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「猫と子猫のコト」 (Neko to Koneko no Koto)
“The Story of the Cat and the Kitten”
Many thanks to Zephyr for helping me with the screencaps this episode.
At last, in the 11th episode, the final member of the major character is added to the cast: the second cat. Yes, although I’ve made a big deal before about Teko being the protagonist of Amanchu!, in truth the most persistent, ubiquitous characters on any Amano Kozue work are feline. This tiny thing has been in the ED this entire time; it’s about time it introduced itself. And so, more cats. I’m sure cat lovers everywhere have no cause for complaint, especially when it comes to kittens. In anime, those things are nothing less than blobs of cute. In a less idealistic setting, though, I would caution against just picking up some stray in the wild and taking it home with you. Blobs of cute, maybe, but also blobs of loose fur, fleas, and rabies. Just let it die, girls. It’ll be good for the local ecosystem.
Being the 11th episode, though, it’s not really the time to look forward with new characters, but to look back. My view of penultimate episodes is that they should ultimately be holistic, to reflect on how far the show has come before drawing to a conclusion. And I think that’s what Amanchu! is trying to do here, right before Teko’s final step to at last being to go ocean diving with her friends. Certainly, Teko and Pikari’s little ad hoc outing is staged primarily for, besides prodding us to admire the work of the background artists, letting Teko ruminate a bit on her character development. I think it’s clear from her internal monologue that she’shas come a long way since she first moved to Ito. Her little adventure with the kitten just goes to reinforce that. It’s true that Teko has been more or less nurtured by a lot of good people ever since she moved to Ito, so that she may grow from being a frail and insecure thing to… well, a less frail and insecure thing. And that experience inspires her to do the same for another. It’s all part of Amanchu!‘s philosophy, about the positive energy that makes the world go ’round.
Speaking of which, there’s a story behind the cats. Long time ARIA fans will definitely remember that Aria and Hime were the presidents of the Aria Company and Himeya in Amano Kozue’s earlier work. She actually owned cats in real-life called Aria and Hime, and they did seem to have a thing for each other. Sadly, during the run of the ARIA manga, Hime died. Aria followed soon after. Clearly, Amano-sensei’s cats were a very personal part of her creations. And now, things have come around again. It may only be a small, even cheeky gesture, but I’m strangely pleased. I’m not sure why.
Due to personal circumstances, next week’s Amanchu! post will be late. Apologies for the inconvenience in advance.
Preview
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“His name is Aria…”
The title is wrong「今日という一日を迷うコト」 (Kyou to Iu Ichinichi wo Mayou Koto) is the last episode’s one (“The Story of Losing Your Way in Today”).
It should be「猫と子猫のコト」 (Neko to Koneko no koto) which should be “About the cat and the kitten” in English.
Whoops, I accidentally copy + pasted last week’s title. Fixed!
As someone who picked up and helped clean off a kitten found under a porch, I’m glad the grittier details were fluffed over. Ticks, man… How he didn’t have lyme disease is beyond me.
I’m not sure, but, anyone knows how many generations of real life Aria & Hime (and Maa, for that matter) that Amano-sensei have up until now?
From her Twitter I can see that there are new generation of the three of them but my Moon Runes are as good as my Aquarians :Y
I haven’t been following the state of Amano-sensei’s cats closely, but I like to think of it as an interrupted line of succession. Aria is dead, long live Aria!
https://randomc.net/image/Amanchu!/Amanchu!%20-%2011%20-%20Large%2015.jpg
Say Hello to The Shrine Cat People!!! XDDD
that moment when advisor cha is getting stepped on by the kitten just reminds me of the loonytoon skit with the big bull dog and the small kitten
I feel like an idiot for being put off by the character designs in this show. I wanted to watch it when it started to air but the faces lol. I’ll have to catch up soon.
They’re fairly close to the manga designs, if that makes you feel any better. Do give it a try.
If anything, I feel like an idiot for expecting a “Hazukashii serifu kinshi” out of nowhere whenever Pika & Teko say something embarrassing (which is, like, almost 70% of every episode)