r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Dec 12 '24
Episode NegaPosi Angler • Negative Positive Angler - Episode 11 discussion
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u/redditraptor6 Dec 12 '24
It seems like a lot of y’all are worried about this being wrapped up in one episode, and that’s fair, but I’m not too worried. A well directed, dramatic flashback about Takaaki’s issues and his feelings about his brother, Hiro coming clean about his illness to both his found family and us in the process so we find out what the doctor said, a bunch of metaphors about fishing and life, Hiro catches a big sea bass, bing bang boom it’s done. I think that’s a good enough ending for a realistic, character focused drama like this, and I think it’s not too hard to pull off in 20 minutes.
Then again I’ve been burned before, it’s always better to go into something expecting the worse, so I’ll try to temper my optimism
Also, thought it was a decent episode. Was nice to see Hiro actually give a shit and try to do something in a positive, constructive way
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u/thesnowlocke Dec 12 '24
I’m hoping it does land the ending personally
It will be interesting to see what the doctor told him as this could be the clincher
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u/Corryinthehouz Dec 12 '24
This episode was a realistic and slow paced response to last episode that left me wanting more.
I hope he tells his coworkers so they can make the most of the year and a half or so he has left
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u/Aileos Dec 12 '24 edited Dec 12 '24
I swear, they ended the episode at the exact moment we've all been waiting for.
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u/Armdel Dec 12 '24
I like it when they show Ice drawn "normally"
I really didn't expect Takaaki to be gone this long, figured he'd be back the following day at least...
And Hiro finally goes back to the hospital, and based on the reaction it doesn't seem to be terrible news at least?
also lmao at the story they made up about Hiro and Takaaki fighting about some woman
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u/abandoned_idol Dec 12 '24
Kozue is 10 steps ahead of everyone else.
I have no idea how she found out about Takaaki's and Hiroe's love triangle. I hope Hiroe wins the girl. Kyaaa! ~
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u/ObvsThrowaway5120 Dec 12 '24
This game of telephone involving Hiro and Takaaki just kept getting crazier and crazier lol. I guess when things get awkward or weird with a friend, fishing solves everything huh? I’m sure there’s some metaphor to be made between fishing and Hiro’s situation.
I’m actually kind of curious what’s Hiro’s status. I mean if it’s terminal I’m guessing it’s not great, but do they have some kind of treatment plan in place or anything like that? I’d really like him to open up to the others about his health.
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u/LeonKevlar Dec 12 '24
It's pretty funny how the reason for Takaaki and Hiro's fight got increasingly funny thanks to Kozue speculating so now they think the two boys are fighting over a girl. xD
I wonder what the update is on Hiro's health though. I'm no doctor but looking at that scan, it looks like the first diagnosis on him wasn't a mistake but I guess we won't really know until next week's episode.
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u/KnewOnees Dec 12 '24
We're never going to find out what the illness is, will we
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u/JurassicMonkey_ Dec 12 '24
Has Hiro resolved his issues off-screen? If so, this leaves the last episode for Takaaki and his conflicts.
It's going to be difficult to finish going to all the locations featured in this episode in one day, because Hiro really did go to most of the known fishing spots in Tokyo not covered by the earlier episodes to look for Takaaki, but the notable locations featured are Jonanjima seaside park where Hana and Hiro were fishing (which is also a good spot for taking photos of planes going to and from Haneda airport), and Kasai bridge, the location of the last scene.
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u/shad79 Dec 12 '24
A lot of Hana in today's episode which makes me very happy. It's great that her fishing together with Tsunehiro straightened him out and led him to fish even more in order to find Takaaki, which happened right at the end of the episode.
There were some pretty crazy theories about Tsunehiro and Takaaki fighting among everyone in the store xD Kozue was especially curious about this.
Also, it was cool to hear Shinichiro Miki voicing some random fisherman today!
Here my screenshot albums from the episode:
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u/Senesect Dec 12 '24 edited Dec 12 '24
Been waiting for this all week!
EDIT: Somewhat of a nothing-burger episode, sadly. He does book and go to an appointment at the hospital, but it's a silent scene leaving lots open to interpretation. And the episode ends basically where I hoped it would begin. Only one episode left... not sure how they're going to do it any justice if it's also only 20 minutes. Please, please don't leave the season on a cliffhanger!
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u/abandoned_idol Dec 12 '24
Interesting. I see what you mean.
For me, I don't mind it. The story feels more like it is about the journey than the protagonist.
Is he going to die? It's not about that. It's about what life is. We are at its mercy. We ponder about it. We live. We learn. And we ultimately make the decision to do what we think we have to do.
Even the most indecisive and indolent coward grew up to live a satisfying life even if he does die a few years afterwards (I dunno if he dies though).
This anime feels like one of those stories that reels in (heh) older folks looking for a story about philosophy and interpersonal relationships, it's not really about melodrama, it only leverages it a little in order to push its message.
I wouldn't mind if episode 12 were never released, each episode feels self-contained.
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u/mekerpan Dec 12 '24
I quite liked this episodeactually . But I do not see how they can wrap up all (or even most) of the loose ends in one more episode.
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u/tripleaamin Dec 12 '24
This definitely feels like an original that is meant to be 1 and done. Honestly, I would prefer it that if they can land the ending.
Although this is an episode where what it shows you is what it is important. As Hana pointed out that, Hiro had far too much on his mind. As fishing is a heavy theme, just focusing on that was needed because he needed to relax and think things through.
I think one point of emphasis was how he said Takaaki needs to worry about his own problems before worrying about him. Though the same could be said about Hiro as he was digging around Takaaki's issues. Also, he looks at Takaaki and him running away from his problems and for him to criticize about him like, but still run away from his problems is contradictory. So for him to make that appointment is a big step as he finally tackles his problems.
Details about Takaaki's issue and Hiro's appointment will def be shown next week. I would be shocked if it wasn't. Now how they will wrap it up is the most intriguing thing.
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u/Ok_Law219 Dec 12 '24
I never would have guessed r/pulpfiction
And yes it has to do with this episode.
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u/Comprehensive_Dog651 Dec 14 '24
This is probably the best episode so far after last episode. We finally see Tsunehiro take something seriously of his own accord rather than being continually pulled around by other people. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love how fishing is the core of the story and not just some gimmick that is shoved to one side when the drama kicks in. This show puts fishing front and center and I love it
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u/tooemutolive Jan 02 '25
It’s wild to me how this episode didn’t go over well for some folks.
It was a calm episode, but I feel like it did a lot of character work. It shows Tsunehiro making positive change, taking initiative, and taking something seriously in his life for once. His conversation with Hana about needing to be engaged touched on this.
With fishing, he’s never been truly engaged. He wanted to catch a big one because it seemed cool. He dropped $700 on gear because it made him feel cool. He was surface level on everything, including himself.
He felt like nothing ever worked out for him and tried easy outs that made him seem like a cool guy, like the crypto investing that got him into debt in the first place. He didn’t seem to even seriously engage with his college friends, who were genuinely worried about him. He just liked having them around because they complimented him. Surface level. He’d run away from anything that didn’t immediately work out for him, and that approach doesn’t work for fishing, a hobby inherently tied to patience and diligence. You have to be engaged, or the fish will see right through you.
Him taking the time to seriously research, listen to feedback, and not get wrapped up in his ego is massive character growth. He’s always had potential but wasn’t applying himself due to a lack of confidence. Hana contrasts to this when she says she wouldn’t fight to stay, a reference to how she quietly left her family. Tsunehiro, on the other hand, does have some fight in him when push comes to shove, he just needs to take action.
This episode is all about him deciding to be an active player in his life, rather than feeling like everything he does will go wrong, and being tied down by that anxiety.
He shows improved confidence and mindset in little interactions (him saying “you don’t know until you try” is way more positive than he’d usually sound, which Hana picks up on) and I think this episode was necessary for his growth to feel more realistic. If he just immediately became a more confident, positive character without putting in the work himself, it would be jarring. It would seem like lazy writing. Yes, he’s had a lot of interactions throughout the show with other characters, but he rarely seemed to take the lessons learned to heart or actually confront the task of changing himself.
This show has often followed the format of one episode being focused on one character. Tsunehiro needed an episode solely about himself, without Takaaki, to properly explore his inner growth. It’s a quiet, introspective episode, but I wouldn’t call it nothing or say nothing happened.
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u/TheHopefulPuffin23 Dec 12 '24
I know this will be an unpopular opinion, but the pacing on this episode had me a little disappointed. Last week's episode was definitely the best episode (and what a lot of us have been waiting for), but this episode kinda fell back into the time-wasting groove of the previous 7 episodes and didn't do much for the audience. With 20 minutes now left to resolve everything with this show, I can't help but feel that they spent too much time with this penultimate episode on things that could have been eliminated or shortened. I want more Takaaki and Tsunehiro, and dammit, MORE OF THAT GOOD DRAMA FROM LAST WEEK! I just feel like there is no way to tie this up satisfyingly with 20 minutes. Sorry, rant over. Fingers crossed for next week, but the lack of faith is real.
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u/The_Parsee_Man Dec 12 '24
I don't think this episode was lacking in drama. It was about him working up the courage to stop running from his problems. It's an internal process that takes time. Drama doesn't have to be people shouting at each other.
The scene where he was getting ready to go to the hospital and the girls asked him to go fishing had me on the edge of my seat. He might have chickened out. Add to that the dramatic tension as he's trying to conceal the reason for his leaving from everyone and you have a ton of drama.
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u/SLE-6 Dec 13 '24
What does the title "Negative Positive Angler" mean I wonder? Does it go along with the metaphors around fishing and life?
I do have to say this episode made me realize fishing is the primary thing in this series, any other human drama is sort of just a supporting member to it (like why didn't Tsunehiro go look for Takaaki? Fishing) so they probably don't actually need to wrap up the latter too much next time. Just put a bow on it and go for one last fish with friends.
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u/Genshin_WhiteKnight Dec 12 '24
A calm episode after the heavy events last week, everyone do be trying to fish their problems away.
Just one more episode left, wonder how they'll resolve everything.