insaneneko | Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi 2 Episode 1

I'd been avoiding thinking about the upcoming new season these past couple of weeks because I can get anticipated out. It was hard suppressing my excitement, and when I got home on Friday I immediately downloaded the episode and watched it. Holy crap, this episode made me squirm with empathetic embarrassment and sympathy for Ritsu. I felt so sorry for him trying to work so hard and getting no traction with his co-workers. I personally dislike the "make 'em flail" philosophy of job training, so I wished people had just given him advice before the deadline actually passed.

I really really loved Hatori getting that fax from Chiaki which asked him not to contact him, and Hatori jumping up and saying Chiaki had asked him to come over ASAP.

Takano making his (somewhat nuts yet somehow so correct) pronouncements is always LOVE.

The best screenshots in this episode were definitely the funny *sweatdrop* inducing ones, like this one.

The title of the book Ritsu is reading is "How much does it cost to actually keep a panda." LOL

Yes, Ritsu, use the power of your mind to get those girls to buy the manga!

I didn't screencap him, but I wanted to spork Yokozawa after this. He is just so ridiculously overdone. I just learned that Yokozawa is going to be coupled with Ijuuin's editor from Junjou Romantica. I...couldn't care less. I'm sure Yokozawa is a nice guy, but he was waaay too one-note for too long for me to care much. Luckily he's going to be in a novel? Please don't waste your time drawing manga about him, Nakamura-sensei!

I'm sure everyone has screen capped this shot because it is PURE AWESOME. I love how Ritsu's attempts to weasel away almost never works.

I was struck by how Ritsu is sitting in the oddest position, parallel to the table between him and Takano.

Drunk Ritsu was so hilarious! Especially laughed at Takano saying that people must hate drinking with Ritsu because he's a horrible drunk.

Ritsu looks so young! So cute!

Takano looking good as always. (Though I do love him with his glasses.)

Nothing really needs to be said about this shot.

Cool two-shot. Ritsu looks a bit eager, Takano looks cool.

Yet again, nothing needs to be said. Ritsu's overreactions are wonderful to see animated.

I don't know what to think about the complete cutting out of the sex in this episode. I thought it was pretty well done for what it was. In fact, the "sempai" "Ritsu" exchange came out super sweet, even sweeter than the manga in a way because they weren't caught up in the physical act. But then...It just felt odd to just cut straight from hugging fully clothed to the morning after. I miss the frantic need that comes out during the sex scenes, and I think the passion in this couple is lost a bit when they cut it out so thoroughly. Because of that I almost felt more for Ritsu's work troubles than his romantic troubles.

Seriously, his co-workers and boss should give him a bit more of a break. He's such a hard worker and so wants to do the right thing, but he's not some genius who can figure things out on his own, you know? Or is it some kind of (awful) tradition in the department to be mean to the newbies? I can't help but put myself in Ritsu's position and feel bad for him.

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Love the caps! I think the second-to-last one is my favorite; I didn't notice when I was watching how hopeful Ritsu looked.

I felt bad for Ritsu, too, with everyone taking advantage of him at work, but it does seem awfully likely to happen in the real world. (Even if everyone else was just ignoring the deadline, Takano, at least, should have told Ritsu what was going on, though.)

I thought the lack of sex worked pretty well in this case (since Ritsu doesn't remember it--or pretends not to?), but I hope next time they show a LITTLE bit more. They could always go the way they did Junjou, with the extreme shadows for broadcast and unedited for DVD. (Dunno why they're so concerned when it's airing at like 2 am anyway, but...)

On the other hand, they completely cut out the Yukina/Kisa sex scene, too (without even any hints that they HAD sex), so probably not. :/

I'm disappointed that Yokozawa's story is going to be in the novels, honestly. I mean, I also don't really want to see Nakamura spending a lot of time on him (especially since it took MONTHS to get a new Takano/Ritsu chapter...), but I would like to actually, um, ENJOY his story, and I know I won't since it'll be in the novels. Ugh, that author. :/

I didn't notice when I was watching how hopeful Ritsu looked

Hopeful! That's the word I should've used. :P

I felt bad for Ritsu, too, with everyone taking advantage of him at work, but it does seem awfully likely to happen in the real world. (Even if everyone else was just ignoring the deadline, Takano, at least, should have told Ritsu what was going on, though.)

I think I felt so badly for Ritsu because it felt so real. I want to smack Takano at times. I don't understand his mentoring style at all.

I thought the lack of sex worked pretty well in this case (since Ritsu doesn't remember it--or pretends not to?), but I hope next time they show a LITTLE bit more.

I agree that it worked this time, but because the cutting was so complete I wonder if all the sex they have will also be totally cut out. It's a bit annoying, frankly.

LOL re: your reaction to Yokozawa's story. I'd forgotten you actually read the novels and that they are terribly written. I don't have anything major against Yokozawa (I just got tired of him being so hard on Ritsu, but as this will stop going forward I am willing to be meh about him), I was just happy it wouldn't mean Nakamura-sensei drawing his story vs. Ritsu's. Too bad they can't have another author write his stuff and let the current author continue what she's already writing.

Agreed on Takano's mentoring style. I get that a lot of it is for comedic effect, but sometimes it makes him seem like a real jerk of a boss.

I wonder if all the sex they have will also be totally cut out.

I sort of suspect it will be. :/ Which make me wonder how they're going to handle some of the later scenes.

Too bad they can't have another author write his stuff and let the current author continue what she's already writing.

Unfortunately, Nakamura seems to really love this author, though I don't get why AT ALL. They've been collaborating for a LONG time, to the point that she wrote all the excerpts of Usagi's novels that have ever appeared in Junjou. Her stuff is even in the two Junjou doujinshi that Nakamura published. So I don't think Nakamura be looking for another author to work with anytime soon. :/

Agreed on Takano's mentoring style. I get that a lot of it is for comedic effect, but sometimes it makes him seem like a real jerk of a boss.

YES. It's funny, but then it's not. I think I can relate too easily to Ritsu wanting real guidance for it to not seem awful.

I hope they manage to make the other scenes work sans sex. *sighs*

Sad to hear Nakamura-sensei doesn't have good taste in collaborators. So the same author wrote the Junai Romantica? I think I read about four of them and they didn't totally suck...I think. It's been a while. I think next time I'm in Japan I might pick up the SIH novels used (sooo not buying new) just to see how bad they are.

Yep, same as the Junai author. I like the Junai novels OK, but the thing is, I thought the POINT of them was to be cheesy and terrible. So I always just figured that the author was writing them that way on purpose, and accepted it as part of the joke. But I don't see any reason for the Sekaiichi novels to be terrible, so I guess that's just the way she writes. (By which I mean not the writing itself, but the characters, plots, etc.)

Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi 2 Episode 1

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