Shoushimin Series 2nd Season – 05
I don’t know why it didn’t strike me earlier, but I suppose the “Fireman” arc is likely not going to take up this whole season. At least the vibe I’m getting is that we’re getting close to the climax of it. I don’t think it’s been announced how many episodes this season will be, but even if it’s ten like S1 it’s hard to see this arc stretching through all of it. Its natural momentum seems to be driving it towards an imminent conclusion.
This has definitely been an upgrade over S1, largely because as I noted Osanai and Kobato work better as part of a platter than as the main course. Urino is such a contrast to them in every way that it’s a very effective setup. This is a grand boy’s adventure to him, and the hubris creeping into his articles is thick enough to cut with a knife. I don’t dislike Takahiko, not remotely – I feel sorry for him if anything, because he’s the most straightforward kid in the room and he’s surrounded by far more duplicitous (and dangerous) operators.
I definitely throw Hiya into that group. His best friend thing may or may not be an act (I think mostly not), and he may or may not be Fireman (I think he merely knows more than he’s letting on and is enjoying the game). But he’s playing with Takahiko, just as Yuki and Jougarou and Kengo are. Jougarou also has a truly hilarious breakup scene with Nakamura-san, where she flat-out addresses how creepy he is with his eternal grin. It’s been so obvious he didn’t remotely care about her – is she really only know admitting it? She’s not remotely on the high ground here, as she’s triple-timing him. But what in the world has ever been in this for him?
So we have Urino-kun convinced he knows who Fireman is, and – after a month hiatus due to a typhoon and another whiff after a fire – he’s determined that this is the night. Of course whoever he thinks is the culprit is probably whoever (Jougarou himself?) Kobato and Doujima have led him to as part of their trap. And still Osanai sits at the center of her web, playing out the threads and watching the little flies get snagged. I’m still pretty sure she’s not Fireman herself, but she’s probably the root cause of these fires one way or the other.
Anne Shirley – 05
I feel like I’m kind of at an impasse with Anne Shirley. It’s pleasant enough but it doesn’t instill any particular feelings in me. It’s tempting to write it off as not being the target audience, but I’m pretty big on classical literature as a rule so no, I don’t think that’s it. I just don’t find it to be particularly compelling, in this form at least.
It that a matter of the subject material or the adaptation? I suppose one way to tell for sure would be to (finally) watch Takahata’s Akage no An (wow, not only losing her E but one of her Ns too). But my gut says it’s more the latter. This show comes off very perceptibly as if it’s going from Point A to Point B every week, without worrying too much about how it gets there. With stories like this the substance is in the details and the subtleties of the character relationships. Maybe if I already knew those things I wouldn’t miss having them here – I could fill in the blanks myself. But I don’t, so I see them as blanks. And I’m very aware they exist.
For now I’ll keep watching and keep the door open as far as anything beyond that. I did like the bit about Matthew buying the dress (even if it looked kind of ridiculous on her, ROFL), especially his bashfulness at the shop, and there are usually one or two moments every week which make me chuckle. But that’s pretty thin gruel in the big picture.
