AWTY 187 - We Might Talk About This Movie (The Stranger by the Beach)

So can we have sex?

No.

Night.

Hello and welcome to our events area in exploration and education and anime. I'm your anime idiot, patrick dugan.

I am an anime expert, dee hollander.

And I'm brenda mccullough. Your anime beach bum, Steven King, but without all the cocaine. It's a different kind of sand wink. It's actual sand. It's like real sand this time. Not.

Do you snort it, though?

Listen, what I do at the beach is my business.

It's none of my business.

Between me and the horseshoe crash, as.

The person who's probably snorted the most sand just through life, I think I can speak to this. Yeah, we're here chilling on the coasts of Maine. We decided to take a little vacation week. So we are here just trying to relax.

Yeah, that's why we chose Maine. The beachiest state where the beach is.

Maine is actually really nice.

It is very nice. Not the beaches though. It's just not sand. It still got like a few thousand years before it becomes sand.

We'll get there someday. But hey, what we're watching? Because it's my week, I guess. So we were going to watch a show. Anime.

Anime shuttle.

Yeah. And then reality keeps doing this weird thing where it goes into hellscape directions. That starts to parity the things we see in very fantastical stuff. And we don't want to acknowledge that collapse in reality. So we're watching some cute gay shit.

Is that cool?

Everyone, I am astonished by how much we've had to restock the emergency brake glass in case of real world setting in anime. It's a lot. We've had to do this more times than I remember.

Unfortunately, we've been living in unprecedented times for two and a half years now.

Two I wouldn't give for presidented times.

Just give me like real normal, just real by the book. No better than buy the book because that book is shit. We're here for some good times. Some good gay beach times. That's right. We're watching stevie Universe.

No.

That'D be great though, wouldn't it? We don't like that.

We should just finally abandon the premise.

You know what?

Fuck animate.

It's about cartoons. That's what we're here.

We heard how much he loved the walkthrough episode. Don't respond to me on Twitter about the walk. Just don't.

We're watching the Stranger by the beach. Got it. Got to say, it a movie. This was a ribbon quest recommendation, I believe. Correct?

Yes.

Thank you. Our only friend in this desperate time.

The recommendation came with it's very cute and gay and has some top quality cats. So that's why this is like top shelf rip cord in case of emergency. Need some comfort, chill times.

But yeah. Is this a show either of you have heard of beyond the recommendation?

No. And it was a true piece of work to actually find anything about this because the names vary quite a bit between less Japanese, English I think French got in there a few times. It was hard to figure out what this really was like.

Bless you, Rubenquest. Thank you so much. But when she gave us the suggestion, she just said the stranger. So that itself was a little hard to decipher.

A little DA vinci Code to figure out what this was.

She gave us a little puzzle.

We got there, we went on a little we had to go to a library in pasadena. We had to look up the ancient scrolls, but we got there.

You know I'm not allowed back in pasadena. You know that. I don't know why you sent us.

There, but yeah, what else is there to say? I certainly need to stop talking for a second.

Shall we watch this movie?

Yeah.

Sorry, everyone.

We took a week off for a razor.

These boys are gay. That's all we needed them to be. Thank you for being gay. Okay, we can breathe a little easier now.

Yes. I was going to say this was very explicitly gay. They say it, they talk about it.

Yeah. I was surprised. It was just, like, so quickly established and committed to it rather than, like, teasing at it of like, ooh, maybe they just like hanging out with each other and you're something more than a friend. You're a best friend. I was like, okay. It's like, no, they're like, These boys love each other. I was like, okay, good. We can just establish that right away and move on.

Now it's about something else.

Yeah. We digging deeper to the relationship than just the flirting at the beginning.

And the flirting at the beginning is where we will begin. So we are introduced to one of our main boys, June. He sees a boy on a bench, you could say a stranger by the beach.

It's the thing.

So quickly we answered the question. Yeah. Every title is a question of, like, when? When will this be relevant? So we see this boy soon. He is helping his aunt. He lives in her cafe slash inn place. And he's helping out in the kitchen, doing some cooking with her. And he's like, hey, do you recognize that boy, that stranger by the beach?

And she says, why'd you phrase it like that? That's a very weird sentence.

He said, why'd you wink into the camera?

God, we need a little bit more budget for this localization. So she's like, oh, yeah, that's that boy mio. He used to come by a lot with his mom when he was younger. And we would give them some bread so they keep making food. Okay. So woman comes in, don't fully understand the relationship and not fully explained. Is she just another tenant there?

That's what I took it as.

Yeah, I think so.

Maybe like, either a tenant who's been there long time or actually knew them because it's very familiar, it's very older sister dynamic.

Yeah, that's why I was confused, because everything about this screamed sister and then they just never actually confirmed it, at least to my full vigilance in this exact moment.

Yeah, I think they're just pals.

Yeah, but yeah, she comes in, they talk about her girlfriend getting the gaze together, right?

Everybody'S gay.

Yeah, truly. Like a cafe in running, just like, hey, let me foster these queer views. God, that is the dream.

You know what? Fuck it. auntie's Gay. Yes, you can't tell me otherwise.

Stand by. It confirmed. You heard it here first. Yeah, he keeps seeing mio sitting on this bench by the water every night, but then he just leaves. So the next morning, I say the next morning time is extremely unexplained in this film.

This is very Jeremy Baromet here.

Yes.

Truly, I thought the hour runtime of this movie possibly could be a result of them just cutting, like no, these are the important bits because it is cut so jarringly that time shifts are like, oh, wait, no. Is this a different scene? Yes, okay, confirmed. But no, this stylistic choice, it's mentioned in the summary, it truly is a stylistic thing of like, time is just a blur when you're falling in love. But yeah. So a nice sunny morning sometime in the future june is waiting for mio and as he's walking by, he's like, a beautiful day, right? And fully ignored. No recognition from mio.

It hurt to watch.

So he goes and makes some deliveries for his aunt, gets back and starts working at the cafe and that night he sees a boy back by the bench. The pattern continues, so he runs out and he offers him some extra bread like the old days. So he takes it and thanks him. He's like, for me for free, and touched by this kindness. So again, in the future, time irrelevant back in the cafe, it's raining and mio brought a cutting for him to say thank you for the bread cutting of a plant, one of his mom's plants. And now, not the previous time when they were talking about mio now his aunt says, oh, yeah, his mom recently died, so he's like, super lonely and stuff. Oh, well, we get a flashback to young mia, maybe like five, six years old, asking his mom, what do we want for dinner? You always want curry. Cute domestic moment. And when he asked for something new and asked for crab, which is expensive, he's like, oh, is it a no money day? We're poor, aren't we, mom? She's like, no, I'm not going to rain on your parade because I'm the perfect anime parent. We're going to have imitation crab, we're going to play it off, and I'm going to die. You know this because I'm a good parent.

That's just how it is.

I'm a parent with no downside, which means my time is ticking.

So that night, he goes out, sees mio sitting on the bench, and he goes and sits next to him. And he's like, hey, so you come here every night. What are you watching? He's like, nothing. Just chilling. He's like, oh, well, do you ever feel lonely out here? And this rubs me out the wrong way. And he's like, Shut the fuck up, you idiot motherfucker. Whatever.

He actually says, I'll cut you like a fish. Just real aggro.

And he's like, hey, I would be alone if you weren't watching me, you creep. That's super weird. Could you not come out here and just stand watching me every night? He's like, okay, I touched on her. So now it's time for a Shoon flashback. It's him back in school, standing in a hallway, standing outside a classroom full of bullies. And they're talking about that kid you sit next to, Shoon. He's gay, he likes boys. He better not hit on me. Do you think this Shoon fellow might be gay? I don't know. So this outburst and flashback combination were so intense. Shooting just passes out. Yeah, you never get killed at so bad. You just black out.

Yeah, one time.

Extremely relatable.

Yeah. I wasn't sure if this was present day soon passing out and waking up or if this was the flashback shoot.

Like having yeah, I couldn't tell it.

First either because he wakes up in a school uniform, I think, or that might have just been his clothes, I don't know. Yeah, I felt like the timeline wasn't confusing when I was watching it, but now that we're recounting it, I'm like, yeah, you know what? Wait a minute. I am kind of confused.

Nah.

Anyways, he wakes up, they pulled him back in. He was across the street, he wasn't far.

It's fine.

But later on, mio finds him writing because he's a novelist.

I'll say real quick, my opening was the Stephen King reference because I knew he was a novelist from the synopsis. This movie has nothing to do with him being I thought it played a lot bigger role in the plot.

Nah, it's just who he is.

Yeah, it is.

In two scenes or excuse me, in five scenes, probably total mentioned in two scenes actually relevant to the plot. Where am I notes are we? So he finds him writing because, you know, I'm a writer and miyo apologizes. He's like, hey, sorry. So you might not know this. My mom just died and there's a lot of people being weird to me because they don't know how to deal with someone whose mom just died. So I'm getting a lot of pity and insincere stuff. I blew up on you. I knew you weren't being insincere. And he's like, oh, yeah, sorry. I was just trying to make conversation, trying to be friendly and mia. Well, I mean, it seems like you were flirting with me, and if you were, I don't mind it.

And if you were, might I say a wooga, a Barbara? Yeah.

So the cartoon wolf eyes just fold out they're in love now. Confirmed. So we cut to them on the beach. They're fishing, doing a bad job. They keep mio over for dinner. They don't catch anything, but they're like, well, you're staying to eat anyways. And mio helps cook a little bit, and it's just some cute domestic bliss as mio's like, oh, they're not pitying me. They're genuinely nice and want me around. Interesting.

Weird family.

Weird for an anime protagonist like me.

For a lonely anime boy like me. I love the aggressive kindness of erie. All right, well, we didn't catch anything, so I'll head on home. And she's like, where the hell do you think you're going? Sit down. You're having dinner with us. Oh, no, you don't have to she's like, no, this isn't a choice. You sit down and eat. She's in it for very small amounts. But I fucking loved erie so much.

Yeah, she's a good character.

So they're back on the beach again, and mio says, hey, thank you for having me over for dinner. That's great. Got to tell you tomorrow, unfortunately, since I'm 17, I have no legal control over myself. So I'm getting shipped to an orphanage on the mainland because they live on a beautiful tropical or not tropical is Japan beautiful island. And he's like, I don't have a cell phone, so we might talk. And Shoon understandably, is like, oh, shit. I just fell in love with you. Please call me. And he says he'll call so close to love. anyways, ripped away. So in my notes next, I just have time passes, because for a little bit, it truly is unclear. So we see the two ladies are moving out. They're having their own domestic gay bliss. We got to leave room for you to brooding protagonists to figure it out. And they're like, oh, but we think the new tenant will be a big help around here. And it's mio. Hey, he moved back because he's 20 now because three years have passed.

Absolutely crazy.

Truly in that order. That is how they reintroduce us to what's going on. So he's like, oh, thank God. I'm so glad you're back, blah, blah, blah. And he's like, oh, yeah, because I still like you a lot. And June in this time, planted the cuttings that mio gave him by the bench. And there's a bunch of flowers sprouting.

Beautiful.

It represents their love, he says, like, oh, yeah, they spread like crazy. Like, they grew a lot. I want to be like, they're an invasive species. They're not allowed on this island and have destroyed the ecosystem.

I'm being arrested tomorrow. And then another three years pass.

Oh, it's so good to see you. Yeah, I've been in jail. So how is your space home? Because it's 50 years in the future.

Yeah, mew has clearly aged since that time. Shoon looks identical, so it's hard to tell.

Yeah.

Shoon and all of this is a little bit irked because the people who live next to him decided he's going to have a boyfriend now, and he's just finding this out so fair. He's a little bit caught off guard. He's like you chose bad. Why did you come back here? And it was like, Well, I didn't choose this place. I chose you. And he goes to kiss him right as they're about to kiss, shun says, oh, right, I'm an anime protagonist. I'm super hungry right now. Got to get some food, and pulls away denied. Denied. So later on, mio visits his parents grave and goes back to see Shoon asleep he's just waking up. How cute. Let me kiss him. Let me give him the good old kiss. But he's interrupted again later on, we see him, mia working as shune walks by the window and all these flirty older ladies at the table who I love are just like, this handsome young man. Oh, such a strappling fella. And Shoon sees this and is like, mio is in love with these women.

The reaction to this is insane.

I think it is, because he has some internalized issues and these women ask mio if he has a girlfriend and he's like, he shouldn't be gay. It's so hard to be gay. And that's like, the stuff that he's pushing on mio, but yes, his reaction to things is wild sometimes yeah, just.

Like, absolutely, there's deeper stuff, absolutely going on the surface level reaction of those flirty old women he's in love with.

He's leaving me for them, just like in sasaki. And he was like, everybody in his class has a crush on him.

This boy just moved back after three years solely to be with you. What?

So later on that night, they go out or they go back to his place, they have, like, a shared curtain between their rooms, of course. And mia was like, cuddle time. And she was like, no, go lay with your horse and slide. And then we get a flashback to young mio again he was so inspired by his mom giving him a good dinner that he makes more and he accidentally destroys, like, half their food supplies doing a cute little kid thing. But she, of course, being the best mom in the world you did so great, sweetie. I'm so proud of you. And hides that they have no food for a little bit.

Yeah, I think he made, like, rice balls with, like, seaweed and marshmallows or something where it's like, that's got to be bad.

Yeah, little kid palate. So, yes, mio, he wakes up from this dream flashback we have yet to mention the top quality cats. They are in fact, top quality, always cuddling, very cute.

I don't know if I've ever seen two cats so in love.

Yeah, they were very sweet.

Also, I failed my duty in depriving you of these cats up until this point.

That's okay. There was a lot to get through.

I also didn't rise. There's a third cat until they were all in the same shot. I was like, oh, because there's, like, two white ones that look kind of similar.

So, yes. mio wakes up. He sees that Shoon is still awake. He was, like, riding all night. We see mio standing outside of the cafe when airy drives by, and she says, I'm coming over tonight for dinner anyway. how's their relationship going? And mio is like, not much to report. And then, presumably it is that evening, and Shoon goes out into the kitchen, and ary is there. And she tells him that if he likes mio, he needs to spend time with him. What a concept.

Weird.

That night, Shoe is still writing. mio says, when are you supposed to hand that over? And he says, yesterday. And mio is like, wow, you sure are busy. And then Shoon makes some snide remark about him being popular at the cafe. All your 50 year old girlfriends.

I'll say, Back to the beginning when they're fishing on the beach. I think mio says his name means, like, bearing fruit or something. And Shoe says his name is spelled with the kanji for horse, which is immediately when I learned to not like Shoe.

You knew instinctively.

I knew it was a sign.

Yeah. I do appreciate throughout the movie, Shoon will say some stupid thing, and mio gets appropriately angry and not, like it's, like, an appropriate level of angry, even for an anime. So, yes, he makes this snide remark, and mio throws something at his head and then closes the curtain and is like, we're not going to talk anymore. You're being stupid. Sometime later. Next day, I guess. Probably next day. So ary and her girlfriend suzu are sitting outside, and mio is, like, watching them interact. And he's like, you got along so well. Shoon walks by, and ary is like, oh, did you finish writing? He says, yes, and he has to go to the mainland to ship it. So ari suggests that mio goes with him, and she can fill in for him at the cafe. And he kind of reluctantly, is like, okay, yeah, I'll go with Shoon. They take the ferry together. mio is wearing a cap, and Shoon asks him about it, and he explains that he has trouble making eye contact with strangers and that he's worked on it for a long time, but it's still kind of hard for him. And shun is like, you're good at it at the cafe. And he's like, yeah, but there's just too many people on the mainland. I don't want to deal with that. Then Shoon says mio could probably find a girlfriend easily and that it's such a waste. implying that mio pursuing Shoe is a waste. Stupid. And mio gets upset, obviously. He's like, what does that mean? What is that supposed to mean? Like, why would you say something like that?

Say something shitty like that ruin my sweet poopsuit time. The pets you knock off.

Is that the pet name? They call each other the shit name. They get off of the boat. mio walks away, says, I'll catch up with you later. shun takes this package to the airport. mio sulks around the city, and he winds up at a gay bar, and he kind of confides in the person at the door. He just says, do you like men? And the person is like, what do you think?

You're very young.

Yeah. And he tells them that he's confused about his relationship with Shoon, and they just are like, here's a card with my number on it. If you need to talk to somebody, you can talk to me, which is very sweet. They don't come back.

But she might be my favorite character, though. I fucking love her. She's amazing.

Yeah. I like their willingness to help the gay youth, even though he's an adult in his 20s.

Well, 20, I think. The bar's name was in kanji, or at least I don't remember. But above it was in English, and it just said Gay Bar punk, which is the name of my pussy. Right? Cover band.

So mio calls Shoon. Shoon asks where he is. mio is very brave and just tells him how he feels. He says, I'm not a child. You're the only thing I can think about. I love you. Like, I want to be with you. This is stupid. Stop being stupid. He needs to know if Shoon feels the same, so he tells Shoon where he is. Shoon says he's on his way as he's running to miao. He remembers the bullies from high school, but he keeps on running to his man's. He makes it to him. mio tells Shoon that his feelings didn't just come out of nowhere, and he thought that he had feelings for him too. He's the reason he went back to the island. And shoon you're the one I want. Shoon helps him up and takes him to a hotel. It's raining.

There you go. Okay. Yeah. Makes sense. Just two friends.

Just two buddies holding hands in the hotel lobby.

Bros being dudes.

Yes. Shoon is checking them in. Some girls are staring. mio kind of doesn't. He notices but doesn't seem to mind. And they get to their hotel room, and Shoon gives mio a big old smooch. It's very sensual and, like, romantic. And, mio, this is we love consent in a gay anime. The bar is in hell.

We say this every time. It's so low.

But he kisses him, and then mio is just like, yes, finally. And, like, hugs him back, and it's great. The reciprocation is so nice.

God bless if we get merch can that it's just a shirt that just says, the bar is in hell. Standards, I'm down.

But so they're smooching, then fucking shoot. Pulls back, tells him he shouldn't do this. mio, you'd be happier with a girl. I don't want you to be held back, but I also can't let go. And he's, like, hugging him. And then mio hugs him right back. And it's just like there was something about the way this hug was drawn that felt very real and loving to me. And I really loved it. Just like their positioning. It didn't feel awkward at all. Loved it. So they're laying in bed together. Shoon asks mio if he's slept with a girl. He says yes. Shoon says he has two. He hasn't actually slept with a guy. mio is, like, shocked. And Shoon is like, I've just never had the opportunity because the guys I always had feelings for were friends, so obviously that wouldn't happen. And mio is like, let's fuck now, bro.

We got to tell us. Go.

It's a perfect opportunity. But sheen says he's tired. He hasn't slept in a few days because of writing. And he gives mio a smooch and just falls asleep. And mio is like, what the heck?

Fucking tease. Brings the hotel room. Fucking.

But yes. So then we see another flashback dream. It's snowing. Shoon is laying on a tatami floor. A girl comes in and says that they're getting married soon. I thought it was airy. It's not. And she says, you have to be sure. I don't want to do this unless you're sure. He wakes back up there. Back at home, mio is talking to sleep. He's like, sheune. The two of them are fishing on the beach, eating onigiri in silence. mio says, can we have sex tonight? sheen says, no, because mio is just down bad.

I imagine Burton and ernie have the same conversations.

Hey, burt, can we have sex tonight? ernie? No, my shows are on.

I got to feed my pigeons.

So mio is like, what's the deal? Like, don't you want to? And he says that he does. And he says to mia that he loves him. And there's like this really sweet moment where he's like, say it again. mia is like, say it again. He's like, no, I'm not going to tell him to get to work. And then a strange girl approaches. She says, hi, Shoon. And mio is like, who's this? And shun says she's a childhood friend. And she's like, actually, I was his fiance. So shun is like, why are you here? And she says, you got to come home. So that night at the inn, she introduces herself. Her name is I think it's sakurako, but I'm going to keep calling her sakura because that's what I wrote in my notes. She asks how long Shoon and mio have been friends. Shoon says, we're lovers. Actually, they're in their room that night. mio asks if they were really engaged. And Shoon says he broke it off and in that process cut off his whole family. Shoon is reading a note. He says, my family wants me to come visit. I don't want to do that. I'm going to go take a bath. Goodbye. We're not talking about this. The next morning, presumably, maybe mio is hanging laundry. Soccer is like, hey, do you have time to hang out today? She wants to see the mountains, so they go on a drive. While they're on this drive, she asks mio if he slept with Shoon. mio freaks out, so she's like, oh, so you haven't. And she's like, he's a good lover. Very gentle and caring. Clearly, like, trying to get into his head.

Cool. I look forward to it, I guess.

Thanks for telling me.

Warmed him up for you.

And by warmed him up, I mean made him realize he was gay. He definitely knew he was gay before that.

I performed that for you in the worst way possible.

So they're, like, walking around on the mountain, and he asks her if she's there to get back with Shoon. She says, of course not. She explains that she's there because his father's health is failing, and if sheune doesn't visit him soon, she doesn't think he'll see his dad again. mio asks why she'd agree to marry Shoon. Because he says, you had to know that he was gay, so why would you do that? And we get a flashback of Shoon on another snowy day. And he walks past a gym. He stares at a guy inside, and she goes up to him. She throws a valentine's Day gift at his head, and she says, you should just confess to him. Get some courage and do it. You don't know unless you try. And he just says, It's not going to work out. I know it. Forget it. Back in present Day they're back at the end. She tells Shoon that he can write from anywhere, so he should go home. He doesn't want to. mio comes in at the worst time. He's like, I cut you guys some melon.

For your kids. And they're just yelling at each other.

So Shoon tells soccer to leave and mind her own business, and she slaps him. Shoon deserves it.

Yes.

He's not the worst anime character we've ever seen, but he deserves being slapped.

Once again, the bar is in hell.

Yes, he deserves being slapped. He deserves every time mio gets mad.

At him, I think it was at this point, he says, It's not even your family. Why do you care? And through the flashbacks, we learned she's essentially part of the family.

Yeah. They have been friends forever.

Yeah.

So after that, she calls him stupid. She leaves. mio is like, we should go after her. And sheunes like, no, you're all I need. I don't need my family. I don't need her. And mio gets mad. He's like, that's not an excuse. Like, I'll be okay. You should go home. And what I really respect about mio, he does have a moment later on that's a little strange, but I feel like between sakura and shun, they just say this shit to him. And he's like, I will not let you make my relationship with shune toxic. Like, I will not let this be a terrible relationship. You guys are fucking stupid. And I love that for him.

Miyo is definitely, like the youngest out of all the characters we see and I guess kind of portrayed as, like, naive as someone seems like to be the most emotionally mature person in this entire movie.

Yeah, because that's such a shitty thing to say to someone is like, you're all I need. fuck everybody else. It's like, no, that's a flag. No.

Yeah.

So mio, he goes to look for soccer. He's walking through the woods with a flashlight. The flashlight dies, and he has a flash back to sitting alone. It's very quick. He's holding, presumably what is his mother's ashes. And he tells himself he's okay. And he keeps walking.

Yeah. So he's out looking. I'm going to call her fiance or ex fiance because I got two names. I'm full. I am at my limit. So yeah. Mia goes back home after looking for her and sees no. What I immediately lost in my first note back home. While Mia is out looking for her, shun is thinking back to when his parents freaked out when he broke off the engagement and when he confessed to him that he's gay. He's in ceremonial robes, so it looks like he broke off the engagement during the wedding. And he's like laying on the ground when they walk in. And his parents are freaking out, being like, why are you doing this to us? What do you mean you love men. Like, what is happening? Shitty parents, but also feel like he could have said this or all your shoe and avoided a lot of this job.

We paid for this the day of man.

Like, while it's happening. Anyway, so he thinks about mio and he runs out after them, like getting on the shoes and stuff. And we see ex fiance out at the beach, and she's just walking into the ocean, which got it. That hasn't been a mood for the lasting four years. And while she's doing that, we get a flashback of her and Shun as kids, like little kids in the winter. And they're out, like, all bundled up in the snow at a shrine or something. And they're holding hands as soon as parents take a picture. Aren't you too cute together? Like, oh, this is great. And they come up with her photo, and she says, like, when I get older, I'm going to marry Shoon. And Shun is like, yeah, if it's you, I guess it's all right. Even as a six year old, he's like, I don't know, maybe reluctant to.

Do it, I guess.

Yeah, I'll settle for you.

And of course, the parents are like, oh, that's adorable. Like, they said they're going to get married. Let's hold them to that for the next 14 years.

They wring their hands.

Verbal contract.

Yeah, like a genie. I caught you in it. So he says, as long as it's her, he's fine with it. And then we come back to present day, and Mia finds fiance at the beach and brings her back in from the ocean. Be like, hey, don't do that. It's dark and dangerous and don't and pulls her back in from the water. She says, why didn't mio ask Shoon to stay with him instead of going back to see his family? She's saying, Shun would have stayed with you if he asked. And mio asks, why didn't she ask him to stay with her? And she said she did, but that's when he left. It's kind of like sorry. miyo says. He says she wasn't the last person that sheen loved. And miao admits he's like, I might not be the last person that she loves. Sheun might continue living and find someone else and move on. And I don't want to hold him back like that. I don't want to assume we're tied in and locked in place forever. Mia says they both love Shoon and is sorry that Shoon can't love her back the same way she loves him. And she's just kind of like, God damn it, why are you nice? Why are you understanding? Why are you so mature for a 20 year old? It's the little ponytail. He grew his hair out and has, like, a little ponytail now.

All the maturity is stored in the ponytail.

He's like samson, if you cut it off, it's gone. His power is gone. And then back on the beach, mio recounts a story of his mom back when she was alive, and he's telling her that and says he wants to make sure sheunes can see his parents while he still has them, because he knows he's lost both of his parents, so he knows the feeling of never seeing someone again. And the flashback of mio and his mom shows them both wearing each having I think he has the white bracelet, and his mom has the red bracelet. And when we cut back to present day, we realized Mia has been wearing both of them since he's moved back to the island. And then we cut to mia's asleep and crying a little when he wakes up, because we realized the flashback he was having was the dream. So he's crying with memories of his mom, and he's looking at by Shun, who just got back after looking for him. miyo says he took his fiance to her in and says she doesn't want to see Shoon, which understandable.

Again, I respect mio so much. Shun is just like, where's she staying? And mia's like, she doesn't want to see you. He doesn't even say, oh, she's staying here, but she doesn't want to see you. He's just straight up like, you are not going there.

And she apologizes for dragging into all of this. And Mia says, if someone cares about you cares for them. You should not crush their spirits and Shoot needs to really fucking grow up. And she's just like, wow, I'm not pulling any punches. And Mia was like playing with a cat. He's like, Ha. Got you. I was just joking. Sure, but you said it and it definitely hit so more like Mia wasn't angry as he was when he said it. That was the joke. But what he said, she definitely needed to hear. And she apologizes for him being a pissy little baby. The next day, fiance is leaving and she never wants to speak to him again because after all, she's just a stranger. She has no part of his family or anyone related to him. She's like, yeah, okay, I shouldn't have said that. Sorry. I know I should go back. I know I should see them all. And fiance says, like, well, before I go, can I at least get one last kiss? That way I can finally give up on you and know that kiss means nothing. And she said they never kissed while they were engaged. Their whole time they've known each other. And we see, like, Mia like, remember back in the car when she said he's a gentle lover? She lied to me.

She either she either lied or they had sex and he never kissed her because he did say he had sex, which is a crazy possibility.

I mean, goku, does it? He's got three kids.

He never kisses his wife.

It's canonical and fucking wild. Anyway, I love cheat. She's a power move. She just want to kiss. She just needed a spur. Anyway, I'm moving on. Yeah. She says, can I just get like one final kiss? And June kind of steps forward to her and he kind of like, come on. And I feel like he was going to hold her or embrace her. I don't think he was going in for the kiss personally. But as he steps forward, Mia panics and kisses her instead. He jumps in and intercepts the kiss. And then we just immediately cut to her on the ferry, riding out, being mad, being like basically being like, fine, you can keep your stupid island. I'll never come back here any. fuck both of you. Fantastic. So she's mad about that. And Mia mia will be waving back to me. It's like, sorry about that. I'm young and possessive. And again, I think Mia is very emotionally immature.

I think he can admit to it. Is what he does next stupid? Yes, but at least he knows.

I think at this point is where mio actually gets kind of like emotionally immature after this point. Even at this when he's like laughing and waving him back to where I'm like he's kind of self aware. Like he called it out. No surprise, especially for an anime. And as soon as the boat's out of sight, he turns to Shoon and says, as soon as the boat is gone. Mia slaps Shoon, saying he should have told her he can't kiss her because he says if Mia wasn't there, shoon would have kissed her in front of him. And Shoot doesn't respond to this. So again, I think this is Mia jumping the gun.

I think Shoon would have done it. Based on everything we know about him, I think Shoon would have kissed her.

Liz? I think shoot's shitty. So, like, I'm not defending yeah, but, yeah, I think mio just jumps the gun here and never really gives him a chance to defend himself. And again, mio starts storming off and is crying a little bit as he heads back to the cafe. And back home, mio talking to him. He's crawled up into splankets and she was like, Come on, Mia, dinner's ready. He's like, fuck off. I don't want dinner. He's like, all right. And he goes tells his auntie, he's like, Auntie mio is not having dinner. And her auntie's like, oh, are you fighting? Sounds like you better not have dinner either. I was like, damn it. Damn. She's got that wisdom. She knows. And sheen checks checks back in on mio, who's still in bed. So he lays down with him, and as they're laying down, they start to kiss a little, and Mia says mius says he's still mad at him and he's still crying, so he's still clearly upset. And Shoon says sheun says he can't I feel like I missed a word, but I guess he can't. He can't stop thinking about Shoon, and when he's close to him, he can't help himself when they start kissing. And then miyo sits straight up, he's like, oh, if we're doing this, we're doing this right. We're doing it taking off his shirt, like, pulling off Shoon's shirt. And she's like, Wait, no, wait. This isn't what I meant. Well, it's what I meant. And if this is what we're doing, let's go.

I'm ready. I've been ready.

Yeah, I've been ready since day one. It's been months.

Question no, it's been 14 years since I moved back.

No one ages on this island.

It's the beach where you get old, except not the prequel.

Shen said he's scared because he once again, he's never been with a man. So he doesn't want to jump the gun and doesn't want to do anything that Mia might regret. He's like, nah, I'm so fucking ready for this. And no one likes it when I say the word sex, let alone describing it. So we'll skip over this explicit part.

This is important to me, though.

Okay?

We do have to acknowledge we made this straight person describe this scene.

I'll describe it. I don't have much experience with gay sex myself, but I'll describe it. But yes, even after watching it, Dean and I both talk. We were both very surprised by how honest and detailed the sex scene was in this, because often it's like, oh, they kiss and then they lay down in bed and invade to black or something we see in most movies. And this is like, no, you see them, like putting on condoms. You see Shoon asking me who can be a top because he's a bottom. He's like. And I prepared. I already took a shot hour. And he was like, shit, you prepared? Can you show me? I need to know how to do that. So I get you.

They show that they're using lube. He says, I'm going to put a finger in because you can't just fucking do it. That's the problem with most that's a prep. Yeah. With most gay anime content like this, they just do it and it's like, that's not it. So I so much appreciated, especially that he was like, I showered and did other things, like implying that he like, douched like, I loved this. It was great. I appreciated it so much.

I am very surprised with any anime is willing to show this much in a genuine and loving way. And not just sex, like pervasive, anti way, let alone one showing gay sex like this. I am very surprised because, like a message with D, there's plenty of anime and manga that are like, oh, boy loves a story or a girl love story. Ha ha. And it gets often very fetishized because Japan is still a fairly conservative country and you can make plenty of content about this stuff, but God forbid you actually be gay in that country. And it's like it's very surprising to show this level of detail and honesty with it. I was very impressed.

It was great. Good job, everybody. Also to talk about the fucking consent again. I always think about indo quay when they're like in that sandbox or whatever, and the blonde one starts feeling up the other one. That's not fun and sexy because he's drunk and like is saying, stop. That's not fun and cool. This is a completely like they're communicating effectively and they have those moments of sorry to keep talking about it. I just loved it. It's when mio puts his finger in, he says like, oh, you prepped yourself. That's when he says, can you show me how to do that? And they have that moment where it's not like completely sexy because sex isn't always sexy like that. Sometimes you have a moment where you're like, oh, I have to adjust. Can we move? And you laugh. And it I loved it.

It was very intimate and honest. Yeah, it was very surprising.

It was great. Good job.

Don't have sex in the sandbox for just a multitude of reasons.

Yeah, that sounds like a bad idea.

It's just a bad time for everyone. Especially the people the next day using that sandbox.

Of course. Irritating. It gets everywhere.

How dare you? Afterwards, shoon remembers all the painful time. No, not afterwards, actually. During it. They're like spooning. And Shoon remembers all the painful times he had either when he was being rejected or when he wanted to be with someone he loved but knew he never could and thought he never would. So while they're spooning, he starts crying a little bit, believing he finally found someone he can be in love with and share that after all those years. And afterwards they're talking and Shun confesses that he never did anything for miao. No, you did that one thing. He's like, no, not that romantically. I've never done stuff for me. He's like, I've been kind of shitty and pushing you away for a lot of this time, so I want to do better. And he was like, nah, man, I thought I was straight before you. Then I met you and fell in love and found out I was gay. You did a lot for me. And he's like, Claire Shoe still doesn't feel like he did anything. So he's still looking to pay back Shoe or pay back me up. And then Shoe says he's deciding he's going to go home and falls asleep. And next day we see Shoon packing up all his stuff, cleaning out his little rass nest of a writer's room where he's been living. And the auntie comes by and it's like, I'll keep your room for you. You need help. Basically saying, you're welcome back here anytime if you need to come back. And then he goes to meet mio at their usual spot. And mio, when he sits down, talks to me and me and says, stop watching me. It's creepy. Got you finger guns.

Ha ha. Remember when I said that? Memories, memories.

And he says, like, when you go back to the mainland, I got a phone now so you can keep in touch. You can send letters if you want, but it'll be different this time around. And Shun asked, he's like, oh, are you going to wait for me like I did back here? I don't know how long it'll be. It's indefinite. I packed all my stuff up. Yeah, I'll wait for you here. You did your time. I'll do my time sort of thing. Ha. As he's like walking out on the beach and Shoon says like, I need you, mio. You got to come with me. I need your help with this. And mio says he'll go along with him and he'll be with Shoon wherever he needs them. And he starts crying a little bit. Little surf on the little ocean.

He says, this is the worst piece of dialogue in this film. He says, come on, shoot. Let's get wet. And I was like, why wouldn't you just say, let's go in the water?

Yeah, you can match the mouth lab pretty easily with that.

Hilarious.

Part of localization is knowing.

And yeah, he starts pulling him into the ocean. Camera pants up as we hear him playing and splashing each other. And he's really happy that he's going with Shoon. And then it does like a little bit of a montage and it cuts back to both of their rooms because they got the curtain divider and shows they're both packed up now. mio packed up his stuff, and we see mio at his parents grave saying, giving a little prayer. And he's like, all right, you two be good now until I get back. We're going off on a little trip. As he stands up, his hat flies off and Shoon catches it, says like, all right, Mia, come on, we got to get going. And when he gives them back his hat, he also comes down and gives up prayer in front of their graves, which I thought was very nice.

It's so nice.

And then we hear arie, like, off camera, like, come on. Yeah, you'll catch the ferry. And then they go off and presumably go back to the mainland. And that's the end.

Yes.

That'S the movie. It doesn't really apply because it's not a series and we can't actually watch any more of it.

But, like, how did we like it?

It was cute. It was gay. What more can you ask for?

Top quality cats.

Yeah, I really appreciated this. There was watching it, I think was more frustrating than talking about because obviously we can take away some of that stupid back and forth that Shoon has where he's like, you shouldn't be doing this because that got irritating a little bit. But as a whole, this movie is so sweet. Really enjoyed it.

Yeah. It's only an hour long, so the pacing at times is kind of rough that it's sped on just because, like we said at the very beginning, it's like, hey, I'm into you and I'm gay. And we can establish a gay relationship in a healthy way. It's like, wow, it's like five minutes in, man. Like, whoa. That's a record. And like I said, I thought, like, him being a novelist would be a bigger deal because it's in all the summaries and synopsis. No, he sends off his script, like, in the mail. That one scene and that's about it. And yeah. So pacing wise, it's kind of rough at times just because it is an under an hour. But we've seen a lot of anime. I've watched a lot of fucking anime. And I wish I could get that time back. So I would very much rather a short series or a short movie that kind of paces itself a little too fast than, say, I don't know, a shown in anime that drags itself out for 400 episodes.

Please stop that.

Moneymaker. Can't can't stop it. So I'd I rather a shorter condensed story that's maybe a little too quick than one that's too long.

Yeah, actually.

So it's, you know, minor complaint. Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah. But yeah, our bar being in hell, this was like clouds maybe. Pretty good.

Yeah.

So we keep not being able to call our shot with what we're actually watching. Next week, so we'll see if we actually just keep doing it in the future. But, yeah, that's where we're at on that front. But if there's a show you would like us to watch and not announce a week ahead of time, you can send those recommendations to us. Our email is are wetheryet@gmail.com. Or you can reach out to us on Twitter or Instagram. At areweether on both. No.

You can find me on no.

We'Re right there, guys. The finish line is right there.

I got it. Let's go again. You can find me on Instagram and TikTok at honey. Period d or on Twitter at honey d eight and Honey d art and Honey is spelled hunnie.

You can find me on Twitter. I don't recommend it. It's not a great place.

What is that, handle?

Well, no, but my handle is abds Brendan, which stands for Almost Better Than Silence, which is a video game podcast I did for, like, seven fucking years. So it's quite a backlog if you.

Just got time to kill or one scene transition in this movie.

Hey, shoot, I listened to this entire podcast.

Thank you to camille ruley for her artwork, and thank you to Louisong for themed song stories. You can find all of louie's music@louisongcamp.com. Thank you, and we hope you'll join us next week as we learn to live with anime.

Sorry I talked so much about the sex scene.

Sorry I said the word sex and all.

Sorry, everyone. Sorry.