Daijoubu

I saw The House Bunny recently and it reminded me of this anime (one of those Japanese cartoons I used to watch before I played Pangya). Like the girl in the movie, Suzumiya Haruhi also likes to dress up as a bunny (and force Mikuru to do so as well). In the movie, the Bunny is forced out of the Playboy Mansion and moves into a sorority house filled with geeky girls in need of a makeover (I don’t think any were otaku though). So basically, the House Bunny is able to make the girls popular and everyone learns the value of friendship and sisterhood (yay!). But wouldn’t otaku males rather see Haruhi and Mikuru as House Bunnies? How would this compare to the movie???

Point 1: Clothing: The House Bunny helps the girls dress in typically young slutty style with lots of makeup and so on. Haruhi, on the other hand, has a preference for turning Mikuru into another Bunny or forcing her into a maid outfit. If Haruhi is doing it consciously or not, her instinct is in line with typical otaku fantasy. Maybe not the Bunny part, but certainly the meido part. Also, each day she wears a school uniform. Except for Genshiken, otaku males prefer high school girls to college girls because uniforms are sexy.

Point 2: Tsundereness and Mikuru-ness: The House Bunny self-consciously uses her sex appeal to attract men. In her dealings with the girls, she tries to bring them around to her ideas by always acting upbeat and providing much encouragement. I don’t know how this would work with otaku males or females. With females, her suggestions would probably only be listened to if Yaoi was involved. With males, she would have many obstacles to overcome. Unless cosplay was involved, the fact that she is a real and not 2D girl, and not a loli with lots of moe either, would be a serious disadvantage. But the greatest obstacle would be her friendliness. The great popularity of the tsundere character type reveals that this is the kind of woman otaku are being programmed to like. Rude, demanding, foul-mouthed and violent, but with those rare sparks of occasional tenderness, the Tsundereness of Haruhi immediately makes her an object of fascination for otaku men. These guys must have their low self esteem validated by the harshness of a tundere before they can feel a spark of interest. Unless, of course, they are into ditsy girls like Mikuru. But the House Bunny is just a bit too capable for that role, is not embarrassed by her sexuality and has no Beam Attack.

Point 3: Bunny Activities: The House Bunny has a lot of fun, washing cars, dancing with seniors and having a huge college party where a virgin is sacrificed. But I don’t know if members of the college’s anime club would necessarily be found doing those things, if Genshiken is anything to go by. Haruhi and friends’ two episode trip to an island might fit in with the House Bunny’s itinerary, but those two episodes sucked, so we will disregard them. The dancing would very much more be up Haruhi’s alley, but I doubt the House Bunny knows the Haruhi Dance (or the Lucky Star Dance, although she might know carmeldansen). But otaku are more likely to go wild over Haruhi’s guitar playing, her crazy movie, and her masterful command of a space fleet.

The balance of the evidence thus far seems to support the notion that Haruhi makes the more effective Bunny for those with otaku-leanings. My personal choice? Tsuruya Bunny!!! Ahemmm. But the House Bunny is still a good movie, so go see it now!