Runway de Waratte – 3 [Smile Down the Runway]

Welcome to another week of Runway de Waratte! This week is pretty straight forward, finishing up the fashion show and letting our leads get a win. The question then becomes, is it earned and how well is it set up? Well, let’s dive in and find out!

Starting off, I want to talk about Runway’s production this week, because I have issues. The big one is clearly the pacing, as we are going really fast. It feels like these last two could have been spread out among 3 episodes, to give things room to breathe. As my primary criticism with the series so far is how quickly our leads are moving up the rungs. Getting these “Victory” moments so quickly. I have actually heard a lot of dialogue was cut from the manga here, so that makes sense. Meanwhile the actual animation and such felt stiff. It’s not a big thing, as this isn’t an action series, but a lot of characters felt lifeless, and the direction didn’t help. Being pretty simple across the board. Sure, the actual walked looked nice as stills, but it didn’t manage to evoke any big emotions for such a big scene.

These criticisms said, it’s not like Runway was without merit this week. I enjoyed the teamwork that went into making the dress work. From Chiyuki cheering him on, in spite of her own panic, to hiding the imperfections in the dress. It was a nice microcosm of how a fashion show is a team effort, which we will talk about more later. My primary concern here though is I am not sure how I feel about him nailing it. The kid got recognition from basically everyone one, models and designer alike. In spite of the fact that he has been in the industry for what, a week? This sort of goes hand in hand with the above mentioned pacing. There just isn’t any room for the characters to stop and breathe about what is happening. Hopefully after this “win” we can get just that.

Meanwhile, and I know this isn’t exactly that sort of series, I wish Runway had gotten a bit more technical. For example, a look into how fabric works or hems or cross stitching. The sort of detailed construction that goes in to the dress. We got some bits of that this week of course. Runway showed us how Tsumura cut the dress, took the extra fabric and rolled it up to give volume underneath. All the while hiding the destroyed hem and changes underneath. It was clever, and I was able to follow it. But there were also things I wanted to learn more about. Such as thread counts or the thickness of the cloth affecting the weight of the needle. How a bloody sewing machine works. Maybe that’s not interesting to some, but details like this really build a series up to me. Paying off in the long run.

Instead we got this “evolving dress”, which I absolutely hated. Don’t get me wrong, giving them the “win” was fine, its expected even. They get to show off a bit and have a successful show they were woefully unprepared for. But then Runway had to give them the “WIN”, not only exceeding but destroying expectations. Redesigning a dress in 15 minutes to be a transforming dress that comes undone at just the right time. It’s a blowout “genius” moment that I don’t think works for Runway, and it’s the 2nd in 3 episodes. Simply put, what I mean is that Tsumura and Chiyuki haven’t earned this in the story yet. There’s been no buildup or real trials for them that they have not immediately crushed. Part of good payoffs is the buildup to said payoff, so it feels earned. Runway has not earned these moments yet.

Now I know I am sounding harsh here, and in a lot of ways Runway deserves it. But the segment isn’t without merit. For example, going back to the teamwork chat earlier, I enjoyed the portrayal of the show. How the whole thing is a team effort from everyone involved. Hazime deciding the dress order, Models changing out of new dresses with fitters help to go back out. How they changed the music to slow it down and give Tsumura more time, etc. It sort of undercut the urgency of the whole thing to be honest, I was almost expecting him to fail. But instead of being a straight “loss” it still brought something to the arc. Except for that one girl at the end, she was a bit of a bitch. Still, as a whole, it was a good addition to the show I hope to see more of.

Finally, let’s talk about the fashion industry, its rules, and how soulless it appears to be. You see, Runway seems to be making a point that the industry needs a kick in the teeth. A modernization of sorts, as it takes shots at certain aspects of it. Such as how short models cant work, or how you aren’t supposed to smile or only show off the clothes, etc. We see this in how it critiques personal expression, yet revels in Chiyuki simply smiling on stage. As if our heroes are meant to be commended for breaking the rules. And in a way, that’s fine, take shots at your industry. But don’t show our leads succeeding in the same industry while breaking all of its rules. Not without having them earn it. It’s a fine line, the suspension of disbelief, and in a few ways Runway crossed that line this week.

So all in all, how was Runway this week? It was concerning to say the least, for the season as a whole. To be clear, I think it’s strictly alright so far, but what I am seeing here is indicative of questionable writing. The pacing is off, the story isn’t particularly compelling and none of the parts really fit together well. It has its moments, which makes me want to keep watching to see how it goes. But as a cohesive whole it’s just not there. Like it’s going overboard in a lot of its scenes instead of just letting them sit. From what I have heard, good chunks have been cut from the manga, and that’s a shame. But as an anime only, this is what I have to judge.