Bucchigiri?! – 05
I’m probably at the fish or cut bait with the shows in this post, and with Bucchigiri it’s a close shave either way. I like a lot of what’s going on here and the visuals remain really solid, but the characters just aren’t grabbing me. The inspired lunacy of the first couple of episodes has gradually transitioned into something more plot-driven. And while the plot is certainly decent, it hasn’t been engaging enough to fill the entire empty space being left behind by the style change.
As for the plot, the throwdown between Siguma and Minato is about to hit, and at this point NG Boys seem kind of irrelevant to it. Shindou has basically seduced Arajin with promises of making his wish come true (there are NG Girls, too). And we find out why Arajin has cut Matakara out of his life, seemingly – the shame over having abandoned him to get crunched by a gang of teens when they were little kids together. I guess that sort of makes sense, though it’s kind of an anticlimax.
Basically Shindou is a sick fuck – how much of that is his djinn and how much just him I don’t know, but the way he talks about Mahoro as a potential trophy girl is enough to push “A.J.” over the edge. Ultimately this has got to build up to Senya and Ichiya fighting each other, presumably – whether that will be interesting or not is hard to say. At this point I’m probably just going to go with the flow on this one – if it inspires me to write something, I will.
Yubisaki to Renren – 06
I do feel as if Yubisaki to Renren is trending in the right direction the past couple of episodes. A big part of that is Itsuomi more or less establishing that he’s not a creeper, just a guy who has no personal boundaries. I wouldn’t call what he and Yuki have the romance of the century but it’s progressing in a pretty believable way. There were certainly opportunities for him to take advantage of her inexperience (as indeed Kyouya seemed worried he would) but he didn’t take the bait.
More than anything it kind of seems like Itsuomi is the only one in her immediate circle who doesn’t condescend to Yuki, which makes whatever oddities he has a lot more tolerable. I’m especially irritated at her mother, At least Koushi has the excuse of being in unrequited love with her for being a jerk – she really has none. I can’t imagine having a deaf family member and not learning to sign, and then to give out her daughter’s contact info to Koushi without asking her? Again, he has no business asking or presenting himself as some kind of guardian-protector – but at least he’s young and in love so stupidity is more or less par for the course. Mom – no sign, curfew Mom – ought to be better.
As for Itsuomi, points for being direct with her. “Is it OK if I fall for you?” is pretty unambiguous. And confessing to her before he leaves the country for a month is the right thing to do, whatever Kyouya thinks. At least this way he doesn’t leave her hanging. And he makes it clear he’d like to show her more of the world someday, which I think would be a particularly good thing for Yuki. I don’t think there’s any question Itsuomi is a bit of a player, and you always worry about a guy like that with a girl this inexperienced (and three years younger). But he seems both sincere and in control of his impulses, and as long as that’s the case I think this can be a positive for Yuki.
Itsuomi’s “people are like glasses” analogy is sort of ironic, in that he’s the only one who doesn’t treat Yuki like she’s made of glass. That has to be contrasted with the fact that when it comes to relationships, she seems pretty unprepared for the next logical steps with Itsuomi. She’ll have to prove that she’s capable of handling that emotionally (and generally), and the onus will really be on him to rise to the occasion if she isn’t.
The post Weekly Digest 2/11/24 – Bucchigiri?!, Yubisaki to Renren appeared first on Lost in Anime.
