Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari – 11

Fireworks before the finale is a faux-pas!

Ohhhh boy, I should have seen this coming.

I like the direction the show has been taking, in that it’s starting to address just what it means to raise a tanuki. Not a kid – a furry, transforming, memory-reviving raccoon-dog! Raising a child is already a gargantuan task, but it’s even harder when that child is actually a magical creature. However, no one else knows Poco’s identity, so they’re more concerned with the fine print details, such as if Souta should really raise a “friend’s” child on his own. It’s a touchy issue, but Rinko seems to understand that Souta is serious about it. Naturally, it’s a little jarring to find out your brother is raising a child, and the most they’ll admit is that it’s actually not a friend’s kid. “So…uh…ok, you lied to me this entire time…where’s he from then?” Souta doesn’t explain anything further, making it seem like a very, very sketchy situation. I  wish they had pushed the issue further, but then I suppose the conversation would reach a dead end where Poco’s identity would be revealed. And, well, that reveal is saved for a later, more impactful time.

“aren’t you lonely without your pare-” “MY PARENTS ARE DEEEAAAD”

Another issue is that Souta hasn’t actually asked Poco if he wants to stay with him. It’s a given that the little fuzzball wants to, but it’s still something that should be explicitly asked. It’s almost like assuming your partner is your wife or husband or whatever without actually asking them to marry you. There’s a bit of a tense moment at the festival when Nozomi asks Poco if he’s lonely without his parents…but Poco perks up immediately when he recalls his whole entourage of fun adults he’s got with him. So all in all, I think even when the two have this discussion, it won’t end in Poco suddenly deciding to bugger off an a grand quest to find his mom and dad. It might be something he longs for when he’s older, but that’s only if he gets older…and it’s still unclear how tanuki age in this show.

So Souta’s friends and family are a bit on edge at the lacking explanation for Poco’s full adoption, but all in all, they’re all on team Papa Souta. I thought it was interesting to see Rinko kind of fretting about it on her own at first before gradually coming to terms with it. I honestly think that won’t be a difficult conversation (he’s a small child…he’s going to say yes to free food, a bed, and nice people). So yay, all of the problems with raising Poco are solved! Except…not. They get worse this week. A whole lot worse.

Even in despair, he still can’t resist the luxurious feel of dat fur

Just as Souta is getting serious about raising Poco, even resolving to discipline him more out of his animal instincts, tragedy strikes. Poco has been having a lot of trouble staying in human form lately, as it seems to take a toll on him. If he’s not paying attention, his ears and tail pop out like a Freudian slip. Souta’s been able to cover for him up until now. However, “now” includes an entire field of festival-goers with their eyes glued to him as well as a livestream of the whole event being shown to anyone with an internet connection. It’s literally the worst that could happen.

Now, next week is the last episode so nothing too crazy should happen. I predict either one of two things will happen: 1) Souta will somehow get out of it again and no one will suspect Poco is a tanuki 2) Souta will have to reveal Poco is a tanuki and literally no one will give a fuck. This isn’t a dark show, so they won’t try and banish him just for having furry ears and a tail. I think Souta’s self-imposed ban on transformations in public was too strict, and this won’t turn out as badly as he fears. Ultimately, I think this will be a good move, because I think it would be cute to have everyone share the joy of seeing this cute tanuki boy indulge in tanuki things.

He may be kinda simple, but you still gotta talk to the kid about stuff like this

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.