[Spoilers] I My Me! Strawberry Eggs 25th Anniversary Rewatch -- Overall Series Discussion Thread

Let's talk about the show as a whole, shall we?

I think the biggest strength of the series is in its writing. There's a sincereness to it that really makes things charming. And I think the show has a memorable set of characters despite how problematic some of them are. Like, I clown on Kōji and Tofu but I kinda like them as butt monkies. The stretch of episodes from like episode 6 until episode 10 felt a bit like we were killing for time. There was some good episodes, like the male student boycott, but it felt for the most part like nothing substantial was happening.

I think the show actually did drama better than it did comedy.

The best stretch of the show was from episode 10 until the last episode when the love triangle comes crashing down. I think they got a lot of milage out of it.

How you judge the show will depend largely on how you perceive Hibiki's relationship with Fuko. I for one thought it was a good source for drama and I like the resolution we got. I can see why a plot of an adult falling in love with a teenager would turn a lot of people off. But I thought it was done with realism where Hibiki recognized it was a problem and decided to take himself out of the equation.

Honestly, I'm more sad Fujio didn't end up with Akira, but that's neither here nor there. Though at least they still remain friends.

I'm giving the show a 7 out of 10. It's good, but I will admit rewatching it did lessen the show in my eyes. I used to have it at an 8 out of 10 but I can't in good conscience give it that grade because the middle half is kinda rough. I believe 7 out of 10 is also the same school I gave Love Hina. And while I think this was better than that-- the high end episodes are a little bit higher-- I also admittedly had more fun watching Love Hina, which may be because it was my first time watching Love Hina.

I think Strawberry Eggs is a good time capsule anime who's values surprisingly hold up pretty well. Yeah, some of the humor is outdated, but I think the rest of the show is so good that I'm willing to overlook it. I'm glad I got to analyze Strawberry Eggs after having seen it two other times, though now that I've hosted a rewatch for it I'm not exactly clamoring to revisit it again anytime soon.

If you want an idea of what anime was like at the time, I'd say this show is as good as any. I do feel everybody needs to see this show at least once.

Let's thank some people, shall we?

u/KuKiSin, AgentOfACROSS, u/Magnafeana, u/fansi2022, you were the four rewatchers that participated for more than a couple episodes. And for that I appreciate you.

I hope both Magnafeana and fansi2022 end up deciding to finish the series someday.

KuKiSin, is was a privilege talking to you and us getting into these in depth conversations. Talking about Hibiki's intentions and whether or not he's a pedophile is something that I feel defined the rewatch. For better or worse :P

I think your presence really helped make up for the low yet expected turnout.

AgentOfACROSS, it was fun talking to you as always. Even though you didn't like the teacher student romance, I'm glad you decided to stick with the show. I think that is a testament to out friendship.

Lastly, I want to thank all the watchers who fell by the wayside and the lurkers who helped contribute to the rewatch. I really appreciate it.

This is my last rewatch until the Haruhi Suzumiya one in April. I've been doing rewatches nonstop I feel like since the annual Spice and Wolf one in July. Since then, I've done a rewatch of Uma Musume, I participated in the Evangelion one, I hosted the Shakugan no Shana rewatch which went nearly three months, and of course there was the Toradora rewatch which was an unmitigated success. And then of course there was this rewatch which was a nice little respite.

It's time to recharge my batteries.

I wouldn't say I've become disenfranchised by hosting rewatches, but I do feel I pour so much of myself into these things that when that energy isn't matched, it leaves me to feeling that I'm wasting my time. It wasn't bad here because KuKiSin brought the goods, but I could see it becoming a problem down the road. Participating in an active rewatch to me holds more importance than hosting a dead one because I can still dictate the tempo without having to organize everything. That's something that's been on my mind the last week or so and something I might keep mindful of in the future.

I am glad that I got to host a rewatch of what I feel is an underrated series. I feel like nobody talks about this show, and maybe now that I've revisited it it's for good reason lol. But I'm still glad to talk about a series that feels lost to the sands of time. The fact anyone participated in it is a win in and of itself.

It was kinda challenging to watch anime while putting this rewatch together. I don't know why, it just was. I don't know if it was because of the low turnout and it affected my mood in some way. With me not having any rewatches for the next two and a half months, I'm hoping that gets me back in a good groove. Ideally, I'd like to finish the Haruhi rewatch, the Familiar of Zero one, and the Fruits Basket one all before April 2nd, though that may be a tall order.

I also know that March 1st is like the deadline to like step down from some subs. I can't mod more than 5 sub with 100K visitors or else I risk punishment. That's another thing weighing on my mind. I will probably take care of that sometime in the next couple weeks, I just don't know when.

I say all this because I feel like rewatches have become an increasingly integral part of my life. When things are firing on all cylinders, there is no high better than it. And when things don't, it can be very humbling. I'd like to think that going from arguably the most successful rewatch of all time in the 2025 Toradora Christmas Club Rewatch to the 25th anniversary rewatch of Strawberry Eggs is a lesson in not taking anything for granted. When something exceeds expectations, enjoy it, because you don't know how long it's gonna last.

Months from now, the Strawberry Eggs rewatch will be forgotten about. And I will probably be preparing for a rewatch in the not too distant future. But you have to appreciate the less successful rewatches just as much as the most successful ones. Otherwise, things will almost always feel inferior.

I'm glad I started off the year watching a show that I feel really defined my early anime fandom. And for anyone paying attention, that is now the third year in a row we've watched a show during the month of January. Here's to many more rewatches to kick off the year in the foreseeable future.

I'll see you guys around <3

>Final Score?

[I really don't like this question.](https://i.imgur.com/TCm97Rv.png)

>Best Character?

Granny. And it's not even close.

>Best Comedic Scene?

Probably episode 2 when Hibiki forgot one of his boobs lol.

>Best Dramatic Scene?

Episode 4, when Hibiki took Fuko to her mother's grave. As weird as it was, the whole episode was very touching.

>Thing You Like The Most?

I liked how even though it was all for the pretense of getting her rent money, the Granny was always there to help out Hibiki. I did also like how Hibiki was genuinely trying to help out everyone with the best of intentions.

>Thing You Wish Were Done Differently?

I've been very clear on this but, I really wish Hibiki hadn't developed feelings towards Fuko. We could've still had a similar drama had she fallen in love with him but he didn't reciprocate, because in the end, the problem the school had with it was him crossdressing, not being involved with a student.

>Favorite Moment Overall?

I'm really not good at picking favorites, but my favorite scenes were generally the comedic ones. The missing boob, fruitcake, mecha granny, kidnapping the teacher...

>Comment Face You Would Like To See Added?

Damn... I have no idea...

>Overall Thoughts?

I came into the show completely blind, all I knew is that it was about a crossdressing teacher. The show started very strong with some very funny and and some very touching moments. I like that Hibiki was constantly trying to help out Fuko, especially once he found out everyone else was taking advantage of her and she had no parents around, and it wasn't limited to her, he was constantly trying to help out everyone and solving everyone's problems. Fuko was a good character too, can't say I have super positive feelings towards her, but I think she served her purpose well. Granny was the strongest character in my opinion since she was always there to bring us the funny bits and to help out Hibiki. I even liked our perverted duo.

Things started falling apart when the focus shifted towards Hibiki and Fuko's feelings, I really wish that hadn't happened. What made it worse was that the problem everyone had with him was that he was crossdressing rather than that he was trying to get involved with a child, even though they knew it, because the vice principal said it, almost as a passing remark.

I also think the principal and/or vice principal could've had a bit more focus. Yeah they were horrible, but they had their fun moments and could've been further developed, especially when we even found out the principal used to have a thing for crossdressing granny. I still think it was a good and enjoyable show, but it could've been a lot better.

>Final Score?

7/10, despite my own criticisms of the show it's still fairly solid overall

>Best Character?

Definitely Lulu, I love tyranical little old ladies like her. She's hilarious.

>Best Comedic Scene?

Probably Lulu's inexplicable transforming mecha motorcycle

>Best Dramatic Scene?

Probably Hibiki being exposed

>Thing You Like The Most?

I think I've come around to really appreciate the Akira/Fujio subplot

>Thing You Wish Were Done Differently?

I kinda wish some of the side cast got more to do since some characters like Miho, Seiko, and basically any of the male students that weren't Akira got very little to do.

>Favorite Moment Overall?

Probably the ending scene chasing after Hibiki's train.

>Comment Face You Would Like To See Added?

I can't think of any

>Overall Thoughts?

This show is definitely a product of its time and it shows in a lot of ways (including it's incredibly bizarre dub) but at the same time it's still enjoyable and in some ways its datedness keeps it interesting. I enjoyed this one and it definitely makes me want to look into more 2000s anime.