I think the question on everyone’s mind is, was it or wasn’t it?
I’m not one of them, but I know there are plenty for whom denim is almost a religion. And Japan is at the epicenter of this – vintage jeans are an absolute obsession here. There are countless stores dedicated to the cult of denim both B&M and online, they go for outrageous sums on auction sites, and there are whole towns whose main industry is jeanswear. It’s all rather lost on me I’m afraid but it first Moi’s personality like well-trained jeans.
I do know this – jeans you wore for a year without washing them would be pretty rank, wouldn’t they? After all, this is a country with obscenely hot and humid summers outside Hokkaido. I share your horror, Nico-chan. But for Moi this is life. “Whiskers”, indeed – I learned (and already forgot) a lot of terminology this week. Originally when Miharu asked to learn more I thought he was being a troll, but turns out he was just an innocent lamb going to the slaughter. Except Moi’s pure passion infected the other boys (not Nico, though). Mei being such an otaku and obsessive about vintage fashion really is a great character detail.
I know enough to know Nico’s spell is going to work out disastrously for Moi-chan. And “Doppelgänger” certainly does. There’s something just a bit disturbing about many of her spells, too, and that certainly applies to this one. Remarkably enough things wind up working out for Moi when the jeans Miharu’s dad gifted him – which Nico repaired as a gesture over her golem trashed Moi’s precious lovingly-trained 50-whatevers – turn out to be worth ¥1 million online. But Moi ain’t selling – he’s too much the purist.
That Moi and Nico’s first date (basically) was treated in such a whimsical manner is reflective of the fact that Witch Watch definitely accents the “com” over the “rom”. When she posed her question to the guys I half-expected Miharu to be an expert on dating, given his shoujo prince status. But no, they were all clueless. Moi takes up the challenge and designs (and I do means designs) an itinerary in classic OCD fashion. Romantic is definitely not the word you’d choose for it, but at least he’s being true to himself and that is the guy Nico fell for. I mean, nothing says “first date” like Battleship Potemkin.
As a coffee guy, the kissaten scene was my favorite here. Again, this is just so totally Moi-chan – he’s an ojii-san in a teen’s body. The only detail missing was the dense clouds of cigarette smoke that fill almost every one of those old-school kissaten (which totally shanks your ability to taste the coffee but hey, no one asked me). The whole thing ending up with konbini snacks al fresco under nature’s planetarium was fitting and, dare I say, pretty romantic.
Now, the big question: was that a Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu reference? . During the dating chapter Keigo suggested the Meguro Parasitological Museum as a date spot, which happens to be Ichi’s response to that question from the Bokuyaba Anime Companion book. And at the culture fest planning session, where the introverts moaned about how it’s an event for the Es (they’re right) was immediately reminiscent of Kyoutarou’s inner monologue during a similar scene early in Bokuyaba. Could Shinohara Kenta have read a Bokuyaba extra book and homaged it here? Maybe it’s unlikely, but it is a rather fun coincidence at the very least.
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