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Skip and Loafer (スキップとローファー/Skip to Loafer) is a romantic comedy/coming of age story where the action takes on the form of the Hegelian dialectic. It is airing in the U.S. on Crunchyroll.  In Hegelian dialectic, the operation of the synthesis is sublimation (Aufhebung) of the original dichotomy of thesis and antithesis. That is, rather than the antithesis conquering the thesis, the conditions of the conflict are fundamentally redefined. This is the function of the character dynamics in Skip and Loafer. Each dyad of characters (not just the two leads) works dialectically on a particular angst associated with adolescence. E.g., authenticity vs. artifice, self-actualization vs. social integration, specialization vs. generalization. Compare to a "manic pixie dream girl" where a staid or uptight protagonist is exposed to a "free spirit" and learns to live/laugh/love. That is, the protagonist in a MPDG story is exposed to an opposing/upsetting force and but only one side emerges fundamentally changed after the end of the encounter. Whereas, here, both parties take on oppositional sides but produce a synthesis. E.g., Shima is running late to the opening ceremony in the first episode because he overslept and didn't care about it, Mitsumi is running late because she followed directions too closely and was unable to intuit her new surroundings. The synthesis wherein both make it to the ceremony requires adaptation and change from both characters and results in a new modus vivendi. For instance, take the symbolism in the ED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT553CVWyO8 Mitsumi is walking along a path that fades gradually into the a set of punchcards to be fed into a machine. She is determined and set on a goal one she has planned out from the beginning of the series. Her rainbow footprints indicate her path so far. A less dialectically inclined series would have them eventually veer off, perhaps indicating that she has found new goals. But instead, the footprints take a few brief jumps indicating dancing or skipping, and then she is back on track: her experience over the course of the series does not result in the mere support or negation of her life plan and dreams, but the "yes, and" of an existence that is both meaningful and enjoyable. Central Dyad: Mitsumi Iwakura  Girl from the sticks who was a prodigy in her home village and moves to Tokyo. Interior locus of control. Sosuki Shima  Popular and handsome boy from Tokyo. Exterior locus of control. Supporting Characters: Nao: Mitsumi's aunt. Works long hours in fashion. Has a very interesting arc, psychoanalytically speaking, that I don't think will occur in this season (it's chapter 33 or so). Fumi: Mitsumi's childhood friend and confidant. Classmates: Egashira: Fashionable? Murashige: Standoffish? Kurume: Shy? Yamada: Desperate? (Each will get at least an issue where these traits are, again, undermined and revisited in light of a new synthesis) In summary, look at these goobers dancing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWoXl2RxdKg Tree Goat fucked around with this message at 00:41 on Apr 13, 2023 |
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Apr 12, 2023 04:42
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Well said indeed [puffs on bubble pipe] I think I would describe Egashira as desperate, also trifling
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Apr 12, 2023 04:54
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I originally described her as "somebody whose worst nightmare is to be an extra in a shoujo manga" but it wasn't quite apt.
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Apr 12, 2023 05:03
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Second episode was great as usual, Mitsumi's song is gonna be stuck in my brain for days. What's the thread policy on gifs? Surprisingly, this anime has potential for some really good ones.
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Apr 12, 2023 05:30
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Love Skip and Loafer, Mitsumi is a wonderful goober
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Apr 12, 2023 05:31
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Scallop Eyes posted:Second episode was great as usual, Mitsumi's song is gonna be stuck in my brain for days. gifs are fine, there are some good ones already between op dance, rainbow barf, etc. i also don't care about manga spoilers but i know other people do so i am defaulting to only discussing what's been aired but i am happy to go hog wild and/or just put things in spoiler tags depending
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Apr 12, 2023 05:36
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Tree Goat posted:gifs are fine, there are some good ones already between op dance, rainbow barf, etc. would like to request spoiler tags for manga stuff since i'm starting with the anime skiploaf owns
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Apr 12, 2023 05:54
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The things Hegel does to a motherfucker's brain...
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Apr 12, 2023 09:19
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this is the good one
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Apr 12, 2023 16:37
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I appreciate this op. Thank you for the thread Tree Goat!
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Apr 12, 2023 16:55
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Apr 12, 2023 23:09
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v. good. there are some good mitsumi faces ahead of us, as well (beyond no-sleep face at the end of ep 1)
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Apr 13, 2023 00:04
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The manga is so good, didnt even realize there was an anime!!
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Apr 13, 2023 00:58
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Was planning to start this next month till I realised it's airing this season  Hit's those exact Honey & Clover notes I really enjoy in a series production.
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Apr 13, 2023 11:37
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Tree Goat posted:Skip and Loafer (スキップとローファー/Skip to Loafer) is a romantic comedy/coming of age story where the action takes on the form of the Hegelian dialectic. It is airing in the U.S. on Crunchyroll. I’m not reading this
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Apr 13, 2023 20:59
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sorry to hear that! luckily, if you don't want to read the manga, the anime is airing tuesdays on crunchyroll: https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G9VHN9185/skip-and-loafer
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Apr 13, 2023 21:21
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I meant the op, op
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Apr 13, 2023 22:15
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Namtab posted:I meant the op, op If that is because it's too long, then try: Skip and Loafer is about a well-meaning but highly driven goober who goes to Tokyo and meets a boy who helps her grow up and self-actualize, and is different from most of the other stories like that because the supporting cast all have interesting things to do rather than be foils for the central romance, and also the artwork is often funny and charming. If it's because you want to know more about how dialectics can be used to analyze narratives or structure events: I recommend Marx's The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon, available in the public domain including Wikisource, but of course you could always jump directly to Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit
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Apr 13, 2023 22:41
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Episode 2 was good, Show is charming. Blond boy clearly has a little more to him than meets the eye. Also interesting that it appears the aunt is getting clocked as a transwoman, I assume that's going to be an interesting part of the narrative going forward, but they seem to be handling it maturely.
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Apr 14, 2023 04:35
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Talorat posted:Episode 2 was good, Show is charming. Blond boy clearly has a little more to him than meets the eye. Also interesting that it appears the aunt is getting clocked as a transwoman, I assume that's going to be an interesting part of the narrative going forward, but they seem to be handling it maturely. Yes, she gets more to do later. I think her stronger POV chapters won't be in this season, though, at the current rate.
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Apr 14, 2023 04:51
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Namtab posted:I’m not reading this I’m not reading this
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Apr 14, 2023 05:02
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thanks to the op for making me reflect on this aspect of the show, because i really did enjoy the sense of agency expressed by the side characters in the second episode. definitely more blatant with murashige and egashira, but i think the pin girl is the best example. in like two 30 second scenes we can clearly see how she feels about mitsumi (fashion icon) and parts of the cast at large, and how she grows from her experiences with them. it's especially striking to me because the whole time this is going on our main character has almost no idea who pin girl is and can barely understand what she's saying. it's fun to contrast with some of the more recent rom coms i've watched where side characters don't really exist (dress up darling), side characters don't really exist and the main guy also doesn't really exist (quintuplets), and --this one is probably the most ideologically opposed to the skip and loafer experience-- side characters are solely checkmarks in your quest log (komi).
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Apr 15, 2023 20:16
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Big Leg posted:thanks to the op for making me reflect on this aspect of the show, because i really did enjoy the sense of agency expressed by the side characters in the second episode. definitely more blatant with murashige and egashira, but i think the pin girl is the best example. in like two 30 second scenes we can clearly see how she feels about mitsumi (fashion icon) and parts of the cast at large, and how she grows from her experiences with them. it's especially striking to me because the whole time this is going on our main character has almost no idea who pin girl is and can barely understand what she's saying. Yes, how realized the rest of the cast is the biggest thing I like about the manga/show and why it extend a bit beyond the basic premise for me. Your komi example makes me laugh (it's spot on) but for me I've always thought of them as the random townspeople with One Weird Quirk that you'd see in a jrpg or western indie game with jrpg worship (e.g. undertale) - they can be cute (with one or two who are genuinely awful, like stalker girl) and they're around, but that's all you get.
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Apr 15, 2023 20:47
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all the characters in this series are so good, but nao-chan is the best
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Apr 16, 2023 05:45
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ep 3 is out! in this episode kurume is haunted by a cryptid, possibly from space, who, like most cryptids, cannot be captured on camera.    there's also a long discussion/extended metaphor about how, rather than limiting yourself to just sweet or salty popcorn, the combination of the two can be delicious and open you to new experiences. this is dialectical, and i almost had one of the panels about this from the manga in the op, but tbh caramel popcorn is kind of gross and i'm team shio all the way.
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Apr 18, 2023 18:34
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 Ah yes, Rhett Butter and Scarlett Ohana, protagonists of my favorite Hollywood classic, Bone In The Wind. Anyway I feel like this ep would be the best example so far of S+L going beyond the typical high school romcom
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Apr 18, 2023 20:18
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Tree Goat posted:there's also a long discussion/extended metaphor about how, rather than limiting yourself to just sweet or salty popcorn, the combination of the two can be delicious and open you to new experiences. this is dialectical, and i almost had one of the panels about this from the manga in the op, but tbh caramel popcorn is kind of gross and i'm team shio all the way. what about those aluminum tubs of popcorn that have butter, caramel, and cheese
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Apr 19, 2023 02:46
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Southern Cassowary posted:what about those aluminum tubs of popcorn that have butter, caramel, and cheese I never end up eating the caramel and wish it had more cheese or butter instead.
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Apr 19, 2023 07:28
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DurosKlav posted:I never end up eating the caramel and wish it had more cheese or butter instead. depending on the execution i prefer caramel or cheese but butter is definitely last they're all fine though
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Apr 19, 2023 13:25
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caramel just tastes like stale popcorn
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Apr 19, 2023 18:33
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proud salted buddy here. cheese also counts as salt in this case
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Apr 20, 2023 05:29
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my favorite part of this episode is the completely silent exchange between mitsumi and shima when he reminds her to get kurume's contact info. they're so adorable and natural together.
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Apr 20, 2023 05:41
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I didn't hate the op as much as other people apparently did so I'm posting here, don't make me regret it. This series is incredibly cute and wholesome. I like that it shows so much kindness towards its characters, even the ones who aren't particularly kind themselves. Like in the whole thing with Egashima in episode 3. The way she was behaving in episode 2 I thought she'd be this mean girl type, which shows up a lot in shojo. But in ep 3, when she's feeling down because she's comparing herself to Yuzuki, Sousuke actually tries to cheer her up, despite what happened in ep 2. And it really stood out to me, that he didn't try to rub it in or mock her or something. I feel like you don't often see characters who are assertive but also kind
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Apr 22, 2023 20:41
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The OP is good, what the gently caress?
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Apr 23, 2023 03:35
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I love the Skip and Loafer protagonist. She is very unique for a high-school-age romcom.
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Apr 23, 2023 04:00
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Mitsumi is a massive loving dork and she rules
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Apr 23, 2023 05:15
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ZenMasterBullshit posted:The OP is good, what the gently caress? Think they mean the thread OP, not the show OP.
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Apr 23, 2023 05:34
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SexyBlindfold posted:Mitsumi is a massive loving dork and she rules
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Apr 23, 2023 05:43
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Ibblebibble posted:Think they mean the thread OP, not the show OP. ah yeah, i should've specified that's what i meant op stands for too many things
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Apr 23, 2023 10:35
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| # ? May 6, 2024 14:06 |
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this episode was a little slower but did have some good mitsumi faces (not including mitsumi-as-goofy-cat moments from takamine)   takamine i find interesting because mitsumi is very clearly somebody who is perceived as being wound too tight (by her teachers and her friends both old and new), and yet, just through juxtaposition with takamine, is cast as a sort of devil-may-care slacker. it's why i like the dialectical lens: you look at how pairs of characters interrelate and what traits they bring out in each other, and how a new mode of relation arises from this conflict. it would be so easy to just make takamine a "villain" or a bad example or something and leave it at that, but that's not how the character dynamics work here! egashira, as mentioned up thread, is another example where you could just make her a "mean girl" who is or is not won over by mitsumi and call it a day, but instead they do something more interesting with her.
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Apr 26, 2023 03:44
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