meganbmoore | Hotaru no Hikari eps 4-7

Hmm...what does it say about me that, anytime it shows Hotaru's manga, or when she's in a manga cafe, I stare at the manga to try to recognize it?

(I thought I had some other, better shots, but I guess not)

But anyway, onto ~~the part that's not about books~~ the main event:

I continue to really like this, even if does spend a lot of time on the "a woman must have a boyfriend, be on the prowl, or be sexually dead" obsession that most dramas seem to have. Although, really, even though it's a focus(Hotaru being the stereotype of the woman with no love or social life, wasting away doing nothing but work and then coming home and lounging around, but being perfectly happy with her life) it doesn't seem to be as bad as it is in other dramas. Probably because other women in these shows seem obsessed with getting ahead in their job or finding a guy, but Hotaru is perfectly happy with her lifestyle until there's actually a specific guy she likes, and then she isn't sure what to do about it.

Sometimes I really wish they talked about what kind of manga Hotaru reads. I suspect it's that kind of shoujo where the girl is hung up on the perfect guy who's actually either bland or a jerk(or both) and the much better (for her and otherwise) secondary guy loses out, despite doing a lot more for her than the "hero" ever did(ah, so many such shoujo have I dropped...) Because that's what we have here...except here, it actually IS the right guy who's going to win out. It's all about realizing that the cute and fluttery young love you read about isn't as good as the mature love of equals founded on friendship and respect. That, and Takano is just better than Makoto on all levels.

I also like the (subtle) gender role reversal here. It's never remotely made an issue, but the one who comes home, yanks a beer out of the fridge, throws on ratty old clothes and lounges around the house? Hotaru. The neat one who cleans, cooks, irons and does all the work of a traditional Japanese housewife(and wears traditional Japanese clothes around the house) is Takano. There's no "look, role reversal" message, they're simply two people doing the things that make them the most comfortable. The show also manages to make the oddest things romantic: buying beer, covering a sleeping person with newspaper, locking your love interest up in a room with her crush(she says she wants Makoto, he wants her to be happy, she's to shy too do anything, therefore, he shall "prod" her in the right direction) teaching a person to cook, and all sorts of odd things that don't sound remotely romantic, but are.

I also like that, even though Hotaru and Yuuka like the same guy, they aren't remotely in competition over him. They made their mutual interest clear, and treat each other with genuine respect. There's no oneupmanship or backstabbing just because of some(unworthy of either one of them) guy. And I love how all the coworkers are in shock that they AREN'T hating on each other for it. I also love that there's a much better option for her, she just has to realize it.

Also...Makoto attends the wedding of a client wearing a t-shirt with bright logos on it under a suit? What?

And if you just want to skip the babble and look at the pictures of pretty people...