遠山の目付

第０２話　「すれちがい」　“Chance Encounter”

Releases
[l33t-raws] – 640×480/24fps, dx50, 192kbps-mp3
[Lunar] – 640×480/24fps, xvid, 128kbps-mp3

Comments
This is a good episode, despite the fact that nothing happens – or perhaps because of it. The focus lies mainly on watching the characters and how they each react to their situation.

At the end of the first episode, the wishing stone granted Karada’s wish to grow up faster by having her switch ages with Shouko-san, who happened to be there at the time. The opening scene of this episode is a continuation of the same scene. The transformation itself was well-done, in that we are not actually shown how Karada and Shouko change. I had been somewhat afraid that they would use a mystical transformation sequence similar to the ubiquitous Naked Glowing Costume Change, but we’ve thankfully avoided that bottomless pitfall. Some might find this scene lacking due to the absence of anything actually happening, but I definitely enjoyed the more subtle approach.

Big feet – the sign that Something Is Wrong

Karada-san doesn’t handle her change very well. This could be a play on the old “be careful what you wish for” mantra, or it could be the director’s attempt at creating a believable child-turned-adult, or it could be both. I thought Karada’s reaction was appropriate for the feeling of this show. In a more light-hearted anime, Karada probably would have been excited, maybe even comedic. But here, we’re reminded that Karada is rather mature for a little girl, and she realizes that something has gone wrong and it’s probably her fault. On the other hand, we’re also reminded that Karada is still a little girl, and as a result doesn’t quite know how to handle her emotions, let alone what to do now. As a result, she spends the majority of the episode in a state of shock and/or depression, speaking and doing very little of anything.

This is worse than me in the morning

In contrast to Karada, Shouko handles herself quite well – almost too well – and regains a great deal of my respect in the process. It seemed obvious to me that Shouko, more than Hiro or Karada, was the main character in this episode. When she finds herself turned into a child, she managed to remain calm and collected. She doesn’t bother becoming hysterical, and hardly even seems shocked. Although she’s somewhat annoyed by Karada’s whining, she’s mature enough to take responsibility for her, inviting Karada back to her home and trying to help her. It could be argued that Shouko’s calm demeanor is overdone, since most normal adults would panic if placed in her (now oversized) shoes. I think this was necessary in order to make a distinct difference between Karada, the child-turned-adult, and Shouko, the adult-turned-child. I also liked some of the small details that showed how Shouko was still getting used to her body. When she wakes up the next morning, she reaches above her head for her glasses and cellphone, forgetting that her arms are too short. When she’s brushing her teeth, she stares in the mirror with only the top half of her head clearing the bottom edge.

lol?

The other three characters, Hiro and the Amino siblings, are mostly afterthoughts in this episode, used mostly the complete the picture of a missing Karada. Naturally, everyone is worried, and naturally, nobody is any use in finding Karada. Hiro was a convincing worried brother, but I’m not sure how credible it was that he didn’t recognize Karada or Shouko at the shrine, especially since the girls both looked up in shock, indicating that they recognized him. The way this episode ended left me wondering how the anime was going to progress. I’m not sure how long they can keep playing the “He didn’t recognize me” card before it’s not longer believable.

This episode was certainly much slower than what most people (including myself) are used to in anime. However, I never had the urge to skip forward through the ‘boring’ parts, which is actually quite remarkable. Although there isn’t much to see, per se, and even less to talk about, it was well worth the time to just sit back and watch the character’s emotions unfold at their natural pace.