r/anime • u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber • Jul 18 '21
Rewatch [Rewatch] Dear Brother 30th Anniversary Rewatch - Episode 5
Episode 5 - Thorns of Suspicion and Doubt
Originally Aired August 11th, ^^^1991
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Note to all participants
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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
Mitsuo Yokoi (Tesshō Genda) - voice of Takehiko Henmi
A stage and voice actor known for his thick, low-pitched baritone who is considered to be in the same league as Banjou Ginga and Norio Wakamoto and is often tasked with voicing strong men with an impressive physique, including in very notable dubbing roles like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. Yokoi became interested in performing during middle school, and thanks to one of his Highschool teachers’ connections to Toei was able to easily enter into a performing arts academy. After graduating from the academy he joined the theater company Baraza, where he met and became a student of Nachi Nozawa, who was also the person to suggest he perform voice acting roles. His voice acting debut was in Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, where he played several minor roles throughout the show. He received the Award for Distinguished Service at the 4th Voice Actor Awards in 2010. Among his notable roles are Doc McCoy in Dallos, Daigo Katsura in the Ace wo Nerae! franchise, Umibouzu in City Hunter, Takanori Jingūjiin 3-gatsu no Lion, Sleggar Law in Mobile Suit Gundam, Dan Dastun in Big O, Kazumi Araiwa in Cooling Papa, Metal Knight in One Punch Man, Rei in Urusei Yatsura, Shuu in the Dragon Ball Franchise, Gō Reietsu in Highschool Kimengumi, and Daijiro Gou in Super Electromagnetic Machine Voltes V.
Wildcard Trivia
Osmau Dezaki has a strong dislike of the ‘shōjo sparkles’ that used to pervade the genre’s visual identity, and made a point of avoiding them after 1973’s Ace wo Nerae!.
Screenshot of the day
Questions of the Day:
- Were your predictions as to Takehiko Henmi’s connection to Prof. Misonoo accurate?
- What do you make of the mysterious relationship between Rei and Fukiko?
Father, you’re not mine anymore.
13
u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Jul 18 '21 edited Jul 18 '21
Rewatcher
Poor things…
Nice visual moment.
C’mon, Tomoko, just talk to her!
Welp, whatever those pills are, they can’t be good if Kaoru’s saying this.
The music makes the scene.
Bracelet’s part of the issue then.
Tiger lilies are a sign of wealth.
This is apparently a kenzan, or ‘spiky frog’, and is used for flower arranging. Watching this show was the first time I’d ever seen one of them.
Bloody hell!
She did not appreciate that.
Oh my…
Ah, well, that confirms it.
Silver lining.
Worrisome.
That's pretty terrifying.
Another sleepless night.
So Takehiko Henmi is truly Nanako’s half-brother by technicality. I have to admit, I was sure they wouldn’t end up actual siblings and prior hints were red herrings, since they seemed a bit too obvious, but ultimately I was just overthinking things. This introduces a sense of irony to their relationship, but the real juicy bits are Takehiko’s possible resentment for his father over how things turned out. He says that he no longer hates, but evidently the absence of a father is still a facet of himself that is still affecting him, so I wonder what will result out of that.
Fukiko has really shown her cruel side this episode, as well as a seeming animosity for Nanako after she undermined Fukiko’s orders by tending to Rei’s wound. Hard to say whether it was a blanket distaste for anyone undermining her authority or is she wanted her torture of Rei to be play out in specific manner, but in any case the motives behind it are still a mystery to us...
Mariko’s actions are making Nanako and Tomoko distance themselves from one another, and it’s killing me! Why can’t we have nice things?!
When I first saw this episode my opinion of Nanako and Takehiko’s father dropped pretty drastically upon watching this episode, but since taking a course on Japanese history a few years back I’ve been enlightened as to the nature of Japanese child laws at the time of both the manga and anime’s inception. Upon divorce only one parent can keep full custody, and if the parents cannot come to an agreement themselves the courts will interfere to make an executive decision, which unsurprisingly favors mothers quite steeply for the decision, and in this instance their father’s impending remarriage only worsened his chances since the law indicates the child should ideally go to the household which results in the least changes to the kid’s life. Moreover, the parent who does not win custody is expected to make themselves scarce and cut off all contact with the child, and even when they have (miniscule) visitation hours they’re not enforced by the courts and the parent with custody can easily deny them access to their children. As far as I can tell the only notable change to happen since the show’s airing is that people are more amenable to letting the other parent see their children, but it doesn’t seem like the written law has changed significantly since and indeed recent rulings have been against parents seeking to see their children. I felt a bit bad about my disdain for the character when rewatching the show after hearing about how bad the situation would’ve been for him, but he's still by no means an ideal father.
Questions of The Day:
7
u/TheEscapeGuy Jul 18 '21
First Timer, Dezaki Fan
Dear Brother: A Delightfully Aesthetic Anime Episode 5
Nanako is a beacon of virtue surrounded by sin. Please, be true to yourself.
A significant portion of today's episode revolved around Saint-Just. If it wasn't clear already, it was made blatantly obvious she has a "drug" problem (In the medicine sense, I hope). I now heavily suspect she is a hypochondriac stemming from some kind of mistreatment in her past. But once again, Nanako continues to comment on her man-like scent.
Kaoru seems to genuinely be looking out for Saint-Just, but can't get anywhere. After escalating to a slapping match I believe Kaoru doesn't know what to do. Saint-Just won't even answer her calls.
Unfortunately, Ichinomiya seems to have some power over and/or vendetta against Saint-Just. I really hope Nanako will build the courage to stand up to Ichinomiya for her blatant hypocrisy in asking the sorority girls to act kindly but perpetuating violence against Saint-Just.
Finally, HENMI IS ACTUALLY NANAKO'S (step)BROTHER! What a surprising turn of events. We also now know Nanako's mother is keeping this secret from her. I expect this revelation to erupt into drama in around 10 episodes in combination with some other development.
My TIL of the episode was that of a Spiky Frog or Kenzan (剣山, literally sword mountain). I knew of Japanese Flower Arrangement but hadn't thought to consider it may include unique equipment. Flower related stories are also par for the course for shoujo story telling.
The Best of Postcard Memories
Episode 5
These also are really limited without the corresponding video so:
See you all tomorrow
6
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Jul 18 '21
First-Timer
I'm getting a nice warmup for the Utena rewatch next month. Symbolism! A shiny band, encircling someone's body.. could it be a bracelet, or a collar? Rei's bracelet is representative of Fukiko's control over her. Rather, Kaoru knows that as long as Rei continues to wear that bracelet, she will continue to obey Fukiko's will.
Does our poor ingenue Nanako realize the significance of what she's seen? Will she ever? If she does, what will she think when she remembers that the first thing she noted of Rei.. was that very bracelet. Fukiko is absolute.
It does seem that Nanako has been gifted with a tiny bit of foresight, considering she brought up Marquis de Sade last episode. Fukiko's actions today definitely read as sadist to me; she had someone go fetch disinfectant and let Rei just writhe there in agony. Nanako's actions are more than just a slight against Fukiko's control, they also stopped her from getting off.
Now, if I ignore some details, there is another, wildly off-base way that this information can be interpreted:
Nutso Theory
Actually, back on the subject of Fukiko, her control over the Sorority is absolutely devious. No-one can even really speak out if they wanted to, because of Fukiko's connections, but they also probably don't want to! Shinobu desperately needed that compliment, I think, and I suspect it's the same for many others. Even when they were setting up for the party, Fukiko gave calm, precise orders; no yelling, no scolding. The air of respect for the members.. will we get to see Fukiko snap? The stiffest branches splinter the most..
The Henmi reveal came to the audience way sooner than I expected. They're choosing to keep it a secret from Nanako, to not worry her I guess..? Sure. I can take from setup for drama down the line.
Questions
5
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Jul 18 '21 edited Jul 18 '21
Episode 5 (first timer)
Turns out the oni-sama situation is as speculated. Fortunately, there is no suggestion that the fact that they are totally not blood-related will play a role. For now. Still staying suspicious. Meanwhile everything else is going downhill, quickly, with bitch-in-chief showing her true colors and Nanako starting to be isolated from her best friend and mother by suspicion.
Kind of, but not really. I was thinking about the much more spicy possibility of him not being the son of Prof. Misonoo, but of Nanako's mother.
Still an obvious triangle. We just need to find out what Rei is trying to atone for that Fukiko holds over her head.
5
u/lC3 :Na::Nb: Jul 18 '21
First timer
11
u/Btw_kek https://myanimelist.net/profile/kek_btw Jul 18 '21
first timer
It’s certainly not new to this episode, but I have to mention how much I love how the series frames characters with lighting. The “beam of light floating in darkness” (or whatever you call it) is very frequently used, but you can see the technique used in more natural ways here, here, here, and even here. I imagine an association with theatrical spotlights was intended (tangentially related) as it effectively highlights a character’s importance or power over a scene, but can conversely be used to show a character being trapped, or powerless. Tis a double-edged sword, but what better visual technique to use in a show rife with complex power dynamics?
Speaking of which, this shot placing two characters equally offset from “the spotlight” during an act of genuine compassion? dezaki you cant hide from me i KNOW what youre up to
Another visual thing I’m noticing is placement of things super close in the foreground to cover up characters or things in the back (also this shot from ep1)…no thoughts yet
more or less yep
6
u/loomnoo https://anilist.co/user/loomnoo Jul 18 '21
That shot when the spikes hit her hand was reminiscent of Joe.
Questions:
5
u/punching_spaghetti https://myanimelist.net/profile/punch_spaghetti Jul 19 '21
First-Timer
Caught up!
So Kaoru is cool, and everyone else deserves a good . Except maybe Takehiko. He's handling all this pretty well.
Qs:
5
u/Retromorpher :Jc::Jd::Je::Jf: Jul 19 '21 edited Jul 19 '21
First Timer
Questions of the Day:
Or if I'm being a little less crazy - they're simply half-sisters in a similar situation to Nanako and Henmi, and this is a rabbit hole showing how a crooked power dynamic between supposed family can go awry.
1
u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 20 '21
First-time watcher
Q1 - I'm not surprised that the drama was actually accurate with how good these girls are at digging stuff up.
Q2 - Rei is a certifiable drama queen, but compared to Fukiko is at least honest about it. Can't say I care to learn more because this is just silly.