Mononogatari – 03
Now here’s a show that’s as squarely on the bubble as you can get. I can absolutely go either way at this point. I liked the second ep much better than the first, and the third was right in-between. Everything about Mononogatari, even the production itself, strikes me as very much middle of the road. But I also feel like there are depths here that are only being hinted at, even if that’s no more than an instinct at this point.
Nominally, this episode focuses on Yuu, the last holdout for Hyouma’s approval list (which is binding only if he chooses to make it so himself). But that’s really kind of a feint, with the last few minutes of the episode providing the real spark. Yuu’s fight with Hyouma isn’t much of a fight, given that he refuses to fight back. He even makes a little speech about how he’s starting to see tsukumogami differently after getting to know the ones in the Nagatsuki household. But that too is a feint, as the rest of the episode will bear out.
The interesting question, really, is how to take Hyouma’s fight with the killer tsukumogami at the end. Superficially he seems to be rejecting the moderation he presented to Yuu earlier in the episode. But in point of fact it strikes me that he’s going a little too hard here – trying to convince himself of what he’s saying, because he feels threatened that his black and white view of tsukumogami might be breaking down. It’s an interesting moment, and this series is not without those – I don’t know if I’ll continue with it (I suspect it will be in the imminent patron poll at least) but I’ll be watching for one more week at least.
High Card – 03
Same boat here, really, although High Card has been more consistent though its first three episodes. I kind of like it, it embraces the absurdity in an appealing way, but there’s nothing really exceptional about it. I think Mononogatari has a better chance to level up – what we see with High Card is probably what we get – but it’s a classic lower ceiling/higher floor situation.
There was, however, one element of this episode I really liked, and it came as Finn was “saving” young Leo Pinochle (Horie Shun warming up for BokuYaba) from carjacking kidnappers. He steals a Vespa (OK, fair enough) and then proceeds to shoot out the tire on the limo. Okay, it ended all right but all I was thinking was “Jeez, did you think about the victim in the car – or innocent bystanders? What if it wipes out?” And lo and behold, that’s exactly what Leo told Finn in the aftermath of the incident. I do like it when a show is smart enough to point out the dumb (even well-intentioned) acts of its characters. I guess in Finn’s defense he is a total noob to all this.
As for Leo as an addition to the cast, while he’s more or less a classic poor little rich boy, he’s entertaining enough. His personality is quite unlike any of the dudes who work for him so there’s some potential for manzai-style comedy there. The cast in general is pretty likable, so there’s nothing insurmountable stopping High Card from making the cut. Just a matter of whether it can amp up the engagement level with the plot by a few notches. Another one for the bubble and the patron poll.
Nicc
January 26, 2023 at 9:37 amBesides airing in Monday, one thing that both shows have in common is that they feature sharply-dressed characters. The main cast in “High Card” is dressed in suits as are the tsukumogami in “Monogatari”. The former makes sense as they are working in a high-end car dealership, though I’m not sure about the tsukumogami (It’s doubtful that Botan ordered them to dress that way).
Personally, I’m keeping both for the time being. “High Card” is fun enough, deal me in! It looks like we’re still doing the character introductions in “High Card”. This episode introduced the boss of this outfit, which just so happens to the son of the head honcho. It’s made clear that they don’t have the best relationship. This week’s caper involves “rescuing” Leo from some kidnappers. Interesting, his power is basically “power of money” as he converts currency into whatever he needs as long as it fits the value. It reminds me of “Bungo Stray Dogs” when one of the villains could convert money into physical enhancement. At the very least, Leo seems like he’s a reasonable boss. Next week, it looks Wendy will get the spotlight and I then I’m guessing one more episode featuring Vijay. In the meantime, I hope that Finn gets better with his using his powers.
In “Monogatari”, he’s won over 5 members of the household by the final day. Yuu is the one holdout and she’s not about give her approval without a fight, but Hyouma dodges her provocations. But, then they’re interrupted by some hostile tsukumogami. Everybody shows up in the ensuing battle and it was mentioned how Hyouma has a darkness in his heart. Well, it shows up when those tsukumogami mentioned that they have killed human and then he goes into a murderous rampage with everybody watching. The aftermath should be interesting to watch.
Joshua
January 28, 2023 at 6:47 amCompletely unrelated, but since people are literally preferring High Card to this, somewhere within Buddy Daddies’ rotten core is surprisingly, a possibly frank exploration on the tumultuous difficulties that come with Japanese parenthood (and the numerous socioeconomic issues that have ultimately dissuaded most Japanese couples from having children) as well as the expectations that come from being a parent. That’s what I got from watching beyond the first two episodes and seeing why they’d care for this annoying kid. Kazuki being the one who was never able to raise the child he hoped for because he lost his wife and unborn child in a contract gone wrong (and being very limited in his parenting knowledge initially), and Rei never having a caring father figure in his life because his father was a cold, heartless assassin who forced him to be just like him (so he never had anyone who warmly cared for him). Also the biological mother of that kid turned out to be quite neglectful as well, forced to take care of her after her abusive husband (who they accidentally killed in the premiere) left her, since she never wanted a child after that one night stand with him accidentally knocked her up.
This week’s episode was also fascinating because it covered the deeply bureaucratic, overcomplicated nature of the daycare system in Japan, which means government clearance, documentation, daycare waitlists and interviews, and the preparations necessary for a kid’s appearance at one. And the two assassins actually had the common sense to drop this kid off at a daycare because of how inconvenient it is to keep having her around. It was also kinda wholesome at times when divorced from the rest of the series with Kazuki’s maternal instinct kicking in, and wanting to see the kid make some friends after being worried about her isolated glumness for several days. The caretaker at the daycare is even pretty good as a character.
Understandably, I’ve heard that the staff behind this show were basing some of this series on their own life experience with raising children of their own. And plus, it doesn’t seem like others in the show have an issue with these two guys raising a child either during their interviews at the daycares. The series will have to inevitably return to the violence, but briefly, it had a sliver of potential in there if this series can focus on the issues with parenting instead of more killing shenanigans.