I can't drop buildings.

Me neither. Yeah.

Not my strong suit. Hello, and welcome into our weeds. There yet in exploration and education and anime. I'm your anime idiot, patrick Dugan.

I'm an anime expert, dana hollander.

And I'm brenda mccullough. Your anime reminder not to put a shaggy floor mat in the dryer.

Excuse me.

I really had nothing for this episode and I just ruined my bathroom floor mat by putting it in the dryer.

Oh, no.

Rip to that. Got to go to ikea. Yeah, let's take a family trip to ikea. Cancel this episode.

It's just going to be an ASMR of us building a desk.

More ASMR.

All right.

Just fucking it just escalates into us yelling at each other.

It's the worst ASMR ever.

But we just keep it at like negative 20 decibels. Still super quiet.

So soft.

Just pov. Your parents fighting in the other room too.

Real well.

Cool. Thanks for the reminder.

What's this about anime now?

Yeah, there's something anime related we're supposed to do here, right?

Yeah, I think so.

Think in the back of my head, I forget.

I'm pretty sure that this week is my choice. I think that's why we're here.

Got you.

And that's the only thing that matters because I'm the most important thing. Of course. Princess queen wee aboo.

As we know, there's your handles.

We're going to watch the first three episodes of Monthly Girls Nozakikoon, which is.

A long title that I know nothing about.

Cool.

Digging that. What's your history? Where do you stand with this show?

So the funny thing is that I've seen clips from it. I've never watched it, but I've seen clips from it and I think they're pretty funny. But I never knew the name of it. And I didn't know that it was that show because I had heard the name. But I correlated it to something completely different than the clips that I had seen because there was a character in it. Like the main girl character was never in the clips that I saw. So I thought that was a different show. Oh, yeah, but yeah, I've seen small snippets, but I've never watched an episode.

Okay.

Yeah, it came out in 2014.

Reasonably fresh.

Yeah, you think so? But that's almost six years ago. Isn't that weird? We're approaching a new decade.

Hopefully the last.

Hopefully this one is the last. Hopefully the world just erupts into a volcano. Just eats us in lunch.

Two weeks. Yeah, let's get that. Y two K. But like now we just blink out the simulation.

Y 20. We got it.

There is apparently a Y two K sequel. It's supposed to be in 2038. Y. Two K. Two K directing.

But it's in 4k, like resolution.

Why 4k?

By the time we get there, we'll have at least thirty K. I don't know.

Who knows? We're at for phones. Maybe we'll get to 60.

What a time to be alive.

What a time to be alive. I don't know anything about this show, so I mean, this is all we've got is just us talking.

We got a riff rope. It yeah. I assume it has something to do with a monthly issue about a girl. Wait, that sounds wrong.

Did you do that on purpose?

No, I'm trying to piece together any information I can from the title, and I got nothing. Well, yeah, sorry about that one.

I guess we should just watch it then, since neither of you know anything about it.

I got nothing.

I know things, but I feel like I don't want to say them because spoilers. Yeah. I don't want to ruin it.

Yeah.

Let's go.

I'm doing great over here, guys. It's fun.

I think that's great that we're back. Honestly, we're back. Just dugan saying that. That's perfect.

Having a great little weekend on my side of town.

It's been a week. It's been a year. We're wrapping it up.

We are. It's approaching.

Thank God. We're all almost dead. Anyway.

Podcast.

Oh, like that.

Anyway, it's been a month. It's been a monthly girl suzuki, you.

Are I can't say it.

I can't say it. I got nicknames already. Don't worry about it.

No? All right, well, lay them on me.

Here we go to it. So episode one opens up with a girl, and it looks like a high school bathroom, kind of giving herself a pep talk, cheering herself up. And I think it's at, like, sunset, like after schoolish, right?

That's when anime girls always confess their feelings.

Yeah, that's the golden sunset. And she cheers her, cheering herself on. She says choyo chio. chio. Shit, it's chio. Like, I wrote it down correctly. I know how it smelled. My mouth is dumb.

Chio.

And so she's like, all right, come on. She walks out of the bathroom, goes into the classroom, and we get that beautiful lighting of the sunset. And like, I don't know, maybe it's in winter. Maybe the sunsets earlier. You would not catch me dead in school during sunset. I'd be fucking gone home by now. And she sees a very large boy standing by the windows, and she runs up to him and wants to confess her felix to him. She bows her head. She says, nozaki, I'm a fan. And it's like that's a weird way to phrase it.

Yeah, this is on her.

Yeah, she clearly is trying to confess her feelings for him. Like, I have a crush on you. But she says, like, I'm a fan of yours. And he's just like, what? Oh, I got you. And it pulls out like it's not even just a piece of paper. It's not like a notebook paper. It's like, what is it? It's like a little tablet. It's like stationery stationary is a good word. And he already has it ready, and he signs it and hand it to her. And it's just an autograph saying, like, thanks from So. And so and she's like, oh, no, that's not what I wanted. I don't want any of this. And she was just trying to confess her feelings, but he got confused. So she says she wants to be close to him. And he's like, oh, I got you. Let's head back to my place. She's like, oh, god. So man, so promiscuous. I'm not ready for this level of sin.

This is cuz, you know, Hong ki all over again.

And then we get the opening, which is visually pretty standard. Got your traditional, like, any movement like characters here. Your colors are here. Yeah, we're having fun. Silly stuff. But the music, this is a jam.

Yeah, it is a total bop. Super jazzy and good.

That good shit. So then we go back and they go back to his place. And he lives in an apartment, as far as we could tell, in these three episodes, lives by himself. So check by himself.

Question mark.

Question mark. We get he there are only two.

Pairs of shoes, and they were his and hers, so who knows?

And she sees herself in the apartment and kind of looks around. And it's like, oh, boy, I'm here by myself. And we get a few different shots of the apartment. And it's just one bedroom and then like a living room and a kitchen. So it's like, I hope he lives by himself or his parents got fucked over in this apartment situation.

He's got a studio apartment.

Yeah. And that's when she realized, like, oh, no, I went back to a guy's place just by alone. And I don't really know this guy that well. Even though I have a crush on him, it's like, I might have fucked up here. Yeah, be aware. She is. And she says she's new at this, and she wants to give it a try. And he's like, got you. I'm all ready for you. And he hands her a page from a manga, and it's just line work. And he's like, here's the bait test. You can start inking some of this, and we'll see how you go from there. She's like, what? All right, I'm just going to ride with this. Going to see where this goes. And so she just starts essentially inking a page of a manga and, like, coloring in the blacks and stuff and line work. He's like, oh, you're pretty good. I'm surprised. And she's like, what's happening here? What's going on?

This is the strangest foreplay I've ever interacted.

I don't want to kink shape, but like, what is this?

Is this a henty manga? Where are the smutpages?

Where'S the filth?

What are you doing to me?

And he confessed this. He's like, oh, no, I make manga. I got a few stories running in, like, a monthly magazine. So if you want to be my assistant, I'm giving you, like, a little test to see how good you are. She's like, oh, okay. Weird.

Don't you hate when you go to bang the cute boy at his place and he gives you a job application.

The worst. Hate when that happens. You hate to see it.

Is that why I'm not getting jobs?

You just need to find more cute boys and then vaguely flirt with them, extremely vaguely confess your feelings to them.

Say, I'm a big fan of yours, and just see where he goes.

That's what I'm going to do if I ever meet Bill hater. I'm a big fan of yours.

I'm sure that'll go over well. So chia walks home after this little encounter, and on the way home, she realizes the autograph he gave her is a pen name. It's not his actual name that he uses in school. So it's like, oh, he uses a pen name for his manga. It's like, wait a minute, this is a lady's name. She's like, wait a minute, I think I've read this before. She runs inside and looks through all of her shelves and finds a magazine with some manga in it. And she realizes she's read his work before he writes, like a love manga. And I don't know if it's in the magazine, but it's aimed at young teenage girls. So she's actually seeing his work and she's like, blown away of like.

A.

Classmate of mine is a love manga creator using a woman's pen name. Like, how bizarre. And so she goes back to school the next day and reading his work in the hallways. And while she's walking around, she comes to his classroom and she's like, oh, maybe he's, like, very sensitive. He must have, like, a really good idea of how the woman's mind works and how to write girls really well in the stories because that's what everyone loves him for. She looks in and she just sees a bunch of guys, like, freaking out because there's, like a cockroach in the classroom. And they're like, oh, God, get it away. And he just, like, walks up, takes his shoe off, and just smashes it like a caveman. She's like, maybe that's not it. Oh, maybe he just, like, relates to women more and like, just has a better understanding of their perspective and can really, like, understand them and like a different emotional level. And then, like, after he smashes the bug, a girl walks by and he's like, hey, I can see through your shirt cover up. And she's like, what the fuck?

No, hold on. I'm going to defend him in this moment because I feel like that wasn't the angle he was taking, at least not in the subs. Like, I feel like he was more like, oh, hey, so, you know, I can see your bra through your shirt. Like, maybe you should put on your jacket. I feel like that was more of the angle. But then she got mad at him anyway.

Yeah, I think it was like the.

Addition of, like, hey, this is how you can fix it. Of like, hey, let me tell you how to do your fashion today. It's like, no, maybe I want to show off my bra, jerk. This is a liberated society.

Oh, my goodness.

I saw it more as he was just so blunt about it and pointed it out publicly in front of everyone versus if he pulled her aside and be like, hey, maybe cover up people could see through it. Like, it would have been better. Yeah, I saw it. But yeah, it wasn't, like, malicious. Like, he's just like, hey, that might be an issue. Cover up came from a good place, but it was poorly executed.

Poorly executed.

No tact. So she sees this and it's like, no, that's not it. He's not good. He's not good at interacting with women. It's like, what is it? Why is he write this magazine? And he comes out of the classroom and sees her reading the magazine, and he's like, oh, yeah, I remember this one. They did an interview on me. It's weird. They offered me express it like, I'm still a high schooler. He shouldn't be offering that much. Like, express it into a high school and it tastes it bad. And he's just lamenting about the interview. And the whole time she's, like, staring at him, just kind of, like, gushing in her head of like, oh, my God, it's really him. It wasn't just this weird prank he did. He actually is mangaka. And she's getting all excited. She's like it's you. Put it to you? And she's like, yeah.

It's.

Like what? It's you. He's like, yeah. Oh, my God. And she's like, how does no one know about this is a secret? He's like, nah, I've told people. They just don't believe me.

She feels special for a minute.

Yeah, she thought she was special. Like, I know his secret. He's like, nah, it's not a secret. Just no one believes me. I actually really enjoyed that take on it. It's not like, don't tell anybody I'm into it. He's like, I'm open about it.

Just no one gives a shit.

I'm just very unassuming and bland.

What can I say?

And that's when nozaki says like, oh, yeah, I've actually had my eye on you for a while. I've seen your work. I saw that you were in the art club and I see some of your work and I was impressed, so I was hoping to talk to you about this. Anyway, she's like, oh, my God, you've seen my work? And we see you. It's just like a school sanitary poster of like, hey, wash your hands after pooping. It's like, that's what you know me from. That's my work that you liked. Okay, so she ends up coming back to school with him again. No. What? She ends up going back to his place after school again to help him.

Where are her parents?

Also lives alone, presumably.

Presumably.

We don't see him in these three.

Episodes, they died because they didn't wash their hands.

She's very passionate about hand health care.

They died from neurovirus. And now it's her lifelong mission.

And they go back to his place again. And she asks, like, oh, hey, I've seen you come to school a few times, like, really beat up and messed up. Like, what happened? Were you getting into fights? Like, you're a big guy. Do people challenge you thinking you're the big bully at school and they can take you on? He's like, no, I pulled my shoulder, like, working too hard, and I was working too late. So I was tired and I had, like, a migraine. My back was kind of pulled because I was sitting in a weird position. She's like, oh, so you're not like a brute? You're just like a comic book artist? Yeah, I just work a lot. It's like, okay. But he likes the idea of this big guy, big fighter type of character is actually just a big, soft character. So he's like, I might be able to use that in my manga.

And then he wrote my love story.

And it was perfect.

God was perfect.

That'd be a hell of a crossover if they're like, we're making a manga about someone making a manga, and then we're also making that actual manga. I think they might have done that somewhere. Anyway, he starts thinking about a new character, and she's like, oh, yeah, you can show that he's tough. Like, he's smoking and drinking. He's like, nope, it's a shogun. It's, you know, for high school kids. We can't legally show that. It's like, what? It's like, yeah, there are certain restrictions you got to do when making stuff for kids. And then that's like, where we saw a lot of the four kids censorship, where certain characters would be smoking a cigarette in the anime and then in the English dub, they'd be like, sucking on a lollipop. Yeah, those same reasons. And so nazaki is, like, starts drawing up a scene where his characters walking home together and she helps them out. So we get a few scenes of them working together, and she's inking still. And the next day he's like, hey, how about we ride a bike together? And like, the characters were in the scene they were working on the last night. So she's like, oh, my God, we could ride bikes together. Like the characters in your romance novel, she's getting all excited, embarrassed and all that flustered. And God, it's a bad word day for me today. She's getting all excited like, oh, how are we going to ride bikes together? Because that's what they were trying to figure out last night. What's a good way for characters to ride bike when the girl didn't have a bike. And it's like, oh, you can't sit that way. That's illegal. And so they can't ride like that. And it's like all these confines they have to work with. So she's like, oh, maybe we'll do that. Maybe I'll ride on the back or stand on the pegs and stuff. And it's like, oh, what are we going to do? And she gets there and he just has a tandem bike. She's like perfect, sexy as hell.

Hell yeah.

And she's just like, oh, okay. It gets on and starts riding with them. And I like while they're riding around, everyone's like looking at them. They're not just still images. Like you actually see their heads turn as they ride by and it's just kind of like, that's weird. You don't see that a lot in the back streets of a Japan city. So they're riding around just like, no, this doesn't feel right. This one makes sense for the characters while they're riding around. He asked if this could make two people fall in love, like, riding around on a bike like this together. She is like, no, this kind of lame. This kind of sucks. He's like, oh, okay, what if you just like, sit back and enjoy the ride and I'll pet her for both of us. So you see him just like paddling like nuts. And she's sitting there like kind of excited. She's like, no, I feel bad not paddling. Like, please let me paddle again. This feels guilty. And he's like, okay. He's like, what if you try holding on to me while we ride? And it kind of works if it's a one speed bike and you're really close to the person already, but because it's tandem, she's kind of like blocked by the handlebars in front of her and she's like leaning over, just holding onto his coat. No, this is also weird. This socks. So that like riding around a bit more. And he's like, all right, let's head back. And they go back to placing draws his characters. He's able to draw mock sheets, like really detailed pages of his comic real.

Fast that he just he's talented.

Then he just like, throws away like, nope, this doesn't work. It's like, oh, maybe you should do a simpler sketch then instead of a fully rendered page. So he draws his characters on the tandem bike and she's like, no, this sucks. It sucks so much. It's so lame. And he's like, okay, how about we try something else? And he gives her like, different ideas. He's like, no. Then he has like a tandem bike, but it has three seats and it's like the main character is going to try to do a competition with the girls he likes, and he's going to save one. And she's like, no, just no tandem bikes, man.

Just for the tandem bike thing.

Tandem bikes aren't sexy.

Nozzaki, tandem bikes are sexy for retirees in their sixty s at the beach, not for high schoolers. So cuts to the next day. She's at school and reading the newest issue of his manga. And she sees that it's just a regular bike. And instead of riding it together, the two love interests just walk home together while the guy pushes his bike along. And she's like, oh god, I'm so happy his editor was able to talk him out of that. It's like, Jesus, that was a terrible idea. And while she's reading it, she's also in class and she's hearing some of her classmates talking about how much they love it. And they're like, oh, did you see the newest chapter? Like, oh my god, the author is so good at writing and drawing the characters. And this kind of gives she kind of like reinvigorating her and her love for nazaki. He is good artist. He is good at this. Even though it's something unusual. But it's like, yeah, it's still good. And people still like it. So she ends up getting the tandem bike after school. And it's like, nazaki, hop on. We're going to tear this pitch up. Just going to tear through the city.

I wish. On this tandem bike.

On this tandem bike, you and me.

We'Re going to go race. That's what this anime is. Now we're just racing bikers, but doing it on a tandem bike.

We're slowly turning this into anime wacky racers.

Oh, man.

No. Full on fast and the Furious. Just tandem bike.

Just tandem bike. So she ends up helping him more and more with the manga after school. And presumably she's no longer going to her art club. And she's helping him with this instead. And she's asking, how did you get into this? He's like, oh, it kind of just started as a hobby and just got bigger. And I submitted stuff and they took it. So just gone from there. She's like, oh, you must be really good at romance. And if you're writing like a romance book and writing and trawling it, he's like, no, I've actually never been in love. Go figure. Weird, right? I know nothing about the subject I write about. And it's almost like it doesn't work this way most of the time. But whatever. I don't know. I've seen some of the dialogue with females in anime. It's like, yeah, this seems like a person who's never interacted with a female. And he talks about like I've given out a lot of advice to different girls though. So that's helped me kind of get in their mind and see from their perspective. And he asked like, oh, chia, do you have a crush on anybody? I've given out plenty of advice, just like, oh, yeah, I got this guy. He's like big and handsome. And I told him I liked him, but not in a clear way. So it didn't work out. But it's good because now we get to spend time together. He's like, why would you be attracted to someone like that?

It sounds like he sucks that guy.

But not like that.

Dance, idiot. How do you so obviously him? Because they've never interacted until this week. Apparently. So she goes home wondering if he's right and maybe she shouldn't be attracted to him. And she's kind of holding on to this autograph, like stationery she gave her.

Well, maybe she should just tell him how she actually feels.

Well, maybe if a girl after school walks up to you and goes, maybe she's into you.

And maybe the professor should just fix the fucking boat. If he can make a working radio on a coconut, the show doesn't work if it just fixes the video. We need plot.

I guess.

Can we do we should do an old reference on the bingo card.

Yeah.

That only works for you. And it's a free space.

Yeah, it'll happen. Our show itself not about the anime.

That's true. Yeah, that'd be the podcast. Bingo card.

Yeah.

Why am I listening to this? Bingo. And on her way to school, Go sees nazaki and he's kind of like looking at a scared cat who's up in the tree. And the cat's cat just like shaking. He doesn't look like he's about to help the cat. Looks like he's just, like observing the cat and like, interesting.

Didn't find me.

He got to feed that bill somehow. He's a big lad. And while he's looking at the cat, it just leaps onto his face and starts, like, mauling him. And it's like, oh, weird. He's able to pull it off and puts it back up on the wall around the property where the cat lives, presumably. And chia is like, no, he's a good guy. I'd still like him. And when the cat jumped, we get a flashback of chio. It says entrance day exam. So I'm guessing it's the first day of school and it's chio following from like no. Yeah.

We don't get to see what happened.

We just see nazaki holding her up like as if you just caught her if she fell off the tree like the cat did. And in this shot, at least, her design reminded me a lot of monica from dickie dookie.

Look, the white ribbon.

The white ribbon. Like the hair is kind of red hair. Yeah. Meanwhile, back in the present day, there's more cats up on the wall now for some reason. And they jump on nazaki again because.

He'S so handsome and big.

He's just getting cats.

Just come oh, man. Oh, man. Wait, hold on. He's so handsome and big. He just gets so much pussy. I'm doing a dance. It's not a good dance.

And this is when she remembers kind of remembers when she fell in love with him. And she says, like, this time I'm actually going to ask him out. I'm not going to just say I'm a fan again. She runs off to him. It's like nazaki. He's like, yeah. And she's like and like stammers a lot. And she's like, I'm a fan. Ears. He's like, oh, yeah, cool. And it gives her another autograph, which which I thought was weirder. Than her, like, bailing out and not confessing this stuff. I thought it was weird. He's like, oh, you want another autograph after you've been my assistant for a week?

Had a nice note on it, though.

I hope we continue working together.

Yeah, some along those lines.

I must have missed that. Yeah, it's nice. And the rest of the time, geo just kind of like crying alone and calling yourself an idiot. And that's the end. And the end credits song is not nearly as well as the opening.

It's fine.

Different energy. Wasn't big fan of it. And then after the ending, we got a little after credit sequence. And nazaki says he's got a friend coming over to help him out. And he's a delicate soul that helps him a lot. He thinks he's a beautiful personality inside. She's like, oh. She was like, oh, I wonder who this could be. And the guy who shows up is this redheaded guy, earring headphones and blasting. He's like, yo, what up? He's like, oh, you're a loud jerk.

This guy's just my type.

A loud redheaded jerk that says stupid.

Gushy things to girls. I love him.

And that's the ending of episode one, all right?

And we pick up right where we leave off in episode two with the introduction of mikoshiba. I'm just going to call him miko because fuck it fair.

Miko ran.

Yeah, we get the introduction and she was like, fuck this guy. Because he's immediately just so full of himself. And she was like, hey, no zaki. What the fuck?

Said he was delicate.

He's like, hey, a watch. So miko goes up to the window and a bunch of girls are like fawning over him. And he just has the most poetic anime bullshit you could imagine. And she was like, oh, now I get it. He has a poetic spirit girl spoon for him. But he has this thing where as soon as he goes extra gushy romantic, he gets super embarrassed and beats himself up. So it's also endearing.

I love this idiot.

Big dummy.

Big stupid.

So they go back to nozakis to keep working. And miko is like, hey, gio, I guess I'm your mentor because I've been working with him for longer, so don't ask me any questions. I hate it so much. And then as she starts working, she's like, all right, fine. I'll leave you alone. And she just goes to work. He's desperately watching, just waiting for her to ask him a question. So nozaki's like, hey, just humor him. Please be obnoxious all night if you don't.

But it's not like while he's working, he's looking over at her of like, does she need help? He's just like walking around and drinking all of his sodas. And he's not doing anything.

Yeah, just straight up obsessing over her, not asking them. So of course she's like, oh, no, I'm a dumb idiot, baby. I need a big, strong man to help.

Me.

And he's like, oh, I guess that will be me. darlin. Well, this is called paint, you see, and it goes on the paper, and that's how you draw. And she's like, fuck.

She says wow. Yeah. Amazing. Thank you. Wow, you're so smart.

Wow, my hero. My dumb little idiot brain would have never figured this out. The thing I was doing before, my.

Little delicate female hands.

Oh, no, it's not like that much exaggerated.

No, she's just making fun of him.

Yeah. You see her just pull her page over and starts working while he's still talking, like, yeah, sure.

Cool. Great. You're so good. So, yeah, then after, Chio goes out to get more drinks, and miko asks for coffee, but ends up following her as well. So great. Good stuff happens there. And then they're watching a game show where people are drawing stuff from memory, and they're like, hey, let's try this. This will be a fun little exercise. All right, everyone draw a dog. And then Chio is pretty confident, and nozakis is beautiful, and miko's garbage. So they're like, okay, now draw a person. Same thing. Adequate. Good. Terrible. And then, okay, draw a house. And no one can draw buildings. It's the same house drawing that every kindergartener makes.

Buildings are tall.

That's what I would draw.

I don't know, they're drawing all these things, and she was like, hey, what the fuck do you do here if you can't draw for shit? You dumb idiot.

Suck at everything. We talk about how much we love soft characters. We are so aggressive when we talk.

About Anna, we have to personify them to be interesting. So, yeah, she's like, hey, fuck you, you dumb idiot. I'm going to kill your family.

What you can do right now.

Step up.

I'll draw the next mango with your blood, you fucking scrub. So nozaki is like, oh, well, he has a special talent here, see? And pulls out some beautiful flower drawings in the backgrounds of the characters. And he's the flower special effects guy, so that's his talent. He's not good at much of anything else.

He's good at one thing, but he's the best out of that one thing. Yeah.

And then we get a short little sequence. It doesn't really add much. Just girls freaking out about miko at school. He says he doesn't want a girlfriend. And also, I think his artist name is mika In. Is that correct?

That's what nozaki calls him.

Yeah. I don't know if he because I think he wants to keep it a secret, so I don't think he actually puts his name on anything.

Got you. He apparently hates being called meeker in.

Yeah.

Rena is like a little it's like calling someone named John name son name, kun. But it's like, cute.

Got you. Yeah.

So it's like a cutesy not a tough guy named for such a cool dude.

A little buddy.

Sure.

So we get that little scene doesn't really do anything. Sure, fine. Then we're back with Chio and Nozzaki. And he's like and she says, hey, why do you hang out with him? Because he kind of sucks.

But he's lame.

And nozaki says, well, I need to because one of the characters that one of the main characters is based on him. And she's like, what? The guy is not like him at all. And he reveals that the girl character is based on miko because she gets all frazzled and embarrassed when she says anything that's related to feelings and beats herself up. And she's like, oh, now I get it.

And I think the scene before was just to highlight him doing that. More of like, hey, remember this one character's whole stick. Just a reminder it's going to pay off in the next scene. Okay.

Just in case you forgot. In case you forgot his dumb asshole idiot. This boy.

You love him, though.

I love him.

So the next day, nozaki is like, I got to go. People watching for new characters. I don't know. If I don't get inspiration, I'll end up drawing the same character over and over, which can't happen. So she was like, oh, let me introduce you to my friend seo. I think you'll get some good inspiration here. And then we are introduced to seo, who is the troublemaker. She's always on the run from the teachers. She also sucks.

She also sucks. Yeah, she's very funny.

She sucks more than me, too.

Yes, I agree.

So, yeah, Chio introduces seo to nozaki, and of course, seo is like, oh, you know each other because you're fucking right. So immediately, nozaki is like, I don't like you.

I don't remember what she says in the Japanese, but that's not it.

It's basically that she's like, oh, you two are friends, huh? wink, wink, wink, wink.

I think that's better.

I don't think she makes any reference to their relationship.

I think that's better than the I forget what she said because I watched this one. Stop. She says, like, oh, you're hanging out with Chio because you're a lolly con. It's like, oh, no, yeah, that is worse.

I forgot what she said. That is worse.

Yeah. So he gets, like, pissed off with that because it's like, no, don't call me.

Yeah, valid.

They should have kept that in the dub. What the hell?

I think it'd just be hard to translate. You don't want to be like, they.

Talk about lollies in dubs, do they?

Yeah, I think it'd be better than be like, gross. Yeah, you like hanging out with her because you're a pedophile. And it's like.

Do not talk to me again. Because no. Do you?

Goodbye. Get her out of my relationship. So, yeah, then a separate friend comes up and is like, hey, say, oh, check out my cute new purse. And she's like, oh, it's fucking ugly. The creep that lives by me has it. Goodbye. So she's just so abrasive and just very blunt. She trains with the basketball team as sort of the bad example of bad teammates.

It's an outlet for her. It's practice for everyone else of how to deal with an asshole.

Yeah.

Nozaki is like, wow, she is very aggressive and sucks. Let's not hang out with her. But we see. seo is given papers to bring to the science lab, and nozaki is pulled into it as well. And they and she is just so oblivious about her reputation because she talks about how great she is, how considerate and all this stuff as she's, like, walking over stuff, people are drawing and just getting in the way and pushing people out of the way and all that stuff. I don't know what's going on here, but for whatever reason, she challenges him to walking as far as they can on their hands. And she just fucking exorcist crawls down the hallway.

I actually enjoyed this. There are, like, very specific comedic bits in the show that I do enjoy. The way they animate. The little comedic scenes were very funny. She wanted to make it more interesting because she's competitive, so she wanted a challenge for carrying the books. She's like, let's walk on her hands. And as she does that, she just runs down the hallway doing it. And he's like, she's just trying to get out of doing the punishment.

But then a teacher sees her and is like, hey, you fucking idiot. You can't do that in the hall. Come back here. And she, of course, runs away. And she says something inspiring to nozaki, I'll come back for you. Just, like, very dramatic.

I need you to carry these for me.

Yeah. The whole lighting changes and the drawing goes a lot more detailed. Very dramatic moments.

Yeah. So I couldn't tell if he was inspired or falling in love or what they were trying to go for there.

I was hoping very desperately that he was not falling in love with Hero. That's a love triangle that I do not want.

Yeah, definitely say, I don't think so based on episode three. But I don't know.

Like a captain.

Yeah. I think he was brainwashed because it was just the moment of it.

He was like he got swept up in the moment.

But yeah, so she bolts. He's stuck carrying the books. And later on to Chio, he's like, I'm going to make her the oblivious, athletic character. Because she's oblivious and athletic, weird subtle. But she was like, no, you just don't see the right side of her. Let me show you what's actually going on here. Let me show you the club she's in. And you'll get why she's so cool. And they walked down the hallway, and they hear some beautiful operatic singing. And whoa, shocker. It's sao. She's deep. She can sing. That negates all the negative attributes.

Wow.

Remember, kids, you can be an asshole as long as you're good at the art you choose.

That's not wrong.

It should be wrong. Unfortunately, it's not.

Yeah, well, I feel like for some people at least, it doesn't matter how talented you are, if you're a shitty person, no one wants to work with you. But there are other people who are just like, are you talented? Cool.

All you need.

You fucked my wife. That's fine.

Whatever gives you the inspiration. Genius.

You built a new weird truck. That's okay.

We'll tolerate you sent used condoms and dead rats to your castmates. jared leto. Too bad your talent couldn't compensate. Fuck method actors.

Anyway, that's a whole race of people.

Yeah, I could talk about it, but I won't.

It's not what it means. Anyway, so, yeah. He's like, wow, you can sing good, so I don't think you're an asshole anymore. And then he questions her relationship with, or the friendship between seo and Chio. And apparently they met through a relay race where they were like, neck and neck, and they're like, hey, I respect you, kid. And so he takes it as like, oh, female friendships are based on competitive emotions and stuff. And then Chio has the thought of, like, no, we just ended up having a lot of classes after that.

I think that that never actually happened. That was something he made up in his mind. And then yeah, like, the realistic thing, she was just like, we just sat.

Next to each other, which is the most realistic beginning of a friendship in school.

Yeah, but yeah, that's episode two.

Hooray.

Yeah.

I watched those two episodes dubbed, and I watched this one dubbed, and boy, was I in for a shitty surprise.

Yeah, we haven't talked about it. It is bad.

I'm ready to talk openly about how much I hated it. It was so bad.

The average age of these high schoolers is about 35.

Right.

Chio was like, okay, but it's really just a men. Like, miko Ryan and nozaki, both are.

Like those were some interesting choices.

Yeah. Anyway, my first note for this is I don't like this dubbed one bit.

My first note is, ugh, yuck.

But I still watched the whole episode dubbed because I was committed.

Committed. Dedicated for the show.

Yeah. So miko rein wants to introduce Chio to a potential character model, and it's like, the prince of the high school. And then there's a weird moment. I thought this was just weird in general, that Chio was like, what? Wait, what? The prince of the high school? And then she, like, runs off, and she's like, but you're based on the main character is based off you. You can't be talking to other people. And then she tells nozaki that and he does the same thing where he's like, oh, what?

This confused me. I initially skipped over the post credits thing of the previous episode, and I thought I missed some more important information, that I just straight up wasn't getting. But yeah, I went back, watched it. It did not connect. And I don't know why she was like, but you have to honor the character that is vaguely based on you.

I think it's supposed to be her starting to associate the main character of the manga with Mikarin and she's starting to associate them together. Like you can't do that because that's not what the main character would do. And the main character is based off you. So you have to be like the main character.

Yeah, that's what's happening. But she hasn't done it before and she doesn't do it again. So it's just like really weird.

It's just a weird logic thing for her to think.

Yeah. And then like I said, it never happens again. It's just like this weird one moment.

Especially to vocalize it and take it to the main artist and be like, he's going against canon. No, stop. His everyday life.

It was weird. Yeah, but then after they freak out, whatever, the prince gets there. And the prince is a very handsome girl.

Pretty, pretty.

Her name is you, for you are a lesbian.

Big lesbian. Energy.

An inspiration. Love this, love this woman. And Chio was like, oh, well, why is she called the Prince of the high school? And it's because she could pretty much say what miko reen says to girls. But she doesn't get embarrassed about it. She's like very flirty. She's very tommucky suo from oron high school host club.

Yeah, I can see that.

Yeah. So she just says all this cheesy shit and the girls love it and she doesn't care. She's like, this is me, baby. Anytime she called a girl baby, I was like, I'm going to rip my ears off. Why? That's not romantic. Don't call me baby. I'll scratch your eyes out.

Hey, baby, you're looking really good in that school uniform everyone else has.

So the girls love her. The boys are jealous of her. They all call her the Prince, too.

Just imagine her as yogi Bear.

Do you want to do hand stuff behind the bleachers?

Oh, my God.

She is Son. I get this pick and dink basket.

Oh my God. Okay.

Fan art. Fan art.

So we got like this little itty bitty short backstory where mika reen kind of used to consider her arrival. But then they just became best buds.

Because she's better than him in every way.

Yeah. And he was just like, all right, that's fine.

We are equals. Everyone else is like, no, fucking look at everything, dude.

But I mean, you kind of sucks, too. We find out everybody sucks anyway.

Weird.

And that's just real life. And then you is surprised that Chio doesn't know who she is because everybody knows. But it's because Chio only has eyes for nozaki. So she just like, never paid attention to any other potential love interest. That's sad.

She's obsessed.

If she could just tell him how she feels. And if he can just realize how.

She feels, I got to put all my eggs in one basket and then lock that basket in the closet where it will never see the light of day again.

That's what I did. I love you, Paul. Just kidding. I do love him, though.

And you told him about that? I assume he knows, and it's not a one sided relationship.

He's dating for years.

Never told him.

Five years. He's never told me. He loves me.

I just help him with his web comic. I hope he'll catch on soon.

Hey, Paul. What's dana to you? A good friend.

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. That's not true. I have to keep telling myself anyway. Yeah, so then you ask them how they all know each other, and miko, rene and Chio are both like, oh, well, we can't say what we actually do. Well, Chio doesn't want to tell her that she has feelings for nozaki, which she doesn't have to. And then miko is more like, I don't want to tell her that I work on a manga.

It's a secret.

It's a secret. So then nozaki says, we do unspecified activities in my apartment, which is nice. Worse.

Nice.

Very nice. Hope you guys are having a good time.

Can I check that off for technically not incest on the pinker card?

You can check off anything for technically not incest.

A lot of wax shit for that category.

Literally, the only thing I can't check it off for is incest.

Anyway, sorry. And then you is like, oh, gee, it's like, time for me to go. It's getting late. My escort will be here soon. And they're like, escort. And I'm like escort. But it's just because she tends to skip rehearsals after school because she goes out with all the ladies. So she needs someone to take her to drama club. And then I think he's the drama club president. We find out more about him later.

Yeah.

So he shows up and he's like, you, you knucklehead, come to frack dice.

He's the ranger smith to this.

You. Why aren't you at Elfrak dyce? That's a good meme. I hope it never dies.

Come back.

It's almost Christmas.

It's almost Christmas. So then it's later on, and they're working on the manga, and sakura is getting better at it, and she's like, yeah, I'm sakura. Sorry, Chio. I wrote sakura in my notes. Chio is talking about how she feels more confident and she's getting better at finding the x's for stuff that she needs to fill in. And then she turns the page and there's a cat face in the sky. And she's like, oh, what's that? And no zaki is like, oh, that's from my background artist. They use that for you, so fill that in. And she's like, huh? Background background artist. A kitten. It's probably a cute girl. And miko Ring says that he also hasn't met them, and nozaki says it's because their club activities doesn't line up with when they all work together. So the background artist usually comes later. So chio's overthinking it and being like, oh, they spend time together at night. And then she turns another page. And then instead of a cat, there's a little doodle of underwear. And then the next day, she's like, doodling both in her little notebook. And she turns to seo and she's like, hey, if you had to pick, like, a personal logo for yourself, I don't know, which one would you pick? And then seo speaks. And this is the first time I heard her English dub voice, and I hate it. She's the only girl character that I'm like, wow, what a bad choice. Because she sounds like yeah, she sounds like this, and it's really weird. That's not what she sounds like. Casting. What do I know, though? Whatever. Anyway, so seo looks at the two and she's like, I picked the underwear.

What? Why? Is it easier to draw?

Yeah, she said it was easier to draw. And then you comes looking for Chio because they need help painting some set pieces. And it turns out that Chio was not the first person she asked, but she asked other girls to come help, and they kept purposefully messing up so you would come give them attention, to which the drama club president said, no, knock it off. Not happening.

Got stuff to do. Stop making your harrow.

So Chio agrees, and she meets hori, which is the Drama Cup president, and also, like, the set builder. And he says that he used to be an actor, but he likes this better. And then you says, no, it's because you're short.

Tiny.

And then he smacks her because he doesn't like that. He doesn't like being reminded that he's short.

It's not nice to make fun of people's physical appearances that they cannot change.

It's true.

And then he kind of goes off. And then you is talking to Chio about him, and she says he's actually a really good actor, but it is just that he's too short. And then she comes up with some wacky solutions, like, maybe he should always be riding a horse still in our.

High school production of equipment.

And then hori comes over with another set piece for Chio to paint, and it has a cat on it where she's supposed to paint. And then there's some kerfuffle with some girls coming in and wrecking a set piece because they want to see you.

Which is super shitty, just too hot.

We need to see her. I'll tear your staircase apart.

Don't hold me back. Please.

Please. I need to sit on her face. Sorry.

No.

Every girl in this school is straight up hornyboard. Like, not even. Like, this is fun. She's so great and flattering. It's like, fucking punch me in the throat, daddy.

The school must suck. I guess they like miko ring too, but mikorine just doesn't have the confidence of the balls. They're both pretty, but Mikoine can't follow through.

He can't finish.

You can't help them finish blue episode.

And that's the T. And then chio is like, whoa. And then she, like, draws the briefs and she underwear, whatever. She shows it to him and she's like, tell me, do you prefer briefs? And then you, who's been sitting there painting, she's like, what kind of question is that?

What the foot?

And then he just kind of makes this face because he realizes that she knows. And he's like, oh, you too. And they have this funny moment where she's just like, yeah, they're really comfortable. Ha ha. And then you takes this as like she's like a way to charm him, ask him about his underwear. So she does so, and he says.

No, that's how you feel. Harassment.

Yeah. And then it's later on, and Chio tells Nozzaki that she met hori. And he's like, oh, yeah, I know. He left a note for you in the thing. And just says, thanks for helping, which is very sweet. There was another note, but I missed what it said.

I think she wrote a note back to him. Oh, I'll let him know my response. He's like, nige, just paint that one. That's the beta you got to paint. So don't write notes.

Yeah.

You will turn in incomplete work. Don't do that. Just to send a message. Text him.

You will get detention, man.

Get detention.

And then it's the next day, and hori is there. He's not at Drama Club because he's asking Nozzaki to write a script because there are only so many plays with princes in them, and apparently that's the only thing that you can do. So they just need more princely scripts.

Well, you're such a great actor at the one thing you can do.

Wow.

Amazing.

And so in return for the scripts, he does the background stuff. And now that nozaki knows that you is a girl because he hadn't met her before, he's, like, having trouble writing because everything he's writing just seems shitty because she's shitty. I don't know if that's why, but.

Maybe he has trouble taking her as a character model and using her as, like, a character in the manga because he's like the character's coming off way too flirty like, way too horny.

Yeah, that's her secret. You is also very horny.

Secret. I'm always horrible.

That's my secret. Cap. And then it's back at school, and you ask Chio, what hori? And knows what you have in common, because she sees them talking, and she's like, what? Why? And then Chio again, not knowing what to say because she doesn't want to talk about the manga, says that they do favors for each other.

Behind the bleachers.

And then you get upset. So I'm like, does she like, hori, what's going on here?

Yeah, I kind of get that feeling too.

Yeah.

Everyone's, hordy for everyone else, and no one's talking about it.

Yeah, it's high school.

Talk about your feelings.

This is what high school is.

Yeah. So you runs over to the two of them, and while she's running, she's like, cory, who do you think is cuter, me or Nozucky? And he just says nozzucky. And then she immediately turns tail and runs back to chico, which was another animated moment that I was just like.

Oh, that's good, silly run cycle.

Yeah.

And then she tells chia that, and she's like, well, if it makes you feel better, I also think nazaki is cuter. She's like, that doesn't make me feel better, thank you.

And then it's after school, and you decides to skip the drama club because hori made her mad. And then chia was like, well, what do you want from him? And then she says a proposal would be good. And she's like, what? And she's like, yeah, like a wedding. And I'm like, oh, okay, so you do like him. But then again, it's just, like, never addressed again in this episode.

I think this will come up later, but I'm guessing she means in the play. Oh, maybe that's what I took it as.

Interesting. Yeah, but so Chio then goes to hori and tells him that, which I feel like his betrayal little mean, a betrayal of trust. And then he says that he wouldn't even tell you if he was dating a girl because he would be afraid that she would steal her from him. Which then Chio doesn't say, like, oh, well, I think you liked you, and I thought that was weird. If you're going to tell him what she said, just tell him the whole truth.

But I think that would that would also just sow more drama, which for an anime makes sense.

Yeah. In my mind, I was like, well, then how does she feel? What's happening?

Everyone's too learning to understand.

Please just tone it down for a minute for clarity. Damn it.

And then nozaki asks them to read the script that he's been working on. And hori is, like, a very good actor, and Chio is like, I guess I'll get into it, too, then. But the script is bad. But they're performing their hearts out.

Commit.

Yeah. And then they, like, get into a fight scene, and miko Ring is, like, sitting outside watching them fight, and he's like, Why are they fighting?

Peeping on him like a pervert.

He doesn't want to interrupt. They're having a serious conversation because, again, he's a big, stupid, idiot boy, and he can't tell that they're acting.

No one knows fiction from reality in the show. That's the real secret.

It's all jumbled. And so he eventually goes in, and nozaki gives him a script, and he's like, you read for the maid, and he says a line, and Hero is like, that not Hero. hori is like, that wasn't good enough. Keep trying. So while that's going on in the background. nozaki is inspired, and he writes a whole new script. And then he realizes that he made the main character the maid, because he can't help but see miko Ryan as the main character, the main lady.

So soft.

Let's see.

That's pretty much it. That's all the notes I had.

Nozzaki, I was reading this note. I couldn't figure out what had happened. But noseki is walking hero hori, because hori is a bad name. Let's be real.

Don't horry.

Shame.

Nozaki is walking him out, and he says that it's his first time meeting miko Ryan. And he just kind of looks at him and he's like, you is more attractive. And then after the credits, nozaki goes to watch the play rehearsal, and Nozzeki asks hori if he wants to return to acting. And he's like, oh, I mean, I like it, but as long as I can watch you, I'm good. And I was like, oh, man. vents some feelings.

That soon dairy relationship.

And that's that on. That that's the show that's the three episodes we watch.

Wow.

Yeah. And I got to say, knowing that dugan watched all three dubs, I completely understand why he had such lukewarm feelings about it.

Yeah, it's fine.

I got to say, too, I think I don't know if we've watched a lot of romantic comedies, and it was a long time ago that we watched My Love Story. But the unique and good thing about My Love Story is that you know that they're together.

It's not will they won't they for twelve episodes.

It's not will they won't they for an episode. And then it's vaguely mentioned on occasion in the next few episodes, like, what happens?

Yeah. I will say that I think this is funnier than most romantic comedy anime I've seen. I think that the humor makes up for that. For me, it doesn't bother me as much because there are moments where I'm like, oh, this shit is funny.

Got a good chuckle. Yeah, but dugan, are we there yet?

Not really. Yeah, I sort of got bogged down with the they set up this narrative of, oh, this girl is interested in the artist she's working for. Let's see what happens. And then they immediately drop that for, like, an ensemble comedy thing. So the pilot does not match up with the rest of the show at all. I don't know, because straight up, in episode two and three, there are, like, two or three scenes where gio mentions that she's interested.

Yeah.

So they set up this romantic plot and then immediately drop it for here are some wacky characters that are also assholes.

Hi, jenks. To see that.

Yeah, I think I never get a beat on the show because it also didn't know what it wanted to do.

Yeah. But I can see that being as the main plot of the story is the love interest between two main characters, but without it. Being the only plot in the show. I do enjoy stuff where it does take a refreshing break from it every now and then. It doesn't just hammer it over your head repeatedly.

Yeah, I agree. I feel like I would have liked it even less if they just did that, because it's not the most interesting thing. It's sort of just that bait and switch aspect. You said this was only twelve episodes, right?

Yeah, we're a quarter of the way through.

Yeah. So we're a quarter of the way through, and we're just barely getting the introduction of all the main characters. And I don't know how many more characters they're going to bring on, how many more I think that they're going to have working on this manga. That's apparently a secret that no one knows about.

I think after this episode, all of the characters have been introduced, so maybe after these ones, it would get back to the romance stuff.

Maybe seven, because in the opening, we get a shot of seven characters and, like, a rainbow pattern. So there's one for every color of the rainbow. So I think there might be, like, one or two more characters we would be introduced to in episode four on the full ensemble.

Yet there's like one more then one more. Yeah, I just counted on my fingers.

That's what I was doing.

Yeah. So if they spend the next episode introducing one to two more of the mains, that means a full third of the show is just introductions. And then they now have seven or eight people that they need to do stuff with, with eight episodes left. And that's like one episode per character. If they do it like that or just a jumbled mess, and some people do some things I don't know, they're trying to do way too much in a short amount of time.

That's usually why Show has three acts. The whole episode doesn't have to be about the one character. You could have one act about every character and get through all of them in two episodes.

Yeah. I just feel like they could have introduced more people because they all go to the same school and geo, apparently no one knows any other classmates except for their already friends famous classmate that everyone knows them.

No, I guess they didn't spend too much time on me corrine because then they introduced seo. I guess they just spent too much time on each of them.

Yeah, I could see that.

But I enjoyed it. I think I would watch the rest subbed.

It wasn't bad. It just didn't get me on board.

Yeah, I enjoyed it. I definitely had more fun with those comedic moments like we talked about than the actual love interest, because it's hard to be invested with a character when the main character trait of that character is their bland and unassuming. So it's kind of like, Well, I'm not invested because no one else is, why should I care about who gives it mizuki? Yeah, like, mizuki is just this bland, like, almost robot character. I was like, all right, whatever. And these other side characters I'm more interested in, but I know we're going to get less time with them. So that's kind of a big complaint I have with a lot of romcom stuff because I feel like whoever the titular main character is usually falls flat a little more than everyone else.

And you're just like, why do you like him?

Yeah, they're boring as shit. But sit on.

You've faced.

I did enjoy it, though. I had fun with this. I don't know if I'll continue with it, but I didn't hate it.

You also can't give us a gay icon and do nothing with it.

God, just make her gay. Just make her the biggest gay because she already is.

Okay. Anyway, yeah, we have a listener recommendation for next week.

We're back.

Yeah, we're back to it, baby. This is from meli 2901 from Twitter. We are going to watch SARS on My.

Oh, okay.

Yeah. I also don't know nothing about it. I gave you enough of a Google to know it wasn't gross porn. It's safer work, so we're good to watch it.

I feel like this podcast is really just showing how little of anime experts we actually are because we just keep watching shows we don't watch. We want to experiment. We want to fight.

We want to a lot of anime out there.

It's a lot of anime.

We got to get through it all. If you want to shovel more on the pile of our sisafisian torture, you can send us recommendations to areweeberyet@gmail.com or reach out to us on Twitter at rweebeveryet. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram at Mr. Patrick dugan.

You can find me on Instagram at queen. Period weebu and on twitter at queen underscore weebu and queen underscore weebu art.

You can find me on Twitter at abts. Brendan. And I'm going to recommend Safe monos, which is a show on Netflix, and it's really fucking good, but not technically anime, so we're not going to watch it. But I just felt like that show needs more attention.

Get that shit out of here then. No, just kidding.

Screaming from the rooftops. It needs more attention. It deserves it.

Thank you to camille Ruling for our artwork. And thank you to Louis zong for the use of our theme song stories off the album Beats. You can find all of louie's music at Louisong dot bandcamp.com. Thank you, and we hope you'll join us next week as we learn to live with animals.

Get paid for your work. They'll do free labor. She's an intern.