“What a thing it would be, if Okada Mari’s powers could be harnessed for good”. Many times that thought has crossed my mind while watching anime over the years. Of course they have been, on rare occasions, though those have mostly been highly collaborative works or adaptations. Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo. is the antithesis of that – it’s Okada uncut and unfiltered, all of her excesses and fetishes on steroids. Given that, it’s hardly a surprise that it’s already such an exhausting clusterfuck.
I’m probably at the drop-dead point with this series – I’m leaning towards blogging one more episode, but even if I do it’s going to have to materially change my sense of the direction this series is headed if I’m going to stick with it. I admire Okada’s ability to write with IMPACT, but the small print in-between is where she tends to go off-course. I’m not especially liking any of the subplots she’s developing here, and the cast if anything is getting less likeable as the show progresses. I’m glad a show like Araburu exists because anime needs more of them, but I kind of wish someone else was writing it.
Take Hongou, for example. Even though Okada is playing it for laughs (she often plays things for laughs she really shouldn’t) if it’s discovered what she’s doing right now could destroy not just Yamagishi-sensei’s career, but his life. And what has he done wrong here, exactly (that’s a recurring theme)? She’s pursuing a whim – her peevishness over having her writing insulted, her curiosity about sex. To Hitoha, this is a lark. Never mind that to the other person involved, it’s potentially the end of everything. It would be one thing if Okada ever gave any sense of acknowledgement of this, but there’s no indication that she’s going to.
Then we have Rika’s subplot, which seemed to have the possibility of being something genuinely positive but in Okada’s hands has already turned kind of crass and shallow. Again we have someone apologizing for being the most decent person in the room – in this case Amagiri-kun, who had the temerity to stick up for Rika-san when she was dealing with the usual abuse. If this whole “write a 50-page report” nonsense is supposed to be romantic or funny, it’s failing on both counts with me – it just makes Rika look like a jerk, frankly. My favorite part of this tangent was Rika telling the popular girl trying to become her “friend” after her makeover to go eff herself – that was much deserved.
The new wrinkle with Momoko and the boy from her cram school, Sugimoto (of course it would be Hanae Natsuki) is fine so far, but give Okada time and I’m sure she’ll twist it in her special way. He seems like a decent enough sort (as indeed, all of the named male characters have been so far) but it’s eminently clear that of all the main girls Momoko is by no means ready to jump into a real romantic relationship yet. In different hands I’d say this one has a lot of potential, but I have a lot of trepidation – I’m just waiting for Okada to conjure another shoe to drop and turn it ugly for dramatic or slapstick purposes.
Finally of course we have the Izumi and Kazusa nightmare, which Okada has apparently decided wasn’t exasperating enough so now she’s pairing Izumi off with Sugawara-san, given her an entirely new vein of ugliness in which to jab the needle. Frankly a part of me would kind of like to see this happen, because it would be a much-needed wake-up call for Kazusa to stop acting like she’s the only person in the world with feelings. But no matter the circumstances for Niina to do that to a friend would be a despicable act. I guess I hope Okada is just using this as a pretext for misunderstanding drama – that would probably be the least worst possibility. But when that’s what you’re hoping for, the overall prospects for a series just aren’t very good.
sonicsenryaku
July 27, 2019 at 1:11 pmI totally agree with your sentiment that we need more anime like this despite having wished it was someone else in the creative chair; or at least, wishing Okada was penning this with a bit more “maturity”. As i wade through 22 minute episodes of this hormonally-charged dramedy every week, i find myself wishing it was someone like Masaaki Yuasa telling this kind of story. The guy may have a penchant for portraying the characters and themes of his stories in an often eccentric and hypnotic fashion, but he’s surprisingly down-to-earth and insightful when it comes to his exploration of human behavior and psychology through the lens of the characters he writes. Yuasa’s natural insight is the type of insight a show with this brand of comedy and thematic exploration needs; it’s this level of insight that i find missing in quite a bit of Okada’s works in general.
That being said, I still find this show to be alright; though to be honest, i think this is one those anime that i’ll only truly understand how i feel about once i’ve watched the whole thing. I think some of those “uncomfortable bits” rearing their head throughout the show are representative of Okada really hammering in the ugliness of teenage years and how impulse-driven we can be when overcome with hormones, insecurities, and poor sense of self-concept. I’m also of the mindset that some of those uncomfortable bits being played up for laughs are Okada’s attempts at potential dark humor. However, whether it ends up working for you will depend on whether or not you agree that Araburu lacks the insight necessary to explore the coming-of-age themes its trying to weave and by, proxy, telling its acerbic jokes effectively. For me, regardless of my opinion on Okada’s insight, I’m not bothered per se by what may come off to some as her being insensitive about the dilemmas of her characters. I’m more annoyed by how indulgent the script can sometimes feel in its endeavor to be witty and raunchy despite being tame in nature in the way typical of an anime. For a series that touts itself as an exploration of the dysfunction that looms over teenagers’ heads once sex or the potential for it starts becoming more and more pervasive in their lives, this ain’t exactly doing much raunchy exploration. This is what a child or preteen would think is raunchy; and maybe that’s where a bit of my discontent comes from. Maybe i expected the show to be something else and it’s not. And yea, I’d admit that maybe I’m the problem; but then i also feel like the show insists that it’s got such sexual adolescent insight when i haven’t quite felt that from it within these past 4 eps……again, i just have to consume this series as a whole before I feel like I can have a concrete conclusion not influenced by certain kneejerk reactions. Who knows, I may go from thinking this show is alright to freaking great……….or i may just think poorly of it by season’s end and find it to be an unfunny mess; it’s a coin toss at this point.
P.S. what is with this show’s visual palette? Why do i feel like I’m watching every episode through a cloud? Who thought this haze filter for the show was a good idea?
elianthos
July 28, 2019 at 9:57 amAh well… is it bad I find the boys adorable and the girls too (as privy as we are to their hormonally-charged thought compared to the guys’) ? And once again… this series is really bringing memories back.
Maybe if any of you gents watching this had been an adolescent girl among other adolescent girls you woud find this still an ‘exhausting clusterfuck’ but also a deeply familiar one in spirit if not always to the letter, and a rich source of both fondness and cringing… as such a pretty accurate experience XDDD. The only plotline being an exception as of now is Milo and Wannabe Ero Authoress’… but even that one has a lot of truth to it. Anime-wise it might turn really unsavory but if anything I’d be more apprehensive about Sleazy Editor trying to give her ‘the reality’ for the sake of publishable art of course… My gut feeling is we’re headed towards Milo becoming an intellectual match in her eyes. As of now he’s a curiosity, a challenge, an opportunity with a touch of forbidden, but also someone who intrigues her and gets her to some level. She might actually fall in love with him. And nothing ‘tangible’ will come out of it.
Re: blonde gyaru classmate: she’s actually trying to make friends with Club Prez and she’s not that bad. Remember the gym scene. She was the only one letting slip some empathy towards her.
Re: Kazusa: see ‘deeply familiar’ factor above. She’s so adolescent girl in love it hurts. I’ve known so many Kazusas :°D.
Re: Club Prez. She (too) reminds A LOT of an old classmate it’s scary ahah. And her rejection all cowardice and remorse too. Aah memories. And her 50 pages report request feels like a comedy spin on literary tokens of courtly love. Visit me for 100 nights regardless of weather. Kill a dragon. Write me poems. Be my knight. Well well well… the boy is a keeper ( he’s adorbs, Good boy. Sweet boy. Sensitive boy. Considerate boy. Sincere boy. Awww I am rooting for you laddie if you are so committed) so she’d better be less obfuscating to him and herself by the end of the series. Some trains once lost are lost forever. Talking of which…
Re: Nina and Izumi: Nina is being his confidante on What Girls Wants And Especially Your Friend Who’s Also My Childhood Friend. Prediction: she might play wingwoman while she is at it. And Kazusa’s sensitivity to Izumi and trains/Izumi on trains is honestly quite amusing to me by now.
Re: Momoko & classmate: they’re giving me cavities and I wish them the most marshmallowish of bonds whatever said bond ends up being. Sweeties.
And underneath all of this polarizing content… the power of words and books in this episode was very effectively conveyed I thought :).
Guardian Enzo
July 28, 2019 at 10:05 amThe Milo subplot may be the most galling of all of them to me. It would be one thing if he’d shown any inclination towards improper behavior with Hongou, but he hasn’t. This is all a big game to her, but if he’s caught in a situation she manufactures, his life is effectively over.
elianthos
July 28, 2019 at 10:27 am@Enzo: that’s the one development that will only be clear post facto if and when happens. All the male figures who are linked to the girls and spoke more than two lines so far save for Creepy Admirer, Sleazy Editor and this week possiby Creepy Director seem to be Good Boys.
Milo-sensei among them is the one with the less flattering start but he’s showing a rather respectable degree of decency and insight under duress so to speak. That gives me hope the writing is not going to treat him badly, but again we can’t be sure until the end. Pray for just a tad shady but ultimately good mentor – who actually has a thing for same age to older women – and saviour of reckless maidens badge end!
Guardian Enzo
July 28, 2019 at 10:34 amThe point (absent future evidence to the contrary) isn’t Yamagishi’s behavior, it’s Hongou’s. First she blackmails him into being the club advisor, then she literally jumps on his lap and sets himself up to be fired and shamed for life if anyone walks in.
elianthos
July 28, 2019 at 10:35 amP.S.: as for Hongou, this week she got hit by her own ‘game’ full force. Cross your fingers some good writing is coming out of this first wave of realization/awareness and that she doesn’t screw up either herself or others.
elianthos
July 28, 2019 at 10:01 am@Sonic / P.S.: the glowy haze isn’t really disturbing and feels pretty fitting imho… be it the glow of youth, the Spring of Life mystique or the haze of young hormones :P.
leongsh
July 28, 2019 at 1:14 pmI still have mixed feelings about this show. It’s better than indifference.
Kazusa deserves the grief she put herself into. No sympathy even in the unlikely event that Izumi and Sugawara pairs up. Izumi is fairly straightforward guy and all it takes is Kazusa to be straightforward with him but she can’t muster the courage for it yet has the dumb courage to steal the porn and even dumber courage to try returning it. Known girls of her type before and they are a pain-in-the-ass.
I’ll give Sonezaki a pass for now in handling and treating Amagi. However, after reading the “50-page report” he did for her, there should never be any doubt left that Amagi is sincere. He has been looking at her diffrently from the start and been the only one seen to be supportive before her change of looks. To decline and not give Amagi this chance would be undermining herself. That said, this show seems to have an underlying plot of the girls from the literature club self-sabotaging themselves.
Hongo is playing with fire. She is way too selfish. If you want to burn yourself, don’t drag other people into it.