Year in Review: She’s Going the Distance, a Great Feat of Strength
Going to mention a list of 12 lists of 12 items each. So a nested list. All 144 items. Annotated for the most part. Don’t ask me why I use these pronouns the way I do…
Perpetual Bewilderment with Haruka Nogizaka
I am still unable to pin down what about Haruka Nogizaka and her secret that made it what it was. I think while the general consensus is relatively accurate–a comfortable romantic comedy about sensitivity, trust, and blossoming into who you are; but of little else–it doesn’t quite capture everything remarkable.
I’m feeling a bit of the same for Kannagi. The obvious thing about Kannagi is that it is very well produced, and things look…very nice. The acting is fun and the whole setup is amusing enough. It’s entertaining yet so fully dripping in cliche that it becomes comfortable rather than irritating been-done.
Perhaps that line is where Haruka’s Secret straddles. For the most part, both shows are nothing really to write home about. There are trace amounts of suspense, of slapstick comedy, and a variable amount of drama. Romance seems like a carrot-on-a-stick but both boys and girls of the era of late-night anime fandom expect it. How can we complain about romantic side plots in Hollywood blockbusters; or worse, are we bottom feeding mimicry of our mainstream shadows? Does that explain why there’s so much crap about anime on tvtropes?
But none of that is truly bad, and none of that is desirable (obviously). It’s like a good stir-fry of leftovers that somehow produces a dish that you would like to eat again once in a while? If moe-blobs are a type of flavored soft drink, then the Nogizaka brand is probably a blend of healing properties with familiar flavors. Which is why it wasn’t so hard to stomach the same taste day in and day out in a blend that isn’t so soothing. Kannagi would just be a premium brand of the same, minus some of that tenderness.
At the same time it’s easy to understand those who protest exactly those flavors. What I don’t understand is how suddenly these protesters could turn around choose the same flavors, but perhaps packaged slightly differently. Maybe that just means I don’t quite understand myself.
I’ll give up for now.
Tenderness
It’s been bugging me for a while now, but to distill the charm of Haruka Nogizaka’s Secret into discernible words has been something I’ve got brewing on the back burner. Except it’s like watching water boil on low heat–that moment of clarity has not yet come.
At first I simply thought, to be precise, that this is the kind of romance anime made for heterosexual guys who reads shoujo and josei comics. I mean it in a way that there’s something feminine about the entire experience that makes it attractive for guys. Kind of like how a guy can find a feminine girl attractive?
But that’s not quite it. Really stretching things, I thought about all those confused fanboys and fangirls in the west that confuse genres entirely, thinking manga like Love Hina or anime like Popotan are for girls. Maybe my explanation from before points at the root cause of the confusion.
There’s more, however. The word I’ve been coming to, seeking for help, is tenderness. Looking back, I have only considered this in the context of Touka Gettan’s wiles, but I think that is an appropriate starting point.
In some way, Touka Gettan is about tenderness. Well, beyond the visuals; both of the lead roles had chips on their shoulders. That tenderness is what weaves them together emotionally despite their transcendental destinies and the nonsense plot.
The story of Haruka’s Secret is thankfully easier to digest. Ultimately, it is about our nice guy protagonist. He’s reasonable, level-headed, even if not the smoothest kid on the block. In fact, in a lot of ways Yuuto’s stubbornness and old-fashioned (dare I say, normal?) way of life is what makes this show appealing. And it is about his tenderness towards Haruka that makes the character interaction blossom.
And since there is no real alternative to handle Haruka (but nicely), the buck really had to stop there (to the relief of many and the chagrin of those who’ve already dropped the show like the bag of cliche they think it is). Being nice to the girl you like is, after all, normal.
I think this is really what I mean by “shoujo manga.” From a certain level of abstraction, the composition of the primary relationship that drives the story is a version of the social ideal. Without much probing or pretense, Haruka’s personality as revealed to the audience is simply an idealized persona with a dark underbelly. It is the secret. However what is dark isn’t her cynical or doormat personality, but a fear all too common to many, otaku or not.
But with all that said, the underlying character drama and exposition become one that is built upon understanding and maturing rather than one about evolution and discovery as partners in a relationship. In other words, this is going to be a very fluff story that hinges on people getting over themselves rather than actual, growing characters. It’s a story of becoming who you are and not becoming something more beautiful? It’s a subtle distinction.
Then again, this sort of treatment is probably unfair. Haruka’s Secret doesn’t pretend to be anything more than a bag full of late-night anime references and romantic cliches that appeal specifically to that audience. In fact one of its obvious redeeming point is its shamelessness in cross-referencing other works. With just 6 episodes we were graced with at least 3 voice acting crossovers, and the seiyuu fanboy in me squeals. We’ve gone through entire calendar years with fewer such occurrences!
Anyways, I tried. And I think that moment of clarity has not yet come. So while we’re waist-deep in this summer’s seasonal offerings I will continue to dwell on this little fluff show rather than talk about the other interesting offerings on the air right now. Beats talking about Otakon again at any rate. And by the way, I do have something for WAH as I promised in his podcast. Maybe later.
Fulfilling Wish
I think that picture says it all.
Personally, I think Haruka Nogizaka definitely hits. To the degree of variety between fantasies of each adolescent and older male fanboy would allow, anyways. Haruka is not as famous as Belldandy but there’s a lot of promise so far in The Secret of Haruka Nogizaka.
In some ways, different anime female companions focus on differing needs of the male psyche. It can be as repulsive as a doormat and as offensive as straight out loli incest; or it could just be someone to keep you company through times immortal even if she can’t cook (or can she???). Our fantasies do run the whole gamut.
I think Haruka Nogizaka’s pitch is actually similar to Karekano’s pitch–you have this overachieving girl whose underbelly has been exposed. In her moment of weakness she turns to you for help. The difference, of course, is that you get an Average Joe instead of an equally talented, overachieving boy. Still, both male leads here are just doing the same thing–just trodding along until their next moment of self-realization.
But unlike Karekano where mutual suffering leads to mutual understanding and admiration, so far in Haruka’s Secret we have it backwards, sorta–mutual understanding leads to greater understanding? Is it just a story where embracing who we are rather than rejecting our weaknesses leads to a life of happiness? Maybe. If those are not real weaknesses anyways.
It’s much easier to understand a normal girl compared to some freak of nature. And a happy ending is possible.
The other angle, blatant in Haruka’s Secret so far, is the whole societal perspective nonsense. I think I’m setting myself up for major disappointment here by expecting this show to do a proper job explaining how all this works, but who knows? But speaking of freak of nature, it takes some measure of strength to live the way you want, against the grain. It was the case for Yukino Miyazawa, and I suspect the same applies to Haruka Nogizaka, genre conventions aside. It’s quite amusing to think of the Akiba-kei abstraction and the things it stands for as a 2D fantasy come to life, thanks to modern sciences. The similarity to reality is striking, almost uncanny.
