Youkai Apartment no Yuuga na Nichijou is another one of those shows I’m blogging mainly for my own edification, mostly because I’m enjoying it too much to stop.  I guess there are a few of you out there watching it in silence, which is fine – it’s a pretty fun series to write about in addition to watch.  It’s never at the forefront of my expectations and it’s not like it’s going to make the year-end Top 10 list or anything, but it’s packed a lot of good content into its run so far.  And the manga (itself an adaptation of the original light novels) charted last week – which is the first time that’s happened I believe, and no doubt thanks to the anime.

One thing I will say about Youkai Apato is that it tends to be at its best when it focuses on the magical rather than the mundane.  I like some of the “real world” material, but it’s general at Kotobuki-so where the series really takes flight.  And after a run of RL-dominated episodes, we get a full-on fantasy outing this week – and it’s that much more invigorating for the relative absence of this kind of ep lately.

There’s something to this dichotomy of theme, I think.  Yuushi has pretty mundane dreams, really – being a local government official or a salaryman at a “strict business”.  These are really the ultimate drudge jobs in Japan – safe, boring and socially acceptable.  But Yuushi is being exposed to an entirely different world through the apartment and its residents, and whether he likes it or not his horizons are expanding.  And that’s literally true this week, as Kottu-ya brings a very odd artifact home – a 3D projector that seems to transport everyone in the room to some kind of alternate dimension.  And what an odd dimension it is, with dinosaurs and giant sand fish and strange modernist castles.

Apparently Kottou-ya is a “heretic” – and the secret church is none too pleased with him.  This is kind of an odd departure for Youkai Apato, and I’m not quite sure how seriously we’re supposed to take all this conspiracy stuff.  The next bit seems a little more in-character, though, as Furuhonya takes center stage.  He, too has a mysterious treasure – a vessel called “Amarita” which he’s brought back from India, and supposedly contains the elixir of life.  He’s brought Fujiyuki-sensei (always great to hear Fujiwara Keiji) over to test it.  Furuhonya tells a tale of how he came to acquire it – a bit of an Indiana Jones adventure through the wilds of India to the house of a strange old woman who knew of the elixir.

This sequence is fantasy too of course, with its 800-year lifespans and such, but it feels a lot more in-synch with the kind of fantasy Youkai Apato usually trades in.  The old woman has swindled Furuhonya-san – naturally – but whether intentional or not, she’s left a drop of elixir (which Fujiyuki-sensei confirms to be real) in the vessel (which Furuhonya graciously agrees to share).  Yuushi’s blasé reaction to being told he’s gained 7 months on his lifespan is evidence of his youth (the older one gets, the more they’ll appreciate just how long that can be), but whether he’s aware of it or not, Yuushi is being changed by this new life.  His priorities are shifting, and he’s becoming a new person – but then, that’s pretty much what adolescence is anyway, even if you aren’t living in a magical apartment house.