[Stripey] Finding Nemu ~ The magic of sakura

The magic of Da Capo

As Zyl celebrates his tragic heroine's birthday, I'm reminded of another (less) tragic sister-heroine who stood the test of time in the tanuki's hall of Siscon fame - Asakura Nemu and the series she made awesome, Da Capo.

If Kanon was "sad girls in snow", Da Capo must surely be "sad sister in sakura". While Nemu is possibly one of the finest tsundere-imoutos in all of siscon realm (only to be rival by her grand-daughter, Yume), the magic of sakura in Da Capo cannot be overstated. As a staunch Nemu-Da Capo fan, I had vowed to make the sakura pilgrimage to experience first hand, the beauty of these small pink-white flowers that is much adored in many anime series.

Da Capo IF 2 ~ DCSS all over again

It must surely be intentional. When D.C.if 1 was released back in last Christmas, I hailed it as a most worthy vehicle of Kotori goodness; inheriting all the emotional poignancy, character charm and musical brilliance that was Da Capo season 1. Today, it breaks my heart to report that D.C.if 2 (released with the DCSS boxset yesterday in Japan) TOO took on much of the attributes of the franchise's 2nd season.

For those who understood the magic of Da Capo season 1, you would have loved the spiritual successor that was D.C.if 1. Overflowing character charm aside, the episode was incredibly coherent and focused on what the viewers are most keen on -the Junichi-Kotori relationship. (Much like DC1 was about Nemu-Junichi.) That thrust was never dulled in all 25 min as the Junichi-Kotori relationship was developed layer by layer, accompanied by some of the greatest bgm in animedom. The issues were real and affecting, their love - sweet yet tormenting.

D.C.if 2 felt waffling like its co-DVD release. Both Kotori and Junichi dwelled on their struggles way beyond the attention span of interested viewers. While I blame partially the poor employment of bgm in this installment, the real downer, I believe, was the direction and pace of the tale. 10 min of the 25 ep was squandered on Aunt Agony therapy which contributed weakly to the eventual resolution of their problems. Where the issue portrayed in D.C.if 1 was deeply affecting, the solution presented in D.C.if 2 was trivialising.

It pains me a greatly to cast D.C.if in the great hall of anime infamy where Mahoromatic resides. Now I can only recommend part 1 and whistle innocently when asked about part 2. Still there was great Kotori charm found in this ep (Kotori is absolutely stunning in her wedding gown) but overall, a vessel unworthy to host the beauty that Hontou ni Taihen desu's eternal goddess.

Will Kotori CUM Nemu fans please stand up?

Yes, anyone? Any Nemu AND Kotori fan here? Yes, I see one solit... okay, no more, lynched by fellow Kotori fans. Ah, another brave soul in Nemu's cam..... nope. He's now crispier than the stake he is hanging on. No one? Alright I know I'm going to receive death-threats, petrol bombs or worse Yoakena ~Cabbage love~ DVDs in my mailbox but this needs to be said -

And why not? Can't one love 2 thoroughly fabulous bishoujos? Must one be EITHER a Kotori fan or Nemu supporter? That's WHY I support polygamy!

What happened to Kotori (Da Capo) fandom?

Having witness the massive ranks of Kotori supporters back in the days of Da Capo (2003), I thought the Kotori-centric Da Capo IF OVA (released on xmas 2008 with the Da Capo boxset in Japan) would make a big splash in the anime community. It's been more than a week since and there's been barely a ripple. I'm not sure if it's because the subs for the OVA is not out though we know that's hardly a barrier for fanboys baying for Kotori goodness.

To this date, there has been 3 entries on animenano about the OVA and 23 users who have rated the series (very high average btw) on Myanimelist. Digging deeper, I dived into the relevant myanimelist and animesuki forums to find rather subdued activities. A painful thought interjected as I scoured the interwebs for more in-depth interactions about the OVA -

Apparently so. Shirakawa Kotori fanclub on Myanimelist hasn't touched the 100 members mark (c.f Fate Testarossa who has more than 1800 members). Just what happened to the hordes of Kotori lovers that thronged the animeboards and hogged anime channels back in 2003? Here's some speculation of the love lost.

Sis-con shirts

In celebration of Ender's remarks on the evolution of anime bloggers' writing styles, particularly the part about "there are some things that are reliable standbys, like ... Stripey’s penchant for…. sis-con?" , I've attached an article from the Economist which gives a scientific basis for Nemu's penchant for using her Nii-san's old shirts as pajamas. Junichi acquiesces to Nemu's continuation of this practice and asks, "You wash the shirts [before using them as pajamas], right?" "Yeah... but they still smell like you, Nii-san," comes the embarrassed reply. No need to thank me, Stripey ole pal.