cross dressing. In any case, it definitely dampens the heavy material presented here, as character appearances become less of a concern than the focus of central themes.
The problems were presented, characters were introduced, and there seems to be a ton of things to develop, equating to a potentially great story here. The whole episode flowed really well, as the characters were introduced cleverly using a class setting, following with conflicts and histories in the middle, and eventually reaching a climax of the truth in how Nitori feels, closing with the two mains mending their friendship. In terms of story telling, Musuko was definitely one of the best I’ve seen this season. The unique animation style works well, and the bright colors look great, especially in the night scenes, where the contrast really shows. There’s a ton of gorgeous sakura petal scenes, and it definitely makes the show very attractive for onlookers and watchers, but the plot isn’t something to scoff at either. Given the source material already doing well, there’s a high chance Musuko will turn into a great show this season, if not the rest of 2011. I also don’t usually have much to say about background music, but Musuko’s piano tracks were brilliant when setting a mood. I do have a weak spot for soft piano music though.
Even though its playful appearance says otherwise, Musuko is a realistic series, dealing with real problems, and with the right direction and development as the weeks wear on, arguably real people. To put it in another perspective, it’s like a live action drama in the medium of anime. While I’m sure drama fans have no qualms dealing with this kind of show, casual viewers may walk in expecting something completely different. So to let you know now, Musuko will generally be a serious series, but it will be a good series. People should try it out for some new experiences and maybe broaden their tastes. Who knows, you may end up with some new feelings you never knew you had.
ED Sequence
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ED: 「For You」 by Rie fu
Watch the ED!: Download, Streaming ▼
Preview
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January 13, 2011 at 9:05 pmKim_Pine
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This episode was fairly different from what I remember of reading the manga, albeit this was quite some time ago. I don’t necessarily approve of the time skip, because too much of what contributed to the character of the characters has been left out.
If you enjoyed this episode, I suggest going back and reading the manga, to at least see what brought this series to fruitition.
January 13, 2011 at 9:11 pmKim_Pine
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Also, to those wondering, they didn’t start their 7th year until chapter 34 of the manga, over 4 volumes in. Quite a large chuck of story missing.
January 13, 2011 at 9:13 pmKiiragi
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But don’t read it yet either, future episodes may use flashbacks.
January 13, 2011 at 9:15 pmKim_Pine
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Or they wont, which will leave some people confused and/or disappointed.
January 14, 2011 at 3:51 ambanzemanga
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Interesting, i liked the episode but from what you are saying the manga must be way better. Now i feel like reading it.
January 16, 2011 at 5:40 pmgoobersnotch
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they did the timeskip out of necessity. there are only 11 episodes and they can’t cover all or most of the story if they started from the beginning.
January 16, 2011 at 6:05 pmkeiOnDaisuki
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they can i actually do two seasons of it without cramming it in 11 eps. they could’ve started at the 1st chap of the manga without using flashbacks..
January 13, 2011 at 9:05 pmEric
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During the Bridge scene, they use Chopin’s Etiude in E major Tristesse violin. Tristesse is French for sadness and they have Nitori sync to the music while she is crying. Very hard thing to notice, but I had some help.
January 13, 2011 at 9:09 pmKiiragi
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lol, it seems the gender confusion has gotten to you. Nitori is a male. Thanks for the info though, especially the syncing of crying. The crying sounded odd though. Must be the newbie seiyuus.
January 13, 2011 at 10:05 pminnerchihiro
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@Kiiragi, some fans purposefully don’t refer to Nitori and Takatsuki by their biological genders, but by the way they see themselves.
January 13, 2011 at 10:05 pminnerchihiro
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Actually, many fans.
January 13, 2011 at 10:08 pmKiiragi
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whoa, excuse my ignorance, hardcore fans.
January 14, 2011 at 12:58 aminnerchihiro
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Didn’t mean to disrespect, only explain.
Actually, I wouldn’t call myself a hardcore fan just yet, just a perceptive reader. :)
January 14, 2011 at 1:22 amKiiragi
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Nah, I don’t mean it like that. Just kind of shocked there’s fans of that magnitude for this.
January 14, 2011 at 1:39 amSpacyRicochet
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Actually seems normal for me. I know some gender benders myself and I always refer to them as their perceived gender. Both as a respect thing and because they just don’t act as their biological gender.
January 14, 2011 at 1:49 amKiiragi
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Let’s just say at this point in the anime, I don’t have a clue what their true reason wishing to cross dress is. If it’s a gender identity issue, then yes, I would agree, if not, then maybe not. Obviously it seems to be a gender identity problem seeing from your experiences with the series, but I’m going to refrain from such “respect” to avoid confusion in future posts/comments.
January 14, 2011 at 5:56 amEric
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I was going to use “s/he” but seeing as Nitori was dressed as a girl while on the bridge, I thought he (sex) was in performing the female gender. To read more on gender performance, look up Judith Butler.
January 15, 2011 at 12:29 pminnerchihiro
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I just end up referring to them without pronouns whenever possible. :)
January 13, 2011 at 9:10 pmZanibas
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There are two bridge scenes. Are you referring to the earlier ones? Because the one during the climax is playing Debussy’s “Clair de Lune”.
January 14, 2011 at 9:02 amEric
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Yeah, I made some mistakes in identifying the music during the bridge scene. I concede that it is not violin but piano, which is obvious, but I needed to rewatch it to make sure. I am not sure if your song is the right one though.
January 14, 2011 at 9:28 amDeiopea
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I comply, completely certain that it is Clair de lune from Debussy’s bergamasque suite.
January 13, 2011 at 9:11 pmrightofleft
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Just from the screencaps the quality looks amazing! Kind of remind me of Byousoku 5 cm. Might watch this just for that beautiful style…
January 13, 2011 at 9:11 pmGaze of Providence
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I watch the show for the prospect of navel gazing.
January 13, 2011 at 9:12 pmKiiragi
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I think you got the wrong show. Merry’s that way ->
January 13, 2011 at 11:25 pmGaze of Providence
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No, not THAT kind of navel gazing.
January 13, 2011 at 9:14 pmKing Dragun
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Is really a shame that they didn´t start the series from the beginning but still looks like that is going to be a awesome series… Please tell me, that you are going to continue blogging this series.
January 13, 2011 at 9:15 pmKiiragi
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I am.
January 13, 2011 at 9:26 pmKing Dragun
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Thanks sir! waiting for the next week episode!
January 13, 2011 at 9:37 pmSecsuey
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KIIRAGI I LOVE YOU!
in a gay way
January 13, 2011 at 10:07 pminnerchihiro
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Thank you!! That is a very nice surprise.
January 14, 2011 at 1:11 amkeiOnDaisuki
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SANKYU!!! xDD i’m very glad XD
January 14, 2011 at 3:49 amNikki
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I love you for picking this series up! Thank you so much!
January 14, 2011 at 5:36 amPureauraa
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you would not believe how pleased we are here to here you are to be carrying on.
it was very visually stunning the music went well and i believe even if it wasn’t in piano but in another string it would still work beautifully, the music is not in the instrument but how it is played and what the composition is. ever heard black metal played softly on a harp? point made i’m sure :P
but yes its something i’m also thinking of covering it is something that is serious to the point i was genuinely going to cry that it ended when over!
i think this will be one that people will stumble apon and end up liking even though it is controversial, and that is such a good thing for all us Anime lovers is it not?
January 14, 2011 at 3:38 pmArabesque
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So there’s been a change in schedule? I mean, if your dropping Merry for this show, then HELL YEAH I say.
January 14, 2011 at 4:04 pmKiiragi
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Hey, Merry’s awesome okay?
I’m not dropping anything.
January 13, 2011 at 9:15 pmZanibas
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The writing for the narrations of this show are amazing. When Nitori describes his feelings through those staring at him, it really does speak in a different way. Also, love the side-character life here! I can’t wait to see the interactions between them.
Btw Kii, I think you won this round :3.
/give cookie
January 13, 2011 at 9:15 pmPIMPOLLA
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this show its beautifull! i love it since i saw it at the winter proview
January 13, 2011 at 9:16 pmabubu
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Bah im to tired of the boy/girl anime cant they do someting that doesnt just involve human relationships and stuff that happens in schools mabye something new and smart.
January 13, 2011 at 9:27 pmA person
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…lol you can’t be serious.
January 13, 2011 at 9:34 pmCommiE
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Go watch pokemon. It doesn’t involve schools or boy-girl relationships
January 13, 2011 at 9:22 pmFat Nakago
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This is a very touching show…and the colour palette really amplifies the emotions that resonate in it. I’m looking forward to more of this. Very well done so far.
And yes, it’s been “picked up”.
January 13, 2011 at 9:27 pmKumakaori
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<3 that Rie Fu and Komine Lisa have singles in this season's Op/Ed list. Their english is wonderful. Keep reviewing Kiiragi, I'll read all of it.
January 13, 2011 at 9:32 pminfinite
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Give credit where credit is do and this show deserves it. Did it look like he had a wet dream at the end?
January 13, 2011 at 10:09 pminnerchihiro
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I’m almost positive he wet the bed.
Show Spoiler ▼
January 14, 2011 at 2:12 amSoiyeruda
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I guess it’s because I didn’t read the manga, but I interpreted it as a wet dream.
January 14, 2011 at 11:36 pmRubio
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yes, it was a wet dream.
in manga it show.
January 13, 2011 at 10:23 pmjrj
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ok… not a big fan of the art style used here for some reason, and maybe I just don’t have a thing for cross dressing… but I will keep this in my HD for a while waiting for more plot to unfold…
As you said, I was a bit too confused about the character interactions right now…
January 14, 2011 at 1:15 amkeiOnDaisuki
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i might have been confused too if i didn’t read the manga. X) and, i like almost anything unconventional in any show(incest excluded)
January 13, 2011 at 10:35 pmaiueo123
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This somehow strike me as a series that will be better adapted into a 2-3 hours movie(probably divided into several movies if necessary) so it won’t be wasting excessive time in the drama aspect which usually plague most of drama stories. Screen caps show gorgeous art though which I hope won’t decline in future episode.
January 13, 2011 at 10:38 pmNagi
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I really like the art in this anime !
January 13, 2011 at 10:38 pminnerchihiro
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Before the anime premiered, I read the first few chapters of the manga. The beginning is so delightful and addictive that I ended up reading until chapter 34, but stopped myself for the anime.
So for me, the idea of watching this right off the bat is like watching a show’s Season 2 not having seen Season 1; such a terrible idea. I really recommend reading chapters 1-34 before even watching this episode, as you will be spoiled by it if you want to read the manga!
But as far as the anime goes, it is brilliant so far. The art is just gorgeous and the animation is silky smooth; each frame looks like promotional art. I really like the voice acting, because it is all very gender neutral, switching back and forth between sounding boyish and girlish which fits this series so well, and I am getting the OST.
The only thing I am concerned with is how the production plan to begin the adaption at chapter 34 changes the type of story Hourou Musuko is. This is not a story of remembering the past, but moving towards the future, but in order to explain everything, they are going to need to spend a lot of time in reminiscence. That radically changes the feel of the story, and also how the plot is going to play out. I don’t want flashbacks to be the bulk of the story when the author didn’t intend it to be that way. I don’t want my Hourou Musuko and this Hourou Musuko to be different.
On a lighter note, my other gripe is the OP. Talk about boring, although I adore the ending.
January 14, 2011 at 1:17 amkeiOnDaisuki
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THIS. X)
January 13, 2011 at 10:56 pmSV
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http://randomc.net/image/Hourou%20Musuko/Hourou%20Musuko%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2007.jpg
^Looks like Chiyo-chan!
January 13, 2011 at 11:18 pmBROOKLYN otaku
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hmm, a little Boring for my tastes but nicely done, i’ll give it a few more eps. but on another note THIS is exactly why i LOVE ANIME, a show of this subject matter….could you imagine American “Saturday morning” type shows doing something like this???……..yeah, me neither. LOL @ the “faded hues” used in da show.. i was like “Wait a minute!?! i’m pretty sure I’m not on extacy right now…
January 13, 2011 at 11:52 pmbillng
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Lesson Learned: We should all cross-dress
January 14, 2011 at 12:02 amKiiragi
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The main issue is pulling it off.
January 14, 2011 at 1:41 amSpacyRicochet
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Let’s start by being a proper masou-shoujo :P
January 14, 2011 at 12:13 amSirMuffin
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Man… That was amazing. I’d even go as far as to strike similarities with 5cm per second for it’s gentle style and how it deals with (almost) everyday and very real situations. My heart goes out to this anime. T_T
January 14, 2011 at 12:20 amdietwarrior
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Wow, now that’s what I call animation and art done right, that aspect was just perfect. As for the transgenderism – I can tolerate that as long as the two main characters are a couple, otherwise it might get a bit squicky.
January 14, 2011 at 12:36 amBlue
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Yes! This is the series I’ve been looking forward to watching the most! I’m really happy you decided to pick it up :)
January 14, 2011 at 12:49 amLilian
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I actually like this anime, having not heard of it until now. But a bigger appeal to me is probably because I can personally relate to the characters. As a kid I was a tomboy because I grew up around boys since there were no girls, and I eventually started acting like one and cross dressing. But unlike the characters, I grew out of it by the second grade. But I can still understand the feelings of wanting to be and do something you can’t.
January 14, 2011 at 1:27 amKiiragi
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A girl being a tomboy is so much easier than a boy dressing up as a girl (see I don’t even know if there’s a term), and it’s actually pretty common since no gender roles are enforced by kids themselves at that age. Even if you didn’t grow out of it, it would probably be acceptable until High School. However, if you were interested in dating by then, you might change whatever you deem necessary to become an entirely new person. Oh high school.
January 14, 2011 at 1:03 amkeiOnDaisuki
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Man, this show will probably be the best that I’ve seen. I still need to see how the adaptation will go, but I think that my impression of it will remain positive till the end. I’m actually not that disappointed to see that they skipped a lot of chapters, but I could’ve been more pleased to see the manga’s earlier chapters animated. They were just better shown not as flashbacks.
Anyhow, I really, really love the art! It stays very true to shimura’s style. And my god, the sakura petals, narration and especially how the angst was delivered took my breath away!! I’m being literal here. LOL. Believe me, I think I almost cried when nitori cried at the bridge. Dang! Angst is just delicious! XDD I decided to stop reading the manga since I want to be surprised with the following events actually.
It’s funny how looking at nitori scared me. SHE FAQING LOOKS LIKE A REAL GIRL!!! XDD takatsuki’s shortened hair was just fine. I still like her. XDD btw, seeing how somewhat supportive the friends were warmed my heart. XD with saori, I think I like how she’s portrayed. She obviously has a huge crush on nitori and…(oops! I might spoil something) I find the love triangle awesome ,But, I still want nitori to end up with takatsuki! LOL. Saeko as chizuru ftw!! XDD I caught minako’s voice but not aki’s though.. oh! Sasa’s adorable!!! <3
Lastly, I’m very certain that I’ll follow this till the world ends xDDD
January 15, 2011 at 4:16 pmkeiOnDaisuki
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mah, so aki plays momoko. gah! she had too short line that i didn’t catch her. DX but minako isn’t one of the recurring characters, too bad. hearing her tsumugi voice here alrdy is enough. XD and dang. i didn’t notice hocchan playing anna. she didn’t speak eh.XD
Hourou Musuko Characters and Seiyuus
January 14, 2011 at 1:28 amyey
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omg the art style of this show is really nice and fan-art-like :D
i like :D
January 14, 2011 at 3:04 amArmman
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This is probably going to get buried behind a bunch of comments but thank you for blogging this. I was hoping someone would.
January 14, 2011 at 9:38 amKiiragi
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Nah, I read all the comments.
January 14, 2011 at 3:50 amahelo
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Oh wow that was pretty. The art was just gorgeous especially the night scene with the sakura petals. I don’t care if Nitori’s a boy or agirl, she/he is freakin cute. Her/his love interest
Yoshino is as cute as hell too. The plot is very heavy for such a lighthearted series and I can see this series go into serious issues of society. I’m taken aback on how a simple middle-school story like this turned out to be pretty serious/mature. Its only the first episode though and I’m putting this in the “Oh yea this show is awesome yet not a lot of people will watch it” category.
January 14, 2011 at 4:06 amLinkark
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The art style is great, makes me want to see it.
January 14, 2011 at 4:29 amKou
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This is one of those shows that really surprised me. I never really intended to watch this show, and it was just something to do while Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica finished transfering. But I am so glad I did watch it. It definately has the same feel as Aoi Hana and this is no surprise as both manga series were written by the same author. I loved Aoi Hana and I’m sure I’ll love this show equally as much.
January 14, 2011 at 5:20 amShirt
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I thought this was going to be a little more risque, but I was surprised. After watching Kuragehime, it seems more natural because of Kuranosuke’s openess about cross-dressing. :]
January 14, 2011 at 9:45 amSummelBaerli
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I think it was also Kuranosuke’s strong personality and self-confidence that made it waaay easier to watch him cross-dress. Little kids could call him (hugging Tsukimi) a lesbian and he would just shout at them to shut up xD Nitora on the other hand is already ashamed and scared by people simply looking at him.
Furthermore Kuranosuke’s reasons for cross-dressing weren’t as… how should I put it… serious? I can only guess that Nitora must have some serious identy-issues…
…..geez, talking about Kuranosuke makes me miss Kuragehime so badly -sniff-
January 14, 2011 at 5:40 amSora no Kaze
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Very very interesting, I kinda like the themes of this show. It’s very down to earth and deals with a very interesting problem. I should really read the manga as well, shouldn’t I lol.
January 14, 2011 at 5:41 amfairx
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Very high production value. Great art.
this will be the KOI KAZE of it’s genre.
this season wasn’t so bad afterall!
January 14, 2011 at 5:58 amAndré
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VERY boring and kind of depressing… I wouldn’t recommend, unless you want something to sleep and have some depressing nightmare in the processe.
January 14, 2011 at 8:23 amkl2auz
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So generally he likes the opposite sex, so what does it makes him? is he gay or just love cross-dressing? or probably gay cause he knows the girls is a tomboy? just want to clarify it…
January 14, 2011 at 3:19 pmShinjiro
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It’s more complicated than that. I don’t believe Nitori to be gay in that sense but a crisis as far as gender identity. Nitori’s experience and feelings would reflect the pre-op (before the sex/gender change operation) patients before physical gender change process. Psychologically, they can’t identify themselves with the gender they were born with. It creates, for onlookers, a feeling that they are attracted to the same gender as themselves when they mostly/truly don’t see it that way.
If Nitori completed the operation to then date only girls (aka the gender he had become), then yes, Nitori would be a homosexual. In this case, Nitori is attracted to Yoshino who is of the opposite gender (pre-op) and having the similar issues as far as gender identity.
In other words and if they go through the operations, Nitori would officially become a girl (physically and already going through the psychological process). Yoshino would also become a boy. If they dated and you would just meet them AFTER the physical operations (as far as I know, it’s always been a series of operations), they would be completely look like a heterosexual couple aka “boy dates/loves/marries girl”.
Right now for both Nitori and Yoshino’s outer social circles (aka the ones that are not close/intimate with them), they are pointed out to be cross-dressers and/or homosexuals. Personally (and like I’ve read in certain comments here) in real life, I would point out Nitori to be a she and Yoshino a he in respect to their feelings and struggles.
The series is something I’ve wanted to see right off the bat when I’ve read the manga and the winter preview (I actually was surprised it was picked up and a big bow of respect for making this happen). I’ve known some friends who had gone/wanted through the operations and watching this made my heart skips a few beats. It’s a difficult struggle to be accepted as they (Nitori and Yoshino), themselves, want to be seen as. Not everyone survives the process.
Graphically, this first episode is a piece of art in itself. The pastels, the music, the voice acting, animation are beautiful. This is not going to be a light hearted series, it deals with real issues that are happening everywhere. I count myself blessed to (have) know(n) great and wonderful friends who came to share their struggles with.
January 14, 2011 at 3:22 pmShinjiro
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Sorry for the bad English (some of you have probably realized it’s not my first language lol) and I pressed on the submit instead of the preview. I just hope you did understand what I meant to say here.
January 14, 2011 at 7:52 pmSadamitsu
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Well he does fall in love with a straight girl named Anna.
January 15, 2011 at 12:15 amkeiOnDaisuki
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he’s not gay. that’s what i can perceive. he falls for girls but loves to cross-dress and i think,that’s that. same with nitori, i don’t think she’s a lesbo. XD
anyway, shimura must be crazy if she won’t have these two end up together!! DX i’m gonna kill her!
January 15, 2011 at 2:07 amkeiOnDaisuki
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mah,takatsuki not nitori, L0L. xDD
January 14, 2011 at 9:48 amSummelBaerli
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Looks like a very beautiful show. I’m still confused about the who-is-who and who-has-feelings-for-whom etc, but I hope they’ll make things more clear soon. I din’t intend on reading the manga just yet. Maybe I’ll do that when the anime finished, but right now I wanna have the full anime-experience xD
Thanks for blogging the show, Kiiragi! :D
January 14, 2011 at 9:58 amSilentmanX
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I really like the art style of this animation
January 14, 2011 at 11:58 amteisey
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Two years of waiting, and it’s finally here. I’m already really loving it, despite the large portion they skipped. I want to believe they’ll make it wonderful, even with the measly 11 episodes.
Really happy you’re blogging this.
January 14, 2011 at 1:52 pmbakabakabaka
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For such a controversial topic, this episode pulled it off with a beautiful subtlety. One of the best first episodes I’ve seen in a while.
January 14, 2011 at 2:38 pmYuan
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I didn’t expect you guys to cover this, so I’m really excited that you are! Thanks for your hard work, Kiiragi. c:
January 14, 2011 at 4:55 pmtoodles
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This show is so pretty
Kiiragi I love your writing style
January 14, 2011 at 6:23 pmSadamitsu
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Suehiro Anna is the best ^^
January 14, 2011 at 10:19 pmboop
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Definitely watching this. Love the art. Love the classical music in the background. Plus we might learn something from anime.
January 15, 2011 at 11:45 am1Lau
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The Art is very nice indeed
January 15, 2011 at 12:11 amlaaa
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what an outstanding animation for sakura trees
January 15, 2011 at 12:22 amkeiOnDaisuki
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*nods* i was like seeing animated sakura petals for the first time. it’s just too amazing. top-notch animation apparently. i’m expecting more scenes like that…XD AIC classic just rockz! as well as aniplex! XD
January 15, 2011 at 10:44 amMy琴し(MyKotoShi)
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After seeing the 2011 winter preview, and reading the synopsis for Hourou Musuko I decided to read the manga. 8hrs later I read through 92 chapters and fell in love with it.
I enjoyed the anime a lot as well, although I feel that the series could have started from where the manga started and make 2 seasons rather than where it did began. But having read the manga so recently, it felt like what the anime did was start in a place semi-appropriate for the fans of the manga and going from there with little flashbacks. You know, like the producers were aiming towards the Hourou Musuko manga fans from the beginning.
But the anime played out extremely well and it might very well top my favorite anime where Cardcaptor Sakura currently sits.
January 15, 2011 at 12:13 pmGuy
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so is takatsuki a boy or girl cause for the life of me could not figure it out :[
January 15, 2011 at 4:23 pmkeiOnDaisuki
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she’s a girl.XD
January 15, 2011 at 7:48 pmGuy
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thank you :3
January 15, 2011 at 4:36 pmfrice
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What a gorgeous episode! I’m loving the colour scheme and the blurred shading used on the characters. I’ll admit having not read the manga this episode was a tad confusing due to the influx of characters introduced. But in this case, it’s a plus because they serve as excellent foil for the main characters. Definitely on my watch list!
January 15, 2011 at 8:16 pmSadamitsu
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just wondering if this was a photo from the manga or not http://lh5.ggpht.com/_WKGkHFzCWkE/TTJwmB1CW_I/AAAAAAAAAYs/gEvk-VVDbkY/s576/06aca3e141f66e7ed26a75a032dd58ff.jpg
January 16, 2011 at 8:05 amSam
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im not saying i know everything but it looks that way to me
January 15, 2011 at 11:22 pm♕Croosboy♕
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From my point of view. i like the color+anime+music. story wise i don’t know yet.
it seems that from what i predict they will do a “oh this scene i reminds me of(flash back) or (in the beginning) i have a hard time on that day (flash back)blah blah balh then next episode.
It would really fit with the background music using that kind of theme.
When i was reading this post, my confusion was cleared since i didnt now who was who(crossdressing characters sometimes confuse me). it still concerns me though who was in the picture in the cellphone.
http://randomc.net/image/Hourou%20Musuko/Hourou%20Musuko%20-%2001%20-%2012.jpg
(─‿‿─) pls dont spoil me. hehehehe.
all in all. i liked the anime. it gives a new feel. it makes you get absorb on how the music plays while the anime runs giving you a light and heavy feel in the heart. and as usual the petal art, it never gets old making things think oh this is a new beginning.
my face after reading ——> (‘∀’) enlightened
January 16, 2011 at 6:52 amkeiOnDaisuki
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i can’t wait for the next ep. chizuru and sasa are awesome. hehehe..
January 16, 2011 at 10:49 pmCharlo
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I can’t wait for the next episode. The manga is so beautiful and it seems like the anime will be, too. Hopefully, it’ll help teach a thing or two about gender issues (it’s beyond cross dressing).