Negaposi Angler is a quirky show, that’s for sure. A very unusual protagonist and premise, and visuals that are a curious hybrid of many styles (not least Gainax). It’s quite refreshingly dark, too, though one has a strong sense that it’s ultimately going in an uplifting direction. There’s still the elephant in the room, of course, which is still being skirted over in a big way. I have still have questions about that but if we’re to take the premiere’s cold open at face value that colors everything else that happens in the series.
The more we learn about Hiro’s past the most of a pathetic loser he comes off as. Yet still someone you feel a certain sympathy for, a guy who just can’t catch a break. That shot with his mother after he failed his university entrance exam was quietly heartbreaking. The whole misadventure with Forex trading (that does sink some people, but I’m surprised they didn’t make it crypto) was another example. Definitely a self-inflicted wound there, but it clearly contributed to his downward spiral. Seems as if he transferred his addiction to the thrill of currency trading to pachinko once he could no longer afford the former.
In any event, it’s not had to see why he fled when he bumped into those two guys from college. Like Kyoutarou from Boku no Kokoro no Yabai Yatsu, Hiro seems to have pretty much checked out on the world after his exam failure. The differences are that Kyou was still young enough to right the ship, had a family that supported him (Hiro’s doesn’t seem to have), and he found someone who dragged him out of the darkness of self-loathing. It’s obviously a different dynamic but Takaaki seems to be filling that role for Hiro.
This is definitely emerging as the most important relationship in Negaposi Angler. Takaaki is just one of those guys who won’t take no for an answer. Even when, as seems to be the case, Hiro doesn’t seem grateful and doesn’t seem interested in turning his own life around. It may play as unrealistic but there are people like that in the world, and sometimes they’re the only ones who can break through with a person like Hiro. And while there was a million Yen at stake, Hiro buying a rod and showing up on his own to try and catch a houndshark does seem to show that Takaaki’s group is making some impact on Hiro.
I always enjoy when an anime teaches me something new, and I’d never heard of a houndshark before this episode. But they are a species that lives in Japanese waters, it seems. They’re endangered so I’m surprised there’d be a fishing competition for one, though. Hiro thinks he’s hooked one on his cheap rod and reel (it turns out to be a shark), but the world’s nicest loan sharks show up and one things leads to another. The symbolism is thick in the air here – Hiro tries to flee and Takaaki chases after him. Eventually he pays off the loan, drags Hiro back to his place and tells him it was an interest-free loan.
This series is another one dealing with the reality of a very busy season, on its busiest day. It’s absolutely not a mass-produced model in any way and I’m pretty certain there’s enough here to keep me hooked in normal circumstances. But these are not normal circumstances, so at this point I think I still need to let the line play out a bit longer before deciding whether to reel it in.
Ronbb
October 19, 2024 at 4:15 amIt’s definitely a different story, but Hiro’s story is too gloomy for me. It’s not that I don’t have empathy for people like Hiro. It’s that I may not have the capacity to take it in for more than three episodes. I am more curious about Takaaki’s story, and I hope that the tide will change next week.
Nicc
October 20, 2024 at 6:26 amThis episode continues immediately where the last one left off as Hiro is running away from some acquaintances and he doesn’t come back. With no home to return to, he spends the night at a manga cafe. We’ll see more later on, but for a show that’s about fishing, there’s certainly a whole lot of running too. Yep, he does come off a loser as we see his past. After failing to get into his university of choice, he gets into FOREX trading. It doesn’t work out for him (Frozen orange juice futures is where it’s at) and he resorts to borrowing money from the loan shark trio, which then turns into his current obsession with pachinko.
He doesn’t show up for work at the convenience store either, but the bossman has bigger fish to fry. It seems there’s a million yen bounty to hook a houndshark. I thought they were talking about dogfish, but it seems that’s a different kind of fish. That brings out all kinds of anglers of all levels to give it a shot, which also includes the missing Hiro. It does seem he at least has some success with pachinko as he’s able to get a rod to give this a shot. The houndshark thing eventually becomes the B plot as the loan sharks spots Hiro and we get another footrace. The bossman is left with Hiro’s rod as it seems that he may have hooked the houndshark (It turns out to be a ray after fighting it all day, but it is indeed still tasty)
Hiro surprisingly has the fitness to run this much, even if he doesn’t seem like the type to take care of his body. He’s eventually able to shake off the loan sharks, but Takaaki is able to keep up. Yep, there is a good deal of symbolism here. Takaaki advises Hiro to start all over again, even if Hiro indeed the type who doesn’t seem interested in turning his life around (He’s got only two years left to live, according to his doc. Why even try?). But Takaaki insists and he’s got enough to pay off the loan for Hiro. Takaaki expects to be paid back, but it’s an interest-free loan while taking in Hiro to stay at this place. Perhaps that will be enough to get Hiro to really start over again.
Casey W
October 23, 2024 at 10:04 pmIn the first and second episodes, I was struck by the parallels the show sets up between pachinko and angling, where they’re both activities that would appeal to a gambler — but one is a lot more toxic than the other. This episode we get the third piece of that puzzle: currency speculation. I work in an academic setting and I’ve seen undergrads get sucked into forex schemes; they don’t think of it as gambling, but that’s what it is, and it really can wreck someone who’s in a vulnerable position without much guidance, like Hiro. (He seemed to get along OK with his college classmates, but you can’t base a friendship on a shared addiction… well, you can, and a lot of people do, but it doesn’t end well.)
Can I say a quick word for the loan sharks? For such minor characters, and contemptible antagonists at that, they are a lot more fun to hang out with than you’d expect.
I wished that there was more Hana in this episode, but it’s not really that kind of story — the important dynamic here is Takaaki as Hiro’s senpai in life.