「高橋鉄男は守りたい」 (Takahashi Tetsuo wa Mamoritai)
“Takahashi Tetsuo Wants to Protect”

Another adorable and heartwarming episode!

Go Hikari GO!

Before anyone goes and screams out that this week’s episode was a little unrealistic, I’ll acknowledge that if things went that smoothly in real life I don’t think society would say that teenagers are troubled children. Getting back on track, I personally loved what went down between Hikari and the two girls who were badmouthing Yukki. It’s tough to describe in words, but the sense of pride I felt when I realized that Hikari wasn’t calling them out only for badmouthing her friend but doing it because of how she wants to conduct herself really hit me straight in the feels. Like, can you imagine how difficult it’d be to muster the courage to tell off not one but two girls when the norm is to ignore it and keep moving on? It was so moving that any feelings of the scene feeling exaggerated or to cliché completely disappeared as Hikari kept pushing forward even as the other two girls tried to deflect and put the blame elsewhere. As an added bonus, because of whatever I was feeling during Hikari’s moment, Yukki’s talk with the two girls nearly pushed out the tears that were forming under my eyelids. Something that, even though I knew was coming, never expected such a strong reaction to.

One Big Family

Even though something like this was probably inevitable, it’s nice to see that Takahashi-sensei has finally taken the initiative to formally create a group for our girls (and Satou-sensei). While it may have felt a little superfluous since the three are already pretty good friends, from an adult and educator’s perspective it makes a lot of sense to formalize everything while adding another point of contact just in-case. If anything, what probably caught me most off guard was that Satou-sensei wasn’t already helping out her fellow demis. Minus her short conversation with Machi last week, you’d think she’d have been out there keeping a watchful eye over Hikari and Yukki!

Demi Lover?

Okay, let’s just get this out there — Takahashi-sensei ends up getting himself in some pretty interesting situations when we’re talking about a student-teacher relationship. Luckily, this isn’t the type of show that’s trying to exploit that relationship with cheap humor. That said, I’m sure there are some people out there who’d try to call our beloved sensei out on some of his behavior and Himari was probably the best person to do so. With a unique perspective of a human whose sister is a demi, it must have been hard growing up and dealing with all the stares and questions from people around Hikari and her. Which is why I had no issues with the way she was grilling Takahashi-sensei — can you imagine how many creepers probably have attempted to befriend Hikari simply because she’s a vampire? Luckily, it looks like she managed to satisfy herself (and any suspecting viewers) of Takahashi-sensei’s intentions and hopefully she’ll also become a driving force to help out the Demi-club.

Looking Ahead

Man, week after week we’re getting some fabulous episodes that have been pushing the plot at such a nice pace that I’m not afraid to ask for more of what we’re getting. With just the right amount of humor packed in with all the heartwarming moments and just a little bit of random to round things out, what more could you really ask for? That said, it looks like the story is about to hit its first major point where a shift could occur since it looks like Yukki is the last demi to have her story told.

Anyways, no matter where things do go, you can bet I’ll be here to cover it! See you next week.

 

Preview

30 Comments

      1. Satou-sensei seems to have a loooot of repressed sexual tension. I’d fear that one touch from IronMan-sensei would probably cause every male at the school (and a 10km radius) to pop a boner and many, many births 9 months later

        Manny Fleurmond
  1. Been waiting for this post 🙂

    Another great episode and great adaptation. I don’t know if the talk between Satou-sensei and Takahashi-sensei during the rain is anime-original, but it’s not in vol.1 of the manga so I’ll assume it is. I think it’s a great touch, and it provide clarity as to why Satou-sensei was included in the Demi-club. Hikari’s text and Himari/Takahashi’s reaction is hilarious 😀

    On another note, while this sounds trivial, Hydrangea in Japanese flower word can mean “Whim/Capriciousness,” “Coolness/Indifference,” and “Persevering” (There are 3 other meaning, but it’s from western perspective). These 3 meaning exist (in a way or another) in each Demi in the show :
    Whim/Capriciousness is definitely Hikari,
    Coolness is Yuki?,
    Persevering is for Machi (trial and error in living as Dullahan) and Satou-sensei (have to control herself all the time).

    Maybe I’m thinking too much, maybe it’s just a kind of prayer for the anime success from the studio haha. Anyway, I think it’s a good touch.

    raxar
  2. loved how Hikari flying-tackle glomp was being applied to Himari as well, showing she is this way to all she likes, not particularly Takahashi-sensei
    meanwhile Satou-sensei accidentally made her nature work its way out of the tracksuit prison she made for it – at least for a moment
    Tkahashi-sensei himself is doing good job of getting close to girls without getting intimate, navigating well the hiccups like Machi headless body with skill.
    I still hope for some romance between the two teachers, they really fit each other, and it would eb immensely satisfying for Satou-san to finally find love based not on lust, exactly because Tkahashi is so keen on getting good understanding on demis.

    ewok40k
  3. I will be sorely disappointed if the editor of this show doesn’t get some kind of award. Every beat and pace and cut was EXPERTLY done.

    I sympathize with poor snow girl. But she eventually figured out how to Let It Go and stand up for herself to the gossip girls (sort of. Hikari was her real motivator).

    starss
  4. Can anyone make out exactly what Satou-sensei was saying after she was denied that hug? The part where she’s whispering while tracing her finger on the whiteboard.

    I wish she were presented more teacher-like (that’s why she’s there) than haremette though. The attraction’s all well and established now; maybe she’ll get the additional character focus she deserves before she gets sidelined as the one demi who won’t get regular screentime because she’s not a student, and therefore, not with Takahashi-sensei as often.

    Shinmarizu
  5. I guess I found the whole “confronting the bullies with logic” thing was… incredibly eastern. If you tried that in a US school you’d either get the shit beat out of you or get told to fuck off. That shit doesn’t work that way.

    Tarage
    1. It’s all good — I sort of felt like that too.

      Where I grew up, I don’t think anyone would even dare to try something like that. Except for those rare moments where it does happen and either a fight breaks out or the person getting told realizes (at least a little) that they’re being stupid and can’t even do anything because they’re mind is flabbergasted.

  6. Hikari is still “best girl” (character) for me, but gotta say, Satou-sensi certainly made up a lot of ground this episode. She definitely secured 2nd place after this episode. Commented before how IMO the anime in general is doing quite a nice job with the adaptation, but seemed to me it stepped it up a notch with Satou-sensei this week. Just nailed it, particularly for the comedic moments.

    daikama
  7. Deep fondness != romance. Takahashi-sensei is doing a great job mentoring
    the girls and bringing Satou-sensei in the mix kinda shows he has no hentai
    interest. Actually, it’s good to see a series like this where adults actually have
    a place and purpose to the story. I think everything’s well balanced in the series
    so far. I guess this is a coming of age type of slice of life series.

    mac65
  8. https://randomc.net/image/Demi-chan%20wa%20Kataritai/Demi-chan%20wa%20Kataritai%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2024.jpg

    Poor Satou-sensei not getting a hug… (Don’t worry, I wouldn’t mind getting erotic dreams from you anytime… *wink wink*)

    Would it be a stretch to say that this anime could also fall under the “Iyashikei” category?

    Because I can’t help but feel warm and fuzzy with the displays of compassion, acceptance, and empathy from the characters.

    I mean, with the real world feeling rather screwed up as it is (YMMV) and those screwed-up things sometimes being reflected in some other anime I watch, it’s still quite nice to have a show that somehow restores a little bit of hope/faith in humanity, even if the characters themselves are fictional…

    Incognito
    1. That’s basically ‘cute girls doing cute things’ anime, right? Sounds about right.

      I mean, Demi-chan is working the edges of school bullying and fitting in and other topics very dear to high schoolers’ hearts, but mostly it’s just everybody being cute together.

      Guile

Leave a Reply to Tarage Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *