Hello everyone, and welcome back. You all feeling ready for some The Girl in Twilight? So far, this show has proven itself to be absolutely full of surprises, as it shifted from the relatively grounded and thematically concise Nana arc, to the absolutely fantastical and often just-plain-ridiculous Mia arc.
Not to say Mia’s arc was bad in any way – it was actually a very entertaining ride, and Mia’s own journey was convincingly executed. Using this world of cowboys and outlaws to illustrate Mia’s desire to be more than “cute” was a neat trick; not only was it a fun way to explore her character, but it also neatly illustrated how the conditions of our own world can be just as limiting as any other, further emphasizing how there is no such thing as a “neutral” or “true” self. We are all reflections of our environments in myriad ways, and coming to terms with that is a necessary process both for learning to understand ourselves, and learning to coexist with others.
That aside, Cowboy World was also just an incredibly fun, silly adventure, and made great use of this show’s charming cast and their various duplicates. The Girl in Twilight’s excellent character writing has proven to be not just a welcome asset, but the show’s foundational bedrock – it is our understanding of the initial main cast that makes these what-if versions so compelling, and it is their overall chemistry that makes their adventures so fun. I’m eager to see what world we visit next as we continue this strange and hilarious journey!
Episode 6
Looks like it’s time for Chloe’s arc. We open with a pan up her apartment building, and then a look into her apartment, all in silence. The quiet, unobtrusive nature of this intro echoes Chloe’s personality, while her room also fits with her character – it’s extremely tidy, with only her impressively large radio and some abstract prints pointing to her hobbies. Chloe’s room is as quiet and precise as Chloe herself
By herself, Chloe actually seems more emotive than with her friends. She’s smiling more openly while reading this book than we’ve ever seen before
Chloe notices Asuka is calling her with a clear look of annoyance. Those two have barely shared a conversation so far – more than anyone else, it seems likely that Chloe joined this group because of her love of radios, rather than her friendships with any of the other members
I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m consistently impressed by how well The Girl in Twilight illustrates uneven personal dynamics within a larger friendship group. Just because you’re all members of the same circle doesn’t mean you’re all equally good friends – and in Chloe’s case, we really haven’t seen her act particularly close with any of the other group members
Asuka wants to go to the beach, and has brought props
Chloe says she was “pretty clear about not wanting to go” when Asuka last made this request. Perhaps Chloe’s world will teach her to better assert herself. Considering how much more expressive she was alone, it’s clear she currently keeps a lot of her frustrations bottled up, while presenting a calm face
Oh no, it’s Sexy Yu!
Really just amazing that all of Asuka’s stupid nicknames actually become these doppelgangers’ standard names
Sexy Yu offers more tips on connecting between worlds. Intriguing that Sexy Yu is so dead-set on them traveling more, while Seriousuka is the opposite. I wonder what worlds each of them come from
Oh goddamnit, we’re really doing a beach episode
Chloe agreed to act as the link this time, saying she “just wants some time to herself”
Sexy Yu is extremely horny for Asuka
Some nicely animated closeups on Chloe here
In this world, the sacred tree is underwater, which might complicate getting back
Yu getting mad at Sexy Yu for being too sexy will never get old
Apparently you can order swimsuits by drone in this world. I like the idea that this show might visit worlds without fully exploring or explaining them – we just get a handful of tantalizing details, rather than a full explanation of what differentiates them from our own world
Chloe actually wakes up very close to them, in a hut that’s isolated by a pier out on the water. The hut is an amplified version of her own bedroom – all the same objects, even down to her stuffed animals, but replaced by larger and more impressive versions of themselves. This world’s Chloe seems to be living through an extreme version of what our Chloe was desiring: total solitude, a world where she can be alone with her interests
Welp, looks like we’re getting a full explanation of this world anyway. It seems this world is divided into small colonies that are each supported by their own AI, with each person living on their own personal island. This colony’s AI is named White Goat
I admit, I had my doubts about Sexy Yu, but inviting the group to “permanent all-expenses-paid beach vacation world” was pretty nice of her
Yu and Sexy Yu arguing is so great. Apparently the island they’re on belongs to the Yu from this beach world, meaning Sexy Yu is just racking up a massive debt for a missing version of herself. And of course, Yu strongly objects to Sexy Yu stealing from Beach Yu
Yu has gained a flesh-and-blood version of her own shoulder devil
Oh no Mio, don’t get sucked into Beach World gacha games
Apparently White Goat also serves as the community’s social media manager
Chloe’s cabin has a moon pool directly beside her bed, which I assume leads to some unintentionally exciting mornings
“There you go again, pretending you’re the only one that gets it.” Asuka and Yu possess an argumentative rapport that feels totally natural. Oftentimes, when you get this sort of manzai-adjacent dynamic, it can feel like the characters aren’t so much organically talking as they are performing comedy for a third party. But with these two, both of them feel very comfortable, and they trade zingers with a clear tone of mutual respect
Apparently Chloe actually grew up in France. Happy to learn she doesn’t just insert random French phrases into her vocabulary for kicks
The camera really likes Yu’s boobs
Oh no, Sexy Yu has convinced Yu to start exploiting Beach Yu
This world doesn’t have electronic mail – all communication is mediated through the AIs. Meaning they’re all basically prisoners
Sexy Yu continues to horn it up, but is interrupted in her lusting by Seriousuka
I get the feeling part of our Yu’s annoyance with Sexy Yu is that their feelings aren’t actually that far apart – Yu and Asuka would make a charming couple, though Yu would undoubtedly deny it
“You piss me off… just like the person who stole Asuka away from me!” So Sexy Yu lost her own Asuka, and has since then not really cared about the lives of others. Interesting – among the versions of Yu that we’ve met, one has found peace and purpose through marriage, one is an unassuming bartender, one is our Asuka’s best friend, and one is Sexy Yu. It seems like Yu is a person who will pretty much always possess a certain kind of brittle pride, but who often needs a support structure to maintain her confidence. It’s likely that Sexy Yu feels so different from the other Yus because losing her Asuka destroyed her support structure, and thus she subsequently rejected many of the other seemingly “limiting” aspects of her personality as well. Rather than excelling within a world’s structure and taking pride in her accomplishments, Sexy Yu’s loss of Asuka caused her to embrace a kind of nihilistic hedonism
Oh no. Nana has bought herself an entire photo shoot studio
Even Seriousuka admits that Seriousuka is a pretty good nickname, if only to mock Asuka’s subsequent, weaker nicknames
Chloe skips straight past the fantasy games and clicks on VR BOY
Seriousuka and Asuka bonding is weirdly charming
Seriousuka frames the World of Twilight as the opposite of the multiverse – a world where nothing changes, and all possibilities have been lost
Chloe’s childhood memories are “I was alone all the time, and it was fucking awesome.” I deeply relate to this girl
Changing countries was to her essentially like changing between realities. Suddenly, the qualities she had prided herself on were considered “sad” and “abnormal” because of her new cultural context. We don’t have to jump between worlds to illustrate how our personalities are defined by the world around us – jumping between different cultures can demonstrate the same effect. Just as Mio felt isolated by the expectations placed upon her regarding her passions, so did Chloe feel isolated by the expectations regarding her base temperament, and desire for solitude
Being alone is not just something she likes to do, it’s a way to hold on to her sense of self, as well as her memories of childhood
And we end on the obligatory stinger – everyone’s being controlled through their phones!
And Done
Welp, that was certainly a very The Girl in Twilight beach episode. Chloe’s story is actually a fair bit less complicated than Wild West World, but that simplicity left plenty of room for further exploration of the show’s core characters, and some much-appreciated insights into the history and mentality of Sexy Yu. “Everyone is being brainwashed through their phones” is a familiar narrative device, but in spite of its dimension-hopping premise, Twilight isn’t really “about” its worlds – it is about its characters, and between the various Yus, Asukas, and Chloes, we learned a great deal about them this time. Certainly not one of Twilight’s strongest episodes, but this should serve as a fine setup for Chloe’s battle with AI Delivery World!
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