My God, Man – why would you give him your name??
I guess it comes as no news flash that middle-school aged kids do dumb things – a lot. But it’s still frustrating to watch them do it in a story you’ve come to care about. This was an episode that sort of felt as there was a step back for every step forward, and despite surface appearances I’m not sure it left the characters any better off than they were before it started. It was also the most awkward ep of the series so far in the narrative department – things didn’t seem to click together quite so elegantly as they did in the first four.
My first take here is that Maki’s mother comes in for no small share of criticism as far as I’m concerned. it’s easy to sit back and judge from a distance, I won’t deny that. But she does not come off well here. In the first place she left her son with a man she almost surely knew was abusing him. I’ll give her a partial pass on this, given that she was working to support all three of them and I’m sure felt she had no choice, but then we have the fact that she knows now that her abusive ex is coming to their home to prey on their son. And her answer – to put aside money to buy him off – is woeful and pathetic. How can she live with herself knowing what Maki is experiencing during those “visits”?
Admittedly this leaves Maki with limited choices on adults he can go to for help (and Sakurai Takahiro-sensei looking at candy websites at work hardly fills me with confidence in him). And I do think his confiding in Touma is one of those steps forward I was talking about – kudos to Touma for figuring out there was a problem, too. But another 14 year-old boy is not really the best choice for assistance in a case like this. Touma’s judgment is that of a child – his heart is in the right place here, but I fear he may very well have made things worse.
Let’s step back and look at this from Scumbag-san’s perspective. Every time he reaches into the cookie jar, he comes out with a fistful of ¥10000 notes. Why should he stop just because Maki now has another grommet to heap insults on him? Rest assured, Daddy doesn’t fear Touma in any way, shape or form – his experience with little boys is that they’re fun punching bags and weepy ATM machines. And I worry that Touma has heaped a bunch of trouble on himself by telling the bastard his full name.
At least this has progressed things between Touma and Maki, who certainly now have a greater level of trust (and maybe more – I’m still not sure yet) albeit perhaps a little too quickly and decisively. It occurs to me that one possible reason for Touma’s mother’s otherwise puzzling loathing for her son may be because she suspects he’s gay – just a theory, but not inconsistent with anything we’ve seen in the story so far. Certainly Touma’s relationship with his mother is the reason he blows up at Rintarou once the reason for his hangdog mood becomes clear.
Touma and Maki are living the proof that biological parents aren’t necessarily a blessing – in Touma’s eyes having adoptive ones who love you unreservedly is hardly a reason for self-pity. I’m not unsympathetic to Rintarou and the insecurity he feels, but neither do I begrudge Touma-kun for having zero tolerance for it. The problem I had with both the Rintarou developments and the Kinyou sidebar (which seemed oddly tacked-on to boot) is that they didn’t flow smoothly out of developments in the story. Both subplots felt a little contrived this week, and that’s a first for Hoshiai no Sora so far.
Finally, we have Kanako, who continues in the role of the story’s Greek chorus. I’m still not really sure what Kanako’s deal is – does she have a thing for Makimaki (I know what Yuuta thinks), or is she just bored and acting out the observer of life role? When she shows up at Misaki she makes it pretty clear that either way, she’s invested. As for Misaki they make a rather obnoxious first impression, especially the snotty second-year who insults the visiting club and promises each of them a punch in the face. If realism prevails the boys will get a figurative punch from Misaki’s club, but I’m hoping we weren’t supposed to take that literally.
Stöt
November 10, 2019 at 11:11 pmYeah, this felt like a bit of a rush-work. I like that they’re fleshing out all the characters in the team, though. It’s development I want to see, so I’m going to forgive if they give ample time for the story’s conclusion. The jury is still out for that of course.
Telling Touma and Touma acting on the information is a first step to something that can lead to the end of the torment. So I 100% support that, even though it sounds like it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
Kim
November 11, 2019 at 9:19 amIn an earlier episode I think I remember the mother saying she was trying to get a restraining order against the father but it hasn’t been granted. Instead it seems the father is told where his son lives. That seems pretty messed up
What should mother & son do in this type of situation?
Guardian Enzo
November 11, 2019 at 9:35 amThat’s a tough one for sure. But obviously she knows her ex is coming around, because she’s leaving money for him. It seems to me like the priority should be to avoid Maki being alone with him at all costs, so perhaps she should try and arrange for somewhere for him to go after school and meet him there so they can go home together. A family friend, a community center, anything.
Nadavu
November 12, 2019 at 1:09 amThis episode certainly lacked the “things flow so effortlessly” vibe the previous four were overflowing with. Granted, making things seem effortless is extremely effort-intensive, and it might just be a plot bottleneck, but even the cut scenes seemed awkward, abrupt and at one time even made me wonder if my screen cable was loose.
Anyways, moving on. I thought maybe Touma was actually trying to get kuzu-dad to hit him, because while it might be acceptable in Japan to smash on your own son, going around hitting other people’s offsprings might not fly quite as much. Kuzu-dad seemed a bit too smart for that, though, and to me it sounded like he was telling Touma his parents might come to harm over this. For all their talk of killing, I doubt either Touma or Maki(maki) have it in them to deliberately and consciously hit someone, even a piece of crap like kuzu-dad. Only Itsuki has the proper levels of psychopathy to really put the hurt on people, and a part of me would really like to see it — even though it would be bad for Itsuki either way.
The way the Sofuto Tenisu Bu members rallied up to the defense of their “sensitive manager” was heartwarming. These boys are really sticking up for each other, and it seems like they all have their issues. I’m not on the “every character on this show is gay” wagon quite yet, but your theory that Touma’s sexuality is what driving a wedge between his mother and him has some elegance to it.
Well, I hope the pacing issue resolves itself by next week, ’cause the content here is still top-notch.
Guardian Enzo
November 13, 2019 at 1:49 pmSomething is grinding the mom’s gears, and Touma doesn’t seem especially annoying more so than normal for a 14 year-old. Maybe my notion is totally off-base but there’s something else there.
I think you’re giving Touma too much credit – I think he just saw his money as his ticket to vent his outrage at the bastard.
aggies11
November 13, 2019 at 2:21 amI liked this episode. It left things on a bit more of an “upbeat” tone, especially compared to the last few post credits scenes. In terms of the pacing, it definitely felt different. But I wonder if that’s less to do with production/plot realities, and more a testament to the fact that with characters this well developed, ones that you can’t help become invested in, at this “late in the game”, emotionally we just want more focus on the characters we already care about, and anything else feels like a distraction.
It seems like there might be a story to tell for all of the characters in the soft tennis club. While that can definitely make things crowded and impatient (especially if one has personal favorites), if they can succesfully pull it off then more the better, as good characters always improve a story.
As for the specific plot points of the episode, they all seem like real people. Flawed people. While I personally revile the mother’s inability to protect her son, this sadly is a very real thing. There are far too many people ill equiped for all the rigors of parenthood (sometimes through no fault of their own). Doesn’t make it any less hard to watch, but it is believable. Touma is interesting, I haven’t got him quite figured out, he definitely seems like a bit of a dark horse that could end up developing in many different ways. While this show definitely sets the tone that it’s not about children being able to defeat adults (There is not going to be any easy solution to the problem of Maki’s father), I can’t help wonder if Touma’s involvement won’t play out in the predictable “oh this is going to be bad” unnavoidable trainwreck sort of way. It won’t ever be “good”, but maybe just not as all bad as we fear.
The pacing of the first few episodes definitely felt like the tip of a spear to me, sharp, pointy, and only widening slightly. It was one hell of a thrust as it definitely got me hooked. But now is the time to open things up and broaden the scope, which this (and potentially a few more) episodes might be trying to do. I guess that’s only fair, and it’s only after we’ll be able to judge if it ended up working or not. I think the whole soft-tennis plot (subplot? mainplot??) might be the throughline glue that holds all the character development arcs together, giving that sense of cohesion when the show needs to diverge otherwise into backstory etc. But I’m partial to sports anime stories, so that might only work for viewers of similar disposition.
Still I enjoyed it, I need to see how it all plays out. And I’m hopeful it won’t be as obviously bad for these kids as it could be. (Which might make it all the worse for me if it is…)
Guardian Enzo
November 13, 2019 at 1:51 pmWell said. And we’ll see. I can’t imagine Touma’s approach turning out well.
It wasn’t even so much that too much happened in this episode, but that the intra-episodic pacing itself felt oddly stilted. It didn’t flow the way the first four eps did.
aggies11
November 14, 2019 at 1:13 amI agree. The first few episodes felt incredibly streamlined, all the bits fit together, to help establish the tone. Very much, at least for me, felt like core pieces of a puzzle being assembled and fitting together nicely. But now that the core is done, I’d imagine it’s much harder to keep things that cohesive, if they want to keep introducing further character development outside those core characters. To continue the (admittedly terrible) puzzle analogy, now that the core pieces are established, it’s time to start building the border/outside edges to frame in the entire thing. But that means stepping far away from the core/centre for a while.
But honestly, I’m a bit relieved, and selfishly so. Those first few episodes, being so streamlined and cohesive, *really* makes the post credits scenes with Maki’s father that much more dreadful. Like storm clouds approaching on an otherwise perfect sunny day. In this episodes case, it’d be already overcast, and so the approaching storm doesn’t seem quite as stark/dreary . Plus I am genuinely curious about all the characters.
But again, with a show like this, I think a lot of it will involve one’s own projections onto the characters and the plot. So I’m probably just setting myself up for an even bigger reaction when the poop hits the eventual fan. Either way, enjoying the ride, and I really like reading your insightful reactions. They help inspire my own reflection on how I”m feeling about the show.