The divine comedy of Hatsukoi Limited

In accordance with the Shizu-sama Doctrine, I was going to check out Hatsukoi Limited anyway. But I kept putting it off for various reasons. High school romance hijinks are not exactly my cup of tea. My answer to the opening question in the opening moments of the series was a grumpy ????? But... there's always a but ain't it?

Contra Omo, girls looking like 'walking boners' may indeed be 'par for the course in the shounen romance genre' but it's still an area where QUALITY happens. Your Honour, the prosecution submits Exhibit A. (Aside: I know how some people were put off by how some of the girls in Bible Black literally had walking boners but I thought it was marvellous. Shin, are you with me!?) Visually the girls of Hatsukoi are very appealing and my boner is definitely not tsundere about it.

To pick on Omo out of context, I hardly see the comparison to School Rumble as a positive endorsement. No surprise since I count myself as part of the tough and maddening crowd. The comedy has been great. In terms of situation comedy, the admixture of logical development and sheer ridiculousness was perfectly balanced. In terms of comic style, the exaggeratedly depictions are hardly elegant but the oeuvre, encapsulated by the first episode's title of Beauty and the Beast, does (completely agree with Omo here) feel fresh. The timing of both, where it mattered, have been impeccable.

After being teased and tantalized by the OP in a way that Queen's Blade tried but, very much against my will and to my everlasting regret, failed to do, Hatsukoi Limited presented me with this great big juicy worm on a hook which I then proceeded to swallow aforementioned, line and sinker before being hauled away on the bandwagon YES YOUR MAJESTY damn the torpedoes full steam ahead.

Right off the bat, we get stuck into the crux of the matter. Ayumi sets herself up royally, and after ignoring the words of the wise, spoken, via the voice of none other than Shizu-sama herself, sets up herself some more. The ominous rumblings of thunder that follows the hubristic declaration of 'What could possibly go wrong?' arrive in the form of the footsteps of Misao. Ayumi may be practicing, a la Uchida, her freedom of religion (since Chiaki is allowed to believe in Santa Claus, she is allowed to have believe in herself as a Princess who will be wooed by a Prince Charming) but while you may be free to believe in Love, Love is also free not to give a shit about you. Or to use a non-denominational depiction, the reason why you should never be afraid to share your dreams with the world.

The survival imperative trumps even the Dark Forces of Siscon: we can see the punchline coming from a mile away but it's still as funny as hell. The failure of the little sister, acting cute, to entreat her Oniichan to live up to his (self-)appointed role by embarking on a kamikaze mission always get a chuckle but the sheer black horror of said Oniichan's reaction showcases a moment of the stylishness of the comedy, the way the prior scene was a showcase for situational comedy sending up romantic tropes like the way the Bismarck sent the Hood into Davy Jones' locker.

Both of the above sequences had elements of comic situation and style. And, of course, had good timing. But in the latter department, the above scene wins my prize. With the failure of her plan to outsource her rejection, Ayumi made what seemed to be the preface to a grand declaration, a dramatic plan, a last resort... which was to ignore the problem for now and hope it will all go away in the morning. Hey, who hasn't tried that before? But with her impeccable timing in the delivery of the punchline: ??? Ayumi's seiyuu Mariya Ise has won my admiration and needs to reimburse me for abdominal physiotherapy.

Another factor that makes the comedy of Hatsukoi so successful is how it preps the audience to be just that bit more accepting of the inversion in the way that being actually able to see the forthcoming loop the loop in the rollercoaster actually makes the ride more shitpantsy than not (which is why I never enjoyed the Space Mountain ride since I couldn't see a bloody thing). The seeds of subversion are sown early and sprout, in good time, into their full FEED ME SEYMOUR glory.

We are indeed grateful to Kabitzin 21:22 and thine powers of GEOMETRY but, by mine powers of LIBERAL ARTZ, I argue that the whole thing is entirely plausible from how Ayumi sent her Oniichan flying earlier when he went to check on her after dinner. We learn, it is confirmed, that her earlier Shoryuken was not some one-off exaggeration but an integral, if still secret skill even to herself, part of Ayumi The Strongest Middle Schooler. Actually the earliest foreshadowing was when the delectable Doba-chan (ED cat woman cosplay RAWR) speculated that Misao's proffered piece of paper could be a challenge letter.

Within the cutely written note and the considerate invitation to reply later rather than immediately lay yet more cues for future hilarity and subversion. During Saki-nee's visit, Misao is shown to be actually quite domestic and kinda sweet. We were already shown how shy he was prior to the fight. In Mamoru's eyes, who's the beast now?

Ah yes, a triangle of sweet dramatic irony and role reversal and love triangle FTW. Zaitsu Mamoru feels the terror of Arihara Ayumi confronted with the love confession of Zaitsu Misao. Except this time, who will believe him that Ayumi was the one who had bested his Aniki?

P.S. Mamoru has impeccable taste.
P.P.S. I approve of Kusuda - never wash those trousers EVAR again!
P.P.P.S. An animu rom-com where I like and can empathize with one two three of the male charas? THIS IS MADNESS.

Related posts:

1. Hatsukoi Limited 10-12
2. Hatsukoi Limited 8
3. Hatsukoi Limited – Wished every episode was like ep 9

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