Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Kumamiko - Girl meets Bear
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Alan45
 Village Elder Posts: 10086 Location: Virginia |
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I don't think she knows anything about Shimomura. When she is spouting off all those details her facial expression becomes neutral and her eyes change. I assume she is possessed at that point. Who or what is possession at that point isn't clear. |
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JaggedAuthor
 Posts: 981 |
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I kind of assumed her possessed demeanor was a comically exaggerated way to illustrate how offended she was by Hibiki's perceived slight against Shimomura. Her inner monologue when they first entered the store seemed to indicate that she was fairly familiar with the chain and its wares. Also, when she informed Hibiki that there was another Shimomura within easy driving distance, her pupils were no longer clouded over. In retrospect, I suppose her lack of familiarity with Uniqlo might be a nod to her ignorance of urban culture. I often hear Uniqlo described as the Japanese equivalent of Old Navy, whereas Shimomura appears to be more akin to T.J. Maxx - the joke being that a discount clothing chain is the height of high fashion in Machi's mind. |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 10086 Location: Virginia |
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@JaggedAuthor
You may be right, it certainly is open to interpretation. However, I'm not sure how she would be familiar with even a discount clothing store. It was previously mentioned that her only clothing was her uniforms and miko clothing. We will have to see. |
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belvadeer
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The scene where Machi was very clearly playing Dragon Quest reminded me heavily of the princess playing the same game in Outbreak Company. XD
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SailorTralfamadore
 Posts: 499 Location: Keep Austin Weeb |
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Is Old Navy hip urban fashion? I'd say it's closer to T.J. Maxx than the hip designer brands that you see in downtown shopping districts. That was kind of how UNIQLO was being marketed when they first opened one in Boston -- as like a department store or boutique brand. Maybe it's seen and marketed differently in its native country, though (a lot of its clothes look like fancier versions of what you'd find at Old Navy, anyway). |
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Tenchi
 Posts: 4558 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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Kuma Miko is one of two spring 2016 shows that I'm watching because of comparisons to Non Non Biyori. Interestingly, the other one is also set in Touhoku, Flying Witch, which takes place in Aomori city, which is in Aomori prefecture where the apples that Natsu the bear eat are from. I'm not sure whether that means Kumade village is in Aomori prefecture, but, from the scenery, I presume, if not Aomori, it's in northern Akita or Iwate.
I wouldn't say Kuma Miko is that similar to Non Non Biyori; Kumade seems to be even more of a small village than Non Non Biyori's Asahigaoka and Non Non Biyori is a lot more "grounded" in reality than the talking bear and divine possession-prone miko show. Hibiki's a dead-ringer for Non Non Biyori's Kaede "Candy Store/Dagashi-ya" Kagayama, though, both in looks and personality. |
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zrnzle500
 Posts: 3768 |
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Another difference is the level of fanservice. Non Non Biyori has fairly minimal fanservice, while Kumamiko has had Machi in some state of nudity in every episode, though it is not at the same level as a fanservice show, both in frequency and level of nudity. Dagashiya and Hibiki do look similar but their personalities are near opposites, what with Kaede's general laid backness and Hibiki's general aggressiveness. On another note, while Machi is a bit dense, I don't think most 14 year olds could recognize tsundere behavior when the see it (speaking only about character behavior not actual human behavior), despite Natsu's by the books recitation of tsundere lines. Speaking of that scene, I am of the opposite taste from the reviewer. I enjoy comedy derived from a character's discomfort. Natsu frustratedly yelling that Hibiki likes Yoshio was especially great. I don't think she is a typical tsundere though. While she does use violence towards her beloved and anyone who dares insinuate that and isn't open about her feelings, the lines from the tsundere standard operating procedure are only really said by Natsu. While not all tsunderes are unaware of their own feelings, the typical tsundere is usually lying to themselves first and foremost, and Hibiki seems aware of her own feelings, even if she would violently silence anyone who dared speak of them. So while I would agree she is a tsundere, I don't believe she is a purely stereotypical one. Really she seems like she primarily expresses herself through violence, both physical and verbal. Though if that's the case, then fighting shonen series are wrong and words are more effective as communication than fists. Yoshio will probably have to learn to understand fist though. |
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Tenchi
Posts: 4558 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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I think Hibiki's sort of like Kaede but cross-bred with Nobue Itou from Ichigo Mashimaro/Strawberry Marshmallow, who can get pretty brutal towards Miu. Kaede's laid-back, but she can be a bit aggressive when she wants to be, mostly towards Natsumi.
In terms of fanservice, Non Non Biyori is a show I could probably get away with showing to my almost 10-year old niece were it dubbed instead of sub-only. Maybe I'd skip over the beach episode but that's about it. On the other hand, Kuma Miko is something I'd make sure she could not see until she's much older. One minor thing I do like about Kuma Miko compared to Non Non Biyori is that you do get a tiny glimpse of civic affairs, such as they are, in a small village, whereas in Non Non Biyori, the focus is so much on the kids that the adults older than Kazuho Miyauchi are basically a non-entity in the story, aside from the Koshigaya mother. The emphasis in Non Non Biyori is much more on the school life of the girls, while school so far has been mentioned but not really shown on Kuma Miko. I haven't read the manga but I kind of hope we get a glimpse of Machi's academic life at school in future episodes even if I know it's mostly self-study. |
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vonPeterhof
Posts: 729 |
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Just noticed that I referred to Rose as "Amy" in my previous post. I'm terribly sorry about this, not sure how I got them confused.
I enjoyed the latest episode more than the previous one (I barely even remember what happened in the first half of that one). While the opening made it obvious what Hibiki's role in the story (and character dynamic with Yoshio) was going to be, her introduction still felt really awkward, so I did appreciate giving it more context. Her tsundere antics were pretty standard, but Machi's utter cluelessness made those scenes surprisingly funny.
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Tenchi
Posts: 4558 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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^ Oops, you're correct. I mistook Aomori Prefecture in Flying Witch for Aomori City. Which probably means that these two shows are even closer to being "neighbours" than if Flying Witch was set in Aomori City itself, if Hirosaki CIty is right on the border with Akita Prefecture (it being left ambiguous as to exactly which Japan Sea-bordering Touhoku prefecture KumaMiko takes place in).
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JaggedAuthor
Posts: 981 |
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So is there a possibility that Machi is actually older than Natsu (in human years, anyway)? I was under the impression that he was fully grown by the time she was born, but as this week's episode reveals, that clearly was not the case.
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belvadeer
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Machi really didn't need to punch Yoshio like that. That was uncalled for, regardless of how nervous she felt being there. For me, punching him is already a tired out gag, so I hope they just outright stop with it.
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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Why Machi needed to wear her school uniform to the mall escaped me. In the preceding episode she bought a sundress. Why couldn't she have worn that except to create another "Machi is so out of touch with normal life" scene? At some point good storytelling needs to go beyond just reusing the same themes.
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Tenchi
Posts: 4558 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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^ I think that's because the animators have gotta meet their school uniform quota and, for whatever reason, they haven't gotten around to showing Machi in school yet.
(I'm not sure if the manga has any school chapters.) |
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Hiroki not Takuya
 Posts: 2738 |
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 I'm not sure I'm tired of it yet, but I think this double-standard is annoying. Yoshio is a genuine nice guy if a little rough and poor Natsu, where is PETA?? As a guy I practically cried with him, he felt so bad about maybe hurting Machi emotionally and in the end spoiler[he gets beat up while Machi happily acts like nothing happened]. I'm not sure I like that either, it makes her seem like an abuser which is clearly not her character. @Yuna49 I agree, since the store looks a little like Spencer's Gifts they could have had her refuse to go in because as a miko, she is supposed to remain spiritually pure. And for the third time Village Vanguard is a real store chain in Japanese malls (Shimamura was Ep4). Makes one wonder if this is paid promotion...Those issues aside, I still think this is one of the most charming shows to come along.
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