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「へこたれてジャーキング」 (Hekotarete Jakingu)
“Discouraged Jerking”
We see our trio plus one Indian cruising around in a boat this episode. No, they haven’t started rapping parodic songs like a certain island music group. It’s the summer holidays, and with summer holidays come summer activities! Which is more fishing!
There comes a time in any hobby where one has to take the plunge, so as to speak, in both a financial and committal sense. Tired of using rent-a-poles, Yuki seems to have reached this point as he starts contemplating the idea getting his own set of fishing gear. Alas, for our young, financially restrained protagonist, the asking price of 100,000 yen (about 1200 USD) seems two steps out of his meager high school allowance. (Or even that of say, a university student like me.) What to do? Why, do what any upstanding high school student does: BEG PARENTS FOR MONE Get a part time job! To pay for the cost of the fishing equipment (Which Misaki goes into an impressively detailed, hobbyist-worthy explanation about), the trio signs up with charter boat captain Ayumi (Hosomi Daisuke) who made his appearance last episode to assist in his job of bringing people out to the sea for fishing.
Now, for someone whose first impression was that of irrelevance, Ayumi certainly turned that notion around to become the most fun and bro-est character in this episode. His generosity and open-mindedness were the last two things I had expected to see from him, but as Yuki’s boss, he was willing to overlook his mistakes, guided and encouraged him, and even gave him opportunities to develop himself. If only every boss was as understanding and selfless as him! The world might just become a better place! Or maybe I’m getting ahead of myself.
However, it is in part thanks to his push that we once again saw some great character development from Yuki. I seem to say this every week, but Tsuritama has somehow managed to push the growth of this character every episode in a very convincing and genuine manner. Up until now, we’ve seen Yuki slowly warming up to the people around him and stumbling around his personal insecurities about friendship, but this episode sees him taking that a step further to confront complete strangers as well as his social anxiety issues (subsequently overcoming them to a certain degree). Plus, It really is easy to relate to Yuki’s first experience with a part-time job, because all of us have been there; stumbling around like a scared little animal while constantly being intimidated by the customer.
We’re also seeing the first steps Tsuritama is taking in Akira’s development as he starts interacting with the trio in this episode. And oh boy does the guy have a passion for fishing, something that was hinted at in previous episode. The show hasn’t let on much about his character yet, asides from his lone-wolf portrayal and affiliations, so it’ll be interesting to see how the show plans on fitting this last piece into the quartet. Plus, if the preview is anything to go by, it seems that he will be sharing more than a few similarities with Yuki’s personality.
I definitely enjoyed this episode way more than I had expected, perhaps due to my expectations of the series being recalibrated over the last week. While there still isn’t anything revolutionary or attention-grabbing about the show, I found myself cheering for our main characters as they continued to takes these small steps of growth. Yes, the developments are probably not as hard hitting as Tsuritama’s peers in character-orientated shows such as Sakamichi no Apollon or last season’s Ano Natsu. However, the steps they take in self-discovery are moments of warmth and emotional synergy, in part because the emotions and themes being portrayed are expertly fleshed out while feeling relatable. The show does a very good job at connecting me with the emotions of the characters, and it is genuinely heartwarming to watch the scenes where characters achieve a certain modicum of conclusion, such as when Yuki received his paycheck after a job well done, or when he confidently casted away his bait at the close of the episode.
As I’ve mentioned in the previous post, I’m still waiting on the plot to start kicking off. Despite that, I’m also thinking that when it inevitably happens, I’m seriously going to miss this whimsical, laid-back, but extremely compelling pace and direction that Tsuritama has set for itself over the last five episodes.
Preview
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This show makes me grin like an idiot.
i know what u mean Bio D
Aww Yuki was so adorable in this episode. Glad he now has the courage to change himself.
This episode just opened up further potential to Akira’s character and why he developed such an antisocial attitude, like not wanting friends etc. (well… human friends XD) I love ALL Tsuritama characters and whether it’s about Natsuki and his dad, Yuki with his Grandma, I am definitely looking forward to how each of them will tackle their own problem.
The character development in this show has been amazing
Tsuritama’s stylistic touches never fail to impress me and makes the show all the more special. The sight gags continue to be really fun, Haru mimicking Ayumi and Tapioca vs Neko Part II were full of lulz! Ayumi’s a great addition to the cast. It’s not very often we get to see a very cool aniki who oozes machismo while rocking a blond hair and pink shirt combo 😉
Pound for pound, Tsuritama delivers more pure happy than any series this season – it’s a gem. If the MCs were girls, this thing would be a mega-hit.
For me, it really is a shame how many people watch animes because they prefer girls to be the main cast for fan-service reason.
I think I probably won’t watch Tsuritama if the main character’s were all girls. For one, I think if the MCs were all girls it will be hard for the anime-team not to add any fan-service scenes and there are already too many animes like that.
I like Tsuritama because it is unique and does what other animes don’t have.
But Guardian Enzo, like you said, I can imagine this being something like the next K-on but with aliens and fishing if the main casts were all girls XD And it will sure to be a hit. But I like Tsuritama as it is now and I am glad they made it this way otherwise it would have just been another typical, fan-service anime.
Well even if this wasn’t a mega-hit with guys, we’ll always have our ever enterprising yaoi fangirls, no? 😉
The Sakamichi No Apollon link goes to I’m on a boat as well!
Sorry about that! It’s fixed now. Thanks for the feedback! 😀
Like I said last episode, if Yuki was a girl, we’d be even more heads over heels over the way he overcomes his shyness.
Still, even at present, it was a satisfying journey to see Yuki’s coming of age and face his own destiny (in a non-epic everyday-man way, of course).
Soooo, Stereoman, what do you plan to buy this week? A boat? Fishing gear? A mahi-mahi?
This must be the most uplifting and cheery anime of the season.
This, for my studio \o/
Hmmm….good luck catching an alien fish 4 tht fish tank.(But a normal one will do)
Man this almost make me go buy some fishes for my old fish tank.
you missed the polarized glasses!! 😀
The tone of this show is great.
And that opening.
This show… Really hits home.
I can relate to Yuki. I have a Neurological Disorder that, among other things, causes me to suddenly make set facial expressions- mine are usually of extreme anger, or a happy expression equivalent to Valmets at the end of the last episode of Jormungand. I can control it when in public, but when I get nervous I cannot control it at all- add social anxiety into the factor, which has led to many instances that Yuki seems to go through. I don’t really do well around other people either, and I have the self-esteem of an obese fifth grader.
Seeing him overcome his anxiety just makes me really happy. And it shows on my face- and when it does, it’s one of the rare times when it’s intentional. Seeing him… Laugh… And raise his voice, just made me happy. It’s encouraging me to try branch out as well.
The fact that I watched this episode right before going to work at my first full-time job, really, really helped… Thank you, Asobi, for covering this series. I really like your viewpoints on the episode, and look forward to seeing them through to the end ^^
Maybe I’ll see some personal character development myself…