Of Swords and Parasols

I think I've realized something that probably contributes to some of my annoyance with the Aya/Rei trainwreck:  the first season had a big emphasis on the friendship between Ran, Aya and Miyu, with the romantic concerns taking a backseat.  While that theme  is still there in the second season, it isn't as prominent.  While I don't mind Ran/Katsukichi's becoming front burner for time to time-not only because it's kind of necessary, what with Ran being the main character and all, but also because it didn't get as much attention in the first season, and there were several things there that needed to be ironed out-making Aya/Rei the main problems only emphasized how many issues there were there, and only made them worse.


Anyway, overall a great series, especially if you're looking for strong heroines and a focus on friendship between female characters.  The second season, while good, isn't quite as good as the first, though, and the main pairing, despite starting good, is so FUBAR by the end that all I can do is hope Aya meets some nice boy in college and moves on.

 
There was an entire episode devoted to ramen and making ramen.  It made me so very, very hungry.  I must have real  ramen and okonomiyaki before I die.  It's a goal.

Meanwhile, I give up on Rei.  He may care about Aya, but at this point, he's the world's worst boyfriend, and really no good for her.  Honestly, I never look for alternashipping, but I've exhausted all alternate possibilities for her.  All the decent guys in the show are taken, too old for her, or way too young for her.  And half of them are taken, too.  At this point, I'm thinking she should just switch teams.  There are a couple nice girls on the show who are still single.  Seriously.  Rei has driven me to lengths I almost never go.

Every once in a while, I remember that, for all that this is mostly a light and funny and girly and girl!friendship power show, it certainly does like to pile on the angst from time to time.

Was I complaining about Aya and Rei not getting to do very much with the first disc?  I may need to take that back.

(Honestly, I like Rei a lot and think he'll be a good boyfriend to Aya once he pulls his head out of...a place...but not only is he doing his best to prove my theory that at least half the guys in fiction don't deserve their girlfriends, but he is seriously begging to have a foot attached to his face.  Hard.  Perferably Ran's.  She could do the most damage.)

I bring you the cracktastic openning credits of Super Gals!

For they must be shared.

SUPER JUNIOR DETECTIVES! DEBUTANTE ARCH NEMESIS! FAKE KIDNAPPINGS!  KENDO GIRLS!  GROUPIES!  BOYFRIEND COMPETITIONS!  ROMANTIC RIVALS!

*ahem*

I have decided that I truly pity any boy(namely, Yuya) to fall for Ran.  In her world, boys exist to look pretty and buy things for her.  Let us observe the boyfriend comptetion.  Now, to explain:  Ran has acquired a boyfriend, Tatsukichi, the male version of a Shibuya gal.  He looks good, buys her food and showers her with complements.  Therefore, if he wants to call himself her boyfriend, that's just fine.  Yuya, of course, utterly freaks out over this(note:  male characters named Yuya weird me out, for reasons obvious to people who have been at this LJ long and read my anime and manga posts) and the end result is a boyfriend competition with about a hundred participants.  After determining that they will all let her copy their homework(CRUCIAL!) they must:

1)  Run a marathon.  To weed out the wusses.
2)  Pass an intelligence test.  To ensure that the homework is worth copying.
3)  Score 100 points at a dance competition.  To prove they're cool enough.
4)  Rock climb.  To prove they had endurance.

During the course of this, I came to two conclusions:

1)  Any male but Rei to date or fall for Ran would end up little more than a servant.
2)  Rei is far too smart to ever fall for Ran.

Seriously, despite what it looked like the first couple eps, I'm glad the show seems to definately NOT be going in a Rei/Ran direction.  They're both way, way too alpha to be a couple.  Rei usually hangs around because he knows better than to try to escape, and because Yuya is his best friend, and he knows Yuya is a hopeless goner for Ran.  And, I think, he also likes Aya, but doesn't realize it.  Meanwhile, Aya likes Rei so obviously that Ran has essentially told him that he will keep Aya happy or he will die.  And he believes her.  And despite what some youtube people seem to think, Ran would die before being jealous of a friend, much less going after the guy a friend likes.

But seriously, they're so alike in their alpha, but so different in other ways-her materialism and insanely proactive attitude, his braininess and sardonic, detached behavior-that they'd kill each other if they ever dated.

Meanwhile, Ran's archnemesis, Mami, head Gal of another district, is a debutante and the princess of her school by day, with her Gal status a secret identity.  Her rabid rivalry with Ran, and their constant battles(often with rulership of each other's district on the line) is the second best part of the show.

The best part, though is Ran's younger sister, Sayo, who Ran alternately refers to as an annoying brat and a precious angel, and her boyfriend.  THEY ARE DETECTIVES!  THEY SNEAK AROUND SHIBUYA INVESTIGATING! AND ALWAYS ACT OUT POLICE DRAMAS!  In one episode, an arcade machine transforms Ran into a debutante, and Sayo thinks Ran was abducted by aliens.  THE BOWS MUST BE ANTENNAE! THERE MUST BE A CHIP IN RAN'S HEAD! SAYO MUST SAVE THE WORLD FROM AN ALIEN INVASION.  I, ah, maybe have watched that twice.  Just like the boyfriend competition.

Meanwhile, until now, the only thing I've encountered that featured Gals, and positively at that, was the GalCir live action drama.  As a result, I keep looking for a horrendously anachronistic cowboy who looks like Fujiki Naohito to show up.

Meet Ran Kotobuki, the justice driven, bargain hunting, supreme Gal of Shibuya.  At 16, Ran is the youngest member of a family of police officers.  Her parents, naturally, expect Ran to be a police officer.  Her brother begs her to stop causing problems in his district.  Ran?  COULDN'T CARE LESS!

She is a slave to her lifestyle, a relentless hunter of whatever she wants, and will be a gal until the day she dies, no matter what anyone says.  She takes nothing from no one, sticks up for everyone in existance, conquers all other Gals, and can never be shaken once she's on the scent.  Together with her best friends, Miya-a former yankee(gangster) who is dating Ran's cop brother, Yamato(WOE! EMO! ANGST!...ok, no, not really...but they do get all the romantic angst scenes)-and Aya-the top student in their class-she patrols the streets of Shibuya.  Together, they are the Charlie's Angels of Shibuya(the opening credits were so begging me to say that.)  Occassionally(read: every episode) they're joined by Yuya-the sweet, second most popular and best looking boy in Shibuya who is in love with Ran-and Rei-the stoic, sardonic, most popular and best looking boy in Shibuya, who Aya has a crush on.  Yuya loves Gals...well, these ones at least.  Rei claims he doesn't like Gals, but always lets himself get caught up in Ran's dramas.

Mysterious love letters?  Leches?  Cheats?  No money?  Failing grades? Unattainable items?  Interfering parents?  NO PROBLEM!  All in a day's work for Ran Kotobuki!

*hem*

Am in love.