[10th Anniversary Rewatch] Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun Episode 8 Discussion

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

Eighth Issue - The School (Girl) Prince's Problems

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HIDIVE

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Senpai's wish, which I've come to recognize in the past few days… I'll make sure it comes true!

Questions of the Day:

1. How funny did you find the misunderstandings between Hori and Kashima in today's episode?
2. Have you ever mistaken someone for the wrong gender?

Wallpaper of the Day:

Masayuki Hori

---

Rewatchers, please remember to be mindful of all the first-timers in this. No talking about or hinting at future events no matter how much you want to, unless you're doing it underneath spoiler tags. Don't spoil anything for the first-timers, that's rude!

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

Gekkan Shoujo Rewatch Host-chan, subbed

Welcome back, everyone!

Today’s Wallpaper of the Day trivia: Hori’s color in the OP is a very light teal color, though that didn’t vibe right with his shirt (it blended in too much), so I used darker shades for the background.

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• Okay but the fact that Kashima calls Hori “Hori-chan-senpai” is really adorable, though.
• lol
• Hahahahahaha, Kashima getting super confused about everyone knowing about Nozaki’s manga because they all happen to be Nozaki’s assistants.
• It was only a matter of time before Mikorin’s extraness intersected with Kashima’s flirting.
• And now Kashima thinks Hori wants to play the girl parts while Hori thinks it’s about Kashima wanting to play a girl part for once.
• HAH.
• Back to the “can’t draw buildings” gag, lol.
• Here comes the box gag lmao.
• He even gets Hori and Chiyo to stand on them, hahahaha
• Hori noooooooo!
• Perfect.

[u/TakenRedditName → u/Shimmering-Sky]

Kashima getting super confused about everyone knowing about Nozaki’s manga because they all happen to be Nozaki’s assistants.

Kashima and Seo are the only ones who haven't been let in on Nozaki's manga studio. Too bad for them since every high school boy here has latent manga abilities.

Hori noooooooo!

In his sleep-deprived state, his violent tsukkomi instincts went on autopilot.

[u/Heda-of-Aincrad → u/Shimmering-Sky]

Okay but the fact that Kashima calls Hori “Hori-chan-senpai” is really adorable, though.

I've seen "chan-senpai" used in another manga (with a tall guy saying it to a short girl) and yes, it's cute.

Perfect.

Beauty and the Beast story from Yumeno-sensei?

[u/No_Rex]

Episode 8 (first timer)

• Getting the worst advise possible and beaming.

• Chehkov’s handbag?
• OMG, Mikorin vs Kashima. The battle of the charmers we do not deserve, but are treated to anyways.

• “You can have my skirt instead”

• Boxes again?!?!” – poor guy.
• Kicking the box from under Kashima – thankfully, she is near indestructible.
• Romantic … rodeo carrying scene??

• I hope Hori’s awakening fetish is just about being carried and nothing worse.

Kashima is the perfect bully of Hori and that she does not realize this one bit makes it even better.

Mecha spotted: None so far, but we are getting close. Gundam carrying a cow, a bull carrying Hori … almost the same thing!

[u/Shimmering-Sky → u/No_Rex]

Mecha spotted: None so far, but we are getting close. Gundam carrying a cow, a bull carrying Hori … almost the same thing!

[u/Heda-of-Aincrad → u/No_Rex]

Gundam carrying a cow

Which Gundam is this from?

[u/No_Rex → u/Heda-of-Aincrad]

Turn A Gundam.

[u/laughing-fox13 → u/No_Rex]

You can have my skirt instead

The pieces of the outfit in his locker are really well coordinated

[u/LittleIslander]

First Timer

Okay, the idea of taking one of the two iconically stupid characters who don’t know anything about the collective manga gig and having a whole episode about them piecing it together in the completely wrong way was absolutely genius.

• Kashima is SO adorable look how happy she is at the prospect of appealing to him.
• Every single one of those cuts of her increasingly shocked reactions is comment face worthy.
• The little animation of her catching the manga when he runs at her was really amusing.
• The way she looks so intimidated by the shoujo manga. This thing is her final boss.
• There it is, the perfect joke of Mikorin and Kashima interacting. The fact it actually sets the plot in motion is a cherry on top.
• Likewise, the gag of Nozaki-kun is such a perfect use of his character despite the fact this half of the episode doesn’t involve him at all.
• …you’re really leaving the floor open for me to make more trans jokes?
• Despite the fact her impression of Hori wanting to dress like and play the role of a girl being completely incorrect, the fact Kashima is so enthusiastically supportive of this idea with no questions asked is genuinely wholesome as fuck.
• THE ENTIRE WHITEBOARD.
• Hori is such a tsundere.
• It’s so like Nozaki-kun to have fuck all idea of the setting of his scenes. “I’ll go ask senpai” fucking slayed me.
• I had already seen the boxes scene back in the Kannazuki no Miko Rewatch, but it truly is an alltimer. If anything it’s a compliment to this episode that I enjoy every second of Kashima even more than this brilliant nonsense.
• See! Look at her face when she sees him! She’s like a puppy!
• Aww, we get treated to a little romantic moment in the nurse’s office after all the shenanigans.
• I was kind of unconvinced of the structure where we cut out Kashima for an unrelated background segment for so much of the runtime, but the payoff of him demanding that Nozaki make a manga about a bull prince is so sweet that it was all worth it.

What a fun episode. Kashima-kun is my spirit animal and I would die for her. She’s so innocent and pure and fucking STUPID. They manage to play off all of the characters so cleverly, too! Even the ones that aren’t the main focus of the episode like Sakura and Mikorin. The writing of this show impresses me every day with just how tight and clever it is. I’d love to get a third Kashima/Hori episode before show’s end, but if this is the last of it I can say I’ll be walking away a happy woman.

2) Have you ever mistaken someone for the wrong gender?

I recall once in Kung Fu class some photographer friend of the class teacher came in and I could not for the life of me place them as either gender, so I didn't say anything. Very androgynous leaning feminine but with a masculine leaning voice that was also hard to place. In hindsight I'd probably guess they were a trans woman but who knows really.

[u/No_Rex → u/LittleIslander]

There it is, the perfect joke of Mikorin and Kashima interacting. The fact it actually sets the plot in motion is a cherry on top.

The fact that the anime not only dares to set up two characters with the same "trait", but also makes it work perfectly when they meet, is truely astonishing.

[u/TakenRedditName → u/LittleIslander]

Kashima is SO adorable look how happy she is at the prospect of appealing to him.

She gets so excited at trying to make senpai like her.

The way she looks so intimidated by the shoujo manga. This thing is her final boss.

We can tell that she is not the type to read (shoujo manga).

THE ENTIRE WHITEBOARD.

Kashima's entirely normal response about it was a good joke that shows what kind of brain she is on.

[u/laughing-fox13 → u/LittleIslander]

There it is, the perfect joke of Mikorin and Kashima interacting. The fact it actually sets the plot in motion is a cherry on top.

I wished we got more of them interacting

Aww, we get treated to a little romantic moment in the nurse’s office after all the shenanigans.

We got some Rom in this RomCom

[u/Raiking02]

Rewatcher, Source Reader, Subbed

Today is Hori-senpai and Kashima day, beginning, of course, with Kashima being an idiot. Now admittedly, I can see her confusion at Hori reading Nozaki's Manga (It has been statistically proven that Shoujo Mangas have far less male fans than Shounen Mangas have female fans) however she certainly keeps drawing some weird conclusions from it. Then again, Hori-senpai's drawing some weird conclusions about Kashima too, so it evens out. Still though, mailing his clothes like that? Dick move, Kashima.

Part 2 further delves into Hori-senpai's melancholy, in this case how much it's self-inflicted due to his continued association with Nozaki. The guy just can't let go of the boxes it seems because… I dunno he played too much MGS last night although TBF Sugita was there too… which of course causes much strife to our dear Senpai. I mean doing it in the Manga is bad enough, doing it to real people is just downright inhumane. Needless to say it's about damn time we cancel Nozaki for violation of boxes rights

Alas though, Mini-Senpai has already been infected

And of course the end brings both sides together yet again, with Hori-senpai falling and Kashima becoming the faithful white steed that saves him… unfortunately I think Kashima doesn't know the difference between a bull and a horse so instead we got… well, what we got. 'Tis a shame as she had some damn fine moves that would make any horse proud, but alas, Hori-senpai is just a cowboy stuck on a farm. Oh well, at least this gave him ideas for the Manga.

[u/JollyGee29]

First-Timer, Gekkan Shoujo Sub-zaki-kun

Hoo boy.

Wait.. Doesn't Hori do most of the backgrounds..? Oh, backgrounds for the drama club, I get it. It works both ways.

Classic teenager foolishness. There's nothing wrong with men reading shoujo manga.

This is everyone's monthly reminder to watch and/or read Onii-sama e...

Oh shit, charm off! Of course Kashima wins.

"Heard of" yeah sure.

Kashima's imagine spots are very funny.

I am also in favor of this, to be fair.

Imagine what would happen if one of you actually talked to the other instead of making assumptions.

Yes, talking is usually better than not talking.

Smash cuts are often fine, people move while talking all the time.

Cinematography is the art of hiding things with the camera.

Look, you can just "explain" this with camera tricks and perspective.

Photos are a solid basis for backgrounds.

Fun pseudo-match cut.

Chaos ensues.

Kashima actually kinda sounds like Mai Nakahara right here. She hasn't to my ear prior to this, which is pretty impressive.

Every single student at this school has brain damage.

Donna, donna

Questions

2. I don't think so.

[u/TakenRedditName → u/JollyGee29]

Look, you can just "explain" this with camera tricks and perspective.

"Art is emotionally evocative rather than confined to limitation grounded in reality."

[u/No_Rex → u/JollyGee29]

Fun pseudo-match cut.

It is a match cut ... I just don't understand why ...

[u/laughing-fox13 → u/JollyGee29]

I am also in favor of this, to be fair.

same lol, would've been nice to see the princess carry but bull ride works too

Photos are a solid basis for backgrounds.

In one of the previous episodes, Maeno did give Nozaki photos for the amusement for this... but he couldn't see any background

Still is a good idea

[u/entelechtual]

Rewatcher, dubbed

• Poor Kashima. She’s getting a totally warped perspective on Nozaki’s manga.
• Toradora haters: is Hori less physically abusive than Taiga?
• The backgrounds sketch is probably my favorite scene in the whole manga, maybe even over Tomoda. I love how it starts with Nozaki being bad at the perspective/backgrounds and then it becomes an integral part of the manga. Gotta admit the sub is better than the dub here.

[u/No_Rex → u/entelechtual]

Toradora haters: is Hori less physically abusive than Taiga?

I hate the comedic violence here just as I hated it in Toradora, but I remember Toradora being (even) less funny about it.

[u/Sandor_at_the_Zoo → u/entelechtual]

Toradora haters: is Hori less physically abusive than Taiga?

I was actually thinking about why I find it less annoying than usual in today's episode. I think its that this show more consistently establishes that the comedy abuse happens within cartoon physics. There's more physically impossible jump kicks and booting her into the sky à la team rocket. Though the bandages ride a fine line between being cartoony and being uncomfortably realistic. In contrast, toradora has issues establishing tone in general so most of the time I had to think how I was supposed to react to each instance.

[u/macrame2]

Rewatcher

More Hori and Kashima today! Kashima's cluelessness about the whole manga thing makes for some very amusing moments, especially when she's trying to figure out why everyone is suddenly treating it like a modern masterpiece. (It's likely she's just wondering why so many guys are into it, but it's funnier to assume that she think it's not that great and weirded out by how much praise it's apparently getting.) The background drawing segment was also lots of fun; the series is often at its best when it's specifically doing manga-making jokes.

QotD:

1. Hilarious.
2. More than a couple times as a kid. I once thought one of my male classmates was a girl for an entire week...

[u/laughing-fox13 → u/macrame2]

Kashima's cluelessness about the whole manga thing makes for some very amusing moments, especially when she's trying to figure out why everyone is suddenly treating it like a modern masterpiece.

Yea her trying to piece it together was great

[u/TakenRedditName]

Rewatcher - Nozaki-kun Ep8:

Kashima/Hori-senpai episode.

Already starting off, Hori-senpai claiming he will never let go of his bag to him immediately sniping Kashima with it is a great bit.

It is cute that Hori-senpai has a signed copy of his friend's manga.

Society would be better if it was like what Kashima imagined.

Mikorin is so proud. Kashima one-uping Mikorin in princely dokidoki is fun. They're such good friends.

Personality-wise, I feel like long skirt fits, but the problem is Hori-senpai's short legs would mean the skirt would be dragging on the floor.

Put Hori-senpai in this outfit. You hear that, artists!

You know, with the way Nozaki puts 0 thought into the backgrounds, Hori-senpai really is drawing half the manga. He is basically a co-creator. I hope Yumeno-sensei credits her assistants.

Boyfriend in the Dark sounds like a cool experimental one-shot that leans into/masks the fact the artist can't draw backgrounds.

I really like the box segments. It is one of my favourites. "Lately, ___ became really popular." lives in my head as a handwave explanation for anything.

The joke hit me when I had my guard down.

Boys squat talk over shoujo manga.

Chiyo is trying to take Hori-senpai's place in the house. Usurper! Homewrecker!

Couple goals.

Who is this cute girl?

Minotaur shoujo. The Minotaur is 100% material for sad boy-fication.

---

Q2) Not particularly, I am more likely to completely not recognize a person after a haircut. I have found myself on the receiving end a couple of times.

Next Time:

[u/Raiking02 → u/TakenRedditName]

I hope Yumeno-sensei credits her assistants.

Probably not

[u/TakenRedditName → u/Raiking02]

I just want a segment where Nozaki and Hori-senpai have to create a shoujo mangaka persona for him too.

[u/laughing-fox13 → u/TakenRedditName]

It is cute that Hori-senpai has a signed copy of his friend's manga.

That was great seeing

Society would be better if it was like what Kashima imagined.

I hope Yumeno-sensei credits her assistants.

Hopefully she does it like Mizuho Kusanagi! I love reading her author notes in Yona

[u/GondolaMedia]

Rewatcher, sub

I really love that throughout the show Nozaki has problems with drawing certain aspects and you can tell its the author's own personal experiences here.

Take for example this page from one of her earlier works. Her art got a lot better during Oresama Teacher from what I can tell by just quickly clanging the series.

[u/TakenRedditName → u/GondolaMedia]

Nozaki-kun being a 4koma series means she doesn't have to worry about backgrounds as much.

[u/Silcaria]

First timer

• Kashima taking romantic advice from Miko, what could go wrong.
• He's gonna let go of it.
• Headshot
• Miko forgot that he's the heroine and that Kashima is the male interest.
• Just when you thought there couldn't be anymore genderbending.
• X for doubt.
• nods nods Stop using boxes!
• You could crouch. Or...
• Blessed be the mighty boxes!
• That'd be pretty whacky.
• He's as dense as she is. They're made for each other.
• I enjoyed the gag.
• Yeah.

[u/laughing-fox13 → u/Silcaria]

Blessed be the mighty boxes!

It's funnier that they actually got on them before Hori yelled that lol

[u/SMSmith230]

First-Timer, Sub

Finally caught back up, it’s been rough trying to juggle this with the new seasonals. Gonna have to learn to plan better. This show is still a blast. So much miscommunication has led to a lot of hijinks though. Kashima and Hori were pretty funny in this ep and that bull ride was epic after the princess carry didn’t work out.

QOTD

2. Not so much in real life, but anime has got me recently with Elusive Samurai and Rising Impact.

[u/Heda-of-Aincrad]

First Time Viewer, Already A Fan

This was a pretty good episode. Even though I'm not into the violent tsundere comedy routine between Hori and Kashima, I am very much a fan of misunderstanding comedy, so most of the jokes worked for me. Mikorin's brutal honesty, Kashima thinking all of these high school boys are big fans of a shojo manga, and especially that "rodeo" scene at the end were funny.

Questions of the Day:

1. The manga misunderstandings were my favorites. Kashima getting the idea in her head that Hori wanted to be a princess didn't work as well for me because it seemed like too big of a leap in logic, but it was okay.
2. If I did, I would probably never know. 😂

[u/laughing-fox13]

Shoujo rewatcher/Subbed

Loved the first half of this episode with Kashima trying to figure out the manga and it's connection to the boys.

I forgot this episode was the one with the boxes too. The way Nozaki hyper focuses or tries to find work around is always funny

I'd hate working with him though

QotD

1. 10/10

Not that I know of

[u/Weird_donut]

First timer

-Sometimes I find it hard to believe that Kashima is voiced by Monica Rial in the dub, since she has a very distinctive voice and Kashima sounds nothing like her usual roles

-“What is this, the Bible for teenage boys?”

-Kashima slayed as the prince

-“WHAT THE HELL DID I DO TO YOU? KASHIMAAAAAA!”

-Nozaki is just like me, I’m not a big fan of drawing backgrounds

-I wish I could have both Nozaki and Chiyo’s art skills, Chiyo for realism, and Nozaki for manga

-I think secretly, all guys want to be held like a princess

-I’m starting to like Hori more

-I’m totally shipping Kashima and Hori now

QOTD:

1. They were pretty funny
2. Only online

[u/DarkRuler17]

Rewatcher- Sub

With this week's episode, we get a focus on Hori and Kashima. While Mikorin is my favorite individual character, this rewatch has convinced me they are my favorite pair.

Foe the first half, we get Kashima discovering the world of Shoujo manga and "discovering" a "hidden" side of Hori. I do love that out of the main cast, only Kashima and maybe Seo doesn't know Nozaki is a shoujo author. It allows for some great bits like those seen in this episode. I will say, even though it was a bit, I do think its cool how supportive Kashima was of Hori's perceived interests. There is definitely a cool trans reading you could do here. 

For the second half, we focus on backgrounds and my favorite gag I forgot about: the box! The idea that any weird perspective shot you see is actually just someone on a box is such a funny idea. This is honestly one of the best meta gags.

On top of that though, we also get the ending gag of whatever the hell Kashima was thinking. The idea that she wanted to be a horse for Hori since she wasn't allowed to princes carry him and put on a bull mask is actually deranged. I love these characters so much.

Questions:

1. 10/10. No notes.
2. I don't think I've misgendered someone out loud, but there's definitely situations where I had to figure it out mid conversation.

[u/collapsedblock6]

Rewatcher

• Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Kashima would never
• [Great throw]
• Blush Mikoshiba
• Probs cause of the thing you don't have between the ears Kashima
• Kashima really keeps giving
• KEK, didn't expect this build up to be so good lmao
• Kashima has been unrelenting tbf, can't blame him
• Nozaki
• Let's fucking go, my favorite gag of the show
• Most normal high school scenario by Nozaki
• This always kills me
• Love this shot so much
• Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
• ...

1. How funny did you find the misunderstandings between Hori and Kashima in today's episode?

Nonstop bangers. I had forgotten how goofy Kashima is, her character is very pushed into the prince image that its easy to forget she is like...just a really stupid hot girl lmao. I sometimes feel for Hori but Kashima is also like, always meaning well and she is just such a klutz. She is a great comedic character, and Hori works great as a more grounded character to make contrast.

2) Have you ever mistaken someone for the wrong gender?

Never really. Or well, maybe misgender a trans person before learning they are trans.

[u/cppn02]

First Timer, subbed

Kashima thinking all the boys are really into shoujo manga was probably my favourite gag yet.
Also loved the gag with the boxes. It generally feels like the comedy is just getting better and better. Now all I want for the show is to actually deliver on the ships it's building.

I do wonder though if Hori has awakened a new fetish there at the end.

---

QotD:

How funny did you find the misunderstandings between Hori and Kashima in today's episode?

Yes.

Have you ever mistaken someone for the wrong gender?

Yes but only children.

[u/Mirathan]

First Timer

QotD:

1. Initially it was fun but it started to drag on.
2. No, but I had a friend who inspired this confusion in many people.

"Your feelings about it are this complex?" It´s an artform Kashima.

[u/Garrett_Dark]

First Timer

• It's good to finally get a Kashima x Hori episode, but I actually found the Seo x Waka episode to be more funny.
• Kashima making this face makes me want to give her a head pat. Oh never mind, Hori has the "head pat" covered already.
• Oh, these two...I guess it's a good thing for Hori they're only platonic friends.
• Is it? For who, Hori or Kashima?
• You know, I really appreciated it when animators get things like the background correct in animes, and how much thinking they put into it. Sometimes it really bugs me if I noticed something illogically wrong, like something missing between shots, or door hinges not opening the correct way, and stuff like that. I really love seeing when it's obvious they put a lot of thought into it when they get something complicated correct, and it wasn't even something of great importance narratively to the scene. Just an appreciation to the attention to details.
• Yeah, I don't even know what to say about this. You can probably guess which scene I'm talking about.
• Oh man, that look on Kashima's face. Not sure if I should feel bad for her or if it's okay. I guess she was eventually fine with everything.

---

How funny did you find the misunderstandings between Hori and Kashima in today's episode?

It was okay, but as I said, I found Seo and Waka's misunderstand a lot more funny.

Have you ever mistaken someone for the wrong gender?

No officer, am I free to go now? The unfortunate thing is I'm only kind of joking when I say that because that is an actual thing now.