Tsuritama – 07

Fishing is so last week. It’s all about magic surfing now!

Miyu will be away for about a month, so you’ll have to deal with the cuteness of the posts going down by 78% (plus or minus a few extra percentage points). Maybe the Enoshima Don that I made for the Cooking Showcase will make up for it a little? Oh gosh, did I just try to replace my team mate with food? Man, this solo post is not going well. Let’s just…talk about the episode before I say something else embarrassing.

Reaction

Have you ever watch an anime that triggered your childhood/teenage life to flash before your eyes? That’s what happened for this week’s Tsuritama to me. So what was probably just normal melodrama for most of you was a dark reminder of some not-so-pleasant years of my life. I was enjoying myself in the beginning half quite thoroughly, because I like seeing Natsuki being all easy smiles and fond glances around Yuki. Fishing just doesn’t get boring in this show. However, just as everyone seemed to be getting close (even Akira), I was hit in the face with this family drama. I was eagerly looking forward to seeing Natsuki’s family problems resolved, but they hit a little too close to home. *sighs*

Depressing memories aside, this was actually a rather good episode. The calming fishing sections blended in seamlessly with Natsuki’s grudge and even the sea creature striking again. I like how Tsuritama is combining the slice of life elements in with the supernatural stuff. I was worried about a sudden tone shift permeating through the rest of the series, like the sudden jarring appearance of the sea creature in episode 6. However, it seems like things will weave together a little more neatly than that, and we will find out the truth in time. I prefer this more gradual approach, but the only reason we’re able to slow down after episode 6 is the nonsense with MOTHER. FLIPPING. HARU.

I’ve been pretty ambivalent about Haru, but this episode pushed me into the category of people who find him irritating. Why didn’t Haru just tell them “YO, THERE BE A SEADOUCHE OUT THERE SO SIT YO ASSES AT HOME IF YOU DON’T WANNA GET TROUNCED!”? He’s an alien and he should take the most direct approach without reading the atmosphere or mood properly, shouldn’t he? That really pissed me off. Furthermore, it doesn’t make much sense that Haru would get off scot-free after hypnotizing the entire crew and going nuts though. The next time something crazy happens, they’d better not just ignore it.

Overall, a great emotionally-charged episode that lowers your guard with fluff and then furtively slips into heart-wrenching drama

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Analysis

Natsuki & Yuki: These two have been getting more and more friendly as of late. There is rarely a scene present without Natsuki smiling at Yuki affectionately and praising his fishing skills. I think part of him sees the same love for fishing that he had as a beginner in Yuki, and helping him along the path to becoming a Fishing Prince is a good distraction from his own position. He’s stuck at a plateau. He can’t improve at Enoshima, because of the limited selection of fish for him to catch. Yuki, however, contains a huge amount of potential as a diamond in the rough. If Natsuki can’t improve, he might as well help someone else improve instead . Fishing aside, he trusts Yuki on a personal level as well. He knows the only way he will survive an outing with his family is if his close friends are there as well to keep him calm. Without even pausing to think, he invites Yuki to go on their family fishing trip. he knows he The level-headed fishing prince may be more dependent on Yuki and Haru than we initially thought. This time, it will be Yuki helping Natsuki get over his personal issues.

“Natsuki, I will let you do anything you want as long as you let me rename the shop to ‘BIG BOOTY BITCHES…OF THE SEA'”

Nasuki & His Family: They don’t get along. Or rather, everyone is fine except for Natsuki, his dad, and his dad’s new squeeze. Sakura has adapted to the new situation perfectly fine, but I guess Sakura isn’t going through puberty, so the changes haven’t rattled her as much. Still, her existence shows the potential option that’s always been present to Natsuki: just get along with everyone. Natsuki is very stubborn, and refuses to even acknowledge his father’s presence. For all the issues that he has with his dad, he never really talks them out with him to try and come up with a solution. Natsuki accuses his dad of just doing what he wants without telling him anything, and yet that is precisely what Natsuki has been doing this entire time. The two of them live such separate lives out of their own volition, and yet they both fiercely dislike the other’s life choices.

However, Natsuki seems like a logical person, so his inability to give his dad a chance may stem from an earlier conversation that pushed him over the edge and made him realize that coming to a compromise with his dad was impossible. We don’t know exactly when the turning point for Natsuki was or exactly how it happened – all we know is that he stopped liking his dad some time after their mom died. I want to give Natsuki the benefit of the doubt and say that his lack of discourse with his old man is because he simply knows it won’t work from previous attempts.

Natsuki’s dad is actually immensely selfish, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s even more stubborn than Natsuki. The sad thing is that it should be the father’s job to try and protect their kid and help them choose what they want in life. It’s about working together, listening to each other, and respecting everyone’s opinion. You don’t just tell your kid “you do what you want, and I do what I want” and call it a day. While you can argue that both of them are being foolish, I will always side with Natsuki because he is just a kid under a lot of pressure. That…and I’ve been in a very similar situation to him before.  Keep in mind that it’s HIS birthday and their idea of a great birthday was forcing him to go out with someone he hates. Then Sakura yells at Natsuki for fighting with his dad. Did they really not expect that happen? In an enclosed area with no escape? WHEN THEY FIGHT EVERY DAY? I’m totally fine with Natsuki getting mad at Sakura (the slap was a bit much though), because no one seems to give this poor kid a break. His father isn’t listening to his wishes at all, and everyone expects him to just shut up and accept it. That’s not the right thing to do either. Until they reach some sort of compromise, then I think Natsuki has every right to be defiant.

No one else in Enoshima seems perplexed by this floating triangle…

Haru: As I said in the ‘Reaction’ section, Haru never tells anyone about the danger that could face them at sea and no one bothers to worry about him either. Ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away. Haru isn’t going to solve any problems by distracting himself with soccer and cup-in-a-ball. Let’s ignore my dislike for how he’s handling this and look at what his coping style says about his feelings for the situation. Avoidant coping styles are generally used by people who don’t have the confidence to face a situation head-on. This is odd for someone like Haru who tries to solve everything in the most literal form imaginable. He must feel a bit down after being bested by the sea creature earlier on, if we’re still assuming that it possessed him in episode 6 and he wasn’t acting out of his own free will. My theory (God, that sounds so pretentious. MY theory. Jeez.) about him being possessed is further strengthened by the fact that Haru openly says that he wants to stay friends with Yuki and Natsuki and not let them get hurt. He’s so crippled by his fear of them getting hurt that he can’t even act and deal with the sea creature. The only option in his head right now is ‘leave it until it goes away, because there’s nothing I can do about it anyways.’ Haru is the only one we know who could possibly tame this sea beast, so it will fall on him to somehow get stronger and best it. That, or someone else like DUCK will swoop in and show off some impressive powers.

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Speculation

I still believe in Haru! Characters don’t lie when they’re talking to themselves alone, unless the director is just dumb (or you’re playing Heavy Rain). He has the best of intentions, which I think have accidentally unlocked a dark power that he can’t compete against. He underestimated the enemy, and now it has awakened. There is a near-constant pink halo floating out at sea, and the increase in frequency seems to suggest an increase in power. Remember, that halo only appears when they’re using hypnosis or controlling fish. This accounts for the huge increase in dancing fisherman lately. Tsuritama may be a lackadaisical show, but I expect the sea creature to ramp things up a bit in the next few episodes. Less dancing and more taking over the world…you know?

Bonus Screenshots: 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.