It’s not news to say it at this point, but this show really checks the boxes for me. Between the music, the cast, and the writing it just pushes the right buttons. It does that very that niche thing of using fantasy to make you appreciate the wonderfully mundane elements of everyday life. That Kujima Utaeba Ie Hororo is often food-focused is no coincidence – a great many of these series are. It may focus on a giant talking bird creature who speaks Japanese with a Russian accent, but in terms of family dynamics and human interaction it’s the most grounded and realistic show of the season.
Given all that it’s no surprise Kujima Utaeba cherishes a lot of the same stuff I do. Like snow, which I’ve loved since I was old enough to remember and still do (and almost never see in any of the Japanese cities I’ve lived and worked in). Kids are smarter than adults about a lot of things, which is why staying childlike is something I view as a feature, not a bug. Being from Russia Kujima knows their snow of course, but all snow is different. And they’ve never been in a snowball fight – though Arata has never been sledding (he seems to live in a place where snow isn’t voluminous or long-lived enough for that). Arata’s mom using “At least the kids are having fun” to refer to Arata and Kujima was totally heartwarming.
The idyll isn’t long-lived either, however. Suguru has failed his exams – the private university ones at any rate. Exams in Japan really are a disgrace – seeing kids (and Suguru really is still a kid, honestly) wrecked by stress over them is incredibly depressing. I do feel empathy for Suguru, but he’s been a tool about this and his whole family is held hostage to his trauma. I find that one of the low-key saddest themes I’ve seen in anime for ages. Especially where Arata is concerned, as he’s really still a kid, and effectively lost his brother for the duration of this whole ordeal.
The thing is, though, that having Kujima’s goofy ass around the house has finally started to loosen Suguru up a little. It was a huge relief that he took the high road when Arata was blaming himself (for bringing Kujima home) for what happened. This wasn’t either of their fault, obviously, but it’s good that Suguru is self-aware enough to admit it. If anybody ever needed a distraction it was Suguru in the state he was in when Kujima showed up. And if anyone or anything was ever capable of providing a distraction, it’s Kujima.
The public university exam is the big dog, the one Suguru really needs to pass. That means the floors are still tiled with eggshells for the next few days, even if Suguru less resembles a smoldering volcano than he used to (he even smiles occasionally). Mom is troubled by the notion of what to make him for dinner the night before. Arata makes the obvious suggestion, tonkatsu – “katsu” being lucky for its similarity to the word for “victory”. But having prepared that the night before Suguru took the exam the first time, that’s right out. Kujima sees an okonomiyaki session on a TV cooking segment, and as usual they won’t take no for an answer.
Again, there’s not much in the way of drama or histrionics with this family, but it’s all just so authentic. A small thing like Suguru sticking around to supervise the okonomiyaki and eat with his “brothers” may not seem like much, but it’s a milestone. A small spat over seating aside (Kujima is very territorial) it’s the closest thing to a real bonding moment between Suguru and Arata that we’ve seen in the entire series. And yes, Kujima made it possible by giving Suguru something to focus on besides self-pity. That’s why that origami Kujima in Suguru’s bag (I wonder whether it was Arata or Kujima who put it in there) might just be the difference between success and failure.
