It’s official.

Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party has picked self-professed manga fan Asou Tarou to succeed outgoing premier Fukuda Yasuo as party president, which puts him squarely on the path to become the country’s first Roman Catholic prime minister.

For the record, he’s not Prime Minister yet – the Diet still needs to confirm him in that role on 24 September. But with the LDP holding a majority of the seats in the lower house, I think the chances of Asou not taking over Fukuda’s job are virtually nil. UPDATE (24 September 2008): As expected, the LDP-dominated lower house wasted no time in confirming Asou as Prime Minister. As expected, the DPJ-controlled upper house snubbed Asou and chose DPJ party leader Ozawa Ichirou to take over Fukuda’s job. As expected, the lower house overrode the upper house and planted their own man firmly in the Kantei.

I first wrote about the new LDP president just over a year ago, when then-Prime Minister Abe Shinzou sprung a surprise resignation on his party and Asou was expected to succeed him. As it turned out, Fukuda Yasuo got the top job, but now he’s out and the 68-year-old political conservative – known in some circles as “Rozen Asou” ever since he was said to have been spotted reading Rozen Maiden – is in.

To mark this event, I’m reposting the blog entry I first published on 13 September 2007 on the occasion of Abe Shinzou’s resignation. Unless otherwise indicated, everything between the two lines of asterisks is from that 2007 entry.

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I think the Wall Street Journal said it best: “Score one for the nerds!”

News of Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzou‘s surprise resignation was quickly followed by speculation as to who would succeed him. [EDIT: Now, less than a year later, Abe's immediate successor Fukuda is on his way out. Talk about turnover!] According to the BBC, former Foreign Minister Asou Tarou – currently the secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and a close ally of Prime Minister Abe – is widely tipped to become the new man in the Kantei.

Now why is this relevant to us in the otakusphere?

Well, there’s the fact that Asou is a well-known manga fan.

In this interview, for example, Asou freely admitted to reading “10 to 20″ manga anthologies a week. My Japanese sucks, but I was able to recognise some pretty big names in the list he rattled off (including the seinen anthologies Young Jump and Business Jump).

And his credentials don’t end there. Earlier this year [EDIT: "this year" = 2007], as Japan’s Foreign Minister, Asou oversaw the establishment of the International Manga Award to honour the achievements of non-Japanese mangaka. During his term in office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs used manga in an official capacity to bolster its image among Japanese children and to convey its message to delegates at an international meeting on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Not surprisingly, shares in manga publishers and bookshops rose on the Tokyo Stock Exchange even as the rest of the market lost ground on the news of Prime Minister Abe’s resignation.

Of course, his selection is far from a sure thing; so far the only person to throw his hat into the ring is Finance Minister Nukaga Fukushiro. [EDIT: In the 2008 party election, Asou's rivals included State Minister in charge of Economic and Fiscal Policy Yosano Kaoru, former Defence Minister Koike Yuriko, former LDP Policy Research Council Chairman Ishihara Nobuteru, and former Defence Minister Ishiba Shigeru.] But if Asou is indeed picked for the top job, I shall look forward to seeing how his love for manga will influence the way he manages his country’s affairs.

For starters, how does a manga mascot for the Kantei sound?

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A parting note: the BBC’s writers can’t seem to make up their minds about how to describe manga. First the BBC calls them “Japanese manga cartoons“, then “manga animation“, and now “adult manga cartoons“. Unforgivable.

Mark Thompson, I demand your immediate and irrevocable resignation.

LINKS
Anime News Network – “Manga Fan Asō Chosen to Be Japan’s Next Prime Minister” (news article)
BBC News – “Aso picked to become new Japan PM” (news article) / “Taro Aso confirmed as Japan’s PM” (news article) / biographical profile
Wikipedia – encyclopedia entry (English) / encyclopedia entry (Japanese)

Yuuto and Haruka attend Comiket to buy a doujinshi from her favorite circle, A Cat Bus Stop. They have to wait in line at the booth and a nasty, smelly otaku snatches the last copy before Haruka can buy it. Yuuto is outraged by the vile otaku’s actions, but Haruka persuades him to let it go. Nanami takes it upon herself to take back the doujinshi and gives it back to Haruka in disguise.

Along the way, Yuuto runs into Nobunaga. Nobunaga eventually scampers off but seems to have realized that Yuuto is attending with Haruka. More hijinx ensue when Haruka unknowingly picks up a yaoi doujin and faints. She faints again when confronted with loli ecchi on a TV screen. Yuuto takes Haruka outside where she observes the gallery of cosplayers.

Amidst the confusion, Haruka is mistaken for a cosplayer and is surrounded by photographers. Realizing that Haruka doesn’t want all the undue attention, he attempts to whisk her away but is thwarted when the otaku paparazzi surround him. Hazuki, Nanami, and Mika enter the scene respectively cosplaying Dokuro-chan, Wilhelmina and Hecate, and the trio promptly deliver divine punishment to the photographers before beating a hasty retreat from the Comiket staff.

With the day’s festivities over, Yuuto and Haruka return on the train and have a romantic moment. After he drops off Haruka at her house, he talks to Mika outside the gates. She asks Yuuto if he and Haruka were followed by any suspicious men that look like secret agents. Yuuto unaware that he was being watched at Comiket, tells her no. When he finally gets home, he receives a frantic call from Mika concerning Haruka. Before Mika can explain the details, Yuuto finds a teary eyed Haruka at his door.

Thoughts:
This was Haruka Nogizaka’s obligatory Comiket episode, her being an otaku and all. For what it’s worth, the Comiket episodes are always fun to watch though. I guess Studio Barcelona paid to use the Shana license, because they’re milking the Shana references for all its worth. I really thought it was a waste that Haruka used her Shana cosplay two episodes too early, especially since Nanami and Mika cosplayed Wilhelmina and Hecate. Oh yes, Haruka also performed the ‘naive girl picks up dirty book and gets embarrassed’ gag, which is always good for a cheap laugh.

It seems Nobunaga is aware that Haruka is an otaku but doesn’t think too much of it. This plot point will likely come up again in some way. With the way this episode ended, the next episode will probably focus on Haruka’s parents trying to separate Yuuto from Haruka, since he will be deemed a bad influence on her.

While walking to school with Nobunaga, Yuuto bumps into the pink haired girl yet again, only this time she’s wearing his school’s uniform. The new transfer student formally introduces herself in class as Shiina Amamiya and is an instant hit with the entire class, particularly the guys.

Shiina becomes ecstatic when she finally meets Haruka face to face, and Yuuto learns that Haruka is the top ranked piano player in the world. Yukari-sensei announces that the school swim meet is coming up and everyone needs to participate in an event. Shiina agrees to help with the girl’s relay race but doesn’t know how to swim, so Yuuto and Haruka agree to help her practice.

Yuuto and Haruka help Shiina with her swimming form but things get hectic when Yukari-sensei, Ruko, Mika, Hazuki, and Nanami join in on the fun. Mika, Hazuki, and Nanami don’t approve of Yuuto getting too close to Shiina but Haruka is oblivious to the whole situation. The day of the swim meet, Shiina does well until her leg cramps during her race. Yuuto rescues her and she is taken to the infirmary room, where he tells her that what really matters is that she gave it her best. After the swim meet is over, Yuuto and Haruka continue planning for Comiket and have their own heart to heart chat.

Thoughts:
Hooray for obligatory summer pool episode with plenty of cheesecake. Summer is all about swimsuits and fanservice. This Shiina-centric episode ushers in the love triangle that we all saw coming. No romance-comedy would be complete without a love triangle, because it’s a staple for easy story development. I think Shiina is an interesting character; infinitely more so than Haruka who is a Mary Sue character in every sense of the word. In this type of show, I tend to like the side characters more than the main girl. I like Mika and Shiina better than Haruka, who while cute doesn’t stand out too much compared to her competition. Even sexual harassment teacher (Yukari-sensei) is more interesting and she hasn’t had much screen time. I still like Haruka but she’s in a distant third place for me.

Haruka and Shiina are in the running for Yuuto with Haruka well in the lead due to her status as the main heroine. I guess we can throw Mika and Yukari-sensei into the mix as joke choices too. Four females qualifies as a small harem, so thus Yuuto has a harem of girls. Unlike so many male leads in this genre, at least Yuuto has a spine even if he’s still afraid of topless girls. So next episode should be Comiket. Looking forward to it.

Series panty shot count
Mika: 5
Shiina: 3
Haruka: 1
Yuuto: 0

Haruka, Mika, and Nanami are concerned about Hazuki as of late. Thinking that she may have a secret boyfriend, the three drag Yuuto along to follow Hazuki through the city.

The quartet are interrupted by Nobunaga but Nanami manages to get rid of him before he causes them any trouble. They follow Hazuki and eventually wind up at a lingerie store. Yuuto refuses to go in and bumps into Akiba girl (Shiina) outside. After a brief exchange the two recognize each other. She postulates that fate keeps trying to bring them together before she bids Yuuto farewell. Haruka narrowly misses Yuuto talking to Akiba girl. Yuuto and Haruka resume following Hazuki minus Mika and Nanami, who got caught up in a lingerie sale (fanservice!).

As Yuuto and Haruka resume stalking Hazuki, Yuuto is harrassed by a very drunk Yukari-sensei. They eventually follow Hazuki to a tea shop and wait for her to finish. While waiting Yuuto’s sister, Ruko, introduces herself to Haruka. Ruko quickly deduces the relationship between Yuuto and Haruka and asks Haruka to take care of her precious brother. Afterwards (and not knowing any better), Haruka expresses her admiration for Ruko.

Hazuki eventually leads her pursuers to a bridal store where Yuuto and Haruka are abducted by the staff and dressed up in wedding clothes. The store workers soon realize they screwed up but take a picture of Yuuto and Haruka as a memento. Haruka reflects that perhaps she is hindering Hazuki’s wish to get married in the future. Back at the Nogizaka mansion, Haruka expresses her concerns to Hazuki herself. Hazuki reveals that she was simply on an errand to fix a piece of hardware but is grateful that everyone was thinking about her.

Thoughts:
Shana cosplay and Nanami/Kana Ueda seiyuu joke for the lulz. Haruka made “Urusai” moe instead of tsundere. She really went all out with the cosplay because it was dead accurate even down to having Alastor around her neck. She needed some melonpan to complete the motif, but the brief clip of ‘Hishoku no Sora’ made up for it because the song is that awesome. I guess the staff was trying to show that Haruka is a true blue otaku. But why did she disguise herself as Shana for an undercover operation? That kind of stunt is only going to draw more attention to her. Case in point, Nobunaga almost busted Haruka. He saw enough of Haruka to recognize the Shana cosplay but still didn’t know it was her. Is he blind or just stupid? Haruka shouldn’t be parading about the city dressed as Shana if she doesn’t want people to know she is otaku. Faulty anime logic at work! For a supposed genius, Haruka sure doesn’t use her brain very often.

This episode was supposed to be about Hazuki and it was, but since this show is about Haruka Nogizaka and the secret she obviously wants exposed to the world, the focus continually came back to her. Mika asked Yuuto to take care of Haruka last episode. Now Ruko asks Haruka to take care of Yuuto. Then the lovey-dovey couple get dressed up as bride and groom. Freaking red flags for the Haruka route are going off all over the place. My flag catching alarm is broken from overuse.

Ruko and Yukari-sensei got some screentime as well and weren’t completely useless like they were in the first episode. Ruko deeply cares about Yuuto despite appearances. While I’m at it, I also have to mention Mika’s Chairman Mao hat which isn’t as stylish as she thinks it is. The only character that can pull off that look with any success is Dragon Ball’s Oolong. When was the last time Oolong was ever relevant in a conversation? Probably just now.

So much fanservice, particularly Mika. I’m loving it. This was definitely the most fanservice packed episode so far… Now to wait for the obligatory pool/beach episode and many nosebleeds. On an unrelated note, the animators also seem to have some sort of fang fetish going on with Mika, Ruko, and Shiina. Nyoro~n.

Series panty shot count
Mika: 5
Shiina: 2
Haruka: 1
Yuuto: 0

Haruka invites Yuuto to her house to study for the upcoming final exams. He gets lost following a crudely drawn map to her house but fortunately receives help from a random loli who gives him directions. The girl runs off saying she’ll see Yuuto later, leaving our protagonist a bit dumbfounded.

Upon arriving at Haruka’s house, Yuuto is shocked at the sheer size of the large Nogizaka estate. The maid that escorts him into the house is introduced as Hazuki. Haruka and Yuuto study in her room, but Yuuto’s mind soon strays to other things not related to school. As the romantic tension between the two builds, the loli from earlier bursts into the room. After teasing Haruka and Yuuto, she introduces herself as Haruka’s younger sister Mikan. Likewise we meet another maid named Nanami. Mikan calls Yuuto out of the room and asks that he stay by Haruka’s side.

After finals are over, Haruka asks Yuuto to come to an anime convention with her during summer break. Suddenly a student in the hallway runs into Haruka. She drops her bag and the contents including the convention catalogue spill to the floor. Students gather around questioning why the school idol has an otaku book, but Yuuto covers for her and announces that it belongs to him. Even though her secret is safe, Haruka refuses to come to school the next three days. Rumors begin to swirl about how Yuuto is a creepy otaku and gets several threats to stay away from her. A senior named Takashi even goes so far as to berate Yuuto to his face for his supposed otaku ways.

Yuuto heads to Haruka’s house that evening and learns from Mikan about what happened to Haruka the last time her secret was exposed. During junior high she lost all her friends and had to transfer to another school when her otaku secret was revealed. Haruka tells Yuuto that she skipped school because she felt so guilty about his current otaku image around campus. He says he doesn’t mind and cheers her up by promising to always be by her side. As Haruka and Yuuto are walking to school the next day, Takashi taunts Yuuto and attempts to court Haruka. Haruka actually does something useful and defends Yuuto’s honor by judo throwing the arrogant Takashi into a tree.

Thoughts:
Mikan got a lot of panty shots in this episode. Not like I was counting, but there were four. Number of Haruka panty shots so far in her own show, one. Does this mean the loli is the fanservice character of this show? Too early to tell. I wouldn’t complain if she was though… Cough.

I’m going to question anime logic again. If Haruka doesn’t want her secret exposed, then why is she still bringing anime books/magazines/catalogues to school? Also, Haruka’s bag has this uncanny ability to fly open when someone bumps into her. Aren’t school bags supposed to be, you know, buckled shut so their contents don’t fly all over the place when they’re dropped? Does not compute! Ugh… I know. Don’t question anime logic. But I must!

All in all a good episode. Mikan is a fun character that spices up the show with her wild and slightly perverted imagination. I think she actually stole the spotlight from Haruka in her debut. It looks like the next episode will focus on Haruka’s maid, Hazuki. I do want to see Haruka and Yuuto hit up the anime convention soon.

Haruka invites Yuuto to accompany her to Akihabara on Sunday. After thinking it over and remembering a prior bad experience with Nobunaga, Yuuto obliges since it’s Haruka after all. Yuuto and Haruka follow a route she planned to take them around the entire district with the objective of buying a Portable Dream Station console at the end of the day.

The two walk around Akiba (conveniently advertising for various stores in the process) and see the various sights together. Yuuto asks Haruka how she became an otaku. She recounts that 5 or 6 years ago a boy gave her the first issue of Innocent Smile when she was crying in the park, and her interest in anime was sparked after reading it.

Along the way Yuuto loses sight of Haruka and meets a strange girl (whom I recall seeing in the OP), Haruka buys way too many gashapon, and then Haruka takes Yuuto to a maid cafe. When the two finally go to buy the Portable Dream Station, they find out that it is all sold out everywhere. Yuuto cheers up the depressed Haruka and he vaguely recollects cheering up a crying girl in the past.

Thoughts:
Yes yes. Yuuto was the destined boy that turned Haruka into a dirty otaku. The introduction of the pink-haired girl also signals the flag for the inevitable comedy/romance/drama love triangle. Goodie. The plot elements are cliche but… Eh. I don’t really care. I’m still enjoying the ‘Haruka has to hide her otaku secret’ premise.

Yuuto Ayase is a normal high-schooler that has sworn off girls due to the influence of living with two crude women, his older sister and his schoolteacher. He is constantly teased by his friends for not being interested in girls, but even Yuuto himself can’t deny the alluring charm of the school idol, Haruka Nogizaka, a beautiful girl skilled in all areas and revered by the entire student body.

Yuuto is indifferent to anime, but his otaku friend, Nobunaga, comes to his class and speaks at length about the most recent episode of the Clumsy Aki anime. Nobunaga also reports that the library just received issues of the popular anime magazine, Innocent Smile (Think Megami). Haruka’s ears perk up as she overhears the discussion. Later in the day, Nobunaga is (very embarrassingly) called on the PA to return the overdue issue he checked out.

Nobunaga asks Yuuto to return the magazine to the library for him. It is there that Yuuto has a fateful encounter with the school idol, Haruka Nogizaka. By a turn of events, Yuuto discovers her checking out an issue of Innocent Smile and stumbles onto her dark secret; She is an otaku. Upon having her secret discovered, Haruka runs off crying and leaves her stuff behind.

Yuuto takes Haruka’s bag home with him and contemplates the school idol being an otaku. He goes to school early the next morning and returns the bag to Haruka after bumping into her by the school gate. Afterwards, Haruka continually avoids contact with Yuuto and runs away from him when he gets near, leaving a bad impression with everyone that sees this happen. Having had enough of her avoiding him for two days, Yuuto confronts Haruka. He chases her out of the classroom, but Haruka’s self-appointed guards take it upon themselves to stop him. Yuuto escapes their clutches and finally makes it to the roof where he tells Haruka that her reputation and secret are safe with him. He also states that she doesn’t seem so far away now, knowing that she has that kind of hobby. She profusely thanks him for keeping the secret, signifying the start of their friendship.

Yuuto receives a call from Haruka later that evening. She tells him that she forgot to return the magazine that was due today and asks for his help in returning it before her secret is exposed to the whole school, via the PA and bulletin board. They sneak into the school, return the magazine, and clear her name from the library’s record. The mission proves to be a valuable bonding experience for the two as they become more acquainted, and decide to call one another by their first names from now on.

OP: Miran Himemiya and Chocolate Rockers – “Tomadoi Bitter Tune”

Very fast paced opening. Everything happens so fast that it’s hard to see anything. The song is catchy though.

ED: Kana Ueda, Mai Goto, Rina Satou, Kaori Shimizu, Mamiko Noto – “Hitosashiyubi Quiet!”

Great. Another ED that forces a dance on us. Will we be seeing bad attempts at the Haruka Nogizaka dance soon?

Thoughts:
Yet another light novel to anime adaptation where a boring guy meets a cute and interesting girl. Kyon and Haruhi, Saito and Louise, Yuji and Shana. Now we have Yuuto and Haruka. Yes, the boring guy is supposed to represent the target demographic so they can identify with the male leads, but it’s become a tired cliche by now hasn’t it?

Why doesn’t Haruka just buy the damn magazine herself? I know the show states that issues are expensive, but isn’t Haruka from a rich family? It would be much easier to keep her secret under wraps to buy her own copies. She only heightens the risk of exposure by making her hobby so public. Why does a school library carry anime magazines in the first place?

This summary wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Mamiko Noto. She does a good job as Haruka, but somehow the role feels miscast. I can’t explain why at this point in time. I know she can do ‘quiet school idol’ because she was perfect as Yakumo in School Rumble. Somehow her Haruka seems a bit loose at the hems in comparison… Maybe I’ll return to this later after more episodes have aired.

So despite a couple shortcomings, Haruka Nogizaka was still entertaining. It’s not my favorite show of the season but still definitely worth watching.