Zatsu Tabi: That’s Journey – 05
To be honest, I had no intention of writing about this episode of Zatsu no Tabi. I was pretty much done with it for coverage purposes after last week, but this one irritated me so much that I had to briefly check in. Irritated me by showing that it knows what a mistake it’s making, which is certainly ironic.
There are two Chika quotes from this week that reflect just how smart this series can be. First, “So this is what a solo journey is like. Slowly savoring your feelings and realizing things you might not have noticed otherwise.”. And second, “It’s because I’m alone I can feel my connection with others.” Yes, this is profound. And true. And exactly why this show only really matters when it focuses on solo travel (as it did with Tochigi, in the A-part here). These are insights Chika never would have had if she were traveling with someone else. That’s the point. It’s the nature of solo journeying that causes us to reflect on ourselves and our experiences.
I could go deep down this rabbit hole, but it’s enough just to say, yes – that’s on-point. You get it, Kid. I understand this feeling of wanting to share my experiences on the road with those close to me – once I get back from having those experiences. Going out of your comfort zone by yourself makes you appreciate what the relationships in your life give you. It’s wonderful to have an anime make these observations which are very close to my soul. Profound and meaningful truths. But it only does it when Chika is by herself. So far, the track record on that is 100% and that’s pretty much the case in real life. Also, have a damn cup of sake already, you’re 19, not 12…
To reiterate – I like traveling with others, too. Like Chika, when I gaze into the future I hope to see myself doing both kinds of trips. But the other kind doesn’t make nearly as interesting watching. It doesn’t lend itself to inspiration, it lends itself to fun. That would be true even if this weren’t a medium(s) that tend to fall into self-indulgence and pandering when that sort of dynamic is in focus, but that does make it worse. Once more I suspect this is the logical offramp for Zatsu no Tabi and coverage, but I suppose it would be silly to rule anything out at this point. Insight is insight, whenever and wherever you find it.
Ballpark de Tsukamaete! (The Catcher in the Ballpark!) – 06
I wasn’t sure, but this ep made it obvious – in Japan, you don’t have to be old enough to drink in order to sell booze. I find the notion of a high school girl selling beer in a skimpy outfit a bit unseemly, but maybe that’s latent American Puritanism creeping up. Sara is the girl (a good one, we’re repeatedly assured) in question. She takes the requisite ribbing from her older colleagues, and wriggles in embarrassment when not just her parents but her extended family come to the park to squee over her.
I did enjoy that family bit, but this and the follow-up segment go on a fair bit too long. The chapter with the staff doing a clearout of the staff room (and the manager tripping down memory lane) was a bit of a snooze (though I did enjoy Ruriko’s (uncle?) “Nirvanya” T-shirt. I got the idea that bit with Tsubaki and Koujirou was planting the seeds for further development down the line.
Finally, the All-Star Game comes to Chiba, and that’s a big-money proposition for the host team. Those stuck-up Fukuoka fans piss off Ruriko by dissing the MotorSons and their extended universe. This is compounded when Dennis loses the home run derby because he gets a glimpse of Ruriko and whiffs on the last pitch. The headline here is definitely Sun-Shiro though, who’s undoubtedly the MVP of Ballpark de Tsukamaete. He once more delivers the best part of the episode, as the dance of the mascots ends with a scripted rassling match between S-S and the stag representing Fukuoka. Except S-S goes off-script when Ruriko pleads for him to defend MotorSuns honor. Good for him, but seriously – doesn’t it make more sense for the host team’s mascot to win the brawl in the first place?
Uchuujin MuuMuu (Me and the Alien MuMu) – 05
Uchuujin MuuMuu is the series that makes the least sense of any this season, and I absolutely don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s just weird in every sense – tonally, stylistically, narratively. There’s something almost meditative in its long discourses on how things work, and those may be the least odd part of the whole package.
Mainly, the device in question this week is the aircon – and by extensive the fridge, which Tenkubashi has (luckily) told Sakurako works on the same principle. All of the club members at this school – in every club – seem to be real weirdos. And the head of the Culture Club ropes Sakurako and Akihiro into fixing their clubrooms AC for a kids’ card tournament the next day. This actually bails Sakurako out of the awkward silence pervading their own clubroom with Prez and Rokugou elsewhere. But the problem is she knows nothing about fixing air conditioners.
Except – she does. She starts with the easiest potential issue – the batteries (Akihito’s suggestion, though he’s such a klutz he doesn’t know the difference between AA’a and AAA’s). Then she cleans the filter and heat exchanger. When that doesn’t work, she thinks back on the president’s words and remembers him telling her that it’s the outdoor unit that’s the real engine of an aircon. And sure enough, the air intakes on that are blocked by the agriculture club’s (serious weirdos) tomato plants. A very impressive piece of work by Sakurako in fact, proving that she’s really learning. Also hilarious is her winning over the aggies by taking with a hick accent (her native tongue).
At this point things get really weird, as Tenkunashi turns up naked with a big hole in his forehead. Sakurako wrongly suspects that MuuMuu abducted him, but in fact it was the radical faction (their drone anyway), as they apparently make a habit of abducting smart humans and lifting knowledge directly from their brains. This leads to a long discourse on X-rays and various other electromagnetic waves, with detours to whether 5G kills starlings and nuking ticks in the microwave. Which in turn leads to MuuMuu heading home and dismantling every EMG generator in the house (which is a lot) to protect her. As the Prez says, nothing is 100% – and cold rice and no internet definitely sucks…
The post Weekly Digest 05/07/25 – Zatsu Tabi: That’s Journey, Ballpark de Tsukamaete! (The Catcher in the Ballpark!), Uchuujin MuuMuu (Me and the Alien MuMu) appeared first on Lost in Anime.
