Oooh, student politics about the casting for Carmen. I think Miyuki’s affirmation of Tamao’s choices was correct as the school gossip was mainly premised on the look of the couples but the final casting decisions are sensible as they draw on the inherent personalities of the five seniors. More Yaya brooding and moodiness - her low point must be getting beaten by Kagome for the Romeo role in the middle school play. Hmmm… I just felt like making Kagome “an offer she can’t refuse” *Imagines her waking up and seeing the severed head of Oshibaru next to her pillow - pan out to external view of dorm as she screams* Ah, good times.
Really nice to see how Yaya appears to be the natural leader of the middle schoolers. Quite nice to see how she wanted to play Romeo. Why R&J? I suppose it’s the most famous romance play ever. Antony & Cleopatra doesn’t get performed much but I rather liked it because of the context of how Antony is very much on the way of being written out of history as a declining has-been.
First defeat. The mob suggests casting via amidakuji or janken.
Second defeat. Defeated by Kagome at yubi zumo (thumb wrestling)! Could also be why the two members of Chikaru’s harem didn’t take her on earlier. And an excuse for kissing too.
The non-reaction to Tsubomi’s selection as Juliet and her reaction against that as pretty funny. I would have thought that Tsubomi and Yaya acting opposite each other might have been a spark for the implied relationship in the OP. But now I’m guessing that Yaya will probably be director or producer and will still have lots of interaction with Tsubomi.
Yaya moping as Hikari and Amane’s relationship marches from strength to strength. It’s good to see that Yaya isn’t completely over Hikari as it would have been too quick. Really not sure how it will go from here. Will her desire for Hikari be used by Kaname and Momomi?
Looks like Yaya isn’t the only one moping. The shadowy figure in the window looking at Shizuma and Nagisa’s open air rehearsal is almost definitely Tamao. Psycho Tamao 4TW. And I would really like to see more mischief and some of that manga “Shadow Empress” behaviour from Chikaru!
I definately love this episode….. ^.^ Kagome being Romeo is cracking me up. Erm I suppose that would be Tamao that was watching from the window. I wonder why after Shion left and Nagisa was saying she wanted to see Carmen played by Etoile some kind of mysterious music came is and Tamao looked at the cookie. Hmm I hope Skane willing to analyse *wink*
Skane is still being a stubborn old fool and waiting for his choice of fansubbers to crank out Ep14 and subsequently, Ep15. E-yup, that’s right. I haven’t watched Ep14 yet, because I have an inexplicable policy of sticking to one fansub group unless circumstances are so dire, it overrides my policy.
I’m guessing the new OP is the cause for their delay.
if you’re talking about DOREMI fansub, I’m eagerly waiting for it too. It’s has been slow from Ep. 13.
Anyhow Skane, I hope you do some analysis bacause you’re interesting to read ^.^
Doremi SP14 will be out within the next 12 hours.
And yes, it was because of the new OP and ED, since the Karaoke people weren’t always available.
No mention of the evil lesbian duo and bath tub adventures?
Mentar, thanks for the heads-up. Looking fwd to it!
Xellos-_^, somehow I just had the feeling that I’d seen it before already. :P Anyway my focus is on Yaya so all else that gets mentioned is incidental.
Your Godfather reference is hilarious but I have this sinking feeling that if someone decapitates Oshibaru the head would just grow a mass of tentacles from its neck hole and start crawling around. Of course Kagome would just shrug and be just fine with it.
OMG Mentar thank you so much for informing us. I love DOREMI fansub so much :D
oh man… the middle schoolers gathering for their play had me cracking up… tsubomi=
Rokujou laid the smackdown on Shion.
Suzumi Tamao gaining influence? Aoi Nagisa mending relationship bridges with Hanazono Shizuma? Toumori Shino becoming a has-been? Yes! All these and more in episode 15 of Strawberry Panic! Oh, and a dash of Yaya and Hikari too.
As a Tamao-centric episode, with Tamao as the narrator no less( too bad Shino was the ending shot instead of Tamao), I feel motivated to try to write a bit more about this episode. Let us see if I can also break 1000 without boring whoever is reading this.
We start off with a startling relevation! One that has NOT been mentioned by anybody else yet( and I was kind of disappointed nobody pointed it out first)… MEN EXIST! Yes! I kid you not! We have actual confirmation that men exist in the world of Strawberry Panic! No more inane theories of asexual breeding! No more wondering if heterosexual relationships exist! With visual( the images of Merimee and Bizet) and spoken( said by Chikari, during the play discussion) confirmation, we no longer need to wonder on how they make babies in the world of Strawberry Panic!
During the play discussion, it was interesting to note that the Spica Student Council is not very united. The underlings( otherwise known as the Evil Lesbian Duo(ELD)) gave the unmistakable aura of craving to backstab their president, Shino, at any given opportunity. Shizuma’s pleading glance to Rokujou, followed by Miyuki’s shrug, was cute too.
“Wasn’t she in favour of ‘Phantom of the Opera’?”
“Beats me.”
FLASHBACK TIME!
When Tamao started explaining the story behind Carmen and she mentined, “~Prosper Merimee~”, I had a sudden flashback to a scene several episodes ago. A scene that caused me to wiki it, but later dismiss it as not important. Oh boy… how wrong I was. Unfortunately, because I had dismissed it as not important, I could not remember which episode was it. I had to refer to my notes- What? What is that you said? Why do I keep notes on Strawberry Panic? Quit staring at me! It is not a crime for me to like Strawberry Panic this much! I am normal! NORMAL!
Ahem. Anyway…
It was foreshadowed in episode 12, during their summer vacation. Which meant that Tamao spent her summer break cranking out a draft for submission. Amazing! I never expected to see this level of foreshadowing in Strawberry Panic! Although I suppose when one has super-low expectations, even the most basic of things becomes wonderful.
Moving on, Rokujou asks Tamao to finalise the script for the play. This is an excellent development for Tamao for the following reasons. Firstly, she gets to screw around with her seniors( namely Shizuma). Secondly, if the play succeeds, she will be renowned throughout the school, and she needs all the influence she can get her hands on( after all, her end-goal is Nagisa, and Shizuma is in the way). Thirdly, she gets to gain favour with Chikari( I will explain more on this part later).
Unfortunately, in her bid for School Domination, Tamao’s grip on Nagisa loosened and the red-haired ditz temporarily flittered back into the arms of Shizuma. Time heals all wounds indeed. You can just about imagine Tamao thinking to herself as she spied on the two from the window, “Enjoy her while you still can, Shizuma. Nagisa will be mine in the end.”
[Tongue-in-cheek]
An alternative theory to the identity of the window shadow is that it is Rokujou.
[/Tongue-in-cheek]
It is a saddening development, but Tamao plans for the long-term. Short-term pains for long-term gains! Once the whole school is enthralled by her, nobody will be able to stop her! Nobody! Well informed as she is about the politics in school, Tamao knows that there is nothing to be gained in having Shino as an ally. Shino is not even respected by her peers. Nay. When it comes to Spica, Amane is the person to aim for.
Miator? Well… if it was not for the fact that Shizuma is her very rival, Shizuma would have been the logical choice. Since this is not the case however, the next logical choice is Rokujou Miyuki. Not only does Miyuki wields considerable influence over the three schools, she is also the Miator’s student president, and best of all… she is the room-mate and friend of Shizuma. What better way to control Shizuma than to turn her own friends against her?
So that leaves us with LeRim(Lilum), the School of Cuddles. You would hardly expect to find an influential person in LeRim, but ah… that is only because they hide behind a merry facade. Greeting you with a smile while they plot your fate in a secret cabal filled with cosplay and teddy bears. If Tamao ever needed an ally from LeRim, it has to be Chikari, the Shadow Queen of the Strawberry Dorms.
But how? How is she going to gain favour with the one person who rivals her in terms of shadowry manipulation? What could Tamao possibly offer her? Why, why not the leading role in the school’s play? Brillant!
Miyuki may be the one who finalises the roles, but Tamao gets to suggest candidates in her script( hence Shino’s approach to Tamao). By giving the lead role to Chikari, Tamao has built a bridge of friendship with the Shadow Queen. If you can’t beat them, bribe them. *snark!* With Miyuki and Chikari now behind her, all that is left is Amane. Soon, soon… it will all happen soon enough. Such is the level of Tamao’s power, that she now gets to conference with the ‘Big Ones’.
And so we end episode 15. Onward to episode 16 for more of Tamao’s instability!
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I also love how Shizuma was casted as the jealous lover who kills the contested object of affection. Miyuki was the one who casted her as such, but it would be a hoot if Tamao had been the one who suggested it as well, since it is far more likely that Tamao should be Don Jose. Also loved how they played the ‘Forboding BGM’ when Nagisa told Tamao that she would love to see Shizuma as Carmen. The scene would have been magnificent if Tamao had also snapped a pencil or scrunched up a paper ball. *haha!*
“*stares at cookies* Screw you, Shino! Screw everyone who’s wanting Shizuma as Carmen!”
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Random Thoughts:
..) Miyuki owns hard in this episode. She laid the smackdown on Shino. Yeah!
..) Nagisa helping Shizuma, blind leading the blind.
..) Watching the shadow at the window gives me the tingles.
..) Shino’s forehead reminds me of ‘Pani Poni Dash!’…
..) Has there ever been an episode in which the ELD appeared and not have sex?
..) Why is Tsubomi so excited to be Juliet when Romeo is… Kagome?
..) Why is Kagome spouting Juliet’s lines when she is supposed to be Romeo?
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Cheers!
wow skane your random thoughts made me realise that I missed the funny part (since I just watch and got my seconds wasted and now not anymore I can actually laugh XD) You’re BRILLIANT thinker! *bow*
“”..) Why is Tsubomi so excited to be Juliet when Romeo is… Kagome?”"
“”..) Why is Kagome spouting Juliet’s lines when she is supposed to be Romeo”"
After read what you said I like to think about Tamao looking at the cookies right after Shion left and Nagisa said she too wanted Carmen being played by Etoile “”“*stares at cookies* Screw you, Shino! Screw everyone who’s wanting Shizuma as Carmen!””"
*wink*
I just find it amusing that men are so threatened when there are no men present in the show. Perhaps the ladies are juuuust fine with the ladies and don’t need any of ya! Although the show is a little femmey and unrealistic, it is still great that the girls are shown as loving one another, and not having some stupid idiot guy ruining everything in the whole show. It’s a nice change, and if men are going to try to peek into the lesbian lives of Ichigo, I suggest you quit looking for men in it!! Men are even threatened in cartoons!! It is just amusing to me. For once, the plotline doesn’t involve a penis. It’s about friggin time this stuff started popping up more!
LOL!
Threatened? I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and just take it that you’re not being serious there. :) It’s a bit hard to convey humour in the form of hyperbole without using vocal support, but essentially speaking, most comments made about the lack of men in SPanic are just a form of exaggerated humour.
My entries on SPanic are meant to entertain. ;) So in a way, I am glad that you found it amusing. :D
Cheers.