I wavered over that title line, but even as sure as I am we’re getting another season of Super no Ura de Yani Suu Futari, it’s technically not a sure thing. I mean this isn’t Spy X Family or Kusuriya – it’s probably more like 90-10% or so, but that’s not 100%. Nevertheless – it’s gonna happen. And maybe fairly soon too, since the anime used less than half of the existing chapters (roughly 30 of 64). It’s also one of those shows that seems pretty well-received both domestically and in the international market, which improves its chances.
Frankly, it’s a bit puzzling to me that Super no Ura is as popular as it is. It can be tough to peg with romcoms – who do the few that find mass appeal do so? This series is funny but not hilarious. It has soft fanservice but nothing too ecchi. It’s also about adults (sort of) which isn’t always the golden ticket. Bottom line is that it seems pretty unremarkable to me as a big fan of romance animanga and series about grown-ups. Indeed the most notable thing about it is the smoking, which doesn’t necessarily strike me as an element that would generate mass appeal on its own.
Most notable apart from one, that is. And Occam’s Razor suggests it’s the hook that people like. Why? Search me. Fans love to complain about dense romcom leads and misunderstanding tropes, but clearly this time it’s working. If it wasn’t there’s no way Super no Ura would be this successful. Personally I think the show would have at least the possibility of being much better without it, and we got to see Yamada and Sasaki try and navigate what would still be an awkward and difficult romantic relationship. But so far there’s no sign of that happening.
Rather than conjure up any sort of original ending (which further suggests a sequel is coming), the anime sticks with the manga and offers a story surrounding Sasaki’s old boss, Nakajima-san. He was also Sasaki’s mentor and clearly meant a lot to him (he wears the watch Nakajima gave him) and he’s retiring. He invited Sasaki out for a farewell drink, but Sasaki turns him down. The fact that this was proposed to take place in Sapporo makes that easier to justify, but air miles are not the reason sad sack Sasaki is saying no.
There are more tantalizing hints of dark events in Sasaki’s past here. He tells Tayama-san he “wronged” Nakajima and doesn’t feel justified in seeing him now because he wants him to retire with a smile on his face. To her credit, Tayama (literally) puts the boot to his ass about this and declares him banned from the smoking den. Both Sasaki and Yamada have their issues to say the least. But she has more of an excuse – she’s at an age where you’re still trying to figure out what the hell life is and who you are. And at least she doesn’t hate her job. Sasaki is a pretty pathetic case, if we’re brutally honest. I don’t blame her for losing it over this.
But basically, it seems as if Sasaki-san has PTSD from life in general and that dictates everything he does (and doesn’t do). We don’t know the full story, and one suspects he blames himself a lot more for everything than he should. But PTSD is PTSD. I don’t know if romancing a girl barely half his age is the remedy but he sure as hell needs something to shake him out of his moribund routine. In the end Suzuki-san – who’s only too happy to hang with his wife and kid – lets Sasaki take over his business trip to Hokkaido and, shamed by Tayama’s scolding, he does the right thing and meets up with Nakajima-san.
It’s no surprise Sasaki-san has such a hard time describing his relationship to Tayama – I don’t really understand it myself. But make no mistake, it’s Tayama he considers himself to have a relationship with, not Yamada. And as I’ve noted that’s a good thing, as that’s her true form. You have to set aside the whole smoking thing and what they’re doing to themselves with it – in this series everybody smokes and it’s just cool, bro. It’s the pair of them and their weird bond that makes or breaks this thing, and sooner or later it’s going to have to survive the truth. Because as long as it’s build on a lie (and cluelessness) it’s effectively meaningless. But that seems to be working for people, so who am I to judge.
