「ポリタンク」 (Poritanku)
“Plastic Container”

I’m a firm believer in giving any show at least three episodes before making any assumptions and I’m glad I believed in Glasslip. Compared to the first two episodes, the third was a wonderful blend of romance, slice-of-life giggles, and just the right amount of looking into the future.

Romantic Antics

Compared to romcoms that tend to beat around the bush until you’re ready to rip your hair out, I absolutely love how quickly Glasslip is moving. Tossing the conventional anime methods of dealing with romance straight out the window and diving straight into things like how most high schoolers would, the story has been given a ton of time to do what it should be doing — telling itself. Because honestly, how many times can you recall the story getting stuck while you were cringing as some awkward situation that hindered the romance appeared?

That said, you have to wonder whether or not Touko had any feelings for Yuki. Maybe she was blushing because of her awkward situation but I could totally see her and Yuki making a pretty cute couple. While it’ll probably never happen because of the obvious pairing the story wants to make for her, I think it could work! And please, don’t get me started with Hiro and Sachi. Star-crossed lovers who have to deal with some kind of serious health issue? Just thinking about what could happen makes my stomach sink a little.

Slice-of-Life Goodness

At the same time, this week’s episode really did a spectacular job with the slice-of-life vibes it was giving off. Even with the romantic antics in full swing, there were still a bunch of memorable moments that gave us a good look into some of the characters. My personal favorite though had to be Yuki’s subtle jabs at Hiro’s feelings for Sachi. Besides showing him in a completely different light than what we’ve seen thus far, how can you not root for a guy that thinks of others while still having fun with it? Because when he does things like giving them time to be alone when the opportunity presented itself or pushing things in the right direction when possible, I’m a little ashamed I originally thought of Yuki as a narrow minded track guy.

Future Vision? And Looking Forward!

For a show that decided to drop the bombshell that its main character has the ability to see into the future, I’m finally beginning to enjoy the way it’s being used. While we still can’t be sure that what Touko sees is valid, I can appreciate how it’s being used to drive the story along. I mean, with only a single cour to tell a story, you have to have something to get the ball rolling, right?

After a really fun third episode, I think this show is finally beginning to shine a little brighter. While I could live without the liberal use of those snapshot moments there’s no denying that P.A. Works is a beast at creating some amazing looking scenes. Anyways, with things in the romance department in full swing and the story slowly beginning to snowball, I think we can expect some great things in the future.

P.S. I know that a lot of people had some issues with the show but have continued to keep watching it. I’m really curious to find out, what keeps you coming back for more?

 

Preview

29 Comments

  1. I gotta agree with you takaii, ep 3 shined brighter than the other two, but even then i was already invested in this series. Maybe im wrong, but maybe viewers arent getting into this series like other PA works love-polygons series because the emotional intensity and angst hasnt been cranked up to 11. This show just works for me, it really really does. Im happy to see proactive main characters. Im happy to see highschool kids actually acting like highschoolers. These kids conversation like actual people, like how a group of friends really would. There’s just such a down-to-earth feel to all the slice-of-life/romance shenanigans it that i really dig; it’s so reserved about the way it presents the characters. That is why i like this series personally and regardless of some hiccups, ive been on board since it started because the bigger picture this series seems to be painting illustrates a good story in the upcoming future.

    sonicsenryaku
  2. Big improvement over the first two.

    You’re right about it feeling more realistic, Takaii: the love polygon and muddled emotions feel more realistic than a lot of the representations I’ve seen so far. Feels like high school.

    I wonder about the whole “I can see the future” thing. Is it really necessary when there’s already a nice, deep, muddy swamp of swirling human relationships and conflict already brewing? I’m curious to see how it gets used: will it be used as a spark to get characters to act or as a deus ex machina to solve everyone’s problems neatly?

    Other than my particular pet peeve with the show– if you’re going to focus on glass artists, GET THE DETAILS RIGHT– it’s generally getting better every week. But Touko still needs to wear goggles when she’s working hot glasss… and a nomex half-glove, too… (-_-)# Kids, don’t imitate her in the hot shop: it’s surefire trip to the ER!

    s_w
  3. This show is great, again it was a slow start prior but now it’s feeling a lot better. It also had me at man girl scream. Also the awkwardness of the group is so high, you couldn’t even breathe in that kind of atmosphere lol

    Jason Isenberg
  4. I’m watching Glasslip because it manages to tell the story on multiple levels. There’s the straightforward way we’ve gotten through a confession by episode 2 and have a fully-drawn love dodecahedron by episode 3, yes – but Glasslip has also used little touches of animation like the way Hiro looks at Sachi or the way Yana reacts to Yuki talking to show us what’s going on.

    A good example: When Hiro’s sister pulls up in the van, there are scratches on the side door… and there’s extra scratches when she gets to the top of the mountain. Hiro clearly thinks his sister is an unsafe driver, but he doesn’t explicitly point out the vehicular damage that proves it. The same story gets told on 2 or 3 different levels.

    The “seeing the future” bit hasn’t worked out yet, though – Touko doesn’t need magic powers to act as if Yana could end up in tears; she seems like the kind of person who would worry about Yana no matter what. It would be far more interesting if Touko saw two members of the group happy together in the future and decided to play Cupid to make sure it comes true. Basically, the future sight is only interesting if it makes Touko do something she normally wouldn’t, and that hasn’t happened yet.

    Thasero
      1. I dont want to jump to conclusions yet; maybe she might have meant love in a platonic sense, like admiration and warmth rather than it being romantic. The Yuri vibes are there but we may just intepreting what is a close friendship and admiration as Yuri signals. It doesnt seem that Sachi is repelled by Hiro; she actually might be into him as well. She did give Hiro that book as a present and she seems to be close to him as well (closest to touka of course).

        sonicsenryaku
  5. P.S. I know that a lot of people had some issues with the show but have continued to keep watching it. I’m really curious to find out, what keeps you coming back for more?

    well, I just don’t think this series is horrible. sure, it has issues with development and all, but that doesn’t mean the entire series is complete waste. there are some interesting plot threads there – romantic layer and the “supernatural” one. I still have lots of issues with how they are being handled. especially because I feel it’s not so natural, as if someone is manipulating not subtly enough. the romantic path is so reminding me the way Okada handled the characters in Nagi-no-Asukara with the polygon complex. but I do have to say that I like it how the characters are more direct to each other and themselves. making a quick confession in ep #2 and see the characters keep talking directly with each other about it (Touka and Yana girls talk)..so not all bad, I give them the credit for that.
    as for the supernatural element, I am much less happy. take for example episode 2 & 3. Okikure is showing up and talks to Touka about that “ability”, but basically says nothing. in the beginning of ep #3, Touka called him, he came. what did he do?what did he say?what new information came out of it? nothing! that annoys me. either you do something and develop it, or at least don’t waste time in useless stuff on screen, be more useful.
    I just wish for more subtle control with what’s going on.

    so as for you question, I am staying because..well, first of all it’s P.A works. sure, they have those gorgeous visuals and all, but that’s not enough to make a series. yet, I still trust PA and enjoys them, not only due to visuals. even last summer with Uchouten Kazoku that opened not so well in 1st episode, it became a very good one. now it’s true that I am not so sure Glasslip can be this good, but it’s not like this series is horrible. there is still an interesting story within this series. being critic is important, but even if it’s not a great series, I think Glasslip is still a series I enjoy watching and not forcing me self to enjoy from it.

    thedarktower
  6. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who thought the first two episodes were a bit slow. P.A. Works always does nice….well work, but for some reason I just wasn’t grabbed yet. I now look forward to watching this episode.

    sosbrigade13
  7. I suppose it’s rather ‘what kept me coming back for more’ for me. And that’s the 3-episode rule. This ís a P.A. Works original, after all, and I’ve enjoyed a fair amount of their shows in the past. There wasn’t really anything too spectacular in the first episode, but I decided to give it a shot anyway. The mystery element intrigued me, and this cast could be OK.

    Sadly, the show has failed to convince me to follow it. The whole time-traveling stuff and the way it’s used (relationships?) feels kind of more like a gimmick so far. The romance moving so fast in and of itself doesn’t bother me, but it was introduced too quickly. I don’t have any feel for these characters which makes it hard for me to root for anyone. Can’t say I particularely like anyone to much either, some outright irk me. And most damningly, the show kind of bores me. I’ve seen way better stuff from this studio (Hanasaku Iroha, Uchouten Kazoku) in any case.

    So I’m dropping this. It’s not the worst anime in the world, but there’s way more interesting stuff airing this season that deserves my attention. But, well, if it’s working for you, more power to ya.

    Dvalinn
  8. Hope this gets an ending similar to NagiAsu where each has their own couple, which, you can already probably imagine what I mean without the need if the math formula.

    Also, I ship Hiro x Sachi and Yuki x Yanagi. Totally.

    Red HeartGold ZX
  9. Is it just me or how did Yanagi got a hair dryer with her when she went off hands free with Touko?

    Despite this, I guess three episodes down and this show has proven some worth. Will watch to find out how much they can take this “see the future” thing to an extent (probably) we’ve not seen before.

    Kaineng
  10. Honestly my main reason for sticking to this is because its anime original. It’s probably one of the more exciting things that can happen in anime. Even if the show ends up disappointing it’s still unexpected and worth a try.

    A lot of anime are adaptations and with that you kinda have expectations of where a cut off will be, what gets covered, if it’s gonna be a full adaptation or a preview series (ie no intention of ever doing more, kinda a go read the manga). Also you can kinda predict when a series will be a stinker like last season black bullet it was burning through material at break neck speeds. A lot of people seem to be entranced by tokyo ghoul (great first 3 ep) but u can see it burning through material that if it’s a season long could end up being just as disappointing.

    But Speaking of slow starts I rather have slow starts and progressively get better then have a series that hooks you in the 3 ep rule only to be completely waste of time in the end.

    Second reason I’m sticking to the show is that it kinda got all their feelings on the table, so it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out especially with the future visions in play. Well almost all feelings, Yanagi is like the tough and confident person on outside but hides how she feels, she’s got to come out soon. Well I guess there is Touko giving off yuri vibes as well, you never know in anime could be real or just what best friend do lol.

    Sherylfan
  11. This show atm seems like the show I wanted Nagi no Asukara to be, but wasn’t. I’m rly hoping that low episode count will be enough. The supernatural elements are still horribly unexplained and kinda shoved in, but on the romance side I am really glad all the love triangles are playing out rather low key. Also, Sachi most probably likes Touko? Yessss, I’d love to see how this show will explore that one.

    tokus
  12. The only positive I can see is that there is no beating around the bush, the romance is getting out of the way for something actually interesting to happen. Like maybe a bunch of permadeaths being prevented with magic plot armor powers.

    It’s good to see that Yuki is indeed a bro, but he’s gotta teach Hiro how to stop being a punk. Get the confession over with and accept the pain of finding out Sachi is a lesbian. The longer you wait the more it hurts…

    magoiichi

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