Category: Finished Series: Slice of Life/Drama

The moment teen-Kohaku came to the picture few episodes ago, I knew that she’d be the one who forces the plot forward, for better or for worse. After a few episodes where she had been just eccentric, this week, indeed, she drives the story by forcing Hitomi and Aoi together to see if it triggers Hitomi’s color sight again. That’s Mari Okada’s level of emotional manipulation there. Well, even I had prepared for it, I’m still a fair bit let down that Irozuku goes to that fashion. That disappointment aside, this week marks the first time Irozuku frames the narrative through Kohaku’s perspective, which further gives us her motivation, and at large her responsibility of sending Hitomi back to her timeline. The problem with it is, nobody, especially Hitomi, knows what they want. As such, the main narrative now feels like a cow running in circle looking for a way out.

This week involves Kohaku who comes to the conclusion that the reason for Hitomi’s colorblind is that she unintentionally casts a spell to herself. That’s a legit reason by all means, and she tries hard to not only resolve her granddaughter personal issues, but also restore her safely back to her world. It’s Hitomi, however, who enjoys this world so much that she doesn’t want to leave yet. This week, the club gives her a chance to take her own picture. If you’re like me, these club activities become somewhat the same now that it’s boring and repetitive. I know I have addressed this issue every week but it’s bear repeating that Irozuku doesn’t have much in terms of actual plot to tell.

Not only Hitomi, there’s another person who isn’t sure of his own feeling. It’s Shou, the Photography president who clearly has some attachments over Hitomi but can’t open his mouth to say this. Regarding this is P.A Works show, this kind of development doesn’t surprise me much but I just wish they tackle it more intimately. There’s just not much character acting, or even character depth in any of these developments. And that’s where Irozuku falters since I feel detached from these characters, as a result I don’t care much whether or not Hitomi can regain her color view. Okay, she will eventually see the world in full colors, so what? Not a big deal at the end of the day.

And with this episode, my patience for Irozuku has started to run dry. It’s that, I learn very little about about them this week. The plot is on the standstill and it’s a whiplash that the cliffhanger for last week, namely Hitomi can see in colors, reverses back to the status quo. Which begs me a question on why they did that (gave her a brief moment of colorful sight) in the first place. Since the episode where Kohaku comes back home, all they have been doing are club activities that add next to nothing to the plot, in fact it feels as if our cast is in search for a plot. This week, Irozuku focuses on a side character, Kurumi and her little growing-up crisis. There’s some neat material here and there, as I can relate to her feeling inferior towards her older sister, and her issues of not having anything she could give her all to. But all this doesn’t necessary work out well in the end, given how little we know about her sister, or even herself, for that matter. Irozuku also develops the chemistry between her and Chigusa, her underclassman who is obviously has a thing for her, but the way Irozuku shows it leave a lot to be desired.

This issue is the show’s overall issue. For a show that is supposed to be a character-focus, Irozuku’s cast is underwhelming. They aren’t that deep and they act like one group’s personality most of the time. These characters are given space to develop only when the show decides to do so. Take Chigusa this week for example, normally he’s the most out-there character, but this episode because it’s Kurumi-focus so the show gives a lot of screen time for him and underplays other characters’ involvement. He has some nice chemistry with Kurumi, admittedly, but for me it doesn’t feel enough. That climax where they all run to catch up the ship (when they could easily take the pics on the other side of the bridge), tells you exactly all these problems. The group, smiles as they go along with Chigusa’s sudden decision, and at the end I feel like it wasted its 20 minutes.

Hitomi and Aoi takes one small step forward this week, as Aoi gives her the painting he’s currently working on. I don’t know why the show downplays the moment, and I’m sure as heck don’t know the significance of her telling her friends the truth about her colorblind. Look, she only has two secrets: that she’s colorblind and she comes from the future. When the group acted with little surprise and and treated her literally like nothing happen, I can see that this reveal ain’t going to affect them much. Which brings me to the next point: goddamnit Irozuku, make something, anything, happens. There’s a line between gradually build up and nothing moves at all. Irozuku for now, is too afraid to move the plot forward.

Irozuku takes us to episode 6 for something significant happen, but even then it’s decidedly under-dramatic. This week, we have a whole lot more of magical moments that certainly are the feast to the eyes, and develop many underlying themes of its narrative. The central of the conflict this week is Hitomi and Aoi, as Hitomi unknowingly sucked into his painting world. The result is one of the most gorgeous sequences I’ve seen in recent memories. It’s abstract, it’s colorful and it’s painting-like that opens to a world of of its own. What makes it ticks, in addition, is how well these elements Hitomi sees bode well to Aoi’s creativity struggles. She sees herself in the vast desert, a dead golden fish that signifies Aoi’s creativity block. That fish, as Hitomi soon finds out, was Aoi’s first creation way back to his junior year. She further sees a black figure who literally tries to recapture the fish, as he follows the fish he’s unknowingly sucked into the black hole. Once again, Irozuku triumphs in its visual department that speaks so well to the theme that its writing can’t never match. Indeed, once again, it’s the visual presentation – not the narrative Irozuku has been building up to – that grabs me the most in this episode.

The best scene that comes right to my mind is the image of the black figure. His back bends because of the burden he feels, and as he approaches the dead golden fish, it’s clear that he has lost sight to the big picture. The later magical sequences when Hitomi sees that golden fish again, and suddenly regains her color are also spectacular in every possible way. It’s the narrative that is still not quite there for me. Again, we have another moments where Shou having some time alone with Hitomi, in which again our poor girl Asagi just happens to be there to witness the whole thing. Again we have club activities that move the story very, very slowly. I also feel that Aio’s issues don’t really connect to me on a personal level due to how little screen time we have regarding the boy. Aio’s struggle always have to do with Hitomi’s own growth so he never really resonates to me in any way.

Nevertheless, Irozuku develops that Aoi – Hitomi relationship quite neatly this week. Aoi has his first conflict with our girl, more because it’s too personal for him to face those issues, and it’s clear by now that Hitomi has some feeling to the boy. Later on, when Hitomi runs away (in a stupid manner I have to add), Aoi chases her down and promises he will get over his own issues and shows her his new painting once it’s finished. That promise, I suspect, is what cause Hitomi seeing the world in colors again. As this is the first time for a long while that she’s truly experiencing life. In this case, experiencing first love.

If I have one word that could describe Irozuku so far, it’s “slow-burn”. Indeed we have something burned this week (Hitomi’s failed attempts of making star sand), and “slow” is definitely on the table here. Even to my taste where I much prefer deliberate pacing than bombastic climax in every episode or cheap cliffhanging that anime today is guilty of, usually after finishing an episode of Izoruku I have a hard time recapping what happened in the episode. There are two main themes this week 5 of Irozuku develops, one of them regarding the tangled love interest of several players in the cast, and the other is about the cast’s struggling with their own creative sides. I’ll address both themes later, but first let’s talk about Hitomi. Hitomi has been a mixed bag as far as central protagonist concerns. She has clear struggles, but she remains unclear towards her goals to the point the supporting cast has to take charge, and in most cases, it’s her (young) granny Kohaku. It’s good, then, to see her become more active this week as she’s trying to fit in with this current world: practicing magic again, spend more times with her clubmates and be useful when helping out with her relative’s shop. When it comes to Aio’s pictures she’s no subtle about it, as in many cases she says to him his drawings mean a lot to her. Their scenes together are amongst Hirozuku’s best. It’s intimate, it’s understated but it’s also grounded and magical at the same time. The moments she gives him her star sand this week, it comes so natural and beautiful that it remains a highlight of the episode.

Which bring me to the second point that I’m not quite as enthusiastic, which is the romantic conflicts between the cast, chief among them between Shou, Hitomi and Asagi. It starts with Kohaku’s fortune teller, which (predictably) students line-up to ask about their romances. She tells Asagi that she has bad luck when it comes to romance. Shou has been close to Hitomi to help her out as she’s the new member of the Photography club. I’m not so sure whether he has a feeling for Hitomi (the majority says it’s obvious but part of me thinks he’s just too dense to realize all that. Another cliche trait), but it’s clear that Hitomi doesn’t aware of it and Asagi doesn’t take it very well. She’s angry about him being too considerate as to display all the foods in single brown color (but in truth that effort makes no sense since Hitomi can only see every food in black and white). I must say the part where she confesses to Hitomi that they’re childhood friend and he means a lot to her disappoints me a little, given it’s a very predictable backstory. At the end, she works her courage to ask him to help her on the rabbit postcard, but I suppose we will see more of this plot thread in next few episodes.

The second theme of Irozuku this week fares so much better to me. It’s the cast’s struggle at their arts, be it Aoi who can’t draw the drawings he’s satisfied, to Asagi who is too shy to show her works, to Hitomi tries and fails multiple time making magic star sand. These struggles, just like their teenage struggles of growing up, speak well to Irozuku’s little drama. And it’s a process of hardwork (in Hitomi’s case), and having more confident (in all cases) that they can overcome their own slump. To be fair, for a show with such tender approach, Irozuku doesn’t have its chop for developing special connection between its cast. Apart from Aoi – Hitomi pair and Hitomi – Kohaku pair, they function more as group’s chemistry. If you, for example, pair Kohaku to Aoi or to Shou, you’ll see that they don’t have any chemistry whatsoever. It’s frankly quite a bit of a shame, because I feel the cast doesn’t reach the full potential it could have, and worse some of the developments like this triangle love feels forced. I might ask for a little too much, but it’s only because Irozuku promises quite a lot.

This episode marks an official appearance of Kohaku, and she is indeed brightens the screen and quickly becomes my favorite character out of this series. She’s both an interesting character in her own right (I love how she’s in merge between eccentric and act like an responsible adult), and she fits into the surrounding very well. For a show that has always been slow, she’s a necessary dynamite to blow things up a bit and drives the narrative as the series goes on. For instance, this week, because of her courage, Hitomi finally reveals to her club-mates that she comes from the future. While it’s an opportunity for the show to go all out emotionally, I don’t mind the understated way it addresses at all. Even the cast members don’t seem to be very taken aback by the reveal, which can gives of a bit strange. I really enjoy Kohaku’s little magic shown in this episode, as it feels magical, and what comes afterward, that everything blows up and everyone keeps reminding her of “don’t do anything that involve apologize letter” certainly give a smiles on my face.

There’s also some romantic potential here, chief among them Shou and Hitomi, while the other girl shows sign of one-sided crush to Shou. I’m not sure if it’s a good lake to fish since we know for certain how Hitomi is going to response. It’s pretty confirmed about the pair of glassed girl Kurumi and her underclassman Chigusa, and it’s interesting to note that Yuito shows some feeling towards Hitomi as he’s too shy to call her by her first name. While it’s P.A Works’s template that romance is bound to happen – which I’m not totally keen of – I will reserve my comment until I see how well they develop the romances at hands.

Many have noted the fact that Irozuku lacks punch. Indeed, apart from the fantastic moment at the end of episode 1, there’s little to no big payoff moments. Even in the “big moments” of this episode, namely when she reveals to her club members that she’s from the future & the magic train in the sky, are equally downplayed and mundane. Everything seems slow and understated, and to be fair Irozuku isn’t the best production when it comes to portrays subtle nuances, but it still maintains its own confident step forward. The issue with Hitomi for now is that she doesn’t has enough confident, or finding the true brilliance, in her magic. For Kohaku, she uses magic to bring smiles to people, so what will be the drive for Hitomi to fully embrace her magic?

Three episodes in, Hitomi finally joins the Photography/ Art club, talking about deliberate pacing here. Irozuku remains a show that still hasn’t totally impressed me. The main issues aren’t in the slow tempo, however. It’s more that Irozuku has a fair amount of cliche plot and predictable storytelling that it fails to grab me as much as it could. Take the Photography members and their love interests, for example. In a P.A.Works fashion there are hints of some potential pairings within this group, although whether or not the president Shou will get interested in Hitomi remains to be seen. The clue we had at the end of episode 2 when he looks at her doesn’t get any development at all this week, which I prefer it that way. Since coming to this world, Hitomi’s mind has always been occupied by the colorful drawings of Yuito, thus some distraction like a third wheel’s romance won’t bode well, narratively speaking.

The main plot of this episode 3 involving Hitomi looking for a suitable club and then assists the Photography club for their events. Due to her colorblind, she takes a wrong star sand, but she still manages to walk on water by her own magic power before her friend Kurumi reminds her so. That moment where she walks in the fog sure is breathtakingly, really, on a production level I have little to no complain. Her friend Kurumi in this episode also walks (this time figuratively) a thin line between ‘tolerable’ and ‘too much’. The big question mark will be the first appearance of her grandma Kohaku – a character whose presence always felt despite she’s currently studying abroad. If I have to guess right now I’d expect her to be airhead and pushy like Haruhi Suzumiya and it’s her who will drives the plot forward from here to the finish line. The question remains whether she’d become too dominant that she’d sweep everyone away, including Hitomi. Hitomi, this is your show, puts more effort to claim it!

After that dreadful fall (which eventually leads to the club’s cleaning pool as penalty), she reveals to Yuito about her colorblindness. He figures it out anyway since he remarks on how different she uses her color. Thus comes an understated but rewarding suggestion from him, join the photography club for monochrome projects. Based on the last event, it’s clear that Hitomi doesn’t lack magic power, it’s her inconfidence and her detachment that mainly cause it so hopefully, little by little, with the help of her friends (and grandma), she’ll come to learn to love herself and love the world around her.