Now THIS really is this series at its best: a great sense of humour, a very fine selection of references to past episodes, it continues fleshing out this series’ themes in a rather clever way, and it actually has a really good story with a great main character this time. It’s really here where this show makes use of its formula that it’s built up over the past few episodes, and gives it a very interesting and creative twist.
It’s interesting how in this episode, the lead character didn’t turn into an animal. Or to be more specific: he didn’t need to be turned into an animal because he already had taken on a strange form: that of his 30-year-old self. Throughout the entire episode, we just see this version of him. There are quite a few points at which things don’t really make much sense this way: how can such a young person be president of a country, why does he have flashbacks of the construction of Tokyo Tower and why is Irabu suggesting retirement to him at that kind of age…?
It was definitely a nice twist, and out of all the Kuchuu Buranko lead characters, the personality of this guy ranges among the most colourful. With him, you can really see his development in a way that isn’t superficial, cheesy or rushed, but it’s really genuine.
And I’m actually pretty curious to see what the creators have planned for that final episode. Especially with this kind of a series, you can really put anything there. Considering that it airs at Christmas Eve in Japan, not to mention that the creators have been dropping countless of Christmas hints for the past few episodes, I really can see them doing a Christmas-themed ending. Pretty heart-warming for the holidays, if this turns out to be true.
Rating: ** (Excellent)
I did spend quite a bit of this episode thinking that he didn’t look anywhere near old enough to remember his flashbacks, but it all made sense in the end, and was telegraphed right at the beginning with the line about him not turning into an animal.
I think this was the best episode of the entire series.
This was a sentimental episode so it easily tugs at the viewer, but I liked it. They foreshadow the reveal a lot, even from the opening baseball game when you can see Tanabe’s gray hair. Still, even with an idea of where a story is going the execution is what we’re investing our time in.
I liked some of the small things, like the crowd morphing from the flat cutouts as Tanabe relates to them, and the way the change of the city is placed against Tanabe’s aging. I only wish that the picture of Irabu carrying Tanabe in the paper had revealed him as a man.
It seems that every five eps or so Trapeze comes up with a great one. And the rest aren’t bad, either.
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one scratching my head over Tanabe’s age. I finally caught on just as they showed him aging. Good point on why he didn’t turn into an animal. Hadn’t occurred to me.
This Episode motif is Mr.Tsuneo Watanabe who is the actual Japanese businessman. 🙂