Split Screen: Waffling and Willies

Hey there, Split Screen readers! Thanks for tuning in, hopefully from the comfort of your own home. Emma and I have been amping up our watch schedule, and you get to reap the rewards! This time, we bring you the finale of season three of My Hero Academia, and street meat and the best/worst landlord of all time on Coffee Prince. 

(New to Split Screen and stuck inside? You can read the entire archive here!)

Coffee Prince Fifth Cup (up to minute 29)

M: This was a slow episode of Coffee Prince.

E: There wasn’t very much of what I would call plot progression. The cafe is still having trouble, but they’re waffling on any sort of solution for it.

M: Eyyyyyyyy!

E: Would you believe that that wasn’t on purpose?

M: I would believe it. You’re a natural. 

E: Instead of plot, we got a lot more character stuff, I guess.

M: I now know two more names! A huge amount of character stuff! Waffle cook is Sun-ki and sister is Eun-sae!

E: Speaking of Sun-ki, he and Ha-rim are now roommates in the dumpster that Mr. Hong calls home. 

M: Imagine being quarantined in that place. 

E: I think you would need to be re-quarantined after coming out of that place.

M: There were so many gross little touches. Washing the cups in a bucket. The WALLS. They were so dirty. 

E: The bucket that he also seems to have washed his clothes in, by the way.

M: Mr. Hong is such a bizarre and specific character. I’m digging it. I should have expected this from the guy that had a bug crawl on his eye in episode one.

E: The cafe also used to be a pretty big mess, although certainly not as much as his house.

M: He’s also a fitness fanatic, so there’s that. 

E: I really thought he was hamming it up to make Ha-rim give up on living with him, but then he was super chill about it. So, no, he just does that exercise routine.

M: Imagine making an offer on an apartment and the landlord says to you: “no no no, thirty-three percent cheaper with free food and it’s a deal.”

E: I would be suspicious that the place maybe looked like Mr. Hong’s place.

M: I can’t wait for their roommate adventures. 

E: That’s probably the piece of this episode that I’m most excited to see more of.

M: Imagine if we had gotten more of Woo-bin’s home life on Boys Over Flowers! It would be like this. Especially since Ha-rim possibly comes from a family of assassins. 

E: I really think he meant doctors, but he didn’t say specifically so…who knows.

M: The most successful adaptation of Assassin’s Creed to date. 

E: At the end, it just flashes to the character in the Animus stepping out like, “Man! That was a weird one! My ancestor was kinda a wimp!”

M: The slice of life Assassin’s Creed spin-off we all need in these trying times. 

E: We also got some more drama with Yoo-joo and Han-sung, which really just seemed to spin its wheels for no particular purpose.

M: They have major communication issues. 

E: I mean, when you’ve had Donkey Kong as a sugar daddy…

M: Who is DK?

E: Will we ever meet DK?

M: We have to. You can’t have a character with that kind of name and not introduce them. Chekhov’s Donkey Kong. 

E: But sometimes isn’t it more powerful to leave the character off-screen for the viewers’ imaginations? To imagine Donkey Kong?

M: I suppose a DK silhouette could be effective. Barrels falling down, all that. 

E: I heard they were only allowed to use one shot of Donkey Kong from the back in this show.

M: Please don’t speak that cinematic universe into being. 

E: I appreciate trying to touch a little bit on loving a person versus loving your work and how to balance that, but I just still don’t know what the show is trying to do or say with this couple.

M: They keep telling each other they’re perfect together, and the show is giving us exactly zero evidence for that.

E: Which I’d charitably like to think is on purpose, but the show is not supporting that theory.

M: I hate it. The whole flirtation between Han-gyul and Yoo-joo makes me uncomfortable. 

E: I just wish we knew a little more about the whole history here. Like, is she a childhood friend? A friend of the family? Did they both meet her independently? What’s up?

M: Probably has something to do with DK. 

E: But yeah, it’s hard to invest in anything over there just because we’re not super privy to the inner lives of Yoo-joo or Han-sung.

M: Meanwhile, Min-yup sells street meat now. 

E: He’s helping his sick friend, which is nice of him. There was way too much talk about sickness this episode for the times.

M: We gotta shut down that cart. Takeout only. 

E: They are thinking about pivoting to take-out at Coffee Prince. I’m thinking that they’re going to do some sort of cart thing while the water is out. That’s how this episode is going to resolve next time.

M: Aren’t they going on a retreat?

E: Well, Ha-rim suggested that, dunno if it’s decided.

M: Fair enough. I can’t believe Min-yup didn’t know Eun-chan was a girl. 

E: I really thought he did for some reason? But I guess I was wrong.

M: It just feels like if he’s dating Eun-sae, even casually, how could he not know?

E: Well, he might know that she has a sister, but not connected that to someone he previously thought was her other boyfriend.

M: Is he going to spill the beans?

E: Probably on accident if he does, he’s not a malicious guy. But big well-meaning dummies can be dangerous people to trust with a secret.

M: Meanwhile, what the heck does Han-sung think he’s doing with Eun-chan? Come on dude. 

E: I don’t think he’s processed her as a romantic interest? So all his flirting, to me, feels very like…paternalistic, I guess?

M: I just think it reinforces what a gross guy he is. 

E: But he’s got a good dog, so you just gotta deal with it.

M: We make allowances for Terry. 

E: Terry is blameless in all this.

M: The only other major occurrence in this episode was a dog wearing a party hat almost getting hit by a car.

E: Eun-chan was also almost hit by a car, but that’s pretty incidental. We were more concerned about the birthday dog.

M: It’s emotional blackmail to have a dog almost get hit by a car on television. 

E: Also just distracting. I just wanted to know if the dog was okay, I wasn’t really paying attention to Eun-chan or Han-gyul.

M: Seriously. Glad we could see it in the background. Doing tricks, no less. 

E: And then Han-gyul’s actor got to act with three acupuncture needles in his back. What a fun day on set.

M: They’ve already had to build the whole coffee shop set, so no big thing. 

E: I would rather build a whole set than ever get acupuncture. 

M: I can’t argue with you there. 

E: Shout-out to Eun-chan’s dad, who caught her at age eight falling from a third story balcony and broke both his arms. Powerful dad moment.

M: Big Deku Energy.

E: Not very much actual coffee for the Caffeine Watch this time.

M: I think My Hero is going to win caffeination this week. Romance Tracker?

E: Ha-rim senses the attraction between Eun-chan and Han-gyul, and the two have a nice moment together while he has the acupuncture needles in his back. So things are progressing. Somewhere.

M: Eun-chan has a nose for smells. Ha-rim has a nose for love. 

E: Even if My Chan has terrible taste in men, which honestly, she really do though.

My Hero Academia S3E25: “Unrivaled”

M: This was a pretty slow episode of My Hero Academia too! 

E: Pretty light. Nothing weighing it down. Like clothes.

M: There was certainly more nudity than I expected. 

E: You know what, it’s just finally going equal opportunity here. Momo’s been alone in the partial nudity wagon for too long.

M: There was just a lot of butt. 

E: Yeah. No buts about it.

M: No, no, no. 

E: Anyway, we get to meet and learn a little bit about the Big Three this episode.

M: I still can’t get over the fact that UA has a group of students that are so famous the TEACHER refers to them as the Big Three and yet NO ONE in the class has heard of them. 

E: Again, I think it’s more of a valedictorian thing. So, they’re not famous, they’re just literally the top three in the school. And they’ve got to have an appropriately cheesy superhero-type title for them.

M: I’m still surprised that obsessive journaler Deku hasn’t taken notes on these folks yet. 

E: He’s been a little busy this year.

M: Wouldn’t they have participated in the Sports Festival last semester?

E: Yeah, but Deku was participating in the first years’ Sports Festival and so wouldn’t have seen them live or competed against them.

M: Bad business strategy to run those at the same time. Fewer ad sales. 

E: It’s a school. I’m not sure if they’re allowed to profit that way.

M: It’s the NCAA of hero sports, Emma. Make them dance for us. 

E: Well, I’m pretty sure they do all run at the same time from what I remember of the start of season 2.

M: Deku’s mom didn’t tape it for him?

E: She taped his own performance. 

M: Yikes, that was a mistake. Glad to have that preserved. 

E: “Look, this is where you almost died for the eighth time!”

M: “Note the color: that’s a deep lavender. Almost a mauve.”

E: It’s been a while since Deku broke his bones. How nostalgic.

M: They’re expelling him if it happens again, so he’d better be careful. Probably cracked a few ribs today. 

E: But he didn’t break them himself, that’s the key difference. 

M: Why did they make a naked hero? Couldn’t the support course fix this issue? A breathable loin cloth, maybe?

E: Hmmmm…

M: Oh great. He prefers the buff. Got it. 

E: I have no comment on any support items.

M: I wish we’d gotten to see the other two’s powers. I guess Shy Guy turns people into starches. 

E: That was a metaphor, Madelyn. 

M: No metaphors on this show, Emma. 

E: I know you dislike them, we’ve been discussing this show for over fifty episodes now.

M: What was the last one? It was Stain shooting fire from his eyes or something?

E: He paralyzed all the heroes with the force of his words, and you were very upset about it.

M: Let’s not remember that time. Instead, remember this bizarre physics lesson at UA High. Good class, Aizawa!

E: Hey, he got the point across. Work studies mean that you learn new ways to apply your Quirk! In ways you can’t do in a classroom environment. As someone who attended a school which focused on practical learning, I feel that. 

M: You learned how to pick up coffee, right?

E: I had great internships. I did not learn how to phase through the earth and propel myself back up to where I wanted to go. But they were fine.

M: Maybe if you had tried stripping down, you would have figured it out. 

E: Seriously though, think how scary the first time doing that would be. 

M: Imagine his test that first day of class. Everyone sees his willy. 

E: Sure, being naked is also pretty scary, but I meant falling into the center of the earth.

M: Oh, that too. Too bad they didn’t really explain work studies at all. 

E: They’re internships where you’re actually allowed to do things. 

M: Cool, then why did we bring these kids in to explain something you just explained in nine words.

E: Because some people learn and understand things differently. Also you’re just making the same point they made Tamaki make during the show. You are just repeating things back to me.

M: Yes, some people’s learning style is ass-kicking. 

E: I mean, yeah!

M: I’m grateful to be a visual learner, now more than ever. 

E: You’re just Todoroki on the sidelines, except you’re thinking about how an ice blast would solve everything.

M: That’s why they sidelined him and you know it. 

E: Yeah, I think the author sidelined Todoroki and Bakugo during this part because they just can’t take another loss right now. They’re at a fragile point. Their egos need some time to heal.

M: Isn’t the biggest loss having to take out everyone’s trash?

E: Listen, he’s taking his house arrest seriously. 

M: As should we all. Too bad Aizawa doesn’t give a s#!t about Bakugo. “‘Now that Midoriya’s back, here’s some vital information. Eff that other kid.’”

E: To be fair, Bakugo can’t participate in work studies because he failed the test, so this isn’t super relevant for him. But it’s still funny.

M: On the other side of the city, we’ve got Plague Doctor entering the sick ward. 

E: He’s here to pick up his black market early copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I mean, it’s out by the time this blog is out, but still.

M: That is more or less what Gamestop looks like. 

E: It’s filled with Shigaraki Funko Pops.

M: There were a lot of Shigaraki t-shirts the last time I was there. We were looking for a Retsuko one, but just endless Shigaraki. Maybe it was Nomu? I can’t remember. 

E: That’s worse!

M: Shigaraki, as we discussed while viewing, is this guy. 

E: The context missing here is that the girl is Toga. And I wouldn’t want to share my island with her either. A League of Villains Animal Crossing island would really be a mess.

M: Yeah, Twice would keep resetting the game just to make Resetti appear. I know that doesn’t happen anymore with auto-save, but roll with me.

E: But yeah, this finale is more a table-setting piece for next season than anything- which most of the finales have been honestly. This one was just less flashy than  they’ve just been slightly flashier table-setting.

M: Not much tension this time. Except the fear of the willy. 

E: Speaking of Lawsuit Watch, I think Mirio might have a problem on his hands.

M: Especially…how old is he?

E: Seventeen, I think.

M: Better hope he doesn’t turn eighteen while he’s still at UA. Mirio is going to have to get a press rep who only handles willy picks. 

E: Oh dear.

M: Hope he’s saving up. 

E: Well, we’re skipping the recap episode again, but do you want to know the title of Season 4 Episode 2? 

M: Yeah, and then I’ll make full season predictions based on that. 

E: It’s called “Overhaul”

M: Great, prediction one: UA goes to distance learning. 

E:

M: Because they’re on their work studies, duh. 

E:

M: Prediction two: Deku is somehow going to work-study WITH Mirio. For a while, I thought he was somehow going to be Mirio’s personal assistant, because I’ve been looking at that cover image of them flying through the air for months, but now I think they’re just going to end up on the same work-study with mysterious glasses character. 

E:

M: Prediction three: All-Might is going to become a hero analyst on TV. Think how good his Sports Festival commentary will be. 

E: “Young Midoriya is really doing well! I mean, everyone is! A’s for everyone!”

M: Aizawa in the box jumps in “Except Bakugo, I hate that little s#!t.”

E:

M: Prediction four: one of the C-list characters is going to get really powerful on their work study. Momo will obviously level up because she works hard, same with Iida but probably in a lame way, Uraraka will have a hard time on this one because she had such a great time the first time…probably Denki. Big Brain Denki after the work study. He’ll realize he needs to increase his IQ so he can use more electricity before becoming dumb. So he’ll study up, hit the books. 

E:

M: Prediction five: Bakugo will get a work study, Endeavor will bend the rules to add him to the team. The least likeable hero duo of all time. 

E: Parenthood ended with Shoto. Bakugo is my son now. (EDITOR EMMA: She predicted this last time, too, she’s really stuck on it.)

M: Genuinely, he’ll do it as a slight to Shoto, but it’ll actually end up really working well. 

E:

–

Thanks for reading along on Split Screen. We’re watching Coffee Prince on Tubi and My Hero Academia on Funimation (Hulu doesn’t have the dub yet) if you want to catch up!

Next time! We start a new season in My Hero Academia in a very tonally split episode. And the Coffee Prince princes go on a retreat after all.