I was reading the internet and someone made a comment about Stella Jogakuin C^3-bu and how it talks about having determination. The end of episode 2 featured our timid girl stiffening up and joining the club of weirdos, fearing that she wouldn’t fit in. Well, the easiest place to fit in is in the midst of weird people, right? To the extent that you can tolerate them–and I think Yurayura will be just fine.
But on the other side, when is airsoft this serious? Or an airsoft club? Are they going to Koshien too? Are you kidding? It’s fun to play and roleplay but this is not some kind of identity crisis as far as a plot device goes. Rather, C^3-bu is calling on the oft-played, timid-girl cliche where it takes a considerable amount of determination to overcome that barrier–comfort zone or whatever you call it–so she can make some friends.
I wonder how much I can twist and turn this little device and squeeze it in thematically. After all, airsoft is not quite like paintball. It probably hurts less if you are properly dressed. I mean you probably want to play either sports wearing as much covering as you can comfortably put on, plus the goggles and headwear. Do real hardcore otaku dock points when Sonora jumps out of the shower naked but without any “badges of honor”?
Did you? Because like, this is cartoons, so we are going to not take this so seriously? Are you kidding?
Aside: There’s an another show that is largely about determination this season. It has a line like “Show you guts cool say what” or some such. In that story determination is framed as an adult quality, that some grown-ups do not have.
To take it to the next step, homework would be compare and contrast with Girls und Panzer.
PS. Maybe I should write about moe English. Maybe by Thursday.
