Elementary school knight in shining armor
"I won't cry for you if you die doing this. Why, you ask? Because, Tsuwabuki... You are my valued servant. I can't lose you over something like this."
After being involved in several near accidents, Nanami becomes convinced that someone is trying to kill her. This leads her into a relationship with 4th Grader Mitsuru Tsuwabuki after he saves her life.
"Take Care, Miss Nanami!" provides examples of:
- The Ace: Touga's general awesomeness at everything is the source of both Nanami's and Mitsuru's fixation on him, and by the end even Utena is starting to wonder if he's more impressive than she initially thought.
- Age-Gap Romance: When Nanami returns Tsuwabuki's handkerchief, she asks him to go steady with her. He's 10 and she's 13; the developmental gap between them is significant. It turns out neither of them are approaching the relationship from an honestly romantic point of view, but they value one another's company. They break up amicably by the end of the episode.
- Battle Butler: Nanami expects Mitsuru to take on even this role, fighting her three admirers so she doesn't have to bother with them.
- Behind the Black: A hilariously over-the-top example, as Mitsuru tells Miki and Utena why he's so focused on Nanami (and forgiving of her terrible treatment of him) while they all fail to notice Nanami in between them with a big reel-to-reel audio recording setup.
- Boxing Kangaroo: One breaks out of containment, attacks Nanami, and ends up getting KO'd by Touga. What in the world it's even doing at Ohtori Academy is never explained.
- Engineered Heroics: Mitsuru put Nanami's life in danger repeatedly so he could rescue her and look like the ideal big brother.
- Escaped Animal Rampage: Absurdly, this happens multiple times.
- A spooked horse runs through a school corridor on a collision course with Nanami, but a mysterious stranger does a Diving Save and rescues her just in the nick of time. Why was there a horse inside the school (and why were there suddenly chickens alongside it)? It's a Riddle for the Ages.
- Years prior, when Nanami was in elementary school, Touga saved her from a rampaging bull. Tsuwabuki witnessed this event and was so impressed with Touga's heroics that he decided he wanted to be a cool big brother just like him.
- And course, the runaway kangaroo... which has its own example above.
- I Am Your Opponent: Tsuwabuki says this to the kangaroonote after he beans it with the potted plant that he originally planned to bean Nanami with.
- Noodle Incident: Nanami's lackeys bluntly point out that there are a lot of people who would have a reason to hurt Nanami, they just don't know it.
- Out-of-Context Eavesdropping: Nanami becomes convinced Touga is the one plotting to kill her, with Anthy's help, because she overheads them debating about taking lives. They were actually talking about killing pests that had infected the rose garden.
- Pursued Protagonist: Nanami hears footsteps behind her walking through the streets at night, and as she becomes increasingly unnerved, she breaks into a run. Inevitably, she trips and falls and comes close to getting hit by a car. Fortunately the driver of the car pulls off to help her, but in the distance she sees a shadowy figure walk away. Somebody is after her.
- Returning the Handkerchief: Tsuwabuki declines to give his name when he saves Nanami from the horse, but he does leave her with a handkerchief that has his name on it. She goes off to the elementary school section to return it to him.
- Sitting Sexy on a Piano: Nanami does a pose like this, but on a table on the cafeteria terrace, as she tries to cast herself as a Damsel in Distress to her brother Touga. Touga doesn't buy it and excuses himself, leaving Nanami sprawled on the tabletop as he walks away.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Utena and Miki beat feet out of opposite sides of the frame when the kangaroo charges at Nanami.
- Sparkling Stream of Tears: Nanami runs away from the conversation she was eavesdropping on before the misunderstanding is cleared up, and leaves a dramatic stream of yellow rose petals and sparkling tears in her wake.Nanami: It's too cruel! The culprit who's trying to kill me is my own beloved brother! I wish I really were dead!
- Stock Sound Effects: Cartoony "boing" sounds of the sort produced with a Jew's harp
can be heard when the kangaroo closes in on Nanami. - Taking the Bullet: The kangaroo winds up to punch Nanami, and then suddenly Tsuwabuki is in front of her, shielding her from the blow, with the slow motion and everything.
- Tempting Fate: Nanami says, "someone might be trying to take my life this very moment!" Then a baseball hits her square in the face.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Utena and Miki get alarmed, over-exaggerated grimaces when the kangaroo focuses its wrath on them.
- Tree Cover: Miki and Utena hide behind a bush, and later, even more improbably, a drinking fountain as they spy on Nanami, trying to figure out who her prince is.
