I’m still amazed at how drenched this series is in culture. This show goes into so much more detail than anything else about the world of Tanuki, Tengu and other mystical beings. The creators really did their research, and it shows: it’s really rare for a series to feel this authentic. I don’t know enough to know how much this show made up and how much of it is taken from japanese folklore, but even then: in both ways the culture in this series just sparkles with life.
And still this show is diverse. The plot is coming together, but still every episode manages to be different, and highlight a different part of the lives and traditions of the characters. I loved the idea of having a sake-powered flying house, and Benten also turned into quite the character. On one hand, she ATE the father of the main character. On the other hand, she acts like it’s the most natural thing in the world and has fallen in love with him.
This series sure loves its contradictions. It’s especially a big part of episode five, which showed a posh club of spiritual leaders debate whether the tradition of eating tanuki is really worth it, put next to this one guy who loves tanuki so much that he also loves to eat them. It’s really bizarre to look at tanuki this way when they are portrayed in this really weird cross between human and animal. That’s also what I love: no tanuki or tengu really lost that animal side: nobody here feels 100% human. Sometimes it’s more apparent than others, but Yasaburo (I hope that that was his name) hiding for so long was so wonderfully characteristic of an animal that feels threatened.
The acting in this show overall is really good. Characters all have their quirks, yet they are more than just that. Everyone has multiple sides, and the lines they deliver are brought convincingly. This show also knows perfectly fine when it needs to be dramatic, and when it just needs to let things play out casually. You can really see that this was written by a brilliant writer.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)
Wait. In episode 5 doesnt she say that she wanst there at the time when his father was eaten?
I think she said that she joined the club right before papa tanuki was caught, and she loved tanuki hot pot, which implied that she did eat him.
Can I ask a basic question: what does the rating mean? This site is the only one where I don’t take a look at the numbered rating because I don’t get it.
http://psgels.net/2012/08/06/summer-2012-kaleidoscope-week-31/
Hey Vegeta, I’d like to refer you to the Summer 2012 Kaleidoscope post that he made. It pretty much explains the entire scoring system in full. This is actually the most recent update in his grading system whereas previously he used a star grading system. The link is of course at the top of this post. Hope that helps!
Thank you.
This is a wonderful show — my favourite of the season. I really enjoy how the story comes together through the telling of the daily lives of the characters and how natural the character interactions feel — I am very drawn to the deep bonds that the characters share. I agree that the writing is really good here.
Probably the show I look forward to the most every week. It has the most whimsical quality to it; it reminds me of a Ghibli film in many ways. The thing that draws me in the most about this show, though, is the large amount of history that these characters have developed. It really does feel like every single character is apart of this gigantic family. Because of that, the dynamics between each of the characters is always a treat.
Pretty good. Watched it based on this review.Lets see where it goes from heerree