No question about it, Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru knows what buttons to push. This is the breakthrough hit of the winter season beyond a doubt – manga sales are skyrocketing and the series performs well in audience surveys and aggregator sites. I totally get that. But the truth is, because there’s a pretty wide gulf between this series and my usual anime tastes, it always has a pretty small margin of error for me. The first six episodes have been a mixed bag for sure – and I’d like to bag this one.
Honestly, more than anything this was like a race to fit as many annoying modern anitropes into 22 minutes as possible. The lame “walk in on a girl in the bathroom” gag. The legal girl who looks like a loli (so you know, it’s all fine). Worst of all “If you don’t X for me I’ll report you to the cops for something you didn’t do” bit. There was a point there when I was pretty close to pulling the plug, honestly. Things did pull back from the ledge after that, thankfully, but if it’s been one step forward and one back so far with this show, this was definitely a couple of steps back.
So yeah, Inui “Juju” Sajuna (Tanezaki Atsumi) is not a character who starts the game on the opposing team’s 5 yard-line for me. I find the tsundere loli archetype (with a side of stalker) to be fingernails on a blackboard, though I’ve heard far worse takes on it than Tanezaki’s (she’s normally a pretty good actor). The biggest gripe I had with all this was how contrived and silly her introduction was. Grandpa lets a stranger in to use the shower, the boy walks in on her, she blackmails him. None of that would happen if it weren’t necessary for the plot, and it wouldn’t be necessary for the plot if the mangaka wasn’t checking off a few boxes. But you can’t argue with the numbers, that’s for sure.
Could Juju grow on me? Sure, it’s possible, and in the big picture my opinion makes zero difference anyway – I’m not the target audience. But if Bisque Doll had pursued that blackmail angle that would have punched my return ticket. Fortunately it backed off that as a straight-up gag, and Juju didn’t push the matter. That said, it seems to me that if Wakana is going to making outfits as an ongoing enterprise he really ought to be getting paid for it – it’s a lot of work and his time has value even if that does conflict with his doormat status. I assume Juju was planning on paying him when she invaded his home, but whether that happens now (I presume the matter will be forgotten about) remains to be seen.
Take Juju out of the picture (I wish) and the ep really wasn’t that bad. Marin falling head-over-heels for Wakana was presented in rather appealing fashion, and we finally got a bit of info about her status above and beyond being the MPDG. Gramps inviting her to eat at his house every day just like that was kind of ridiculous but it’s not like we don’t see such nonsense in anime all the time. Marin and Juju geeking out over their obsession was mostly for the hardcore cosplay crowd but yeah, I’ve been in enough of those conversations about various topics to recognize the authenticity of it.
Maybe the best part of the episode was the anime-in-anime “Princess Lily” magical girl tribute, complete with 4:3 aspect ratio. That was put together with a lot of care, and it showed – it could easily have been a throwaway moment but the anime made it an episode highlight. And the stuff with grandpa was generally OK, too – though I have to ask, is it really normal for high school boys to have a couple pairs of stockings? In any event the jury is still way out on this series for me – it does what it does very well, but it may just be too far removed from my sweet spot for that to matter.
Nellie
February 13, 2022 at 5:19 pmYeah, I figured Sajuna’s entry would colour your opinion of your episode… she does get better. I don’t think the any of the Bisque Doll characters are meant to be mean-spirited, but the series likes to flirt with those tropes briefly and back off and go right back to being wholesome-if-kinda-ecchi.
I’m hoping it doesn’t turn out to be a dealbreaker for you.
Polly
February 13, 2022 at 6:05 pmSo, er… does this top episode 2 for you in terms of sheer exasperation?
I like Juju (Tanezaki’s casting definitely helped in making her seem believably prickly instead of flat-out annoying)- though I can see why she made such a bad impression on you. I don’t think the story would’ve seriously had her seriously call the cops- it’d be too much at odds with the general tone established the show. It’s as ecchi as all heck (I could do with less of it), but I think it’s also quite… amiable? Cozy? Genuine? I don’t know what the right word is.
Princess Lily… Cardcaptor Sakura with a dash of Precure? I’ll take it!
Nellie
February 13, 2022 at 6:56 pmI think there’s definitely a line Bisque Doll makes sure not to cross. Whether it’s a threshold people are comfortable with is another matter.
Guardian Enzo
February 13, 2022 at 7:04 pmCasting Tanezaki helped, to a point. She didn’t make things worse, which a lot of seiyuu would have.
Does it top episode 2 for exasperation? That’s hard to say. I think this episode was definitely dumber, but that one was more disturbing, if that makes any sense. This was just stupid tropes and cliches, a good stiff breeze would have blown it away. 2 was really an example of what was (for me) legitimately bad judgment on the part of the mangaka. Neither one says good things about the nature of this series but on some level, I think the fact that 2 was so singular and off-putting makes it worse.
Sonicsenryaku
February 13, 2022 at 9:33 pmWow, so ep 2 was that bad for you to the point you’d call it disturbing?? That’s a strong ass word so I’m curious as to what shook you up about the ep. I mean, despite it having a joke that went on for a bit longer than necessary during its episode’s second half, I found most of the fanservice to be typical anime fair, which then actually ended up serving the characters beyond just pandering to the audience as well. There’s defintely a feeling the ep is going for in service of the characters: the awkwardness of inviting a girl over for the first time as a teenager ( especially on a in-school day) and getting into an arousing situation you’d never think was possible to find yourself in, only for that experience to change the perceived boundaries of you guys’ relationship, resulting in that awkward next day yet simultaneously bringing y’all closer together as seen by ep 3.
Ep 2 definitely didn’t have the most elegant execution; there are elements in the general character interactions I would have changed here and there to call more attention to the developing casual intimacy between our two leads, but I would have still maintained the pure kinky horniness of the scene because I think horny is actually okay and healthy for human beings to be exposed to. Too often does ep 2’s second half distract away from adding more substance to Marin and Wakana’s conversation during the measuring, choosing instead to spend its time on the same heightened awkward reactions from our Male lead…….over and over again; we got it after the second time, you know? Despite my criticisms, there wasn’t anything significant I would label as disturbing and overall, and I found the storytelling still did a decent job of selling the very basic element of what makes the burgeoning dynamic between Marin and Wakana charming: Marin’s respect and faith in Wakana’s skills along with her friendly demeanor, and Wakana’s genuine investment in people’s passions along with his work ethic.
Anyway I thought the tropes in this week’s ep were far worse than ANYTHING found in ep 2. The things that went down in that ep actually affected our characters in a way that the subsequent ep was able to draw meaning from; that’s what you want in a narrative. The uninspired tropes in this ep won’t ever amount to anything and are therefore an absolute waste of time. One of the worst things you can do in storytelling is waste time, especially when that wasted time is built off illogical premises like the ones found here
Guardian Enzo
February 13, 2022 at 9:38 pmI mean, if you want to know what I thought of that episode I pretty much laid it out in the post, you know? Yeah, this was a throwaway – but I wish 2 was a throwaway. It was indeed more substantial but for me, not in a good way.
As I said when I covered it, I was ready to write it off as a misstep if the series justified that. To an extent it did that in the next three episodes (though obviously not this one).
Sonicsenryaku
February 13, 2022 at 10:12 pmSo more or less how mean-spirited you felt the entire ep came off as well not thinking the ecchi was in good taste? Ok. I guess the reason why I asked again was because I remembered you still feeling a bit ambivalent about that ep at the time of writing the post, but I guess you’ve had time to cement how you truly feel about it
Guardian Enzo
February 13, 2022 at 10:29 pmWell, I don’t think I was ambivalent at the time and I didn’t think I came across that way in the post (but maybe I did) – I pretty much hated it. But the premiere had banked enough capital to keep it from being fatal.
Sonicsenryaku
February 13, 2022 at 9:56 pmYea, I’m with you on the whole cozy feeling the series invokes. It’s wholesomeness with a side of ecchi; that’s the series in a nutshell (ecchi has never bothered me unless it implies something toxic and harmful without making any kind of meaningful commentary on it). Marin and Wakana are suitable leads brought to life well enough by their seiyuus to provide 20 mins of entertainment each week. We ain’t treading on groundbreaking storytelling here: this is just a simple but effective-enough story of 2 good-natured polar opposites with charming chemistry. It’s those typical core values that warm your heart enough to keep you engaged.
ruicarlov
February 13, 2022 at 11:47 pmYou really need to add Madoka to that equation, and in a large dosage. Crystal turning black and transforming the girl in a dark form? Mascot just smiling while that happens? I tell ya, it was a Kyuubei-approved mascot.
Marty
February 13, 2022 at 8:08 pmI know this isn’t entirely relevant to this specific episode, but it’s been gnawing at me for a bit. Will we ever see any serious focus on Gojo’s Hina Dolls? Like, it would seem kind of strange and one-sided if the story focused all, if not most, of the plot on Gojo helping Marin pursue her passion, but nothing on his. The only reason I mention this is because if that’s the case, is Gojo’s passion for Hina Dolls just a means to explain how he’s so good at costume-making and that’s it? All I’m saying is that it would be rather stranger for such a core element of Gojo’s character to be narratively neglected.
Specifically to this Episode, I think the romance angle is what I’m most interested to see; Google clearly likes Marin (just because he’s an introvert doesn’t mean he’s taken a vow of celibacy, even if he might be shy about his feelings), and Marin straight up had an entire monologue realizing she likes Gojo herself. There should be absolutely no reason they shouldn’t attempt to move their relationship forward in some meaningful capacity; they’re still high schoolers, and it’s not like dating is a marriage proposal. This isn’t a show like Nozaki-kun (S2 when?), where Nozaki misinterpreting Sakura’s advances is a key element to the comedy. Besides, if Marin is as head-over-heels over Gojo as this Episode makes her out to be, it would make no sense for the plot to maintain the “will they/won’t they” status quo and stagnate.
L0ken
February 13, 2022 at 9:24 pmYes,Marin indeed pays Gojou both for materials and his work,they even stated that back in episode 2.As far as I remember they should reiterate that later,he is not working for free.
Guardian Enzo
February 13, 2022 at 9:41 pmYes he is, as far as we know. Paying for materials for her clothing isn’t paying him – she’s doing the same thing as if she was buying an outfit at COSPA. It’s hers, not his – admittedly if he paid for the materials (as he tried to, being the doormat) that would be incredibly egregious, but that’s a laughably low bar. If there’s any indication that she (or Juju for that matter) is paying him for his time (as they should be) we’ve not been told that yet.
Sonicsenryaku
February 13, 2022 at 10:24 pmThere hasn’t been any indication Marin pays Wakana for the time he invests in making the clothes, but Juju has said to Wakana that she’d pay him to make the cosplay outfit she’s commissioning. Juju initially thought that perhaps Wakana’s profession was making cosplay and came with the intention that she’d have to pay him
Guardian Enzo
February 13, 2022 at 10:27 pmYeah, but will they follow up on that? Or will it be “since it’s just a hobby you should be happy to do it for free?”
Sonicsenryaku
February 14, 2022 at 12:51 amGuess we’ll have to wait and see. I’d definitely like to see him charge Juju. I sorta understand why he wouldn’t want Marin paying him, though. Whether or not he was a doormat, I could see him just wanting to take things easy with Marin and just share in her cosplaying interest. Hopefully now he doesn’t work himself into a coma again trying to make an outfit and just takes things one day at a time
Rasu
February 13, 2022 at 11:31 pmDon’t spit such nosense! His work is far more expensive than “paying for the material”! So you don’t have the slighest idea as to why tailorshiped clothes are such a luxury?! She has to pay for BOTH: material and specially HIS WORK. You can have tons of material but not the knowledge, time and the skills needed for making clothes and therefore just ruin said material like she did (or chosing useless fabric that shouldn’t be usted with certain kind of clothes). The most valuable thing, that can even cost two or three times what she paid for material, is all the labour of putting it together and making the right choices as to what and how mucho material to use. Hell! He even cut the patterns from scratch! Do you think that’s an easy work?! Do you know sometimes you have to pay much more for those if you want to acquire some patterns? (and to adapt it to the person in question size) there are some specialized magazines, yet is not enough and those are neither for free.
Would you like if someone out of nowhere makes you do a work worth two months of rent and alimentary expenses within a ridicously small lapse of time (so you have to overwork and be sleep-deprived just because, which btw isn’t enoygh effort to propetly finish on time), then invites you to one singld dinner one day and says that’s your payment?! How are you going to pay the bills or treat the healthy problems that may had caused you?
Wakana has and keeps working for free, that’s not cool. Maybe some chamecos lend their skills for free (lots of them have the knowledge and equipment of a profesional photographer, which is also very expensive stuff), but not cosmakers and propmakers. Being an artist doesn’t mean you don’t have to get retribution for it, evenmore since half of the work relies on how you master it and excel on it. You know, there are competitions that depends on it, the most important one being the WCS. One of the things that they judges qualify are the quality of the costume, make up, wig stylisation and the props; they ask the participants how was it done, what did they use, how does it work, how did they managed to stilise the wig, what technique did they use, which material, etc. Considering what you win for that it’d be terrible not to pay for it as a form of adknowledge people’s work and talent.
Speaking of it, I disagree with Marín and Juju’s point of view, a very important part of cosplaying is perfomance, the acting (that’s way more relevant in competitions if you really want to portray the character well and bring it to life as they supposedly want), if you can’t pull that off, then you’re just dressing up or being a model. You can also use other things, like make up, to make up for the differences, which by the way, mind you, Wakana had to investigate and he also helped her with part of her make up (that’s another thing she had to pay for, not to mention the cost of maintence of every single thing and the material he gave her for free too). That’s abusive, I hope Juju convinces her to pay for all of that before jumping into a other one (how easy from her when she just have to wish for it and put it on).
I know, I got too excited, but truly, she may be naive and ignorant, but she has to know how difficult is to accomplish her wish with the high expectations she has and pay for what all of that implies if she really appreciates Gojo. His work needs to improve, but nevertless even with those mistakes is worth a lot.
Guardian Enzo
February 14, 2022 at 6:49 amActually I would think his grandfather would be very upset at him for working for free. In doing so do devalues the craft – disrespects it. This is how artists make their living – it’s what Wakana is in training to do for a vocation. It shouldn’t be given away for nothing.
L0ken
February 14, 2022 at 9:46 amI said she BOTH paying for the material AND his work separately.It should be spoken though if anime won’t cut that little exchange.
Riv
February 14, 2022 at 1:00 amI think I’m going to quit the series at this point. It keeps straying further from where I expected/hoped it would go in the premier, and I find that direction less interesting and enjoyable. Nothing against Gojo and Marin’s romance, or the ecchi for that matter– just not for me.
Collectr
February 14, 2022 at 3:21 amWhen Juju was introduced in the manga, I was ready to put it down, because it looked like Sono Bisque was moving in the “cosplay tailor assembles a harem” direction. Fortunately, [spoiler alert] that’s not the case. It’s remains a romcom [end spoiler alert].
I think it’s worth comparing Sono BIsque to the other anime “tailor and cosplay model” romance I’m familiar with, namely, Ohno and Tanaka in Genshiken. Like Marin, Ohno is a bit of an otaku’s fantasy – tall, good-looking, well-endowed, and a hard-core otaku. Like Gojou, Tanaka is shy and prefers to be in the background. One big difference is age – Ohno and Tanaka are in college, not high school. They understand themselves and their relationship considerably better than Marin and Gojou. Another is Tanaka’s confidence in his skills and worth. He knows he’s good at what he does, and it grounds him in his dealings and feelings with Ohno; unlike Gojou, who is clueless about life and doubtful about his own skills. I find the Genshiken pairing more believable and interesting than Sono Bisque; but Sono Bisque is selling like hotcakes, while Genshiken struggled to get traction when it first came out. It’s clear what sells.
Rob Barrett
February 14, 2022 at 5:15 amYeah, I have caught up with the manga, and I was surprised at how thoroughly that subplot got dropped.
DauntingOverlord
February 14, 2022 at 5:31 pmSometimes I find it fascinating which posts on this blog gets more action in the comments sections. Generally, an undeniably good episode will get next to no comments (I’m assuming it’s because we have no further comments to make, or we just simply agree) or it’s when Enzo has a more extreme opinion (leaning towards the negative) on more popular shows (whether the show deserves its popularity or not). Wasn’t expecting Bisque to get this treatment, but then again, it is pretty much the only show talked about this season… well Marin is, in any case, which I find unfortunate, really. Bisque felt too wish fullfillmenty to me to watch past episode 1 (I also mainly watch anime with family, so I use the blog to curate the seasonal anime so episode 2 was a huge turn-off), so I’ve just been keeping up on it through the blog posts. Thanks to that though, I found Orbital Children which probably would’ve floated by, swallowed up by the Netflix jail.
Guardian Enzo
February 14, 2022 at 5:43 pmYou and me both.
sonicsenryaku
February 15, 2022 at 4:54 amIf people were more inclined to start conversation and readers actually responded to each other, we’d probably see more consistent traffic in the comments section on this site
Lims
April 7, 2022 at 1:35 amHaha, I think Marin’s reactions in the first part of the episode were the main highlight here. But yes, it was one amazing mix of tropes.
I started watching inspired by the blog, though it was also recommended to me a few times as a favourite in this past anime season. I get the appeal, but the fanservice is a bit too much for me at times. Maybe they hinted it more in the anime, but it ruins a few good moments here and there