I actually think “I wonder if a truly ordinary day even exists” is a good first line for a novel. But hey, I’ve been there. That blank screen (it hasn’t been a page for a very long time in my case) takes on the aura of a black hole sucking you in. It’s striking that for someone who writes for a living, Fuji-san has done precious little writing in seven episodes. In fact Kimi has done a whole lot more. Of that manga collaboration there’s been no further word, and while there have been editors meetings there’s no indication of what’s actually being edited. But unless her folks are rich you assume she must be writing enough to pay the rent and feed the tanuki.
But I think that’s sort of the point. That niche series have a tendency to use appreciating the ordinary in life as a theme. And that’s not a coincidence – there’s a real profundity in that. I think Ame to Kimi to is actually sort of brilliant in the way it approaches this – not quite in the same way (or to the same degree) as Warumono-san, but in a manner that’s reminiscent. This is observational humor, this is Zen. They’re absurdist to the core but like all great absurdist fiction, use the device as a means to enlighten real life.
This episode is really “Ame to” at its most “Kimi to”. It’s really just a series of vignettes on mundane life. Now, there’s certainly irony in the fact that Kimi bemoans how ordinary things are when she’s having conversations with a tanuki that writes in correct Japanese grammar. Sometimes others notice, sometimes they just seem to accept it. Take the visit to the stationery store, where the clerk imagines something very different when Fuji describes her request. When the truth becomes clear – “this is for my pet” – she’s understandably baffled.
Other encounters include a magic trick with Kii that devolves into a discourse on riddles (I’m with her, that wasn’t a riddle). Then we have Kimi deciding he wants to wear Fuji’s baseball cap, which has her a bit flummoxed because of the hair situation (she wins the day with a carrot distraction). There’s also an interesting bit where Kimi jumps on the prone Fuji and starts kneading the bread dough. As any nekozuki will tell you that’s as cat as behavior gets, and indeed Fuji later remarks that there are elements of Kimi’s personality that are rather feline. I’d argue in fact that he’s much more catlike than doglike, though she’s also correct in her observation that there are dog-like cats (like most Siamese). One of the ways this show excels in fact is as a reflection on the charm of pets.
Later on, Kimi also attempts to jump on the sleeping Fuji from a great height (her desk, forbidden territory) and fails miserably. His eventual method of waking her up is sort of hybrid feline-canine. The tooth-brushing thing is also interesting. I’ve had cats who seemed to enjoy that and those that absolutely hated it, but Kimi declares “I’m hooked”. Finally an encounter with a free-tissue hawker (the low end of the Japanese employment totem pole) at the station. I think it’s safe to assume Kimi’s “I want one” was for her benefit, and it got her to the end of her shift. But it also left her with a lot to think about, which is something Ame to Kimi to is very good at indeed.
