Kao ni Denai Kashiwada-san to Kao ni Deru Oota-kun – 02
My overall view of Kao ni Denai Kashiwada-san to Kao ni Deru Oota-kun hasn’t changed after this episode. It’s basically a 22-minute diabetic coma kit with a side of humor. There are elements (not all positive) of several classic middle school romcoms here – Tonari no Seki-kun and Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san certainly come to mind. And some HS ones too, certainly Aharen-san wa Hakarenai. The comedy reminds me a bit of Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge, too.
Looks like we’re going for the multi-chapter format (four in this case), common for adaptations that lean into being gag manga. The first one here involved Oota-kun being drafted to teach Kashiwada-san how to swim. The whole idea of swimming class in junior high is inexpressibly terrifying (especially for boys) even without the nightmare-inducing Speedos on the sensei. The whole lesson goes hilariously wrong when Kashiwada does a number on Oota’s trunks, which he’s quick to forget about when she seems to be drowning.
The lunch bit was unbelievably sweet, with Kashiwada deciding to make a bento for Oota but being too shy to admit it – she just c*ck-blocks his attempts to get to the bread truck. Eventually she musters the nerve to present her lunch, which Oota predictably does his tsun routine over until Sada-kun (I think) offers to take it. The punchline is that the “lunch” turns out to be two usagi ringo and nothing else. About the Tabuchi-san introduction the less said the better. This is a tired trope of this sort of series and frankly the one red flag in the first two episodes. It has the potential to be a real derailer – let’s hope she plays an extremely minor role going forward.
Finally, Oota-kun teasingly holds one of Kashiwada’s hair ties out the window in a typhoon, which Tabuchi spins into a big deal (which fortunately impacts her more than anyone) on the basis of nothing whatsoever. The funny thing is, as all this was playing out I was thinking “I bet that thing came from Daiso” – and so it turned out to be. Daiso or no, Oota-kun getting drenched and then hand-delivering the tie (along with one I bet cost more than ¥100) is pretty revealing. It’s a classic case of kids being too young for romance – she’s too shy and he just falls back on grade-school overcompensation. But it sure is cute to watch them be vexed about it.
Toujima Tanzaburou wa Kamen Rider ni Naritai – 02
Tojima wants to be a Kamen Rider is objectively quite good, I must say. But there’s an elephant in the room here, a question whose answer will reveal what sort of series this actually is. The thing is, what the adults we see here are doing – living out a fantasy based on a 50 year-old TV show – is extremely unhealthy. It’s dangerous. It’s not something grown people should be doing, even if you factor out the robberies and the vigilantism. Is that the “official” position of the series, or are we supposed to see these folks as heroic or even admirable? Or is the whole thing just a big goof and the author doesn’t even think about it?
The title loser barely factors into this episode, actually. Most of it focused on a busty teacher named Yuriko. Her student Asano-kun is madly in love with her, but her heart belongs to another. That would be Tackle, apparently another hero from the old “Kamen Rider” franchise. Her dad gets her into this for sound reasons initially but it quickly escalates into dysfunction. In the present she’s pissed at Tanzaburou, who she sees as a poser if he’s fighting Shocker wearing only a mask. Plus, she considers Shocker her prey – and she’s appropriately indiscriminate with her ass-kicking when both “heroes” show up at the latest Shocker robbery.
Then we have Shocker himself, Hachirou, who’s just as deluded as the others. He’s just a depressive yakuza mid-boss with delusions of grandeur who idolized the villains instead of the heroes. Eventually he rebrands himself as “Yakuza-man”, which I’m assuming is an original creation. But as Tack and Kamen Rider are headed towards the latest robbery, another nutter intrudes – and he seems to be the Yuriko to Hachirou’s Toujima, a guy who sees Hachirou as a piker for not embracing the fantasy all out. There’s also a YouTuber live-streaming at the time, who turns his camera on the robbery and sees his views explode. And Asano shouting “I love you!” from the rafters.
It’s all quite fun, and very well-executed. The big-name seiyuu are all on-point and the balance of comedy and action is harmonious. Having no skin in the tokusatsu game probably limits how much traction a lot of this is going to have with me, but for now I’m interested and entertained and that’s enough to keep me watching.
The post Second Impressions Digest – Kao ni Denai Kashiwada-san to Kao ni Deru Oota-kun (Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota), Toujima Tanzaburou wa Kamen Rider ni Naritai (Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider) appeared first on Lost in Anime.
