Hello all, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to continue our journey through Adachi and Shimamura, whose first episode demonstrated a nuance of characterization and grace of imagery that seemed to indicate it is Exactly My Sort Of Thing.
On the character front, both Adachi and Shimamura seem like complicated and pleasingly messy people. There’s a frankness to their characterization that gives the show a real sense of impact – Adachi isn’t just a loner, she’s a genuine outcast, while Shimamura isn’t just disaffected, she acts on that dissatisfaction by openly mocking her alleged friends. Their feelings and the contexts of their lives feel petty and human, making it easy to invest in their awkward emerging relationship.
In visual terms, AdaShima combines KyoAni-reminiscent tricks like partial body shots and exaggerated soft focus with an emphasis on visual geometry, making great use of sets like the girls’ ping-pong table to visually illustrate its conflicts and relationships. It’s basically all good stuff so far, and considering the sharp edge the show already possesses, I’m eager to see how messy things get. Let’s check it out!
Episode 2
We open the episode in what is clearly Adachi’s imagination, as she envisions herself and Shimamura sitting in nightgowns together and touching each other’s lips. You know, just casual friendship stuff
Adachi seems to have pretty close to zero emotional intelligence, and that’s presumably something that Shimamura likes about her. Shimamura is used to playing conversational games with self-conscious high schoolers, but Adachi is terrible at those games, and so she’s isolated herself instead. To Shimamura, Adachi’s bluntness is likely refreshing
Oh right, Shimamura and her friend had encountered the astronaut. The astronaut says its name is Yashiro Chikama, and she’s “come to earth in search of her compatriot.” Well, that’s a cold open
This OP feels weirdly upbeat, both for the tone of the show, and for its own imagery
“Wait, there’s more of you?” Shimamura is really good. Putting someone with a personality like Hachiman’s in a romance like this is an inspired idea
Hino abandons Shimamura with Yashiro. I’m glad she has the friends she deserves
The fact that they’re talking to Yashiro seems to imply she’s not just a visual metaphor, so either she’s just a kid in a costume, or this show is embracing a streak of magical realism. I guess we’ll find out
Shimamura’s fatigue with this whole scenario is so good. The show did so much work articulating her personality in the first episode that now we barely need to hear her thoughts; it’s already clear to see when she’s going “huh, is that so” while mentally wondering when this conversation will be over
We slip into a spacey montage as the two discuss Yashiro’s difficulty in finding her companion. The strained, vague line of discussion makes me think we’re in metaphor territory again, perhaps reflecting on our two heroines’ difficulty connecting, but to be honest this whole astronaut device is kinda throwing me so far. Not that it’s bad, I just can’t immediately pin down its purpose
Yashiro says that to get a bite, you must first admit you can’t get a bite – because that at least means you’re trying, and are starting something. That, at least, serves as a clean metaphor for Shimamura’s approach to personal relationships, since she clearly rationalizes her loneliness as a deliberate choice
“All we can do from here is wait for a bright future and toss our lines.” Yep. Fishing and youth have a lot in common, I guess – a whole lot of waiting around for something to happen, and when something does happen, it’s significantly messier than you expected, and not nearly as exciting
A very Shimamura transition back to the secret spot, as she bluntly declares “so, that happened.” I really like that – by framing the fishing expedition as an anecdote Shimamura is relaying, its abrupt ending becomes a flourish of characterization. Nothing else interesting happened, so that’s where Shimamura stops talking. This also feels very true to life; frequently, our random encounters don’t possess a clear dramatic purpose, but just sort of fade into awkward stillness. It’s hard to balance seeking that sort of realism with maintaining the natural dramatic progression of an effective narrative, but I think this reframing achieves it
Meanwhile, Adachi’s just lounging on her legs. The girl has got it bad
Their banter is so natural. Adachi refuses to disclose her part-time job, saying “you’ll probably show up,” and Shimamura replies “well, yeah”
Adachi seems to understand Shimamura, though – she says that Shimamura is “cat-like” in her refusal to get close to others, and Shimamura appreciates being seen in this way
“If I lay down this way, I can smell you.” Goddamn, Adachi
“I think you lack elegance, Shimamura.” “No one’s ever told me that before.” Shimamura seems to enjoy being insulted for her real personality, rather than complimented for her fake one
And in response, she invites Adachi to join her for class, because “it’d be nice if we were second years together.” She doesn’t want to let go of these honest exchanges
Shimamura clearly got the fishing message, as she frames her participation in school in terms of throwing out a line to catch a bright future
Adachi is such a glorious mess. She’s surprised to learn no one has called Shimamura pretty before, which simply means they’re unwilling to be as blunt as her, and then doubles down with “I guess everyone must be blind, then.” While Shimamura is fluent enough in social games to be tired of them, Adachi is like a horny bulldozer, plowing through walls of decorum with her powers of obliviousness
Sometimes she’s actually too direct for Shimamura to handle
Nice contrast of physical and verbal brinkmanship as they share snacks. Shimamura is negotiating her way towards Adachi attending more classes, while Adachi is hyper-fixated on Shimamura’s physical presence, as conveyed through these claustrophobic shots of lips and fingers
And again, as they’re leaving, Shimamura’s thoughts are presented as an overt monologue, while Adachi’s focus is conveyed by the camera lingering on Shimamura’s hand. A neat way to convey both perspectives at once
And she does it! Shimamura is genuinely shocked by Adachi grabbing her hand, but she plays it cool
Goddamnit, the astronaut shows up and ruins the mood. Well, it seems Adachi can see the astronaut too, at least
Shimamura is unfazed by Yashiro’s demand for donuts, but then realizes Yashiro will have to take off their helmet to eat one. Shimamura is so good
As usual, Adachi tenses up as soon as someone else invades their private world, and eventually announces she’s off to get her bike. Shimamura wonders if she’s mad, which is a natural instinct – we all have a tendency to assign ourselves responsibility for the behavior of others, since we are each the center of our own universes. Shimamura still doesn’t quite understand the extent of Adachi’s social phobias
Welp, Adachi is having her horny dreams again, and just listing off all of Shimamura’s cutest features
“It’s not like I’m into that.” OH COME ON ADACHI
Ahaha, amazing. Adachi just mentally rambling about all the preconditions she’d have to meet in order to kiss Shimamura, which mostly come down to “I’d kiss her as long as nobody found out about it.” She’s not against kissing Shimamura, she’s just deathly afraid of the consequences
“To be quite honest, I’ve been wondering how much of a friend Shimamura actually sees me as.” Understandable anxieties from Adachi. While Shimamura loves Adachi for her bluntness, she herself still maintains a portion of her cool, distant affectation. Adachi is putting more sincerity into this relationship than Shimamura is, and as someone who’s clearly uncomfortable with manipulative social games, Adachi is naturally anxious about Shimamura’s true feelings
Shimamura ends up finding Adachi at her job as a waitress, but it actually turns out fine
“She doesn’t push me away when I rely on her, but she doesn’t try to rely on anyone herself.” It seems like Adachi is starting to understand Shimamura to some extent, though I’m sure she’d prefer if Shimamura were willing to rely on her a little
Shimamura’s friends find them at lunch. As we sink into Adachi’s thoughts, the friends fade into a deep blue, their voices becoming a vague murmur in the distance while Adachi considers whether she resents them or not. Yep, that’s pretty much how it goes – if I’m not here to talk to you and you’re not directly demanding my attention, your volume’s gonna get muted real quick
They do a great job with Adachi’s insecure body language – she always seems a little tensed, and unsure of where she should place her hands
Aw shit, Adachi asked to go to Shimamura’s house. In spite of her insecurity, she’s really pushing things along
Shimamura playing it cool as Adachi gets increasingly bold and flustered is so cruel, but so funny
Wonderful contrast of their light small talk as Adachi thinks MY BONES ARE GRINDING TOGETHER, WHY DO I FEEL THIS IN MY BONES
And Done
Well it’s clear that Adachi and Shimamura isn’t wasting any time! This episode accelerated their relationship with confidence and humor aplenty, as each of them sorted through their feelings towards the other, and how they might pursue those feelings. Shimamura currently holds most of the power in their dynamic – she’s used to playing it cool, and isn’t necessarily sure she even has romantic feelings for Adachi, rather than just a desire to break out of her shell. Meanwhile, Adachi is so head over heels for Shimamura that she can barely speak – but at the same time, she’s also the one pushing them forward, and carrying Shimamura along. It’s a delightful stew of clashing needs and insecurities right now, and every scene gives me more character insights to dig into. What a wonderfully messy couple.
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