Demi-chan wa Kataritai / First Impressions

「デュラハンちゃんは甘えたい」 (Durahan-Chan wa Amaetai)
“Dullahan-Chan Wants To Be Cuddled”

Man, why can’t more of our teachers be like Takahashi-sensei?

Dullahan-chan!

After a great showing last week, Demi-chan returns to us this week with a slightly more relaxed atmosphere as we dove into Machi Kyouko’s story. Being one out of the three known Dullahans in the entire world, there’s bound to be troubles that most people haven’t even considered. From having the flame on your body revealing your inner emotions to literally not having a neck and suffering the physical consequences of missing a crucial limb, it makes you really view some Demi’s as having a true disability instead of some quirky trait. And you know, the more I think about it, the more I realize that it must be a gigantic pain in the butt having to carry a non-attached appendage. Especially when it’s something as important as your head for god sakes! Luckily, it looks like Machi has done a bang-up job at overcoming the shortcomings of not having your head attached to your body. That said, I’m sure we’re all wondering — how does what she eat end up going to her body? The scene where she was drinking a bunch of juice and needed to pee after left me with a bunch of questions that I’m not sure if I want answered but at the same time would like to know the anatomy behind it.

Going Above and Beyond

Even though we talked a little about it last week, boy am I glad that we have someone like Takahashi-sensei acting as the main male MC for the show. With various situations appearing that would throw your typical male MC for a loop, I absolutely love how nothing seems to faze him sans a few situations where our aggressive vampire-chan pops in to stir up some laughs. Honestly, can you imagine how badly the mood would be broken if Takahashi didn’t keep up that professional attitude while listening to his student’s inner thoughts and secrets? That and there’s no denying the guy gives pretty darn good advice for high school kids. Instead of just giving lip-service or pulling things out of his butt, there’s a genuine sense that he’s put a lot of thought into the difficulties his students are facing and tries to keep their needs in mind. Again, why can’t we have more teachers like Takahashi-sensei?

A Quick Take on Humor and Looking Ahead

I pointed this out last week, but the facial expressions on all the characters have been spot on and the amount of exaggeration used is just right when it comes to selling the jokes in the show. With Machi supplying a brunt of humor this week, I have to applaud the animators and artists for being able to get so much expression without the use of the entire body. That and I’m glad to see that Hikari hasn’t lost her extremely menacing face when she gets dirt on anyone.

Also, unlike another show that features mythical creatures that may or not have gigantic chests, there was a cute charm to the sound effects this show gave to Machi’s fire. Serving as a form of characterization and not just as “sound”, I really appreciated the shows conservative approach with its use.

And with that, let me close things out before the post gets any longer. I’ll catch you guys next week where we’ll hopefully see a little more Satou-sensei and just a pinch more of Hikari. See you then!

P.S. Am I the only one who felt shivers go down their spine after this scene? God, I can feel my pinky toe hurting just thinking about it.

 

Preview

45 Comments

  1. wow…it’s great, they expand the story from manga without messing up the pace , the scene at the end where succubus-sensei witness takahasi-sensei talking with the headmaster was original and works great for giving some background for succubus-sensei(at the manga she kinda too easily accepting takahashi-sensei and it’s kinda weird because her problem..well just watch next episode).

    goerg
    Reply

  2. Yet another dullahan for the “adorkable” club! I approve of these pyrotechnics!! Seriously though, Hikari is a pretty good wingwoman. Not like there’s any chance something will happen, but she didn’t do it all for comedy. Just partly…

    And I’m just gonna say it: Kyouko and maybe Satou-sensei want tickets to the gun show! XD Seriously, how does collected, thoughtful and jacked keep a guy is his thirties single? Is this really anime?

    Aex
    Reply

    1. It is being discussed in the latest manga chapter, Takahashi and Machi went to see a scientist friend of his and he theorizes that Machi’s neck a stable micro wormhole, her neck exists but is in a different dimension. Machi said that she has had her throat checked before by a doctor and it was completely normal in that regard when they looked at it.

      Wizel
      Reply

  4. another great episode of Demi, gosh I love this anime so much. I’m quite surprised that there are only three dullahan in the world, I thought they’d be more. Takahashi-sensei is lucky to found one, and in school even hha.

    The scene when her body is on the bullet train while the head stayed behind was hilarious lol. Also praise for Takahashi-sensei that stay cool while bringing Machi’s head around, I imagine it would be tiring to hold something that weigh around 5 to 11 pounds while exploring the town.

    raxar
    Reply

  9. Any other teacher would refuse to spend time outside of class with a student on the grounds that it’d look very wrong and their reputations could be ruined. But Takahashi knows what Machi needs to feel better! He’s a gentleman.

    … am I just a wimp? Through the second half of the episode, I nearly cried, because I realized juat how sad Machi’s life is like. Only one in 3 dullahans in the world!? She’d be guaranteed to feel lonely in a world where no one understands you! Poor baby.

    starss
    Reply

  10. Man, why can’t more of our teachers be like Takahashi-sensei?

    Because a few bad apples have made it almost impossible for a teacher like him to even touch a student.

    This show has the potential to be one of the best stories about teenagers I’ve watched and it’s utilizing mythical beings to accomplish it. The problems the girls face are unique but the underlying issues about being an outsider and just growing up have really been well written.

    Machi’s joke to Takahashi-sensei just left me gasping for breath I was laughing so hard! Perfect timing, perfect delivery. She’ll quickly put the other kids at ease with lines like that.

    Bear
    Reply

    2. I know colleges and universities (especially smaller ones) where professors and students will go hang out and grab a beer. For me, I was a teaching assisstant back in university/grad school and we would visit our professors houses for lunch/dinner whenever we graded papers or hang out together whenever we went out to conferences. I guess being older also obviates any teacher-student inappropriateness.

      I do recall one of the teachers from Amaama to Inazuma telling Kouhei how teachers used to visit students and also join families for dinner. Not sure if that’s a reference based on reality, but Anime is usually based on some sort of truth.

      I think it’s more American public schools (K – 12) where there have been so many bad apples that any teacher-student interaction (especially hugging/touching) may be perceived as inappropriate or some sort of harrassment.

      I love how this Anime sparks such great discusisons. And we haven’t even touched on the main theme of the series: how Demi’s are in a sense like an analogy for different human races/cultures and how we should respect each race for their individual characteristics.

      Aoihoshikage
      Reply

  11. Yep. This is getting a good adaptation – at least IMO. So far I think the changes made, whether moving things around a bit or adding anime only scenes, all work and add to the source material. One item I liked is keeping both Yuki & succubus-sense (forgot her name) around this episode (even if not for long) since the show introduced both last episode. Also think Hikari’s voicing is noteworthy. All in all, pretty impressive.

    daikama
    Reply

      1. @Guile: Agree. So far this is a solid adaptation, and yeah, better than Jitsu Watashi Wa. Also better than Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon IMO. :/ Only one episode, but I think Gabriel Dropout is getting a noteworthy adaptation as well.

        daikama
        Reply

  16. Takahashi-sensei is quite reliable and surprisingly good at talking with girls. He’s perceptive and calm and understanding. I’m sooooo glad he’s a teacher/authority figure instead of some high school brain dead dink that so often gets put as the MC in these types of shows. Him simply being there makes the show somewhat unique.

    I love the little details the show goes into, not just the little details from the manga (assuming because I haven’t actually seen but I have heard about) like how they do their emotions, wow are the facial expressions great. Also the way they showed how walking was from Machi’s point of view (even I was starting to get motion sick from that POV shot).

    Seeing how Machi has to adapt in order to do everyday ordinary things was quite something to watch; like even eating she has to wear a whole rig, she puts her head in a cat house to sleep and it’s possible for her to actually lose her body over vast distances.

    I’m amazed how this show can go seamlessly from light and happy scenes to sensitive and deep scenes and back to lighthearted scenes all without feeling jarring or mood spoiling. Truly remarkable and I think it’ll continue to be a great adaptation.

    Roguespirit
    Reply

  18. apparently food and drink magically teleports between head and rest of the body for Machi…
    chuckled hard at the joke about “heads rolling and next dullahan”
    and absolutely loved how adorable Machi was throughout the episode
    vampire girl best wingwoman for Machi – though the romance is not getting anywhere cause Takahashi would consider that unprofessional to romance a student. A fellow teacher romance might be in the workings, though…
    chuckled when Hikari mentioned dullahan “advantages at ecchi” – I can already see the doujinshi flood coming soon TM
    Takahashi shone as calm collected and well, adult acting MC.

    ewok40k
    Reply

  19. You know, aside from the food problem, what I would really like to know is how dullahans are born? I mean, does their head separate from the body in the womb? But if the doctors and parents saw something like that on a ultrasound, wouldn’t there be a major freakout? At least the first time it happened. Or does it just roll off sometime after birth? Because that would also cause a major freakout, I imagine. If dullahans were a more common thing, then I would understand, but seeing how there are apparently only three scattered around the planet, one has to wonder. I somehow doubt this gets adressed in the manga, but if, by some miracle, it does, would you please care to share?

    LookBehindYou
    Reply

  20. I wont lie if i dont have a thing for this Takahashi-sensei.

    I mean, even from ep.1, i kinda like him. And in ep.2, if Takahashi-sensei is a real person, i even would wanna date him XD (yea i got a thing for buff man, especially those with some facial hair hahahaa…kinda rare for such character to be the MC in most animes if you know what i mean, its always those generic male design) so yea, i dont blame Machi to have crush on him hehe

    I think i kinda relate to these main female characters in the show XD especially the part where Satou-sensei was staring at Takahashi’s arm <3 hohoho cant wait for next week!

    Takahashi is the man of the year. Enough said.

    onion warrior
    Reply

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