First Impressions / Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

「米しよっ♡」 (Kome Shiyo~tsu♡)
“Let’s Rice♡”

After a while playing around with the rest of the cast, Nozaki-kun and Sakura reclaim center stage.

Return to Sakura x Nozaki

Comedy combined with hints at romance, that’s what makes Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun so amazing. (One of the reasons. There are many.) And for a while it’s been all Hori-chan-semapi x Kashima or Yuzuki x Waka that have been holding up the romance tease boat. No longer! The ship that is Chiyo x Nozaki is back, baby, and with aplomb.

The whole first half sent me into girlish squeals of delight. Literally! (And by literally, I actually mean it. I really squeed like an excited fangirl, with that voice you hear on the podcasts. Imagine it. IMAGINE IT!) When he gave her the flowers and when he made her lunch, those were great indeed, but when he admitted that he just wanted to walk home with Sakura—HNNNNGG~! I thought she was going to despair because she didn’t enjoy the walk due to well-justified suspicion, but no. Instead she’s wondering what he meant. Could this be—!?

Too Many Surprises is a Bad Thing

Speaking of Nozaki’s surprises, be careful boys (and girls). While the occasional surprise is pleasant—those flowers would have been masterful, if not for that hand—too much can lead to the object of your desire (or simply a friend) being too on guard. I remember tripping across this when I was younger, with a girlfriend who was really ticklish … and soon I couldn’t hold her because she suspected I’d send her into a laughing fit. That’s why it felt so natural that Chiyo was wary of Nozaki’s surprises on their walk home—and so surprising when they used that misdirection to hit us with the romantic(?) surprise. Too many surprises is a bad thing, but once in a while sure is nice, eh?

Everyone Helps With the Manga. Surprise!

I’m beginning to really want Kashima (and Yuzuki!) to find out about Nozaki’s manga. I’m not sure if Kashima finding out about it would end as badly as Hori-chan-sempai expects, but I’d like to know! Which is why I cracked up when they all took out their manga tools, though it was quickly brushed under the rug. What a wasted opportunity … is what I would say, but I don’t believe for a second it was truly wasted, only deferred.

Using Your Friends as Inspiration

You’ve got to be careful when using your friends as inspiration. We all do it, and everyone knows it. All of my friends, most of my coworkers, and every one of my fellow RC writers have made their way into my note files, and a few RC commenters/IRC personalities have as well. But you can’t bend reality to fuel the story! True, you can purposefully do things with research in mind—I go out, go on trips, and occasionally go on dates at least in part because I know the experience will lead to story ideas. And that’s fine. I just cringed when Nozaki was so blatantly trying to mine his friends for inspiration … but it was a good cringe! Unlike Maeno, Nozaki in super-forceful-about-his-manga mode is a treat to see; he’s a surprisingly good boke. You should let Hori-chan-sempai get some sleep though.

Looking Ahead – Sakura x Nozaki-kun End!?

I literally yelled out “Noooo!” when the boys were having their romance talk, and Nozaki passed out before they could ask him about Chiyo. Once again, literally—I’m glad I wasn’t watching this in public! But that, along with that final preview picture, makes it seem like a Sakura x Nozaki end is incoming. And the great part is, I’m not entirely sure what we’ll get. My assumption is they’ll tease harder and dodge, because the manga is ongoing, but an anime original ending that gives actual development between Chiyo and Nozaki is possible! I know, I know, wishful thinking, but they’ve left just enough of a possibility open that I’m not sure.

Note: I’m leaving for my second overseas trip in a couple of days, so I won’t be around to blog the next episode … and it’s the finale. D’oh! Fortunately Zanibas has agreed to step in, and since he’s been helping me with the screen caps all season, it’s fitting that he gets to finish the series off. I’ll send him some final impressions to include in his post, but other than that, thank you for sticking with me this season once again!

Wait, does that mean I have to wait to see the finale for two whole weeks? DAMN!

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – The return of Sakura x Nozaki-kun. They’re so adorable together! If only the boy talk had led to results rather than just armw restling #nozakikun 11

Random thoughts:

  • Nozaki-kun really was traumatized by Maeno. The good news for Ken-san is that baseline competence is good enough to earn Nozaki’s love. The “good news”.
  • Anyone care to explain that gift Nozaki tried to force onto Chiyo? A gift from Maeno maybe? That joke appeared and then fell away.
  • Shipping furiously!
  • Hori-chan-sempai is a legs man. I approve. That means he must like tall girls, ufufu~
  • Waka likes girls with pure hearts. No, you’re the one with the pure heart, Wakaaaa!

Check out my blog about storytelling and the novel I’m writing at stiltsoutloud.com. The last four posts: Vacation, & a taste of what’s to come, Life or death, Just plain fun, and Don’t have enough time.

 

Preview

40 Comments

  2. Incoming troll ending is what I’m expecting. Somehow Stilts I keep seeming to find your posts right after you make them. It…..it’s not like I’m tracking you for anything!! Nnnnnooo! Don’t call the cops, I was kidding!

    The Green One
    Reply

  4. Baka Nozaki. The flowers would have been perfect on their own, even after the silliness of the chair thing. All you had to do was leave it at that, and it would be a perfect scene for your manga, but no, you just had to overplay your hand.

    I’m leaving for my second overseas trip in a couple of days, so I won’t be around to blog the next episode … and it’s the finale. D’oh!

    You really didn’t schedule these trips well, missing last week’s fun episode, and now next week’s finale… You need to properly plan your life around the anime airing schedule. 😉

    Wanderer
    Reply

  5. Anyone care to explain that gift Nozaki tried to force onto Chiyo?

    IIRC, it was some sort of gift from the editing department. I think as congratulations for being serialized or winning some sort of manga award.

    Malchus
    Reply

    1. The joke is probably more on the lines “unexpected gift” and “being forceful” and how literally Nozaki takes them than the gift itself.
      Though part of the joke might be that it’s not really anything Nozaki chose for Chiyo, but the editorial department chose for him (or standardized for everyone)?

      Erimaki
      Reply

  7. Not going to lie, was half tempted to start crying on how Ken managed to get Nozaki’s trust.
    “You’ve actually read my manga?!”
    …should NOT be a line that someone says to their editor. O_o;

    Yikes...
    Reply

  8. You’re using RC commenters as inspiration as well? Now I can see you totally pulling a Nozaki now, furiously scribbling notes on your paper as you go over the comments. Maybe whispering ‘dance, little commenters, dance for me!’ to yourself while you do it O_o

    Anyway, I certainly didn’t mind the increased focus on Nozaki and Chiyo again this week. There’s nothing as HNNNG-inducing as those two interacting, and I could wallpaper my wall with all the expressions Chiyo was making.

    The second half lacked Chiyo, but that one was more of a giant bundle of laughs. Besides the fact that it’s just inherently funny to see all these guys interact, there was also the abuse Nozaki heaped upon his friends. Because I agree with Hori, it’s disturbing how easily Nozaki turned their conversations into one from a shoujo manga. And I liked how two of them had long since picked up on Chiyo’s crush – but Nozaki had to ruin it again! Stay awake, you big lug!

    I’m too wary of this show to expect anything but a troll ending next episode, but if we’re getting more Nozaki x Chiyo goodness it’ll be good enough for me. End it with a bang!

    Dvalinn
    Reply

  9. It was nice change of pace to go back to the main couple of the series in this episode. It was full of Chiyo cuteness. I especially got to love Chiyo’s reaction at eating lunch. She’s got to be so happy that Nozaki-kun is serving her food and dessert that she was still in a state of disbelief. The only part that made me sad here is the next episode preview. It had to say the final episode is coming. Here’s hoping this gets a second season.

    Zhinvu
    Reply

  13. I’m pretty sure the gift was just the sailor uniform re-packaged, which is why Chiyo so stridently refused it. =D

    I feel like I’m seeing some anime-original material in this episode, which leaves me pleasantly in suspense about what the next episode is going to be!

    Gracelyn
    Reply

  15. You know what´s the saddest thing about Nozaki-kun being surprise about Ken-san reading his work? That it means Maeno didn´t even bother reading Mozaki´s manga, that was not funny at all, as you said before Stilts-san, Maeno´s complete incompetence as an editor hits me me the wrong way, what kind of idiot doesn´t the work of the author you´re editing!? Maybe Maeno gets hit by a truck at the end of the final episode, get Chiyo and Nozaki together and that´s a perferct finale for a wonderful series.

    haseo0408
    Reply

  25. If this Anime still has Stuff for a 2nd Season, then i would not mind to watch it 🙂

    It was a nice surprise this Season, alone the Voice Actors filling their Roles with so much “Soul”, that sometime i forgotten that their are just “Pixels”
    And the Sound-effects really added to the mood, that we are enjoying a Comedy Anime.

    I was pleasant surprise, when the Voice actors tune their voices when some Manga-voice over scenes where at work. As if they hit my inner Voice like i would imagine

    Short story:

    I was happy to be in your care, Team of Gekkan-shoujo-Nozaki-kun Anime. I really enjoyed your Show
    *bow in respect*

    Germanguy
    Reply

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