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ローゼンメイデン 
Nekozawa sounds a lot like Morita from Honey and Clover in this one for some reason. I wonder if it's because Ueda Yuuji already starts his role as Morita in the other show. It's actually unusual for him to sound similar from one character to the next because if I didn't look at his past work, I wouldn't know that he also voices Adashino-sensei in Mushishi. This makes me wonder how many viewers actually pay attention to the voice actor who plays the character or if most viewers generally don't care about the voice. I am also curious if the majority of the manga readers have actually assigned a different kind of voice in their head for the characters in the series and if there is any that disappoint them. I personally am surprised to hear Maaya Sakamoto as Haruhi because I never expected her to possess the range of voices that Haruhi supposed to have from being cute to being bored and annoyed. Hunny, on the other hand, sounds very similar to Momiji from Fruits Basket.
The episode begins with a shot of a girl walking through Ouran High's garden. She, however, stops immediately upon hearing a noise coming from the Hydrangeas. She assumes that it's an animal so she believes she better starts looking for her brother. After the girl left, a white fat cat is seen coming out of the Hydrangeas. The girl herself makes her way into Ouran Host Club and gets to see Tamaki and the others cosplaying as policemen. Tamaki tells the 'Lost little kitten' to come inside and asks her where she comes from. The girl, however, points out at the gang and calls them "Reverse Harem" (Male Harem). The guys think there is something wrong with their ear since they find it hard to believe that a little girl could say something like "Reverse Harem". The girl then proves them wrong by calling each and every single one of them based on their stereotype such as "Megane", "Lolishota", "Stoic", "Incest", "Studious person (geek)".
When the girl gets to see Tamaki, however, she calls him "Brother", much to Tamaki's surprise. The girl's reason is because Tamaki is blonde. The twins protest about this since Tamaki never told them that he has any sister but Tamaki swears off that he's the only child in the family, or at least he thinks so. Upon seeing this, Kyoya wonders if a "Megane" character is on the same level as a "Brother" but Haruhi tells him that at least he's not being called "Geek". Tamaki then decides to ask the girl's name so she tells him that her name is Kirimi. All of a sudden Haruhi gets a vision of Sashimi since 'Kirimi' can be translated into Fish cuts. Tamaki tries to tell the girl that he's probably not her brother but when he sees the girl almost burst into tears, he tells her that he'll become her brother from now on. Haruhi is not impressed with Tamaki's act and tells the guy not to say something misleading to a kid. Kyoya thinks that Kirimi's brother probably is blonde as well.
Suddenly they hear a rather creepy voice echoing from the hall and a blonde boy then appears in front of Ouran's front door. No one, however, recognises this person until the person's maid and butler puts on his black wig and black suit, revealing the guy to be Nekozawa. The maid and butler then explain that Nekozawa can't stand light while Kirimi herself doesn't like darkness. Nekozawa then tries to approach his sister but Kirimi becomes afraid of him and ends up jumping into Tamaki's arm. Because of this the twins try to take off Nekozawa's black outfit but Nekozawa refuses and tells them that he'll die if he's exposed to the light. Upon hearing this, Hunny tries to close the curtain but Kirimi ends up crying because she can't stand darkness. The maid likens Nekozawa and Kirimi's situation to Romeo and Juliet so Haruhi tells the maid that that Romeo and Juliet are not siblings and is the wrong association to make. The maid, however, thinks that it's catchy.
She also claims that the Nekozawa family is a descendant of the Tokarev dynasty although Tamaki guesses that she actually meant Romanov. Apparently there's a legend that every several hundred years, there'll be someone who deviates towards the darkness like Nekozawa. Because of this, Nekozawa can't get close to Kirimi without scaring her. It doesn't help that Kirimi's only exposure to her brother's image is a portrait which depicts him in a Prince-like outfit. As a result, when she found out that her brother goes to Ouran High, she decides to look for him. The maid also reveals that she tries to make Kirimi less afraid by telling her stories about Prince in fairy tales but eventually she runs out of those so now she reads Shoujo manga to her. Upon hearing this, the Host Club realises how Kirimi finds out about words such as "Reverse Harem". The guys feel sorry that Nekozawa never really knows his sister.
Nekozawa, however, tells them that he often prays so that Kirimi will learn to love darkness. XD. Because of this the twins tell them that he's the one who should get used to the light. When Kirimi refuses to leave Tamaki and returns with Nekozawa, Nekozawa asks Tamaki to take care his sister. After Nekozawa left, Haruhi tells the guys that she's jealous a bit because she's an only child but seeing a sibling who can't get along with each other also makes her sad. Upon hearing this, Tamaki tells Kirimi that he's not really her brother and tells the group that they'll turn Nekozawa into the Prince-character that Kirimi wants him to be. The guys think it's impossible but Tamaki reminds them that they too are characters playing specific roles. As soon as he said this, Renge appears on her pedestal laughing like a maniac. Renge then begins to train Nekozawa to act like a Prince but it's a difficult process because he tends to recite creepy vocabularies like "Wax doll".
Renge immediately orders Mori to write down this prohibited word from being used by Nekozawa. When Nekozawa tries to protest, Renge simply flashes him the brightest torch she can find into the poor guy. The guy tries to reason by saying that the doll he uses as a substitute for Kirimi doesn't look like his sister but Renge doesn't want to listen to any excuses and shows off her Medusa hair ot scare Nekozawa off. Upon seeing this, the twins have a naughty idea of making Tamaki showing Nekozawa how he can express his love to Haruhi using a mannequin in her stead. Unfortunately for Tamaki, Haruhi catches him red-handed so she's not impressed at him. She thinks if they have time to fool around, maybe they have the time to look after Kirimi. Kyouya asks Haruhi if she doesn't like children but Haruhi denies this. She simply finds the task of reading Shoujo manga to Kirimi to be tedious. As soon as she said this, Kirimi comes to the room looking for her brother.
Upon seeing Tamaki playing with Kirimi like a real brother, Nekozawa tries to get used to bright light. Because of this, he flashes himself with a bright flashlight to acclimatise himself to it. This, however, simply makes Kirimi afraid of him and runs out of the school. Outside the school, however, Kirimi becomes afraid when the white cat from the start of this episode approaches her. Nekozawa explains how despite their family name (Neko), Kirimi has no affinity to a real cat. Upon seeing his sister crying, Nekozawa jumps out of the window and runs out to comfort her. He, however, then passes out because he can't stand daylight but at least his relationship with his sister is getting better now. After the incident, Kirimi is seen trying to come to the Host Club again looking for her brother. However, when she sees Nekozawa following her from behind, she decides to look for him and upon seeing the doll on his hand, she decides that he really is her brother.
Impression:
Nekozawa is certainly a crack and a half character. The part where he prays at the creepy altar so that Kirimi will also love darkness was a comedy gold. Having said that, the episode wouldn't be as funny without Renge's attempt to remake him into a Prince-like character. As usual, of course, Renge manages to scare even a person who normally freaks everyone else in the Host Club. On another note, this episode also reveals another side to Tamaki's personality, that of a good brother figure. The way he responds to Kirimi was rather surprising to see since he's usually such a goof. On a reflection though, this is actually consistent with what we've known so far of the character. Tamaki has always been the kind of person who sincerely cares about other people as exemplified by his desire to help the couple in episode 2 and the father who was looking for his daughter in episode 3.
Haruhi herself also continues to amuse me with her indifference to almost everything including Shoujo manga. Come to think of it, she is quite different from the kind of girls that one normally finds in Shoujo manga. When a guy flatters her or declares their love for her, Haruhi simply looks bored instead of embarrassed. In contrast, the majority of the girls in Shoujo manga usually tend to blush when a guy praises her even though she may have little to no interest in the guy. Because of this, I find Haruhi's indifference to be funny and refreshing. This also explains why she's not impressed with having to read Shoujo manga to Kirimi. If she responds to flattery with little to no interest, then it's not surprising that she does not find the typical romantic scenes from Shoujo manga to be interesting either. I am also wondering if there is other Shoujo manga where where the female character is similar to Haruhi. The only one I can come up with is Oosaki Nana from Nana.
Preview
On next week's episode: Honey sempai can't eat sweets and Haruhi in bunny suit.
Nekozawa is way too good looking, but I like him more on the manga. Despite the fact that he actually does look like Tamaki but only with a little longer hair, I think black hair suits him better.
I don't find Nekozawa to be that attractive. I think he's rather creepy with that blonde hair. He looks a lot better with the black hair.
This story is so funny! Nekozawa looks creepy either way because he always has Berzenoff with him!
ZOMG Nekozawa is afraid of Renge-san! Where is that raw dag nab it....
Partly because it's not my native language, partly because I honestly can't distinguish several of the voices, and partly because I don't really care unless it's especially jarring - nope. I really don't keep track of VAs across series. I'm more likely to notice the range of voices that particular VAs have done across series ... considerably after the fact. But a lot of anime fans I know do pay a lot of attention to who voices who.
*_______* Ive always loved Umehito(from the manga) And I was upset they left him out of episode 8 and decided to throw chapter 21 before 11 X__X but...
I love the fact that Umehito is shining brightly in this ep! XD and he's just so awesome being a Creepy guy! XDDD
Much love for this episode, ive been dying to see it! T^T
Garten, I think the main character from Beauty Pop is a lot like Haruhi where she shrugs off compliments with indifference.
lol yeah honey senpai and momiji do sound alike, i noticed that in the beginning, and when i checked they were actually from the same voice actress too ^^ and they have similar appearance too =)
and i do agree, when i read the manga, i do kinda input a "voice" to them, however, it's not as specific as to based on certain characters just like a lil image like maybe "cute voice", or "mature voice" etc.
Yay! for Nekozawa sempai and his messed up family/servants. I wonder if they'll feature his character again after this just like Renge.
As for voices, I usually don't put any attention to the actor but I do tend to notice if an actor doesn't feel 'right' for the role.
It seems I'm the only one who actually goes to Anime News Network and figures out who's the music director, who did the animation, who voice acted that guy and that person. *shrugs*
When I first heard Honey-senpai's voice I immediently claimed him to be Momiji's clone. Hint the Bunny rabbit he carries around '>> It's hard to believe Tamaki-senpai's voice actor is the same as Riku from KHII since Riku isn't as goofy as Tamaki *nods* and distinguishing the difference between Hikaru and Kaoru is easier now since Hikaru sounds like Shinn from Gundam SEED DESTINY.
Anyway, CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS EPISODE >
Ooo....that means I'm another oddball then. I take a lot of interest in the seiyuu for the anime I like/watch, and when I first heard that Ouran was going to be animated, I automatically assumed Momiji's seiyuu would be it, and ahahaha, man did I laugh when I found out I was right XD I use ANN to check mainly on seiyuu actually. I think it's pretty admirable that they can bring life into their characters, so I always check out who they are and their work. After all, voice actors/actresses are gifted people, should give them some form of respect, may it be just simply regconizing their voice.
I know Morita's seiyuu is pretty easy to regconize. I don't know, maybe it's just me but I regconize it. It's easy cuz most of the characters he voiced are silly characters, such as that guy who was obsessed with a doll that look like Midori in Midori no Hibi, that weird leader guy of the monkey group in Jubei-chan (I and II), and that annoying president in Fruits Basket. His serious voice is regconizable too, in the case of Orihime's brother from Bleach, and Amiboshi & Suboshi from Fushigi Yuugi.
Also, I'm one of the people who "assign" voices when I read manga. In most cases, I have no problem when I hear the "actual" voice in the anime, but the one exception is Detective Conan. That was quiet a displeasing case of voices.
Hmm...I was actually kind of disappointed with Maaya's Sakamoto job on Haruhi. I thought she could have done better, especially in comparison to Escaflowne =\ It's not bad, but I think she really could have done better.
Maybe I'm just too critical and meticulous =C
Am I the only one who's disappointed that Nekozawa is afraid of Renge? I thought she'll be afraid of him instead.
All of these seiyuu talks made me went to ANN and look up for Hikaru's seiyuu and I'm surprised that he's voiced by Kenichi Suzumura, who plays Kamui in X. I also didn't know that Kaoru is voiced by another actor. I thought one actor plays both role.
I like Kaoru's voice! Its very engaging! I like it more than Hikaru's voice!
What disappoints me is how they have Renge doing everything. She hardly appears in the manga as it is, and to have her take full-job on this is a bit...unsettling. Not to say she isn't my least favourite character...
As for voices I find it amusing that one of the twins has more of a kansai-ben to his speaking than the other...I could probably more specific if I tried but I'm downwind on my computer's memory systems at the moment.
In Renge's defense any person with a light can ward off Nekozawa, Hitachins' did it, and Tamaki did so in the manga. It simply comes down to who knows more about princes. My money is still on Renge because Tamaki has lost to Mori on two occasions, hopefully more to come since an undisputed Tamaki win would be undesirable. Renge has not shown up for every episode but when she does she contributes to the laughter, no one can spit instant coffee like her.
The thing that BONES seems to have been able to do that Hatori-sensei hasn't is integrating Renge without having the over all plot stray. Tamakis has been setup for final victory since he has stolen his own share of thunder, giving him undisputed masterhood of wooing women and otaku culture would make him more perfect and we don't want that since this is not factory grade shoujo nor should it be.
Having Renge-san cuts down on his perfect mystique and it would not be the same Tamaki if he doesn't have a more capable rival since the twincest is still lagging behind Mori. Tamaki is largely funny because despite his earnest nature he gets knocked down, his failings drive the comedy of the anime. If Ranka-sama had taken a liking to the Pheremone Machine I would have laid seige to BONES as I would have KyoAni for refusing to do a second season of Suzumiya Haruhi. Having Tamaki struggle to have his feelings reach Haruhi to make her go rabu rabu would give more meaning to any potential relationship than having it simply handed to them as final.
Furthermore BONES has masterfully used Renge to explain things where having any one else would have been paramount to spoon feeding, as not other cahracter can explain such things without having it come off flat and uninteresting. The reason why BONES can have more Renge is because drawing her on a pedestal constantly would waste space in a manga and make her entrance more jittery.
Besides this series has caught on with the male demographic more than I could have antcipated. BONES knows who is watching having a possible yuri-pairing an otaku spokesperson is simply to please the fans. For this I am most grateful, it lets fanboys go kyaa! with the same fervor as any fangirl. If nothing else one must concede that that bothersome Yancha ep was more bearable because Renge was the one dishing out the pain.
I have full confidence that Hatori-sensei is enjoying the anime as much as everyone else. Comparing manga to anime is a losing battle since Hatori-sensei can focus on more character development than BONES could ever hope to achieve with 26(I am hoping they don't give us a gianax ending) episodes. BONES knows how to make us laugh, Renge is the perfect otaku for the job.
I am all for more minor character involvement, I want to see Nekozawa express his gratitude for the Host Club's aid, Ranka-sama kick Tamaki around, the Zuka club to to try and woo Haruhi, and Renge to keep being as genki as she is now. We have the time let us use it to add joy to the episodes that will inevitably be condensed.
-acta est fabula plaudite
Sometimes, myself being a seiyu fan makes it hard to judge anime objectively. Similarly, I like Miyano Mamoru's voice, it's some bonus to my liking of Tamaki.
I used to not pay attention to the VAs, primarily because 1) it's not my native language, and 2) Japanese voice acting used to be so bad that all the voices just sounded like variations of the same thing. (Some VAs have been way too overused, so sometimes they really WERE variations of the same thing) Thankfully, media companies have started to cast real actors in place of dedicated VAs (who oftentimes don't really know how to act naturally, so most of what they do sounds fake) so that not only does the acting NOT grate on my ears, but I actually find the voices pleasing.
For example, you'd never guess that Miyano Mamoru, who voices Tamaki, also played Moondoggie in Eureka 7 and Kiba in Wolf's Rain. (Though from what I've read from his blog, he's very much like Tamaki himself...very goofy and VERY spastic) But hearing just how well he plays the role as an actor as opposed to a glorified DJ, I really think that Miyano is the only one who could have ever handled him correctly. As far as I'm concerned, his voice IS Tamaki's.
I can hardly wait until i can see this episode..!
As for your comments on viewers paying attention to the voice... I care very much for what I watch and how does the character sound like. Like I would love to see that anime about the bread...but backed away when hearing his voice sounding very immature and annoying.
Then again.. I watch anime for a certain seiyuu like Megumi Hayashibara.. or I love episodes with the same seiyuu as Gon and Naruto.
Well as for assigning voices to a character based on what is read.. then i wouldn't be sure.. I would complain if the voice wouldn't fit the character.. but then what can be considered as not fitting the character? It's all a mental picture I think.
Already I think I'm seeing book 3 or 4 or 5 being represented here.. how much manga of this is out in Japan so far? Wonder how will the story last.. or would they go back in the manga to push episodes like they did with this episode.. hmmm..
just wanted to say, although Tamaki is not my favorite character, his VA does an impressive job at sounding different in all his roles. He fits tono oh so well. :) I quite like Haruhi's VA too. Looking forward to the next episode~
Hunny and Momiji has the same seiyuu. :3
It's the same gal for Hunny and Momiji VA :)
Thank you so much for all the hard work that you have done in bringing us a review for each episode of Ouran. I am always looking forward to this every week.
On the topic of voice actors, I personally don't put too much attention though I do notice when a voice does not fit a certain character. The other problem I have is that most of the animes that I have been able to watch is already dubbed in English. I personally prefer the original version...
It seems like they mixed up the order of the episodes in lining up with the manga. The one with nekozawa's sister was supposed to come at the end of volume 5
Can i ask who is the seiyuu for Haruhi? From certain anime site it says Hisakawa Aya (the voice behind Yuki's character in Fruits Basket). While on Wikipedia it says Maaya Sakamoto. So who is the 'real' seiyuu for Haruhi?
Honestly I don't like haruhi's indifference, it's true that in most of the shoujo series the female characters use to feel embarrased when a hot guy declares his love, but until now, i feel that haruhi's indifference rather looks like a kind of apathy, which makes her a boring character, at least for me; c'mon, think about it, we don't know what she really wants in life, what does she likes, besides the food, we only see her face of innocent/confused/bored all the time (u_uU)
Can i ask who is the seiyuu for Haruhi?
It's definitely Maaya Sakamoto. Animage magazine has her posing with the rest of the cast in their Ouran Special feature.
what does haruhi really want in life?
well didn't she say that the reason she choose ouran high school was to become a lawyer. The school is prestigious and probably associated with a good university so graduating from there would increase her chance of getting into a good law school.
Just because she's not boy crazy does NOT equal boring or apathetic
thank you so much garten!!! :D
domo!!
O_o
btw did you mention Ouran Special feature????!!?!?!?
oooo what is it about? i don't know why but i'm so excited bout it. kekekke
Thank you very much for your detailed summary for this and other episodes of Ouran. Although I never comment before, I really appreciate your efforts in writing these.
I never did pay attention to the VAs before, but I do now, ever since I started watching two anime shows (one of them is even blogged here) solely because of a particular VA (liked one of his other non-anime work). And I am glad because I would never have picked up these shows otherwise. To tie this to Ouran, I really do like Tamaki's voice. I may start looking at his VA's other works soon.
As for this episode, I like Nekozawa better with dark hair. To me, somehow the blond hair look works for him in the manga but not here in the anime.
Haruhi, I called it 'special feature' because Animage usually showcase a particular series on the magazine. This month's showcase happens to be Ouran. So you get the usual pictures of the characters in various poses. There are also several interesting information which I wasn't aware before like birthdays and blood types. Here they are in alphabetical order:
Fujioka Haruhi
Class: 1-A
Birthday: 4th of Feburary
Star sign: Aquarius
Blood type: O
Height: 155 cm
Haninozuka Mitsukuni
Class: 3-A
Birthday: 29th February
Star sign: Pisces
Blood type: AB
Height: 148 cm
Hitachiin Hikaru/Hitachiin Kaoru
Class: 1-A
Birthday: 9th of June
Star sign: Gemini
Blood type: B
Height: 178 cm
Morinozuka Takashi
Class: 3-A
Birthday: 5th of May
Star sign: Taurus
Blood type: O
Height: 192 cm
Ootori Kyouya
Class: 2-A
Birthday: 22nd of November
Star sign: Scorpio
Blood type: AB
Height: 181 cm
Suou Tamaki
Class: 2-A
Birthday: 8th of April
Star sign: Aries
Blood type: A
Height: 183 cm
have you noticed theyre all in class A ^^
When you have watched enough anime, It's easy to know who the VA is. Usually when I watch an anime, I could easily define which seiyuu was playing what character (i.e. Saiga Mitsuki in episode 9 as the leader of Zuka club). I don't see Ueda Yuji any different...in fact, he's one of the easiest seiyuu to know..since he has done lots of famous anime character roles. Anyways back to the ep...I found Kirimi to be really cute :P However, i'm more interested in Honey-senpai's problem of not being able to eat cake next week :P
Ditto Taishi. This episode was fun and I understand that they must get it over with recurrent secondary characters such as Renge, Nekozawa or Haruhi's father before starting on the 'plat de résistance', that is: the actual members of the host club. But really I'm looking forward to the next episode because I'm way more interested in the core cast and their (mis)deeds. Plus, "Tamaki's inner theatre" image of Haruhi in a bunny suit prefigures some awesome comedic moment (I just love the interaction between Haruhi and Tamaki, the latter being so idiotic and flappable and the former so blasé).
As for Haruhi's indifference, I too find it very refreshing. I guess I'm more into the cool heroine type than the gushy-fawny one that's pretty much run of the mill.
And, CB, you read my thoughts, Haruhi also reminded me of the girl in Arai Kyoko's Beauty Pop, whereas Honey reminded me of the nail-artist guy (the one with the cap)... go figure!
in the manga ddint this episode came after the one where haruhi wnet off on vacation and th host club follwed her and then having a refreshing contest? so then if this is first when will that episode come up?
melon ~
they're all class A because of their family backgrounds and grades. Haruhi's is because she's a scholarship student. This class differentiation is mentioned quite often in the manga, especially in the volume with the teapot couple (anime ep 2) and in the one where haruhi is third in class.
can anyone tell me what is the reference of renge's "even edward dealt with a cross with will power and guts" (at least according to fansubbers). It is the scene when renge shining a flashlight on nekozawa.
Also, did Haruhi actually say that she wants to be a lawyer? I remember she said there is something she wants to do in Ouran but does she actually say "lawyer"?
this episode made me cry... snif.....
also....
neko-kun is so hot!
XD *fangirl squeal* Nekozawa is sooo hawt! *drool* I thought first "I bet that creepy guy's ugly" but then I saw this episode and I did this: 0.0 =o OMG, HE ISH TEH SMEXX XD!!!!!!!!!!
~ Neko-chan's fangirl (MINE!!!!)
hey does anyone know what's the name of that insert song before the ending theme song starts...it was on episodes 11,12 *i think, kinda forgot* but yea there's more episodes....anyways if anyone knows plz tell
yea so plz...
Nekozawa is really cute!u knw w/o the dark scray part and this episode was really cute and touching!:)
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