As someone who writes first episode reviews (and tends to take a long time writing them – thank you for your continued support of my slowness!), there’s nothing quite as panic-inducing as moments and events that signal the changing of the seasons. In my area, kids are starting to go back to school, the anime club I attend (which is associated with a local university) is planning its Fall Semester anime showings, and the nights have started to get much cooler (thankfully; I can’t sleep in a hot room). I’m starting to see a lot of news about upcoming anime, too. I’m not even done talking about Summer season anime! Unfortunately the march of time waits for no one, which means I’d better get my act together and get some words on the page.
This time we have a very “alphabetical” set of follow-up series. Below/within are spoilers for subsequent episodes of Angolmois, Asobi Asobase, Banana Fish, and Chio’s School Road.
Angolmois: Record of Mongol Invasion
Episodes Viewed: 2 and 3.
Summary and Thoughts: Kuchii is invited to attend a strategy meeting with Lord Sukekuni, Princess Teruhi’s father. Kuchii’s “expertise” isn’t held in high regard, and as an outsider going against the island’s lord he quickly wears out his welcome. The other men minimize the threat the mongols pose and expect maybe 300 of them to set foot on the island, if even that many. The Mongol army may even avoid Tsushima entirely and head straight for Hakata, instead. Kuchii encounters an old acquaintance who by chance who promises to round up 3000 troops; the downside is that it will take a week to get them to Tsushima and by then it may be too late. Kuchii does what he can to defend the island. When the Mongol army sets foot on land victory against them seems possible, even likely. Lord Sukekuni comes out swinging and seems invigorated by the battle and the possibility that his name may live on in glory for it. But the Mongol army’s superior technology quickly turns the tides and Kuchii is left to wonder whether or not they’ll survive to see reinforcements arrive.
The islanders regroup and wrestle with the discovery that their leader and his son have both been killed at the hands of the invaders. However, Kuchii puts on the armor he was given by Sukekuni, his fellow exiles take up the fight as well, and their superior strategy allows them to eke out enough of a victory to survive another day. They make their way to a silver mine to hole up out of view and Kuchii proposes a daring tactic – they’ll strike at night when the Mongol army isn’t expecting them. He gets 64 men to agree to the mission. They gingerly approach the Mongol encampment on the beach. As they try to figure out the best route to take, two of their own men betray them and purposely blow their cover. It appears as if there may be an enemy in their midst, and the Princess may be their first victim.
I enjoyed the first episode of this series for its decent animation and focus on a part of Japanese history that was unfamiliar to me. The next couple of episodes, despite being fairly action-packed, start settling into a pattern in which the main character demonstrates his battle intelligence despite the protests of his detractors, and violent acts occur ad nauseum as if to prove his point. There’s nothing really wrong with this and in a way I can appreciate (though maybe not enjoy) that a series with this type of old-style masculine energy has appeared in an era where it’s not exactly en vogue, but it’s a style of storytelling that I start to find a little exhausting after a while. I personally have a difficult time empathizing with characters who seem to suffer no ill-effects after mowing down multiple human beings. In a series that’s literally about the onset of war, brutal violence is basically the main component of the action.
There’s a scene during which Kuchii talks about his family. He’s had multiple wives (as was apparently the custom at that time), but was eventually left with one wife and a daughter. After going to war, he returned to find that they had died of disease and been buried while he was gone. I feel like there are several legitimate ways a character could express emotion about a situation like that; setting aside the fact that dead women/children as motivation is more than a little passé, I think there are many ways his family’s death could inform Kuchii’s actions. The revelation is treated as nothing more than a passing thought, though, and considering the lack of impact one has to wonder why it was even included in the first place.
I think the broader issue is that there really aren’t enough women in this series. As far as important speaking roles go, Princess Teruhi is essentially “it,” and she’s portrayed as a tomboyish type caught between an awkward and uncomfortable femininity she occasionally attempts to adopt, and the inclination to display masculinity and fighting spirit, for which she’s ridiculed by the other men. In theory I like the idea of a warrior princess; in practice it turns Teruhi into a token character who reads as stunted and annoying.
Would I continue watching? – I won’t deny that the underlying story of this series is interesting; it’s an underdog tale and those are difficult to resist. Unfortunately as a viewer it’s difficult for me to look past the extreme gender imbalance and accompanying hyper-masculine tone. While I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m incapable of relating to male characters and their experiences, I’m tired of putting in that kind of one-sided effort with little payoff to speak of. For history buffs and anime fans who are looking for something with some grit and gore, I think this is a great choice. I’m just not sure I’m interested in following along.
Asobi Asobase: Workshop of Fun
Episodes viewed: 2 and 3
Summary and Thoughts: The Pastime Club attempts to legitimize themselves by becoming an official school club, but the student council doesn’t accept their application. The student council president offers to play them in Othello; if they win they can obtain a room and a budget. Of course all three lose quickly. Kasumi learns that Olivia doesn’t actually know much about English, despite her European looks; they decide that they can be friends anyway. All three of them learn the pitfalls of doing make-up and the consequences of a botched eye shadow application. The soft tennis adviser begs Hanako to come back to the team; if she loses a match she offers to do so. Luckily the other team members have an exceedingly poor work ethic.
The girls play a penalty game, but Kasumi isn’t happy about the nature of the penalty. Olivia claims that, in her culture, a common penalty is for the loser to sniff the winner’s armpits. It’s then that they discover the biological differences between East and West. The girls then discover that their English teacher has misconstrued the nature of their club, thinking it to be a pleasure-seeking (and match-making) venture. The girls set her up with an internet profile to help her find a man; unfortunately, they’re the only ones with access to it and they’re inclined to use it unwisely. Later they discover that the shogi club is gunning for their classroom, so they decide to fight for it in the only manner they know of – with a game. Whoever flings their shoe the farthest wins, though the president of the shogi club mangles her body so badly in the process that it becomes a moot point.
This is a series that reminds me of an article on Anime Feminist about “Trash Characters,” specifically trash girls. Girls who don’t really have an interest in behaving properly, at least as defined by polite society. There’s definitely an appeal to these types of characters for me because they’re much more reminiscent of the interactions I’ve had with my friends; we make jokes about bodily-functions, sex and sexuality, and other things that media has only really recently begun to acknowledge as fodder for girls’ and women’s conversations with one-another. That doesn’t mean we aren’t concerned with life’s more pleasant things, but we certainly don’t avoid life’s uglier aspects. More so than the show’s humor, which is strongly “okay,” I think this is what appeals to me.
I’ve read some other reviews of the show (I attempt to avoid them for a while but after a certain point there’s no point in trying) and I’ve learned that other reviewers seem to really find the humor effective. As with most anime comedies it’s pretty hit-or-miss for me, though the show honestly does have a couple of laugh-out-loud moments per episode (my favorite is when the shogi club president’s shoe flies a full kilometer, right before she falls to the ground and gets completely mangled due to her overzealous shoe-sling methodology). I also chuckled when Hanako had her makeup done and the girls’ teacher assumes that they’ve given her a black eye. I don’t find assault funny, but I find the idea of a make-up job being so terrible as to be mistaken for a black eye really funny. Typical slapstick antics aren’t my cup of tea, but I gravitate towards that sort of roundabout joke-building, so those moments definitely kept my interest afloat.
Would I continue watching? – I think I might. There are some things I’ve heard that have made me a bit wary, including some insensitive moments. I know that it might sound strange complaining about sensitivity when it comes to a series that’s unconcerned with propriety, but there are jokes floating around out there in the world that I think could stand to not be made anymore, and I worry that this series in its quest to be crass might go to some of those places. That said… it’s also pretty funny otherwise.
Chio’s School Road
Episodes Viewed: 2 and 3
Summary and Thoughts: Chio stays up a bit too late playing a video game and regrets it the next morning. She turns to take a shortcut through an alleyway and encounters an uncomfortable situation with the member of a biker gang taking up a lot of space. She tries to pass quietly but ends up causing enough of a ruckus to anger the guy. It’s through sheer luck (and convincing acting) that she convinces him she’s not to be messed-with, and she earns a free motorcycle ride to school. Later on, Chio and her friend Manana are scorning the young romantic relationships that seem to have sprung up all around them, when they see Hosokawa from the track team with a guy. They follow them thinking they’ll see something juicy, but instead witness Hosokawa decline his invitation to go steady. Chio and Manana have to think fast to avoid being discovered. The next day Manana tries to raise her social rank by getting friendly with Hosokawa, but the situation backfires. In the end they both realize that Hosokawa is just a genuinely nice person, which probably accounts for her popularity.
On her way to school, Chio happens to spot a biker gang gathered in a parking lot. As she gets closer to them, she realizes that they’re talking about her – or, at least, her alter-ego “Bloody Butterfly.” Andou, the gang member she encountered before, is quitting the gang due to her, and telling tales of how threatening she is. Since Andou is pretty strong, they don’t believe he’d be sidelined by some woman. Chio takes Andou aside and reveals the truth of the matter, which he luckily finds to be pretty funny. They keep up the act long enough for Chio to make her exit. Another day, Chio and Manana are goofing around and pretending to play the very obscure sport of Kabaddi, when they’re cornered by the manager of the school’s Kabaddi club. She challenges them to a match – if she wins, they have to join the club. Chio, who’s more athletic than her geeky preferences might let on, finds the manager’s weakness and defeats her. The manager realizes that she has much to learn about Kabaddi, and about life.
Much like Asobi Asobase, this series banks on the popularity of trash characters and is mostly pretty funny for it. I was fairly worried that it was going to be a one-joke series, since the premise is so simple. By episode two it’s clear that this is more a slice-of-life comedy that takes place during the time it takes for the main character to walk to and from school, rather than one which exists within the school walls as most series do. That allows the anime to expand beyond the kind of increasing escalation it would take to keep its original premise engaging to something more focused on Chio’s friendships and social interactions, which despite her efforts to bungle up remain intact and entertaining.
Unfortunately there are some issues that become apparent in episode three that make this anything but a slam dunk. In the opening for the show one can see a character who I’ve taken to calling “titty monster” – I’m sure those of you who’ve watched a lot of anime (or heck, even not-that-much anime) are familiar with the anatomy type. That character shows up in the latter half of episode three and in addition to the expected boob-based visual comedy which is mostly just low-brow, proves herself to be a pretty clear example of a predatory lesbian character. Identifying her attraction to women and then taking advantage of that his how Chio wins the day, but in the process we get a lot of “bad touch” and a reinforcement of the stereotype that people of queer sexualities are out to predate on innocent straight people. I’d like to believe that this problem is “one-and-done” but I get the feeling that she isn’t a one-shot character and this isn’t a series that’s likely to take the high road, so I have very mixed feelings about this. I have yet to find a series where the characters are kind of bad but only in the “right” way; it seems that creators often conflate bad attitudes and crummy habits with “menace to humanity,” to the very real detriment of people who could really go without the additional marginalization.
Also, I should warn that there’s a use of the C-word used to insult women in a text translation. The context is a Western game player sending a direct message to Chio after losing to her in a video game. While unfortunately very accurate to real-life, it’s not a word that would have expected to have to see in this series, nor one I appreciate seeing at all. I suspect other viewers may feel similarly.
Would I continue watching? – I think this series is mostly pretty fun, but in order to watch any more I’m going to have to “read ahead” so-to-speak to see how much the above-stated issues weigh into the rest of the show. It’s definitely something I’ll be setting aside for now.
Banana Fish
Episodes Viewed: 2-4
Summary and Thoughts: Ash chases after the car holding Skip and Eiji, but realizes too late that it’s a trap set to capture him. He discovers he’s been betrayed by some of his own gang, and Golzine’s underlings are there to get him to talk about the item he received that fateful night. It isn’t long before Skip, Eiji and Ash make an escape attempt, with Eiji leaping over a wall. In the aftermath, Ash finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and becomes a murder suspect. The police detective in charge of the case shows him some things that bring up awful memories of the past. Eiji is tasked with getting information from Ash, but can’t bring himself to do it. In the meantime, Ash is moved to the state prison, where there are people who want him dead.
In prison, an inmate named Max Lobo takes Ash under his wing. He’s a reporter who’s in for punching a police officer; he also friends with Ibe, which is how the connection was made. Max soon realizes that he and Ash share a connection through Ash’s brother Griffin, and their relationship becomes tense and hostile. Ash feels that Max betrayed his brother; Max felt that, by shooting one of his best friends, he was defending himself. When Eiji comes to visit, Ash passes him a message, but Eiji’s innocence and inability to be discreet end up leading Arthur right to him.
Arthur and his cronies capture Ash, as well as the doctor studying the white powder Ash provided. Shorter Wong arrives in time to prevent as much damage as he can, but Ash’s brother Griffin, who was being held there in hiding, is caught by a stray bullet. Arthur also makes off with some (but not all) of the powder. Despite their efforts, Griffin can’t be saved and soon passes away. Max gets the bad news, and despite his and Ash’s now rocky relationship, ends up passing it along. In their shared sadness the two reach a sort of truce. On the outside, the police pull some strings and work to get Ash out on bail.
So I’m finding that Banana Fish is a very tense conglomeration of different factors that I’m really enjoying while occasionally also feeling guilty, because I’m having to look past some choices on both the part of the creative staff/original manga as well as the subtitle translators. The big issue with the translation is that it occasionally uses the F-word slur for homosexual men when the original Japanese language track uses a general rude insult. I’ve seen this situation before in Funimation’s translation of Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, where Panty calls a character a “f*g” in the sub (and maybe the dub? I didn’t watch much of their version) when she says “yarou” in Japanese; just like “b*tch” is often used in English translations in place of generalized insults aimed at female characters, “f*ggot” gets thrown around here to over-emphasize the fact that a certain character wants to rape Ash. The show also confuses homosexuality with pedophilia, which is a huge problem; it’s a stereotype that’s still used to marginalize gay people and its perpetuation puts real people in danger.
It should be said that there’s reference to Ash being raped as a child, and I feel it’s my responsibility to say that recordings of this event (which aren’t visible to the viewer) are used by a shady police detective to try to get Ash to confess to a crime. It’s unrealistic and also a profoundly terrible thing to do. I’m not a huge fan of police interrogation tactics, but even so I don’t think this sort of thing is realistically representative of what happens in an interrogation room. Prison rape is also a factor in these episodes in particular, and while I don’t feel that the situation is played for laughs, I also think it’s thrown around for the sake of adding drama.
I think it also bears mentioning that Skip, a Black character, gets fridged in episode two. This is apparently something from the manga, so not necessarily a surprise. That said, the creative staff of the anime has come out as saying they took care not to change anything substantial (other than the time period) when adapting the manga to the anime. I think many people would find that admirable, but there are things that might have gotten a pass in the 1980s that could bear some reevaluation; I don’t think the story would be harmed by making a few different narrative choices.
That said, I have to confess that the story has gripped me. It’s got all the makings of a “tragic gay” story, which itself is its own issue, and there’s enough violence and drama thrown in that it’s not my typical kind of go-to anime. But there’s something very compelling about the story itself and the relationship between the two main characters. I think I’m enamored with the idea of two very different people finding one-another and gaining something special from the relationship, whether or not the situation that surrounds them is conducive to such a thing. This is certainly not a “typical” BL story as we understand it today, but it’s got two protagonists who intrigue me and a gritty mystery that’s gripping in its own way. It also paints a picture of the US that’s both innocently inaccurate yet also feels familiar. It’s a show that feels contradictory in many ways but somehow seems to work for me. I realize after writing above about the issues I took with certain aspects of Chio’s School Road that this might make me look like kind of a hypocrite, but as a reviewer I can’t necessarily set my feelings aside. I don’t know how far-reaching I can make a recommendation, because as you can see by all the warnings I’d expect any one thing to be too much for certain people. But I do think the show is somehow more than the sum of its parts.
Will I continue watching? – I already “accidentally” watched an episode beyond where I meant to stop for the purposes of this write-up, so that ought to tell you that I’m already invested. Like I said, it’s not for everyone, especially knowing how it all ends (thanks, Wikipedia). I think I’m definitely in for more, though.