Tag: episode

Little Witch Academia – 08[Sleeping Sucy]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Little Witch Academia

After Lotte got her own episode I did think it was a matter of time before Sucy got the spotlight. However I did not expect her episode to be so…weird. Personally I consider this the weakest episode of the series so far as it didn’t really push the plot forward and was more focused on being wacky rather than charming. The end of the episode essentially pulls the “It was all a dream” twist and despite not really being so, this episode felt like filler. Enjoyable filler but well filler nonetheless. There are a considerable amount of references this week with shoutouts to Akira and Sleeping Beauty being a few of them. If there’s one thing to take out of this it’s that Sucy does genuinely care about Akko despite her pranks. The theater in her head does replay their first meeting often which does show that she cherishes that memory.

Animation got fairly creative and having the episode take place inside Sucy’s head allowed Trigger to get more silly that they usually does with Little Witch Academia. This is purely speculation on my part but I think that Hiroyuki Imaishi was more involved with the creation of this episode than You Yoshinari. Mainly because the tone was kinda similar to the likes of Hiroyuki’s Kill La Kill or Luluco. Now I am all for having fun but from what I seen of Trigger’s animation studio online, those people need some sleep and having this much effort go into an episode which is essentially fluff has me worried about burning the animators out. Passion is beautiful but for the love of god guys don’t kill yourselves with overwork. But what else can I say about this episode? I don’t really know as I don’t think I really learned anything new about Sucy despite being in her head for an entire episode. The most telling thing was the movie theater and a lot of that could be surmised by her normal behavior. She does have parts of herself like her mild interest in reading nightfall but really everyone has whims such as those.

Other than that I don’t have much to add here, this episode was madness from start to finish and while I liked it I felt it missed the distinct qualities that make Little Witch Academia so different from their other original works. There is a wackiness to the show but it’s the heart and charm that truly make it memorable. We saw a glimpse of that here with the movie theater but the rest was more or less comedy chaos with little rhyme or reason. Seeing as we have a two cour season I don’t see any real harm in spending an episode in manic oddness and cultural references. As long as Little Witch Academia doesn’t forget whats important it will remain high on my watchlist.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – 21

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Allow me to be honest for a moment, my dear readers. Recently, I’m having a hard time sitting down to watching Rakugo. This is not due to a lack of enjoyment and I found myself to have this strange apprehension to starting to watch it. Youjo Senki and Little Witch Academia are shows that I can’t wait to watch and usually do so at the first chance I get. Rakugo, however, I find myself putting off for reasons I can’t quite fathom. Perhaps, it’s due to not having a lot to say about it in my blog posts as the slow pace of revelations leaves little room for interpretation or opinion. Another reason could be that a large amount of the series is already tied up. Yotaro has gotten over his problems as a performer, Konatsu and him now have a rather loving relationship, and Yakumo’s past has been laid out to bare. Really, there isn’t much left to this story and the plot now focuses on Yakumo getting back into Rakugo after his health taking a nosedive. Truthfully, I find everyone’s attempts to force him back on the stage to be rather cruel. He’s past his prime and the accident took away his ability to perform well, so if there was a point to retire, this would be certainly it.

I can understand what Yotaro is trying to achieve in performing Sukeroku Rakugo in front of Yakumo as it ss made clear that he wants his master to have fun performing again. In a way, it’s similar to how Yakumo pushed Sukeroku back into performing before his death. Though, the big reason to get Yakumo to perform is to make the yakuza boss happy as he and Yakumo have some shared history that I don’t believe was explored in the anime. Actually, on that note, there has been a disconnect between episodes in regards to time. Each time I start up an episode it feels like a significant amount of time has passed but not many clear indicators of it having done so. Maybe there is a date shown at the beginning of the episode but it’s mentally taxing for me to keep track of the timeline week after week. Either way, Yakumo’s problem looks to be wrapping up if it wasn’t for the police to have picked the worst timing to arrest the Yakuza leader. From the next episode preview, it looks like

Yakumo will be giving him that performance in prison is what’s in the future for this series. The only thing left isn’t essentially saving the art of Rakugo but how that is going to happen is a mystery. We have the writer working on new Rakugo stories and preserving the art but other than that, there hasn’t been much effort to shake up the art. I do still like this show but I admit my interest is waning a bit. In truth, Rakugo was never usually my kind of show as I tend to not go for series set within reality. I often prefer to escape the mundanity of real life, which makes slice of life such a bore for me. Rakugo to me looks to have reached a premature conclusion and now needs to bring up a new struggle to deal with in its final episodes.

Saga of Tanya the Evil – 07[The Battle of the Fjord]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Saga of Tanya the Evil

After a recap episode last week, we are back to Tanya and her efforts in the war but I must admit that while still enjoyable, this was a weaker episode of the show. I am reminded of the first episode of the series which, while visually interesting, lacked a real hook to get the audience invested. The characterisation and interaction between Tanya and her subordinates has been lacking and I noticed that the past two episode had little of Tanya’s own inner monologue. One of the most entertaining aspects of this series is the contrast between how Tanya thinks and the views of others of her, but ever since establishing the battalion, there hasn’t been many times where we hear her thoughts. The five minute shorts do show more of how Tanya interacts with her subordinates but in the main series itself very little is shown besides her few interactions with Viktoriya and even those are strictly business.

Have you ever seen a simple action movie, where the protagonist’s family member is killed by the villain and then they grow up to take revenge in the films climax? Well, I feel like that is what is happening here but instead, the protagonist is the one doing the killing. It took me a while to remember that Anson was one of the officers who first fought Tanya on her first mission and it is  rather odd that he got so much focus this episode. Anson Sue (Crunchyroll has translated this as Sioux but it’s up for debate if that is an accurate translation), sends his family away from the war and loses his life in a desperate gamble to take down Tanya. Tanya, with complete disinterest kills him and steals his gun which happened to be a Christmas present from his daughter, engraved with his initials. I doubt Anson will be making a second appearance as that fall looked fatal and any attempt to bring him back would be cheap or ludicrous.

As a result, Tanya is now lugging around a gun that signifies her as the killer and I think someone’s daughter is going to be out for sweet revenge once the war reaches American shores. It certainly seems like the workings of Being X, to give someone a personal reason to start gunning for Tanya’s life and give another a beatable antagonist for Tanya to face. It is rather hypocritical if this is the case as he choose to support a non-believer over a devout soldier which does call into question why he is deserving of such praise when he tosses aside one of his followers in order to spite a non believer? What I find especially delicious about this development is that Ansons daughter is named Mary. So Tanya would be, quite literally, fighting a Mary Sue. The biggest problem about this is that if Mary Sue is going to get involved in this war, it certainly won’t be in this season. Most likely, it will be later down the line in the novels which we may never see animated.

Other than that, this was another easy win for Tanya and with the Entente Alliance on it’s last legs, this could signal the intervention of other countries. Daika has already made a move, unwise as it was, but I will say that other countries are getting the same idea. The Empire has grown to an alarming degree and as predicted, will soon be fighting a war on all fronts. Tanya’s reputation is growing greater as she guesses the plans of the top brass and can even challenge her superiors with her opinions but I find this rather hard to be invested in. Why? Because it is set up for a war that we will not likely see play out in its entirety. As far as I know, this series is a single cour which would be enough to cover maybe two or three light novel volumes of content. There are seven novels so far and could end up following the likes of many anime series that are only designed to drum up sales for their source material.  It could be possible that a second season is planned though considering the recap episode last episode, it’s possible that Studio Nut is already working to the bone to give one cour. My biggest worry would be that the rest of this season would be spent building up to a second season and have no real satisfying conclusion. It’s a sad fact as an anime fan, we do not see a proper ending to a majority of the series we watch. It would certainly be nice to have such a thing although greedy and unrealistic at the same time.

Little Witch Academia – 07[Orange Submariner]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Little Witch Academia

It’s good to see that the strides Akko made last episode are still in effect as she is not making an honest effort to improve herself. She’s taking lessons from Ursula and paying attention in class but despite this her improvement is minimal. That’s good as I don’t want to see Akko become a top class student just because she’s trying now and her development is likely to be a main driving force for the series going forward. What this episode highlighted well though was that Luna Nova clearly hasn’t made an effort to accommodate for Akko. Akko is one of the first student to attend the academy from outside a wizarding family so it is natural to assume that she would need to be taught from the very basics of magic. However the teachers of the academy never took this into account and have thrown her into the deep end without anything to guide her. Akko’s difficulties with magic are not necessarily her own fault but also the fault of her educators who quite frankly never made an effort to incorporate her into the school. This is what makes the teacher’s rant against her at the end of the episode so utterly infuriating. For the teacher places all the blame on Akko without considering her own failings in teaching her.

After all one of the teachers required her to understand fish language for crying out loud and this woman is complaining about why she can’t keep up with the other students who clearly have had plenty of preparation before entering the school. You didn’t even tell her that she was going to need to be able to ride a broom to even enter the school. By all accounts, Akko isn’t a bad student. It just seems like she is being taught wrong. She seems to learn quickly when people are depending on her which allows her to get a grasp of fish language and movement spells in one fell swoop when she is needed.(Though the fish language thing I find a little too convenient) Which brings me to something I didn’t expect which is that Ursula is also learning while teaching Akko. The two have really started to be bond and Ursula in turn needs to learn the right way to teach Akko. So Ursula will be growing with Akko and I think there is something there when Akko remarks on childhood dreams. By teaching her Ursula looks to be regaining the fire she had in her youth and seeing her stand up for Akko at the end of the episode was immensely satisfying

My previous theory about the sorcerer’s stone being the only place one can use magic in the world looks to have fallen through as Ursula remarks about numerous magical professions around the world. I admit my theory didn’t really account for just what the students do upon graduation but just how is magic considered useless by the modern populous? There are things that only magic can do so I have a hard time understanding just how this could be considered antiquated. The only other ways i can see this mindset being logical is if magic has much greater limitations outside of the school or if the traditional mindset of the community has made the world ignorant of magics true potential. This is an issue that needs to be addressed but I have a feeling trigger isn’t going to let this be some plot hole to overlook.  Lastly it’s nice to see the shooting star mentioned in the paper detailing Akko’s marine adventure. Looks like it’s still flying around. Theres also the matter of Diana’s prediction that Akko would leave the school which seems to have more meaning than Diana worded it.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – 20

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Looking over my old review of episode 12, I find that I didn’t really cover the episode decently. I gave a brief summery but I don’t think I really articulated my feelings on the episode as well as I could. I do remember finding it to be a big heel turn when it came to Sukeroku’s and Miyokichi’s final moments but I was willing to give it a pass. Now this episode comes along and reveals that was all a fabrication. Thinking on it, I believe Yakumo incorporated part of the last Rakugo story Sukeroku told into his version of the events as it detailed a story involving a deadbeat husband changing his ways. However now so many things make sense. Konastu’s hatred for Yakumo and why she calls him a murderer and why Yakumo is so beaten down in his old age. All this time her lied to protect Konatsu from the horrible truth. The truth that she was inadvertently caused the death of her parents.

While I do find this version of events quite interesting, it does hold a level of contrivance like the last version. It makes sense for Konatsu to lash out at her mother after she stabbed her father but I find her pushing her mother back into the balcony and the balcony collapsing at that exact moment to be too calculated. Konatsu and her mother were fairly far from the balcony so Konatsu pushing her that far seems a little unrealistic. Still the thematic implications are strong and it certainly is heartbreaking to have Yotaru embrace Konatsu while crying. All the while Konatsu being ignorant of the fact that those tears were for her. So the question is, will Konatsu ever learn of this truth before season’s end or will Yotaru and Yakumo take it to the grave. After all these years learning the truth would break Konatsu, it would utterly destroy her.

Other than that we have Yotaru watching the old videos of Yakumo and Sukeroku and remarking at the difference. Yakumo in particular did seem much more cheerful in the past when doing Rakugo, a point Yotaru notices easily. Seeing Sukeroku after all this time was oddly nostalgic and I felt a connection with Matsuda in that it really felt like the return of an old friend. In other events the writer looks to have had a crush on Miyokichi which does explain the level of antagonism he has for Yakumo. Though in turn that seems to be the origin of his love for Rakugo. On top of all that Yakumo says he’s done with Rakugo, this may be why his vision when he fell unconscious features Sukeroku strangling him. To Yakumo, Sukeroku took his voice and without Rakugo he only has to wait for the reaper. The rest of the cast is reluctant to let him leave the Rakugo world but perhaps this truly is the end of his carreer.

Little Witch Academia – 06[The Fountain of Polaris]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Little Witch Academia

I should start having more faith in Trigger. Just at the point when Akko’s mentality was starting to become a problem, she gets an episode dedicated to fixing that. After gaining shiny rod Akko was under the impression she was something special but now after failing in magic again she is finally acknowledging her shortcomings. I was getting worried as she began looking for a quick fix by finding the fountain of Polaris but the fountain itself only showed her that Shiny Chariot was once in her position. Thus Akko is ready to truly begin working hard at magic and accept Ursula’s help which I think could be the beginning to a real mentor and student relationship between the two. One thing I find interesting is that Ursula took away Shiny Rod when she rescued Akko and Andrew only to return it once Akko acknowledged her weaknesses and decided to do better. Also it truly is set in stone that Ursula is Shiny Chariot. Her hair has changed to red and she clearly knows far too much about the nature of Shiny Rod, the cards and Polaris’s protector. I am curious was to what prompted her to disappear and hide as a teacher in Luna Nova but there’s another moment I am quite looking forward to. Since the first OVA I always wanted to see the reaction Akko and Diana would have to Ursula revealing herself as Shiny Chariot. I don’t really expect it to happen until the very end of the series but I would love it to be a great epic reveal before facing off against the main villain.(If this series has one) It’s cliche and predictable maybe but I always did have a weakness for that kind of heroic reveal.

With the introduction of the Duke’s son comes a new concern. Romance in Little Witch Academia. Actually let me rephrase that. Plausible romance in Little Witch Academia. I know you Yuri shippers are shipping hard and I certainly have seen that Akko kissing Diana comic strip more times than I can count but come on. We both know the truth. Most you guys will get is slight insinuation if you are really lucky. As far as straight romances go it seems like Diana and Andrew doesn’t look likely as both know each other from childhood and don’t hold each other in high regard. Akko seems to have caught his attention though the two aren’t staring into each others eyes with deep red blushes. Truthfully I am not truly fond of the idea of romance in this show, be it gay or straight. If it’s featured it would need to be a very minor addition as I don’t want a Kiznaver situation where the plot grinds to a halt so characters can get shipped together. I highly doubt Little Witch will go down that route, for one it’s not written by Mari Okada, but yeah as far as romance goes I say keep it minor or keep it out.

It was around episode 6 that Kill La Kill dropped it’s episodic format for a more ongoing narrative so we may be seeing the birth of an ongoing plotline. The Duke himself seems fed up with Luna Nova himself and is looking to close it down. It has been repeated by now that magic is seen as out of date and useless by the modern populous but why is that exactly. By all accounts the magic shown in the series could have several uses and even as the duke berates it he is driving through a magic portal. Technology is undeniably useful but it seems odd for so many people to dismiss magic outright. So far the biggest problem with using magic is that you need to be near the Sorcerer’s stone in order to use it. That in fact may be the main reason why people consider it useless. I mentioned before that Luna Nova has a rather diverse student body but perhaps the reason for that is that Luna Nova quite literally is the only place on the planet where one can learn magic? The Sorcerer’s stone may be only one of a kind and in that regard magic certainly would be considered rather useless as even if you can perform miracles within school grounds. Even if you can transform rats into horses, the magic would likely wear off the minute you go outside the stones field of effect. Coupled with this is the Teachers traditionalist views and aversion to technology which could very well hamper any use magic has. Only thing I would could see magic having a use for is as an energy source but as already shown the stones effect radius is small and I doubt it could power the world. It’s still up in the air just how Akko is going to prove that magic is still needed but it’s clear that this will be one of the major themes of the series. So what I wonder is, where might we be going with this? Somewhere fun, I hope.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – 19

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

The Rakugo breakthroughs in this show always come from unexpected places. Yakumo had his breakthrough while crossdressing as a woman for a play. A second breakthrough with his shinigami story after the death of his dear friends. Meanwhile Yotaro has his breakthrough due to his Master collapsing and having to perform under pressure. Strangely this was the perfect way for Yotaro to work his Rakugo as he previously mentioned about wanting the characters of the stories to come alive instead of placing himself within the characters. Thus comes the moment when Yotaro literally cannot put himself into the performance. For Yotaro at this point in time is a complete nervous wreck over Yakumo’s condition. So against all odds, Yotaro not only manages to perform Inokori but does it magnificently. I like that he left out the introduction as you could tell he wanted to get through this performance so he could check on Yakumo. So he jumped right into it without pause. I was originally worried that Yotaro was going to tank this due to his mental state but it became clear as he continued that he was getting in the zone. Afterwards he even lamented that his master couldn’t see him give one of his best performances since becoming a storyteller.

With Yakumo unconscious for a week, Yotaro finds himself filling in for all his gigs and performing quite admirably. He proclaims that Yakumo will be back on his feet but truthfully this is a big wake up call to just how fragile he really is. Rakugo is in a dire state and already a gaping hole is left with Yakumo out of the picture temporarily. The future of an art could very well live or die and it rests in the hands of someone far past his due date. It’s clear what must happen, Rakugo must change and evolve with the times. But as the theatre owner laments how he must rebuild the theatre to meet new building standards for withstanding earthquakes, he does point out something important. Even if the theatre was flawed in many ways, it still holds a history that will disappear when it’s rebuild. This seems to mirror the very state of Rakugo, for to change Rakugo is to challenge that history and potentially replace it. Unlike a Theatre however, replacing Rakugo is no simple task. The rakugo world needs a Yakumo, it needs a Yotaro, it even needs a Sokuroku. None of these men can carry the art by themselves so we need new blood and their lies the paradox. To make Rakugo relevant again it needs new blood but to get new blood Rakugo needs to be relevant again. Perhaps this is the tragedy alluded to in the title Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu.

Saga of Tanya the Evil – 06[Beginning of Madness]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Saga of Tanya the Evil

This week’s episode is more focused on action so I have less to talk about. In terms of plot, we get the main gist that World War One is revving into gear. Dakia looks to be knocked out of the war, thanks to Tanya’s efforts and as predicted, her success has caused the top brass to use her battalion as their ace in the hole. Oddly enough, Tanya doesn’t seem all that concerned about it. Despite the fact that she is ordered into brutally killing people, Tanya seems to be enjoying herself. A lot of this episode was Tanya showing that she’s a badass who can chuck grenades into bomber planes and blow up observation stations attempting to gather data on her. In truth, while watching this episode I was starting to become concerned that we could have the same issue that Drifters had that nothing was really going to pose a tangible threat to Tanya. I have said it before, a one sided battle is boring to watch and makes it feel like the protagonist is never in a position of danger. If the remainder of the series is going to have episodes like this, then the enemy needs to get Tanya to work for her victory instead of getting curbstomped just to show off just how amazing Tanya is.

Thankfully, it looks like the show recognizes that disparity and Being X shows up to rain on Tanya’s parade. This is a break from their normal interactions as this appearance is much more provocative and malicious than previous encounters . By taking control over a dead body, Being X reminds her that even though she has won some small victories, she will soon be fighting the entire world. It is funny that Tanya’s very first response on his appearance is by shooting a round into the bod as she states that this was specifically the reason she carried her gun around everywhere. Being X could arrive at any time and when he does come, she wants a gun on hand to shoot him.  This seems to have give her no real self-satisfaction and his words definitely affect her mood. Before his arrival, Tanya was practically having fun managing the battle and becoming victorious, but her mood soured greatly after God showed up, to the degree that Viktoriya noticed her drop in mood.

The after credits comedy scene worked really well here with Tanya remarking about the dangers of secondhand smoke that nobody in this timeframe is aware of. After all, it cannot be good for her to go to briefings filled with cigar smoke. It could really stunt her growth but that could be a plus on the other hand. As she stated herself, that small body of hers makes for a harder to hit target. With the appearance of God, this likely means that things are going to get a lot harder for Tanya and perhaps this could mean the birth of an archenemy is on the horizon. God does make a good villain but lacks presence to act as something for Tanya to fight against. What would be really cool now is for a kind of Joan of Arc figure leading the war on the other side. Something tangible for Tanya to take down and fight. Sadly, next week’s episode is a recap episode which doesn’t come as too much of a surprise. Considering the quality of the show so far and that this is a first effort by animation studio they have be straining themselves. Last week’s episode did show more signs of cutting corners in terms of animation and I personally would prefer a recap episode over a rushed-out mess.

Little Witch Academia – 05[Luna Nova and the White Dragon]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Little Witch Academia

Well there goes my character focused episodes theory unless the purpose of this episode was to introduce Fafner the dragon. I think only trigger can manage to turn a situation with dragons stealing a magic stone into a tale about the academy trying to pay off a debt owed to to a dragon who works in the stock market. Dragons in particular are known for hoarding treasure with Fafner being a dwarf who turned into a dragon and guards his treasure hoard. So a modern interpretation of this being a dragon who acts as a loan shark while working digitally with the stock market is a stroke of genius. If you’re unfamiliar with the stock market, platforms like IG Review can offer insights into how the stock market works. I certainly wasn’t expecting that after a powerpuff girls reference at the beginning of the episode. The Dinotopia reference with dragonese being essentially footprint alphabet I didn’t catch until reading discussions. Also found out that dinosuar show I watched way back in 2002 was called Dinotopia and was based on books. I will be damned. Other than that this did give the troublemaker trio of Amanda, Constanze and Jasminka some time in the spotlight, especially Constanze who has likely won more fans with this.

In my book any character than can pull out a Spaz shotgun and shoot down dragons is a character worth remembering. The diversity of nationality is pretty unheard of for an anime as well with Akko being Japanese, Lotte being Finnish, Sucy is from southeast Asia, Amanda being American(Considering her second name is O’Neill, she’s most likely part Irish too.), Constanze is German, Jasminka is Russian, Diana is British and even the announcer from the broom race looked Africain. I can’t think of many anime with a cast like this other than maybe Jojo and that anime that represented each country with an anime character(Helalia was it?)  Considering that Little WItch Academia appeals more to a western audience than a japanese one this could be fanservice on Triggers part and boy do I love them for it.

It’s a little early to call this a demerit to the show but if not remedied soon Akko’s attitude could become a problem. Akko’s main gimmick is that she is a girl with incredible passion and daring which will most likely cause a change in the magic world. Right now however when Diana was laying into her about her faults I found that I agreed with her 100%. Akko doesn’t think about how her actions affect others and despite talking up about how she is going to be the best that ever was, she never makes a real effort to try. Ursula is more than willing to give Akko the help she needs but she is getting shunned or ignored fast by Akko. The big factor in this episode is that Akko placed her friends in real danger just by butting into a problem which would have been resolved without her. As I said it’s a little early to call this a flaw as Akko’s development is clearly going to be a big part of the series but she is going to need to at least start changing a little. One thing that constantly had me wondering while watching this is that Akko and her friends went to take on dragons and for some reason Akko did not bring along Shiny Rod. She was lucky in this case as the dragon in question didn’t intend to hurt them but to go up against a dragon without the deus ex machina stick isn’t bravery, but pure foolishness.

Fafner does bring up a point which is likely to play an important role in this series, namely that magic has become outdated for the modern world. The luna nova teacher state that there is a decline in students and it doesn’t help that they have proven themselves fairly incompetent so far in the series. Magic does look to have great benefits like with Diana reforming the potion that broke during Akko’s and Amanda’s fight. However those benefits come with an immense downside as the witch’s can only use great magic within the grounds of the school. In that regard just what does one gain from studying to be a witch? Constanze has proven it well enough that technology can not only do what magic does but it can do the job better. So the big question is what caused of the decline of magic? For Shiny Chariot could once use great magic outside of school so what exactly changed? Could it have anything to do with that star shaped scar on the moon? For that scar doesn’t appear to be on the moon in the very first episode during Chariots show. Perhaps the fall of magic could be related to why Chariot gave up being an entertainer and lost the power to wield Shiny Rod.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – 18

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

The opening of this episode starts us off with an ominous note as Sukuroka’s eyes are shown with a deep blood red. Perhaps it is a sign that the reaper has come for Yakumo, but I think it’s too early for that yet. On Yotaro’s side of things, something I previously suspected was brought up as Yotaro still hasn’t found his Rakugo and I think that until the writer gives him some new material, he won’t. One thing he did realize was that s and his and Yakumo’s approach to Rakugo are different. Yakumo tends to push his style as a performer onto all the characters he portrays while Yotaro wishes to become the characters themselves. It’s an important step for Yotaro as it means that he is moving away from simply copying his master to developing his own style. Considering the events at the end of the episode, I hope he doesn’t regress back from this step forward. It was indeed a very unfortunate timing for Yotaro to have this revelation.

The final scene reminds me of a moment during the first season, when Miyokichi claimed that she would haunt Yakumo in episode 9. In a way she has done just that, so perhaps it gives her joy in the afterlife. Is this truly the ghost of Miyokichi come back to torment Yakumo or simply a hallucination due to his failing health? It really is up to the viewer, but it is rather interesting that Yakumo was telling a story about a man meeting his loved one by lighting incense and making the story more dynamic by having Konatsu light the incense. For the ghost of Miyokichi to appear from incense lit by her daughter, who just so happens to still hold a grudge against Yakumo is rather intriguing. As I stated in the title, I don’t think this is the end for Yakumo. Things may look grim but he still hasn’t hit the apex of this character arc yet. He is essentially the main opposition for Yotaro and for the writer to kill him off now would leave a gaping hole in the narrative. I think this near death experience should give him some perspective though. One thing that really caught my eye was in how Yakumo reacted to Yotaro calling Rakugo fun. Once upon a time Yakumo found Rakugo fun, but it seems after Sukoroku died, that event killed Yakumo’s enthusiasm for it. Rakugo is just a job for Yakumo now and I think this marks a turning point for him to regain that love he once had.

One thing that threw me through a loop this episode was before Yakumo collapsed, he looked at Konatsu and repeated “My Beloved, My beloved.” I personally saw the relationship between Yakumo and Miyokichi to be one sided. Unless that flashback was Yakumo playing unreliable narrator I don’t think Yakumo truly loved Miyokichi. He may have cared for her but often his more intimate moments with her felt like he was just indulging her. Of course time is a fickle beast and it’s possible that looking back over his past that Yakumo’s affection for Miyokichi could have grown into love. It was a long time ago and she was clearly the woman who made the greatest impact on his life. But perhaps there is something more to this. Perhaps Yakumo was hiding something that he didn’t tell Yotaro and Konatsu. What that could be is anyone’s guess. As a nice bit of symmetry this episode is the fifth episode of the second season which could potentially be Yakumo’s end as a Rakugo performer. The fifth episode of the first season was where Yakumo crossdressed for a play and discovered his talent with could be considered his beginning in Rakugo. In that regard this could be the beginning of great change.