Tsuritama – 11
“Yuki, stop headbanging while you fish!” “I CAN’T HELP IT MAN. I’M JUST TOO METAL.”
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I was convinced that this would be the finale, but I guess not! There is actually one more episode after this one! If there ends up being a 13th episode, then you can just call me a terrible liar who lives only to devour your dreams. Not that you guys want this to end, right? I’d be okay with a weekly dosage of gay fishing from now until my death… |
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Tsuritama is at its best when it focuses on fishing. This week is all about fishing. It’s no small wonder that this episode is better than last week’s! Most the time was spent setting up and getting in position to catch Haru’s gargantuan fishy friend. I didn’t like last week’s forced drama, but this was a lot better. Fishing just fits in perfectly with the grand scheme of things. Watching Yuki work hard still has a bit of a magical, uplifting feeling to it. However, this time there are some stakes involved. Yuki isn’t fishing just to become a better person…he’s fishing to save the world. It’s a steep jump in consequences, and it adds some nice bite in contrast to the usually lackadaisical fishing trips. It’s uplifting, but also kind of nerve-wracking. The moment Yuki’s lure breaks off like a soggy cookie that soaked up too much milk is a real “OH SHIT” moment.
Haru leaving isn’t really something I’m too worried about at this point. I won’t be disappointed from either outcome, because Haru is kind of a dork. Either Yuki will continue to grow without him or they’ll be BEST FRIENDS together forever at the end. I’m assuming we’ll end up with some sort of fluffy, vibrantly-coloured ending full of friendship and bromance. In fact, I’ll feel cheated if they try to make things dark and have Haru leave with a depressing goodbye scene. I usually like endings that involve each and every character suffering in the cruelest manner possible, but Tsuritama is an exception. Ahh I just want to see how this ends! How dare they leave us with such an enraging cliffhanger!
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Bravery in the Face of Danger
Funny how it’s always teenagers who have the guts to save the world, while the adults just run screaming (or dancing). Each and every one of those kids on the boat is fighting an uphill battle to catch this fish, and it’s really impressive to watch. Akira abandoned DUCK just to help his friends escape and go fishing. Without so much as a moment’s hesitation, he walks away from an organization he’s worked in for years in order to help some scrappy kids he’s known for a few months. It just shows that his connection to DUCK was flimsy. Of course you’d be quick to turn against an organization who doesn’t talk to you and doesn’t want you poking your nose into things. I expected Akira’s involvement in the group to always be incredibly reluctant, but now he’s one of the most enthusiastic in the group.
Haru is trying to fight against an alien that we know he can’t win against. If he couldn’t do any damage when his powers were combined with Koko, then he’s going to last for an even shorter period of time without her. Watching him struggle alongside Yuki made me wonder who would crack first…and apparently the answer to that question is Haru. Yuki is possibly the strongest here. He’s overcome so many deficits to get to where he is – moreso than anyone else, I’d say. He still has some remnants of anxiety attacks, but he can actually will them away now. That’s right, he can simply start thinking positively and calm his shattered nerves just like that as long as his friends are there to remind him to stay calm. That’s quite an incredible leap, as most people with that sort of crippling anxiety CAN’T just stop it at will. It general takes carefully-planned therapy and mental training to be able to overcome fears like social phobia. Yuki went from a wibbling chihuahua into a BAMF. Even Natsuki, the fishing prince, didn’t have a clue how to fish up that alien while Yuki thought up all these great plans.
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At Least You Tried
Upon impact, thousands of adorable ducklings will scatter everywhere in an explosion of soft, downy shrapnel.
DUCK is not an evil organization. They don’t want to take over the world or steal swirly lollipops from babies in strollers. DUCK is trying to save the world, they just kind of suck at it. It’s only after a bit of scolding from Akira that the leader starts to feel bad about his method of doing things. “There’s no other option” and “We need to sacrifice a few to save the lives of many” are things that always leave a sour taste behind. That kind of reasoning isn’t BAD, but it’s an uncomfortable choice to make. The plan could work, but not without killing a bunch of allies. If it doesn’t work, then DUCK has a lot of blood on their hands. I kind of feel bad for them. Even though they’re kind of getting in the way of our main “heroes” I don’t feel like they’re the real bad guy here. They’re more like a fumbling, friendly Team Rocket than anything. In the end, DUCK is just trying hard to save the world too. In the last episode, they’ll probably smarten up and become a lot more like the friendly, helpful organization Akira wants it to be.
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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: Metanorn Regular with 107 comments
I like it was the radiant Duck Tapioca that ended up starting the boat and helping them against DUCK.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Tapioca is the best character in this show, hands down. Now all she needs to do is catch the dragon…
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
Kids/Teenagers are literally worshiped in anime. They are the ones who usually get the spotlight most of the time. I actually like it. Through these “adventures” they experienced in anime, the children will somehow mature by the end of the anime. It kind of reminds me how a person changes a lot when he’s in puberty, mentally and physically. Somehow that fits with the supposedly character development. Maybe that’s the whole point of using children.
But I want a depressing ending! Haru keeps mentioning that he has to leave, so I can’t imagine him staying for good. But if he comes back years later, that’s a different matter though (strong Haru x Yuki shipper here. They should make fish babies)
Oh, also, Tapioca x Yamada!
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Teenagers are mostly chosen because they usually have more room to mature and change because lolpuberty and such. That, and teens who watch anime want someone to relate with, and of course that demographic is going to be taken advantage of. In real life, I think it’d be less likely that a group of kids would save the world though…
A depressing ending wouldn’t work, I think…It just..wouldn’t be depressing lol. They can try, but I’d probably just laugh. Like if Haru dies? HAHAHA oh wow, that’d be something. (Not that I think he’ll die. They can’t disappoint the HaruxYuki shippers like you!)
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
LOL I don’t want kids to save me when the world dies. I’d rather face the wrath of nature by myself instead of with kids. (imagining fat Haru saving me now)
Nooo Haru can’t die! Nah, I don’t think he won’t die. He better not die. Who am I going to ship Yuki with!? D: Maybe he has to go back to his planet, and Yuki keeps waiting for him… Then, as Yuki stares at the sky, he sees something going down… And it hugs Yuki while kissing him. Turns out it’s Haru!
LOL fanfiction
POWUH: iLurker with 14 comments
Tsuritama is easily the best coming-of-age story I’ve seen in ages. Our four lead boys have grown tremendously over the course of this series, and I’m really anxious to see how it will all end. I’m quite surprised to see that all their efforts and plans and all the building-up toward this moment has turned to failure. How are they going to stop JFX?!? XD And more importantly, are all our characters going to have to split up in the end… TT.TT
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I wouldn’t rank it THAT high, but it’s damn enjoyable overall. The character development over the course of the short run has been well-paced and fascinating to watch.
I doubt this will end with the world falling to chaos so they’ll have to deal with JFX…SOMEhow! How, I don’t know, but we’ll see. At the very least, Natsuki, Yuki and Akira should be able to stay together. Haru is the real wildcard here.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 338 comments
Tapioca owned this episode!!! He/She started the boat!! WIN!! Also very happy it wasn’t the last episode, I totally thought it was and was about to cry! I really enjoyed that the lure broke, I love anime’s where the heroes don’t prevail with the obvious plot. This series is truly a treasure.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Tapioca TO THE RESCUEEE!!!
I’m glad it didn’t just end with them catching the alien right away, now that you mention it. Better to give us an extra episode to really settle loose ends and come up with a more unique way of catching it.