Both this anime and “Tiger & Bunny” are “2-cours” series, but while the latter is ramping up as we near the finale, “Hanasaku Iroha” gives us… this. Sigh, I guess.
The “real” you
Nako is a completely different person when she’s at home. She’s somewhat charming around the tots and confident with her parents. It’s a shame then that we so often see her play a spineless wimp at Kissuiso. To make matters worse, Nako rarely has any real impact on most of the events in the anime.
Nako’s first problem is thinking that she should undergo a complete change in character. Obviously, you shouldn’t be such a social cripple that a simple question from a neighbor causes you to dash into your home with fright.
Nako runs away as soon as a neighbor asks her a simple, innocent question.
There’s nothing, however, inherently wrong with shyness either; we all have introverted friends. The key, as always, is moderation, an obvious answer to a simple problem no one seems to realize until an entire episode is wasted.
Nako’s second problem is in thinking that there is a “real” her, a side of her character that the world just doesn’t get to see. You can’t pick and choose who the “real” you gets to be just because you don’t like one aspect of your personality. If she really wanted to be less shy, she also has to realize she can’t fix a problem unless she owns up to it. By claiming that her shyness isn’t the “real” her, Nako is just in denial.
Buying a bunch of expensive clothes as per Yuina’s advice obviously isn’t going to work either. Materialism is just putting make-up on a pig; any change that comes about is inauthentic and fails to deal with the root cause. In the end, Sui has to tell the poor girl that there are pros and cons to everything, and although Nako is shy, it helps her to remain attentive and observant at her job.
Well, isn’t that a heart-warming conclusion. Except I don’t really buy it. Outgoing people can be attentive and observant too. This isn’t a zero-sum game where +2 extrovertedness means -2 observational skills or some RPG bullshit. Unfortunately, too many people believe this sort of nonsense: “Y-yeah, I have poor social skills, but that just means I’m smarter than your average person.” No, not necessarily; all your poor social skills say about you is that you’re a dick. But to get back on track, I really wish the anime had the guts to say “Nako, you really have a problem; it’s okay to be shy but not this shy,” but alas, “Hanasaku Iroha” takes the easy way out. In the meantime, have some mermaids.
I’m going to have nightmares
Goddamn fish people.
I bet Troy McClure is jerking off to this episode in hell.
Wow the fish-girls look like that Sega Game called Seaman, Except they’re cute. Ha ha, i see granny’s bellybutton. How do those seashells stay on Nako’s Breasts without falling off? Water pressure perhaps?
Fish paste.
I don’t think Sui was implying that Nako is attentive and observant because she’s quiet and nervous. She’s simply very observant and considerate, period.
You also rail against the episode by saying that it’s flawed for implying that there’s a ”real” Nako. But the episode itself implied no different. The whole point was that the timid Nako at Kissuiso is every bit as ”real” as the more outgoing Nako who takes care of her young siblings.
“When you’re at Kissuiso, you’re quiet and nervous, but you notice things that no one else would notice…”
To me, that implies that her quietness and attentiveness are related. Since no one tells Nako that she doesn’t have to be so shy, I’m inclined to think the anime is attempting to justify her silly behavior. You can, of course, interpret it in a less cynical way, but I won’t.
I never said the episode did; I just wanted to rail against Nako, who isn’t a very good character.
I have to take some exception with you implying that poor social skills means that a person is a dick. Are you seriously arguing that a lack of confidence in social interaction means that a person is a dick? Come on, that’s total nonsense, and brutally unfair to people with serious issues when it comes to being socially awkward.
I will also say that most people I’ve known in like who could legitimately be called “the life of the party” are usually not that observant. They really can be so caught up in being extroverted that they miss a lot of smaller details that a quieter and more reserved person may pick up on while simply assessing everything that’s before him.
All of the above being said, I agree with you on your moderation point, and I do think this episode would have been better if it had aimed to convey that, either explicitly or implicitly.
/rolleyes
I’m being facetious, half-jokingly referring to self-diagnosed “aspies” who generally love to claim that they “say it like it is” when, in fact, they’re just being dicks. But yes, I’m mounting a serious argument about all socially awkward people in just two sentences. You got me.
So you’re criticizing me for generalizing then turn around and generalize extroverted people? Brutally unfair, my good man!
And how is anybody supposed to know that you’re referring to “aspies” by that comment? Aspies aren’t the only people with socially awkward issues, as you yourself note.
I’m not criticizing you for generalizing. I criticized you for making a point that I felt was totally baseless, period, given how I interpreted it.
Generalizations can have some validity to them. But like any argument, some are better and/or more accurate than others.
I never said you were supposed to know what I’m referring to. You can interpret my comments anyway you wish, regardless of my intentions.
Okay, that’s your prerogative. Of course, I’m not going to lose a ounce of sleep over this. If you think I’m wrong, so be it.
I’m not sure what Nako meant when she said she has a “real” personalitiy. Does what mean she’s got a spilit personality or something?
Also, Troy McClure reference FTW.
She means she’s confident at home but shy in public, and obviously, the shy her is fake somehow.