This season has been pretty much exactly as weak as I expected.  I suppose the upside of that is no disappointment (or at least not much), but it does leave one with a pretty barren anime experience.  If I were to point to any show that’s exceeded my expectations it would be Bokutachi no Remake – though in point of fact it’s probably the only one that has, so it’s a low bar.  Still, low bar or no I do find myself rather liking this series in spite of its not inconsiderable flaws.  As I noted in an earlier post, getting me to root for success is really the first major hurdle any new anime has to clear.

There are two major reasons why I’m pretty hopeful about Remake being able to defy my usual LN curse and stick around.  First, I think it’s pretty clear the show’s heart is in the right place.  It seems to come from a pretty humanistic place and for the most part treat the characters with affection.  Even a bit of dignity, though not always.  That may not sound like much but when a show has a seriously messed-up view on life – Shigatsu was Kimi no Uso being the ultimate example – that can undercut anything else it does well.

The other thing which may not seem like much but my experience tells me is important is that I always seem to like the B-part of Bokutachi’s episodes better than the A-part.  There are a couple of reasons why I think this matters, the first of which being a more objective one – it’s an indication that the director and writer understand intra-episodic pacing.  And that’s a crucial trait, much under-appreciated.  The second is more subjective but equally important – I think it’s an indication that there’s something fundamental about the show that resonates with me.  I don’t find myself getting tired of and annoyed by the characters as an ep progresses, but instead caught up in their story.

For all that, it’s not as though there was anything too surprising or even exceptional about this episode – it just sort of worked (Studio feel. seems to have a knack for that).  Kyouya’s decision to use still shots for the project makes sense – I’m not enough of a video guy to know but I suppose digital camera video (in 2007 or whatever especially) would just have been too low-quality to be a real option, even though Nanako had a camera.  The film itself seemed fine – as I said last week it’s clever in the self-important way student films striving to be “meaningful” sometimes are, but certainly nothing noteworthy.

What was more interesting was the way the dynamic for Kyouya played out.  He’s not an artistic genius clearly, but he has a producer’s mindset.  He’s a fixer, a problem-solver.  And what’s more, he has an understanding of group dynamics and delegation (here is where his life experience, though painful, certainly helps).  Naturally enough Kawasegawa-san’s team wins, just as you’d expect.  What was less expected was that she and Kanou-sensei (again, Sawashiro Miyuki is just so damn good) are siblings.  Does that call her impartiality as a judge into doubt?  A fair question, though her reasoning behind why Kyouya’s team only placed third is pretty unassailable.

We also see Kyouya interacting quite a bit with Aki and Nanako here.  This isn’t Bokutachi no Remake’s strongest suit if we’re honest – it’s the most cliched and “LN” part of the experience, but it’s nevertheless not without intrigue.  Nanako loves to sing (family tradition) as it turns out, but a trip to karaoke with Kyouya reveals she’s terrible.  I give credit for including the first Rurouni Kenshin OP “Sobakasu” by Judy and Mary in the ep, though – that definitely gave me a kind of OBE as I tried to reconcile what I was hearing with the setting.  As for Aki she’s lamped on to Kyouya knowing her secret passion for drawing.

Nanako (tsundere) and Aki (deredere) instantly turning to Kyouya as their life coach is a bit of a stretch, honestly.  That said, I’m interested in my reaction to all this, which is to be slightly creeped out (not what’s intended I don’t think).  There’s something a little voyeuristic about Kyouya posing as an 18 year-old and employing his experience points to manipulate his friends psychologically, even if the intent is benign.   This was explored in ReLIFE of course, which is an altogether more serious and introspective series, but I’m not yet convinced Remake is intentionally exploring this theme.  Nevertheless it’s interesting, intentional or not, and so is the show generally.  I’m not pot-committed, but so far I’m liking my hand.