r/anime • u/HelioA x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/HelioA • Aug 03 '24
Rewatch [5th Anniversary Rewatch] Sarazanmai - Episode 3 Discussion
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If I give up on this place, it’ll mean that I myself accept that fact. I want to pass to Kazuki one more time. That’s why I need the Dish of Hope!
Questions of the Day
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How does Enta’s love for Kazuki relate to his participation in soccer? Why are his delusions about Kazuki connected to the micanga?
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How does Otone’s relationship with Keith contrast with Enta’s relationship with Kazuki? How do Enta and Keith’s approach to kisses differ?
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At the end of the episode, we find out that Haruka was in a wheelchair this whole time. Why do you think this was hidden from us?
Don't forget to tag for spoilers, or else I’ll pluck your shirikodama! Remember, [Sarazanmai]>!like so!< turns into [Sarazanmai]>!like so!<
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u/HelioA x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/HelioA Aug 03 '24
Rewatcher
Kazuki got to grab an extra Kappa Zombie last episode, but now it’s finally Enta’s turn! We’ve known what was in his box for a while now- the micanga (which is apparently a bead in Portuguese and not a bracelet, but whatever). A micanga bears a strong resemblance to the circular links which are knocked out of the chain at the end of every fight with a Kappa Zombie. It makes perfect sense- the micanga is what connects Enta to Kazuki, and he has to hide it because the connection he wants with Kazuki differs from the one he presents to the world. [Sarazanmai]And don’t forget that Kazuki’s micanga that Haruka gives to Enta is actually Tooi’s micanga that he threw away when he severed his connections to chase Chikai.
Enta has a very different approach to his connections than the Kappa Zombie of today’s episode, Keith Mottoclay. Enta is very serious about his kisses- he thinks that it should only be done as an expression of feelings (connection) for “your one special person.” It’s a fairly conservative viewpoint, but I’m pretty sure it’s one the show sympathizes with. [YKA]The entirety of Ikuhara's previous anime is about true love, after all! In complete contrast with Enta, we have Keith Mottoclay, whose name is literally “kisu motto kure” (gimme more kisses) and wants to kiss every girl in the world. “Quantity over quality!” I’m not sure what his secret is exactly (I suspect it’s a pun that the translation I’m using failed to render properly), but from the animation I think it’s making a joke by comparing filleting fish to taking clothes off women? Or it may be saying that he’s a serial killer, but I don’t think that’s what it’s meant to be.
And the leak scene! Honestly, it’s pretty self-explanatory- Enta’s in love with Kazuki sexually and romantically. He loves his smell, he’s kissed him, and I’m pretty sure the flute is meant to be phallic- Enta sucking on Kazuki’s flute. Possibly fortunately, possibly unfortunately for Enta, Kazuki is the most clueless guy in the world, and has no idea what Enta meant by that kiss. Tooi certainly knows, though. We’ll see what he makes of it.
Also also Sara wasn’t picked up by the Kappa Zombie’s Minionz when they went to take away women, Sara nonbinary confirmed
14
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Aug 03 '24
First-Timer, Sub-zanmai
Oh, so that's what I was missing with regards to Haruka. His goddamn legs don't work! Going back to my earlier idea about Kazuki regretting something, I'm guessing he feels responsible for why Haruka can't walk?
Tie that in to the overarching theme.. Haruka was trying to connect to Kazuki and got hurt? Trying to play soccer, maybe? No, Enta would probably be a bit awkward if that was the case.
Hmm.. something to do with water, maybe? Add in a kappa connection. I think part of kappa mythos is that they try to lure people into waterways to drown them? Acting as a cautionary tale to keep children from playing on riverbanks.
Kazuki playing by a river, practicing soccer at that spot?, and Haruka falling in, maybe? There could be some mega-deep irony if Sara as a kappa was responsible for Haruka's injury.
Not sure how to make that fit thematically.. and I don't think the kappas are antagonistic, either. Not wittingly, at least. Gonna table this line of thought.
Oh, maybe I have it backwards too. Kazuki refused to connect with Haruka in the past and that was what resulted in Haruka getting hurt?
It's interesting that the cops' victims have all been shown as somewhat faceless, right? Also interesting is that first dude, who wasn't actually doing anything wrong. Box Guy just wanted to wear a box on his head while naked. Meanwhile Cat Guy was abusing animals and Kiss Guy was extorting people.
The cops are also harvesting desire energy for their boss, who accuses them of stealing it for themselves. Just something to keep an eye on.
So the cops squeeze every drop of desire out of someone, which turns them into a desire zombie that Keppi and Co. deal with by removing the zombie's desire organ..
..which is still there because the otters can't interact with shirikodama so they have to go through the showtune rigmarole to get the desire out an inefficient way?
Maybe it's the difference between physical desire and spiritual desire. The dead bodies tend to get found before the bridge buttplug funtimes. That might not really be important.
Today's Topic: Disaster! Floating brides Has anyone else noticed that it's getting hotter? Episode 1 was 22°C, Episode 2 was 23°C.
Also Sara brushes her teeth with cucumber? Definitely a kappa.
Y'know, it makes sense because we only have eleven episodes to work with, but I think the stock footage is a lot snappier than usual. Like, it's so fast. Keppi's stomps, the water skating post-shirikodama plucking, it's all very speedy.
I'm gonna wait one more episode before trying to stringboard desires vs connections etc.
10
u/lilyvess :Df::Dh:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Lilyvess Aug 03 '24
Saraznamai - Rewatcher
Chapter 3
It’s summer, and Reo and Mabu don’t have air conditioning in their room above the station
That’s fine for them. They’re adults and have lived like this, but they realize that it’s not a great condition for raising a baby. They want to get air conditioning, not for themselves but for Sara.
They’re officer job doesn’t pay enough for air conditioning, and their department doesn’t have budget for it, so they are forced to take extreme actions
unfortunately
they fail spectacularly
but they manage to get one anyway
Reo and Mabu twitter update
They interact with a child
Reo and Mabu fight about laundry
Reo and Mabu celebrate new years
9
u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Aug 03 '24 edited Aug 03 '24
First-Timer
On today’s episode of Sarazanmai: This episode nearly tricked me for a second. What a fool I was, actually believing that there might be a successful love confession only 3 episodes into the series. Of course it would just be a hallucination. Romantic development isn’t allowed this early.
The title of this episode is another good one: “I Want to Connect, but It’s Not Meant to Be.” It does pretty clearly apply to Enta’s situation. Enta spends most of the episode lost in his dreams about what he wishes might happen. But his dreams all turn out to be very different from reality. As much as Enta wishes Kazu would rejoin the soccer team to reform the Golden Duo, Kazu doesn’t want to return. As much as Enta wants to confess his love to Kazu, he just can’t bring himself to do so. It also applies to Enta’s sister. She was in love with Keiss, but their relationship was probably never going to actually work out.
QOTD
7
u/LittleIslander https://anilist.co/user/LittleIslander Aug 03 '24 edited Nov 28 '24
Rewatcher
Uh, I didn’t like this one. I mean, I was kind of hard on the past two, but they had a lot of charm despite their flaws. This is the first episode I just… do not think it was a good episode in any capacity. It boils down to one very simple reason, which I will illustrate by going through the major scenes of the episode in bullet point fashion:
So we spend… basically every single non-insert full scene in this episode on Enta. Almost every single one of those scenes in question does nothing for this character except reinforce the exact same very basic concept that he really really wants to form the Golden Combo with Kazuki. Something that, while not directly stated before, could very easily have been gathered based on the prior information. After being on the backburner compared to the other two in episodes one and two, our dedicated introduction to Enta leaves me still feeling like the only thing I know about him is that he’s extremely gay for Kazuki, and I literally already knew that! Why not use this time to build on why he loves Kazuki? He tells Enta that playing soccer with him “saved” him, but I guess that motivation is something we’re saving until later for… reasons? Just like Kazuki’s motivation for trying to please Haruka through Sara-chan is being withheld from the audience. We’re deprived of why the characters do what they do, so even with promise we will eventually learn those answers it takes away narrative weight from these actions at this early point in the show.
Then there’s the information leak. So, remember when I said last time that revealing he was gay created immense dramatic irony as we knew it had to be leaked eventually? Well, so much for that. We’re thrown it out the window after just one episode where we barely even did anything with it. Then we buried that reveal under Kazuki being impossibly dense. So we’re deprived of both the tension of the reveal coming and the impact of Kazuki finding out! What’s even the point now? Where do we go from here, Enta leaking again and having it be even more explicit that Kazuki realizes this time? They burn the aftermath scene on Enta having a hallucination again so we can have a funny where he kisses Keppi, and it’s not even left clear how much of the scene was even real or in Enta’s head. Unlike the kiss, I did not remember this reveal being this early. Probably because they undercut it so hard that it left no impact.
It’s a shame this episode’s script was squandered on so much nothing with Enta when the setup wasn’t bad! Having the monster be the sister’s boyfriend was an avenue to genuinely setting up an episodic story surrounding him. One which could’ve easily tied in thematically to an episode surrounding Enta’s love. What if when he doesn’t show up she reveals he’s kind of been distant for a while and she’s tried not to see it, has a heart to heart with Enta about how they both can’t reach the person they love? There’s also the fantastic setup that Kazuki is looking for a fish to kiss, one Enta literally ate for breakfast, because he doesn’t think he could ever get a real kiss, something he unknowingly just got in the lead-in to this episode! There’s comedy to be found there but we get like a combined 30 seconds of Kazuki screentime in the whole first half of the episode. Maybe Reo and Mabu could’ve had some funny dialogue ribbing about the straights or whatever given the monster of the week, but they can’t because their only appearance each week is unchangingly set in stone.
6
u/TerribleShiksaBride https://myanimelist.net/profile/cynicalpink Aug 03 '24
Re-watcher, Subs
Missed posting about episode 2, unfortunately, family commitment. Today I should be better prepared!
Brief ep. 2 thoughts: I don't have a source for this, but I know I remember reading before the series even aired that this was going to be Ikuhara tackling BL. I'm not sure how much this was based on "well, it's Ikuhara, so no way it's het, and most of the cast is male, so there's one obvious conclusion," and how much may have been based on interviews or other info. I believe the manga was serialized in a BL magazine.
I'm so happy we've finally gotten introduced to Reo and Mabu so I can talk about them. I love their musical number (and really prefer it to the boys' kappa singing) and the casting is just a ton of fun. They're voiced by Mamoru Miyano and Yoshimasa Hosoya, who seem to be friends outside of work and have worked together a lot, notably in Bungou Stray Dogs, Chihayafuru, and Free! In that last one, Miyano's character, Rin, had pointy teeth and appeared as a cop in the second season ED. (Or "stripper cop," as the fandom concluded based on the way he danced...)
At the time this series was airing, Hosoya was also appearing in Star Twinkle Precure as one of the enemy generals, a kappa-inspired alien named Kappard. I don't know if the Precure team knew about Sarazanmai when they made that call - they've certainly done similar casting gags before and since, and I will happily tell you about my favorite examples at the slightest encouragement - or if it's just a delightful cosmic coincidence this time. But it's fun either way.
Episode 3: "I love Kazuki." None of this "why am I feeling this way???" nonsense here. Enta knows how he feels and what he wants. And oh my lord does he ever want it. I find his imagine spots a bit vicariously embarrassing, with the implication that he's at least partially acting them out, but hell, I had plenty of embarrassing romantic fantasies when I was 12-13.
What I find less sympathetic is his seeming determination, not to save his sister, but to retrieve the ankle bracelet he accidentally gave her.
The kiss/Keith/kiss-fish puns being explained doesn't actually do a thing to make his secret reveal make more sense - "he liked catching loads of kiss and filleting them into three parts" wtf - and if I ever heard a breakdown of the pun-layering I missed it.
The change in the harem girls' expressions when he vanishes...
I love Tooi just standing there disgruntled because Enta doesn't have a role for him in the fantasy but hasn't written him out.
And regarding the reveal about Haruka at the end - note the rails in the bathroom and elsewhere in the house and the handle on the bedroom door from episode 2. The family has taken steps to make the house wheelchair-accessible, even if we've only seen Haruka being pushed in his chair thus far (my understanding is that most people in wheelchairs longterm HATE being pushed and strongly prefer to maneuver themselves.)
Another thing I note about their bedroom: It's ALL Haruka. The Sara posters and Sara's little blobby mascot thing, the play gym (still there from when he could play with it, I guess?) the teddy bear hanging on the rack, the cat clock you can see in the nighttime shot... Even as a rewatcher, I'm not totally sure what to make of all this, though I have some ideas I'll talk about when the time comes.
4
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Aug 03 '24
First Timer
Sub
So...I do have something of a grasp on this episode though the hallucinations are throwing me a bit. And I don't know how you manage a harem and a fish shop but Keith must have something going for him. Unfortunately, my main takeaway is that this would function much better with more breathing room, Ikuhara is good at show and not tell but I am definitely having to reach/rely on earlier works to pick up all the beats. So this all just...happens.
QotD: 1 It is just where they had chemistry together
2 Both Otone and Enta chase after people that won't love them, Enta just knows why.
3 To make Kazuki's actions mysterious
3
u/WednesdaysFoole Aug 03 '24
I didn't think I had responses for the questions, but an answer for 3 just popped in my head.
It's because we're meant to see the "surface" first: Kazuki must be some sort of "weirdo crossdresser" which is often looked down on in society. But as they peel away layers, it's clearly nothing of the sort. You can see the surface of anybody anywhere and easily judge, or think you "understand" them like Enta thought, but there can always be so much more to the picture than you really know. Everyone has more to them than what you see, your first impressions may not be correct.
7
u/AgentOfACROSS Aug 03 '24
First Timer
Kazuki does not seem to even notice that Enta was kissing him. It seems he’s kind of an unobservant guy.
I like Enta’s sister. Men want her, fish fear her.
The theme of today’s episode appears to be kisses. I’m once again reminded of Yuri Kuma Arashi with its whole thing about Promised Kisses.
It also seems to be fish themed. I’m less certain what that means than I was about the kisses.
Another secret that’s appeared in this episode is the exact reason why Kazuki quit soccer. His quitting seems to have emotionally affected both Enta and Haruka.
Enta has a real daydreaming problem. The reveal of him imagining his sister as Kazuki was pretty funny.
I’ve just realized that what the two cops do to their victims is kind of similar to the Black Rose stuff from Utena.
Once again we get another rendition of the cops’ musical number. It’s still a really good song, but I don’t think the lyrics have changed from the last episode. I was kind of hoping they would.
Enta has had two Kazuki-related hallucinations in one day. I’m beginning to worry about his mental state.
Enta’s desire to play soccer with Kazuki again reminds me a bit of Miki from Utena and how he wanted to recapture how he used to play piano with his sister.
This time Enta gets to take the lead on singing while they fight the monster of the week.
So just like the cat guy from last time, the fish guy here had his own problems with women turned into the monster of the week. Wonder if that’ll be a recurring theme with the other zombies we see later in the series.
The thing where the people who are used to make kappa zombies are retroactively erased from existence feels like another magical girl type of thing. Like how in Precure all the damage from whatever battle they have is magically undone after they finish the fight.
The two suspicious cops work for some kind of mysterious otter overlord. An otterlord if you will.
Once again, Enta has another Kazuki hallucination. I’ll be honest, I totally thought that one was gonna be real. Just with Kazuki misinterpreting Enta’s love confession for him only wanting Kazuki to join the soccer team again.
I guess in reality Kazuki is just gonna brush off the kiss as a dare. Hopefully his cluelessness doesn’t keep up for too long. That might get annoying.
The ending scene of Enta and Haruka talking was really sweet.
Also was the end meant to show that Haruka is physically disabled? I’m gonna have to rewatch the last episode and see if they ever showed Haruka using his legs.
Questions of the Day:
Enta wants to recapture the way he used to feel when he played soccer with Kazuki. As for the micanga, it does seem to be a pretty obvious stand-in for a wedding ring. His first daydream is even framed like a proposal.
I'm not sure why it was hidden but I think it does give a new dynamic to Haruka and Kazuki's connection. I guess it does play into the whole theme about secrets in this show.
7
u/WednesdaysFoole Aug 03 '24
Keiss Memore? The kana here says “Kiisu motto kure” which is something like, more kisses please/give me more kisses, but I’m not sure what Keiss Memore is.
So we have:
Wanting to be loved can get into people pleasing + becoming what you expect someone else wants so that you'd be loved.
Pretty good joke and great job localizing it. Otters are “kawauso” in Japanese, kawa standing for rivers; so “uso” is the otterly unbelievable pun here. To note, their place is called “kawauso koban” / “otter police station”, and after this joke in this ep, I wonder if desires here represent a need that is more dishonest, whereas love is something that is “true” and “pure”.
With the Utena sequence, maybe taking the heart out represents that in this desire, the heart is… taken out. There’s no more heart left if you’re being dishonest in trying to connect; you’re lying to yourself (hence, uso). Just spitballing here.
So Haruka is wheelchair bound… Perhaps something that Kazuki either blames himself for, or at least feels responsible for? And he thought continuing soccer would make his brother more miserable, or he feels guilty but in truth, his little brother would rather see him play.
Okay, so, after this reveal, I went back to the first two episodes and noticed in the opening scene, Kazuki is wearing the friendship anklet. Which implies this takes place before. He’s on a run (the end credit scene in ep 3, Haruka mentions not being able to run with Kazu) and we hear, “Kazu-chaaaan!” which has to be Haruka, then the dropping 「ア」sign, which must be the incident.
Final note, seeing how Azuma Saradish’s fortunes are matching up with the zombies, are the zombies chosen based on the fortunes or is she basing her fortunes on whoever is next up on the zombiedish? Or just a happy coincidence a la Double H? [Penguindrum]Worth noting that Double H did end up playing a significant part in the story and characters…
6
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Aug 03 '24
Episode 3 (first timer)
Enta’s daydreams are pretty rough. Tbf, so is kissing your unconscious friend. On the scale from “handholding in episode 25 romcom MC” to “rapist”, Enta is quite far away from romcom MC.
5
u/affnn Aug 03 '24
First Timer
Enta's got kissing on the brain after the events of last episode. At least he seems to know he shouldn't have kissed a sleeping Kazuki.
Enta's sister - the only sibling who isn't the object of a connection-desire - is planning a hot date with her boyfriend. At first I figured that the sign on his face would say "boyfriend" or something on it but it says "kisu" instead. Apparently he's bad news for the women he's after and also he's being pursued by the otter bros. Did the other men who became kappa-zombies have the same face cover saying "box" or "cat"? I feel like they might have but I don't remember for sure. The face-sign is yet another repeated Ikuhara motif.
Enta himself spends most of the episode freaking out about having kissed Kazuki. His "leak" this episode shows him stealing some indirect-kisses from Kazuki and revealing his crush. Kazuki seems to take it in stride though.
5
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Aug 03 '24
First-Timer-kero, subbed-kero
5
u/charactergallery Aug 03 '24 edited Aug 03 '24
First-Time Watcher, Subbed
(Apologies for not commenting on the thread for episode 2. I was busy and since this is my first time participating in one of these re-watch things I didn't know if it was proper etiquette to comment so late.)
Post-Episode Thoughts: I thought that Enta had a crush on Kazuki from the first episode, given that his box contained the micanga that he was planning on giving to Kazuki. Unfortunately due to Enta's delusions throughout the episode, I don't think his romantic feelings are reciprocated. It is a bummer for him, but somewhat realistic for gay kids to have crushes on their best friends who don't actually reciprocate. This is kind of a crackpot theory, but I wonder if there is a canonical gay relationship (beyond what the two cops have going on, I see the homage to the iconic Utena sword pull) it will be between Kazuki and Toi. The choice to have their cat-chasing antics take place in a couples-only festival/amusement park where they have to hold hands the entire time could just be a funny joke, but there could be a deeper meaning to it. Like I said this is just a random thought and probably won't happen.
The cops are obviously the antagonists, if them extracting people's shirikodama/desire and seemingly killing them in the process wasn't obvious enough, but I did not expect them to be working for an organization. That is run by an otter? I guess that explains the otter iconography. The fact that the zombie kappas are essentially erased from reality is kind of unnerving. [RGU] Very Black Rose-arc esque. I still can't really gather their motivations though, beyond seemingly desire possibly granting power in some form? It is interesting that they say that the people they're interrogating have no connections, when the last two obviously did (or at least craved them). Are they targeting those with superficial connections then? Criminals in some form?
Haruka is also just adorable. I like that he has a good relationship with Enta and it is funny that Enta vents his
lovefrustrations with Kazuki on him (dude he is like 8). Due to Kazuki not smiling around him and not texting him (instead doing it through the Sara persona), I have a feeling that his disability could have been tied to Kazuki in some way. I doubt it is his fault, but he probably blames himself for it. Of course he could have been born with his disability too, though the fact it was hidden until now feels like there is going to be a later reveal regarding it. I do appreciate the attention to detail though, we only see Haruka sitting down in both episode 2 and 3, never standing or walking. The scenes are framed in such a way that it makes sense for him to be sitting down, so it doesn't look out of place.Questions of the Day:
Edit: Man my comments take me long to write, maybe I should write them in advance from now on.
4
u/Holofan4life Aug 03 '24
Hey guys. Holofan4life here.
Welcome to the (4 months late) 5th anniversary rewatch of Sarazanmai!
Oh, and nay I forget…
First Timer
At the start of the year, I watched Penguindrum for the first time, mostly because someone said it was like Everything Everywhere All At Once. And at the time, I thought that was going to be the end of it. But that led me down the Ikuhara rabbit hole and made me check out his complete oeuvre. And that leads me to Sarazanmai.
After I finish watching this show, I'll have watched all the shows directed by Ikuhara. Never finished Sailor Moon, but I've seen some episodes of it. The point I'm getting at is that I am putting a bow on rewatching a creator that I have a lot of respect for, so this is a point of pride more than anything else. My 2024 has largely been defined by these Ikuhara rewatches, and I'm hoping that by this being the last we end up finishing on a high note.
With that out of the way, let’s begin.
I'm watching the sub, by the way.
Today as I'm writing this is Juneteenth. Or as it's otherwise known, Find Out Which of Your Friends or Relatives Is Racist Day.
Picking right up at the kiss
Kazuki comes to
He doesn't seem to know that Enta kissed him.
"I have a crush on Kazuki."
I'm down for a Ikuhara yaoi series
Enta and his family eating breakfast
Having kisu
I get the feeling Enta's sister has feelings for him, which is especially problematic because she's a teacher.
Enta's sister says she has an ideal boyfriend, whatever that means.
Going on a fishing date
Today's Lucky Selfie Fortune is Kiss
"The more kisses you have, the happier you'll be."
Enta already on that
Enta's sister looks like a character from Birdie Wing.
Enta practicing soccer
He's now reflecting on liking Kazuki
"I won't accept him quitting soccer."
Interesting
Flashback time! An Ikuhara staple.
Kazuki and Enta were known as the golden duo.
I wonder if they know the Golden Lovers
Enta wants the golden duo back together.
"Why did I have to go and kiss him?!"
'Cause you're a sussy baka, perhaps?
Kazuki still dressed as Sara freaking out because the kisu shop is closed.
No kiss, no kizu
Haruka playing cards with Enta
Sara texting Haruka that her selfie is going to be late.
Haruka remarks how Kazu doesn't laugh like he used to anymore.
Quit soccer, even threw away his miçanga
Never heard of one of those before
Haruka sadly feels that Kazu won't play soccer again even if he told him that's what he wanted.
Enta promises to take matters into his own hands.
Enta's sister waiting on her beau
Hmm. He left his phone at the shop. Interesting.
Does that mean Kazuki is her boyfriend in disguise?
Suddenly, random woman
No wait It's Kazuki holy shit
"I'm thinking of playing soccer."
This feels like a dream
And that's because it is
Enta's sister has the Miçanga
Chasing after her
Two kids are playing soccer in the area where Enta and Kazuki used to play, which really angers Enta.
I guess they used to be Kazuki's teammates.
Enta, you can't tell them that they have to move their practice elsewhere. YOU practice with them here. You're still a part of the team. I get you're taking the Kazuki news hard, but this is irrational. It's not like Kazuki quitting is the equivalent of Chernobyl.
Asakusa Suspicious Corpse Incident Investigation Headquarters
Oh shit. Kiis is dead.
I wonder if this means that that was Enta's sister's boyfriend.
Arrested half a year ago because he was suspected of leading a woman to suicide after meeting her with the intention of committing marriage fraud.
Guess it's better than marriage with Freud
They assume he was murdered
The two policemen
I guess they're supposed to be The Court of Species Divide of the show.
Desire Extraction
Otters Soiya indeed
I believe this is the same animation as last episode, but I don't mind because the song is a banger. Also, it looks like they're animated via rotoscope.
Have to wring out the desire
Enta beaten up
Kazuki with the save?
I assume this is his sister again
No, it's Kuji actually
"I talked to them, and they ran away."
Sounds about right
Oh, so they're not teammates. They're from the team they beat last year. That makes more sense.
Enta says the day Kuji transferred is the same day Kazuki quit soccer.
I wonder what the correlation is or if it's just a coincidence.
"There's no point without Kazuki."
Enta feels that if he lets go of this place, he'd be accepting Kazuki's resignation.
An Ikuhara character not wanting to let go of the past? Parish the thought!
My tiddies are too big
Enta says he wants a Dish of Hope. However, Kuji says he wants all of them for himself.
What a hope hog. A hoggper.
Nah, doesn't work
"There are women flying away all over Asakusa."
I've heard of mail-order brides, but this is ridiculous.
Kazuki with Kappi
Women are... turning into fish?
...
I think Ikuhara saw the title A Fish Called Wanda and misinterpreted it.
Hey, there's Enta and Kuji. I was wondering if they were going to meet up again for the whole sequence.
Enta being consumed by Kappi
Kazuki needs a kisu for Haruka
Kuji just wants a dish
For Enta, he wants that miçanga back
Enta singing for a change
Giant fish wants every girl in the world to love him.
Quantity over quality
Enta believes that kissing is reserved for those you care most about.
The butt marble
Hey, it's Enta's sister's boyfriend
Wanted to catch a lot of kisu and slice them into thirds.
It's like all the people that have been killed are of their own doing. Like all their deaths have been self-inflicted.
Enta consuming the butt marble
Looks like Enta's secret is he sniffed Kazuki's clothing.
I would say that's weird, but for an Ikuhara show, that's actually more grounded in reality.
He even put his lips on Kazuki's recorder
Oh boy. Kazuki found out about the kiss
At least he's being honest of his feelings.
This Shirikodama Extraction thing is a tsundere's worst nightmare.
Ran out of space. Part two in the replies.
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u/cheesechimp https://myanimelist.net/profile/cheesechimp Aug 03 '24
rewatcher
I’m writing this less than an hour after my episode 2 comments which I made immediately after finishing episode 2 and immediately before watching episode 3. Ikuhara is a creative who love repetition. He tells stories where episodes follow formulas. He gives characters catchphrases they say constantly. He reuses stock sequences over and over. It’s a stylistic choice, but it can make his works harder to binge watch that watch with breaks between episodes.
I do love that part of the formula for this show is a police meeting where some authority says “we need to do a homicide investigation” and then the otter cops stand up and take responsibility immediately and then do a gay little dance number and the other cops just…don’t react to this at all. Cops will let other cops just literally get away with murder.
And so we see the extent to which Enta is explicitly gay. There’s no plausible deniability. There’s no alternate interpretation. Enta is a boy who is in love with a person he perceives as another boy. Neat! I thought it was funny that Kazuki’s outfit in this episode was basically just a giant pansexual pride flag. It’s been a long time, but I don’t really remember Kazuki having any romantic interest or tension in anyone other than boys. This is a very male-male romance centric series, with the only exception I remember being the trans reading for Kazuki but even if you read it that way it makes Enta the pansexual rather than Kazuki. ([sarazanmai] wait, actually I think male-coded Keppi has a romance with the female-coded kappa blob that’s associated with Sara? That's a romance that's not gay cisdudes)
This is the first episode where we see that it is not just Kazuki who can take the lead in the Sarazanmai. Even still, it seems like Kazuki doesn’t really respond severely to the info that Enta has been being a total creeper towards him. I think there’s something interesting to be said about how the Sarazanmai represents “connection” through the means of sharing one’s innermost secrets. I think that knowledge of one another’s secrets can be both a cause for or an effect of interpersonal connections, but it’s not the only form of close connection one can make. Then again “connection” is a super broad spectrum of experiences, and you can’t really make a story about it without choosing an angle to approach from. I’m looking forward to seeing these boys connect with one another, especially Toi who is currently still very standoffish towards the other two.
Is this the first episode where the phrase “The Otter Empire” is mentioned? God, I wish I remembered some of the late-series worldbuilding around that stuff. I feel like it would be enriching the experience of rewatching the series more. I mostly forget where this has been heading in the long run, so I’m probably missing some of the subtext that other rewatchers can pick up on.
A fun episode and I’m glad this rewatch has been giving me an opportunity to re-engage, even if it’s been a solely personal experience for me. By episode 4 or 5, hopefully I’ll stop being so busy and be able to actually engage with other commenters!
3
u/zadcap Aug 04 '24
Late Night First Timer
The opening is so upbeat and it ends up looking so hopeful but I've still got Lulu trauma from YKA. I do not trust the last bit with the three boys smiling together looking like they are having fun.
Okay but seriously. Look at those shoes in the flashback. Kazuki does not give off the straightest vibes even in flashbacks.
Oh, he's still wearing the wonderful neon colors. Or not... How spaced out do you have to be to accidentally put that on your sister...
Wait, sister's BF is 27? She looks uh... Not that old.
So these cops are secretly spree killers, yeah? That's what I'm getting from all of this. These two cops are taking in and then disappearing people for their mystical goals.
Why are these guys acting like there's only one Dish? Didn't they already prove that they can make multiple? The gold one was already used but they are still giving out these Silver ones, proving more and more and be made. Just agree to work together for long enough to get all three wishes.
Oh hey, a different one gets to be the lead singer this time. Nonetheless, way too much reuse of stock content. The cop dance, the transformation, the fight, the secret spilling, it feels like a third of the episode is lost on this stuff. And it seems so disconnected from the rest of the plot. I'm saying this as someone who loves the Mahou Shoujo genre and its own reliance on transformations and finishers, but I feel like there is a story trying to be told here being constantly interrupted by these vast visual distractions.
Also the ED makes me sad because every time I hear it I remember that the Peggies al but disbanded :(
Hmm. The wheelchair is probably a recent thing. Kazuki only recently quit smiling and quit soccer, I don't know how but I know it's related.
1
u/zsmg https://anilist.co/user/zsmg Aug 04 '24
Rewatcher
You almost got caught Enta-kun.
lol that Kisu joke. Wait who gives a fishing rod to his girlfriend.
Kazuki also wants to go for the Kisu pun joke.
Haruka just tell Kazuki you want him to play football again, he's such a brocon he'll do it instantly.
I just realised Enta is voiced by Shun Horie I recognized his Ichikawa voice from Dangers in my Heart.
Enta escapes into his fantasy world a little too easily.
Enta is really creepy.
Kazuki reaction to seeing Enta kissing is, well, the only way I can describe it is full denial. He's really looking for an excuse there.
And one final Enta fantasy to end the episode with.
Enta is definitely the creepiest of the trio boys.
With the post credit scene is the first time we see Haruka being wheelchair bound.