First Impressions / Mayo Chiki!

「大好きになっちゃった！」 (Daisuki ni Nacchatta!)
“I’ve Fallen in Love!”

Now now Jirou, I don’t have all those wild fetishes either, but when Kanade makes a strong case like she did, the least we can do is hear her out. She has some really creative ideas after all. There’s no reason to lose your appetite when honey is involved. Sweet sweet honey.

In case anyone’s wondering, I’m still undecided on whether I’ll be covering this (utterly awesome) romantic comedy for the rest of the season, but there’s no way I’d let this second episode with the girlish side of Subaru out in full force slip by without saying a word. I’d have to be crazy when there’s this, this, this, this, and even this care of Kanade’s kinky imagination (…bless her sadistic soul). It never hurts to have some of that or that either. I’m still loving the character designs in this adaptation, which capture quite beautifully in almost scene. Go feel studio.

I mentioned back in the first episode that I was completely set on watching this series just for Subaru, and after this second episode, I can confidently say that it’s her character’s unique combination of “submissive seductiveness” and “innocent cuteness” that I find so appealing. The former comes from her tough and seemingly cold exterior that she maintains because of her devotion to Kanade, which never wavers even under the most ridiculous orders she’s given just to entertain her master. In fact, there’s every indication to believe that if Jirou had used his “butler ticket” to give Subaru one of the wild and depraved orders that Kanade suggested, the poor girl would’ve obeyed it without question. So far, she’s shown some reluctance in her facial expressions but never in her actions, making her sense of servitude extremely alluring. Granted, she’ll kill you right after, but at you’d get your few moments of fun before you die. We can’t say that about many anime characters now can we?

The latter on the other hand comes from Subaru’s girlish side surfacing, often when she’s not entirely aware of it herself. She has this natural cuteness to her, which is brought about by becoming more comfortable around Jirou as her first real friend and unconsciously lowering her guard around him. It’s just too damn adorable at times. On paper, this suggests she has all the qualities of a typical tsundere, except she really isn’t your typical tsundere at all. She doesn’t seem to bear a grudge against Jirou even after the mishap last time, and is simply following Kanade’s orders. Also, it’s as if she realizes that it’s Kanade causing all her turmoil, so she doesn’t really badmouth or beat up Jirou for no apparent reason. Now that’s what I call a win toward fine-tuning the anime tsundere. (2D Banzai!)

From a viewer perspective, it’s easy to say that Jirou should’ve just licked or gotten licked by Subaru — or better yet, ordered her to become his girlfriend/lover — but I surprised even myself in that I don’t really want to see her taken advantage of since she may very well be the cutest character that Iguchi Yuka has ever played. She and Jirou actually make a pretty cute couple, and it’s fun watching Jirou slowly win her over by helping keep her secret during their physical examination — even at his own expense. In just two short episodes, Jirou’s already become the first person who Subaru can be herself around, so it should only be a matter of time before Subaru becomes the first girl who Jirou can be physically around. Throw in the radical S4 (Shooting Star Subaru Sama) and their more peaceful counterpart, Mimamorukai, and there should be ample outside interference to keep things interesting between them.

Of course, it’s going to be a lot more fun watching Kureha throw a wrench in their relatively smooth progress, now that she’s fallen for Subaru because of how strong “he” is. Where that’s going to take us I’m not sure, but just for the record, I am not the least bit opposed to hearing some Iguchi Yuka x Hanazawa Kana yuri action. Next time, it looks like we’re getting a pool episode, along with a traumatic kidnapping incident (?) to add an extra dimension to the inevitable fan-service.

* A commercial was shown for Kitamura Eri’s new “Be Starters!” single, which is slated to be released on August 10th. She looks pretty good in it too.
* Kanade’s chef Samejima Kosame is voiced by Sawashiro Miyuki, whereas her maid Saotome Ichigo is voiced by Chihara Minori. Both are great additions to the cast.

 

Preview

88 Comments

      5. It’ll be great if you continue this series as no one does screen shots (esp. full length) like you do and no one links his post to the pics as much as you do. It’s find to read when there are pictures in between text.

        deafvader
        Reply

      11. I have to agree. The show is just that much more entertaining with your commentary afterwards. I definitely think you should keep blogging this one. Hanazawa x Iguchi should make for a very interesting, um… situation.

        TehJawknee
        Reply

      14. @bunny: Time is the main reason. I don’t think many people realize how much of a time commitment blogging a series on a weekly basis is. Saying a few words with a screen capture or two is really easy, but maintaining the current format is quite a bit of work.

        Divine
        Reply

      16. How about the filmstip format? Maybe tell some short thoughts about the ep then have a weekly ero corner where there’s delicious Subaru shots. But I hear it was a pain to set up.

        Dyne
        Reply

  6. Nice to see Jirou finally starting to cause a stir by befriending a reverse-trap. It’s hilarious to think that there is a campus war between Subaru fangirls(S4) and SubaruxJirou yaoi shippers(Mimamorukai).

    I’m really liking this show, it knows how mix romance, comedy and echi and execute it properly. Most other ecchi shows don’t really do that well.

    fragb85
    Reply

  7. For all of you still on the fence about this show, throw away plot. Just get rid of it. We don’t need it here, with production values this good, comedy this gut-busting, and fan-service this cute and appealing, there’s no need for any of that stuff here. This show is just god damn thoroughly good.

    Click
    Reply

  11. I vote yes for Divine blogging this.

    I love reverse traps too much to ignore Mayo Chiki. And it’s quite a bonus that this series is off to a great start too. The fact that it blends perversion, cuteness and slap stick in a healthy amount works really well. That and the main characters don’t feel irritating like a lot of other similar shows.

    synkronized
    Reply

  14. Good to see you’ve taken a liking to this show too Divine. There’s no doubt you’re going to blog this through the end seeing as you already written episode 2 post lol.

    Damn Jirou wasted his butler ticket..

    Nhelraios
    Reply

  17. GAh. I thought this was going to be crap but this better than MM. Reverse trap wins. False assumption that he was a guy – wins. Darn you Mayo Chiki. Now I can’t concentrate with my RL studies.

    Croos
    Reply

  19. I didn’t know there where so many meaning to the word lick. 🙂

    @Divine

    You have to blog this. What other anime could you want to blog other than this? Not at the expense of penguin drum though.

    lkaze
    Reply

      4. If you have to drop any one, can’t you delay posting it? But if you have to choose, my vote is either blood-c or idolmaster to be dropped.

        Btw i heard that the Jupiter idol(male) is going to come to idolmaster soon.

        lkaze
        Reply

  22. When you said this anime was Maria Holic + MM!, you weren’t kidding. How the date played out was exactly like in MM!’s 2nd(3rd?) episode(not that dates like this don’t happen in lots of anime, mind you), and the whole mention of “Father in heaven” def reminded me of MH.

    frubam
    Reply

  26. I went into this expecting a really mediocre ecchi, maybe a little comedy. But the route its going almost shows that it will turn into a really cute romance! Ill probably drop it if it gets boring, but i like where its going so far!

    Nikku
    Reply

  28. Is this show like Nyan Koi? The character designs look familiar and they both have orange hair protagonists.

    Oh, and based on your posts Divine it seems like you enjoy this one more than Blood-C, so you can always do a switch and blog this instead.

    ShuffleAir
    Reply

    1. The only similarity I can really draw to Nyan Koi is the level of enjoyment. If you liked Nyan Koi then there’s a good chance you’ll like Mayo Chiki too.

      The thought had crossed my mind to cover this over BLOOD-C, but I’m going to hold out a bit longer for Production I.G and CLAMP’s original series to surprise me.

      Divine
      Reply

  29. The violent, idiot sister still annoys me to no end(growing up must’ve been hell for Jirou), but otherwise, pretty fun episode. That “beeeh” scene was just…. XD She really is too adorable in girl-mode.

    Still think it’s gonna get annoying with all the girls liking Subaru and Subaru liking Jirou, but maybe they’ll surprise me and pull it off well.

    Aex
    Reply

  30. @Divine: since you already stated utterly awesome + Subaru’s moeness + an ojou-sama who’s boredom is off the charts, Do you even need more reasons to continue blogging this?

    Now, last anime for this season left: Dantalian no Shoka. Hope it’s good.

    Omega
    Reply

    1. The only reason not to is because I already have two Thursday shows — BLOOD-C and Mawaru Penguindrum. Blogging three shows in a single day is a fair bit of work, particularly on a weekday. Compare this to the other writers who blog 3-4 shows over an entire week.

      Divine
      Reply

      1. Ouch that’s a hard choice. You can opt to blog one of the shows several days after it airs. Have a breather or something. I’m personally more interested on reading your opinions on the show.

        fragb85
        Reply

      2. Divine I’m not sure how you’re finding Blood-C, ep1 didn’t grab me at all so I for one would be happy to see that dropped in favour of Mayo Chiki or idolm@ster.

        I hope you keep covering Penguindrum in any case though!

        Zeuradin
        Reply

  31. @Divine

    Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it. Blog it.

    ………
    No pressure. And if you need someone to help there are about 100 people here with blogging exp.

    The M0on DOgg
    Reply

  32. @Divine If you’re not going to blog it, I’m sure your sold on watching the show lol. I agree with some other people when they say this and Mawaru is better than BLOOD-C. Perhaps just do a semi blog on this or something:P

    btw, “I’m still loving the character designs in this adaptation, which capture quite beautifully in almost scene” – you forgot ‘every’ I guess.

    ctscloud
    Reply

  33. I am forced to ask, did anyone else notice that Subaru was fully aware of what the card was and the implications of the card?

    I can only imagine the situations which would lead to such intimacy with the card.

    kuatal
    Reply

  34. Yay for this show! We actually have 2 tsunderes in it! Subaru, and (traditional, true definition of a tsundere) Kureha. And on top of that, we have a rich yet sadistic master.

    Sugoi
    Reply

  35. Well this was a nice episode. Though some parts were a bit hard to get through; the physical examination part mainly. The joke started to wear thin around the second parts. However, other then that exception it was still a good episode.

    Things will only get weirder as this series progresses. It’s going to be both entertaining and some what questionable, to see how far Jirou will go to protect Subaru’s secret. couple with Kureha trying to put a wedge in there relationship and Kanade’s…sadistic nature.

    It’s too early to say where this series is going, but things look good so far.

    *Also on a side note, why is it that since Higurashi did the whole glazed over expression. Whenever someone goes in to yandre/killer mode, every series that has something similar occur, use the same ploy?

    I’m not complaining, just curious.

    Snicket
    Reply

  36. Oh wow, Subaru is too cute not to cover.

    I vote yes just for Divine to screencap every delicious Subaru shot per episode, if he’s not in the mood to write anything. Even that would be enough.

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

    1. This could probably be arranged, though some people get upset when the amount of text doesn’t balance out with the images. I know it sounds crazy, but some people are pretty emphatic about hearing what I have to say about an episode.

      Divine
      Reply

  39. I’m considering dropping Blood-C and keeping Mayo Chiki. This show actually entertains me, while I’m only tuning into Blood-C for the hype…

    But you know, that’s just me.

    ren
    Reply

  40. Wow…I never include honey in my wild imagination. Need to learn more from Kanade-sama. I bet this championship tag team between a mother & her daughter will definitely beat the crap out of the father & son of Vince & Shane McMahon. Also, I hope to see more of this S-4 & know what were their reaction IF (& possibly) Subaru’s identity is revealed.

    HD
    Reply

    1. I can only wonder if Kanade-sama has really done any of those things with Subaru. Being that they grew up together. Can only hope fanservice specials come out to reveal more. xD

      boiya
      Reply

  42. Divine, I’m a big fan and I’d love to see you continue to blog this. Your entries are as light hearted and funny as the anime itself. If anything, I’m sure we won’t mind if you released you blog entries for Mayo Chiki a few days after.

    RonIron
    Reply

    1. I haven’t committed to Ro-Kyu-Bu or the Ouran High School Host Club live-action drama slated to air this upcoming week, so pushing off a show to Friday is a possibility. I’m generally pretty adamant about blogging a show on the day it airs unless I’m swamped, and committing to three or more shows on a single day is what I would classify as swamped.

      Divine
      Reply

    1. I agree, but it is unfair to Charlotte though. Since Subaru has way more episodes where the girls go after her. Whereas Charlotte had like two maybe three episodes at most.

      x
      Reply

  44. I’m just wondering, but does the main character’s best friend happen to be gay? Cause in the first ep when he was talking about homosexuality, I couldn’t help but notice an earring on his left ear when he turned his head- absent on the right. Could someone who’s read the source material kindly enlighten me on this matter?

    Zen
    Reply

    1. There was a guy blushing in the background during the hug scene so there definately is a high possibility that the school has some.

      Subaru’s fans/followers have shown to only be females so far. That’s why its so easy for them to picture SubaruxJirou as a couple since they’ve gotten “close”. Can only wonder who REALLY would be in the seme and uke roles???

      boiya
      Reply

      1. Sorry if my question was unclear; I wasn’t talking about Subaru, I was referring to Jirou’s friend Kurose, with whom he has a conversation about homosexuality in episode one. At exactly 3:42 on the clock, Kurose turns his head to reveal a single earring on his left ear, which is usually a sign of being gay- while himself accusing Jirou of being gay.

        My question was if anyone knew whether Kurose himself is gay, as the left-ear-only pierving would seem to indicate; whether he was basically a pot calling the kettle black in that scenario?

        Again I apologize if my question was unclear. I hope someone can clarify this matter for me.

        Zen
        Reply

  45. I need some help on understanding what was said in this episode. During the end of their date.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    boiya
    Reply

    1. When Subaru said “The kindness of family”, she meant and thought that the reason the mom and sister stops using Jiro as a testing dummy for new moves was they care about him when he starts bleeding.

      “No, because the floor would get dirty….” with Jiro’s blood.

      The M0on DOgg
      Reply

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