Kannagi, “A Cutie in a Big Pinch…”

Synopsis: Jin wanted to record a show for Nagi, and accidentally recorded over another show she had recorded but not yet watched, so Nagi shuts herself in Jin’s closet and refuses to come out, and ultimately all their friends come over and try to convince Nagi to come out.  This is one odd bit of Japanese culture that pops up quite frequently in anime, it seems: when you and one of your friends are having a spat, all your other friends end up butting in to try and help matters, which never succeeds.  I mean, sure, it makes for some good comedy, but really, does this ever really work?

Of course, there is one among the Art Club members who possesses the technological might to resolve this issue—the man, the legend, the otaku, Akiba Meguru! Akiba brings a recording of the show Nagi had wanted to watch as a peace offering on Jin’s behalf; of course, Akiba is both on the cutting edge of technology (he recorded the episode on a Blue-ray disc, and Jin doesn’t even have a DVD player) and quite behind the times (as a back-up, Akiba also brought a copy on Betamax. It may be a Sony, but…).

Needless to say (but I’m going to say it anyways), this was a fun little episode, with lots of exaggerated expressions and a clever bit that used the first-person viewpoint of a cockroach. And, just like in real life, Jin and Nagi worked their problem out more or less on their own. They should have just done that to begin with, but then again, if they had, there wouldn’t be much to the episode, now would there?

WARNING: RANTING FOLLOWS

The Mecha Monogatari, Chapter IV

Seki did not complain about having to ride pillion with Hijū a second time; in fact, he seemed fascinated with her old hyper sport bike. Of course, Hijū insisted he wear a helmet and aside from burning a circle of rubber into the pavement outside the A Company’s hangars, she drove significantly less recklessly. The helmet did not fit the boy well—it was one of Hijū’s that she had worn all of three times, and, ominously, it was severely scratched on the right-hand side.

As they rode, Hijū, shouting to be heard over the bike’s 1,340 cc engine, explained the operation of a motorcycle. “Your right side handles all your acceleration and deceleration, and your left side changes gears. Your throttle is here in the right grip—” She twisted the grip towards herself a little, causing the engine to rev noisily as the bike lurched forwards in a brief burst of acceleration. “—and the front brakes are the lever. The right foot pedal is the rear brakes, but I don’t use them much. The front brakes slow you down faster.”

“When you use them, that is,” Seki replied.