I must confess, I needed this episode of Mix like a blood transfusion. It’s been a rough Saturday anime-wise – two series dropped from the rotation, and a third pretty much at its low ebb as far as my engagement level was concerned. With the newest episode of Araburu (for which my hopes aren’t all that high, if I’m honest – it’s an at-risk show too) being late, I just needed something to bring me back into a good place. Fortunately, Adachi-sensei is just what the doctor ordered for situations like that.
It’s very Adachi to shift the focus of these past two episodes mostly to Otomi and her various suitors, just as things are really hotting up for the Meisei baseball club. But that’s why he is who he is – he does sports manga his own way, and the sports are the canvas, not the painting. There’s certainly baseball talk here – most interestingly when Haruka asks her father if he intends to use only Touma as a pitcher all the way through to the finals of the qualifying tournament. Ooyama-san can only answer “I don’t expect to get that far” (for which Haruka rips him a new one) but not offer any denials. And given how easy it would be to ruin an incredibly promising 10th-grader’s potential career with typical high school pitcher abuse, it’s a serious question.
As Arisa continues her somewhat stalker-ish pursuit of Ryou (a lot of the relationship stuff in Mix is borderline creepy, if we’re honest), his older brother finally shows some interest in her – when he finds out she’s the younger sister of Mita Hiroki. As for the younger brother, he’s managed to talk his way into a bowling date with Otomi – except that Ichiban-kun got himself invited along. Did Otomi really not realize this was a date, or did she seize the opportunity to use Natsuno to take some of the pressure off? She’s a sphinx, so at this point it’s just a matter of conjecture – but Ichiban is certainly counting his blessings either way.
I’m personally rooting for Ichiban, but it’s hard to escape the impression that the two boys are fixated on each other while the real threat is someone totally beyond their ability to undercut. What fascinates me about the Touma-Otami dynamic is the rest of the Tachibana clan – who, at least in terms of Okaa-san and Souichirou, seem to be doing everything they can to incubate it. And judging by Touma’s intense interest (as reflected in the quiz he gives his stepmom) in the events of that morning, he’s be no means a disinterested party himself.
Sadly for Natsuno-kun, as is often the way with middle schoolers he still seems very much the little boy as compared to full-on teenagers Ryou and Otomi. There’s a definite vibe between them too, as when she apologized to Ryou-kun for misinterpreting his intentions by inviting Ichiban along. After pipping his rival by one pin at bowling (and thus handing him the bill) Ryou proceeds to prove himself surprisingly adept at baseball in the rematch at the batting center – much to the chagrin of Ichiban’s wallet.
We all know where this is headed of course, in the big picture anyway – Koushien awaits. And Adachi series, like Japan itself, seem to grind to a halt and fixate when that klaxon sounds and the games begin. The newspapers may love the idea of a 10th-grader throwing a no-hitter, but shounen manga has its own set of rules – and unlike with Cross Game, we don’t have the luxury of looking forward to a complete telling with Mix. Patience is going to be required both of the characters and the audience – maybe way more than either are eager to display.
Derrick
August 11, 2019 at 3:34 pmlol the culling continues.
you might need to cover Premier League for content if this continues.
not that the current City dominance is any less boring and pandering :v
Guardian Enzo
August 11, 2019 at 4:13 pmLCFC and our quest for Europe is the headline story for me. Man City and ‘pool are so far ahead of everyone else that the title chase itself is snoozerville.
Kim
August 13, 2019 at 7:04 amI am just waiting for Ryou to get in HS and join the Mesei Baseball team. I’d be kind of disappointed if the story didn’t go there and just kept him as Otomi’s suitor
The theme of brotherhood seems strong in this series and having Ryou compete against his brother would be an interesting place to take the story (and a nice contrast to the Tachibana brothers). Maybe I am wrong but I don’t think Ryou is playing soccer because of lack of talent in baseball.
Gracie
August 13, 2019 at 6:38 pmThe mutual step-sibling crush is disturbing. And there are other creepy things that the show has dwelled on like the old guy looking for his key and accidentally groping the girls during the swimming class or Nishimura’s borderline stalking of Otomi. I don’t know if it’s by design or what, but the show is better when it abstains from these quirks.
Guardian Enzo
August 13, 2019 at 7:05 pmI don’t disagree with the larger point (to an extent). I didn’t get the sense that the teacher was being presented as a perv, though – I think the idea was that it was all innocently intended.
Gracie
August 13, 2019 at 7:45 pmThat scene was tongue-in-cheek especially since Otomi ends up finding the key, but it’s in line with the other quirky innuendoes. It’s not a put off overall, but as you very well noticed, some of the interactions are slightly off and that’s per design.
Jeanna
September 2, 2021 at 3:26 amThe only major disappointment with Adachi right now is the whole stepsibling nonsense. I am incredibly tired of modern anime having the older brothers wanting to get with their little sisters, step or blood. Touma and Otomi grew up together since 5-6 years old as a family. It’s gotten to the point where it’s concerning. As someone living in Japan (I think), is there a serious issue of brothers preying on little sisters or is it just to satisfy the lowest common denominator?
It’s especially telling in Mix because the Tachibanas have a healthy, precious dynamic, and Touma and Otomi work as siblings. Not to mention he gives both of them alternate love interests that fit good and well with them, but somehow, because an old man wants to write Touma wanting his sister, that’s it. It’s subtle enough that it doesn’t bother me, but the concept is just exhausting. I won’t ever ship them.
Also, it feels disingenuous and otherwise pointless to give Touma and Haruka some basis by their past for it to not really amount to anything in the long run. Why put it there…could have gone straight to Sou/Haruka?
I heard he did a stepsibling relationship in another work of his, so I don’t know how he handles it. But I consider it the only stain on a pretty good and enjoyable series.