Gegege no Kitarou (2018) – 06
Toei is really nailing this version of Gegege no Kitarou, I have to say. This is the second really stellar episode so far, but all six have been good – aptly blending just enough modern elements to the classic Mizuki template to make everything feel fresh and contemporary while still resolutely Kitarou.
The Sunekosuri is a familiar youkai in Gegege no Kitarou, having made numerous appearances over the years, interestingly in different guises. This time around it’s definitely a cat, and it’s befriended an old widow whose son has moved away to Tokyo. Shiro loves the old lady and she loves him, but something is clearly wrong as she’s growing steadily weaker. And when her itinerant son comes to visit and immediately brings out Shiro’s bad side, he puts a call in to Kitarou for help (then flees to the next town to ride it out).
Quite honestly, this was one of the saddest anime episodes I’ve seen in a very long time – and youkai-human anime tend to be pretty sad to begin with. What a brutal ending for Sunekosuri, even if “Mom” didn’t buy the act he was putting on. I was sort of waiting for something there at the end, maybe a redemptive encounter with Kitarou or something – but no, that was just pure bleakness. Sunekosuri certainly deserved much better than that, but the message is clear – when youkai and humans grow too close, trouble is sure to follow.
One element of this story I especially admired was the way it tied in the decline of rural Japan to the Sunekosuri’s problems with humans. Little villages like this really are dying all over the country – the youngsters move away, the old folks die, the trains stop running and the village falls into a kind of zombie state. When the village was thriving the Sunekosuri could draw a little energy from a lot of people, but with it almost deserted, it’s forced to bond with one at a time. There’s a metaphor for modern Japan in there, that’s for sure.
Waka Okami wa Shougakusei! – 04
This is another one of those shows that’s hard to follow in a busy season especially. Streams are nonexistent, subs are erratic, and it just tends to slip through the cracks. Plus it’s a children’s story about children, which makes it easy to dismiss as fluff. But I think Waka Okami wa Shougakusei! is really worth the effort to seek out.
What’s interesting in this series isn’t so much the straightforward life’s lesson stories that Okko lives out each week (though those are plenty entertaining) but the odd bond that’s growing between she and Uri-bo. Uri-bo actually gets jealous when things thaw between Okko and the novelist’s son, so whatever he is he’s not so far removed from being a human child as to be immune from sulking.
But when Okko gets in trouble and burns herself during the local confectionary contest she’s entered (I’m kind of with the tsundere kid here, grey pudding isn’t too appealing) it’s Uri-bo she turns to for help. And he answers the call, possessing her arm so she can get through the contest. One can certainly say that Okko is quite a realistic portrayal of a 12 year-old kid – she’s clumsy, prone to poor judgment and doesn’t know her own limits. But she does plow straight ahead anyway – which is a good thing, given her circumstances.
It seems that next week we’re finally going to get to the meat of the story, because Uri-bo’s history may finally be told, at least in part. I hope that development doesn’t disappoint, either by not actually revealing enough or not broadening the tone of the series, because I think it’s going to be crucial in determining just what the upside for Waka Okami really is.
Full Metal Panic: Invisible Victory – 04
I had kind of decided I was done with Full Metal Panic in blogging terms this season, but after watching this episode I decided I’d check in at least once more. In the first place it’s a late starter, and it’s only had 4 episodes to make its case. And in the second, this ep was a substantial improvement over the last one.
The thing is, though, this was really a tale of two episodes – and in being so, of both FMP’s strengths and weaknesses. Whenever it juxtaposes the disconnect with Sousuke – be it through comedy or horror – this series is very effective. But as soon as it returns to the insufferable moe captain and her band of toy soldiers, everything devolves into a pastiche of every combat anime cliche and trope in the books. And without KyoAni’s fancy pictures to back that up, those scenes just fall pretty flat.
Still, I really did like the A-part. Whenever Sousuke and those around him are forced to confront the reality of who and what he is – a cold-blooded killer for hire – Full Metal Panic is at its best. The part of Sousuke that wants to be a normal person is real, just like the soldier – but the truth is, they can’t really co-exist. That worked best as absurdist comedy but it works pretty well as pathos-driven action, too. The problem is if the pattern of the earlier serious incarnations of FMP holds, we’re going to get plenty of the formulaic and trite face of the series as well. The bubble doesn’t burst for one more week, but it’s still a bubble…
elianthos80
May 6, 2018 at 1:06 pmRe: FMP
– I still feel like the execution ( and the music ) is missing some zing. There was a lot of gripping stuff happening this week but the OST by comparison was a flatline. It’s just… there. On the other hand on the characters side
1) Leonard is as despicable as one coud wish
and to add offense to injury his charades is basically Kurz’s with a different color palette. Leave my German pretty boy alone you OP psycopath albino :,)2) Tokiwa is such a sweet friend to a T (and such a shipper on deck :°D ). A certain rescuer appears to save your butt from certain gruesome death but your first thought is about Kaname’s wellbeing. Aw. She is owed some good karma points this girl.
3) can’t avoid some Les!Yay it seems (at least thi time it’s more wholesome than the Ho!Yay delivered in previous seasons). ‘Aishiteru’. Oh my. Oh Mao. But she has the Motoko Kusanagi haircut and she is not the sniper of the lot after all
wider strike zone and near-immortality come with the package😛4) taking of said sniper… the miles Saxonicus and his hair porn live another day! Huzzah!
5) Kaname’s arc is being tweaked compared to the novels. So far it seems an improvement even if the main plot checkpoints are the same. Fingers crossed for this trend to hold on.
6) so… what about
anime Sean Connery meets Richard CrennaKalinin? where is he?7) you really dont like Tessa at all do you? I find her pretty decent when in Determinator Commander mode at least :,D
8) Sousuke has a lot of ‘moe Rambo in a Gundam’ in him. And as with either source franchise the mileage varies a lot but I remember some of his best moments are yet to come… the matter is what and how they decide to discard or keep provided this is the final season (personally I am hoping for a split season announcement or a movie or two after this cour… ). As of now Mithril have their hands full saving their own butts so if he is to be a one-army-man on a mission… how the fudge is he going to do that? No comrades save Wraith, no trusty mecha, Mithril network in disarray, his bosses killed or on the run, super limited resources… dun dun dun dunnnnn 8D***
*** the good things about having skimmed the novels years ago? I remember just enough while being also conveniently fuzzy about most of the specifics. NEXT EPISODE WHEN? GIMME :Q_____
P.S.: I can only hope that bubble of yours ends up being a full metal one XD.
sonicsenryaku
May 6, 2018 at 3:53 pmAnd this is what i appreciate about Kitaro 2018; the social commentary is relevant without being all up in your face about it. It never feels like it’s standing on a soapbox preaching about its themes and messages; they are just there, take it or leave. What this episode does well is use the social commentary to legitimize the tragedy of the sunekosuri in a way that properly weaves the emotional catharsis the episode aims to achieve throughout.. Of course this particular variant of the sunekosuri wouldn’t be aware that it is a life sucking demon if there are many people around it to leech life off of in the first place. Of course it makes sense that after the towns folk migrated to the city, the sunekosuri’s powers would start becoming a detriment to the lives of humans. This is what makes you instantly sympathize for the creature without being explicitly manipulated to do so. It’s simple but effective writing i wish more storytellers understood how to use.
If i had to compare Gegege no Kitaro 2018 to another anime, I would say it’s a younger audience’s Mushishi. It doesn’t treat its Yokai to human relationships in a “happy go lucky everything will eventually be fine” type of fashion. It presents its world and its laws very naturalistically, not shying away from the consequences that are to become of yokai and human coexistence. This episode paints a somber story through the cogent use of ecosystem paradigms to illustrate the importance of preserving culture, even if may seem dated and anachronistic. By abolishing country culture, the yokai that thrive off such community will suffer, and in turn the societal macrosystem will suffer as well. If we are to entertain the idea that Yokai truly exist, then we as human beings should always be willing to preserve culture no matter how antiquated it may be because the world doesn’t belong to just us. The new generation should make an effort to preserve rural culture rather than just forgeting about the oldies who still care about it. The fact that this is a kid’s show that was able to pack all of that in 20 mins while pulling on the heart strings made this yet another winning episode of Kitaro 2018.
Also i gotta say, I find Kitaro’s relationship with Nezumi Otoko a bit intriguing. The guy causes trouble for Kitaro, trouble that may cause people their lives, and yet in some ways they also seem to be friends. It’s puzzling, but in a good way. Kitaro being Nezumi’s retainer of sorts will never change.I miss Neko Musume though; I know for the most part, Kitaro and Nezumi Otoko have always been the true main characters of the franchise but i want more of best girl.
Moving on to FMP, I gotta agree with Elianthos here; you really don’t seem to like Tessa at all. I actually don’t find her screentime to be that egregious. Sure she’s not my favorite character but she never bothered me too much. Still really enjoying this season of FMP; I find that it’s execution is still effective even with some of my complaints. FMP has always relied on certain action movie cliches (as most shows do) but i don’t think you’re giving the show enough credit for not abusing those cliches for manufactured and overwrought drama or false suspense in the way other shows do, which is ultimately what makes FMP not as trite a “highschool action show” as others of its ilk. It wears some of it’s cliches on its sleeves without pretending its anything more than that, but it also takes some of its cliches and mines them for some well developed drama. I continue to be engrossed by how well the show sells Sousuke as this badass killer too efficient at killing for his own good yet is completely conscionable about his actions. While it may seem small, the courtesy Sousuke shows Kyoko by telling her to close her eyes as he struggles to take down that armed hitman says a lot about who he is as a person, and that disparity between him being a killer by nature and emotionally not wanting to always live that life is going to make his character growth all the more sweeter. As Elianthos said, there seems to be much more on the way with Sousuke’s character arc so I’m strapping in for the ride.
Guardian Enzo
May 6, 2018 at 6:00 pmThe Mushishi comparison is a good one, The original manga had social commentary as well, which I think a lot of folks forget. It was always kind of a a deep series in its way.
I too enjoy the Kitarou- Nezumi Otoko relationship, and find it intriguing. I admit I’ve always liked characters like Ratman – charismatic scoundrels who you sense the good guys can’t help but sort of like.
As to FMP, yes, I make no bones about not thinking much of Tessa. But it’s not her specifically, so much as her whole wing of the narrative. I find it to be pretty cliched and predictable, especially when contrasted with the stuff showcasing the anguish of being Sousuke.