First Impressions / Seitokai Yakuindomo

「三日副会長, ちんだら かぬしゃまよ」 (Mikka Fukukaichou, Chindara Kanushamayo)
“The Three Day Vice President, Beautiful Lady”

I hope I wasn’t the only one who thought that the water flowing at the beginning was pee…

Everyone loves Tsuda, they just won’t admit it.

Three episodes in and the writers are completely ready to throw the illusion of romance straight into our faces. For those of you who have kept up with my posts, you should all understand just how happy yet annoyed this makes me. Yes, I remember that first and foremost this show is a dirty high school comedy but I really want to believe there’s a chance for some romance elements to come into play! Because just as other genres have shown us, romance can give almost anything a whole new dimension! And after the few things I saw this week, you can bet I was wanting more.

Before I start though, I have to give credit to the writers for tricking me into thinking Kotomi might become that tsundere imouto who secretly loves onii-chan. And with that out of the way, I don’t know how to feel about what happened with Suzu and Shino. Starting with the girl who I should have known was trolling the moment she blushed, I hate it when Shino decides to enter dere-dere mode only to leave us hanging because she can’t help but attempt some poorly timed joke. I don’t know if I’m expecting too much or what but I wish she’d be more concrete with her decisions instead of flipping back and forth all the time.

Then you have Suzu, someone who I think has genuine feelings for Tsuda. Besides sharing the gigantic responsibility of being the straight-man with him, there have been so many moments where the two should have kissed each other that I don’t even know what to say. Add in that last scene during this episode when Suzu wanted to tag along with him but couldn’t say anything, and you have the perfect recipe for what could be an awkwardly cute couple!

What do you do when Tsuda’s not around?

Besides that unnecessary but appreciated swimsuit scene, its always nice to see when characters acknowledge when someone is someone. And judging from how everyone who didn’t go on the field trip behaved, it was pretty obvious that they all felt the effect of not having Tsuda around. From the awkward silence at the end of gags to Kotomi trying her best to follow along with her much more experienced senpai, it was clear that something was amiss.

The Suzu Show

Something I also really appreciated was the amount of time and focus Suzu was given this week. Amongst the usual short jokes and odd camera angles were a plethora of great shots and sincerely touching moments. From reminding us about just how smart she is to the sunset scene I touched on earlier, Suzu finally got some well deserved screen time.

Third Episode Decision

After a great first episode and a okay second one, Seitokai finally feels like its back in full swing with its third. The jokes feel less forced, the production quality is still top notch, and characters who we only got a glimpse of before are all slowly making their triumphant return. If anything, I kind of wish they’d tone down the vibrator jokes and bring back some of the dick ones — gender equality man! [/sarcasm]

Random Thoughts

  • Construction is going to be every field trip’s nightmare.
  • Did anyone notice how besides a little reminiscing from Shino at the beginning, no one really mentioned missing Suzu? ;__;
  • No squid skit this week :/
  • I wonder how many weeks this tissue gag is going to go on for. We started with a handkerchief and transitioned to a box of em. What’s next?!

Full-length images: 27, 28.

 

Preview

End Card

29 Comments

  2. The way Shino and Aria just paused a bit right after they said their latest lewd jokes, waiting for someone to do the tsukkomi response, only to realize their two regular tsukkomi are away in Okinawa was funny like hell precisely because we’re so used to hearing Tsuda’s response within a split second.

    To make things worse, Kotomi’s addition as her brother’s substitute merely increased their boke burden. LOL

    Yup, everybody loves Tsuda, probably even the androphobic Kaede, now forced into the tsukkomi role since no one else would do it.

    Suzu of course does some of the tsukkomi, but the majority is done by Tsuda. In fact, there was even a sketch in the OVA dealing with how poor Suzu got overwhelmed with being the sole tsukkomi when Tsuda was out sick.

    echykr
    Reply

  9. Very good EP and with 3 episodes down, I’m thinking the much improved visual execution is here to stay (at least I hope so). Reminds me of Strike Witches Season One vs. SW Season Two in that regard. Such a huge difference visually between the two seasons.

    Still wonder about anime sub TL (or possibly anime changes to manga dialog). Overall, IMO anime sub TL sub has been fine, but again I noticed a couple of instances where anime TL (UTW this time) or anime dialog deviation (I suspect it’s TL) neuter a joke here and there. So if a couple of jokes seem off/flat, don’t necessarily assume it’s the material. Primarily post this as “FYI” rather than straight out criticism of the sub TL. SYD can be surprisingly hard to TL into English given the amount of word play in the original material. Hopefully this won’t be anything more than an infrequent occurrence as the season progresses.

    This EP highlights one of the things I like a lot about SYD – there’s more to it than just the dirty jokes. It’s a 4-koma manga, but the characters have surprising depth and personality. Kotomi’s a total perv like Shino and Aria, but she’s ditzy/baka in a way that’s much different from either of them. Personally, I think she’s a very funny character (“Cowgirl!” from S1 LOL) especially when paired with her usual tsukkomi partner Toki which is why I though this EP would turn out to be a good one. Frankly, I like all of the SYD characters to some extent.

    Even excluding the much upgraded visual aspect, IMO GoHands is doing a great job with presentation. First we had a funny, WTF intro for the season opener, and now an entertaining intro narrated by Hata-san. IMO, it’s a much better way to start the episode than just launching straight into one of the 4-koma jokes. Kudos to GoHands for doing a very good job with execution so far.

    @Takaii – The lack of romance progression (or even start LOL) can be frustrating, but I kind of like how that aspect of the show/series is ambiguous. Shipping Tsuda off with one girl would substantially alter the relationships and interactions of not only the SC members, but between Tsuda and others such as Mitsuba. Don’t know how the romance theme will play out for the anime this season, but based upon what we’ve seen so far this season as well as Season One/OVAs, you might want to be mentally prepared for little advancement on the that front.

    daikama
    Reply

  12. What, no mention of Hata? I thought her gags were some of the funniest in this ep, both her paranoia around the teachers and her facial expressions.

    But yes, it really was the Suzu show this time. Our vertically challenged genius and Tsuda have genuine chemistry, so I always enjoy watching them interact. Dammit Suzu, you should’ve asked to go with him at the end there!

    The teacher gag at the end was hilarious too, imagine walking in to that.

    Dvalinn
    Reply

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