The girls are finally back with a short but sweet episode… in more ways than one. Stay Toon’d!
Disclaimer: It just occurred to us all that we never posted this to the actual site. Sorryyy~
Hiya!
Ergh…
Uh-oh, someone’s looking grumpy~
Ya don’t say…
Whaaat? Don’t you wanna talk about something cute with me?
No.
So honest!
Can we just get this over with?
Boo… I wonder if I’ll ever figure out what your problem is.
Don’t give me that! You know damn well what me “problem” is, ya gremlin!
And now she resorts to name-calling! How rude! It’s okay, though! Something cute will fix that nasty temper of yours!
WHAT?!
Today’s aaall about the adorableness of As Miss Beelzebub Likes It!
Ugh…
I won’t pretend that there was any huge idea around this episode. I just wanted to talk about cute stuff!
Well, at least she’s honest…
We could all stand to stop and appreciate the cuteness, every once in a while! Right?!
Rila.
Heh?
The point. Start getting to it.
Fiiine. So here’s the thing. Cute stuff is great, but it’s actually overlooked a lot as a real storytelling mechanic!
That… is an honestly good point. The few times I can think of where it is appreciated, it’s because it’s used to sucker you in so when something tragic happens, you feel sad about it. Because human nature kind of naturally wants to protect cute things.
Right! But that’s totally unfair, isn’t it?!
It’s… manipulative, for sure. I dunno about calling it “unfair,” though.
No, really! How many times do you watch a story that’s honestly pretty serious, then you instantly get all nervous whenever a cute thing comes up!
Holy crap, she’s right.
If the cute thing isn’t sacrificed to the plot gods, then it’s tainted by the plot devils! There’s always a “but,” y’know?! “Oh, that character’s so cute, but you better not get attached to them!” Or “Wow, this character’s adorable, but they’re also a total psychopath!”
That… is a fair point. But I still don’t really get what that has to do with the subject of the episode.
Duh! I’m trying to say that sometimes cuteness is all you need! And today’s anime is a perfect example!
Well… I did feel a serious urge to go and brush my teeth when I finished watching it. And to take a shower when I got out of that ridiculous getup… I’d argue that pure cuteness can be gotten away with in Slice-of-Life and Romance anime pretty easily, though.
Well, sure. You’re not always expecting those types of twists and turns out of them. Unless they’re dramas, I guess. At some point we should probably talk about how versatile romance is as a genre.
True.
Anyway, Miss Beelzebub isn’t special or anything. But it does really perfectly capture one of the things that’s most enjoyable about love – how precious it is!
I mean, I guess. It does sort of distill all that cuteness into one almost overwhelmingly saccharine package.
But that worked to its benefit! All the visual cuteness of the series was actually being used to evoke feelings of the same warmth and comfort that comes from being in love!
Fair point. Cuteness does sort of directly trigger the same places in your brain that think of those sensations. So all that light, fluffy stuff that Beel adores was actually there to sort of slide the audience into that kind of headspace.
But it wasn’t just that! It also played on the anxieties of being in love! How it can be confusing and overwhelming and tough, but there’s cuteness to be found even in that.
It’s because love is often seen as a “pure” emotion. It definitely isn’t always the case, but filtered through the lens of more innocent characters, it’s not surprising.
It’s also where the comedy comes in. The way to turn anxieties into cute moments, instead of tense ones, usually comes with a bit of a comedic tint. By using dramatic irony-
For those who don’t know, Dramatic Irony is when the audience knows something the characters don’t.
-you get to see that what the characters are worried about is actually pretty silly. But it’s not dialed up so much that the comedy becomes overpowering. That way the situation comes with a hint of levity and you just wanna pat the character and just go “Aww! You poor thing!” More than you want to laugh at them, anyway.
At the end of the day, love is an emotion that can be incredibly intense, but also incredibly… squishy. Leave it to a show like this to encapsulate that.
I also just appreciate shows like this and Senko-san, and all that! Because some things in life really are just… cute!
Or, in some cases, obsessed with pretending to be…
By the way, Riley…
Nooo…
Guess what I found out earlier.
No no no…
One of our local cons is coming back, this summer! And do you know what that means?
No. NO! Absolutely goddamn not! I am NOT wearing that thing again, you CAN’T MAKE ME!
-WILD RILEY RAN AWAY!-
Aw. She ran away again. Oh well. It’s fine…
Okay, everyone! That’s the episode! What’s your favorite show for the cuteness?! Comment below, let us know! Like, Subscribe, and Ring that Bell so you know when our next episode comes out! Thanks for Watching and Stay Toon’d!
Now then. Riiileeey~ I wonder how long you think you can hide from me. We live under the same roof, you know. Come on out. I’ll make you look adorable.
Rila – Mocha Vampire
Riley – AxusX
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