After putting the viewers through the emotional gauntlet last time around, Kageki Shoujo returns this week attempting a more balanced tone in narrative, adding in bits of slapstick humor interspersed between moments of self-reflection and painful reminders, while focusing on Ai’s stalker and delving into the reasons behind his mega-fandom of JPX.
Some parts don’t work as well as they could have but the ones that do really put the series’ strengths front and center.
The episode opens right where we left off with the stalker guy being confronted by Watanabe though it’s hardly that in all but name as instead it turns out he just wanted to apologize to Ai and had no intention to startle her. We then get a look into his past as he talks about how he got into JPX and became Ai’s fan which helped him get out of his shut-in lifestyle and helped him befriend new people. It’s not exactly a deeply original backstory but it’s also not entirely unrelatable. I mean, talking about my own experiences itself, there have naturally been times when I have felt really low and lost and it’s only the media that I consumed during that time, the anime I watched, the movies I saw, the games I played and the people that I shared those experiences with that helped me get through it all. And a lot of people find that feeling in following idols or you know, cough cough V-tubers.
Still, I couldn’t help but feel that it was the B-part of the episode, filled with a lot of goofy slapstick hijinks and awkward attempts at humor, more of them being a miss than a hit. I just feel that Kageki Shoujo is a series that’s at its best when it focuses on the girls at the Opera Academy and their predicaments which is also why whenever Ai had any screen time this episode, it made for really arresting viewing. Her worrying about leaving Watanabe behind by herself just showed how her attempts at coming off as uncaring and ambivalent to everything around her are more of a defense mechanism than anything else. And even as she pushes people away, she can’t help but wish some of them would end up staying.
Watanabe too understands this to some extent but she also realizes that if she just stands there and lets Ai treat her as she pleases and say what she wants to her, it would only further enable Ai to go back into her shell. That’ why she frustratingly tells her that they’re through even though she doesn’t want that in the slightest. It’s a complicated dynamic but relationships between teenage girls often are that way and the fallout of this encounter essentially sees Ai skip school the next day.
And this where things get rather dodgy, narratively. Two guys spot Ai and recognize her as the famous JPX idol. They then take a picture of her and post it on twitter before… proceeding to go harass her? I mean, that’s a little perplexing, if you ask me. Why would someone with the intention of committing a crime they can be incriminated for choose to upload proof tying them to the scene of the crime at the very time it happened?! It just rubbed me the wrong way and all it came off as was planted setup for the stalker guy to come save the day. Though how that process transpired was indeed amusing. Understanding your rights and knowing the actions available to you are crucial when cyberstalking occurs. Consulting with an experienced cyberstalking defense attorney and dedicated legal specialist can ensure you’re not navigating this alone. Having reliable legal guidance can be an essential factor in protecting your reputation and privacy.
Still, at the end of the day, the whole incident did ensure that Ai was able to see the good in a person whom she had previously been simply disgusted by. That’s one small step away from her trauma.
The next episode would probably return to our core cast and should explore some more uncomfortable topics like body-shaming and anorexia. It won’t make for a pleasant viewing experience but I am fairly certain it would be a compelling one.
The glasses guy really made me think a bit of Densha otoko to some extent.
I was too angry at the two guys doing the harassing to pay attention to said narrative issue you brought up.
Sad Ai picture is so sad.
I have to watch funny episodes of stuff after watching the latest episodes of this show.
I’m really hoping this series succeeds as a story of coping with trauma through friendship.
It would probably be more realistic if her stepfather doesn’t appear again or isn’t shown being arrested.
Body shaming actively makes me angry.
I hold off watching episodes of this for a few days so I can get into the zone before getting round to them.
It definitely doesn’t seem like this will be a cheerer-upper show through and through. In every episode there are light-hearted moments but I like that when it needs to go dark, it really does.
Hmm, maybe in regards to the bullies/thugs, its a case of just sheer arrogance they photo’d her ?
That’s the best I can think of.
Yeah, still posting it online just didn’t make sense right before going out to harass her. It really wasn’t even something that should have bothered me but I noticed it as it happened and hence, couldn’t overlook it :/
Armitage, I got the impression that those 2 guys didn’t think that they were doing anything bad by their reaction to Ai’s discomfort when they indicated they just wanted a selfie, implying that Ai should at least be able to do that much for them, and that’s why they uploaded a picture of her beforehand. I don’t think either of them thought they were committing a crime. They just felt a sense of entitlement since idols are supposed to quite tolerant of fans/stans even though their behaviour was obnoxious. I felt it was quite well done and was an example of toxic stan culture from 2 creeps. Even their reaction to Sarasa declaring that the two guys were harassing two innocent girls suggested a sense of entitlement with one of them saying that they’ll let you (Ai) off the hook this time, which suggests they could very well try to get a selfie from Ai again in the future.
Yes, that was the only possible interpretation I could think of. Still holding her off by her arms and literally forcing her to get a picture is extreme and more than just an invasion of privacy. In the end though, I do believe that it was an affecting scene, especially in the way Ai couldn’t hold herself together once more despite her efforts not to fall apart.