Laudations for Mafuyu (Seitokai 11)

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I don’t know what it is about Seitokai no Ichizone, but they make me like characters I normally painfully tolerate. Actually, I kind of do know what it is. For once we’re treated to a show where they basically show us everything without having to explain it. The pointless conversations they have in the student council room may seem pointless but often they point to some deeper need. Last, but not least we’re not privy to fifteen episodes full of a girl giving us internal dialogues about how she loves some guy but can’t confess. Slowly the love develops, whether we really see it or not and then Bam! Mafuyu confesses.

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As far as I’m concerned this is really good storytelling. It doesn’t give us all the information (not even all of the relevant information) but it still managed to surprise me yet not. This episode also took the time to spotlight things about Mafuyu we might not have known without someone telling us. Her reaction to the boys talking about Ken and the confession show an inner strength you can feel but not explain. It also let her step out of her sister’s shadow.

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For all those who didn’t get it. The conversation where Mafuyu is Snow takes place before the student council elections. Sorry, I know I at least was wondering what was going on. At first I just thought it was a Kanon parody, but then I realized it was the conversation where Mafuyu became interested in Ken. I also think the shot of her entering the student council room is for the day Ken was sick (meaning she was going to confess even before the two goons told his back story) and she still confessed after hearing his back story.

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Another important aspect of this episode was to build an appreciation for Ken again. I say again because we’ve kind of been doing it for awhile now. I don’t really think this is atypical though. When I meet someone who seems to do it all I can’t let it go either :). The dialogue implicated that Ken was an important part of the student council, but what it actually disclosed was the importance of Ken to them individually. It’s kind of like that cop out where you pretend everyone agrees with you when trying to say something personal. For example “I hate my uniform” turns into “Everyone thinks the uniforms are ugly”. By making it a group mentality Aka-chan and Minatsu are essentially publicly denying that they have any feelings for Ken outside of the normal student council duties. Although they prove this isn’t the case many times after (what I find really interesting is Mafuyu doesn’t participate).

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Last but not least Mafuyu is also the one who pushes to go to Ken’s house when he’s sick. The other characters resist. My favorite part of Mafuyu is her ability to be comfortable with who and what she likes. I’m pointing this out because it goes against the trend. Too often we have protagonists who are constantly embarrassed and self depreciating; they will go to great lengths to hide who they like. The other type of character is the one that is overbearing. This character has no problem announcing their love and chasing down their love interest to the ends of the earth. Mafuyu is refreshing. We see the love develop and when she’s sure (without hurting or consulting) announces her love.

Thank you Sekina Aoi for creating this character and dreaming of a new story to tell in a different way.

Now I know not everyone will agree with me and Jason Miao will probably write a post about how Seitokai no Ichizone shouldn’t stray away from a pure comedy engine, but in this case I disagree. Although Sekina Aoi is beyond doubt a competent comedy writer Sekina also has a lot more to show us. If you can mix good storytelling with comedy why not? This isn’t the case for all animes. I can name far more animes that do this badly then ones that do it well.

So Seitokai no ichizone, keep doing what you’re doing. I’ll eagerly watch your last episode and hope it lives up to what the rest of the series has accomplished in eleven short episodes.

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