Same Ikoma-kun, same!

What’s that? There is no Ikoma-kun you say?

Exactly!!!

Seriously, remember when we spent years crying out for another danso episode? I most certainly do! And while the target of our cries let us down (I am looking at you AKBINGO!), Nogizaka was there for us and to date, I have even forgotten how many danso episodes we have gotten in between NOGIBINGO, Nogizakatte doko and Under Construction! All I know is that in the current season of NOGIBINGO, in less than 10 episodes we have already gotten two separate Danso episodes!! Like dear Nogizaka, are you after my own heart?! If not for Yukirin, you would definitely have all of it but as things stand, I can’t help but only give you just a portion of it!

Yes, that is how strong my love for Yukirin is. We are all wondering what in the name of all that is Holly AKB is doing currently and I am not blind to that. But I just love Yukirin so much that AKB has to come first, no matter the circumstances! Well, within the Yasusu project that is. If we are including others, well, there is Tokyo Girls’ Style and T-ara across the seas who are well above them.

But it’s not just the shows that has got me loving Nogizaka a lot more these past moments. I have begun to notice a lot of other girls, and okay, so maybe the shows have more to do with it as I have noticed these girls on said shows, but despite being there for a while now, there are some girls that are getting to me recently and I just can’t help but fall for them. Examples 2^nd Gen Nogizaka members Miria, Ranze and Kitano and then there are the Keyakizaka girls that I haave already mentioned before; Ozeki, WRika, Imaizumi, Neru, Suzumoto, Uemura, Shiida and Koike.

Now take all that new blossoming love and add in a large dose of Danso and yuri and great music and really, I am proud to have resisted the temptation to fully convert over to the 46 branch family! Oh, how I wish I had the time! My muse is going crazy with all these dreams of fic material I keep having! Mostly they have to do with Ikoma-kun, which is obvious since she is my Nogi Kami and have had quite a few ideas of her and the new crushes since that episode of Under Construction where the girls were pitching ideas for an out-door event and Ikoma-kun suggested Mountain Climbing the Revenge which shockingly got support from all the un-expected members. Most shocking was Minami-chan, who despite having not had a good time the first time when they went to Mount Fuji, she wanted to go again once again showing her support for her husband! (I am an avid shipper in case you could not tell! Ikominami are the Mayuki of Nogizaka). But then Ranze, Miria and even Asuka were also up for some more mountain climbing and I am sitting here wondering when the hell are we going to get that episode!!! Get to it Nogizaka, before the girls start leaving!

But once again I have got and got side-tracked! Getting back to business, we once again got such a lovely Danso episode! And while I was conflicted about Ikoma-kun not participating I kind of didn’t want to do without her reactions as well so…Oh well, the two boys we got were perfect in Waka-sama and Kazumin. And I know that Nogizaka is just playing coy with us and that they are cooking up something for us. Just you wait, one of these days we are going to get another Ikominami, or even Ikomiria, especially now after that episode where Miria kind of showed a bit of her love for Ikoma-kun, who seems to be loved by the 2^nd gens quite a bit. Heh, now that I remember, in that episode Miona didn’t waste the opportunity to remind us that she was the first 2^nd gen to get the Iko-love! And since Ranze already centred a song, I can see Miria being next, or maybe they want to keep pushing Ranze, or maybe they will remind us that Miona is the Ace of 2^nd gen, who knows! Whatever the case maybe, I am waiting!

And I just went and got distracted again, didn’t I!

So, we had three segments, or three ships in our terms. There was the threesome in Manatsu/Waka-sama/Reika, then there was the looked forward to Nanase/Kazumin and finally we had yet another threesome in Waka-sama/Asuka/Kazumin. Not to beat around the bush, this was a competition, as it usually is and the winner was only non-threesome couple which made me feel better about myself in that I truly do not like threesomes in any shape or form! Butt on the other hand, I was kind of disappointed! I mean I am one of those that used to ship Kazumin and Nanase, before I found out they were just friends (no, really) and before I knew Kazumin was in love with Nojo and before I discovered that Ikoma-kun would kiss the ground Nanase walks on. Speaking of, Ikoma-kun was the one that did not vote for Nanase out of the three, surprising me but also making me proud at the same time.

Let’s start with that couple actually! Just as Ikoma-kun said, and probably why she did not vote for Nanase and Kazumin, their story was just too clichéd! You called what was going to happen next a mile away! But then you have to remember that it is that cheesiness that most people love! It is why there are more romance and drama movies than any other medium. Nothing new can happen in those plots anymore and yet people drink them up like some super special chocomochalatteespresccino drink. You knew Kazumin was going to glance towards Nanase before he even did it, you knew he would grab Nanase’s hand to prevent her from leaving before he had even thought it. Now not to say it wasn’t good at that. No, despite knowing that it still hit home, which I guess is why everyone loves these types of movies despite seeing something similar countless times before. It is about what it makes you feel in that moment.

Kazumin and Nanase were really great in it. Nanase especially so. Her acting experience was put to good use when they gave her more body language than actual words and you could really feel this secret history between them two at that high school re-union after years apart. Still, that being said, it is still a cliché and I would not have gone for it out of the three couple. The other that I would not have voted for out of the three is the first ship with Manatsu, Waka-sama and Reika!

Yes, yes, we get it already! You want us to drop the Waka-sama/Reika love story but just like many times before, your efforts are in vain! We shall board that ship until it sinks to the bottom of the emptiness of Space! In other words, never!! Play off it however much you want! Push Waka-sama and Nanase in your PVs, pair Waka-sama with someone else in your Danso episodes, have Waka-sama dump Reika as many times as you want like you did here, we won’t bite!

This is the reason why I would not have gone with this ship. You did not have to step on Reika and Waka-sama’s love for this! And just when we got Reika to actually confess to Waka-sama they go and turn her into a bitch that does not deserve the love! If they had kept her love as one-sided, in that she loved Waka-sama but instead kept it to herself in favour of her best friend Manatsu and only show her broken self as she watches her friend and secret love be happy, it could have been No1 for sure! Add in the fact that Manatsu was actually tolerable in this and we would have had an Oscar nominee on our hands! But alas!

Which brings me to what should have won this tourney, especially given that this is a Danso episode! Not only did we get both Waka-sama and Kazumin for the grand slam, they were fighting over our main girl in all their manliness! Like, what the heck Judges! How could you not vote for this ship?! Maybe it had something to do with Asuka’s choice? Putting aside the fact that she chose Kazumin over Waka-sama, I mean let’s be honest here, Waka-sama is SAMA but then again maybe that twist was the point? But then wouldn’t you have had Kazumin be the under-dog instead of having them be equal?

In which case, I guess the reason they did not win is that Asuka made the wrong choice! Not in choosing Kazumin over Waka-sama but rather in choosing one of them. Seriously I thought she would either not pick one in that she did not have those kinds of feelings for them (which is understandable in that they grew up together and there is a tendency to develop feelings in those situations but they usually get nowhere) or at the very least don’t because you love both of them equally!

I mean they were presented as being equal in all aspects so her choosing just one of them was just so un-nerving! I mean, how are they going to be after this? Even if Waka-sama showed support as he left, don’t forget that (even if I don’t think it was on purpose) we did not see his face. What feelings did he have showing? How hurt was he? Was their love worth the years of friendship in case Waka-sama decides to break away from them? I mean if you were in his shoes, what would you feel seeing them every day knowing that they have that something now between them that is beyond you? How will you have to act now towards them? When will you know where your line stops in order to not over-step? What of your feelings? Will you not feel bitterness towards Kazumin even a little knowing that he has something with Asuka now that you do not and never will?

Okay, now I am not so sure about who should have won. I guess the judges were right in that when weighing the negatives, the Kazumin/Nanase ship was less heavy compared to the other two but since I am not one for that kind of thing (I do not hate pain, okay?) I guess that two Danso are still better than one and let’s not forget about them gakuran and that old-school seifuku Asuka was wearing! Seeing as I just did a marathon of Sukeban Deka Series II (I love that series so much! Saki/Yukino FTW) I still have a strong love for those uniforms. And so Kazumin/Asuka/Waka-sama it is for me (even though I don’t like threesomes but hey, it did not end in one so…)

Ooh but on the other hand Nanase and Kazumin had an atomic bomb of hand-holding going on courtesy of director Marika so…aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Okay fine, fine! Kazumin and Nanase win! I give in! Hands are my kryptonite after all!  That is so unfair Marika!

Anyway, I can’t wait for more. Hopefully tonight’s episode is a continuation. I need more!

Jump over for the caps…

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