Carole & Tuesday / First Impressions

OP Sequence

OP: 「Kiss Me」by (Nai Br.XX & Celeina Ann)

「Born to Run」

Before I get into the episode itself, I want to focus a little on the La La Land inspired OP that just dropped. That isn’t a criticism. It’s a blessing. I’m not sure if it was intentional but it was gorgeous, playful, and really entertaining. Based on the wider shots, Alba City is clearly a copy paste of New York City with some added high tech gadgets and vehicles. What really made it for me though was the low key neighbourhood vibes that kept these two girls, who will clearly be reaching for the skies, grounded.

Now onto the real juicy stuff!

We all recognized the episode title last week as Cyndi Lauper’s song. She’s Tuesday’s main inspiration so it only made sense to name the episode after her. But what I didn’t see coming was this episode’s events sequenced around Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.”

Oh, someday girl I don’t know when
We’re gonna get to that place
Where we really wanna go
And we’ll walk in the sun
But till then tramps like us,
Baby we were born to run

I wonder if it was these lyrics that influenced the sequence of events in this episode or if the title was chosen after the episode was written. It’s most likely the former, but regardless of which, I’m actually quite smitten with this clever format.

After two episodes, the main characters are definitely what’s keeping me glued to my screen. We’re diving a little deeper into each of the character’s objectives, traits, and personal stories. I definitely appreciated the bonding between Carole & Tuesday, specifically because of a reference to one of my favourite musicals of all time. When Carole helps Tuesday prepare for a restful sleep, she suggests they discuss their ‘favourite things’, a direct reference to Rodgers and Hammerstein’s song “My Favourite Things” sung by Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. I’m pretty sure I jumped out of my chair when I caught that. Referring back to legends like Michael Jackson, Daft Punk, Cyndi Lauper and making these too-good-to-be-true references to musicals is a sign of the genius and creativity behind the scenes.

That said, there’s one musical genius I’m not very fond of: Tao. He’s not even remotely interesting. He’s just a guy staring at a computer with a passion for AI. It’s not like he’s looking to destroy the industry with his music. He isn’t even concerned with humans. As he is right now, he’s a one-dimensional character with a tunnel-vision problem. I’m not at a point where I love to hate him, and the same could be said about Angie. She’s quite annoying in her own right, but there should always be a relatable side to antagonists that makes them relatable. Her reaction to being tortured wasn’t quite right to me. Right now, it’s all very ‘on the surface.’ In all fairness, we’re only in the second episode so I’ll give it time and practice patience. I hear it’s a virtue.

It should be no surprise for you then when I say that my favourite scene was when Carole and Tuesday forced their way into the Mars Migration Memorial Hall to play their song with killer acoustics. I definitely think Ertegun’s introduction had something to do with emphasizing the whole scene. When we cut to an EDM concert mob, something I’m unfortunately quite familiar with from my early 20s, I cringed a little. The music was pretty horrible. No offence to anyone out there. If what we heard then is the culmination of the ‘99% of hits’ made by AI, but as a Martian, I’d happily welcome newbies Carole and Tuesday.

I honestly love their harmonies and it helps that they’re all gung-ho about their music. Though it might not be my go-to genre, I’m enjoying the tunes. There’s definitely a spark here. The magic they create with their voices and instruments is blinding me as well as the Martians thanks to Rodi. I assume he’ll be acting as a double-agent and help Gus get the girls a swinging debut.

There’s still a lot to cover in coming episodes. We’ve discovered that Tuesday’s mother is a high class politician, and with a video that’s now gone viral, I doubt it’ll be difficult for the Simmons family to find their runaway daughter. I’m not worried for this powerhouse duo though. They seem to have no trouble running away from trouble. It’s almost as though they were born to run.

Hey. They did it first.

14 Comments

  1. You know… If Kagerou Days anime was supposed to promote the Kagerou Project and other band and idol anime is supposed to promote their respective bands and idol groups, C&T is a promotional for both Nai Br.XX & Celeina Ann I think. Someone correct me on the actual singers.

    If it really revolves around their music, I say this is how it might have been if we have a series centered around Porter Robinson’s music. (Shelter I’m looking at you)

    That aside, I do not know how this is received in the US but this is how diversity is done and done excellently.

    https://randomc.net/image/Carole%20and%20Tuesday/Carole%20and%20Tuesday%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2022.jpg
    Speaking of Mr Tao, I was just watching Heaven’s Feel Lost Butterfly the other day and my oh my… I thought I was seeing Shinji here. Now… where are those Mr Tao hentai?

    https://randomc.net/image/Carole%20and%20Tuesday/Carole%20and%20Tuesday%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2039.jpg
    That escape scene was comedy but Johnny Gus is absolute gold and best girl.

    Damn when can we have an anime dedicated to the best producers?

    Henrietta Brix
    Reply

    1. That aside, I do not know how this is received in the US but this is how diversity is done and done excellently.

      They’re not being scolds or pushing an agenda in that regard, so I doubt very many people have any problem with it.

      LoliHat
      Reply

    1. I hope this Anime see this two more than just some “only 1 Hit Wonders!”. You know, Singers or groups that only had 1 Big Hit and then never heard ever again

      Let’s see how this turns out.. 24 Episodes, sounds promising

      Worldwidedepp
      Reply

  7. @Ep 03

    – Seems like this here is an “underdog/Black beauty(The Horse)/Gem” of its own

    I would recommended this anime for ones that what something different, has joy in Vocal strong singers or bands and where the voice are more important as the stage performance. So it is not the best for AKB alike fans

    You remember of Crayon Pop? did you like the Behind the scenes videos of them? Then i think this here is the right anime for you. Just that they are only both and not so into dance routines

    it all raised curiosity inside you, then give it a Try

    Worldwidedepp
    Reply

    1. Note to the Producers ( i know they are already done)

      – They still have the “Stage Fright” Problem.. Carole with her Jobs and Live singing at the street is perhaps the better one, Tuesday would surly need some Help

      Worldwidedepp
      Reply

  8. Nice catch on the My Favourite Things reference. Definitely missed that!

    I’ve caught on to the episode titles as well and it is fun to find the connection. If you go to YouTube and look for the song and see the comments show “Carole & Tuesday brought me here” -truly great to see.

    One thing to keep in mind (retrospectively speaking) is Carole and Tuesday talk about a singer they like, Crystal, and their favourite songs from her.
    Tuesday says “Unbreakable” (ep 6)
    Carole says “Everything”

    darkdragon88
    Reply

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