The Yard Sale
In English, “last” can mean “final” or “previous”; this pun is made possible by translation, although by syntax it infers the “final” definition in common use, as in “the last episode.” Instead, “The last episode was good” would suggest the punned meaning. Anyway, as you can see this is really about episode 11 of Genshiken Nidaime.
By “dehumanizing” maybe it is better to call it “tanuki-fying.”
Here’s a thought experiment. Rewatch Uchouten Kazoku. Whenever you see a human-form tanuki, try to imagine it as tanuki-form instead.
What does this do? When Yasaburo looks longingly at Benten (maybe at the ED, maybe when they’re walking in the moonlight, whenever), the meaning becomes obvious.
When Yashiro looks at  Benten behind his brother’s back and takes her doughnut, what does it look like?
Is this why Soichiro can’t stay in shape? Or rather, doesn’t that explain why, in a thematic sense?
The family of tanuki take shapes from humans to live in this society, but they cannot betray who they are, their blood so to speak–as tanuki, as fools, as whatever. When mom was living with her rescuer, she looked at him with those eyes, and it says everything universal that has to be said. It’s this message that goes beyond the bounds of what makes them tanuki or human or tengu. It’s like Yasaburo’s filial piety-like devotion to Akadama-sensei, even if he is not one of them, although now we’re treading on iffy grounds since I have no clue what tengu and tanuki are suppose to do with each other. It’s like when 8Ken has to eat to love (and to live). And you thought I was joking (entirely)?
Another concern I have in parallel with this is that unless we are mindful of the whole “blood” connection and in regards to what a tanuki is, it’s not entirely obvious that this layer of the story exists. Especially from western eyes, it’s too easy to forget that these human-looking things do not have minds and hearts of humans, although they too carry admirable qualities. In other words, think Natsume Yuujinchou. I mean, a tengu is a youkai. I’m not sure what qualifies for a transforming tanuki though. Maybe this is just a man-animal-supernatural sort of a sandwich. But we cannot subject Yasaburo and his family to the same standards as we subject other human beings in the same context. Or rather, this is how we can tell when the story is trying to make a point.
For example, Yasaburo loves humans. Think about it–he is the single visible tanuki that has extensive interaction with humans, within the story. The only other character that comes close to him is Mom, whose backstory explains why she does what she does. What does this say about Yasaburo? What does this say about Benten?
PS. It’s like “blood of the fool” in the way I draw out overarching themes across different shows that I watched recently. You know what they say about the human cognitive ability of pattern-seeking and forming.
By that I mean when you got saudade in your wabi-sabi.
Or when you got anime in your Kyoto-style life.
Or when you got moe in your tanuki.
I see why they like Kaisei.
More seriously, while there’s nothing particularly problematic about Uchouten Kazoku as a whole, the more I watch the show slowly unravel itself in typical Asian familial tragedy manners, the less I feel compelled by its narrative. Maybe it is partly due to the whole PA Works animation angle. Maybe it has to do with the relatively contemporary setting. Maybe it’s because Yuasa’s Tatami Galaxy set a false and unrealistic standard/tone to what I thought this sort of a story could be. It’s kind of like falling in love with somebody only to realize that person is not who you think it is, in a good, “hey I can live with this” sort of way. It’s fine and practical but largely devoid of glamour.
I guess this is the ultimate problem when every other show you get hyped about has to do with some social taboo like Twincest for the Win or A Little Sister Is Fine Too or Oh Man That Pig Is So Cute And I Want to Eat Him. And I’m not even talking about Silver Spoon. Fantastical Tanuki Family Bickering Foolishness has a tall wall to climb. But then again Kaisei is close enough for incest in some jurisdictions, assuming if she and her mate are human. I guess this is where Uchouten Kazoku could’ve really played things up. Let the tanuki be tanuki.
Which is to say, 8Ken will never make it as a Friday Fellow because what defines true love for him is some shallow shadow of its true nature.
Actually instead of highlights, this is more like propaganda. And this is one of those cases where I don’t think it’s a big deal–all the songs are winners in my eyes, for these groups. I just would like certain songs to go forward because it would be more fun than if they didn’t.
In fact that has been more often than not the case, where all the songs in a given group feel like they deserve to move on, so the choosing the entries on the basis of personal biases and preferences feels much more permissible. Now that hasn’t been the case all the time, but in general the contest has yielded a crop of very entertaining entries (musically good is a whole different story…).
What I want to see people vote on is READY, from the iDOLM@STER, or The Idol Master, or iM@S, or whatever the hell people like to call it. The song is basically the “main” theme to not just the anime (it’s OP1) but all of the “2nd Vision” project of iM@S. Not that there’s per se a main theme…you get what I’m saying?
This is the TV-size cut from the anime. In the 2011 TV anime itself there are a couple different versions, but most notably the final concert version where it changes into, heh, CHANGE (OP2) in the middle, because we all know CHANGE has the better pre-chorus.
Actually that has been kind of a theme for the Anime Music Tourney, because often times (IMO) inferior songs are not the representative songs from a given IP in the tourney, which both makes me kind of sad that the better representatives are entirely missing, but also not so sad when these slightly-worse samples don’t make it to the next round.
At any rate, READY is first rate, from the stand point of a lot of different contexts. And it’s all about the contexts. Here’s the master version (which shows you a pretty HOP STEP JUMP bridge (Jeff Lawson was on to something wasn’t he; I know it’s from Kita e but still).
The full song and lyrics are available above, with minor errors within margin, I think. I didn’t really check. As you can tell it’s kind of a rallying cry type of song, because that’s the kind of encore/kickoff track you use at a live show. Keeping in spirit and functionality of idol groups, READY is not only fitting anime OP/ED material, it has to work on the stage. That’s a lot more than what I can say than most songs in the Animusic Tourney.
Possibly the definitive live version:
It has to work on stage, it has to work in a game, but it also has to be easy enough to sing to since something like 13 different voice actresses of varying skill levels has to perform it in the recording booth and also on stage. You and I can also perform it at karaoke, since this is that kind of a song. A real theme song for a franchise with big aspirations. Of course, it has to work while waving your glow sticks around, too.
If you prefer Rie Kugimiya, there’s this version…
And then there are these eager cosplayers! In America no less.
Lastly, if you want to learn the calls, this video on Nico can help.
You can vote for READY here. While you’re at it, check out all the other cool songs in the tourney!
PS. So, about that bracket thing…yea, I have a USPS priority mail cardboard full of things. I guess as the contest gets further I might become less busy and thus can hammer out some details.
This is just a joke–more like, I can’t stay quiet about Uchouten Kazoku for this long. Very minor spoiler to episode 8 ahead (and even so it’s information you know very early on, like episode 1 or 2).
There’s one concern about the show that keeps me quiet–the story and characterization falls too neatly and yet so organically on the defined lines of wabi sabi that every time I try to plot down what I want to say about it I feel like “maybe I should’ve majored in Asian studies or something.” There’s this nagging feeling of inadequacy to try to praise or to criticize Uchouten Kazoku because both I lack the specific tools and I realize these tools are present and beyond my reach. It’s a wholly different feeling of “knowing” than that of “I don’t know that I don’t know,” which is more often the case than not.
Case in point: I really enjoyed episode 8 in terms of the thematic matters, but the moment I try to put that into a framework I want to use something from Adachi and I’m like, dude, this show is basically the superset of Adachi’s dead boy/girlfriend schtick. Except infinitely more filially pious. And then I’m like, dude, “it’s dead people so I might as well start quoting K-dramas.” It’s not exactly modesty; but the feeling isn’t too different from it. It’s a sense of imperfect resignation in light of a beautiful passing of imperfection. Which is like meta-wabi-sabi. Which just leads me to face some palms.
Joking aside, though, let’s talk about PA Works and JP’s statement about how some shows are likable mostly by Asians for a bit. I think the very exact same thing is present for Uchoten Kazoku. It’s calling to our blood. It’s not the way a tanuki always fool around, but more like, this is pressing all those cultural and genetic buttons that (East) Asians have. It’s that sense of beauty from extreme modesty and slight imperfection, like trying to catch a whale by the tail.
But then again the two girls do show up naked here and there, so that’s some universal attraction in Uchouten Kazoku’s favor. It’s times like this where the old tengu’s plea for what gives him excitement in life makes a lot of sense, east or west.