Mushoku Tensei II – 02 – Saved by a Smile

Rudeus continues to do odd jobs to get his name out there, though he’s also known by the nickname “Quagmire”. He hopes if enough people know him, eventually word will get to Zenith. That said, at least one fellow adventurer, leader of another party, simply doesn’t like the cut of his jib, letting him know with a stinkeye.

Rudeus also continues to work with Counter Arrow on various jobs, though his indecision on joining them on their latest irks Sara. But since he saved her and her party on their first job together, Sara has become a lot less prickly. I’m sure her opinion of Rudy would drop significantly if she knew he carried his master’s underwear on him like a charm.

Their latest job takes them into some very cool subterranean ruins, collecting the scales of snow drakes. Rudy’s precognitive ability allows him to catch Sara when she slips on a narrow stone bridge, but any goodwill he gains is lost due to the fact he accidentally copped a feel.

The job seems relatively simple for an A-class, until the owners of the scales show up in the form of a huge group of drakes. Rudy is surrounded and once again is slow to act, but Sara is the first to come to his defense with her arrows and blade. The party is bailed out by another party, led by the guy who doesn’t like Rudy.

The other leader sucker punches Timothy, accusing him of stealing his prey. But it turns out to be a misunderstanding, as the caves where the prey originated now connects to the ruins where it didn’t before. The leader apologizes, but says Counter Arrow can only take one of the dead drakes back.

Back at the guild, Rudy celebrates with Counter Arrow for the first time, on Sara’s suggestion. He takes the opportunity to thank Sara for helping to bail him out, but she tells him Suzanne and Patrice are the ones he should thank. Then the other party leader, Sol, comes by their table, stinking drunk from ale.

He apologizes properly to Timothy, but when he sees Rudy’s smile, he lays into him, telling him it’s fake, that it makes him sick, and that Rudy’s always walking around looking down on people, acting like he’s got it worse than everyone else. When Rudy gives a limp apology, it angers Sol even more.

When Sol’s comrade finally drags him off, Rudy is left still trying to smile, but unable to hide the pain beneath. Sara, meanwhile, cleans up the drink Sol spilled, telling Rudy not to pay that asshole any mind. But what Sara doesn’t know is that, to Rudy, Sol has him pegged. He won’t face what he’s been through. He is running from something.

The next day, Suzanne, Timothy and Patrice enter the guild hall looking morose. Rudeus learns that Mimir and Sara are dead. Or rather, Mimir is dead, and the three of them decided that when the blizzard got too bad to search, Sara was left behind.

Rudeus responds somewhat neutrally, and takes his leave. But he heads straight to his room, packs his rucksack and staff, exits the town through the gates, and uses his magic to blow the blizzard away, headed to the western forest where Sara was last seen.

At this point, Rudy doesn’t care if he finds Sara alive or dead, he just wants, or needs to accomplish something, or otherwise wants to choose not to turn his back on someone like Eris turned her back on him (though we know it’s not a simple as that).

He finds Mimir’s corpse, then spots an unconscious Sara tied up within the trunk of some kind of monstrous, carnivorous tree. He dodges the tree’s attacks, uses his fire magic to bust her out, then dives under a pond to escape the tree’s limbs.

Upon surfacing, Sara comes to, and Rudy tells her he came to rescue her. The next we see them, Rudy and Sara are sitting by a fire in a cave, having removed most of their clothing to dry off. When Sara sees that Rudy’s gaze is wandering, she gets up and gets dressed, but doesn’t give him the slap a girl typically gives a peeper. On the contrary, Sara is the most cheerful we’ve seen her since she and Rudy met.

Once dry and clothed and ready to head home, Sara reaches out to Rudy as he passes her, but isn’t able to grab his arm. Instead, she calls his name, tells him she’s glad he came to rescue her, and gives him the biggest beaming smile yet. He feels saved by that smile, as if everything he’s done has been forgiven.

When Sara is reunited with the rest of Counter Arrow, Suzanne scolds Rudy for going off on his own, but Sara immediately comes to his defense, and Suzanne backs down. He also agrees to go on more jobs with Counter Arrow, and he and Sara part ways with smiles and waves.

What Rudy doesn’t see or hear is that Sara draws her collar in and says what looks something like “I love you,” with the caveat that reading anime lips is tough. The bottom line is that two episodes into his Northland adventure, Rudy has finally found a place where he belongs again and where he feels good, and has friends in Counter Arrow and especially Sara.

I really enjoyed the organic, believable way she started out cold and distrustful, but gradually came to like the little fellow after he did nothing but help her. The vibes are cheerful enough that I wish he’d throw Roxy’s unmentionables into the fire!

Owarimonogatari S2 – 03 (Fin)

The first two 40-odd-minute episodes of this second “season” of Owarimonogatari, were good, but seemed to be lacking in something very crucial to an “Endstory” – an ending. So it’s just as well I was mistaken that there would only be two episodes, because this, the third episode, provides that ending.

And what a frikkin’ ending it is! Few series have been so painstakingly fastidious in their careful preparation of a nearly all-encompassing conclusion to the story of its protagonist than Monogatari has been with Araragi Koyomi. It’s only fitting that if indeed his story is over—a story in which he’s helped save so many cute young women, one after another—that the last person left for him to save is…himself.

At Shirahebi Park, formerly the site of Shirahebi Shrine and the town’s god, which was obliterated along with the lake by Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade landing there 400 years ago—a site of so many conversations between Koyomi and those girls—Izuko lays out the minimum requirements of victory.

First, that Hachikuji Mayoi be enshrined a the new god of North Shirahebi shrine, so that she has a purpose in the material world and won’t be swallowed by “the darkness”. Second: that Oshino Ougi be eliminated. Mind you, Izuko isn’t certain who or what Ougi is, only what she isn’t (i.e. Meme’s niece.)

That Ougi is a near-total unknown makes her a threat to the spiritual and physical health of the town, so she has to go, just as any of the other harmful apparitions that have cropped up.

As Itsuko convinces Koyomi (and me) of Ougi’s need to go, Ougi picks up Tsukihi (who is actually a phoenix in human disguise) from Nadeko’s house, where it was being underscored how much Nadeko thinks about and is working towards a finite future, whereas Tsukihi is content to simply live with others in an everlasting present.

I must admit, it felt for all the world like Ougi was either taking Tsukihi hostage (out of an abundance of caution in case Araragi didn’t join her side) or attempting to recruit the phoenix as a kind of last-ditch ally. In any case, the person Ougi is with quickly transitions from Tsukihi to Koyomi in that iconic ruined cram school classroom, who tells Ougi he’s ascertained her identity.

Ougi is, and always has been, him. She is he.

Eager to clearly explain everything, Owarimonogatari steps back a bit to the original meeting between Itsuko, Koyomi, Kiss-Shot, Mayoi, and Ononoki, and explains to Koyomi how Ougi is really him (all while everyone plays cricket in the park, after having played baseball earlier).

Ougi, originally introduced to Koyomi as a “fan” of Kanbaru, explains her name Ougi. Itsuko’s older sister (Kanbaru’s mother) faced a similar “unknown”, the “Rainy Devil”, who was the materialization of her self-control, and the left arm of which was passed to Suruga, her daughter.

When that arm came in contact with the First Minion’s energy drain, it connected the Devil, Koyomi, and Kiss-Shot, and by that route Koyomi’s desire to criticize himself for his actions were materialized into Oshino Ougi, or “Dark Koyomi.”

It’s a complex yet surprisingly elegant and satisfying explanation that ties together so many threads of the Monogatari mythos. Ougi is a fundamental product of all of Koyomi’s victories saving the girls in his life; victories that didn’t come without a great deal of self-doubt about the rightness or wrongness of the methods he used.

Itsuko used the immortal Tsukihi as a lure to draw Ougi out so Koyomi could do the same thing he’s done all along: “killing himself for the sake of others.” Ougi represents Koyomi’s adolescence, and it’s time to end it, and her.

It’s no coincidence that Koyomi is faced with having to “kill” his adolescence on the eve of graduation from high school and entry into college and adulthood. But when the true “darkness” opens up and is about to swallow Ougi, Koyomi finally goes against the grain and saves himself. 

He loses his right arm (and isn’t a vampire at the moment, so that’s a big deal), but Ougi is saved, and with it his adolescence (both his doubt, unfair self-critique, and love of young ladies)—even if it makes him “the worst” to put himself first.

Ougi is tickled, but saving Ougi only means he’ll be swallowed along with her by the “darkness”—until, that is, Hanekawa finally comes through, bringing Meme to the ruined classroom with only moments to spare, to declare that Oshino Ougi is his niece, and Koyomi has pushed her down and may not have the most honorable intentions with her.

These are lies, but the acknowledgement, like the words in a spell, are what were needed to legitimize Ougi’s existence in the world, and close the darkness. From that moment on, Ougi is no longer Dark Koyomi, or any part of him.

His adolescence is gone, replaced by nothing more or less than Meme’s ‘niece’. His lesson, all along, was that love isn’t forsaking yourself for the sake of others. He’s gotta think about number one from time to time.

But, as the epilogue illustrates, it’s not the end of Koyomi as we know him. He’s still him, which means if a young woman needs help, he’ll come to her aid and do anything he can. The difference is, that “anything” will now have a limit; “anything” is no longer “everything.” Koyomi can save and protect without sacrificing himself.

This is why the new god of North Shirahebi Shrine in Hachikuji Mayoi bows to him rather than the other way ’round; why an otherworldly powerful, fully-restored vampire in Kiss-Shot decides to return to the form of a far less strong young girl in his shadow; and before the graduation ceremony, Hitagi and Tsubasa let him go do his thing when he spots another young woman in distress.

And that’s it for Owarimonogatari! As I said, quite an epic ending; and one that covered a lot more than previous, “smaller” arcs. Chronologically speaking, Ougi Dark covers the second-latest Monogatari events adapted to TV, with only the already-released Hanamonogatari taking place later on the timeline.

I’ve yet to watch last year’s Koyomimonogatari ONA side-story (Update: now I have), or the Shinobu-centric Kizumonogatari film trilogy that takes place at the very beginning of the chronological spectrum (Update: that too). Once I do, I’ll have watched everything Monogatari has to offer; a span of 97 (Update: 103) total episodes. Of course, there are many novels that have yet to be adapted, so this remarkable run is most likely not quite finished.

3-gatsu no Lion – 21

3GL has proven time and again it doesn’t have to stick to one story per episode to excel, and this is one of those split episodes that really resonated with me. The Lion King Tournament took up so much of the show’s—and Rei’s—attention and energy that the fact it’s over now feels like a great weight has been lifted, and now life goes on, which we get to witness a slice of.

Rei accompanies Shimada to his hometown of Yanagata, and as he’s known as a “rainbringer”, the Human Shogi can’t be performed outdoors. It is, however, still performed, on a stage in an auditorium, and I have to say I really dug the tradition and pageantry involved in such a production. The town’s pride and devotion to shogi is evident in every one of the human shogi pawns’ faces.

As for Shimada, he may have brought gray clouds and rain, but indoors, the various Yanagata shogi festivities seem to recharge him, to the point that by the time he’s leaving, he’s ready to start his climb to masterdom all over again, realizing he’s been rushing and failing to enjoy the ride.

At the same time, hearing that Shimada came up with a community shogi program that benefits otherwise isolated elderly folks adds another dimension to Shimada, who has now gotten more development than any other shogi player besides Rei.

The next segment has nothing to do with Shimada, but is focused on the Kawamotos as Gramps mines his granddaughters for inspiration. He’s trying to craft another “signature sweet” to supplement the already popular “baked crescents”.

He trusts and respects the sisters’ opinions, at least to a point: when they start getting too non-traditional, he bristles. That being said, he also loves Momo’s suggestion of using gum, though that’s probably just ’cause he loves Momo and would call her a genius even if she suggested something truly heretical, like Hershey’s Kisses.

Later, Akari and Hina decide to splurge at a sweet shop, but end up going overboard with extras, sending the check skyrocketing to a sum that could have been used to feed the family for a week. As they say, those places are at trap, and they’ll clean you out and leave you fat, but that doesn’t mean the treats they push aren’t great anyway, or that it’s wrong to treat oneself once in a while.

Later, Hina is the one with the eureka moment, developing a versatile and cute daifuku snowman confection. Clearly the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, as Gramps admits the sisters’ mom was the one who came up with the Baked Crescents. Family, for Gramps, is not just obligation, but a font of inspiration. And the shop stays in business thanks in part to their ideas and energy.

In an exceedingly adorable closing scene, Hina calls Rei, then hears his phone ringing at the door; he happened to be arriving by surprise. It’s nice to see the two so in sync. There’s also a nice positive “karma” in Rei showing up with excess Yanagata treats from Shimada, as if the universe is re-filling the coffers Akari and Hina’s parfait run emptied. But more than anything, it’s nice to see Rei reunited with the Kawamotos.

3-gatsu no Lion – 20

After losing the first three matches, and on the eve of the fourth which will determine whether he’ll get to play in his hometown, Shimada has a dream about a seemingly ideal life.

His girlfriend never left him, he gave up on being a pro, and he lived happily in his hometown with a big extended family. Yet even in the dream, there is shogi. As lovely as it looks, it might be a nightmare to him, because he gave up.

At one point in the final match, Shimada actually seems to be glad to have a “black bog” churning in the pit of his stomach, because he feels alive. The pain keeps him focused from all the people talking no-so-behind his back about how he won’t win a single game.

Rei has to hear the same negativity while on stage with another A-ranker who leaves before the match is even over once he’s satisfied Souya has him where he wants him. The grizzled veteran makes Rei amazed stomach pains are all Shimada has suffered, and how frightening and impossible the prospect of surviving in rank A seems, at least at this point in his career.

Shimada’s ideal dream/nightmare, it would seem, was a consoltion for the fact he wouldn’t make it to his hometown, because there would be no fifth match. Souta simply silently covers him in layer after layer of snow until he’s well and truly buried.

By the time Rei rushes to the monitors, hoping to will him into the move that could save the match, Shimada has already conceded. Like Rei in his match with Shimada, there was a gap that was simply too wide to be crossed.

Watching his mentor’s defeat, and everything that surrounded it, is a vital learning experience for Rei. Already convinced he will not attain the heights of previous middle school pros, and always dubious of his own worth in general, Rei sought a reversal of all the pessimism around him, perhaps to also convince himself to have faith things could turn around.

But instead he learns that beyond the storm is just another, more severe storm, and Shimada has weathered those storms, and feels better for doing so. Rei will also have to learn not to wither before seemingly insurmountable odds, nor fear defeat, because win or lose, something is learned, and life is enriched.

Tamayura: More Aggressive – 09

As the town prepares bamboo lanterns for the annual Walk of Longing, a high school friend of Potte’s father, Natsume Nozomu, pays a long put-off visit. He doesn’t mince words while criticizing Potte’s work. When she and Kanae bump into Shihomi while snapping pictures, she tells them she’s also endured her share of criticism, and encourages her to keep cultivating her love for photography. Potte, Kanae and the others have okonomiyaki at Hoboro’s with Nozomu. Later he tells Potte a little about what her dad was like in high school, and is glad he visited, and lets her take a parting photo of him.

This week is an interesting new exercise in subjecting Potte to perhaps the prickliest person she’s had to deal with all season, someone immune to her charms and seems determined to pop her pleasant little bubble, and Kanae’s along with it. He says what some of us may have been thinking all along: all she does is impulsively point and shoot at things, keeping her subjects right in the center, just like her dad. As a guy who has no qualms about dispensing with pleasantries and picking on his dead mate’s daughter, having missed his wedding, her birth, and his funeral. He also stopped taking photos, even though he was the one who inspired her dad in the first place.

So this guy’s just a pompous dick, right? Well, fortunately, the more we see him interact with Takehara and Potte, the more he softens and becomes (slightly) more likable. His other mate Hinomaru knows the sourpuss is just a front. Kanae talks a lot about how Potte’s heart races when taking photos, which leads to the hearts of the people who see them also racing, as if catching a wave. Nozomu admits that while Potte’s dad’s (and her) photos aren’t the most technically adventurous, he admits that they’re all “overflowing with love.” Enough that they, along with a nostalgic taste of okonomiyaki and a wistful tour of the Walk of Longing, touch his heart.

Rating: 8 (Great)