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welcometothejianghu · 2 months ago

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Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 彩香ちゃんは弘子先輩に恋してる / Ayaka-chan wa Hiroko-senpai ni Koishiteru / Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko!

Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko! is a 2024 eight-episode Japanese comedy of errors about what happens when two adorable lesbians continually get in the way of their own relationship.

I think the poster gives a somewhat wrong impression: Hiroko (in black) is not a straight girl horrified that she is being hugged by a lesbian; she is a lesbian horrified that she is being hugged by her crush, whom she perceives to be an oblivious straight girl. But as the title of the show would suggest, Ayaka (in pink) is very much not a straight girl, and is instead a determined young woman with sapphic designs on the hot older woman at her job.

And they are both so, so stupid about it.

The whole wacky, wonderful series will take up a mere three hours and twelve minutes of your life, so here, as was the case with Otoko Meshi, is a correspondingly quick list of five reasons to watch it.

1. Clueless Lesbian 4 Clueless Lesbian

Have you ever seen someone have a crush and proceed to be normal about it? Well, you won't find that here. Ayaka is going to con this beautiful, competent woman into topping her if she has to kill everyone in this office to do it.

Hiroko refuses to believe that Ayaka might actually mean what she's saying, choosing instead to believe that Ayaka's actions are pure platonic displays of admiration, even when Ayaka outright says what she's after. Meanwhile, Ayaka simply cannot imagine why her very targeted overtures are always being rebuffed, interpreting Hiroko's continued resistance as a sign that Ayaka is simply not doing a good enough job of seducing her. She's got to up her game, dammit!

If you like the type of business where it takes multiple dates for two women to figure out they are in fact girlfriends, this is for you. Every oblivious lesbian trope in the book is on display here. It's a war of attrition between a woman who feels obligated to say no because she doesn't believe the person asking understands what she's asking for, and a woman who won't take "no" for an answer because she's certain that as soon as she figures out how to ask the question correctly, the answer will be "yes."

And will it be? Well, of course it will, because you know how this genre works. But not before some adorable wlw wackiness ensues!

2. Harold, they're (actually) lesbians

Often in both BL and GL properties, characters are presented as mostly straight with only plot-related same-sex leanings, usually having moments of going, I can't believe I'm falling for a wo|man!

The main lady-loving characters in this show have no trouble believing they're falling for women, because one's been out to herself as a lesbian since she was in middle school, one's just coming to terms with her desire for women but has acknowledged that it probably indicates she's a lesbian, and one honestly just never stopped to consider that being a woman desperately in love with another woman is pretty gosh darn lesbian behavior.

And I like that, you know? As much as I love a good Gay For You plot, I appreciate one that acknowledges that there's a whole very real community out there of people who feel the same way! You are not the only girl in the world who wants to kiss other girls! Lesbians have their own networks, hangouts, stereotypes, relationships, and even aesthetics that are distinctly lesbian. You can find them in real life, and I like it when you can find them in fiction too.

These aren't just straight relationships with incidentally matching genitals. There aren't even any strict butch/femme dynamics or demands that lesbianism equal gender-nonconformity. Sure, Hiroko is slightly more toward the masculine side of the gender slider than most of the other women in the show, but she's definitely not outright masc. While she's real into Ayaka's girly looks, as we see from flashbacks, Hiroko's not what you'd call picky about the gender presentation of her female partners.

They even go to a lesbian bar! The world's tiniest, most brightly lit lesbian bar! A magical place where you can always meet a beautiful red-clad femme, a cute little tomboy, and...

3. That hot bartender

It's like a good fairy granted a lion one wish, and the lion said it wanted to be turned into a beautiful Japanese lesbian, and the good fairy was like, wow, that's such a good wish, I'm going to make sure it turns out really great for you.

We are all the big-titty lesbian in red here.

4. Ayaka's outfits!

A major conceit of the show is that Ayaka, in response to her crush on Hiroko, has given herself a complete makeover, choosing outfits and hairstyles that (accurately) reflect Hiroko's tastes.

Even if you don't like her outfits -- and let's be real, some of them are a bit much for me -- they're still very cute and a lot of fun to see worn.

I do want to note that this isn't just a story about Girl Changes Entire Personality For Boy Girl She Likes. Ayaka's pre-transformation self is severe and almost robotic, and ... well, it doesn't seem to make her particularly happy to be like that. It seems less like her older persona is her "real" personality, and more like it's one that she'd just settled on because she'd been told it's what being an adult means.

There, that's what she used to dress like.

When she decides to change her style, she initially steers way too hard in the other direction, to the point where it feels like she went home and binge-watched fifty romcoms to learn how to be a person. (I'm just saying, if you wanted, you could choose to read Ayaka as an interesting flavor of autistic.) Over the course of the show, though, she gently settles into her new mode, which winds up suiting her so much better! So it's less about the nerdy girl having to leave her nerdy self behind to earn the attention of her crush, and more about how having a crush gives a girl the incentive to stop dressing the same way her parents dressed her in the second grade.

Also very cute: Some elements of her wardrobe get reused! She doesn't just magically wear several whole new things every episode! We see her apartment, and it's not large. She doesn't have room for a million different complete outfits, so she has to mix and match.

So yeah, if you, like Hiroko, like to see a cute girl wearing cute things, this show has just what the lesbian doctor ordered. (It's me, I'm the lesbian doctor.) (No, seriously, I am.)

5. A weirdly thoughtful take on the complexities of queer workplace relationships!

The show knows it can't keep up the absolute lesbian obliviousness the whole time, so feelings start to become clear about halfway through -- at which point the conflict that fuels the drama stops being about mistakenly thinking people are straight, and becomes more about why a lesbian office romance might not be the smartest career move for either of them.

After all, by the time you're in your mid-thirties and you've been working in the same place for over a decade, you're pretty well-established in your position -- but not so much that your job is completely safe from gossip or disapproving looks from your higher-ups. Meanwhile, when you're in your early twenties and just getting started, it won't do you any good to have everyone suspecting any future success is just a result of your sleeping with the (girl)boss.

So the goofy lesbian misunderstandings are fun and funny, but their worries about how dating will affect their jobs are real.

You find out eventually why Hiroko is particularly touchy about workplace relationships, and it's a very good reason! But at the same time the show explains this very good reason, it also points out that Japanese culture is slowly becoming more accepting of out gay people. Ten years can make a pretty big difference! Older generations might still be regressive about open queerness, but there's growing support from the youth.

Like these supportive coworkers! Aren't they precious?

I will admit, I am not the biggest fan of boss/underling romance dynamics. However, that never bothered me in this series, because Hiroko never feels quite like Ayaka's boss. She's Ayaka's sempai, sure, but she feels more like a senior colleague than an actual supervisor -- and Ayaka is 100% the one pursuing her, not the other way around. Still, if the idea of any hierarchy-crossing workplace relationship is an absolute dealbreaker for you ... well, you probably stopped reading this rec several paragraphs ago, so I'm not going to worry about it!

Anyway, don't get me wrong and assume this is something deep and serious about how perceptions of queerness can hinder professional success, because it's not. It's a goofy little comedy with cute outfits and dumb lesbians. But it's also a goofy little comedy that also occasionally makes some smart observations, and I like that about it.

bonus: Of course there's an adorable manga!

And you can read it here! It's a bit wackier and it makes some choices that wouldn't have worked in a live-action drama, but they're quite entertaining on the page. Here's the MangaDex summary:

Soft and bubbly office lady Ayaka is madly in love with her senior at work, Hiroko! Two lovestruck coworkers who both think the other is straight totally crush on each other… popular Twitter artist Sal Jiang’s latest office rom-com!

If anything, it handles Ayaka's transformation better than the show does, because it makes clearer that even after the makeover, she's still as intense and tough to crack as she was before -- around everyone but Hiroko. It even says in so many words that sometimes Ayaka's smiling demeanor is just masking.

The manga also knows a lot better what their job actually is, while the drama is more along the lines of, we work in an office! we do events! we have meetings! we create things for clients! It's basically the same Generic Company, LLC that every character in a modern AU fanfic does endless paperwork at.

Beside that, the series is a pretty darn faithful adaptation of the manga! Three volumes and eight episodes seem to be enough to carry about the same amount of story.

Want to watch the cute lesbians?

Sure you do! And the most reliable place to get them appears to be GagaOOLala, though I've found the whole series uploaded by various people on Dailymotion (here's episode 1 from one account, though you can find others).

It's a laugh-out-loud romp smart enough to know to get in there, tell a cute little bite of a story, and get out before the joke gets old. If you believe in the truth and goodness of lesbian love, treat yourself with this cheerful little romance that's only a slight exaggeration of how oblivious real-life lesbians can be.

Attagirl.

#ayaka is in love with hiroko #ayaka chan wa hiroko senpai ni koishiteru #彩香ちゃんは弘子先輩に恋してる #rec post #i made this #has op figured out what a lesbian is yet?#no but that's not stopping her from being one

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chipstertool · 7 months ago

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Chipster Rambles About: Hachi Koi (はち恋)

What I could gather from Hachi Koi or はち恋 is that it was a cancelled game/love simulator for the Nintendo DS as it was announced in 2008.

Additionally, I come to realize that this game has been acknowledged since 2012 on Tumblr by one of the main heroines, Kurumi.

Surprisingly, this was attempted by EA of all companies according to blog with a defunct link as the main plot is that a death god tells the protagonist that he's going to die by his next birthday and the only to stop it is to fall in love with one of the featured heroines.

As for the other company, NEURON AGE or NeuronAge, I don't have any concrete information on what they do towards the gaming market.

For its mechanics, it'll probably functions like a dating sim/love sim although has a "Touch Event". So think of games like FE: Fates or Nintendogs that feature this, hell you could think of Doki Doki Majo Shinpan! But with a DS game that'll potentially garner a niche audience, why did this game get cancelled? I haven't found the reason why, so I'm left in the dark with this one.

youtube

[Source: Tiny Cartridge]

So, where does that leave this canceled project? It was later turned into a smartphone game for the iOS and Android that ran from October 1, 2012 to February 28, 2014. This also came with a new mechanic which are love points that occurred from outfits and dates plus using related topics to spark a conversation while also keeping the touch event.

[Source: GameBiz]

The plot also seems to have changed to a potted plant that handed from a fortune teller as this plant can predict and advise Makoto Shirai's luck in romance.

His luck being with one of the eight heroines with some simplified summaries:

Akane Aso, the first childhood friend who's active, energetic, and friendly that's a member of the track and field club.

Hina Konishi, the second childhood friend who's shy, gentle, and soothing with a weak body yet strong will.

Mirai Kirishima, a strict committee chairperson with an old-fashioned personality who's trusted by everyone as the leader.

Kurumi Kasugaoka, a clumsy girl who's kind to everyone and quite popular in class.

Noa Saeki, an admirer of the MC that's innocent and bright while also being the hard worker.

Ayumi Ichinose, a mysterious girl who's quite modest and quiet at best. Awfully looks like another teal-haired girl who's a singer.

Maria W Ryuzaki, the only daughter of the board president that has a naïve side yet not good expressing emotions well.

Sayaka Ayukawa, the sexy upperclassman that garnered the attention of the male students yet seems interested in the MC.

[Source: Tsurezure]

Now what I've noticed while looking into the characters are some of the design changes which are mainly Hina (Hair changed from brown to black with removed side buns), Kirishima (Blue hairband thined out and turned white with neck bow removed), Kurumi (Socks become folded near loafers with flower symbol removed), Maria (Outfit color turned from pink to brown that match's Sayaka's along with shoe color + shoe accessory removed) and Sayaka (Change of bangs and heels turned from pink to purple). Their original designs, initially for the DS, are on Game Watch for full viewing.

Sadly, there is no known archive of each of the heroines' outfits. (┳◡┳)

Lastly, their official website is still up and running after shutting down their maintenance and what I can tell you is that it was completely different if you applied the link on Wayback Machine as it was in those days where it was anticipated to be released by 2009 on the NDS. Although, this requires Flash although some are programmed through Ruffle.

By the end of it all, Hachi Koi was a cancelled DS game that still made its way to be released and played until the end. I like to thank certain bloggers who posted the image with Kurumi, without you, I'll probably never found out about this obscure game. Much love!!!╰(⸝⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝⸝)╯

#hachi koi #はち恋 #Chipster Rambles About

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