Sakamoto Desu Ga

Envy is bad. See that guy over there? He is way much cooler and attracting the chicks better than you. Don’t like it? Why don’t you do something to show his place? Oh my. It backfired. Badly. Ah well, I guess that is what you get for being blinded with jealousy. You know what they saw about karma being a b*tch. Yup. Just trying to get back at someone just to embarrass them for the sake of your pathetic low ego and then having to suffer the backlash of not failing miserably but making that someone even looking cooler is the basic premise of Sakamoto Desu Ga. Love him or hate him. If you are more of the latter, be warned that none of your pranks will ever work. Because all it does is make him look even way cooler than before. Still not convinced? Then why not watch this series to see if it will really change your mind. Who knows? You might become his admirer! Kakoi desu!!!

Episode 1A
A few delinquents led by Atsushi Maeda hates Sakamoto and do a few pranks on him. But it only backfires. Dropping the duster on his head? He caught it. Splashing water in his toilet cubicle? He had an umbrella ready. Throwing his desk out of the window? He’ll just sit by the window! So cool! They decide to beat him up for real. They trick him to come to the science prep room alone where they pin him down and are going to take naked photos of him and send to the girls. The cigarette they accidentally threw started a fire. They panic but can’t get out since the door is accidentally locked from outside. Atsushi tries to call for help but his handphone battery died! Why do this always happen? Cool Sakamoto now takes action. He takes off his jacket and starts some wild side stepping dance. The delinquents think his speed wind will put out the fire so they join in. But it is actually to make noise as below is the teacher’s faculty and to alert them. A teacher checks on it and puts out the fire. Sakamoto is super cool when he covers the delinquents and makes it as though it was his own fault in starting the fire! Those guys are going to have a new respect for him. And Atsushi thinks of putting a picture of Sakamoto as his handphone wallpaper!

Episode 1B
Yuuya Sera tries to show off as an amateur model to the girls. But you know how Sakamoto always steals the girls’ heart, right? Jealous Sera tries to get back at him. Dodgeball? Evading like the wind! Spoiled water fountain? The sprinkles make him look cool! When a bee enters the class, the girls panic and run out, shutting out the guys. The old fart teacher tells them to take off their clothes as the bee is attracted to dark stuffs. Sera sees Sakamoto so calm in this moment. How can this be(e)? (Pun intended). He tries to get attention by smacking the bee on Sakamoto but the later evades and then enters into a melee combat with the bee with his stationery! He then grabs the bee like with chopsticks and sets it free outside. Sakamoto the saviour! Hooray! Everyone laughs at Sera’s bee underwear. He thinks he is getting the deserved attention and tries to make a (lame) joke out of it. Nobody’s laughing… Later Sera talks to Sakamoto that he wants to become a comedian and hopes he would pair up with him. Refused!

Episode 2A
Sakamoto sees Yoshinobu Kubota being extorted for protection money. Initially he isn’t going to help (because he is being protected, right?) but when Kubota pleads he has run out of reasons to ‘cheat’ his mom of money, he has an idea. So working at the fast food joint? Well, the manager is smitten with him and makes him man the register which is bringing in lots of girls! Even Atsushi?! Take away with a smile please! Kubota thought this job was stupid and wants to quit at the end of the day but after experiencing how fulfilling this job is and being motivated by the manager, he stays on. One day his bullies come by and they spot him. They tell him to the park after work or else. As usual they extort him but this time Kubota won’t give it to them and takes a beating protecting his hard earned money. That is when Sakamoto arrives to do his secret techniques of blowing air via straw into their eye and shoot gum syrups in their eyes?! Kubota finishes off with his burger bump and dirt salt fries! All in a day’s work. Kubota is grateful but Sakamoto isn’t going to stick around to hear his gratitude since he is still on shift.

Episode 2B
Aina Kuronuma thought Sakamoto is looking deep into her eyes. To her disappointment, he was looking through her at the blackboard! As the class’ most popular idol, she isn’t going to let this slip and is the only guy she wants. She tries to do several of her seducing techniques like sitting near his weaker hand. But he is ambidextrous! Try calling his first name? What was his first name again? She asks directly but was censored out! Imitating him? Too fast to follow! Making him jealous by ignoring him? The dog outside is more important… Desperate, she tries to play Kokkuri-san with him. But that is when Tanaka and Yagi usurp and want to join in as Sakamoto will just watch them. Their aim seems to be Aina’s book with seducing techniques. They ask questions but Aina is strong enough to put forth answers in her favour while keeping up a cutie smile. When the question of who Tanaka likes is asked, the girls tussle for the answer but the coin slips away. It is believed they will be cursed if you let go before an answer. Well, Sakamoto is possessed! He asks to build a 6 feet arch or else he will take Sakamoto back to the wild. Tanaka and Yagi start building by stacking tables but Aina just stood there not helping. A table falls and Aina was quick enough to push it away. The arch is completed and Sakamoto returns to normal. Tanaka and Yagi become friends with Aina. Could it be all a ploy from Sakamoto as he notes his observations on them? Accomplishing a shared goal under tense circumstances causes distance between people to naturally close. But is Sakamoto really a different being because he is still acting like he is possessed?! Or is he always like this?!

Episode 3A
Maruyama chews out Atsushi as a junior discipline. Shou Hayabusa warns him about being too strict on the juniors and needs to nurture them properly. Speaking of which, he already has a good one: Sakamoto! Man, this guy is like his personal ninja, efficiently answering all his calls and fancies! Even if this might look like him being an errand boy, Sakamoto believes it is for the future, building endurance and insight. From buying food, making him new clothes, pedicure, shoe polishing, back massage and even sitting for him in class. It is obvious that Maruyama gets bored of it so he tells Sakamoto to think for himself when serving him, keeping in mind to make his life as comfortable as possible. Of course it gets weirder when Sakamoto has the liberty in doing things. It starts to get creepy when he heats up his shoes. That’s when Maruyama fears for his life! Then hiding in the gym storeroom, he becomes paranoid thinking Sakamoto is stalking him but it turns out he was making a good bed for him to rest. Apparently Maruyama is not impressed and can’t take this anymore! So it becomes shocking that Maruyama is seen doing his own errands. Sakamoto? He got dismissed and he thinks it was because he was bad a singing!

Episode 3B
Kubota has Sakamoto coach him in his room. When his mom, Shigemi is heard coming, he quickly tells Sakamoto to hide. Apparently Shigemi has a crush on Sakamoto. It all started 2 weeks ago when Kubota realizes his poor test scores and cannot afford to be held back another year. With Sakamoto getting perfect in all tests, he sought his help. Upon meeting Shigemi for the first time, he was so polite that Shigemi instantly fell in love and starts bugging him about everything! She even went to great lengths to put make up and look prettier (she’s still as ugly, though. Sorry). Kubota remembers he left his textbook in class and goes to get it. After he leaves, Shigemi knows that Sakamoto is hiding around since she spotted an extra shoe. The search is on… We see Sakamoto being the great Spiderman as he climbs walls and hides in all spots, sneaking away like the shadow! A call from Kubota gave him away. But Sakamoto was cool enough to even do a prank and make it look like he has escaped the house. Heartbroken Shigemi goes to watch her Winter Sonata knockoff in which the main actor closely looks like Sakamoto. Hearing Shigemi’s lament makes Sakamoto think of doing something. At the end of the show, he appears before her. Instantly tries to hug him. But see how smooth this guy avoids her and then put the CD into the player. Then he makes it seem as though he is jumping into the TV. When the CD plays, it is as though Sakamoto is speaking to her from the TV that he is from this other side of the world and cannot be with her. Shigemi cries as she is forced to face reality of her unrequited love. Sob! Sob! Subsequently Kubota has Sakamoto coach him at the library as he notes his Shigemi’s sweet tragic love story. So sad that when he passes her in the streets, she doesn’t even know it’s him.

Episode 4A
Kakuta thinks Sakamoto is coming into school late again. This time is he going to pole vault in? Kakuta tried to block but Sakamoto plants the bamboo and enters normally! He then tries to find fault in him just to scold him. Think he is going smoking? He is just teaching Atsushi to blow bubbles. Fooling around with the brooms? He is cleaning the ceiling and avoiding the falling dusts! During sex ed class, he sees Sakamoto trying to eat rice and is waiting for the moment he does so. Kakuta’s twisted thinking thinks Sakamoto is trying to mock him in some ways with this act. And when Sakamoto comments how the rice needs spice, Kakuta takes this as the last straw and has him stand outside class. He couldn’t be happier with this ‘victory’. But when he peeks outside, he sees Sakamoto feeding an injured bird! So he purposely became the villain and made him angry for this? Kakuta is so touched! He can’t stop crying in class! Next time when Kakuta is going to close to school gate and going to wait for rushing Sakamoto to come in, Sakamoto slides through his legs.

Episode 4B
During cooking class, the girls freak out when they spot a slug in the cabbage. Sakamoto pours seasoning on it and then washes it. Did he just save his pet? During art class when the teacher gives the green light to find a partner to sketch each other’s face, all the girls race for Sakamoto! But Aina beats them all! She enjoys his company and can’t wait to see how her sketch turns out (by the way, Kubota is sketching with a mirror…). Aina is shocked that her mug is an orang-utan! But if you turn the picture upside down, it is a cute angel! During fire drill after all the students gather at the field, Atsushi is noticeably missing. Sakamoto rushes back in. Atsushi just finished his toilet business and panics when he sees the crowd outside. With Sakamoto crawling in and his ambiguous words to go with, it serves to panic Atsushi more. Atsushi is levered down in a huge cloth and he is still scared that he doesn’t know what is going on. Everyone sees Sakamoto like he is going to jump out the window. Kids, don’t try this at home because he coolly lands with his makeshift parachute! Kakuta was scared sick about this stunt but Sakamoto says such tension is needed in such drills.

Episode 4C
Atsushi and co make a hole in park as prank. Unfortunately Sakamoto falls into it! More surprising, Sakamoto disappeared! Talking to Kubota about this, that fatty is not bothered and thinks they’ve been played since Sakamoto has not been seen for 3 days. The delinquents are going to find him and teach him a lesson so they try asking around since Sakamoto stands out as he is the only guy who would wear his school uniform in this hot summer. Although the common people did spot him doing great stuffs, that was like many days ago. So they come to terms that he might have left town. When they see a boy playing in the hole and that there is another hole inside it, they think Sakamoto must have dug his way to Brazil. Atsushi wants to follow him down there not because he admires him or catch up with him, but so his fist can reach his face. Atsushi jumps down the hole. It seems Sakamoto is at the cleaners getting his uniform cleaned after various stints that made it dirty. He notes he has one more job left. Atsushi’s pals tell him to get out since the second hole wasn’t that deep either. Sakamoto pops up claiming he was trying to dig for a hotspring (thinking that was what the delinquents were doing in the first place). Atsushi is in tears seeing his face. Good to be back?

Episode 5A
Kubota accidentally got hit by Sakamoto’s fast ball. He is bleeding so Sakamoto rips off his shirt to treat him. A win-win situation because the girls get to squeal in delight seeing his abs!

Episode 5B
As Sakamoto is still a hit with the girls, Maruyama is still having trauma just looking at that guy. This makes Hayabusa if something has happened. Despite his advice not to get involved, Hayabusa confronts him in class and wants to ‘borrow his face’. I guess Sakamoto took that too literally and slams his face into the mould! Suddenly all the girls think that it has his face and wants to make a mask out of it. They viciously attack Hayabusa as he thinks this might be some sort of attack signal. Quickly, he destroys the mould (heartbroken girls…) and tells Sakamoto to meet after school. Obviously he can’t since he has cleaning duties so his pals try to steal his stuffs and leave him a message. But Sakamoto improvises! Stole his shoe? Just slide around in his socks! Stole his ruler? Use Kakuta’s hard crew cut as measurement! They crossed the line when they shaved Kubota’s head to leave a message. Obviously fatty is sad. After Sakamoto creates a wig for him, he goes to ‘get his identity back’. At the riverbed, Sakamoto takes off his glasses… He looks menacing! Hayabusa instantly wants to punch him but a policeman is around. As he lectures them about fighting, Sakamoto mentions they are playing some pushing game. Thinking it is some kid’s sumo, he watches them! Hayabusa goes along as both guys slug it out trying to push each other but none can land a hit. His pals try to sabotage seeing Hayabusa is at his limits but Hayabusa tells them not to interfere in his fight. When Sakamoto wants to end the match, it might seem he summoned the lightning but it was actually the taxi so he could have Hayabusa ride home. His pals come clean that they were the ones who stole Sakamoto’s stuffs. To atone for this, the guys agree to help Sakamoto do some errands. Then they go apologize to Kubota at his home and present him with wakame goods. So much wakame that they can use it for decoration as well as a hearty wakame party. Eat up.

Episode 5C
What’s this?! Sakamoto is having fever?! How can Mr Perfect be so?! Anyway he is still trying to keep his coolness and carry on doing his stuffs without faltering. Good thing he nurses himself because I think the school nurse has intentions to rape him if he agrees to sleep in the infirmary’s bed. He wows the girls as he wears green onion around his neck to help improve his illness.

Episode 6A
A group of kids think they are cool running while kicking a stone. But Sakamoto does it better. At high speed! Even making sure not to make it fall into the drain and running on its side! Next day, the kids try to walk within the white line. Ahead of them is Sakamoto doing the same thing. They follow him throughout the day walking on the line. A guy in their path? Call out his shoes are untied (it is) and leapfrog over. Their journey ends when the white line is no more. Although there is another white line ahead, Sakamoto obviously can jump to reach it but the boys can’t. Sakamoto gives a roll of toilet paper as parting gift. Thinking this is some insult, they swat it away. The toilet paper unrolls into a white line as they continue their journey. Feeling like celebrities? At the end of their destination, they tear a paper and want his autograph.

Episode 6B
Megumi Fujita has a fetish of taking pictures of Sakamoto. Then she realizes each photo has a ghost haunting him! Spooky! Fearing the ghost might be trying to harm him, she needs to tell him. However this means revealing her unholy hobby. When a trolley seemingly moves on its own towards Sakamoto, Fujita warns him. He jumps and rides it like a pro! What about that eerie hair in the basin? He gives it to Kubota for his new wig! Fujita clearly believes he is unaware of it all. So she talks to Kubota about this. He thinks it is all pretty normal to Sakamoto. He even has Fujita asking herself the reason why her camera can see those things. They both have something in common. Fujita refuses to believe it that she is the same level as a ghost. She watches Sakamoto play butt sumo and couldn’t resist snapping pictures of him. That is when she realizes she is no different than the ghost, hiding in the shadows admiring him. Then she notices something about the ghost in the photos. Because she was so afraid of being hated to show those photos, now she runs to the shop to print them out. Then she shows it to Sakamoto. Flipping the photos like a flip book, it seems the ghost is trying to say she loves him. Fujita realizes this makes it look like a creepy confession. She thinks it is over and that he hates her when Sakamoto ignores her. Then she sees him making copies of his own face. He replies via the same method by thanking the ghost. Ever since, the ghost stopped appearing in the photos and Fujita can happily take photos of Sakamoto without hiding.

Episode 6C
When Sakamoto learns the cafeteria lady is going to stop selling napolitan because nobody is ordering it, he is going to work his magic… From class lessons to gym to even watering the plants, in a split second we see Sakamoto making scribbled lines (to resemble napolitan) before resuming his activity. This subliminal message works as napolitan now becomes the top ordering item.

Episode 7A
Atsushi and co are trying to sneak into the porn video section to rental. But Sakamoto is here as well. So they ‘threaten’ to rent the only video available he wants in exchange he helps them get their porn video. Of course they have the money and will guide him all the way. He just has to go in without being seen to get it. So we see Sakamoto walking so fast that he changes air current to get in without being seen! On his way out, the guys give him the route to avoid all the girls in his class at various sections. However he couldn’t take the final designated route as Shigemi is there. This makes him come into contact with those girls. But his robot act fools them as they change topic. The hardest part is to deceive the cashier that he is an adult. This experienced guy is suspicious so he throws lots of verification questions at Sakamoto. But Sakamoto answers them coolly without flinching. Cashier is getting confused. The clincher is when Sakamoto reveals a watch he scribbled on his wrist. To the cashier it looked like a real luxurious high end watch! In the end, he just lets Sakamoto makes his purchase. Atsushi and co are happy with their success and invite him to watch with them. But Sakamoto looks at his watch and needs to go. This spooks Atsushi that Sakamoto perhaps haven’t even experience this. Feeling this might be too heavy for them, they return the videos and will level up via health class first.

Episode 7B
Sera tells the guys in his class for the sports festival they need to make a revolution if they want to impress those chicks. But they know they can’t beat Sakamoto at all the sports. That is why it is going to be a team effort to rig it. So for the bread eating competition, they tie his bread so tight it cannot come off. Sakamoto might be hanging like an idiot when he suddenly does a crocodile death roll! The guys are building a human tower with Sakamoto on top. They try to wobble and make him fall down. He is still standing. The girls swoon even more as he looks like the Tower of Pisa! A human heritage! Even the mothers and old granny audiences are rooting for Sakamoto! During the co-ed relay, when Sakamoto begins to run, Sera already tied his shoe laces. However he runs like the cheetah! Passing everyone from last to first, he passes the baton to Yagi. However because he was carrying the baton in his mouth, it slips. Now dead in last place, all the girls are cursing and taunting Yagi for being a big fail. Sera has resigned the revolution is over when Sakamoto whispers this is will be Yagi’s sports meet memory. Seeing Yagi in tears, Sera knows what to do. Taking the baton from her, he continues running till the end while laughing. At the end, he becomes the talk and laughing stock because of how he stripped naked and ran towards the line! Disgusting? Well, that sure took the spotlight away from Yagi. What is even better than a quote from Sakamoto that even the overweight can be heroes? Personally from Yagi’s mouth that he is cooler than she thought. Well, a small revolution is better than no revolution.

Episode 8
Hayabusa and his delinquents are making cotton candy for the school festival. Atsushi wonders if they can invite Sakamoto. Though Maruyama still opposes it, Hayabusa agrees to it. That is when Fukase comes in. You know he is the biggest and baddest of them all when he roughs up Hayabusa just to get details of who Sakamoto is. Sakamoto’s class is making a pathetic display with colour balloons. I mean, what the heck is that? But Sakamoto improvises. Using a curtain to cover it, the balloon display looks like a yeti! All those balloons stuck on the ceiling? They look like crop circles! What about using the light as UFO? Think it’s funny? Sakamoto rubs his hair to get static and then stands under it to make it seem he is being abducted! So real that the girls don’t want him to go! Take me with you! A couple of class bullies are being told off for doing nothing and just complaining. While they whine elsewhere, that is when they bump into Fukase who has a devilish plan. After the break, the class is horrified to see all their balloons popped! Even weirder, a weird reward and wanted poster of Sakamoto for popping balloons! This dude even got the cheek to say this guy looks familiar. He is on the run as other students try to catch him. Does he really think he could hide as a stage prop? As the students surround him, Hayabusa and his delinquents crash the play. They escape during the helter-skelter. Later Hayabusa warns Sakamoto about Fukase. There are rumours he is an adult who kept failing his grade and even divorced twice! Thing is, he is always absent and when he comes back it is to play a game to erase certain people from school. It seems he has a bone to pick with popular people. He is a heartless dude and will use other people to achieve his means without dirtying his own hands. Why is he doing this? Just to kill time.

The class bullies felt bad about the busted balloons and return after buying more balloons and a pump. The class is revved up to redo this again. When Sakamoto returns, the rest are worried if he was the culprit. The bullies believe in his innocence and invite him to join them to redo the display. However Sakamoto turns away! Shortly, a mysterious girl confesses outside the door that she was the one who popped the balloons. The bullies do not believe her and think she is making this up. However this gave the bullies away that they know that the display was finished despite they weren’t around that time. The mysterious girl turns out to be Sakamoto using helium gas to speak! The bullies then take yeti as hostage! One move and pop goes the weasel. Why is Aina freaking out? But guess what? Sakamoto makes a balloon gun! Will that work? Hey. A balloon just popped! And another. And another! And another!!! Not fluke! The trick turns out to be the sunlight reflecting off Kubota’s hand mirror at that angle. Right time, right place? The bullies come clean with their sulking. They felt jealous they were left out. But Sakamoto knows they did their best too after seeing those ‘balloons’ on their palms. (The sores from using the pump). There aren’t many balloons left and not much time. So how? Sakamoto has a plan. With Hayabusa’s cotton candy, Sakamoto and the bullies are covered with them acting as yetis. It is a special activity for people to catch them.

Episode 9A
Fujita remembers how she first met Sakamoto. She was nervous taking the entrance exam of this school. Her eraser accidentally falls off as Sakamoto quickly grabs it. She thought he was the worst when he started rubbing it like mad. When he tossed it back to her, it was so warm that her frozen hands were unfrozen! She breezed the exam and the eraser is now her charm. How romantic! Even Mii-chan has her memories of meeting him the first time. It was a stormy day and the wind is being a dick, turning umbrellas inside out. She saw Sakamoto in the same predicament and laughed when his umbrella is filled with water. But he was acting like some wine expert and it made her day. Ever since she doesn’t hate rainy days much. How romantic. Kana too has her first memories. On the first day of school where students were supposed to pick up their textbooks, she forgot her bag and had to stack on her arms. Naturally she slipped. Not only Sakamoto saved her books, but carried them all like he was carrying a princess. So romantic! Despite the girls praising each other’s romantic story, they think theirs is most romantic. Till they heard Kubota’s. He was having this odd wart on his finger and tried to cover it with some plaster. Naturally it slipped off so Sakamoto picked it up and put it back on his finger. Like putting a wedding ring?! Sakamoto doesn’t remember it and Kubota doesn’t think it was a big deal either. The girls think this is the most romantic of all…

Episode 9B
Kubota is staring at Sakamoto like as though he is his lover! Even the teacher teased him about it when Kubota doesn’t respond. If Kubota sounds different it is because it is Shigemi in disguise! It all began during a parent-teacher conference when the teacher commended Kubota’s improving grades thanks to his best friend Sakamoto. That is when Shigemi realized that wasn’t a dream. Sakamoto is real! When Kubota falls ill, Shigemi hatched this devilish plan to substitute him. So Shigemi tries to be close to Sakamoto without revealing herself as well as controlling her lust. During cooking class, she thought she could have an indirect kiss when Sakamoto tastes the soup. But Aina stole it and all the girls are fighting over this indirect kiss. During PE, Shigemi controls herself not to look at Sakamoto’s amazing six pack (or was it 12 pack?!) as she goes elsewhere to change. While running she could amazingly keep up with Sakamoto’s pace but eventually falls flat on her face, breaking her seashell necklace. Even with Sakamoto’s kindness to help her out, she feels defeated and pathetic as she melancholy refuses his help. Some guys who were enjoying watching bouncing boobs of girls probably turn gay because they want to fondle man boobs! They are tired of Sera’s so they target ‘Kubota’ (yeah, they think he has gotten this fat). Dejected Shigemi allows herself to be violated when Sakamoto suddenly ties the curtains and the wind blows it up like the biggest pair of melons anyone has ever seen! All the boys hug it and this scene brings familiarity to Shigemi. She remembers the time taking care of her son as a baby. She realizes she is a mother. As she leaves, Sakamoto hands her back the seashell necklace all nicely glued back! Touched, she hopes she can still remain his friend. Of course. Kubota gets better and he loves his mom’s cooking. Why not? She is his mother after all.

Episode 10A
Ryou and Kouhei are mad their friend abandoned them and now they are a man short for a mixer. So they simply pulled in Sakamoto who is doing some volunteer traffic counting job in the area. Sakamoto is unsure what a mixer is so they ‘explain’ it is some kind of social study. At the karaoke joint, the ladies at first aren’t impressed with Sakamoto thinking he is a nerd. As they start talking, Sakamoto makes an impression of his dream to work in NASA to find life on other planets! The guys then play a penalty game using a hippo toy. Sakamoto gets penalized but he treats the hippo nicely! Ryou thought he could steal the ladies’ heart with his singing when Kouhei sabotages. Guess what? Sakamoto is playing a saxophone. With his arm! OMG! Sounds like the real deal! This is when the guys realize he is the real threat. So they order drinks for everyone including Sakamoto. His is a cola and has to gulp it down in one sitting. Then they make him sing. My, Sakamoto starts singing in his Pavarotti tenor voice!!! A German opera piece!!! The guys are waiting for the moment when he burps to embarrassed himself. When he does, because of the foreign language he is singing in, it makes it sound so natural! The ladies are in love with him! If that isn’t enough, the ladies from other rooms barge inside! Please take me!!! Sakamoto realizes the traffic count has exceeded its regulations and will have to leave. Thanks for the social studies. And all the ladies left with him. Two more lonely people in the world tonight…

Episode 10B
Hayabusa is helping with the house chores since his mom’s demise. He has got active younger siblings to take care off. Father thinks it has been tough on him. He has someone he wants to introduce that will potentially become their mother. He would like Hayabusa to act as an heir to some French noble. Knowing nuts about France, Hayabusa begs Sakamoto to teach him. He has an even better idea. So while Hayabusa puts up his noble French face, Sakamoto is hiding behind him and acting as his hands. This means Hayabusa looks like the hunchback of Notre Dame. Sakamoto’s hands are smooth operator. But can Hayabusa manage and eat escargot? Snails! He has to eventually. When the French chef shows his face, the potential mom asks how to say delicious in French. Hayabusa is at a lost. No, it’s not bonjour. Beaujolais nouveau? Sakamoto writes ‘Excellent’ and all is well. At the end, she wants to personally talk to Hayabusa’s dad so Hayabusa leaves them alone and heads home. But he got a little lost along the way and he stumbles upon his dad being mugged by several guys. Sakamoto warns coming out now means exposing his identity. Since Sakamoto says he can’t fight, Hayabusa has an idea to switch places. With Sakamoto as the face and Hayabusa hiding behind as the hands, he beats up those blokes. They’re scared of this monster’s fighting ability because it’s like his head and body move differently! You don’t say… Surprisingly dad cowers behind them. This woman is an extortionist and wants him to hand over mother thinking Hayabusa is really a French heir. After dad explains the truth, Sakamoto adds about his friend’s experience about putting up a show by trying out French cuisine. But he had no experience in eating such high class food and since his body had no antibodies to counter it, his body transformed. Like Aliens, Hayabusa’s hand ‘burst out’, scaring away those muggers. Even dad fainted. Hayabusa realizes just like how they pulled this act off, the family will just have to make up and cover what the other lacks. He carries his father home.

Episode 11A
Atsushi wants to teach Sakamoto a few stuffs about the snow seeing this is his first time experiencing it. Leave your body outline? Sakamoto overlaps his to make it look like that metabolism symbol by that Leonardo guy. No, not that Dicaprio dude! Making a snowman? Sakamoto does it better! Atsushi feels defeated. He thought he could be on equal footing and finally face him but was far from it. That is when Fukase pops up to suggest if he wants Sakamoto to acknowledge him, fight him one on one. And so Atsushi challenges Sakamoto to a snowball fight. The first to get hit loses. But you know, Sakamoto evades like the win and can throw snowballs like as though he is some gatling gun! The longer this fight draws out, the colder Atsushi becomes. When Sakamoto rolls something over, he thought it is some bomb powder due to the steam. Desperate, he initiates an instant attack but it is hit. It is revealed that the ‘bomb powder’ is just heat pads. Sakamoto had lots of them under his vest and thought of sharing some. Yeah, isn’t it no wonder he wasn’t freezing all the while? Atsushi leaves dejected and defeated. He is sad there was no fight in the first place. Again Fukase pops up giving his opinion that Atsushi wouldn’t be like this if Sakamoto wasn’t around.

Episode 11B
Fujita shows the class photos she took over the year. Many are looking for pictures of Sakamoto in it. A memorable one was when the students irresponsibly stack their umbrellas. Sakamoto then arrange it like flower arrangement. So beautiful that people started stacking their umbrellas nicely after that! There is also a beach trip but unfortunately no Sakamoto pics in his swimming trunks. It’s because he is always underwater! Should have brought a waterproof camera… But they spot one whereby Sakamoto was in his Venus pose using the perspective as the camera trick. Everyone wants this copy! Enlarge it too! Meanwhile Hayabusa and his delinquents are having a serious meeting. They will be seniors next year and this mean the same level as Fukase who is confirmed to be repeating his year again as he has missed too many classes. Rumours surfaced that he has a very high IQ but the irony is that if he is so smart, why doesn’t he graduate? There is something he still lacks. Hayabusa advises them to stick with that one thing they have and not give up. Otherwise Fukase will pull the rug under their feet one day. Noticing Atsushi is not around, that guy is alone wallowing in his depression. Oh look, here is Fukase. Atsushi is still confused. Would he be better off even without Sakamoto around? Fukase explains he is lost. Describing Sakamoto as a moon in the sky, everyone is like sea sparkles who flock to him in search of moonlight. But no matter how long they fly, they will never reach the moon. Fukase offers to teach him to stay true to himself while eliminating that moon. During the graduation ceremony when Sakamoto is on stage giving his speech, Atsushi with a baseball bat in hand suddenly goes up to make him disappear.

Episode 12
I’m sure the teachers giving the graduation ceremony speech is so boring till Sakamoto comes up to give his. He gets everyone’s attention by throwing a ball up into a ceiling to dislodge a volleyball that was stuck there earlier in the year during a tournament so that the seniors will have no regrets! Amazing! As everyone is all ears to hear his speech, that is when Atsushi walks up on stage. Kakuta tried to stop him but his warning swing ‘traumatized’ him. Other teachers try to stop Atsushi but Fukase stands in their way. Sakamoto continues his speech so Atsushi thinks he is being ignored and goes on a rampage to hit him. As expected, Sakamoto dodges every hit with grace. Everyone then starts thinking if this was just an act. When they are both on a high place and Atsushi misses and falls, Sakamoto grabs his hand. Atsushi repeatedly keeps hitting his hand while crying out Sakamoto has always been looking down on him and never cared. But Sakamoto’s grip is still firm despite his hand is now sore like hell! Erm, I don’t think this is an act, really. At this point Atsushi is confused. He doesn’t know who to believe in anymore. Then the ultimate advice from Sakamoto: If he can’t believe in himself, believe in his friends! Sakamoto loses grip but then loosens his pants to extend his grip and safely land Atsushi. Tough luck, can’t see his underwear…

In the aftermath, Atsushi is very sorry over what he did although Hayabusa doesn’t blame him and knows Fukase was behind this. The other delinquents start to fear they will be next. As Sakamoto treats himself in the infirmary, that is where he meets Fukase. They ‘talk’. Fukase ‘threatens’ but Sakamoto remains optimistic. Later Hayabusa is going to sacrifice himself to end it all but Sakamoto has a better idea. At the end of the ceremony where all the seniors have exited. Fukase continues to remain. That is when the delinquents line up before him as Hayabusa tells him that they are helping him to graduate. Fukase won’t play along so Sakamoto knocks and bends over Fukase’s knee and he comes tumbling. The human waves carry embarrassed Fukase out. It is narrated that Fukase stopped showing up after that and rumours say he was spotted surfing at the beach. Atsushi was not punished as it was deemed as part of Sakamoto’s act. Then the shocking news came. Sakamoto is going to America to take up an offer project by NASA with the goal to help mankind migrate to Mars! Gasp! So it’s true?! But his classmates all want to smack the pie in his face as a farewell gift. Ranging from reasons to make a mould out of his face or snowball revenge. But of course everybody pied each other’s face as cool Sakamoto evades them all. I think there is another reason for this pie event: To hide their tears. As he leaves, it seems Hayabusa hints he knows his migration to America is a lie. Sakamoto doesn’t confirm o deny. When his classmates call him out one last time, Sakamoto was almost brought to tears! So I guess that is why Kakuta couldn’t recognize Sakamoto with pie on his face.

Episode 13 (OVA)
They’re trolling us with a preview of Sakamoto The Movie! Yeah, montage of clips from the episodes. When will it come out? Well, Kubota thought they should all make a movie to honour Sakamoto. So you bet that everyone is going to pitch in and give in their own ideas of what the preview should look like. But they all named it after themselves? Like Aina’s love story with Sakamoto. Sera has his own love story too. Fujita’s a horror movie and the class bullies, Morita and Yasuda just keep introducing themselves. The episode proper starts off with everyone now in their second year. Life is a bit boring without Sakamoto. But they see him in the newspaper and are glad he made it in America. So we see him enrolling in NASA (MASA Desu Ga?!) and it is like déjà vu because jealous NASA guys (strangely resembling Atsushi and co) are trying to pull very familiar pranks on Sakamoto but it ends up making him look cool and all the girls loving him even more. You just substitute American words and landmarks. During the zero gravity training, the bullies plan to kick his ass for real by making Sakamoto ride the contraption first. Little does everyone know, they have rigged the machine. As it spins, it won’t stop. Then it gets detached and is in risk of trampling everyone. However Sakamoto stops it by using his own body to spin it down. He is like God! Everyone respect! Turns out this is just a delusion from Fujita. They further think what he is doing now. Could he be on Mars? Getting bullied by the familiar pranks by jealous Martians? Ending up making himself cooler before Martian babes? This delusion from Atsushi is shot down since everyone knows there are no Martians on Mars. So what is Sakamoto really doing? He is in a space shuttle ready for take-off. However a tank fuel is detected leaking after launch. Sakamoto instead of abandoning it, switches controls to manual as he pilots it safely into orbit. He even wrote his name in the sky! Reach for the stars!

Karma Chameleon
Sakamoto is cool! Sakamoto is awesome! Sakamoto is God! Well, yeah. That wraps it up of how amazing this series or rather this particular main character is. All good things must come to an end. You might want to call this anime series some sort of narcissist because the entire thing revolves mainly around Sakamoto. I have no problem with that. But he does it with swag, style, suave, elegance and class that you don’t care how arrogant it all looks. As long as Sakamoto steals your heart and make you swoon, it is good enough. And I’m sure many viewers out there would agree with me. Well, at least for those who like Sakamoto. Just as one of the online comment reviews I read, Sakamoto is the kind of person whom every guy wants to be and every girl wants to name their vibrator as! Holy sh*t! This is just so true! There is no doubt about it. This guy is a babe magnet and there is no female (at least in this anime where it is concerned) who hates him! The sight of this guy would just send girls swooning and falling head over heels. Every time. He is like the Midas’ touch of orgasm! Oh yeah, Sakamoto rules!

So it is no doubt that you are going to hear me rant about him for this few paragraphs because like I have said, this series is all about him. What? Haven’t you heard? It’s Sakamoto! Who else?! So as the main protagonist who could do almost everything and anything, it makes you wonder if he is God or some sort of sentient higher intelligent being. Because when you think about it, how much do you actually know about him? Do you know where he lives? His family. His hobbies. His like and dislikes. Heck, you don’t even know his first name! Does he even have one?! Thus this mystery only sets to enhance the godliness of Sakamoto. He is just so freaking cool that he doesn’t even make you think of who this dude is. It is like you are basking in the orgasmic light of his coolness. Yeah, Sakamoto can be the new God and religion ever since… Uhm… Haruhi?

The other thing that makes Sakamoto so godly, so cool and so mysterious is the fact that he could do almost everything and anything with ease and without breaking into a sweat. He makes the impossible look so easy. That is why it is hard to call if Sakamoto is really human in the first place. You see him climb and stick to walls like Spiderman and that is even without the bite of a radioactive spider power! You see him float and slide along like as though he defies gravity. You see him dodge and evade everything thrown at him like as though he is a rubber man even more flexible than Luffy! He has everything figured out and prepared like as though he is reading from the script of this series or even possessed the omniscient powers of God! What did I just say that he might be God himself? He is like an all-rounder, a chameleon that adapts and is adept in doing everything and just about anything. Sometimes we are introduced to some of his secret set of special skills that might look plain silly. But can you pull it off as cool as him? Note, do not try to imitate his actions anywhere and anytime. Remember, you are not Sakamoto! There can only be one!

This guy is considerate enough to take action and even meddle without making it look so obvious. The way he covers up with his over the top and flashy style just wows everyone. For instance, if he sees someone being ganged up, he isn’t going straight in there to throw punches. Instead he would use some sort of distraction to break it up without making it look like he is looking to pick a fight. You know this guy is interrupting you but you can’t accuse him directly of that because he makes it look like coincidences or flukes. That is Sakamoto for you!

Basically, this guy is everywhere. At the right time and the right place. He is always there to do something that needs to be done. So if you think about it, it might be a little creepy to think that he is like maybe a ghost that could just pop up behind you, in front of you out of thin air without you knowing or when you least expected it. It is like there are clones of Sakamoto everywhere! But it can’t be because there can only be the one and only Sakamoto! I bet everybody in this city has met Sakamoto one way or another and that their meeting wasn’t just ordinary but in a weirdly extraordinary circumstances. Whether or not this is just their mind enhancing Sakamoto’s coolness and thus the exaggeration of it (because as noticed in Sakamoto’s first meeting with Kubota, he doesn’t remember it – or just playing dumb) it is no doubt that Sakamoto has touched everyone’s lives. Is he some sort of guardian angel watching over everybody?

Speaking of that, sometimes you might want to say that even the female gods is by his side 24/7. Like as though lady luck has fallen under his charms and helps him pull off all those miraculous cool stunts. From a normal person’s point of view it may look like he is the luckiest man in the world as he manages to escape from one practical joke/prank/trick/mischief after another. And like how karma mysteriously works, not only it makes Sakamoto avoid all that, it makes him look even way past cooler than before. It’s like he is better off than before and for the perpetrators, worse off than before. It is no surprise to see that many ‘antagonists’ here will mostly try their underhanded tactics once and after they get a taste of Sakamoto’s coolness, just like in typical shonen series, they become somewhat friends. Well, if you can’t beat him, join him!

So the other characters are just secondary to Sakamoto. But where would Sakamoto be if not for them to help enhance his coolness? Many of the episode structures feel like fillers and standalones, which work well for the nature of this series. So who needs a plot when all you need to know and see is how cool Sakamoto is? Therefore that is why in the first half of the series, you might notice that each half episode seems like to be dedicating to a supporting character for his/her limelight with Sakamoto. I want to say it helps build and develop the supporting characters a little but heck, Sakamoto always outshines them eventually, right? Even you might have noticed the recyclable format of how each episode works out. Some sort of issue. Here comes Sakamoto. Killer looks. Killer moves. Killer charisma. The day is saved. Everyone fawns. Rinse and repeat. But who cares with this repeat cycle of comedy that isn’t very much different from another as long as Sakamoto is there to make you feel good.

Hence for the female characters, I don’t think that there are any problems or that of such that stands out because you have your generic popular and pretty class idol, the class rep who loves taking photos and some of their lesser friends. All the girls love him. No doubt about it. I believe there is some sort of unspoken truth among the classmates not to fight over Sakamoto. Merely because he isn’t just a beautiful flower on the highest cliff but perhaps a cliff on another planet! They know they can’t reach him and I am pretty sure that the reason you never see any girl directly asking him to be her boyfriend is because we all know how it will turn out. Instead, settle for the next best thing by admiring him from afar. It is already a bonus that they get to be in the same class with him. But for those who aren’t in the same class like him like Shigemi, looks like she has to learn the hard (and heart breaking) way that Sakamoto doesn’t belong to anybody but himself.

For the male characters, mostly they are seen as jealous delinquents who can’t stand to see Sakamoto flourish because of their own shortcomings. Like the most obvious being Atsushi. He seems to have a bad case of insecurity and inferiority complex. Despite wanting to stand on the same equal footing as Sakamoto, it only serves to make him feel more miserable and substandard to the said man. His moment of weakness made him did the unthinkable. It took him that to realize that despite their vast difference in abilities, he has always been walking by his side all the while. I mean, when Sakamoto considers you as his friend, that is already saying a lot, right? Even after all that beating, he still refuses to say anything bad about Atsushi. It shows the level of maturity, rationality and calm headedness of Sakamoto! Yeah, eventually it always goes back to the man.

Then there are guys who messed with him end up being fearful (Maruyama) or just an ‘ally’ who respect him like Hayabusa and Sera. Or weaklings like Kubota ending up as his ‘best friend’. You could say that their lives (and everyone else too) change dramatically (for better or worse) after meeting Sakamoto. But the oddest thing that I find about Sera is that ever since his debut and settling his differences with Sakamoto, he is mostly seen walking around school only in his bee design underwear! Wait a second. Let that sink in for a while. Aren’t the girls freaked out to see a semi-naked guy walking around in school? Aren’t the teachers shocked to see this fatty moving around the school corridors in his underwear? It is as though it is the norm. Heck, he was in this form too during the graduation ceremony. Maybe because Sakamoto is just so freaking awesome that everyone just overlooked this. Yeah, that really says a lot about this difference. Besides, who is going to take a comedian seriously? As for Kubota, I feel that he might constantly be living under Sakamoto’s attention and getting his help directly or indirectly. But I feel that eventually Sakamoto’s intervention was just a push and in most cases it is Kubota himself who makes the initiative and effort to take a step forward in improving himself. At least you learn something after sticking around this guy for so long. Ah, the envy of girls who would want to be with Sakamoto as much as they can.

Lastly, Fukase. This guy is the real antagonist of the series. Wait a minute. A comedy show like this has a badass antagonist? Because of how mysterious and dangerous he is, sometimes I feel that he is the polar opposite of Sakamoto. The evil version of Sakamoto. If Sakamoto is an angel, Fukase is the devil. For every cool memories of Sakamoto, there is a dark nasty rumour of Fukase that would just send chills down your spine. Sakamoto assists, Fukase manipulates. It is best to stay clear from this guy. If you can. I have always wondered if Fukase keeps staying back in school, shouldn’t the teachers have expelled him a long time ago? Then I thought the teachers were so scared of him to do anything. Till Sakamoto came along. I am not sure if Fukase has graduated for good because it is not entirely certain either. Otherwise I can smell an epic battle of light and darkness when these two clash, assuming Sakamoto is still around. It would be such a classic, larger than life fight that would herald a hope of a new era or the end of the world as we know it!

Despite the art and drawing looking pretty normal and nothing that would amazingly stand out, Sakamoto is so cool and awesome that you don’t even mind how average the artwork looks! Yes, people. It is like as though Sakamoto has hypnotized us with his subliminal special skill to be in awe with the regular anime art standards. I mean, sure, Sakamoto looks like your typical bishonen with glasses. But if you think about it, this is quite the generic look and there are countless of other hot looking guys in glasses in many anime series out there. So I guess this series proves that if you do something so amazing, it could make viewers overlook the ordinary standards as long as it is not crappy and sh*t bad. I want to add that Sera is an odd looking character because despite his good looks, he has an obese body that just disrupts the balance of our stereotypes. I mean, he has got a handsome face but an unsightly body of man boobs and protruding stomach! Yikes! Well, it is the inside that counts, right?

Surprisingly there are many veteran and recognizable seiyuus lending their voices to this series. Like Yui Horie as Aina, Tomokazu Seki as Atsushi, Koji Yusa as Hayabusa, Showtarou Morikubo as Sera, Mai Nakahara as Fujita (almost Juvia material), Kana Ueda as Mii-chan, Yukari Tamura as Kana and Kujira as Shigemi. Then there is Akira Ishida as Kubota whom I thought sounded like a wimp and a little gay… Jouji Nakata also sounded a little different but still recognizable as Kakuta since the character is such an angst old guy, which is a lot different than many of the cool character roles that require his low voice. The rest I do not recognize are also popular and veteran seiyuus like Hikaru Midorikawa as Sakamoto (Lancer in Fate series), Hitomi Nabatame as Yagi (Margery Daw in Shakugan No Shana), Saki Fujita as Tanaka (Ayano in YuruYuri), Tetsu Inada as Maruyama (Gorobei in Samurai 7) and Mitsuo Iwata as Fukase (Kintarou in Golden Boy). Heck, there are more of such seiyuus helming lesser roles like Jun Fukuyama as that Korean doppelganger of Sakamoto, Nobuyuki Hiyama as one of Atsushi’s underlings and Mikako Takahashi as one of the classmates (that manly looking towering girl in class… He-Man???!!!). Thus it was a delight to spot many of the recognizable seiyuus as they perfectly revel in their respective roles.

When you have the main character this cool, it is no surprise and a requirement that the opening theme song also has to be cool. Yup, that is what it is named after even. The hyped up rock beat of Coolest by Customi Z sets the tone and pace of what this anime is about. Yeah! Yeah! So who is the coolest again? Then there is this jazzy and spy thriller-esque tune of the song just enhances the coolness of Sakamoto and everything else. And doubling its sexiness too! It is no doubt that this awesome solo line is often used as the BGM in many parts of the series especially when Sakamoto is about to do his awesome thing. Not forgetting the ending theme which is a slow rock. After all that coolness and awesomeness, there is no better tonic than to wind it all down with Nakushita Hibi Ni Sayonara by Suneohair. If this band sounds familiar, you might have heard the ending themes of Honey And Clover and Arakawa Under The Bridge as they sung those songs in their similar trademark fashion.

Forgive me if I still can’t help talk about Sakamoto in the end. Because after all that I have seen him pulled off, it makes me think what if there is such a ‘hero’ in real life. Assuming that what Sakamoto does can be done in reality, this guy would be the ultimate means for world peace! You don’t need an army to fight in the conflicted zone. Just send Sakamoto in and I’m sure peace will finally set in! A brooding war about to begin? Let Sakamoto handle everything and everybody will be shaking hands again! Corrupt and useless government? You know who to look for. Heck, Sakamoto is so effective and efficient that it is as good that he can run the government, corporates and organizations by himself! At the same time! This guy is the true saviour that the world needs right now. And I’m pretty confident he can put a stop to stupid comments and trends that are rife online these days…

That is why in a way I am saddened that he had to leave his class for the second year for actual reasons unknown. It gives the impression that he has done his job and with all the ‘catastrophes’ that has passed, it is time to move on to another location that direly needs his help. It is as though he went as fast as he came after touching everyone’s lives. Boo hoo! The remaining years without Sakamoto? Unimaginable! But as seen how his classmates have grown stronger accepting his departure and seeing him off with a smile albeit with lots of tears streaming down. At least it also shows Sakamoto is human as we get to peek at his non-existent emotions for a second. Or is he? So people, be prepared just in case somebody this cool appears in your town. Sakamoto, coming soon to a town near you! We hope!

Overall, this is absolutely and awesome and amazing series and I recommend everyone to watch this! Don’t care if there is no awesome plot or awesome characters or awesome visuals or soundtracks, all you just need is awesome Sakamoto! Comedy brilliance. Sakamoto brilliance. All hail Sakamoto! 100% pure entertainment and enlightenment all in one! Those who don’t think highly of him, I have a feeling you are one of those people who have an issue with him. Be warned about karma coming back at you. So if you are having a rough and bad day, you can bad that Sakamoto can not only turn it into a brighter or cheerful one, but he does it with style and class! But be warned, this guy is so good that it might be a double edged sword. While you might feel thrilled and entertained by his awesomeness, it might also make you feel small and useless. But don’t fret. Sakamoto will figure something out. That name again?! Sick of it? Get used to it because he is here to stay. I mean, haven’t you heard already? It’s Sakamoto!

Super Gals

Is there a difference between a girl and a gal? Apparently there is if you watch Super Gals. From what I can tell, being a gal means wearing trendy clothes with the latest and trendiest accessories and hanging out with your pals in busy-cum-crowded commercial districts. Sounds like a trend and a step to become a public nuisance or delinquent, eh? Unless you’re Ran Kotobuki, that’s a totally entirely different story. This 52 episode anime series may seem like a show about bratty girls going about and living their gal lives. However there is much more than to just these trouble teenage girls as viewers can learn some slice of life lessons, laugh out at some ridiculous comedic moments and endure the love pangs of the characters as each day passing by promises to be different and exciting. I’m not really going into my usual episode by episode blog (read: lazy) so those wanting to have a brief summary of the episode can go to TV.com or Enoki Films for it. There is the good ol’ Wikipedia too for some other information such as brief descriptions of the characters but just like many old anime shows, don’t expect much or to be brimming with lots of info. So my blog will be just listing down the memorable stuff from the series.

Ran Kotobuki – The main protagonist and the girl who ‘owns’ Shibuya. No, her father isn’t the mayor of this Tokyo ward but rather she is the number one gal in Shibuya. Literally everyone who walks in that town knows who she is. Like your typical gal who loves to party and have fun, Ran loves spending her time hanging out in the streets of Shibuya and goofing off rather than doing those boring stuff like studying. Something that athletic and iron-willed gal is weak at. Yeah, I guess nobody is perfect. However she isn’t all just fun and games as she also protects the street she loves by kicking ass of small time criminals like lady harassers or snatch thieves with her trademark platform boots boomerang kick. You really got to love how it really does fly back right back into her feet! Yeah, why do we need the police in Shibuya if we have Ran keeping it safe? But don’t be fooled that if you think Ran is totally a good hearted person all the time. Unless she wants to help you, don’t even bother coming to beg her for help because she isn’t going to do something that is troublesome (from her point of view). But there’s always a way around it. She’ll make a total u-turn and go all out to fulfil that request if you bribe her with fashion accessories like nail polish or best of all, free food. Beware though, she has a food grudge too and if you’re responsible for ruining her meal, you’d be regretting that you’re ever being born. Ever. This girl really does have a big appetite and ‘runs out of fuel’ when she’s hungry. She has winner’s complex and would get herself into any kind of competition no matter how silly the title is because she just loves to win. Yeah, a simpleton.

Police story – Ironically, Ran is the daughter of a family that holds its pride in its generation of being police officers. Local detective chief Dad Taizo whose wife, Kiyoka who is also a police officer, is always trying to persuade Ran to become an officer like her other siblings, Yamato and Sayo but Ran always boldly tells him straight that she isn’t interested in becoming an officer and will never be one! Oh, a father’s heartbreak. Not even Taizo’s Giant Swing (used as punishment) won’t change that gal’s mind.

Megumi Toyoguchi – The voice behind Ran. Due to Ran’s character and the first time I heard her being her typical loudmouth, it reminded me so much of Burn Up Scramble’s Rio Kinezono! See the similarities of both anime characters that she voiced? Ironically, Rio is a policewoman having love problems (as opposed to the Rio in the original Burn Up series in which she has money problems) and Ran here comes from a generation of police officers. It feels like they’re both the same character but in a different anime.

Case of a serial liar – As we all know by now how Ran isn’t good at school work and never finishes her homework on time. So much so when it is time to hand it up, she’ll cook up exaggerate long unbelievable stories like how she was abducted by aliens and her journey throughout the world that made her unable to complete it. I’m sure her homeroom teacher, Nakanishi has heard it plenty of times and each time having to whack her with a harisen (paper fan). Yeah, that harisen is even exclusively for Ran! And at the end of that tall tale, Ran will just spit out the real truth. Well, not much difference too because Nakanishi will still be pissed off and trying to reprimand Ran. Can she actually make it to the next grade?! She might be dumb in that sense, but she’s not that stupid. If she was, she probably wouldn’t know how to make up all those creative lies as it involves geographic locations and some common sense.

Miyu Yamazaki – Ran’s classmate and best friend. Another independent and strong girl as she comes from a broken family. She is in lovey-dovey relationship with Ran’s older brother, Yamato. Though she may look cute and nice upfront but she hides a dark past of being a leader of a gang called Resistance. A troubled kid then who always got into fights. When she and Ran first met, it’s not like they really like each other as Ran was of course bribed to change Miyu.  She changed over a new leaf and cast away her past when Yamato deeply cares for her after getting into a final recent fight with another gang, Eagles.

Aya Hoshino – Ran and Miyu’s latest close friend after Ran ‘saved’ this model student from compensation dating. Unlike Ran, Aya is a total opposite as she isn’t confident or honest of showing her true feelings. She is shy but studious so it doesn’t take a genius who Ran comes after for help when her homework deadline nears. You know, Ran is so unashamed of her unfinished work that she even has the cheek to ask other people to complete it for her!

Sayo Kotobuki and Masato Iwai – The pair of junior detectives obsessed with a famous cop movie called Run! Odaiba Cop and its lead character, Detective Kudou. They know every episode and have every darn merchandise and video on it. Both Sayo and Masato are so called dating (they have no qualms letting others know that they are a couple) and often role plays as detectives to keep Shibuya safe. But sometimes you wonder if a bunch of kids can really do the job as it seems that they’re just playing around (like those dramatic scenes in public that Sayo is going to ‘die’) so it’s hard to take them seriously. But they do take their investigation seriously and with pride. Yeah, they even have their own detective theme song! Either way, you can’t hate them and in fact love them all because that the one and only Rie Kugimiya is the voice behind Sayo. Datchu!

Yamato Kotobuki – Miyu’s responsible and mature cop boyfriend and Ran’s older brother who is being stationed at Shibuya. Oddly the girls usually use his police box as another one of their hangout places.

Odaiba Shark – The cool lead of the Odaiba Cop series, never seen without his shades off. He might be famous but that popularity comes into question when Ran comes into the picture. You could say that during one of those hotspring trips where he was on site for a film shot, since Ran was there, her legion of fans swamped over her and his presence was even hardly noticed! Otherwise he brings hope and happiness in the eyes of Sayo with some words of wisdoms and lines from the show. Odaiba Shark never sleeps!

Rei Otohata and Yuya Asou – Both are the top ranking boys of Meisho Daichi High School. The kind of good looking boys that every other girl would love to swoon over. Both guys are good friends though their personality may contrast. Perhaps Rei’s coolness can be attributed to his cold and indifferent attitude. Is it a surprise why he doesn’t have any girlfriend because he rejects them? He is best described as a person who is a pro at evading answering the obvious questions. You’re not going to get a simple yes or no, but an answer something like it is up to you to decide. Yuya is friendlier and because of his second placing behind Rei in the rankings, Ran and her pals always call him ‘Second Place’. Is that an insult or what? Ah well, get use to it.

The Ganguro Girls trio – Those annoying tanned girls of Shibuya are always locking horns with Ran. But you know who always ends up on the losing side. I can never tell them apart except for their different coloured hairstyles of red, yellow and blue. They are loyal followers of Rei and would go to great lengths to ‘protect’ other girls from coming close to him. Not that he cares or minds what they do anyway.

Gal lingo – Throughout the series, there will be short notices to inform viewers the slang that gals spout. Though I find that many are just abbreviated forms of the words. I guess it should be common knowledge if you want to be a gal. Trivial advice: “If you fall 7 times, get up 8 times”. Heck, don’t fall in the first place then.

Tatsuki Kuroi – The ‘monkey boy’ from the neighbouring prefecture of Machida is also known as Machida Black for his para-para dance moves. Uses English in some of his lines and everyone calls him Tatsukichi.

Mami Honda – The daughter of the wealthiest and famous family in Japan. Not to be fooled by her debutante looks, proud and prideful Mami is also a gal and is the queen of Ikebukuro. She meets her rival in the form of Ran but in each challenge (whether it’s a ping pong match or snowboarding duel), she always loses out. If not, the match ends in a draw. How can you beat that girl and even on her own home turf? Mami’s dad has always told her daughter to be the best in everything so each flashback sees her undergoing ridiculous uncanny training for whatever ridiculous subject to be the best. She may be the best in everything (from tennis to racing and even play performances) but when it comes to just Ran, she can never come out tops. And is it fate to be cruel to her for Ran to always show up or bump into Mami at times when she doesn’t want to see that idiotic hyper active gal? Mami has a follower, Harue Kudou who was an ex-member of the gang Eagles. She holds a grudge against Miyu as the reason for making her ex-boyfriend breaking up with her but it’s actually that guy who is being a jerk.

Mami’s ridiculously long limousine – Seriously, how can that car even turn?! To house her clothing wardrobe? Why the heck does she need lots of sophisticated doors and locks too? Who wants to steal them?!

Mami’s ridiculously large mansion – Believe me, it covers a skiing resort and even a space shuttle launching pad. WTF?!

Para-para dance – I don’t know if this move was the craze many years back. Remember para-para sakura? Some of the scene changers see the characters in chibi form doing their own para-para dance (except for Yuya’s, which seems lot like a panic move) with an equally catchy para-para techno music. I also tried to imitate the para-para moves in the opening credits but found myself to be laughing at the end because it felt funny (not to mention how much I sucked). Hey, even Hachiko is doing it!

Hachiko – Remember that famous loyal dog? Shibuya has erected a statue to commemorate Hachiko but the odd part is how we see Ran and Tatsuki ‘using’ it by sitting on it to have a better view to search something or even seek solace by talking to it about their problems! Even if it’s an inanimate object, can’t help that even Hachiko would get upset about it, eh? On another note, an owl statue is erected for Ikebukuro because ‘fukuro’ means owl in Japanese (but I guess it’s just wordplay because it could also mean envelope). So when it comes down to the battle of Shibuya’s Ran and Ikebukuro’s Mami, it’s always dog against owl.

Ran’s first disciple – A girl named Maki from Hokkaido goes all the way to Shibuya to be Ran’s disciple since she idolizes her very much. Seems that got to her head as she uses her newfound fame to have guys treat her. Till they realize her ploy and are going to get back at her, Ran steps in to prove that Maki is just more than her disciple, but her friend. Maki goes home and hopes to work hard to become a full fledge gal like her.

Love matters – As we all know Sayo-Masato and Miyu-Yamato are inseparable couples. Yuya has a crush on Ran ever since they first met but due to her rambunctious nature and his own nervousness, he doesn’t pretty much get the chance. Till Tatsuki comes in and proclaims out loud that he wants to become her boyfriend (because they both do the para-para). To Yuya’s dismay, Ran actually finds Tatsuki amusing and agrees! They really seem to suit each other seeing that they both act like idiotic simpletons. Bakappuru (combination of baka couple)! Yuya tries several attempts to make himself look cooler and that ‘show boy’ Tatsuki an idiot but it always seems to backfire. Worse, Tatsuki calls him ‘brother’ and thinks Yuya is testing them to see the strength of their love. Later in the series, Yuya becomes Mami’s boyfriend due to some misunderstanding. He has to put up with it all as the rest think they’re going steady as a couple. He is going to take some time off Shibuya for a while. Mami has her fair share of failed relationship with boys who are just in for her family status but she really fell for Yuya because he sees Mami as Mami herself. On the other hand, Aya too has a crush on Rei but we all know the shy person she is and the cold jerk he is. Aya was once set up to confess to Rei but that guy bluntly rejected her. Poor Aya. Yeah, we know he’s trying to give her a heads up that he can’t make her happy so better get disappointed now than regret it later. But she kept persevering until Rei becomes her boyfriend. Well, actually it isn’t official that Rei accepted her. He’d just let her do what she wishes and did mention he prefer to see her smile. I know this may sound a little odd but you know, when you’re totally in love with a person, even if Rei warned he will end up hurting her if she continues to love him, Aya accepted that.

Grand Prix Race – There was this one episode whereby Yuya challenged Tatsuki to a race over Ran. Soon every other guy pops up and wants to join in to claim Ran as their boyfriend. Ran finds it interesting and approves it as the guys go through lots of challenge and in the end, only 4 of them remain. Yuya and Tatsuki are among them and the other 2 are actually underlings of Mami. Her idea of having them enter the race is so that when they win, they will proclaim their love to Ran and dump her for Mami. Seems great until halfway through the final climbing obstacle, the guys betrayed her and wanted to truly claim Ran for their own because they don’t want to have anything to do with that bossy psycho b*tch anymore! Though they falter, Yuya and Tatsuki were just inches away from the goal but failed to cross it due to Yuya’s realization of fear of heights. Nobody wins and they had to disperse before the police take them in.

Towa Himeji – The owner of a cafe called Palm Tree that was in danger of being shut down but Ran and her pals helped out and managed to keep the cafe open. Seems Towa is the only person that Ran can’t stand up too because Towa threatens to spill embarrassing details of Ran if she doesn’t do as she is told (Ran and Towa know each other since childhood days). Towa is also close friends with that Odaiba Shark guy. Later Miyu works part time at Palm Tree to supplement her income.

Kasumi Tsukino – When rumours that Ran is turning into a nasty gal, it actually turns out to be a bratty kid that is sullying Ran’s name and even went to great lengths pulling nasty pranks on her friends like destroying Miyu’s precious handphone and ripping Aya’s train pass. Seems Kasumi wants to be the number one gal in Shibuya and like they say, this place isn’t big enough for the both of them. But you know, all her silly attempts to embarrass Ran and make her leave Shibuya flops big time. She is so annoying (even much more than Mami) and uses so many dirty tactics in her lame attempts, I was hoping she would be killed off somehow. However towards the end of the series, seems she isn’t all that b*tch when she competes in a flea market sale with Ran to buy a coat that she believes is the gal idol she adores. Though Kasumi lost out (she had to refund a kid who bought her defective toy) and was to admit defeat, she receives the coat from Towa and from the way things show, Towa may be just that gal whom Kasumi admired.

Naoki Kuroi – This skateboard kid is Tatsuki’s little brother and easily falls in love with almost any girl he sees. It all started after seeing a sticker from Tatsuki bearing Ran’s face and tries to take Ran as his girlfriend. Ultimately he loses out in some ramen battle with Tatsuki and probably he did all this was just to remind his brother about taking over their dad’s ramen business. Just like Ran, Tatsuki would prefer to do as he wishes to. Naoki becomes part of the junior detectives, joining Sayo and Masato’s detective role plays. Naoki’s falling-in-love trend continues with other girls like Miyu, Towa and Sayo. All ending up in heartbreak of course. In the final episode, he seems to have fallen for Kasumi.

Those guys – Why is it that the guys in Shibuya do not have any second thoughts about being rough with a lady or gal? Maybe Shibuya is a tough place so they’re exercising gender equality? Not. What about those guys who just easily come up to a girl and try to hit on them even though they really don’t want their company? Thank goodness we have Ran around.

Love hurts – What is love without its fair share of pangs and problems. There are quite a few of them. There was an episode whereby Ran believed some handphone fortune telling because it was quite accurate. Part of its advice to avoid disaster befalling on her was to avoid certain circumstances and it seems to point towards Tatsuki. Poor Tatsuki thought Ran was avoiding him and to make things worse, he saw her hanging out with Yuya. Once he manages to discover the root of the mystery, they’re back to being the bakappuru they happily are. Don’t believe everything you read, girl. Towards the end of the series, Tatsuki feels that his love with Ran hasn’t advanced to the next stage (not even kissed? Not even holding hands?) and questions if Ran really does love him. Of course Ran has her own gal pride so it’s obvious Tatsuki tells her straight that there is a girl who cares for him back in Machida so he’s not going to be in Shibuya for a while. Though this caused Ran to be a little alarmed, nevertheless she plays it down. Turns out that girl Tatsuki was referring to was his teacher who was supposed to guide him to pass his exams. Phew. After being around Mami for too long and seeing how Tatsuki and Ran are perfect for each other, Yuya is ready to confess that he is ready to leave Ran in Tatsuki’s hands and happy to settle with Mami. Before he could speak any further, Mami misinterprets this as his attempt to confess his love for Ran. Mami challenges Ran to another ultimate life-and-death battle over Yuya. Both girls give it their best shot but there seems to be no end. Till Yuya finally intervened and accepted Mami. To her, he’ll always be number one in her heart. Aw… We all know how cruel Rei can be as he seems to be ‘neglecting’ Aya. So much so Aya has that Otohata Syndrome. She feels distant from Rei as each passing day. A senior classmate, Kazuki Katase notices Aya’s suffering, comforts and helps her out. In no time, Aya and Katase start dating and Rei doesn’t seem fazed because well, it was her decision. There are even times Katase confronts Rei about him mistreating Aya but the latter doesn’t even bat an eyelid. Aya and Katase seem to fit each other since they’re both studious. Aya spends more time with him studying and less time with her gal pals. However it seemed forced. Each time she talks about her pals, Katase would shrug it off and that they’re from different worlds. The last straw came when he mocks her pals. It is later revealed that Katase did a despicable act by trying to steal exam questions due to pressure from his family’s expectations. He thought Aya and him were the same but thinks their difference is that Aya is more true to herself. Katase soon leaves to study overseas and I guess this case opens the door to Aya’s heart that Rei is still the only one for her. Though it may seem that Aya and Rei are back but trouble starts brewing again when Aya asks Rei personally if he likes Ran. It’s like opening Pandora Box even if Rei warned her it would not be at her advantage to do so. Since she is persistent, Rei answers yes, confirming Aya’s fears. Hey girl, didn’t you remember making that promise that you’ll be okay even if you get hurt by him? See, play with fire lah. Aya falls into depression but to make things worse, rumours are spreading that Rei and Ran are dating since they were spotted together at a cafe (she was just asking him to do her homework, what else?). To add salt to wounds, many believed that Ran stole Rei from Aya. And what does that indifferent jerk do about it? Nothing really. Ran was of course oblivious even if Aya was acting real strange. Their relationship is strained as Aya avoids Ran, even taking the honours class instead of continuing in the same class with her pals. But all is back to normal when Ran manages to give her usual reprimanding advice once more. This time Aya isn’t going to run away but try her best. Sure, it’s not like Rei did acknowledge her to be his girlfriend (“Do as you wish” line again) but in the final episode, I think they become a couple because I believe we haven’t see Rei’s face as close to Aya’s before.

It’s not the Ran I know! – There are a couple of episodes whereby Ran ditched her gal outlook and shockingly became a different person! In one episode, due to some wish on an arcade machine, Ran turns into a debutante! Such good and polite manners! Unbelievable! But I guess the gang rather have the old Ran back as they frantically search for the machine before it is being scrapped. Magically, Ran is turned back to normal. In another episode, Ran turns into a proper detective protecting the peace of Shibuya after sleeping on some weird pillow! Oh, Taizo must be so proud of this moment. Yeah, she even threw away all her gal stuff. Too bad it isn’t going to last since after sleeping on that pillow, she’s back to her gal self. Finally an episode whereby due to some ball Sayo got at some lottery, the ball violently bounced back and forth on Sayo and Ran’s face, causing them to switch bodies! Nobody is going to believe them so they have to act as each other for the time being. They both find out how each other have their own responsibilities and weren’t just goofing around. But they switch back at the end (that same ball bouncing effect) but this time Yuya and Rei switch bodies. Mami mistakes Rei for Yuya and drags him away! Man, that’s the first time I see that guy in a pinch but too bad it ends here and I would have loved to see how things played out.

Maru-Q Moon – Sailormoon parody. In one of Kasumi’s attempts to make Ran leave Shibuya by badmouthing her to the Ganguro trio, she gets into all sorts of trouble and ultimately dresses up as a magical girl but inadvertently saves others from danger. Soon she becomes a hot topic and everyone wants to find out her true identity. Well, even if she did, nobody would believe that kid. Hey, anybody could buy that outfit and don it.  In the end, due to some confusion, Ran ends up being revealed as Maru-Q Moon.

I am Zero. I have returned! – There was an episode whereby Ran was framed as the perpetrator disguised as her and does bad things. The local police believe it is Ran but her loyal fans do not. To prove that anybody could just dress as Shibuya’s number one, the fans all dress up as Ran simultaneously (how and where they get the wig and dress still beats me). At that point, it reminded me of how much this scene looked like Code Geass! Of course Ran is innocent and the culprit turns out to be the boyfriend of one of the fans, fearing that he would ‘lose’ her if she becomes too much of a gal.

Alone again, naturally – Miyu has never had a good relationship with her mom. They don’t even really have a proper talk. Not that Miyu doesn’t want to but rather her mom prefers to be out of the time doing other things and leave her daughter all to herself. Not that Miyu is complaining either. Now, Miyu’s mom is the kind of character everyone would love to hate. She is very irresponsible and her being a mother of Miyu is definitely unfit and unsuitable. When she defaults on her apartment’s rental for 3 months, she decides to pack up and leave, not caring for what happens to Miyu. This place may not be much to Miyu, but at least she has a place to go home. Now with it gone, where will she go? Heartless mom even told Miyu to survive on her own, perhaps going into the flesh industry. That’s it. Out of the door, she has left the building. Whether or not they’ll meet is another story. Miyu’s cry at that time was the most heartbreaking one ever. Thankfully she has kind Yamato she could lean on as he listens to her problem. Miyu temporarily stays in Ran’s room before moving to Palm Tree and then with enough strength to stand on her own, her own little apartment.

Fillers? – There are some episodes that focus on other minor characters. For example, Ran befriends a kendo girl named Shiori. She heard she is suddenly transferring overseas and goes to work hard to buy her a farewell gift and misses her kendo tournament. Turns out she wasn’t leaving but her brother. The gym teacher, Mr Gunjo seems to have a gold leaf exterior. He has been making his students to avoid talking with one of his classmates, Takazawa, as he blames her for their class failure and loss to Nakanishi’s class during the recent sports festival. Ran’s actions and words soon made Gunjo’s classmates to stand forth and reveal the truth about his nature and results him to be suspended. Ran’s friend, Rie seems to have a crush on a guy, Junichi from 5 years ago when she meets him at a place they’re both working part time as. Rie thinks Junichi and Ran like each other since Junichi is avoiding her. Turns out during their younger days when Junichi saved Rie from bullies, it wasn’t Junichi who beat them up. It was Ran instead as he turned into a cry-baby. In the end, they both reconciled their love for each other.

Other adventures – Sayo being ‘kidnapped’ so Ran and Kiyoka drag Yamato to rescue her as it turns out she was just accompanying a single father trying to meet up with his estranged daughter, a visit to a giant indoor ski park, a visit to the beach, Tatsuki thought Ran was working to buy him a birthday present but it was to go on a shopping spree (I guess her luck at a raffle to win him a monkey doll at the last minute still made him happy), Ran burning up to win the sports festival for her class because Nakanishi may overlook her undone homework (yeah, even working up her classmates to go all out because she lied that Nakanishi is dying!), invited to Meisho’s school cultural festival (yeah, the para-para competition between Ran and Mami is getting real long and tiring… More lasting than Duracell), Yamato introducing Miyu to his family and this means he has proposed to her for marriage (headache for Ran because this means her best friend will be her sister-in-law. Confused?), Tatsuki and Yuya going all out to find Ran’s lost wallet to prove who is manlier and the right to be Ran’s girlfriend, an ex-boyfriend of Mami returning to see her after many years abroad so debutante Mami takes her to some grand hotel with everything inside (yes, everything) but her rotten luck has her trying to evade being seen by Ran and co (who somehow won tickets to entire this pricey place) and in the end Mami shows her true gal character to that guy when several punks besiege on them and leaves him (how many ex-boyfriends does she have anyway?), Mami getting a weird hair accessory gift from Yuya (because it’s the cheapest) and goes to great lengths to protect it from people who wants to steal it (turns out to be some guy’s fake moustache!), Ran accompanying Nakanishi to patrol the school (because that old geezer is afraid of ghosts), a visit to Mami’s mansion, an invitation to Maki’s hotspring in Hokkaido, trying to catch a monkey on the loose during Christmas (Tatsuki could really communicate with it), a flashback how Taizo trained Ran to be a police officer (yeah, she was really enthusiastic back then) but his plans backfired after a series of tests (aliens in animal costumes?) when he accidentally ruined her lunch (yeah, Ran even remembers that food grudge till today), Odaiba Shark’s character is to be killed off due to some backdoor argument with the director so our Kudou actor is in danger of being out of a job and is set up by Towa to go on a date with Sayo so as not to crush her dreams (of course his role gets reinstated again), Aya working hard to make Rei a handmade Valentine’s Day chocolate (I thought she knew that guy dislike sweet things?) but was stolen by the Ganguro trio (in the end they gave it back to her after realizing how much effort she put in. See, they’ve got hearts too), a big ramen battle between Tatsuki and Naoki against a popular ramen chain (the former won because the latter’s management uses dirty tactics and the rival chef didn’t acknowledge to that) and Ran trying her best to study not because she fears of not making to the next grade but her allowance cut.

Towa’s leaving? – You heard that right. I’m not sure why, but she left her Palm Tree cafe to that Kudou guy and due to some misinterpretation, he accepts it. We see many of the main and supporting characters in this episode trying to get Towa a farewell gift but Ran is nowhere to be seen and time is running out. Tatsuki and Rei search the streets and it turns out she was hungry and couldn’t move. Oh yes, Sayo and Masato are first year students in Ran’s school, not to mention bratty Kasumi. Finally the Ganguro trio have their own boyfriends, but they get scared after seeing their aggressive nature. Come back, my love!

Ultimate Gal
So yeah, it was fun while it lasted. Many of the episode’s adventures aren’t complicated but straightforward so much so that the tension and drama of that particular episode makes it simple for the issue to be solved. Because of so, some are pretty predictable. Of course the main star of the show still definitely falls on Ran. She is the kind of character whom you’ll have mixed feelings with. It’s hard to hate her but at the same time not totally love her. Her boisterous attitude sometimes really annoys you but because she’s a simpleton, it makes a lot of things easier. She may not be the kind of girl who comforts you with kind and soft words but instead with her typical firebrand reality down-to-earth phrases to make you realize that if you’re going to spend time sulking, might as well you go do something about it.

The other characters are lovable at their own pace too. They each have their own set of problems and fears to confront to but with each other’s support, they’ll get by.  The length of the series is reasonable enough to flesh out the personalities of some of the characters though they generally remain the same character that we are all familiar to. So the police force can think of cutting down their cost to station more personnel at Shibuya because Ran is doing such a fine job keeping the place safe. Maybe not. There’s always something she’s in when she’s doing something. Ah, just give her a free designer’s bag or shoes or free meal vouchers each time she’s at it.

This is trivial stuff but due to the recent trend in animes, for series that lasts more than a single season, there will be multiple ending themes. For this one, however there is only one! Yeah, quite a ‘rare feat’, if I should say. Entitled Dakishimetai by Jungle Smile, it is a moderate ballad. Of course the opening theme, Aitsu by Dicot is catchy itself to the para-para flow.

The art and drawing lean towards bishoujo style. Well, cute girls with big bright eyes, that says it all, doesn’t it? Sometimes in the show they have a lot of other drawing such as hearts in crayons across the screen. At times they also use different background shades when the producers are too lazy, oops I mean for a change in scenery to draw the actual backgrounds. I think it will be tough to draw every detail to the billboards and posters that are hanged around the Shibuya area.

I can say that this series is the first series that made me a little interested in doing a little online research on the different prefectural areas and wards in Japan. I may not remember them all, at least I know where Shibuya and Ikebukuro are. Along with Akihabara. Heheh. It was interesting for the time being that I discovered a few geographical locations in Japan. Maybe if Ran showed a little more interest in Japanese history, I may even have looked it up.

So being a gal isn’t just about the outside, it is the inside of your heart and how you live your life and what you do as a gal (with some ironclad gal rule of course). I was a loner back in school so I can’t pretty say much about my social life. Heck, I’m even close to being a hikikomori otaku, shutting myself in only watching animes. Maybe I should take a step out into the city once in a while and socialize. Then again, I just don’t want to expose myself to any danger of being mugged or extorted. I think I’ll let the police do their job in my area. Super otaku Ming! Keeping it safe while watching anime in your own room is uber cool. That is an ironclad rule for an otaku!