So yea, I’m gonna need a break there to catch my breath after watching that one.

I vant to be…alone

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Who Knew?

OK, better start from the beginning.

Did you do something with your hair?

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You know, Mr Blogger, you have been writing about Haruka’s Secret for 17 episodes now.  I get the sense that you see something in this show, but frankly, I don’t sense the joy in your posts that I see with your other favorite series.  So while the screenshots tell the story of this weeks episode, you and I need to have a chat.  You, my friend are addicted.

Addicted to crappy anime.

They’re coming to take me away, haha…

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Remember that show about the boy that transforms into a girl and battles other girls with either magic, guns or swords, and the mysterious Moderators who arranged those fight?  Well neither do the writers, and frankly, that’s turning out awesome.

THE CAKE IS A LIE!
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A Christmas episode I watched on Halloween?

Exactly

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Kampfer has managed to rise just above the level of stupid I expected for a show of this type. There is much less fan service than one would expect, and hints of a plot behind all the random violence. I think what struck me most is the way they treat the gender bending protagonist. Rather than being a guy taking advantage of his situation, circumstances have him spend most of his time as a girl, and he actually plays the part. Lucky for him, all Japanese school girls are lesbians.

You read that right.

Not a Y chromazone in the house

Episode 2 sets up this situation, when the student council president, Shizuru, is revealed as the first enemy Kampfer.  This is the first sign that the story can rise above the depth of stupid I expected, as we start delving into the fact that no one really knows what the Kampfers are.

Hey, a plot point!

They still fall back on cliche personalities, though.

Tsundere is Japanese for Bitch

Now on to Episode 3.  This show confirms what every guy always suspected. Put a gaggle of females in an all girls school, and the need for testosterone drops to nil. This is revealed thanks to a flimsy excuse by the student council president to enroll Natsuru as a girl on the all girls side. The twist here is Natsuru is not so good at maintaining his transformation, and thus, hi-jinks ensue.

This is making me blush

I should point out there is no fighting in this episode, at least not with guns or swords.  Instead, this is developing into a first for me – an all girl harem show (so much for swearing off yuri).  First you have Sakura’s hot, hot pursuit of Natsuru.

What is she trying to say here?

Then Akane stakes her claim, though I’m still not clear if she is after girl Natsuru or boy Natsuru.

Subtile

What makes all this overt sexuality work is the fact that Natsuru sets records for densest anime character of all time.  Where talking white dwarf levels of stupidity here.

What was your first clue?

Shizuru’s solution to this is to start the rumor that Natsuru is already dating…Natsuru?

The question is not Why, but HOW!

Apparently breeders are no fun, and he quickly looses the interest of most of girls, but not Sakura.  She challenges Natsuru for the affections of Natsuru.  That’s right – Natsuru is his own rival.

Love square with three people?

Oh the psychology papers I could write about this show. There is always a slight lesbian undertone in any female ensemble cast, going all the way back to Sailor Uranus in Sailor Moon. Sometimes it’s implied, sometimes explicit, but in this case, it’s completely played for laughs. I suspect once the joke wears out we will be on to new things, like the love square between Sakura, Natsuru, Natsuru, and Akane. And we still have one more Kampfer to go, I’m guessing another red to balance out the sides.

Airhead cat lover with a yakuza fetish?  Sadistic childhood friend?  Reverse Trap high school yakuza boss?  Animators and writers who must be on acid?

You had me at acid.

Sense – this makes none

The plot this week introduces a new character, and again I have a new favorite.  Ichinose, to spoil the fairly obvious reveal of this episode, is the newest unintentional love interest for Kousaka.  I refer to her as a reverse trap – rather than the guy who looks like a girl, she is a girl who looks like a guy.  The method of the reveal is also pretty obvious.

The Japanese are a very clumsy people

Even the inflection in her voice changes depending on the situation.  Nothing like a bi-polar yakuza member to add to the fun.

The rest of the story has plot points that include the cliche

How many episodes will this go on?

The unexpected

This is not how you react to finding yourself in a Yakuza stronghold

To the WTF?

No.  God No.

The visual style of this show lands it firmly in the area of gag anime, with bizzare visual twists and turns like those below.

You can’t resist my Geass!

An important ecological message.

Also, I am convinced all Japanese people are muppets

There is a felt shortage in the Far East

While I try to keep an open mind about the cultural differences seen in anime, there is one trend that makes me cringe. One trend that makes Australia try to ban manga. One trend that makes me erase my hard drive before I go on vacation.

Loli.

Yea, they went there…

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Nyan Koi sounds like a goofy concept, and it is – guy who is allergic to cats gets cursed so that he can understand cats, and must help them or turn into a cat himself. It’s a bit of a gag show, has some harem elements, nothing too fantastic overall. And yet I’m loving it so far. It took me a bit to figure out why, given there is nothing that stands out. But I think I finally hit on its appeal.

No panties.

OMG she is wearing PANTS!

I can’t remember the last show I watched that didn’t have some ecchi component.  We’re three episodes in, and so far no one has fallen on top of anyone, no ones skirt has flipped up at random, no camera shots come from below waist level, it’s amazing!

This is as bad as it gets

The story is progressing into harem territory, but that’s just alright by me.  It’s the good kind of harem, where the members are strong, individual characters there to support the main goal of the protagonist, in this case, helping cats. And the tone so far has been a silly comedic tone, not too dumb, and no serious social commentary.  I was afraid we were going to see the seedy underbelly of animal cruelty and abandonment in Japan, but so far the worst task was retrieving a collar from a mean dog.

My favorite character so far, watch Episode 2 to explain the hair

I’d also like to point out an odd bit of casting for the voices, which is one of the reasons this show garnered so much attention at the onset.  The two cats on the right are regulars.  The black one is voiced by Atsuko Tanaka , who does Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex, while the white one is voiced by Jun Fukuyama, voice of Lelouch from Code Geass.  That is a fairly badass pair of cats.

You know what they call cat food in France?  A Royal with Cheese…

Ipecac is a funny word. I was introduced to it during various storylines of the Bloom County comic strip.  I was completely unaware of how to even pronounce it.  Thus I looked it up, came to understand it and made it my own.  Do the same, go look it up right now.  I’ll wait.

Now that you’ve returned, you know why it’s not a good thing I choose to describe episode 2 of Haruka’s Secret with this word.

This filler episode is pretty much the same filler episode as the last three.  You have your overheard misunderstanding.

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You have your running gag.

You have your cliche anime lesson

And you have your parting line that can SO be taken the wrong way

It gets better next week…sort of.