Split Screen: Chill Out Boys!

Thanks for tuning in to Split Screen! This is your intro host Madelyn, broadcasting from the Off-Topic Corner of Watch This! It was a crazy edition last time, with death threats and explosions galore. This week, we’ll be seeing frostbitten love, unsupportive friends, and a whole lot of flashbacks. I’ll let instant reaction Madelyn and Emma take it from here.

(Check out all the past editions of Split Screen here!)

Boys Over Flowers Episode 4 (up to minute 33)

E: We picked up on a weird note this episode. I had no idea why Jan-di and F4 minus Ji-hoo were seemingly chilling together normally. I thought the writers were making the auction more of a bonding experience than it seemed to be.

M:  It did seem at first like there had been another major time jump. We shouldn’t have doubted the writers so much. They wouldn’t literally change everyone’s relationships overnight…probably.

E: Yeah, once they got there, it did make sense that they were seeing Seo-hyun off. And Ji-hoo off as he chases her to Paris! RIP his schooling. And I guess his part on the show? 

M: The cast is pretty much all boy band members, right? Maybe the actor has a tour and needs to take a hiatus. He’ll be back. We know Jan-di is gonna cheat with him from the “next on” montage from last week. For now though, it’s F3…plus Jan-di makes F4?

E: The mascot line from last episode was foreshadowing. She’s literally their mascot now. We then make a sudden descent into romcom territory.

M: I literally cannot believe that Jun-pyo confessed his love and she couldn’t hear it over the airplane.

E: I can’t believe he didn’t realize that the plane overhead drowned him out. You think it’d be obvious.

M: I know, has he never had to repeat himself before? This happens to me on subway platforms sometimes multiple times in one trip. It’s not a weird thing. He is pretty self-absorbed though, so on that level, I kind of buy it.

Also just a note that he tried to forcibly kiss her another half dozen times this episode.

E: A lot of it was just getting uncomfortably close to say something. There were fewer really active attempts at kissing.

M: It’s the same kind of power play, so it’s really only marginally better.

E: If I had to guess, however, I think he said something like “we’re dating now,” when the plane flew over. He follows it up the next day at school, since he orders her to show up at a certain time and place and just expects her to know what’s going on. He also threatens her with death if she doesn’t go, because he’s Jun-pyo.

M: I took the threat seriously, so I don’t know why Jan-di didn’t. We’ve already seen that death threats are a live option in his family.

E: It’s hard to take anyone seriously when they’re in a sk8ter boy outfit.

M: Did he just not feel like wearing the wig on set that day?

E: Speaking of swell costumes, I should mention that I basically missed the whole “good-bye Seo-hyun” scene because I kept trying to make Madelyn look at pottery boy’s outfit. He was like a less green Lucky Charms mascot.

M: He’s the casanova of the group too, apparently. Probably because of that sweet style, that sick fashion sense.

E: Sorry for that aside. Anyway, Boys Over Flowers wins for “most life-threatening situation” this week. Last week was My Hero Academia, but Jun-pyo manages to beat out literally being exploded.

M: I just don’t have words. Four hours. In the snow.

E: No food. No drink.

M: I can barely go that long without food or drink when I’m sitting in bed.

E: This episode is really the comically escalating misadventures of Jun-pyo. There’s the whole airplane thing. Then he waits for Jan-di in the snow for four hours without sustenance. And then, the kicker, they both get locked outside on a tower by an employee with a date. 

M: He escapes any meaningful frostbite, but does contract some kind of magical eight-hour flu which has no symptoms the next morning. Also, what was the deal with the pen?

E: At first, I was really sure he was going to deliriously draw on her face or something, but I’m guessing he wrote something on her? I don’t know how often people in other countries shower or bathe compared to here, but she had to change into her school uniform. I don’t know how she hasn’t noticed whatever he did. 

M: Was I supposed to recognize it? It felt like I was supposed to know why it was significant.

This too much analysis. Its probably just a pen. The real question is: who snapped those “kissing” photos?

E: I bet it was premeditated by Jun-pyo to “solidify their relationship” or some nonsense. One of his employees probably did it. 

M: How could it possibly be premeditated?

E: He only pretended to lose his phone at the tower. 

M: And almost died. For the second time in two episodes. No way.

E: Remember Madelyn, the man pretended he couldn’t swim for years for the CPR-style kiss chance, don’t underestimate him

M: You’re right, I take it back. Totally in character to risk freezing to death for a quasi-romantic photo op. Speaking of liars, Jan-di’s friend of Episode 1 shoe incident fame faking sick because Jan-di is finally getting a taste of that rich life? Incredibly rude, manipulative, and frankly unacceptable.

E: I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt. Jun-pyo is not a nice guy. I mean, he was going to make her lick his shoes! I think I’d feel lightheaded if my friend wanted to date someone like him.

M: Yeah, but you would know better than to be so obvious about the cause. She leapt out of bed when she figured out they weren’t dating. 

E: Too transparent in her emotions, I guess.

M: I guess she’s been watching how much play Jun-pyo has been getting on our romance tracker later. Speaking of which, who’s your leading contender this week?

E: I’m still rooting for romantic saxophone from leprechaun boy. WHERE’S MY SAXOPHONE?

M: I think this week, I’m rooting for Jan-di to end up alone. But since I noticed the rose next to Jun-pyo in the opening credits, it’s probably inevitable he conquers her heart.

E: He is the first listed in the opening credits as well, which seems to imply the main male character. I mean, maybe it’s just cause he’s the most famous of the actors?

M: Sigh. How about your non-romance prediction?

E: The mysterious eight hour flu turns out to be fatal. Jun-pyo is rushed to the hospital, asking only for Jan-di. As his last breaths slip away, he gives Jan-di everything he has in order to atone for his sins. Much crying is had and the saxophone is played at the funeral. Is that non-romantic?

M: Vaccinate your kids, folks. Flu shots. Herd immunity. You know the drill. My prediction is that Jan-di’s friend turns out to be the pregnant girl from a few weeks ago. That’s really why she’s feeling sick.

E: You will not let that story line go.

M: Come on, rich babies.

E: Last note! They couldn’t get real ducks on previous episodes of this show or any decent sound equipment, but it’s just because they blew the budget on snow effects. That looked really nice. 

 

My Hero Academia S1E8: Bakugo’s Start Line

M:  I take issue with how little actually happened in this episode.

E: I take issue with your assumption that little happened.

M: We learned nothing that we didn’t already know from the last few weeks.

E: What happened? Just the start of Bakugo’s whole character arc. You know. Little things like that.

M: We already knew that he’s too proud for his own good and super pissed about losing. That isn’t news.

E: Okay, but the whole point of this is that he’s realized that he’s not the best in the room anymore. He was a big fish in a little pond and now he’s a big fish in a pond with an ice monster and Deku’s broken arm. It’s not just telling us things about him, it’s putting him in a position to start changing. That takes a bit to establish.

Listen, okay, I really like this character start line (ha). I mean, my experience going to college was the same way, except I decided I was okay with being the fifth best in the room or whatever. Kacchan just realizes that he’s not the best and then decides to become the best again. It’s admirable.

M: Maybe the reason I feel like there was no development is that I can’t imagine having a different reaction…? In the words of another famous anime, “I want to be the very best, like no one ever was.”

E: Yes, yes, you’re admirable. We also got a closer look at some of the personalities and powers of the other members of Class 1-A

M: I’ve already forgotten them all. We didn’t get to see most of them actually use them, just a montage of the class entering the building.

E: If they’d shown more than that, it would have gone on forever. They made sure you got a close look at some of the important ones.

M: Plus like half a dozen crotch shots of that one chick. Gross.

E: I know. I’ve watched enough anime to tune out the icky parts. Honestly, there’s a few parts of season 2 and 3 that I have just not watched because I associate one particular character with the grossness. Looking forward to experiencing that with you.

M: But you still haven’t answered my question: what happened in this episode?

E: Plot development, sure,  nothing. Character development, plenty!

M: No! No character development happened! Deku and Kacchan have the same conversation over and over again.

E: I disagree. They have different conversations about the same topic. BUT we’ll move on, because I’m the Deku in this relationship. One other thing that happened: Deku told Kacchan the truth about his quirk.

M: That’s fair, but it didn’t very significant because Kacchan didn’t believe him for a second. I think the major reason that this episode felt really empty is that at least three or four of the twenty minutes were devoted to flashbacks to episodes we just saw. 

E: Season one, I think you can definitely tell suffers from a lack of budget. They front and back loaded their money in this season. I don’t generally mind the flashbacks- there’s always a bit of recap in the beginning which is fine, and particularly as later seasons come up, they use them more intentionally. But I think the use of flashbacks often is a way to pad run-time a bit. 

M: Since I’m being forced to watch these episodes old school, AKA just one per week, the filler drives me particularly nuts. Honestly, I’m pretty sensitive to that in general. We’re watching My Hero Academia on Hulu, but I think that the Netflix originals are especially guilty of gratuitous filler. Looking at you Stranger Things. It’s a lot easier to forgive some fluff in the streaming era, because watching several episodes in one sitting is encouraged, even the norm. But when you only get a twenty minute dose of content every week, those wasted minutes really hurt.

E: Careful with the word “filler,” since, in this context, it refers to content that is anime-exclusive and not in the manga source material. My Hero Academia only has two filler episodes in its run right now. But I get what you mean.

I do think that part of the reason I disagree with you on this episode is that I have the benefit of hindsight. It’s interesting to see some of these starting points again since I know where they end up.

M: That makes sense. Who’s All-Might’s friend though? That was the one revelation from this episode that stuck with me.

E: Hmmmmmmmmmmm……………

M: Thanks, helpful.

E: Well, I don’t want to tell you things you’ll learn later. 

M: Gimme those sweet spoilers.

E: So, I guess that leaves us at Lawsuit Watch(tm)

M: Shinhwa was surprisingly tame this week. The only potential lawsuit would be for drinking brand-name grape soda without permission.

E: They turned the label away! It’s fine! It definitely wasn’t Fanta!

M: I think UA has to come out on top this time.

E: Shinhwa does benefit from not showing up a lot this week. Most of this half of the episode took place out of school. Jun-pyo and Jan-di definitely have a case against the employee that locked them out. 

M: That’s fair. That building is honestly probably the winner. Whoever that poor dude was is getting the pants sued off of him by Jun-pyo’s parents. He just wanted to get to his date night, and now he’s probably going to be murdered.

Is it emoji time?

E: Do you want the episode title?

M: Yah yah yah.

E: It’s a great one. Episode 9 is called “Yeah, Just Do Your Best, Iida!” Exclamation mark included.

M: Okay, well meta prediction: I will feel personally attacked by a large portion of the upcoming episode.

E:

M: Within the show, I predict that Iida, I guess he isn’t going to drop out like I predicted last week, but he cries. Deku-style.

E: 

M: None of my predictions came true last time and several were like, actively wrong, so this feels simultaneously very low-pressure and very high-pressure.

E: Yeah, they definitely kept going with the exercise. Also, Iida did the best, so your assessment of his villainy was also wrong.

M: I take issue with that.He was not good at being a villain, no matter what All-Might said.

E: Well, I mean, out of all of them, he probably did the best

M: I did really appreciate Double D’s assessment of the battle.

E: Momo, in case you were wondering

M: Yeah, we all know what her two real important character traits are. Anyway, a couple more predictions: Deku’s mom tries to get him to drop out because wow, he broke every bone in his body.

E:

M: And finally, the Nobody who has somehow conned his way into the class brings sea salt ice cream for everyone for his birthday.

E: 

His name is…. (pauses to add an X and move letters around) Erixijou. Is that a good Nobody name? How do you even say that out loud?

M: One last shout-out: thanks to Hulu for its well-targeted advertising. They hit us with the Crazy Rich Asians trailer, AKA the Boys Over Flowers remake.

–

Hey guys, it’s ya girl Emma! Thanks for reading our thoughts and maybe watching the two series along with us. We’re grabbing Boys Over Flowers off Netflix and the My Hero Academia dub off Hulu if you want to catch up.

I should mention, we missed the after-credits scene for this episode because I forgot! However, I think it’s fine to leave it and go on, although I’ll let Madelyn know and see what she thinks before next time.

I’m still waiting for F2’s jazz band next episode along with whatever is going on with Jan-di’s friend! I’m hoping she’s just concerned about her friend but worried it might be more malicious than that. This is Boys Over Flowers after all. And then, on MHA, Madelyn will complain tons about nothing happening until something does happen. AND IT’S A BIG HAPPEN.

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