Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi 02: Discovering My Inner Uke

A divine example of the facepalm.jpg

TL Note: ‘Uke’ is the term used to refer to the submissive or less aggressive participant in Yaoi relationships.

It does NOT have any connection with the Ukelele.

And yes, I did a facepalm when I realized that watching Sekai-Ichi was awakening my latent homosexual tendencies.

Doyo~n.

Why, the air DOES smell like smoked cheese!

It’s Hell Week – the final week before the publishing deadline. Our brave editors struggle to meet the deadline as they work with what little storyboards have been completed even as they harass the mangaka to hurry the hell up.

Having recently started a job at a call centre, I can empathize all too well with these courageous souls. Except that their Hell Week is my Hell Hour – the last hour before the phonelines cut off. But you didn’t come here to read my job-related angst.

"What the shit? Do you know how much crap we went through to get an extension with the printer?"

I don’t know who Masamune’s seiyuu is, and I’m afraid of where it would lead if I try to find out, but damn if my knees go weak at his vocal tirade.

If I had a male teacher like that in middle school, my porn entertainment folders would be filled with very different material today.

"Come on Onodera, we're gonna pay this writer-clown a visit."

Even if my Japanese advances to the level where I can watch anime  unaided, I’ll still keep the subtitles, because some translator groups really write the darndest things.

Masamune is the kind of man every male wants to be. Assertive and on-the-go. It’s pretty obvious why girls (and some guys) love the dude.

"T-Takano..."

I hope she really wasn’t expecting any sympathy from him.

“If you feel guilty enough to cry, get it done on time!”
“I can’t do it and that’s that!”
“How dare you talk back to me?! I WILL STRIKE YOU WHERE YOU STAND.”

I really need to ask the other writers how they caption thumbnails.

That last line is really quite epic. I think only the most manly of men could say a thing like that in real life and not look like a complete douchebag.

"Why the hell are you drawing the Nikkou Toushou-guu on the first page when you're so far behind?"

Okay so this is first time in the anime where I felt some dislike for Masamune.

"It's better than the Sanjuusangen-dou!"

It’s not so much scolding Mangaka-sensei over her art decisions.

Although I have to agree with her that one large ornate shrine is more interesting to look at than a thousand identical life-size statues. Seen one, you’ve seen them all, right?

SHUT UP AND GET BACK TO WORK

Neither is it the ganging up by her staff on her that he sort of initiates.

I mean, she doesn’t need it right now, but she does need a reminder that she is the only one holding up the entire production process.

Oh God I'd give her a hug.

Rather, it’s when she voices doubt about her own work, about whether it’s actually crap and it’s too late to fix it, and Masamune bluntly says “Of course it’s too late, can it and get back to work.”

As someone who used to have artistic aspirations, I can say that when you’re in a funk over the quality of your work, the absolute worst thing someone can say to you is that it doesn’t matter, just rush something out.

So as you can imagine I didn’t exactly feel very charitable towards Masamune after that. Especially after he cuts her off twice.

Naive soul that he is, Ritsu sets himself up for yet another trolling.

Ritsu tells Mangaka-sensei that he liked her work and bought the latest volume to support her, which leads to Masamune responding with

“Because giving money back to Marukawa (their publishing company) after Marukawa paid you makes a lot of sense.”

"Just so you know, things like these lower your reputation."

As it turns out, Masamune had known that there was no way she could finish in time for the current deadline and had asked the printers for an extension.

Yeah so at this moment I was swooning too. There’s probably a more manly word for it, but my dislike was immediately replaced with admiration? Affection?

Like, he may be a hardass, but that’s only because he wants you to finish your work, and he knows your limits too and asked for more time for you. Holy shit right? He’s assertive yet compassionate.

I would insert a customary insult for Doodler here, but he's actively blogging at the moment, so I'll save it for next time.

So they pull an all-nighter and manage to finish it by morning.

Look at that smile. Is it any wonder why Mangaka-sensei’s looking at him with such adoration?

I’m not going to write down what I feel for Masamune (yet), but suffice to say I’m shocked that I haven’t been reduced to emoticons.

DAT FACE.

So back at the office, Ritsu and Masamune are chilling after submitting the last of the storyboards.

Ritsu thinks some really cute thoughts. “I guess even he smiles once in a while – well yeah of course he does.” I don’t think I could ever find a girl whom I could think that sentence about. Real girls, unlike their 2D counterparts, smile too easily.

Masamune once again asks Ritsu if he remembers him, which leads to…

"Maybe now you'll remember."

It’s confirmed – we’re definitely going to see one passionate kissing scene per episode.

Ritsu only remembers him when Masamune tells him his original surname. Seriously Ritsu. How dense can you get? But then again I suppose you never thought you’d see your high school lover again.

Aftersex baby.

This is pretty much the only thing that tells me that I’m not quite homosexual yet – I still can’t stand the sight of two guys together, their clothes in disarray, shyly looking away from each other. Was that too descriptive?

Anyhow, this is the best part – we finally get to find out why Ritsu and Masamune broke up in the first place.

Masamune snickered.

Okay, that’s too strong a word. But then again, all the synonyms – chuckled, chortled, giggled – don’t fit either. Damned English and its limited vocabulary.

So what happened was that at that moment, Ritsu confessed his love and Masamune made some noise of amusement.

And Ritsu interprets this to mean that Masamune only wanted him for his body.

Holy shit man, that’s an overreaction if I see one. I understand that you were wimpy and delicate-like once, but you could have just ASKED again. But hey this sets up the fun story, so I suppose I should be thankful for limited willpower.

"You're an idiot."

Masamune, on his part, was hurt because Ritsu just up and vanished shortly after that.

Can’t say I disagree with him though. After all, if it weren’t for overreaction, they could’ve been engaging in wild homosexual relations for the past 10 years. Not that I really want to think about that.

"You know, no matter who I was with, I could never forget you. I'm going to make you say 'I love you' again. Just you wait."

This is something that can only work in anime and perhaps under some very specific controlled conditions.

If I ever tried it on any girl who’d once rejected me, they’d probably never talk to me again. But not before outright laughing in my face.

That is one large apartment.

Ritsu obstinately decides to ignore Masamune’s affections and focuses on moving into his new place.

He’s done pretty well for himself considering he’s only 25 and being able to afford renting an apartment all to himself. I’m rather jealous.

As it turns out…

...Masamune just happens to live in the next apartment.

“Oh so you’re my new neighbour? I get it… you came to confess your love for me. You sure changed your mind quick.”

This is perhaps the second anime I’ve watched in which I’m happily letting so many probability-defying occurrences slide (the first being Saki) – because it really is darkly amusing to watch Masamune troll Ritsu at any possible moment. I’d accept Ritsu turning into a Mahou Shoujo just to hear Masamune troll him about the frilly dress.

"Why does he have to live next to me?!"

Because watching you squirm is so delightful, my dear Ritsu.

Next Episode:

The best part about this anime is that I have no desire to speculate about the next episode. I’m really quite content to sit back and be entertained by what Masamune’s going to do to troll Ritsu next.

Although being in the next apartment over allows for some very intriguing possibilities. Though I’m certainly not going to reveal the extent of my depravity by writing down my thoughts here.

Oh Sekai-Ichi, you're making a romantic out of me.