Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari – 07
You guys are dabbing all wrong!!!
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We had our first snowfall yesterday, so I’ve been trying to spend less time outdoors in the cold. That’s fine by me, as it gives me more opportunities to play Pokemon!!! …and blog. Can’t forget about that either. |
Souta’s big decision to move back goes surprisingly smoothly. There’s only some slight friction when Nakajima and Rinko question his seemingly rash decision. Even that doesn’t really count, as Souta waves it off fairly easily by saying that he’s made up his mind (and he has a fallback plan to work as a freelancer). It seems a bit too convenient, actually. Not everyone has the luxury of just changing their entire lifestyle and then having it work out just peachy within the first day of doing so. The fact that he already has work lined up is definitely surprising. I mean, not everyone can just quit their job and still find a way to make money right after. Life isn’t always so simple.
Probably the worst thing that has happened thus far
So instead of rushing to secure a new position in the nearby web design agency or panicking over what he’s going to do with his life…Souta goes to a kid’s show with Poko and Nozomi. I guess last week’s episode qualified as being dramatic, so they wanted a calmer episode afterwards. It’s like how they try and put a cute, touching episode after someone dies, or a comedic episode after the team defeats a boss. This isn’t quite up there in terms of being at the level of drama where I actually need a cooldown so my body doesn’t shut down from producing too much cortisol.
I can’t help but want more from this show, as it seems unafraid to tackle the hardships of life sometimes. However, the extent of the tackling is during conversation. I love hearing Souta discuss these issues of parenting advice and such with his friends, but there’s a lot of talking and not a lot of doing. This is mostly in the case of side characters.
I still have no clue why Nakajima doesn’t want to take over his father’s clinic, and we see him lounging around so much that it’s hard to believe his reason for not wanting to get hitched is because he’s so focused on work. Uhh..when is he working? Night shifts? Even Mrs. Tanaka isn’t seen doing many motherly things in a kind of “I’m sacrificing my free time, but it’s all worth it for these cuties~” way. There’s a lot of neat philosophizing going on, but I’m starting to realize it’s all a little empty. It’s nice to ponder about and then write posts about but…it’s all theoretical. There’s so little actual “doing” in this show.
Now that that’s over with…Man…this episode was actually pretty funny! I was surprised to see the show go for the comedic angle again, but it worked very well. It was just adorable. Souta has gone FULL-ON DAD now, and it’s better than having him be all wishy-washy about it. He’s fully committed to raising Poko. The only weird thing I have to bring up again is that apparently, tanuki don’t age. It’s not like Souta will be paying to put this kid through school, he’s going to forever be a curious toddler. Anyways, I’ll leave that thought alone for now. I’m just glad Souta is set on raising Poko. How could you say no to that face?
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.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Ooba-chan and Poco-chan spit-gunning watermelon seeds is toooootally worth the price of admission.
I think Souta might have had freelance work somewhere in the back of his mind; already explored it, found it could be viable, made contacts, didn’t commit yet. I mean show isn’t really Great Life Choices for You and Me!, it’s Cute Tanuki Boy and His Goofy Adult. But I agree that they could connect some of these dots with more than gossamer thread of unicorn dreams and cat’s breathe. Needs a heavier line!
But now I want to play Watermelon GO! ::spotoooeeee::
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
It was pretty cute. The wall-drawing thing was sappy in the best way too.
I guess it would have been nice if we saw him kind of being wishy-washy and setting up these options but not committing instead of us having to assume it. Less cat’s breath!
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I kinda saw it as a “I’m smitten with this choice, so I’m going to go with it!” thing that young adults are wont to do.
The thing I think about when watching the show, and watching Souta rearrange his life to stay with Poco is “what is the projected life cycle of a tanuki playing at being a human?” Is Poco going to grow up like a normal boy, like something we saw in Uchouten Kazoku? Or would Poco be a 4 year old forever? If Souta’s putting down roots in Kagawa, then it’s going to be really strange when Nozomi and Eitarou are growing up and he’s not, and what’s the deal with keeping your friend’s strange kid forever? And if Poco leaves, as an animal has a chance of doing, is Souta going to be happy with his life now? Would there be something happening with Yukie (isn’t that the girl’s name who keeps wondering if he’s opening the Udon restaurant?)?
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Yeah, they’re not really addressing how the aging process works for Poco. Which I might not have questioned if the monk in episode 1 didn’t mention something about them not aging in some way. Yep, people are going to notice if his kid is the only one not growing up.
Remove Poco, and I don’t think Souta would be satisfied with his life anymore. At least not until he finds something new to attach meaning to. So yeah, maybe Sae (I had to look up her name)