Line #14 Manga/MinamiKe


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/minamike1.png]]
2
3	->''This story is a simple illustration of the three sisters of the Minami household. Please do not expect too much out of it.''
4
5	''Minami-ke'' ("The Minami Family") is a {{seinen}} manga series by Koharu Sakuraba which began serialization in ''Weekly Young Magazine'' in 2004. Take an OneeSama, a hopelessly GenkiGirl, and a LittleMissSnarker, make them sisters, and put them all under one roof. That's ''Minami-ke''. The show is a SliceOfLife comedy which blends the HighSchool, Middle School, and Elementary School subgenres by having each of the three sisters attend one of these. The fourth storyline is about interactions of the three and their friends at home.
6
7	The Minami sisters:
8	* Haruka. An OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent, with highly developed cooking and housekeeping skills. Very good at school and adored by both Kana and Chiaki (and not only them). Also a [[ShroudedInMyth legendary delinquent]], but that's somewhat in the past.
9	* Kana. {{The Ditz}}y GenkiGirl, preferring to act first and think... uh, well, somewhere in the distant future. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/she_is_boss.jpg She is boss.]]
10	* Chiaki. The youngest sister and LittleMissSnarker of the show.
11
12	The manga was adapted into an anime by Creator/{{Daume}} and directed by Creator/MasahikoOhta in 2007. It was followed the next year by a sequel series titled ''Minami-ke Okawari'' by a different studio, Creator/{{Asread}}. It mostly consists of original material not covered in the manga, and contains much more {{Fanservice}}.
13
14	A third season called ''Minami-ke Okaeri'' aired in early 2009, returning closer in style to the first season, and being met with good reception in turn. A short bonus episode, ''Minami-ke Betsubara'', was also released in 2009.
15
16	A fourth season, ''Minami-ke Tadaima'', this time animated by feel., started in January 2013 (simulcast by Creator/FUNimation), and returns even more to the first season's roots, down to having a similarly-styled opening song and animation. It even brought back the iconic starting spiel that you can see at the top of this very entry. Two [=OVAs=], named ''Minami-ke Omatase''[[note]]it's released before ''Tadaima''[[/note]] and ''Minami-ke Natsuyasumi'', were also released, with the first one being a HalloweenEpisode and the second one being a BeachEpisode.
17
18	The show has a [[Characters/MinamiKe character sheet]].
19	----
20	!!''Minami-ke'' provides examples of the following tropes:
21
22	* AdaptationDyeJob: Every season changes the hair colors of the characters a bit. In ''Okaeri'', the characters have more realistic hair colors.
23	* ArtShift: Frequent closeups in which characters' faces gain considerable detail. "''Bible Black'' faces", as the image boards call them.
24	%%* BeachEpisode: A few of them.
25	%%* BlandNameProduct: Like most slice-of-life shows, there are tons.
26	* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Several assembles:
27	** Haruka, Atsuko and Maki.
28	** Chiaki, Yoshino and Uchida.
29	** Fujioka, Hosaka and Makoto.
30	** Chiaki, Touma and Mako-chan.
31	%%* BlueWithShock
32	* {{Brainwashed}}: In episode 8 of season 4, several characters begin to have a fondness for vegetables thanks to a new TV show. Chiaki and Kana check it out, with the former thinking it's just some random show pandering to the simple-minded. After the show is over, Chiaki develops MindControlEyes, and has a sudden urge to eat vegetables despite normally hating them. Several other characters are afflicted by this as well, such as Hosaka, who tries to force Hayami to eat some. Interestingly, while Kana watched the show, she wasn't affected by it the same way. Chiaki and Hosaka break out of this when they eat some sausages the grocery store is giving out as samples, but not before breaking into a [[SpontaneousChoreography song and dance sequence.]]
33	* BulletTime: Kana's jump on the dining table, in the very first episode of the anime.
34	* ChaosArchitecture: Between season 1 and ''Okawari''. The most noticeable bit about this is the addition of a dining table, and their kitchen is now a counter across said dining table (when in the previous season, the kitchen was outside the living room). Also, Chihaki and Kana no longer have separate rooms.
35	* ChristmasEpisode: Once per season, with the exception of ''Okawari''.
36	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}:
37	--->'''Kana:''' Warmth... sounds warm.
38	** In a scene concerning Valentine's Day, a mistake on the translator's part (Chiaki actually said, "I tried making Chocolat de chocolat (a multi-layered chocolate cake)". Mako-chan then butchers the name as "sokora de kokora") gives us the next dialogue.
39	--->'''Chiaki:''' I tried to make chocolate from chocolate.\
40	'''Mako-chan:''' This is chocolate from chocolate, right?\
41	'''Chiaki:''' Pretty good chocolate, no?
42	* CompanionCube: Yamada, a small rock Chiaki was kicking around. The fans appear to have latched onto him. The trope also applies to Fujioka, Chiaki's teddy bear, to an extent.
43	* ContentWarnings: See the quote above.
44	* ContinuityNod: All over the place in ''Tadaima'', to the first season. Fitting, as the first season is considered by many watchers to be the best season overall in terms of comedic timing.
45	* DemotedToExtra: The Minami brothers, whom the audience had grown attached to by the end of the first season, vanished entirely in the second. Thankfully, they return in ''Okaeri'' and ''Tadaima''.
46	* DiabolusExMachina: ''The Teacher and Ninomiya''. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] both within the confines of their show and by Kana while watching it.
47	-->'''Doctor/Kana:''' "'''Another''' car?!"
48	* DoItYourselfThemeTune: The opening songs and ending songs are sung by the {{Seiyuu}}s of the Minami sisters: Creator/RinaSato, Creator/MarinaInoue and Creator/MinoriChihara.
49	* DownerEnding: In-universe example. In episode 4 of the first season, Chiaki and Kana play a game based on [[ShowWithinAShow The Teacher and Ninomiya]], with the loser having to go out in the rain to buy snacks at the convenience store. At first it seems to be a standard fighting game, with Kana playing Ninomiya and Chiaki as the teacher. The latter soundly defeats the former, but then a cutscene plays with the teacher screaming her name as she "dies", utterly confusing both girls as to what just happened, as well as who won. The same scene plays out multiple times in different genres of that game, and both girls forget the original reason for playing it in the first place, and simply try to defeat the other, while trying to figure out exactly how the game is supposed to be played.
50	* EvolvingCredits: The scenery that Kana walks through in the ending for season 2 changes gradually after every three episodes as the season goes on.
51	* FacelessMasses: Except for a school uniform, everyone who's not a main character in ''Okawari'' is a black silhouette. Then they start ''talking''... [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MinamiKe_blackened.png Some of those blacked-out faces still have some recognizable features]], which makes it even creepier.
52	* {{Fanservice}}:
53	** Quite a bit, with skimpy sport outfits in the opening credits, a beach episode and Kana appearing shirtless (though retaining her bra) in the opening of episode six. The service reaches really silly levels in the second season, perhaps in an attempt to compensate for the lack of funny source material.
54	** And the manga has plenty of Chiaki and Kana {{pantyshot}}s as well.
55	** The ''Betsubara'' OVA has a completely random Chiaki pantyshot for seemingly no real reason, though it's so zoomed out and undetailed it's almost incidental. Then the camera goes back to it. ''[[RuleOfThree Three times]]''.
56	** ''Tadaima'''s first episode has some shots of Haruka with a loose school uniform while taking a nap and Kana lying under the kotatsu along with a change of clothes so that she would be warm when she gets up. The problem with Kana is that she forgot the change of clothes and is in her underwear when Haruka pulls her out.
57	** Another from ''Tadaima'' -- Kana's butt wiggle from episode 7.
58	* ForgivingTheAccidentalPervert: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged]]. When [[TheStoic Natsuki]] accidentally gropes [[ClassRepresentative Haruka]] in front of the class during school hours, she all but explains outright that she has to be seen replying to it in order to maintain their public images and stop any wayward rumours, and apologises in advance. Natsuki makes it clear he's aware of her dilemma and consents to 'taking responsibility', so Haruka visibly punches him in response to the 'perversion'. [[NothingPersonal It is clear neither side have any hard feelings over it]] and Haruka would likely have let it pass if it happened in private.
59	* GoodAngelBadAngel:
60	** Chiaki and Fujioka's angel/devil pairs that appear in episode two of ''Okaeri''.
61	** Chiaki's pair shows up again in the first episode of ''Tadaima''.
62	* GratuitousEnglish: KANA IS BOSS.
63	%%* GratuitousGerman: The German pilot in the last scene of ''Okawari''.
64	%%--> "Meine Damen und Herren, dieses Flugzeug wird um 19 Uhr in San Francisco ankommen. Ich wünsche Ihnen einen guten Flug."
65	* GreenEyedMonster: In episode 8 of season 3, Kana tries to teach Yoshino and Uchida about feigning weakness to attract a guy. They practice by pretending to not be able to open a can of soda. Although Uchida accidentally opens it, Yoshino manages not to. Maki, Atsuko, and Haruka later arrive, and Maki recalls a bad memory of that can trick failing miserably when she attempted it with a guy. They then make Atsuko do it, and she is completely unable to do it. However, she wasn't faking it, and really couldn't open it, causing Kana and Maki to hilariously accuse her of witchcraft with the level of helplessness she showed.
66	* TheHecateSisters: In terms of age it's Chiaki-Kana-Haruka, but in terms of personality, Kana is the maiden, Haruka is the mother, and Chiaki is the bitter crone.
67	* HalloweenEpisode: The first sketch of ''Omatase'' is a HalloweenEpisode. Takeru has a lot of sweets and the girls play "Trick or Treat" (with some variations). Kana is a vampire, Chiaki and Mako-chan are {{Cute Witch}}es, Touma is wolfboy, Uchida might be a bunny girl, Yoshino is a mummy and Haruka is a succubus.
68	%%* HotForStudent: The soap opera ''[[ShowWithinAShow The Teacher and Ninomiya's]]'' premise.
69	%%* HotSpringsEpisode: The very first episode of ''Okawari''.
70	* ImprobablyFemaleCast: While there are male characters, the vast majority of them have minor roles or are only seen very sporadically. In Makoto's case, he's often forced to become [[DisguisedInDrag Mako-chan]] whenever he spends time with the Minami sisters.
71	* InsaneTrollLogic: Kana and Chiaki are both prone to some very bizarre "deductions".
72	* IntimateLotionApplication: When the [[BeachEpisode cast goes to the beach]], this is a problem for Makoto [[DisguisedInDrag who is crossdressing as "Mako-chan"]] since the beach environment makes it hard to conceal his true gender from the others. One of the incidents includes Haruka (who doesn't know he's a boy) offering to rub sunscreen on him, and he can't think of a reason to refuse. The audience doesn't see the act itself, but when we next see Makoto he's [[LuminescentBlush flushing red]] and in a daze at having Haruka (who's a MsFanservice that he has a PrecociousCrush on) touch him in such an intimate manner.
73	* JustTrainWrong: In the 2nd season ending Kana is shown walking a train track whose gauge is as wide as Kana is tall. Most lines in Japan are 1067 mm wide. Either it's a blatant error or Kana is only about one meter tall. There are also no signal posts or mileposts as far as an eye can see.
74	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In episode 2, after Chiaki gives her whole class nicknames and destroys their self-esteem, two students lament that their nicknames are "Student A" and "Student B", which is exactly how minor characters without proper names are credited in anime.
75	* LoveLetterLunacy: In the first episode, Chiaki's... [[InsaneTrollLogic creative]] re-interpretation of the letter as a challenge from a ''[[JapaneseDelinquents banchou]]'' has [[HilarityEnsues hilarious results]].
76	* LoveTriangle:
77	** Riko is in love with Fujioka, but Fujioka is in love with Kana. Sadly, Kana is [[ObliviousToLove completely oblivious]] to Fujioka's affection for her.
78	** "Sensei and Ninomiya-kun" have a LoveTriangle in ''Tadaima'', with the addition of [[FemmeFatale Sannomiya-kun]].
79	** It becomes a LoveDodecahedron when Akira joins in. He's attracted by Riko's long hair, but his close relationship with Kana makes him the target of Fujioka's jealousy. Akira on the other hand has no idea of Fujioka's feelings towards Kana and mistakes Riko for Fujioka's girlfriend, believing that being the reason why he's mad at him. Also, Riko and Kana have no idea what's going on, everyone within the LoveDodecahedron doesn't know that he/she ''is'' in one.
80	* LyricalColdOpen: All openings start with the lyrics.
81	* MindControlConspiracy: Just why was a children's television show hypnotizing people into loving vegetables...?
82	* MindControlEyes: The result of the vegetable song from Tadaima, episode 8.
83	* MindScrew: The very last ending for season 2 shows the usual Kana walking through various scenes. Then at the end when she stops, the camera pans away, and that scene we just looked at turns out to be a painting that another Kana just watched along with the viewers.
84	* NewYearHasCome: Once per season. The girls usually go to a shrine. In ''[[{{OVA}} Omatase]]'', the girls celebrate the New Year in their home right after the Halloween sketch, and everyone but Kana ends up drunken by Hayami's alcohol.
85	* NoFullNameGiven: Almost the entire cast. It's easier to point out the characters whose family names are known: The Minami sisters, the other Minami family (Touma's family), and Chiaki's friend Yuka Uchida.
86	* NoSocialSkills: One has to wonder how the other Minamis raised their children when you look at Touma's brothers... Natsuki in particular is the crowning example.
87	* NotAllowedToGrowUp: It's not really noticeable in the manga, but for those following the anime this is especially glaring. For example, at ''least'' three New Year's celebrations have been shown... and yet no-one has advanced a single year in each of their respective grades.
88	* OddlyNamedSequel: From ''Minami-ke'' to ''Minami-ke Okawari'' ("Seconds") to ''Minami-ke Okaeri'' ("Welcome Home") to ''Minami-ke Tadaima'' ("We're Back").
89	* OpenSecret: In the final episode of ''Tadaima'', Uchida, Miyuki and Maki are not able to keep the secrets of Touma, Riko and Atsuko, respectively, because "it's just between us" animates people to tell secrets to other people[[note]]Though, in Miyuki's case, she doesn't even know the meaning of "it's just between us"[[/note]]. Kana uses this as an advantage and tells people about a "secret" place for a ''hanami'' in disguise of "it's just between us", so a lot of people will be invited for the ''hanami''.
90	* NumericalThemeNaming: '''Ni'''nomiya-kun (2) gets her rival '''San'''nomiya-kun (3) in ''Tadaima''. Makes you wonder if there was an "'''Ichi'''nomiya-kun (1).
91	* ParentalAbandonment:
92	** There are no signs of parents. A conversation implies that the sisters' father is dead or long absent, and their mother is not mentioned at all.
93	** This seems to go for Touma and her brothers too, but they get less screentime.
94	* RubberFace: A few characters are subjected to this, such as Makoto and Chiaki.
95	* RunningGag:
96	** The loincloth festival.
97	** Never ask Keiko what grade she got for whatever test you just took, you'll just feel bad about your own grades after.
98	*** Or you badmouth about her grades that makes ''her'' sad.
99	** The [[SayMyName limited vocabulary]] of Teacher and Ninomiya ("Sensei!" "Ninomiya-kun!").
100	** When people discuss things about Touma, she's often lying around within earshot. This is {{lampshaded}} when Natsuki asks Haruka to tell Touma something.
101	** The question of Touma's gender who are not sure about her true gender.
102	** Hosaka and his plans how to give Haruka a bento or another gift. In the end, he never meets her anyway.
103	* SayMyName:
104	--> '''Ninomiya:''' "Sensei!"\
105	'''Teacher:''' "Ninomiya-kun!"
106	* SelectiveObliviousness: Characters often act as if they do not hear the conversation [[ImStandingRightHere that is taking place right next to them]] (i.e. Touma to her brothers' talking about her). Taken to extremes with Chiaki not seeming to notice anything that would give away Makoto's disguise... although perhaps she's only feigning obliviousness.
107	* ShipTease: Sakuraba likes to portray Hosaka, Fujioka, and Makoto as [[SpearCounterpart Spear Counterparts]] and OppositesAttract of Haruka, Kana, and Chiaki respectively in promotional art he makes, although in the manga proper those three are quite far from being romantically involved, and Hosaka and Haruka in particular barely know each other; surprisingly enough, Touma's brothers, who are generally accepted to be the real SpearCounterpart for the Minami sisters, get no such service from Sakuraba, they are in none of the promotional material.
108	* ShoutOut:
109	** In ''Okaeri'' episode 10, Natsuki and Touma play a game that looks like a parody of ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters '95'', with Touma playing "Rugal Bernstein" and Natsuki playing "Kyo Kusanagi". In the end, Natsuki spams "''[[PlayingWithFire 108 Shiki: Yami Barai]]''" like there is no tomorrow.
110	** In the final scene of the OVA ''Natsuyasumi'', Hosaka is ordering food at a [[BlandNameProduct WcDonalds]]. The two cashiers behind the register look a lot like Chiho and Maou from ''Literature/TheDevilIsAPartTimer''.
111	* ShowWithinAShow / SoapWithinAShow: ''The Teacher and Ninomiya''. Apparently also an in-universe CashCowFranchise, as well, since the Teacher and Ninomiya also star in their very own multi-genre video game (spoofing a lot of familiar titles from video game history) as well as their very own magic show.
112	* SickEpisode:
113	** Kana gets sick in episode 9 of the first season. Chiaki keeps her company and watches over her, and tries to cheer her up. Chiaki herself gets sick later on, probably having caught whatever was making Kana sick.
114	** Kana again in episode 11 of season 2. At first she was faking it to get out of the neighborhood cleaning that day, which Chiaki immediately suspects. But then she really gets sick the next day. Which was also the day the sisters were supposed to go shopping for clothes, and later go to an all you can eat rib restaurant. Kana tries various things to get better, but feels even worse by the time Haruka and Chiaki get home from shopping.
115	* SignatureShot: The first episode, "The Three Minami Sisters", contains director Masahiko Ohta's signature shot of a camera barreling down a hallway at full speed, loving drawn in full [=3D=], when Kana chases her sister looking for a kiss.
116	* SliceOfLife: Its main genre.
117	* SmashingWatermelons: Two are done episode 6 of season 3 and 4.
118	* SnowballFight: A few times in season 2. A brief one occurs in episode 12 of season 4.
119	* SpellingSong: The first, third, and fourth season opening themes. The [[AudienceAlienatingEra second season]]... was something else entirely.
120	* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: Chiaki refers to Hosaka as the curry fairy. Later, Hayami tells Hosaka that he could become the curry fairy. Chiaki meets Hosaka again in ''Betsubara'' and the eighth episode of ''Tadaima'' while both of them are shopping for carrots or vegetables.
121	* StylisticSuck: ''The Teacher and Ninomiya'' is an utter ClicheStorm.
122	* SustainedMisunderstanding: This show runs on it. Often one character will say something, another will misinterpret it, and then spread the misinterpretation around, such as Hosaka believing Kana and Chiaki to be Haruka's daughters, rather than her sisters.
123	* TemporalThemeNaming: Doubled up -- the Minami sisters have ''Haru''ka (spring), ''Ka''na (summer), and Chi''aki'' (autumn), while the other Minami family has ''Natsu''ki (summer), ''Aki''ra (autumn), ''Tou''ma (winter)... and the oldest brother, whose [[NoNameGiven name is never mentioned]] until the seventh volume, which established that his name is ''Haru''o (spring). ''Okawari'' runs with this again in the case of ''Fuyu''ki (winter).
124	* ThoseTwoGirls: Each of the sisters has a pair of Those Two Girls in their respective schools. In Kana's school, there are even two pairs of them.
125	* TitleDrop: If you name your sequels like that, it happens a lot.
126	* UnexpectedGameplayChange: ''The Teacher and Ninomiya'': The Video Game. Such genres include [[VideoGame/StreetFighterII fighting]], [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 platformer]], [[Videogame/{{Gradius}} shoot-em-up]], Capcom-grade survival horror, and an RPG.
127	* UnlimitedWardrobe: Just how many swimsuits do [[{{Fanservice}} the sisters, their female friends]] [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Mako-chan]] own?
128	* ValentinesDayEpisode: Happens once per season.
129	* VoiceClipSong: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7KAh6CAbaE Rotterdam Banchou Core]], a hard trance techno remix of one single scene. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNt_AJDrHgs Now with a gabber remix of the remix!]]
130	* WackyHomeroom
131	* WhamEpisode: Two incidents in episode 12 of season 2. [[spoiler:The first, a minor one, is that Fuyuki, the boy that lived next door to the Minami sisters for that season, moves away unceremoniously. A bigger one that impacts the other sisters is the revelation that Haruka is going overseas to study abroad.]]
132	* WhamShot: Otherwise incredibly lighthearted, an example is found in the last episode of ''Okaeri'' when they find [[spoiler:what appears to be Kana's suicide note]].

Context Manga / MinamiKe