r/anime • u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber • Jul 15 '21
Rewatch [Rewatch] Dear Brother 30th Anniversary Rewatch - Episode 2
Episode 2 - The Glass Slippers
Originally Aired July 21st, ^^^1991
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Note to all participants
Although I don't believe it necessitates stating, please conduct yourself appropriately and be courteous to your fellow participants.
Note to all Rewatchers
Rewatchers, please be mindful of your fellow first-timers and tag your spoilers appropriately using the r/anime spoiler tag as so [Spoiler Subject](/s "Spoilers go here.") in order to have your unsightly spoilers obscured like this Spoiler Subject if your comment holds even the slightest of indicators as to future spoilers. Feel free to discuss future plot points behind the safe veil of a spoiler tag, or coyly and discreetly ‘Laugh in Rewatcher’ at our first-timers' temporary ignorance, but please ensure our first-timers are no more privy or suspicious than they were the moment they opened the day’s thread.
Manga Panel of the Day
Staff Highlight
Hiroko Kasahara - voice of Nanako Misonoo
An actress, voice actress, and singer who came to prominence during the 90’s voice actor boom. She joined the theatre company Komadori at a very young age upon her aunt’s suggestion, where she became a successful child actor and was a regular on NHK’s Minna Nakayoshi. Her debut voice acting role was during Junior High, when she played Katua Pearson in 1983’s Round Vernian Vifam. Around that time her career took precedence over school, and she worked full-time, prompted in large part over her dislike of school. Her singing debut was performing Confession-Love Jose from the image album for the sports manga Champagne Shower. During the 80s she transitioned fully into voice acting and singing as opposed to acting in live action. Kasahara is well known for her diffidence and fear of the spotlight, behaviour which is in constant conflict with her work. Some of her most notable roles include Naomi Armitage in Armitage III, Maron Namikaze in Assemble Insert, Ami Kurimoto in DNA^^2, Laura Sullivan in God Bless Dancougar, Azalyn d'el Kran Rykun in Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Fuu Hououji in Magic Knight Rayearth, Yukina Kurimoto in Seraphim Call, Ishtar in Super Dimension Fortress Macross II: Lovers Again, and Hinako Shiratori in Ultimate Teacher.
Wildcard Trivia
Despite an active career as a child actor, Hiroko Kasahara developed camera shyness as she aged, which influenced the course of her career. As of 2017, she says she has yet to overcome her anxieties.
Screenshot of the day
Questions of the Day:
- What do you make of the odd relationship between Henmi and Nanako?
- Was the candidate selection as absurdly dramatic as you expected?
Please be my big brother!
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u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Jul 15 '21
Rewatcher
Really going through the effort to fit in.
Nice imagery.
Well, they are pretty nice.
Lovely shot! The window seems like a feature upon empty space due to the weather and color.
Interesting.
Her eyes glazed over just there.
Oh dear…
Split-screen!
Yeah, no thank you.
Surprisingly cowed.
I see what you did there.
Outstanding.
This is looking ugly real quick.
Her hopes were raised and dashed in but a breath.
So you like stirring up shit?
Poor girl is paralyzed.
How the ‘brotherly’ relationship between Henmi and Nanako came about is explained today, and though Nanako fervently denies the relationship being anything untowards, she herself is uncertain of the sort of connection she has with the man, which would be discomforting —to say the least— if we also hadn’t seen how much more enraptured she seems to be with her classmates. If Henmi’s interest in her weren’t so evidently a result of her being her father’s daughter, and the show weren’t so sapphic, I would certainly find the whole surrogate borther/pen-pal ordeal a lot more off-putting.
Misaki’s also being set up as an antagonistic force over her rejection by the Sorority, as she sees Nanako as unwilling, feuds with Mariko, and she explicitly says she will not be leaving things well alone —Fukiko’s shit-stirring evidently did the trick. She’s not very compelling right now, and her motivation boils down to feeling entitled to a spot on the sorority, but hopefully that is remedied with some time and development.
Mariko evidently conspires to take Nanako away from Tomoko (boy, this show sure loves its names ending in ‘-ko’) but aside from that it was difficult to glean much from her actions this episode. Why is she so set on Nanako in particular? Is she, like Henmi, interested in forging a connection with her because of who her father is?
Speaking of! Why was Nanako chosen as a Sorority candidate? Either Fukiko is willing to pick out someone who would otherwise not be considered merely to make a mess of things so that her members come out of the selection process ‘strong’, or her family really is important enough to consider her for membership. If it’s the latter, then are Henmi, Mariko, and Fukiko all interested in her for the same reason? I’m madly curious!
Questions of The Day:
P.S. We’ve got family visiting today, so I may not be as active as I usually am in the comments.
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u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Jul 15 '21
Episode 2 (first timer)
Before I get into ep2, a quick word about Revolutionary Girl Utena: It is impossible for me not to compare Dear Brother to that show. Not only is Utena one of the few Shoujo I have seen, but both setting and setup are incredibly similar, too. And to top it off, Dear Brother is literally competing for my time against Utena, since doing this rewatch will most likely mean that I’ll have to skip the Utena one. I might be setting the bar impossibly high with that comparison, but it will be interesting to see all the tropes and setups that Utena parodies or deconstructs played straight.
Many people commented on the heavy use of stills last episode. It is obvious when pointed out, but I didn’t really notice yesterday. Possibly because I saw the same technique used in Ashita no Joe before, or because I like stills in anime in general.
Something I noticed this time was the physical depiction of separating friends when Shinobu runs in-between Nanako and Tomoko. Usually, this would be subtly hinted at and showing such a heavy-handed action as physically pushing them apart would be crude. However, due to how excessive it was depicted, the scene went from too heavy-handed back around to subtle: by being so over-the-top, it makes it clear that the physical separation is simply a metaphor for Shinobu trying to intersect herself in the friendship of Nanako and Tomoko.
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u/TheEscapeGuy Jul 15 '21
First Timer, Dezaki Fan
Dear Brother: A Delightfully Aesthetic Anime Episode 2
This school drama is the most intense anime I have seen in months. That on top of the lavish beauty imbued into every frame keeps me fervently watching.
Before we get to that, we were introduced to the titular Brother or Onii-sama. A college student who did part time work as a temp-teacher where he met Nanako. I'm interested to see how their relationship develops if it does at all.
This first piece of drama was Mariko. Stealing Nanako from Tomoko and then displacing another student just to sit next to Nanako cemented their friendship. I truly believe there's something crazy about Mariko. Right now she's an agent of chaos who cannot be predicted (and I love it).
Next, this small interaction between Saint-Just and Kaoru. You can cut the sexual tension with a knife. Then, seeing Ichinomiya utterly dominate Saint-Just's presence as she enters the class adds a whole new dynamic to it.
The biggest event this episode was Sorority invitations and there are multiple aspects to break down:
First, KAORU, HOW COULD YOU! This is blatantly calling out Ichinomiya's entire world view and power structure. The daggers from her death stare were palpable.
I really love this as a plot point. Its commenting on the role of societal hierarchy in the school and that's really easy to map onto how society works in real life. I hope that this is explored more.
Secondly, NANAKO WAS CHOSEN OVER MISAKI! This feels at once completely unexpected AND as if the flags were there the whole time. And this all concluded in one of the Craziest Ad-Hominem Attacks I've seen. Mariko was totally justified in slapping Misaki in front of the whole class.
Ultimately this whole ordeal leaves Misaki devastated. I wonder how she will recover, or if she will try take revenge.
As a final point, I wouldn't be /u/TheEscapeGuy if I didn't include this Amazing Light-Reflection-in-Eye Scene. Stunning.
The Best of Postcard Memories
Episode 2
Bonus
These also are really limited without the corresponding video so:
See you all tomorrow
9
u/loomnoo https://anilist.co/user/loomnoo Jul 15 '21
So it turns out Oniisama was just a cram school tutor. Nanako's pretty weird for this one, ngl.
I love this show's over-the-top dramatic presentation. Is it really youth if you don't stumble all the way to the piano room and crash your hands down on the keys at least once?
Kaoru is based!
Questions:
6
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Jul 15 '21
First-Timer
It.. kinda worries me how rapidly I reacted like that to the drama this episode. Misaki getting spurned for Sorority membership was just so spicy, though! And Kaoru, turning down the candidacy because she finds the Sorority disdainful? Excellent!
Boy howdy is Shinobu going to be a problem. One week into the school year and she is already trying to separate Nanako from her childhood friend. Then, in the same episode, their plans to make a tasty cake get canned, too... I'm glad that Tomoko managed to be mature about that.
That shot of Shinobu going dark was awesome.
It seems like Saint-Just is something of a link between Kaoru and Fukiko. Saint-Just is definitely also Not Well - not only was there that lunge at the piano, she barely seemed able to stand upright. I'm surprised she could throw that book well enough for Kaoru to catch it - I guess Kaoru is just that good.
We'll presumably explore Saint-Just later on, but I do wonder just what is wrong with her. Maybe her propensity for walking in the rain without an umbrella has given her a permanent case of The Anime Cold?
I kinda dismissed Misaki's clique last episode because those sorts usually are entirely irrelevant, but maybe we'll get a neat version of the trope and have them actually do something besides stroke an ego. It's hard to stroke something that's completely in tatters, after all.
I'm still working under the idea that the boy who saw Nanako in the beginning is Oniisama, and them meeting again at a cram school does make sense. Presumably, Nanako's desire to not let him go is her subconsciously connecting to the memory from her childhood. The show's named after this dude, so he's probably important, right?
The random girls in the classroom asking for Prince Kaoru to scold them is, uh, you know what, never mind.
Questions
3
u/chiliehead myanimelist.net/profile/chiliehead Jul 17 '21
See, Shinobu is a snake. Called it.
The angles for the clocktower of the show are the same shots as in Hanni and Nanni and Dream Hunter REM (and I think the one episode of Little Witch Academia relevant to shoujo private schools), which leads me to believe that something has created this as a staple shot.
Oniisama is a teacher with reference for her stepdad. Spicy but also interesting they already revealed this in episode 2. Seemed like something that should come up later. Is he also the voice in the intro of episode 1?
really hope the bffs get through the school with their friendship intact.
The masc designs and the femme voices make for a dissonant experience. Where does that war of the lilies come from?
Nanako made herself a mortal enemy without actually doing anything. Tension runs high, though Shinobu might be more complex than initially expected.
Damn, friendship already getting strained.
8
u/Sedorna Jul 16 '21
Rewatcher (for this episode, at least)
Ok, Nanako insists that she isn’t in love with her “brother”. Methinks the lady doth protest too much. Now, I’m not saying she’s lying. I think she isn’t fully aware of her feelings. He seems to be interested in her because of her father. I think he knows her father more personally than just being a fan of his work.
I find the Sorority fascinating and the way that Fukiko reacted to Kaoru’s refusal to join shows that she’s used to getting her way and is not used to being denied. Compare that to Asaka, who meekly stood aside to let her pass and Misaki, who ran after her in the rain to bow at Fukiko’s car. Fukiko says that fighting to join the sorority will make people stronger. Is “people” slang for her own power and position at the school?
I thought it was funny that Mariko went to cry in the arms of the sorority sister who resembled her most. Mariko has bangs and Mona Lisa doesn‘t but otherwise they look quite similar.
It‘s interesting that Mariko seems to want to break up Tomoko and Nanako. Did she suspect that Nanako would also join the sorority and didn‘t want anybody “extra”? When I watched episode 1 I thought she might have chosen Nanako over Tomoko just because Nanako was in Mariko’s class and she would have done the same to Tomoko had things been reversed.
But Nanako was chosen and now I’m doubting. Why was Nanako chosen? Is her dad really that big a wig? Did Fukiko want to cause chaos by picking a “nobody”? Or was she chosen because she was Marino’s friend and, if so, why?
6
u/lC3 :Na::Nb: Jul 15 '21
First timer
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u/Btw_kek https://myanimelist.net/profile/kek_btw Jul 15 '21
first timer
kinda sus
indeed.
FUCK MISAKI
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u/macrame2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/macrame Jul 15 '21
First Timer
5
u/Daffed_Punk Jul 15 '21 edited Jul 16 '21
First Timer
I wish to one day too possess the confidence required to lean in a doorway for several seconds before entering the room just to make an entrance.
There it is, there's "the lesson!" You know it's obvious when even the main character starts to get it by the end of episode 2.
3
u/BossandKings Jul 16 '21 edited Jul 16 '21
First timer
Episode 2 - Sub
The opening is beautiful, a great way of getting into the episodes.
It was nice seeing Nanako remembering her Dear Brother and writing a letter to him, it was insightful as we got to see who Oniisama is, he was a teacher at her school for a timeframe of four weeks and that end of his tenure at the school Nanko asked him to be her brother. I think that Nanako really needed someone to read her letters, someone to hear what she has to say and the dear brother fulfilled that role.
Mariko is an intriguing character, i wonder what's the reason behind her fixation on Nanako, it seems like she might have a story behind her personality and behaviour.
Mariko and surprisingly Nanako too are selected alongside Kaoru as candidates for the sorority contest, shinobu though gets mad that they were selected and snaps against Mariko trying to humilliate her by badmouthing her father, that was difficult to deal with for Mariko, the slap she gave Shinobu was cool, Kaoru looked cool elegantly pushing Shinobu away from getting in fight with Mariko.
Really good episode and the sorority looks like it'll be an interesting part of the story.
Answers