百合Goggles²: Bukatsu-do 02–Love at First Sight

Bukatsu-do is a five episode drama that is kind of a spin-off of Narumi Riko & Kitano Kie’s movie Bushido 16. They say spin-off but the two have no little in common than just the actresses. in fact they never are in the same episode at all in Bukatsu-do which is a very big let-down really. I was so disappoint that I had to let off watching the series until now.

Narumi-kun stars in eps 1, 3 and 5 while Kie-chan takes 2 and 4. Narumi’s episodes are a No-No as they are as straight as they come! Even the one that wasn’t about romance has her surrounded by guys only and no girls. the other two being about romance really made me so depressed I wanted to hit something. This is a very big deal for me (and probably Narumi-kun but she’s a pro actress so she can’t refuse roles) as if there is one person I know loves girls is Narumi Riko!

No, what got me to write about this is very sadly not Narumi-kun but Kie-chan’s episode 2 about a Tea-Ceremony Club – where she has a life-changing moment.

The episode opens in the now with Ogawa Nana [Kie-chan] already a member and probably the president of the tea Club, in the middle of tea preparation. She hears footsteps approaching which make her pause. Were they another member’s or were they ghost footsteps of someone else?

Enter flashback….

Ogawa Nana is a typical laid back 2nd year High Scholar who is one day dragged by her childhood friend to the Tea Club against her will. When they get their though, the club is not yet open to the public. Being a guy, and this being a girly club, Nana is forced to go spy and see if anyone was inside.

Nana begrudgingly tip-toes in to do just that. just as she nears the first room in, she hears voices so she get closer and takes a peek through the slightly open door. What catches her eye first is a foot being exposed and finding that the nails had been done in an exotic red polish. this being a school and make-up forbidden, Nana is shocked into pulling away. Something new awakens in her at the sight and she can’t help but sneak another glance and stare at those beautiful feet.

While she’s lost in this new world, her friend bellows as he asks if she found anything. Nana replies back a little too loud being caught staring as she was and the ones she was spying on come out and find her there outside their door. The two members of the tea club inform Nana and her friend that they can come back later as they are currently not ready yet. They are asked to write their names down first as reservation and one of the members notes the resemblance in hers and Nana’s name.

Her [Takagi Koto] name is also Nana – Koyama Nana. (Ooh…Nana x Nana, now where have I seen this pairing before?") She is a third year and thus Nana’s senpai. Aside from having the same given names, their Surnames have a relationship as well. Nana’s has a kanji for ‘river’ in it while Nana-senpai’s has one for ‘mountain’. We all know these two entities of nature’s relationship. And their surnames have the same first kanji as well. Nana-senpai informs this to the already flustered Nana who get even more shaken as she almost knocks over the sign as she turns to leave.

Nana-senpai is amused by the girl’s antics.

Later when they come back, Nana can’t seem to take her eyes off of Nana-senpai’s gracefulness and she is even more smitten. As she leaves, she asks if it was still possible to become a member to which Nana-senpai says ‘Of Course’ and hands her a form to fill in.

At home, we can all guess where nana’s mind was at, right?

The first day as a member proves to be somewhat promising for Nana as she got to be touched by Nana-senpai (accidentally) during the lessons and demonstrations. At the end of the day, as Nana-senpai leaves, Nana runs after her to probably talk to her girl to girl for the first time only to feel her heart fall and crush on the ground when she finds out that Nana-senpai has a boyfriend.

Quoting nana…

“何だ、彼氏がいるんだ。”
"Nanda, kareshi ga irunda.”
”Oh, she has a boyfriend.”

Nana is so disappoint, she gets her wires crossed and asks her childhood friend if he wanted to go out with her. This was probably done as a way to make Nana-senpai jealous as they shared a look one time after school before they both walked off with their ‘boyfriends’. It was good to know that nana wasn’t into the boy/girl gig that much as she got pissed off when her friend put an arm around her shoulder as they left school. She asked him what the hell he was doing to which he answered that they were together. needless to say, he didn’t tri that again.

At the club, the sensual touching continues and Nana-senpai is really not making things any easier with the way she always prefers to show by touching. But they are getting closer and before we know it the two are walking off home together. Nana-senpai’s boyfriend isn’t picking her up anymore too. (I wonder what happened! Not complaining though.)

As they walk, Nana observes that Nana-senpai’s is pretty simple as she doesn’t have her phone and bag decorated just like any other girls in Japan to which Senpai replies that she likes things simple.

“Simple is best” – she says.

Nana confuses the Senpai further by suddenly undressing her bag of decorations and dumping them there and then. nana seems to have won points for this action it seems as the Senpai says that after she graduates, she will give nana her kimono (the one she wears during the club activities).

Nana’s love grows even stronger.

On graduation day, Nana is alone in the club house relaxing and as she observes her now colour nails and thinking back to that fated moment of meeting, she falls asleep only to wake up to an almost kiss from her ‘boyfriend’. Can’t blame the guy really. nana was incredibly bait-full as she lay there in a romantically lit room.

Needless to say, wrath rained down upon the poor guy but for some reaons, it was less because of the almost kiss and more because the guy was standing in Nana-senpai’s space. Talk about obsession! She was more rattled by someone else standing there than being kissed in her sleep. And so she shouted at the poor guy to get out of the room (her senpai’s room) in such a strange voice the poor guy could only stumble away in absolute confusion.

At that moment Nana-senpai arrives with her certificate in hand. She watches as the poor guy runs away and turns to ask Nana if she was okay. Senpai also notices Nana’s feet and she knows then that her secret was no longer hers only. Nana breaks down at her senpai’s presence. Nana-senpai is startled at the sudden emotional outburst but unlike Madoka, she didn’t run away but instead embraced her crying kouhai.

I would say it was in this moment that she nana-senpai understood nana’s true feelings.

They stay like that for a while to come, everything else forgotten. What happens next, we shall never know but we can imagine.