Split Screen: Same Old Song and Dance

Hello there, Split Screen readers! It’s almost showtime, so elbow your way to the front of the mosh pit…just kidding, please stay at least six feet apart. Get ready to rock, or at least for some rocky relationships on Coffee Prince, and then for Class 1-A’s big debut on My Hero Academia. Hero Too is already stuck in my head, so let’s get ready to groove and press play!

(New to Split Screen? You can read the whole series here!)

Coffee Prince Sixteenth Cup (up to minute 31)

M: The big takeaway this week is that communication is key. 

E: Seriously. All the problems on Coffee Prince…they might not go away, but it would certainly help all the problems if people were communicating well with each other.

M: Let’s start with the smaller, side issues. Han-sung and Yoo-joo really needed to have several talks, preferably with a couple’s therapist present, about his complex about her work, and what they should be expecting from each other in terms of prioritizing the relationship. 

E: Yeah, it really feels like they’re having the exact same argument as they were having near the beginning of the show. Except now she’s pregnant, so his side holds slightly more water.

M: It’s reasonable to ask her not to drink and to communicate more about working all night, although I think she was drinking at their dinner party, so that’s a little inconsistent.

E: There is a difference between like a glass of wine and actually drinking, I think.

M: Sure. But he was also telling her not to get on a plane, which feels really over the top for someone who is maybe three or four months pregnant, if you’re generous with the timeline. 

E: That part was apparently from her doctor, not straight from Han-sung. I don’t know why that’s the medical advice she’s being given, but he’s just parroting what they’ve been told.

M: Yeah, but it was also about not wanting her to go to this huge opportunity. 

E: She did ask him to come along.

M: I thought that was big of her. That felt like a real step forward for Yoo-joo in terms of including Han-sung in her work, and he just didn’t even care. 

E: But I mean, they’re just in exactly the same spots that they’ve always been. Han-sung is all about the marriage and the baby, and Yoo-joo wants to do her job more. It’s like they haven’t changed at all!

M: The men on this show are pretty threatened by the career aspirations of their girlfriends. Other than maybe Min-yup, who I think would support Eun-sae in anything she wanted to do. 

E: Yeah, that relationship is unhealthy on the opposite end of the spectrum. He’s perhaps a little too accommodating. 

M: Agreed, but I can excuse the immaturity there much more easily. Eun-sae is seventeen or so? And Min-yup can’t be older than Eun-chan, so if they want to be a little ridiculous, it’s still healthier than the dynamic with Han-sung and Yoo-joo by a mile. 

E: Oh, I mean, for sure. That’s not hard.

M: Glad they’re back together though. That dragged on for too long. 

E: Meanwhile, Sun-ki’s lost love has lost him again. On purpose.

M: Unless they’re going to leave it here, which seems unlikely, I would have appreciated a little more development for this relationship. It seems like maybe Sun-ki should move on. 

E: I don’t really think Sun-ki needed a subplot at all. I think he could been sustained on the show, just making snarky comments from the kitchen and the wacky misadventures at Mr. Hong’s horrible apartment.

M: Sun-ki’s life is worse than when the show started. At the beginning, he was running an incredibly trendy waffle cart and he knew where his lost love was living. Now, he works for what will soon be a coffee chain. 

E: It was an illegal waffle cart, I think I should remind you. Not quite sustainable.

M: Is he in the country legally? 

E: He’s half-Korean I think.

M: Oh right, that does sound familiar. I’ll be interested to see how they wrap this up, because I doubt they’re going to let it end on a downer, although it would be the most mature romantic decision anyone on the show has made. 

E: The main throughline of this episode though is continuing the argument from the bug infested field where they’re to come to an agreement on marriage.

M: I have little sympathy for either party in this argument. Han-gyul is clearly being too pushy, although he was not unreasonable to expect getting married relatively quickly when she accepted his proposal. That said, it’s not unusual for people to wait a year or a year and a half or so between getting engaged and getting married. It’s amazing that Han-sung and Yoo-joo planned a wedding so fast. 

E: I mean, they needed to have it fast, I assume.

M: You’re right, you’re right. On the other hand, Eun-chan’s reasons for waiting five years just don’t make enough sense to me. I get that she wants to put her career first and not depend on him, and even worries about the expectations of his family for her as a wife, but it doesn’t seem like barista school will take five years. That number feels pretty arbitrary. 

E: I think it’s five years specifically to put Eun-sae through her last year of high school and then college.

M: That’s what a savings account is for.

E: You think they have savings?

M: No, but I’m also unsure how Eun-chan expects to be able to go to school and make as much money as she has been before, maybe even more if she’s paying tuition, either. 

E: I mean, I don’t know. She’s always been very busy as we’ve seen from the start of the show.

M: Totally. I think an argument based on being too busy for being married would be more compelling. 

E: See, I think all of these things are implied reasons, she just sucks at explaining them to him.

M: And that’s the big problem! It’s telling that Grandma can step in and provide the ideal compromise, and yet Han-gyul won’t accept it. 

E: To be fair, he decided not to go overseas mostly so he could still be around Eun-chan. I understand why he’s a little upset about the prospect. Is it totally fair? No. But I understand.

M: I understand, but this is such a dream outcome for Eun-chan. Studying to be a barista in Italy, while still probably being able to work and support her family? That’s ideal. And she never asked him to stay, I don’t think. He made that choice. They didn’t talk about that either. 

E: I mean, I’m 100% sure he’s going to come around, and this is what’s gonna happen. Just saying that I see where his emotion is coming from.

M: I do too. It’s just paired with Han-sung’s crushing disdain for his wife’s successful art career, not a good look for the Choi boys. 

E: Grandma does seem to be feeling better, so that’s good.

M: She’s got a lot of white blood cells!

E: Whatever that means. Is that good? Can you have too many?

M: Yeah, healthy immune system. And I’m glad she’s come around to seeing Eun-chan as the aspiring self-made woman that she was in her youth. 

E: Mr. Hong put on his best tie just to sell it to her.

M: Mr. Hong is the only one who wants the best for everyone on this show. 

E: Mr. Hong is an enigma, but a benevolent one.

M: On another note, Eun-sae and Han-gyul together are too powerful. 

E: The fact that they’re bonding….it scares me.

M: For Romance Tracker, I’m worried about the track the show is setting for Yoo-joo. I’ve never quite been able to figure out what the show wants me to think of that relationship. I find it so unsympathetic, and so smothering to her that it’s hard to root for, but I don’t know if I’m meant to be more on Han-sung’s side here. 

E: I think now you are, skeptically. I mean, it’s for the baby!!! Think of the babby.

M: I’ll be sad if the finale arc for her is settling into domestic life. 

E: Honestly the ideal outcome would be Han-sung leaning in to being a stay at home dad. He doesn’t really have to go to the office much.

M: I would support that. Han-gyul and Eun-chan will fight for like another fifteen minutes, probably, and then he’ll chill. 

E: Yeah, I think this argument will be all wrapped up before the end of this episode. 

M: I really hope he somehow gets the job back in America and goes there for a few years while she does Italy. 

E: Or that he just makes his coffee franchise wildly successful.

M: Why not both? 

E: Anything else from this episode for you?

M: I keep waiting for the big reveal of how Grandma and Mr. Hong know each other, and I don’t think it’s coming. 

E: You just have to accept that Mr. Hong knows everyone and everything. You know, he’s the Present Mic of this world.

My Hero Academia S4E23: “Let It Flow! School Festival!”

M: That’s as good as transition as any to this off-the-wall episode. 

E: I love their performance so much. It feels so high school theater. It’s so authentic.

M: The dancing is so mediocre. 

E: But they’re so excited about it. They think it’s the best dance routine in the world.

M: You know Mina came in with a much more complicated routine and had to slowly compromise her artistic vision. 

E: I’m glad she just let Iida do the robot whenever the mood struck him. 

M: I would have liked to have seen a few more people fail at dancing. I know it would have taken away from them blowing everyone’s minds, but I would have liked it. 

E: Anyway, I just like how happy it was. 

M: I agree. There’s a part of me that wanted the stereotypical “things are going wrong for the first verse and then they hit their stride” drama, but I appreciate that it was just good. 

E: Ectoplasm F or Y or whatever, made sure that Deku cleaned his face first. 

M: Honestly, thank goodness. Ectoplasm showing a lot of compassion there. 

E: Nobody wants to see Deku’s dirty bloody nose.

M: I hope that Deku filmed the dance with that camera he picked up and that he has internet wizard Todoroki post it on Gentle’s channel. 

E: Todoroki the hackerman.

M: I saw this week that there’s a speedrunning exploit for some Dragon Quest that involves heating up the console…Todoroki could hack in that style. 

E: Todoroki is too busy posing for photos at the Nezu and UA photobooth.

M: Todoroki doesn’t make any sense as a character. 

E: He just does what he wants now. He has no limits.

M: I hope that next week we find out that Endeavor was there in the back, watching. 

E: Ah, see, you think Endeavor can be subtle when we watched him walk into a stadium and scream his son’s name in a room full of children.

M: See, what I’m expecting here is growth. 

E: You’re right. 

M: Seems like Gentle is about to be recruited to make  anti-villain propaganda on his Youtube, huh?

E: They’re giving him cheap tea, so I’m not sure if he’ll be persuaded.

M: They’ll hold La Brava hostage until he agrees to join anti-vi.

E: That’s a highly skeptical way to look at it, but I like that idea to be honest.

M: You know what other idea I like? Class 1-B’s beautiful play. 

E: “I am your true father!”

M: Was that a Star Wars homage, or just a corny story choice?

E: I’m 100% sure it was a Star Wars reference. 

M: Iconic. 

E: If Class 1-A’s performance was super high school, then Class 1-B’s performance honestly displayed a level of commitment and creativity far beyond their years.

M: I’m so proud of Monoma. 

E: “A vote for Kendo is a vote for the future!”

M: I hope that he’s nice to Kendo to her face sometimes. 

E: It’s hard to tell if he’s trying to be nice here, or if he’s being mean.

M: Speaking of the beauty pageant audience, I would have liked to see Amajiki try more of the festival food. 

E: His class performance is just “look at this weird creature” like a circus thing.

M: I think that would have worked well. Better than Mirio doing stand-up. 

E: “Don’t worry, he’s gonna get down.”

M: I’m so embarrassed by Mirio. 

E: He emanates so much confidence though. Like, he says everything he says with no shame. Truly, we should all aspire to have little bit more of that.

M: I’m glad Eri had a nice time. I’m a little disappointed that Aizawa hasn’t announced that he’s parenting her with Joke and Present Mic as co-dads. They’re all dads here. Otherwise, what’s the point of his iconic opening appearance with the cat jacket?

E: Do you want to know the story behind the cat sweater?

M: He’s a Nekoma fan. 

E: Apparently it’s like an extra chapter in the volume releases or something. He brings that sweater for Eri to wear when he picks her up from the hospital, but the nurses think it’s horrifying and don’t let her wear it, and then burn it.

M: Just think, we could have made Eri smile without going through all this, just with that horrifying…you know what, I would wear it. That stylish cat sweater. 

E: You would wear it.

M: The fact that Deku really went out to get candy apple stuff is disappointing. His judgment, bad. 

E: I thought this would make you less upset than the rope.

M: Has he heard of Postmates?

E: Somehow I don’t think they allow deliveries on UA. Actually, that would suck. They can never get pizza delivered to the dorms. What’s the point of living on campus?

M: Even if this justifies his weird rope quest, he still should have thought of going out to get candy apple stuff more than an hour in advance. 

E: Well, Deku’s a huge dumb dumb, I can’t deny it.

M: By the way, he HAD HIS PHONE! THE WHOLE TIME! 

E: We already went over why he wouldn’t use it!

M: Was it on silent? Not on the All Might ringtone that you know he has?

E: It was probably on silent from either sleeping or in preparation for the show.

M: Seems dumb to turn your phone off when you leave campus. 

E: Deku is a huge dumb dumb, I can’t deny it.

M: Now I’m just imagining his phone vibrating through that whole fight. 

E: Just his All Might ringtone going off the entire time. Through everything. Really would undercut any dramatic moments.

M: I love that All Might started calling at like 9am. When did Deku leave?

E: 8ish? I don’t remember exactly. 

M: That’s too soon.  

E: Anything else or should we do Lawsuit Watch?

M: I don’t think anything illegal happened on Coffee Prince, right?

E: Uraraka was floating random audience members, they could probably sue. 

M: Yeah, there were a lot of safety concerns about that show. I’m glad that Deku and Kirishima were carrying Aoyama, but they didn’t have harnesses. 

E: I think it was just Deku actually, Kirishima was chipping off ice to fall.

M: Same concern. I hope all of their costumes were flame-proofed. I also want to sue because Bakugo didn’t get a face-melting drum solo. 

E: I think it was like one of the earlier episodes, they had to tell him to stop doing his own thing because Kaminari sucks.

M: I think Dark Shadow not making a real appearance was a missed opportunity. 

E: Do you think Dark Shadow could help him with some of the chords.

M: Maybe, but why would Dark Shadow be better at it?

E: Just like one where he can’t get his finger far enough, Dark Shadow could just hold that string.

M: That’s metal. 

E: Caffeine Watch?

M: Obviously My Hero. Not even close. 

E: Yeah, no contest.

M: I’m ready for the penultimate title. 

E: Season 4 Episode 24 is called “Japanese Hero Billboard Chart”

M: They’re really bringing that back, huh?

E: Rankings? Yeah, heck yeah.

M: Okay, prediction one: The new number one hero isn’t Endeavor. It’s Hawks.

E:

M: Prediction two: There’s some tension between Young Todoroki and Tokoyami as a result of these rankings. Todoroki doesn’t really realize why he’s acting out. 

E: .

I know that’s ramen and not soba, I’m working with what I’ve got here.

M: Prediction three: Deku accidentally sleeps through one of All Might’s lessons, and All Might calls the cops when Deku doesn’t pick up his phone. This man is a nervous dad. 

E:

M: Prediction four: There is going to be so much Present Mic narration, but Present Mic is probably also a top twenty hero, just because he can game the charts, so you KNOW there’s going to be an unenthusiastic guest host for his announcement. 

E:

M: Prediction five: Eri comes back to enjoy a nice cheese plate with Aoyama. They have a nice time. 

E:

–

Hey there, Emma here! Thanks for watching My Hero Academia and Coffee Prince with us! Just two more installments of Coffee Prince left. Meanwhile, My Hero Academia is eternal, apparently.

Look forward to next time!

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