Mei-chan no Shitsuji Thoughts
Sep. 26th, 2011 12:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaI’ve been going through a bit of a drama slump. I watched the first two episode of Lie to Me and was meh. I started the first episodes of both Queen of Reversals and Jade Palace Lock Heart but didn’t even finish them. So I decided to try a Japanese series and ended up watching all of Mei-chan no Shitsuji in a couple days.
It’s a very cute, if also silly, series. The concept – heiresses who go to a private school and have their own butlers who are completely devoted to them – is pretty cracky, and if the genders were reversed I think it would have bothered me so much I wouldn’t have watched but as it was it didn’t actually bother me. I liked all the characters and thought this show had a very good supporting cast. Azumi was one of my favourite characters, Rika and Miruku were great as well, and I shipped Fujiko/Nezu and Rika/Aoyama. In fact I think the supporting cast was one of the highlights of the series.
I liked the Mei/Rihito relationship a lot as well. One issue I did have with both Mei and Rihito was how... passive they could be. Mei runs away multiple times in the ten episodes and Rihito gives up at one point and I kind of just wanted to shake them. I liked Kento but the Kento/Mei/Rihito love triangle didn’t work for me as well.
Some short episode thoughts:
Episode 4
• I like Kento, he’s really sweet and he loves Mei a lot and is clearly going to get his heart broken, but that doesn’t stop me from being really amused by his jealousy.
• I loved Mei inviting Tami to sleepover so she wouldn’t be alone with Rihito.
• I loved this moment:
Shinoba: Because of this you are saddened and lonely. Allow me to comfort you.
[Shinoba moves in to kiss her. Mei stomps on his foot]
Mei: You’ve got to be kidding. I won’t be so polite next time.
• One thing I don’t understand – if Mei has feelings for Rihito wouldn’t it be better for her to have someone else as a butler so she could date him?
Episode 5
• I loved Izumi and her trying so hard to help Mei. First with studying so she wouldn’t fail the exam – “I’m angry! You will pass the test and remain in this place! ... Mei! You can’t lose! (she starts shaking Mei) I will fight this too.” – second when she begged and pushed the rest of their classmates into signing a position to stop her from being punished. I love her and her friendship with Mei.
• I love Miruku as well. This is the first episode that we really get to know who and she is awesome. I liked her refusing to eat lunch with Shiori (and her scorn with Mei’s naivety) and her excitement at the aquarium/amusement park. I loved her confrontation with Shiori at the end – “Stop pretending. ... You have a strong desire to dominate others. I will not allow you to achieve your goals.” Awesome. She’s not only book smart but smart about people as well. The final scene of her helping Mei studying was adorable.
• “Then you are completely unqualified to be a butler.” – Shinoba as he STROKES RIHITO’S FACE! Holy slashiness.
• “As long as I get him back even if it means I have to destroy him.” – Shiori. Wow, she really is crazy.
Episode 6
• “Mei. (grasps her hand) Lets be best friends from now on because both of us fell into a forbidden love.” – Fujiko. Hee. But at the same time it’s a bit sad. I think she just really wanted a friend that she feels could understand her.
• Things that made me laugh:
- Tami bringing Mei blown up versions of her and Rihito’s hug to hang in her room – lol
- Yotsuya giving Miruku a book to hit Daimon with.
- When Mei enters the room to find Fujiko lying on Daimon and is asked what she thinks is going on and answers: “Wrestling?”
- Tami and Nezu dancing and having fun.
- “Fujiko do you want to join us?” – Tami
“Eh? (grin) Can I really?” – Fujiko
• I’m shipping Fujiko/Nezu now. I love them. Nezu annoyed me a little with the whole “Fujiko needs to find her true happiness” and refusal to accept what she was telling him but overall they’re great.
• Shinobu is the best at sowing seeds of discord and unhappiness by doing it with some truth and innuendo mixed up and he does it so smoothly.
• Tami trying to comfort Mei made me go aww so the reveal that not only was she working for Shiori but that she’s also just as crazy as her took me by surprise. I was disappointed because her strangeness was rather cute.
• I really liked Kento leading everyone into a revolt over the butler switch.
• Why don’t the four Sole’s have butlers? That seems weird. Don’t all the students have to have butlers?
Episode 7
• Aw everyone is searching for her because they all love Mei!
• I wish that Mei would fight back more instead of always cowering. She’s clearly not a fighter but when being attacked she could try and fight back.
• “If you didn’t come to this school neither him nor yourself would have been hurt. Everyone else wouldn’t have had to suffer either. Everything is all your fault.” – Tami. Except that while they all went through a difficult time in the end things ended up far better for them. And it was Shiori and Tami making things worse and Mei isn't actually responsible for their actions. I’m kind of annoyed that Mei fell for it. That she let it get to her so much that she tried to quit. Again.
• I really liked that when she woke up Mei’s first thought was for Kento and she wouldn’t accept Rihito telling her he was alright and had to immediately see for herself.
• Huh. Kando is kind of badass! I should have guessed it when he caught Tami’s knives when we first saw met them but I never really thought about it.
• “We’re trying to find out how to make Mei stay her.” AWW. I love how much everyone loves Mei and their attempts to figure it out were amusing. I loved that they went with bribery first, or ‘presents’, and Mei and Rihito’s expressions during their attempts to make her laugh made me LOL. The scene of everyone trying to make udon and then Mei helping them was so sweet. I love all of them.
• I was surprised that everyone didn’t try harder to force Kento to tell them more about Mei and his ideas, as her oldest friend, on how they could get her to stay. They basically ignored him at first and then when they did ask they accepted his unwillingness to help way too easily.
• I really have to wonder at the coincidence of Kento being the younger brother of Rihito and growing up with Mei. We learn later in the series that the Shibata family has always served the Hongo family as butlers so really what are the chances of the younger son growing up with a Hongo in exile? Where are the Shibata parents? Were they sent by Kintaro to leave near his son? What did Mei’s father think about Shibata Kento being his daughter’s friend?
• “Those thing which you say are normal they made me feel that’s what true beauty is. Because Mei-sama is like that. That’s why I wanted to serve you.” – Rihito.
• “Before I realised it I wasn’t a butler anymore.” – Rihito! He basically just confessed that he loves her!
• Rose vs Shiori hmm. The fact that Rose was once the Lucia makes me wonder if some of her interest in Mei is that she wants Mei to be her successor?
• “I’ll stay where you are. ... I’ll never leave you. I’m not a butler but I’ll stay by your side. I’ll always be by your side.” – Kento. Oh, Kento. He is so sweet. You’d think though that he’d try and take advantage of the fact that he isn’t her butler because according to the rules that means he could date Mei while Rihito can’t. I mean people seem to completely ignore that rule but he could have at least tried to use it to his advantage.
Episode 8
• Aw they miss her! I adore how much they love her. They even went to visit!
• Mei saying she was going on a date with Kento was kind of cruel. She knows he likes her, that she doesn’t feel the same (or so I assume) and while she was feeling pressured and seemed to have just blurted it out she should never have gone there. That said the date itself was lovely and they were pretty adorable once Mei started having fun.
• “You, who is in Mei’s heart. Mei, who is in your heart.” – Kento. Oh, Kento.
• There is a huge issue with a part of the plot and that is Rihito becoming Shiori’s butler, against his will, again. Why wouldn’t he just leave her again? I mean in his explanation to Mei he started he left Shiori’s service and being a butler and if he did it once why exactly couldn’t he do it again? That really make no character sense and thus it annoys me a lot. If they had it so that he was sent to observe Mei or something similar as the reason for why he left Shiori it would be a little more acceptable.
• Wow, the fight between Kento and Rihito – they really went at each other. I loved Rihito cradling Kento at the end and their exchange – “I can’t lose” / “Same here”.
• What is going on with Shiburo? He seemed pleased that Rihito was fighting back and he even smiled when Mei agreed to return. He is completely loyal to Shirori so is this a case of him doing what he thinks is best for her?
• Oh boys fighting over Mei – it’s her choice! That would annoy more but it’s not really about that. It’s about Kento forcing Rihito to acknowledge his feelings for Mei and force him to fight for her, and she’s pushed to watch to force her to confront her feelings and make a choice.
Episode 9
• I loved everyone brainstorming together on how to help Mei. “Seven votes for elopement.” – LOL. And they had everything all planned out and ready to go as well.
• “I put one vote for the total annihilation of the Hongo family.” LOLOL I love Mikuku ♥
• Other classes? Oh. So there are more students at the school? We’ve just never see them. Okay, that’s much better.
• “My heart, now and hereafter, will be with Mei-sama.” – Rihito. ♥
Episode 10
• I wasn’t really expecting Tami and especially Shiori to be... redeemed. I felt like Rose explaining to the class about how lonely Shiori had always been as if it automatically made everything she did suddenly less bad and then feeling all sad for her was a bit much. I didn’t really like that scene and Shinobu’s explanation of the same thing to Mei was a bit much as well though I did like his confess of love for Shiori.
I also liked that Mei’s reaction to both girls was to not only forgiving both of them but also to try and help. First, with her telling Tami “Despite what you did you’re only hurting yourself” and then accepting her as a friend again by the end. Then with Shiori her not only preventing Shiori’s suicide with a hug and pleading and promises to be there for her but also ending the series with Shiori helping her to be a better heir. It reminded me very much of Tsukino Usagi.
• How exactly is Shiori the reason Mei is where she is right now? Even if Shiori hadn’t been heir it still wouldn’t have changed Mei’s life. While I didn’t like that, or everyone showing up at the door to witness things I did like Mei pleading with Shiori to “live and find your happiness” and them crying in each others arms.
• I loved the entire class getting together to help Mei and Rihito make it to the airport in time to say goodbye to Kento.
• I liked the hint of Natsumi/Kento (with her studying to go to school in England) and of Shiori/Shinobi getting together at the end.
• I loved the kiss between Mei and Rihito and him being jealous of Kento for once. And of course everyone else would burst in right at that moment and immediately figure out what was going on. It was the perfect end for this series.
I was planning on reading the manga until I read that Mei is 12. And Rihito is 21. And there is still romance between them? Umm. No thanks. That age difference, specifically how young she is, is too much for me.
It’s a very cute, if also silly, series. The concept – heiresses who go to a private school and have their own butlers who are completely devoted to them – is pretty cracky, and if the genders were reversed I think it would have bothered me so much I wouldn’t have watched but as it was it didn’t actually bother me. I liked all the characters and thought this show had a very good supporting cast. Azumi was one of my favourite characters, Rika and Miruku were great as well, and I shipped Fujiko/Nezu and Rika/Aoyama. In fact I think the supporting cast was one of the highlights of the series.
I liked the Mei/Rihito relationship a lot as well. One issue I did have with both Mei and Rihito was how... passive they could be. Mei runs away multiple times in the ten episodes and Rihito gives up at one point and I kind of just wanted to shake them. I liked Kento but the Kento/Mei/Rihito love triangle didn’t work for me as well.
Some short episode thoughts:
Episode 4
• I like Kento, he’s really sweet and he loves Mei a lot and is clearly going to get his heart broken, but that doesn’t stop me from being really amused by his jealousy.
• I loved Mei inviting Tami to sleepover so she wouldn’t be alone with Rihito.
• I loved this moment:
Shinoba: Because of this you are saddened and lonely. Allow me to comfort you.
[Shinoba moves in to kiss her. Mei stomps on his foot]
Mei: You’ve got to be kidding. I won’t be so polite next time.
• One thing I don’t understand – if Mei has feelings for Rihito wouldn’t it be better for her to have someone else as a butler so she could date him?
Episode 5
• I loved Izumi and her trying so hard to help Mei. First with studying so she wouldn’t fail the exam – “I’m angry! You will pass the test and remain in this place! ... Mei! You can’t lose! (she starts shaking Mei) I will fight this too.” – second when she begged and pushed the rest of their classmates into signing a position to stop her from being punished. I love her and her friendship with Mei.
• I love Miruku as well. This is the first episode that we really get to know who and she is awesome. I liked her refusing to eat lunch with Shiori (and her scorn with Mei’s naivety) and her excitement at the aquarium/amusement park. I loved her confrontation with Shiori at the end – “Stop pretending. ... You have a strong desire to dominate others. I will not allow you to achieve your goals.” Awesome. She’s not only book smart but smart about people as well. The final scene of her helping Mei studying was adorable.
• “Then you are completely unqualified to be a butler.” – Shinoba as he STROKES RIHITO’S FACE! Holy slashiness.
• “As long as I get him back even if it means I have to destroy him.” – Shiori. Wow, she really is crazy.
Episode 6
• “Mei. (grasps her hand) Lets be best friends from now on because both of us fell into a forbidden love.” – Fujiko. Hee. But at the same time it’s a bit sad. I think she just really wanted a friend that she feels could understand her.
• Things that made me laugh:
- Tami bringing Mei blown up versions of her and Rihito’s hug to hang in her room – lol
- Yotsuya giving Miruku a book to hit Daimon with.
- When Mei enters the room to find Fujiko lying on Daimon and is asked what she thinks is going on and answers: “Wrestling?”
- Tami and Nezu dancing and having fun.
- “Fujiko do you want to join us?” – Tami
“Eh? (grin) Can I really?” – Fujiko
• I’m shipping Fujiko/Nezu now. I love them. Nezu annoyed me a little with the whole “Fujiko needs to find her true happiness” and refusal to accept what she was telling him but overall they’re great.
• Shinobu is the best at sowing seeds of discord and unhappiness by doing it with some truth and innuendo mixed up and he does it so smoothly.
• Tami trying to comfort Mei made me go aww so the reveal that not only was she working for Shiori but that she’s also just as crazy as her took me by surprise. I was disappointed because her strangeness was rather cute.
• I really liked Kento leading everyone into a revolt over the butler switch.
• Why don’t the four Sole’s have butlers? That seems weird. Don’t all the students have to have butlers?
Episode 7
• Aw everyone is searching for her because they all love Mei!
• I wish that Mei would fight back more instead of always cowering. She’s clearly not a fighter but when being attacked she could try and fight back.
• “If you didn’t come to this school neither him nor yourself would have been hurt. Everyone else wouldn’t have had to suffer either. Everything is all your fault.” – Tami. Except that while they all went through a difficult time in the end things ended up far better for them. And it was Shiori and Tami making things worse and Mei isn't actually responsible for their actions. I’m kind of annoyed that Mei fell for it. That she let it get to her so much that she tried to quit. Again.
• I really liked that when she woke up Mei’s first thought was for Kento and she wouldn’t accept Rihito telling her he was alright and had to immediately see for herself.
• Huh. Kando is kind of badass! I should have guessed it when he caught Tami’s knives when we first saw met them but I never really thought about it.
• “We’re trying to find out how to make Mei stay her.” AWW. I love how much everyone loves Mei and their attempts to figure it out were amusing. I loved that they went with bribery first, or ‘presents’, and Mei and Rihito’s expressions during their attempts to make her laugh made me LOL. The scene of everyone trying to make udon and then Mei helping them was so sweet. I love all of them.
• I was surprised that everyone didn’t try harder to force Kento to tell them more about Mei and his ideas, as her oldest friend, on how they could get her to stay. They basically ignored him at first and then when they did ask they accepted his unwillingness to help way too easily.
• I really have to wonder at the coincidence of Kento being the younger brother of Rihito and growing up with Mei. We learn later in the series that the Shibata family has always served the Hongo family as butlers so really what are the chances of the younger son growing up with a Hongo in exile? Where are the Shibata parents? Were they sent by Kintaro to leave near his son? What did Mei’s father think about Shibata Kento being his daughter’s friend?
• “Those thing which you say are normal they made me feel that’s what true beauty is. Because Mei-sama is like that. That’s why I wanted to serve you.” – Rihito.
• “Before I realised it I wasn’t a butler anymore.” – Rihito! He basically just confessed that he loves her!
• Rose vs Shiori hmm. The fact that Rose was once the Lucia makes me wonder if some of her interest in Mei is that she wants Mei to be her successor?
• “I’ll stay where you are. ... I’ll never leave you. I’m not a butler but I’ll stay by your side. I’ll always be by your side.” – Kento. Oh, Kento. He is so sweet. You’d think though that he’d try and take advantage of the fact that he isn’t her butler because according to the rules that means he could date Mei while Rihito can’t. I mean people seem to completely ignore that rule but he could have at least tried to use it to his advantage.
Episode 8
• Aw they miss her! I adore how much they love her. They even went to visit!
• Mei saying she was going on a date with Kento was kind of cruel. She knows he likes her, that she doesn’t feel the same (or so I assume) and while she was feeling pressured and seemed to have just blurted it out she should never have gone there. That said the date itself was lovely and they were pretty adorable once Mei started having fun.
• “You, who is in Mei’s heart. Mei, who is in your heart.” – Kento. Oh, Kento.
• There is a huge issue with a part of the plot and that is Rihito becoming Shiori’s butler, against his will, again. Why wouldn’t he just leave her again? I mean in his explanation to Mei he started he left Shiori’s service and being a butler and if he did it once why exactly couldn’t he do it again? That really make no character sense and thus it annoys me a lot. If they had it so that he was sent to observe Mei or something similar as the reason for why he left Shiori it would be a little more acceptable.
• Wow, the fight between Kento and Rihito – they really went at each other. I loved Rihito cradling Kento at the end and their exchange – “I can’t lose” / “Same here”.
• What is going on with Shiburo? He seemed pleased that Rihito was fighting back and he even smiled when Mei agreed to return. He is completely loyal to Shirori so is this a case of him doing what he thinks is best for her?
• Oh boys fighting over Mei – it’s her choice! That would annoy more but it’s not really about that. It’s about Kento forcing Rihito to acknowledge his feelings for Mei and force him to fight for her, and she’s pushed to watch to force her to confront her feelings and make a choice.
Episode 9
• I loved everyone brainstorming together on how to help Mei. “Seven votes for elopement.” – LOL. And they had everything all planned out and ready to go as well.
• “I put one vote for the total annihilation of the Hongo family.” LOLOL I love Mikuku ♥
• Other classes? Oh. So there are more students at the school? We’ve just never see them. Okay, that’s much better.
• “My heart, now and hereafter, will be with Mei-sama.” – Rihito. ♥
Episode 10
• I wasn’t really expecting Tami and especially Shiori to be... redeemed. I felt like Rose explaining to the class about how lonely Shiori had always been as if it automatically made everything she did suddenly less bad and then feeling all sad for her was a bit much. I didn’t really like that scene and Shinobu’s explanation of the same thing to Mei was a bit much as well though I did like his confess of love for Shiori.
I also liked that Mei’s reaction to both girls was to not only forgiving both of them but also to try and help. First, with her telling Tami “Despite what you did you’re only hurting yourself” and then accepting her as a friend again by the end. Then with Shiori her not only preventing Shiori’s suicide with a hug and pleading and promises to be there for her but also ending the series with Shiori helping her to be a better heir. It reminded me very much of Tsukino Usagi.
• How exactly is Shiori the reason Mei is where she is right now? Even if Shiori hadn’t been heir it still wouldn’t have changed Mei’s life. While I didn’t like that, or everyone showing up at the door to witness things I did like Mei pleading with Shiori to “live and find your happiness” and them crying in each others arms.
• I loved the entire class getting together to help Mei and Rihito make it to the airport in time to say goodbye to Kento.
• I liked the hint of Natsumi/Kento (with her studying to go to school in England) and of Shiori/Shinobi getting together at the end.
• I loved the kiss between Mei and Rihito and him being jealous of Kento for once. And of course everyone else would burst in right at that moment and immediately figure out what was going on. It was the perfect end for this series.
I was planning on reading the manga until I read that Mei is 12. And Rihito is 21. And there is still romance between them? Umm. No thanks. That age difference, specifically how young she is, is too much for me.
