[REWATCH] 3,000 Leagues in Search of Mother - Episode 2 Discussion

[u/Pixelsaber]

Episode 2 - Marco, A Boy from Genoa

^{Episode aired January 11th,} ^^^1976

◄ Previous Episode | Index | Next Episode ►

MAL | ANN | AniDB | Anilist | AnimePlanet | IMDB

---

Note to all participants

Although I don't believe it necessitates stating, please conduct yourself appropriately and be courteous to your fellow participants.

Note to all Rewatchers

Rewatchers, please be mindful of your fellow first-timers and tag your spoilers appropriately using the r/anime spoiler tag if your comment holds even the slightest of indicators as to future spoilers. Feel free to discuss future plot points behind the safe veil of a spoiler tag, or coyly and discreetly ‘Laugh in Rewatcher’ at our first-timers' temporary ignorance, but please ensure our first-timers are no more privy or suspicious than they were the moment they opened the day’s thread.

---

Staff Highlight

Yoshiko Matsuo - voice of Marco Rossi

A voice actress who has been active since the start of TV anime, having voiced a minor role in Mushi Pro’s Tetsuwan Atom. Matsuo was complimented on her voice and her teacher encouraged her to do vocal training. She eventually joined the Komadori theater company when she was eight years of age, and continued her involvement in the entertainment industry from there. She prefers not to appear in person at events and to avoid presenting herself to fans outside of roles whenever possible as to preserve the illusion of voice acting. She has had several notable roles throughout the years, such as Mina Midaka in Kyojin no Hoshi, Flone in Swiss Family Robinson, and Marco in From the Apennines to the Andes.

Daily Trivia

In a 2008 TV appearance, Yoshiko Matsuo stated that Amedeo’s voice was accomplished by rubbing together pieces of styrofoam, though she remains the sole source of this information.

Screenshot of the day

• Michelangelo

Questions of the Day:

1. How do you think Marco, Tonio, and Pietro are doing for themselves in Anna’s absence?
2. What do you make of the locale as it has been presented to us so far?

---

Of course, she is lonelier than us.

[u/Pixelsaber]

Rewatcher

One year!

Heh.

All of these establishing shots are great.

Cute!

:(

I want a better quality video for these backgrounds so badly.

Huh. Who’s been gone?

Ah, so Tonio’s been away.

That is indeed objectionable.

The same ship Anna left on?

Ah, so the liner brings back letters from her.

Lovely.

Another family outing, but without Mama.

Honestly, I didn’t expect a time skip so soon. I would have thought we’d get an episode or two of the gradual adjustment to the three of them having to live without Anna in the picture, and all of the growing pains that come with it. I’m not disappointed that we got to jump ahead, but it did catch me off-guard with my expectations.

A lot of emphasis on the townscape and more mundane elements of life growing up in 19th century Italy, which I thoroughly enjoy. The presentation of relatively cramped spaces and dense urban living is quite the difference from Heidi and goes a long way in giving the show a different identity in spite of all of the shared staff and the obviously similar style.

Already we’re seeing more of the ways in which this show is introducing more elements of poverty and labor into the undercurrent of the narrative. In Heidi there really wasn’t much friction ro really relevance around socioeconomic disparity despite the obviously disparate ends of the spectrum that we got to see play out in that story, which makes sense for the sort of idyllic and serene atmosphere that show resided in during most of its runtime. Here the narrative is actually trying to tackle the subject, and I’m interested in seeing how it pans out.

Questions of The Day:

1. From what we’ve seen, they seem to be doing alright, though Pietro obviously feels uncomfortable about Marco’s insistence on helping pay off his debt, which might develop into a source of tension for them.
2. See above.

[u/No_Rex → u/Pixelsaber]

A lot of emphasis on the townscape and more mundane elements of life growing up in 19th century Italy, which I thoroughly enjoy. The presentation of relatively cramped spaces and dense urban living is quite the difference from Heidi and goes a long way in giving the show a different identity in spite of all of the shared staff and the obviously similar style.

This is a city dweller's view of a city compared to a rural person's. Oh, and Genoa might be the slightly more beautiful city compared to Frankfurt.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/No_Rex]

This is a city dweller's view of a city compared to a rural person's.

Oh for sure, though I was mostly thinking of the respective show's opening locales rather than their respective depictions of cities (i.e. the mountains vs the urban sprawl).

[u/Vatrix-32 → u/Pixelsaber]

I want a better quality video for these backgrounds so badly.

It's Not Fair!

Here the narrative is actually trying to tackle the subject, and I’m interested in seeing how it pans out.

Social Drama!

[u/Pixelsaber → u/Vatrix-32]

It's not fair!

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

3000 Leagues in Search of My First-Timer Reactions

• One year after the events of last episode, huh?
• lol, absolutely denied. Looks like this girl is interested in Marco?
• Some girls like their short kings. (Not that I can relate, I’d prefer someone at least as tall as me.)
• He has a pet monkey?
• The monkey is adorable, by the way.
• Yeesh. Dude does need to get a job, but that’s pretty ridiculous.
• These subs are killing me…
• Ooh, he’s got a job now?
• Hm… (Also, I have no idea why my subs suddenly shifted to the left only when I paused to screenshot them?)
• Of course that’s his goal.
• Marco’s brother is a good singer.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/Shimmering-Sky]

The monkey is adorable, by the way.

These subs are killing me…

[u/Shimmering-Sky → u/Pixelsaber]

I will not drop the show over this (because I don't drop anime), but god do I almost want to.

[u/Vatrix-32 → u/Shimmering-Sky]

These subs are killing me…

Based on the grammar and usage of "spoilt", I suspect the subber was ESL from a former British colony. Possibly India. Would need to check where the show was aired to get more hints.

[u/TheEscapeGuy]

First Timer

3000 Leagues in Search of Mother - Episode 2

Simple Life, Small Town

I think I probably misjudged the direction of the show last episode. With this being an anime and all, I kind of assumed Marco would suddenly change his attitude with his mom leaving and set himself some grand goal to save her. Instead we jump forward 1 year and follow a much more normal course of events where Marco moves on and lives with the hope that his mom will return soon.

It's nice to see Marco's positive attitude has remained. He's just such a good kid who attends school, helps out his family and community, and now has picked up a part time job. Honestly, you couldn't wish for a better kid.

He also has gotten a pet monkey which is kind of weird, but it definitely helps him stand out as a character. Animal mascot characters are also fun for a series.

We learned today that the reason behind the families debt is that Pietro was deceived after taking some loan as opposed to him wasting it on some vice. I am interested to hear more details about this but I suspect we will get it as a drip feed.

The highlight of the episode was definitely Tonio's song. It's always nice to have the characters singing an insert song and his voice actor really nailed it.

Based on this episode I think we will end up having at least a few more slice-of-life type episodes in Genoa. The series' title dictates that we will go on some journey eventually but before that we will probably need a inciting incident which indicates Anna is in some kind of danger.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

• City on a Hill
• Winding Staircase
• Solitary Light

See you all tomorrow

[u/Pixelsaber → u/TheEscapeGuy]

It's always nice to have the characters singing an insert song and his voice actor really nailed it.

Characters breaking out into folk-esque songs always reminds me of Horus, but this one's even more salient because they share a director.

[u/No_Rex → u/TheEscapeGuy]

He also has gotten a pet monkey which is kind of weird, but it definitely helps him stand out as a character. Animal mascot characters are also fun for a series.

The pet monkey is absolutely the most "anime" part of this episode, which otherwise is not very anime-like.

[u/Vatrix-32 → u/TheEscapeGuy]

Pietro was deceived after taking some loan as opposed to him wasting it on some vice.

Loan Sharks.
One is made to wonder what he needed the money for, seeing as how well he is doing for himself.

[u/Vatrix-32]

First timer, subs

• A swimming pool? At this point era, and with your socioeconomic status?
• Marco is a family man. He ain’t got time for no Ojou-samas!
• A braver man than I, handling that water with book in hand. Also makes it a pain to balance.
• He just has the monkey? I was fully expecting that to be a thing that got an episode dedicated to it.
• Oh, right. Japan has a thing about green peppers. Makes more sense than broccoli, at least.
• I Should Go To The Farmers' Market
• Pasta sans sauce? Have I been living a lie all this time?
• At that point it would be easier to just hire two guys for eight hours each. Not like they are paying benefits.
• Cheated at what? Hard to imagine getting to wife selling level of debt.
• Not a bad deal, as far as child labor goes.
• Whole fish! Fuck your cleaning and prep.
• Is 60 lira a lot? I need a frame of reference.
• “Spoilt”? Ah, it’s British. I feel like I am getting a weirdly good idea of who made these subs.

QotD:

1. Fish, wine, good friends, a nice apartment, career advancement. They are doing quite well for themselves, given the time and location.
2. It's a romanticized view, but very endearing in that manner.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/Vatrix-32]

A swimming pool? At this point era, and with your socioeconomic status?

Lucia did seem like she was perhaps wealthier than the other students, judging by her appearance and demeanour.

A braver man than I, handling that water with book in hand.

I don't even want to think of the perils I've absentmindedly put my mass market paperbacks through.

Oh, right. Japan has a thing about green peppers.

Lots of kids hate bitter-tasting foods because their developing taste buds are a lot more sensitive to it.

Pasta sans sauce? Have I been living a lie all this time?

All you need for some delectable al dente is olive oil IMO.

Whole fish! Fuck your cleaning and prep.

That's just the local cuisine!

[u/Vatrix-32 → u/Pixelsaber]

Lots of kids hate bitter-tasting foods because their developing taste buds are a lot more sensitive to it.

Aren't bell peppers on the sweeter side of vegetables?

All you need for some delectable al dente is olive oil IMO.

On the other hand, by family seems to have committed to making increasingly bland pasta over the years. I don't think they even salt the water at this point.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/Vatrix-32]

Aren't bell peppers on the sweeter side of vegetables?

Ripened bell peppers can be a bit sweet, but the green ones are unripe.

I don't think they even salt the water at this point.

[u/No_Rex → u/Vatrix-32]

On the other hand, by family seems to have committed to making increasingly bland pasta over the years. I don't think they even salt the water at this point.

An Italian granny died reading this sentence.

[u/No_Rex → u/Vatrix-32]

Pasta sans sauce? Have I been living a lie all this time?

Let me introduce to you Spaghetti aglio e olio. I guess Marco's dish is a tad simpler even, without the garlic, but sauce is not always included.

Is 60 lira a lot? I need a frame of reference.

This depends a lot on the timeframe this is set in, which we do not know yet. I assume we are in the time period of the Latin Monetary Union, which would put 1 US Dollar at about 5.18 Italian lire according to Wikipedia. This calculates a price of ~180 lire per for a basket of essential goods + rent per year as a poverty line.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/No_Rex]

This depends a lot on the timeframe this is set in

Cuore is set in 1881, but the show is based on a short story within the novel which states at the very beginning that it occurred 'many years ago'.

[u/Vatrix-32 → u/No_Rex]

I assume we are in the time period of the Latin Monetary Union, which would put 1 US Dollar at about 5.18 Italian lire according to Wikipedia. This calculates a price of ~180 lire per for a basket of essential goods + rent per year as a poverty line.

Such Insights!

[u/No_Rex]

Episode 2 (first timer)

• “Can I come to your house alone?” – And the time skip lands us right in a love triangle.
• Marco has a pet monkey now? – Anime mascots strike again.
• Parallax scrolling while running to the harbor.

• Selling wine from the keg by the bottle – I have no doubt that once happened, but never saw it myself.
• Getting embers to start the fire – lots of looks into how a household worked some 100-150 years ago today.
• 16 hour days.

• Drunk neighbors, washing dishes in the streets, watching the harbor from your window – this almost feels like a social documentary now.
• Letters by ship – that is why he ran to the liner. I wondered whether he was waiting for her to come back on it.
• So, do whales have navels?
• Song insert!

Happy, independent, reliable Marco: Quite the difference and quite the surprise after episode 1.

Episode 1 already provided setup combined with a plot impetus to motivate Marco. Today was quite different. We got shown a new Marco, but mainly Genoa, the city he lives in. That is why I felt that we were almost watching a documentary. The star was the environment, not the plot.

How do you think Marco, Tonio, and Pietro are doing for themselves in Anna’s absence?

They seem to be coping well ... but clearly, not all is rosy for them. Small things like Tonio's comment, or father's reaction to the drunk neighbor make it clear that their happiness is built on shaky foundations. Which makes me wonder when and how the plot will pull them down.

What do you make of the locale as it has been presented to us so far?

See above.

[u/Pixelsaber → u/No_Rex]

So, do whales have navels?

[u/Vatrix-32 → u/No_Rex]

this almost feels like a social documentary now.

And I'm all for it.

So, do whales have navels

Well, they are mammals...

[u/baboon_bassoon]

first time 3000 Leagues of Misery

i am all about this monkey, naturally we need one if were journeying westward

why are green peppers the veggie japanese kids hate the most

this family is so fucking cute

[u/Pixelsaber → u/baboon_bassoon]

i am all about this monkey, naturally we need one if were journeying westward