I suspect they didn't want Maomao there because of a mix of classism, pride, and politics. They ladies-in-waiting are from powerful and elite families, while Maomao does not look like a high born at all. As such, they also have high prides for being well-educated not realizing that anyone can be ignorant of something. Plus, imagine having a servant of another faction's leader on your territory. You don't know exactly what their motive is even if Maomao says she's just following the Emperor's orders. What if Maomao uses this opportunity to take information about Lady Lihua and bring it back to Lady Gokyuyou?
quick clarification about what you said around 10:00, Lihua did not neglect Maomao's message in ep.1 - a lady in waiting saw in on the windowsill and simply threw it out. None of them ever even found out that there was a message attached. She did, however reject concubine Gyokuyou's subsequent attempt to assist her, at least in part because she already mistrusted her.
I agree. But when they say she neglected the note on the flower they might mean that she ignored Gyoukuyo when she went to tell Lihua about the note that she read
for various reasons, the Emperor currently only visits two of the four top concubines, and with Lihua being sick, Gyokuyo had to essentially pull quadruple duty. that's also why she was in such distress when Maomao told her that the aphrodisiac could triple a man's potency.
I think that was just her hair, not tassles. The method she whispers is likely - paizuri. For those unfamiliar, basicaly - she takes the emperor's sword in between the two mountains and gently grinds until satisfied with it.
Yes, you're absolutely right. I'm surprised by how many reactors miss this. It's using her breasts to stimulate the Emperor's penis. Maomao is later recommended by both the leading concubines to give a lecture on how to use sexual techniques with the Emperor. Her experience in the brothel is proving really valuable!
10:46 In the manga, the Lady in Waiting was banished and a new one (Lihua's cousin iirc) was brought in to be Lihua's right-hand woman/Head Lady in Waiting. The anime just had it be her cousin from the start, maybe to remove the need to pay another VA, or perhaps they just didn't want to draw two different characters. Who knows? Either way, they changed the punishment because of that difference.
I was "enjoying" this show until this episode, but this episode hit me like a truck and it clicked as "art". Apparently the metal content in the powder can cause aggressive and paranoid behavior, which means Lihua was a victim of circumstances the ENTIRE time. That broke my heart. Maomao's aggressive and domineering tone-shift was surprising at first, but she grew up seeing life destroyed by similar circumstances, and we saw a hint of the grouchy old woman who ran the brothel in ep1. It would make sense if Maomao's stern hand was learned from watching the old woman harshly protecting girls from foolishness. Most people don't realize the tassels are a visual gag btw, y'all are ON POINT
they are so much beautiful scene in this show and the one where Lady Lihua pet Maomao while she's sleeping is so beautiful. i love when Maomao said: she has self-respect, but isn't arrogant. that line is spot on.
I love the coincidence here of nursing in a anime, as a male nurse i like it when you can witness nursing with rly evidence knowledge in a Anime + there are only a few animes with something like this
Episode 4, with "the slap heard 'round the world" as I call it xD everyone is surprised as hell to see Maomao go aggressively serious after three episodes of being laid back with moments of humorous excitement for weird things and disgust with Jinshi. It just gets better. Eagerly waiting he few years for the next season.
In defence of the quack doctor, in order to enter the rear palace as a male, you must be either the emperor's direct relative or a eunuch. It's a lot to ask of a competent doctor to just sacrifice... himself... for the job of rear palace doctor. It's a good job, but maybe not THAT good.
Nah, because that would mean her son was poisoned first and without her knowledge. If she ever taught her children about poison, she'd inflict it upon herself, and let her kids experiment with """safe""" amounts as she watched over them.
When I first started watching this anime, 12-13 episodes where already out. I watched the first 3 and I liked it. Then episode 4 and Maomao goes off on the lady in waiting and I was hooked. I ended up binging the rest that night.
When I watched this episode for the first time and that lady in waiting was explaining why she was still useing the poweded I thought slap her and when mowmow did thats what sold me on this show.
Love your reaction, as I mentioned in your Lord of the Rings videos, you guys are very attentive to detail and pay attention to the background setting, like the system of the Imperial Harem of chinese emperors. Sad to say the depiction is quite realistic, right down to the fact despite having potentially hundreds of concubines, (never mind the empress or high ranking ones), he not only is EXPECTED to use all of them, but at the same time, NOBODY ELSE is allowed to touch them. A concubine could spend her entire life in the harem and not be touched by the emperor if she doesn't attract him. This system actually isn't unique to China, the Ottoman Empire also had a similar system for their rulers, drawing concubines from all over their empire, even non-Moslem ones. Some of the mothers of their most famous sultans were actually Christian and at times, practically ruled the empire. Same thing for China. Heck, one concubine, Wu Zetian, even managed to establish her own destiny as Emperor in her own right, not Empress or wife of the Emperor. Brutal woman but considered a brilliant ruler for China at the time despite Chinese historians not giving much credit to women much of the time. Despite the system, I will say that not all emperors are douchebags to the concubines. More often than not, its the concubines and eunuchs who scheme and plot against each other to gain power. And for this show, the emperor which is still unnamed, is rather intriguing. As a realpolitik, he is asking/ordering Maomao in front of her mistress another concubine to help another concubine Lihua, so that he won't inordinately focus on Gyokuyou and create imbalance of power in the harem and more political scheming. But for me, I have the feeling that this emperor is actually a decent fellow and cares for the concubines even if he doesn't sleep with them. It feels that in the previous episode, he might have intentionally let Concubine Fuyou go as a reward because he sensed her true intentions. But as Maomao always says, pure speculation.
"Ignorance is a sin" the anime. To be fair, it wasn't even so much about malicious intent but sheer ignorance mixed with classism and borderline royal house rivalry. Also, they said the white powder (most likely lead) was poison, but it's likely the majority of the population didn't understand how it was poisonous. The lady in waiting probably thought "as long as she doesn't eat it, she'll be beautiful and safe" unaware just having it on the skin was harmful.
Beauty beauty is the only rule that serves concubines. Without it they are worthless. Lihuas Ladies in Waiting trust beauty more than problematic medical advice whether from Doctor or messages written on torn scap of paper left on a window sill. They were suspicious of a Lady in Waiting from another Consort and did not trust her. Maomao understood all of this since she saw this in the brothels. She was mad at the risk they pushed upon Lihua but they were not evil. Gyokoyou was an exception for her wisdom.
The VA for Maomao also did Tanya in the Saga of Tanya the Evil and got to let Tanya out to play in this episode, the slap and the denunciation for stupidity afterwards. Maomao's secret technique: Paizuri. Google if you must but it's NSFW but it's not tassels.
everyone i've seen feels bad for Lihua when Gyokuyo literally told her that the powder was the problem, and not only she didn't listen, she blamed Gyokuyo for poisoning her child. She gets zero compassion from me, if anything she didn't even deserve to be saved, i feel bad for her child for having a foolish mother tho. The scene when Maomao put the lady's face in the powder was satifsying AF tho.
There is one particular piece of trivia that you're missing out on: lead poisoning (like is seen with the face powder) causes paranoia. Lihua was very much not of sound mind while fighting Gyokuyo.
@@SuperiorPosterior there is no hint she wasn't in her right mind, the anime would've let us know, also she wasn't hill herself at that time. In addition she also says herself that she didn't listen and it's her fault her child died, so she is very much aware of it too.
With all things happening in rear palace esp Gyokuyo and Lihua are like rivals esp for emperor's love, it won't be easy to trust someone when you're in a palace full of poisoning and killing attempts, esp from someone like Gyokuyo who is like main rival. Lihua did hear it but it's not easy to trust Gyokuyou. Adding the symptoms of lead poisoning (headaches, personality changes, abdominal pain, anemia, etc) and the stress of thinking the son was dying, she's not in the right mind. I do feel bad for her, she's already feeling so guilty about it, she knew she ignored Gyokuyou's warnings and that killed her child, she learnt her lessons, she showed gratitude to Mao Mao. Many of her ladies-in-waiting are just so incompetent. Anime cannot cover all parts from manga and novel, though anime can cover more with the music and stuff to make it more alive.
@@hohens7118 oh yeah? even tho i only depicted what happened on the screen, or maybe you don't remember the scene where Lihua publicly accused Gyokuyo of scheming against her when she was genuinely trying to help her child? She literally willingly killed her child to not swallow her stupid pride, if that's a good character to you, i guess i don't have much else to say ....
I suspect they didn't want Maomao there because of a mix of classism, pride, and politics. They ladies-in-waiting are from powerful and elite families, while Maomao does not look like a high born at all. As such, they also have high prides for being well-educated not realizing that anyone can be ignorant of something. Plus, imagine having a servant of another faction's leader on your territory. You don't know exactly what their motive is even if Maomao says she's just following the Emperor's orders. What if Maomao uses this opportunity to take information about Lady Lihua and bring it back to Lady Gokyuyou?
quick clarification about what you said around 10:00, Lihua did not neglect Maomao's message in ep.1 - a lady in waiting saw in on the windowsill and simply threw it out. None of them ever even found out that there was a message attached.
She did, however reject concubine Gyokuyou's subsequent attempt to assist her, at least in part because she already mistrusted her.
Plus, she was physically and mentally poisoned by lead, as well as stressed out of her mind by her dying son.
@@DFAnton Great points
I agree. But when they say she neglected the note on the flower they might mean that she ignored Gyoukuyo when she went to tell Lihua about the note that she read
for various reasons, the Emperor currently only visits two of the four top concubines, and with Lihua being sick, Gyokuyo had to essentially pull quadruple duty. that's also why she was in such distress when Maomao told her that the aphrodisiac could triple a man's potency.
Looks like the emperor got some stamina
I think that was just her hair, not tassles. The method she whispers is likely - paizuri. For those unfamiliar, basicaly - she takes the emperor's sword in between the two mountains and gently grinds until satisfied with it.
The tassels remark is a reference to burlesque pasties. So even though it's her hair, the implication was intentional
@@HaibaneRakka571 Oh the reference is definitely intentional, it's just worth clarifying the thing she said doesn't actually involve tassles.
Yes, you're absolutely right. I'm surprised by how many reactors miss this. It's using her breasts to stimulate the Emperor's penis. Maomao is later recommended by both the leading concubines to give a lecture on how to use sexual techniques with the Emperor. Her experience in the brothel is proving really valuable!
10:46 In the manga, the Lady in Waiting was banished and a new one (Lihua's cousin iirc) was brought in to be Lihua's right-hand woman/Head Lady in Waiting.
The anime just had it be her cousin from the start, maybe to remove the need to pay another VA, or perhaps they just didn't want to draw two different characters. Who knows? Either way, they changed the punishment because of that difference.
I was "enjoying" this show until this episode, but this episode hit me like a truck and it clicked as "art". Apparently the metal content in the powder can cause aggressive and paranoid behavior, which means Lihua was a victim of circumstances the ENTIRE time. That broke my heart.
Maomao's aggressive and domineering tone-shift was surprising at first, but she grew up seeing life destroyed by similar circumstances, and we saw a hint of the grouchy old woman who ran the brothel in ep1. It would make sense if Maomao's stern hand was learned from watching the old woman harshly protecting girls from foolishness. Most people don't realize the tassels are a visual gag btw, y'all are ON POINT
This episode slaps ...
So good
I love Cara's insight as a nurse regarding Maomao situation in nursing Lady Lihua.
they are so much beautiful scene in this show and the one where Lady Lihua pet Maomao while she's sleeping is so beautiful. i love when Maomao said: she has self-respect, but isn't arrogant. that line is spot on.
The slap is one of those "peak" moments, but the storytelling overall only continues to get better.
I love the coincidence here of nursing in a anime, as a male nurse i like it when you can witness nursing with rly evidence knowledge in a Anime + there are only a few animes with something like this
I clicked on this so fast to see the slap reaction 😂
The best part is that Maomao got a full windup on that slap. She really wanted to knock some sense into her.
Also it wasn't tassels, it was her hair.
Damn that slap was satisfying.
It was one of my top 2 or 3 scenes in the whole series. I won't mention what my other top scenes were yet, as they would be spoilers.
Episode 4, with "the slap heard 'round the world" as I call it xD everyone is surprised as hell to see Maomao go aggressively serious after three episodes of being laid back with moments of humorous excitement for weird things and disgust with Jinshi.
It just gets better. Eagerly waiting he few years for the next season.
In defence of the quack doctor, in order to enter the rear palace as a male, you must be either the emperor's direct relative or a eunuch. It's a lot to ask of a competent doctor to just sacrifice... himself... for the job of rear palace doctor. It's a good job, but maybe not THAT good.
Maomao: Who would be happy poisoned with the same thing that killed their son?!
Me : You?
Nah, because that would mean her son was poisoned first and without her knowledge.
If she ever taught her children about poison, she'd inflict it upon herself, and let her kids experiment with """safe""" amounts as she watched over them.
@@SuperiorPosterior so u agree with me that she'll happily take the poison.
I didn't say that she'll be happy if her son die.
I’m not 100% sure but I think it was a different lady that throws the flower in the first ep but i could be wrong as she looked slightly different
This episode is my favourite out of all this series along with the next 3/4 eps that follows
this show is sooo amazing. so far I think this show was like one of the best released last year.
When I first started watching this anime, 12-13 episodes where already out. I watched the first 3 and I liked it. Then episode 4 and Maomao goes off on the lady in waiting and I was hooked. I ended up binging the rest that night.
proof that Maomao solos your fave verse LOL
Simply the Best Episode
Gaoshun is also my favorite character in this series
When I watched this episode for the first time and that lady in waiting was explaining why she was still useing the poweded I thought slap her and when mowmow did thats what sold me on this show.
When the quiet kid in the classroom snap😂
Love your reaction, as I mentioned in your Lord of the Rings videos, you guys are very attentive to detail and pay attention to the background setting, like the system of the Imperial Harem of chinese emperors. Sad to say the depiction is quite realistic, right down to the fact despite having potentially hundreds of concubines, (never mind the empress or high ranking ones), he not only is EXPECTED to use all of them, but at the same time, NOBODY ELSE is allowed to touch them. A concubine could spend her entire life in the harem and not be touched by the emperor if she doesn't attract him.
This system actually isn't unique to China, the Ottoman Empire also had a similar system for their rulers, drawing concubines from all over their empire, even non-Moslem ones. Some of the mothers of their most famous sultans were actually Christian and at times, practically ruled the empire. Same thing for China. Heck, one concubine, Wu Zetian, even managed to establish her own destiny as Emperor in her own right, not Empress or wife of the Emperor. Brutal woman but considered a brilliant ruler for China at the time despite Chinese historians not giving much credit to women much of the time.
Despite the system, I will say that not all emperors are douchebags to the concubines. More often than not, its the concubines and eunuchs who scheme and plot against each other to gain power. And for this show, the emperor which is still unnamed, is rather intriguing. As a realpolitik, he is asking/ordering Maomao in front of her mistress another concubine to help another concubine Lihua, so that he won't inordinately focus on Gyokuyou and create imbalance of power in the harem and more political scheming. But for me, I have the feeling that this emperor is actually a decent fellow and cares for the concubines even if he doesn't sleep with them. It feels that in the previous episode, he might have intentionally let Concubine Fuyou go as a reward because he sensed her true intentions. But as Maomao always says, pure speculation.
In the manga the lady in waiting doesn't get a chance to return to her position like she does in the anime.
"Ignorance is a sin" the anime.
To be fair, it wasn't even so much about malicious intent but sheer ignorance mixed with classism and borderline royal house rivalry. Also, they said the white powder (most likely lead) was poison, but it's likely the majority of the population didn't understand how it was poisonous. The lady in waiting probably thought "as long as she doesn't eat it, she'll be beautiful and safe" unaware just having it on the skin was harmful.
Lihua has the same VA as Mikasa from aot
Mao Mao VS ignorance season 1.
アニメ『スキップとローファー』もオススメ✨観てほしい🌱
Wait-
What does the tassels mean?? I thought it was maybe something else
Beauty beauty is the only rule that serves concubines. Without it they are worthless. Lihuas Ladies in Waiting trust beauty more than problematic medical advice whether from Doctor or messages written on torn scap of paper left on a window sill.
They were suspicious of a Lady in Waiting from another Consort and did not trust her.
Maomao understood all of this since she saw this in the brothels. She was mad at the risk they pushed upon Lihua but they were not evil.
Gyokoyou was an exception for her wisdom.
I mean...he is a really good husband 🤭
This and Frieren, amazing how well they can make some female leads when they dont waste time defining what a woman is…😅😅😅
🔥🔥🔥
Do Toradora! next please
The VA for Maomao also did Tanya in the Saga of Tanya the Evil and got to let Tanya out to play in this episode, the slap and the denunciation for stupidity afterwards. Maomao's secret technique: Paizuri. Google if you must but it's NSFW but it's not tassels.
I give up on asking for an alya sometimes hides her feelings in russian 😢
everyone i've seen feels bad for Lihua when Gyokuyo literally told her that the powder was the problem, and not only she didn't listen, she blamed Gyokuyo for poisoning her child. She gets zero compassion from me, if anything she didn't even deserve to be saved, i feel bad for her child for having a foolish mother tho.
The scene when Maomao put the lady's face in the powder was satifsying AF tho.
There is one particular piece of trivia that you're missing out on: lead poisoning (like is seen with the face powder) causes paranoia. Lihua was very much not of sound mind while fighting Gyokuyo.
@@SuperiorPosterior there is no hint she wasn't in her right mind, the anime would've let us know, also she wasn't hill herself at that time. In addition she also says herself that she didn't listen and it's her fault her child died, so she is very much aware of it too.
With all things happening in rear palace esp Gyokuyo and Lihua are like rivals esp for emperor's love, it won't be easy to trust someone when you're in a palace full of poisoning and killing attempts, esp from someone like Gyokuyo who is like main rival. Lihua did hear it but it's not easy to trust Gyokuyou. Adding the symptoms of lead poisoning (headaches, personality changes, abdominal pain, anemia, etc) and the stress of thinking the son was dying, she's not in the right mind. I do feel bad for her, she's already feeling so guilty about it, she knew she ignored Gyokuyou's warnings and that killed her child, she learnt her lessons, she showed gratitude to Mao Mao. Many of her ladies-in-waiting are just so incompetent. Anime cannot cover all parts from manga and novel, though anime can cover more with the music and stuff to make it more alive.
@@luigimanzelli3786 man, you seem to be a terrible judge of character. I sure hope you never get put in a position of authority
@@hohens7118 oh yeah? even tho i only depicted what happened on the screen, or maybe you don't remember the scene where Lihua publicly accused Gyokuyo of scheming against her when she was genuinely trying to help her child?
She literally willingly killed her child to not swallow her stupid pride, if that's a good character to you, i guess i don't have much else to say ....
because ppl are much dumber back then yk