Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku – 01

Sometimes a series comes along that just mystifies me, and Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku is one such series. I confess I knew almost nothing about it when the anime was announced, and was rather stunned when I saw the aggregator scores for the manga. The ones for the anime are even higher and, frankly, I’m absolutely stumped as to why. That disconnect happening with a genre that’s just not my jam is normal enough – a CGDCT or isekai or preposterous “sports” series. But a seinen romance? Liking one more or less than most people is one thing. This is just… odd.

Admittedly this premiere played like a shoujo in seinen clothing, but that shouldn’t matter – that demographic line is often fuzzy. The Fragrant Flowers Bloom With Dignity is a love story between a rough-looking boy from a rough school and a girl who goes to the elite girls’ academy next door. That sounds pretty formulaic, and frankly it is (so far at least). It wasn’t especially realistic and nothing that happened surprised me. It’s well-executed and the visuals are terrific (CloverWorks seems to be leveling up all the time). But apart from that, I’m hard-pressed to think of a less exceptional premiere. It’s not bad, it’s just kind of pretty cotton candy.

Something this inexplicable annoys me. It’s my nature. I just don’t get how this of all shows could be in the all-time Top 20 on MAL, as dubious a measure as that is. There just seems to be so little that’s distinctive about it. If you think you can tell me what I’m missing, please do – I feel like there has to be something here I’m just not seeing.

Dekin no Mogura – 01

And then we have Dekin no Mogura. It makes the perfect bookend for Kaoru Hana for reasons I’ll delve into in a moment. This adaptation is pretty under the radar considering it’s from a manga by Eguchi Natsumi, whose Hoozuki no Reitetsu was both a massive commercial success and a personal favorite. I just never heard much about this one, the sales haven’t been great, and the last time I checked it wasn’t even being scanlated. Brain’s Base was possibly my favorite studio once upon a time, but they’re much-reduced since the schism that resulted in the formation of Studio Shuka.

So, two seinen. Separated by 2.61 points in MAL score (I just checked). Dekin no Mogura is at 6.28, and I like it the better of the two. Much, much better. The score is less of a mystery to me – it’s esoteric and talky, and the opposite of conventionally pretty quite by intention. But I found this premiere really interesting from start to finish. And what’s more, I loved the visuals, which retain Eguchi’s wonky character designs paired with a bright, cartoonish surrealism. Too many anime look and sound the same, even good ones. Dekin no Mogura is weird and awkward, and I love that about it.

The story follows a couple of university lit majors named Magi and Yaeko, who one day on their way home from an izakaya bitch session see a guy felled by a falling koujien (dropped by their classmate). A koujen is a  type of dictionary, and this one leaves the fellow bleeding badly. These are good kids, and determined to help this weirdo despite his insistence that they not (because he has no money or insurance card). Eventually they follow him back to the bathhouse he runs on “Drawer Street“, and it’s very clear something weird is going on with this dude. Just how weird doesn’t come into focus until Magi-kun starts seeing strange things the next day.

First of all I love the dialogue here, which reminds me a bit of Morimi Tomihiko’s Yojouhan Shinwa Takei. The guy’s name is Mogura (Mole) Momoyuki, and I found all three characters to be really interesting and likeable. Mogura spins a wild tale of his banishment from the afterlife, and how he has to stay alive by collecting ghost fire because if he dies he’s guaranteed to get lost on the way. How long that’s been going on is unclear by at least since Meiji times, given his “Oppepeke” signoff. There are also some typically dry moments of Eguchi hilarity, like Mogura saying the scariest thing he ever saw is the consumption tax, and comparing the NHK man to the KGB.

The Earthbound Mole is not going to be for everybody, that’s patently obvious. Even Hoozuki was highly literate and obtuse, and this series lacks the other trappings that made it popular in the mainstream. But if you’re the niche audience it’s aimed at, I think there’s the potential for something really good here. And the experience of these two premieres is just a reminder of how completely the anime experience is driven by personal taste. Vive la différence…