Tsuki ga Kirei had another terrific episode this week, powering through Akane and Kotarou’s lowest point in a series of consistently excellent scenes. I was pretty worried going in that this was the beginning of the end for their relationship, but it looks like at least Tsuki ga Kirei might end up offering a smidgen of hope in this blasted world. Please stay together kids, I kinda need this.
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below.
Contrasting Kotarou’s moments of anxiety with his current practice does convey his preoccupation, but I don’t really think his practice does anything for this pairing in an emotional sense
I like this shot of them through the fence, though. Nicely conveys the new distance
And the train following her admitting she’s applying to Koumei, evoking the separation
“We’ll be fine, even far apart.” Good luck kids
This episode’s moving very quickly. I could easily see a show like this taking an episode for Kotarou to come to terms with Akane’s move, but he’s being very reasonable
I like how the mask hides what he’s thinking. A very good time for the festival to arrive in dramatic terms
As usual, this episode thrives on a collection of good small choices
The festival does mean they have to use a lot of CG figures again
Akane’s friends’ banter feels very natural
The sense that he’s passing her by comes through clearly in this parade moment. It feels otherworldly. Really good stuff
Returning to the light novel question. Growing up is tough – knowing what you have to change and what can stay the same is a constant question
Using the wrapper of her snack as a kind of anxiety relief toy. A great small detail
Hira confesses
Oh no, Kotarou’s all jealous now
Yeah, now he’s being real childish
He knows he was an idiot, but he doesn’t know how to fix it. He took out his general frustrations on her
There are spoilers in this comment about Episode 11 – The Penultimate Episode. Don’t know if the spoiler tags work here.
[spoiler]Starting with the title: 学問のすすめ very likely based on writings by Yukichi Fukuzawa.
… and -to conclude this series, less than a week from today- episode twelve will be airing under a title by Natsume Sōseki: それから
Episode eleven has now aired. The writings of Yukichi Fukuzawa -which more than likely provided the animators their title this time – are available in Japanese and in English. I’m relying on the latter. From Dilworth’s translation a very brief excerpt: “In a book called “Onna Daigaku” (The Great Learning for Women) there is enunciated a principle of “triple obedience” for women: a) to obey her parents when young. b) to obey her husband when married. c) to obey her children when old.
In the rest of the passage from which this citation was taken, Meiji era Fukuzawa went on to explain why he does not agree with Edo Era Onna Daigaku and these rules of obedience imposed on women. After this episode I’m more curious than ever to see: a) which take on this set of rules the animators of Tsuki ga Kirei are advancing and b) what your take is on their take? Your take on their continued use of literary titles and references throughout the series?
Words attributed to Osamu Dazai by Kōtaro once again feature prominently in episode eleven and so do his books. They’re prominently arranged on the shelves in Tachibana’s bookstore and in Kōtaro’s room but these literary references are not always obvious at first glance. I think most people need to freeze-frame before figuring out that Kōtaro’s father is reading Kan Kikuchi’s 藤十郎の恋 (Tōjūrō no Koi). The book is even wrapped in a bookstore’s generic dust jacket. Why? Realism? To show that some people prefer those to protect the actual covers while reading a book? Or do the animators employ this custom to obscure the title? If the latter, why then reproduce the pages he turns with such accuracy to make identification possible?
What is it all these books, by Japanese authors, have in common? Besides that?[/spoiler]
The spoiler tags don’t work and I don’t see an edit button. Please delete if the untagged spoilers are inappropriate here.