Tsuritama – 08

“Hey there, sweetheart. We don’t see you around here much. Why don’t you come with us and learn some…pole jerking ;D”

I’m still working on getting through my blogging backlog….and it just got harder, because I’m starting a volunteer position at the hospital this week. Being the keener kid definitely backfires sometimes. Oh well, that’s why I go to intense sparring classes on Friday to unwind and destress. Oh, and Tsuritama helps with that too. :3

Reaction

There was something a little off about this episode. I feel like Natsuki had all of his problems instantly solved with the wave of a magic wand. Poof! They found Sakura and then everything was alright. Natsuki suddenly knew what he wanted to do with his life, his father started to be more accommodating, and Sakura felt comfortable talking about her mom with Natsuki. Everything fell into place a little too easily. Sure, maybe one thing could have worked out from the shock of having Sakura go off on her own late at night, but I fail to see how that could make an entire family have a change of heart. It seems a bit cheap that nothing was solved by anyone coming to their own conclusions from thinking long and hard about what they did wrong. They were just sort of scared into becoming a nice family to make up for hurting Sakura. :/

They rushed through the resolution to Natsuki’s problems (unless something else goes awry, but I doubt it. He even had the whole character haircut to symbolize his rebirth!!) seemingly to focus more on the saving the world plot. It’s still rather silly that the big threat is “oh no! The entire world will start DANCING!” Yes, whatever shall we do if the world does the Enoshima dance? That’s the worst possible outcome imaginable for world domination, hands down. I just can’t see this ending with anything BUT a fluffy, happy ending. I’m still digging the mind-controlling-sea-dragon-alien-fish-thing, don’t get me wrong…it’s just more amusing than it is threatening. I’m down for some dragon-catching in place of fam dram and casual fishing. It’s a pretty cool shift of gears, because it still has the same silly slant to it as the rest of the show. I’m excited to see where things go from here, because next week’s episode simply HAS to address the dragon and the havoc it’s causing.

Overall, a set-up episode that prefaces the beginning of a real showdown. Lots of infodumping of the interesting variety.

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Analysis

Hand over the duck and no one gets hurt…

Haru may be trying to save the world, but the fact remains that he’s cut from the same fabric of the sea creature. DUCK ignores Haru’s good intentions, and condemns him simply for being the same race as the rampaging sea beast. Alien discrimination happens all the time in movies and anime, so this is no big surprise. Oddly enough, DUCK actually has the same goals as the aliens (saving the world). However, they’re doing it in a more cut-throat manner. It’s like Haru and Koko want to trap a spider and release it outside while DUCK wants to smash the spider and then spray insecticide all over the house JUST IN CASE. Akira used to believe in their method of doing things, but he’s since moved away from that, and is now best friends with the gang. It happened so seamlessly, that I didn’t even notice his cold exterior breaking down. I guess he finally noticed that friends are more fun to be around than work colleagues who just devour curry all day without speaking a word to each other.

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Speculation

Akira finally had an interrogative session with Koko and Haru. They were more than compliant, so I don’t see why he didn’t do this earlier. Anyways, we learn that the dragon/sea creature is actually an alien/fish like Haru and Koko. Their medium for communication is water, but when they try to communicate with humans, they end up controlling them instead. Yes, you can apparently CONTROL SOMEONE’S MIND by accident when you were just trying to say “what’s up, dog?”. Haru goes on to say that he needed Yuki to catch the sea creature and bring it on dry land to weaken it, because it’s so strong that it can mess with fellow aliens and make them go crazy. This is exactly what happened to Haru when he went berserk. We can rule out that Haru is evil 100% now.

Near the beginning of an episode, we see a scroll depicting the story of…well, it just looks like the story of how shit got wrecked on Enoshima. You see a dude fishing in the first picture, with a goddess behind him. Yuki is this fisherman who is egged on by Haru, the goddess. There is also a picture of a bunch of people offering fish to the three Goddesses, but the next scene is one of carnage thanks to a bunch of unruly Gods. Among them is god of lightning, Raijin. The storm Koko warned us about is likely coming soon, and the result is not going to be pretty is the sea creature is still around then. As for the three goddesses and their fish…I guess this is just a hint that fishing is the key to solving this. It’s the same thing that started it, but it’s also the same thing that will end it. The 3 goddesses that will save them are most likely Haru, Koko, and…wait, we’re missing someone. Who is the third goddess?

Weird? Of course not! Haru does this EVERY morning!

There is a bit of a new mystery this week as well. Haru seems to be preparing to leave. We all know he has to leave in order to bring the dragon-alien-thing (ugh, I give up) back to his planet, so this is probably what he’s preparing for. That, or he’s leaving to avoid dealing with Akira and DUCK, since they claim to be equipped to deal with the dragon themselves. However, no one else seems to notice this except for Keito. Either Haru has been confiding his alien plans to her, or her intuition is just so penetrating that she knew from his disposition that he was planning on leaving. So whether he’s going to disappear before the show-down with the dragon (he’d probably come back later for the finale) or he’s just leaving when all is said and done, I find it bizarre that he wouldn’t seem more sad. Haru is really expressive, even when he’s sad. How could he be so calm about leaving his best friends behind? Haru’s mind remains forever a mystery…

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Natsuki’s Hair

NO EPIC HAIR, NO LIFE

Yes, this gets its own section. Can we take a moment for me to write a eulogy for my sweet prince’s glorious hair? Thank you. Natsuki’s hair…you won me over in the short time we knew each other. You were always kind, warm, funny, and free of grease. There will never be anyone as spiky or fluffy as you were in my remaining lifespan, which is why your death is such a huge loss to the world. I miss you, and I wish I could bring you back, but alas…I cannot. Rest in peace, Natsuki’s hair. You were beautiful, and this world wasn’t ready for your sheer perfection. A moment of silence, please...

Bonus Bromance Story:Show ▼

About Overcooled

A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.