Favourite Couple... XD
moving on, few of you probably know this, but taiho shichauzo!! (aka you're under arrest!!) used to be one of my favorite anime. to go with it, tokairin/natsumi was (and is) one of my favorite anime 'ships. i had nothing better to do so i decided to re-watch a couple of yua episode featuring them and ended up with this semi-picspam instead. the images are of a crappy quality (since they're only really just vcd caps, not dvd quality ones, or even avi ones) but i just had to. hee.
file 35 & 38: ??? (i forgot the titles, hee)
the 35th episode is where they first really encounter each other, on a mission to rescue the section chief on top of the tokyo tower. after that. they don't really meet again until file 38, where `the mystery guy from file 35` is finally introduced as lt. shouji tokairin, who will be holding rescue mission trainings at the bokuto police station. natsumi wouldn't really take notice of him, except on his first day at the station he out-eats natsumi at the cafeteria and to top that off, he manages to beat her (to the surprise of everybody) in arm wrestling! natsumi, who hates losing, takes him on as a challenge and tells him to give it his all during the training session. natsumi, however, being natsumi, overdoes it and ends up putting him and her in a dangerous situation. in the end, though, all is well, and the two of them end up having regular out-eating and arm-wrestling matches in the cafeteria.
i realised, re-watching these episodes, tokairin is in fact, really a calm and collected guy. he's quiet, and nice, and smiles at everybody, and pretty much very gentlemanly. you wouldn't even think he had a competitive streak in him. from the first time she challenges him, you can see an interested expression in his face, and eventually natsumi brings out his competitive streak.
file 45: summer day out
natsumi and tokairin continue being rivals in the station. natsumi and miyuki have volunteer to deliver a package for the nice oshou-san from the temple, only to find out that they have the wrong package when tokairin shows up with the correct one. having delivered the package to the priests's mother, the latter invites them for dinner (or was it lunch?) and miyuki tells natsumi and tokairin that with their appetite, they should go out and buy enough food. the rest of the episode has them getting to know more about each other, and natsumi ends up looking at tokairin in a whole new light.
i loved this episode so much becuase it has so many of the subtleties i love so much in the pairing. for one, there are the subtle hints of tokairin's growing attraction to natsumi. aoi points out that for someone who's just supposedly holding rescue training sessions for the crew, he's at the station far more often than he should be. (oh i love that insightful she-man, hee ♥) i lovethe fact that with this couple, while they barely had ten episodes together, the attraction was slow and developing, and not abrupt.
i noticed that in some ways, tokairin is a lot like miyuki — quiet, gentle, insightful and not rash in his decision-making. it's in these ways that he complements natsumi perfectly (the same way miyuki does, too). but in other ways he's also like natsumi — competitive, active, strong and likes enjoyment in his life. and it's in these way that he makes not just the perfect friend for natsumi (which is what miyuki is), but the perfect romantic partner. there will never be a dull moment between them.
file 46: tokairin's challenge
aw. this was a really cute episode. it features this kid, who got beaten by a girl in kendo. he then declares the sport boring and useless and somehow, one thing led to another, and the next thing you know, he's taking lessons from tokairin on how to become stronger. the kid and the girl practically mirrors tokairin and natsumi during the earlier stages of their relationship. natsumi hates losing, the boy hates losing. tokairin obviously falls for natsumi, the girl obviously has some sort of crush on the boy. that's about it, really heh.
the episode ends with natsumi asking tokairin why he even wanted to help out the kid, and he adoringly avoids the question. haha. uh.. well.. because they remind me of.. remind you of what?! natsumi can be so dense sometimes, lol.
file 47: time limit
the two of them are getting closer and closer, hanging out a lot and having more shoujo moments (haha), but tokairin is hiding the fact that he's going to be leaving for the himalayas soon.
the title half refers to the accident they get involved in where they have to rescue a little kid in the middle of a massive accident, where there is a continuous gas leak. they have to get the kid out before the gas causes some sort of explosion. but mostly, obviously, it refers to the limited the two of them have together. the episode ends with tokairin finally telling natsumi that he's going to be leaving soon.
all throughout the episode, tokairing keeps wantin to tell natsumi something, only to stop halfway through. natsumi accuses him of being timid, and he admits that this is true. after all, mountain men have to be timid. they have to think about consequences. and this was just sooooo... agh, i can't find the word, but somehow tokairin's words reached my heart. like he really wanted to be with natsumi, but after all, the mountains are his first love, and so he has to think about the consequences if he wants to tell natsumi about his feelings.
file 48: end of summer
theirs was a summer romance, and now the season has come to an end. tokairin has to leave soon, and natsumi doesn't know how to say goodbye.
aaaah. they danced around each other all episode, only to end up in a wonderful goodbye kiss, to the bgm of love somebody. WHAT MORE IS THERE TO SAY?!
up next: the movie and season 2, lol. ♥ oh shit, except i don't have a copy of the second season. boo. D:
