Midori no Hibi Day 4: The Discovery of the Secret

Opening Theme

Sentimental by CooRie

Ending Theme

Mousukoshi... Mousukoshi by Saori Atsumi

Summary:


Seiji and Midori are eating ice cream at the park, and Midori talks about her dream of eating a choco-banana ice cream with her beloved Seiji. This somehow embarrasses Seiji, who is trying to deny any sort of romantic feelings towards Midori, and ends up in Midori diving head first into the ice cream. As a sign of forgiveness, he will buy her new clothes, those that will fit her size. Needless to say, Midori is elated.


Arriving at the "Blue Submarine", a famous figurines shop, he is immediately taken aback by a crowd of otaku's occupying the said establishment. He even spots one of his classmates, Takamizawa, obviously an otaku himself.¹ Seiji tries to coax Takamizawa into hiding their respective "secrets", attempting to convince him that he, the feared "Mad Dog" Sawamura, has a soft spot for figurines as well. In doing so, Takamizawa got a glimpse of Midori, and this initiated his curiosity in what Seiji has been trying to hid behind those bandages in his right hand. In defense, Seiji judo chopped him and fled from the shop.


At school, in his "serious mode", Takamizawa secretly invited Seiji to the rooftop during class.
Here, we also see one of Ayane's attempts to get him to notice her: offer her
extra bento's. It was another daydream...

At the rooftop, he tried to convince Seiji at another glimpse of the "mysterious doll" he's been hiding. With Midori agreeing to let Takamizawa see her, Seiji then told Takamizawa that Midori is a hand puppet his dad bought overseas²When Midori unexpectedly sneezed, this piqued Takamizawa's interest in Midori even more, and is now more interested in various information he can get, such as where Midori came from. Through reconnaissance, he found out Seiji's secret, and somehow glad that the ideal of a "living doll" that he could fall in love with is true.


Summoning Seiji and Midori at a tunnel the next day, Takamizawa tries cosplaying Midori in a maid outfit, and he is greatly pleased. Thanking Takamizawa for the dress, we get to see Takamizawa's human side: he's happy that someone gave thanks for the doll dresses he makes. Through Takamizawa's obsessive interest in Midori, Midori convinces Takamizawa that she's not a doll, but a living thing as well, and said that they should start as friends. This did not quell Takamizawa interest, however, and forces Midori to wear a two-piece bikini (as "friends", no doubt.) Seiji, in defense, performs a German suplex on Takamizawa, knocking him out.


The following day, Takamizawa seemed to have changed, as he seemed happy and forgot about what happened yesterday.


Review:


For those of you who haven't seen the anime itself, spoilers ahead. You were warned.


You may be wondering why I picked this one out of all the episodes of Midori no Hibi. Simply because this demonstrated that otaku's have become the source of comic relief for shows of this type. Takamizawa really proved his worth when he demonstrated how his love towards "human" girls has been
substituted for his love for figurines.

You know, there was no backstory as to how Takamizawa became this way, his obsession with figurines. But since he's an outlet of comic relief in the series, guess we'll never know.


I have to admit it, I laughed at the "Takamizawa no Hibi" segments, though I
don't know why myself.


Here are some screenshots:

Probably has to do with the situations presented.


Notes:

¹One aspect of being an otaku that has been demonstrated here is the obsession with figurines and/or hand puppets. Takamizawa, one of Seiji's classmates, is an obvious example.

²In Japan, foreign products often have a hidden gimmick, which makes it more marketable, so to speak.