AWTY 90 - Hot for Handa (Barakamon With Maureen Price)

I want to hide under my bed.

Where manga can't hurt me. Hello, and welcome to are we there yet? In exploration and education and anime. I'm your anime idiot, patrick dugan.

I am an anime expert, dana hollander.

And I'm brenda mccullough, your anime brush show gun, the villain from Teen titan's, trouble in Tokyo, the movie the Aaron cartoon Network in 2007.

Oh, boy.

No, nothing.

Just me. I got nothing. I got nothing for you on this. Every week you get more specific and more insular.

I'm just locked in here in my tiny nerd cave, and there's only so many things I can understand outside of it.

Pretty soon, you're just going to start making jokes about your family that we won't understand.

And I'm your anime uncle, arts. He's a big old beard balled on top, and he please Santa for the local retirement home. Anyone getting these references?

No.

Oh, yeah, I go to that retirement home. I will finally win the least likely one. I understand he was also a background.

Character in the USA Network limited series political animals.

Wow.

Okay, big art.

You lost me on credit on some.

Art or I'm just digging this whole deeper and deeper.

Well, to help you dig your hole, we have a guest this week. You've heard her in Sword art online, sells at work, and Fire emblem heroes, we have maureen Price.

Hey, y'all.

Thank you for joining us.

Of course. This is a nice break from the groundhog day that is life now.

Wow, that's a great way of putting it. I haven't made that association.

Feels like groundhog day every day. So, anyway, this is delightful. I'm so happy to be here.

Happy we can help at least one person through this crisis.

Me in my closet.

Yes.

Perfect.

So, yeah, you picked this show for this week. What are we watching?

This week? We watched Barakimon, which is probably my favorite slice of life anime series ever. So that's a big deal because I love slice of life. Yeah, it's definitely my favorite slice of life. And I thought it would be an especially good time for this show because it is so wholesome and funny and lovely and just perfect.

That's why general good time, just good.

Vibes all around, feel good entertainment. I think we need that right now.

Yeah.

Every week I beg our listeners to bring us good stuff. Brendan has not followed that instruction, but I'm glad someone is.

You beg the listeners, not me.

Fair.

Now, I know a lot of dijimon, but I'm not familiar with Barakimon.

No, slightly different. See, that was my thing. When I heard this title, I was like, oh, this will be like a pokemon or a digibon. But, like, looking it up, it's like, oh, okay, never mind. Something else.

The name is not what you would expect for the show. It's like barack, come on. And then you watch. You're like, oh, I wouldn't pair those two in my head.

Yeah.

Do we know what it translates?

Yes. So I looked it up because I never thought about it, and they don't really address it in the show. It's not like they talk about why the title is, but apparently I think it translates to Energetic One, which I guess is referencing the character naru because she's definitely the energetic one. I think that's what I got. So that's my best guess.

Got you. Interesting.

It's not as simple as a show, like high cue, which translates to volleyball. Yeah.

You know, the volleyball show. That's what everyone's going to call it. So we're just going to head you off at the pass.

Pretty much.

So yeah. Brendan and dana, have you seen this? Have you heard about this at all?

No, I haven't watched it. But after finding out the name, I looked it up and I recognized a lot of the screenshots. It kind of reminds me of what was the other one we watched nietzsche, where there's a lot of memes that came out of it or a lot of just reaction shots from it. So I recognize the characters, but I haven't actually watched it myself.

Yeah, I had never heard of this one either. I think it came out or the dub, maybe 2014 or 2015. So it's not that old. And I had never heard of it. And my friend jalen cassell, who is also an anime industry guy, he turned me on to this and yeah, he was explaining it to me. I was like, okay, it's a guy goes to an island. Okay. And then I ended up watching it and oh my God, it's just so good. So I'm so glad that he introduced me to this because I have watched this. I mean, it's twelve episodes, so you can kind of sit down and watch it all in a day. I have watched this series so many times over the last couple of years. It's like Chicken soup for the soul for me. So it's got high rewatch ability factor for me. At least.

This is a nice dental palette.

Yeah, exactly. It's good to watch when you're not feeling great, like right now.

Well, good. Yeah, exactly.

And I did just look it up. The original series in Japan aired 2014, and the dub came out 2016. Yes.

It's fairly recent.

Yeah. Still fresh. So yeah, we're going to watch the first three episodes. Hey, everyone. Get on island time, baby.

I already am.

With animal crossings.

Hell yeah.

My soul feels so healed. I feel clean, nice, cool, compress.

On a hot summer day at the beach.

I hit the perfect temperature. I'm not too warm, I'm not too cold. I'm perfectly comfortable from watching anime.

What happened?

So weird.

It's definitely not one of my picks.

No. This is just so delightful. So good, so fun.

You're welcome. I made the show. I wrote it and directed it myself.

You're welcome for this guys conceived, written, produced, acted. You did all of the voices.

Every character so tiny.

Damn.

I mean, I'm nothing. It's not versatile.

All right, let's get into it. Episode one, be open with just a large brush, just like a real big brush painting. Well, I thought it was painting at first. No, it turns out the guy's just doing calligraphy on a very large canvas and he's just kind of in this manic state of laughing and throwing the brush all over it. Ink sprang everywhere. And as he falls over and looks up at the ceiling, we get a flashback of a time where he was at, I guess a conference or presentation for his calligraphy.

Yeah, it's like an art exhibition, like a contest.

Okay. And we see him presenting some of his calligraphy work and this old guy just shuts up and just starts tearing into him, just laying it on real thick and just kind of chastising and saying that's kind of like soulless. And there's no real heart to the piece and seems to buy the book and textbook and just really laying into it. And we see our main character standing back and kind of taking the hits hard and holding it back. And at a certain point he was like, yeah, no, I don't need this, and just knocks this dude the hell out.

Just lays into an old man with a cane in the face and he.

Throws his shoe at him, which just.

Out will salt in the wound there.

It's rough. It's rough.

Yeah.

I mean, we've all been to Thanksgiving dinner. This happens sometimes, we get it.

But the man, he says something. One of the reasons why I love the show so much is because I went to school for visual art and so I've been through a lot of critiques. Going to critiques is just something that you constantly do in art school. And sometimes people are really brutal and you kind of just have to sit there and take it. It's just part of the deal. And the critic says something at one point. He says hang on, I think I wrote it down. It was like, we all face the wall of mediocrity sometimes. And I just went, oh, God, that's worse than saying and just straight up sucks. Because at least if it sucks, like, you just went full in and it sucked, but you know what? You did it. But like, mediocrity, that's just a special kind of pain when you hear that from a critic. But Honda, our main guy here. Oh, man, he's chaotic. He's got some chaotic energy.

Take this.

I was going to say I was like, isn't this like part of it? Like you're saying in a visual art, like principal practice? Like, come on, dude.

Yeah, it's always tough, especially because if something's bad, it's like a movie. You can lay into it and be like, it's Cats the movie. But when it's nothing, hey, cats is perfect. Cats is great. I can't lie to our audience like that. Anyway, we come back to when we see Honda at an airport, kind of looking, waiting for his ride, and that's when it cuts the opening. And I was surprised by this opening because we get like a good kind of standard anime opening where we're seeing like, the ensemble cast of characters and stuff, but it was also intercut with different scenes of the watercolor, of doing the calligraphy and stuff. And that caught me a card and I was very surprised. It was very reminiscent for me, for uri on Ice. I was just like, that's why I was like, the show is going somewhere.

I love the opening and closing sequences for this show. I think they're so beautiful. I love that combination of the watercolor and the ink drawings being animated. I think that's so beautiful. And I love both the songs, too. I don't know what it is. Both these songs, for me are Fire trex. Okay. I love these songs. I've so moved by the music and the visuals together. I love it.

Yeah, that's the nice thing, having a show set around art and beautiful things. Like with yuri on Ice of like, let's rotoscope, an actual figure skater. It's like this is like of course, when we draw art, we're going to lean into that classical calligraphy and natural style that he's working with and we're going to bring those elements to it. So it just gives it that elevated thing beyond that's, another anime. He goes to a town. It's good. It's like, no, but it's beautiful art. It's real art.

Yeah, it goes really well. That's a good tone. And when we cut back from the opening, we see Honda just on the back of a tractor as farmers, just giving them a ride. And right away, you can tell it's the boonies, it's the sticks. It's a real country area, but it's also juxtaposed by a lot of the ocean since it is on an island and fairly small, so beach all around, cut with the natural simplicity of a farming country life. It's like ooh is a good mindset, especially with all the animal crossing at stardu Valley. I know people are playing right now.

Playing right now.

I was curious about because I had never looked up, like, where exactly this was supposed to be set. And so I did a little bit of digging and it's set on the goto Islands, which are off the coast of kyushu, so, like, way down south in Japan. And I found out that the person who wrote Barack Obama, that's where she's from. So this is a case of writing. Yeah. So this is like, where she grew up. So that's why it's like, yes.

It'S close to home. Because it is. So we get Honda arriving at his place, and right as he gets there, he sees the delivery guy dropping off all of his stuff that he had shipped there to the island and ready to get there. He's like, all right, here. I'll sign the paper, say, all right, thanks. You'll help me unload and move it on. No, see you. And they delivered. I just run home. To be fair, it's not his job. Yes, but right as he leaves, the Honda meets the village leader and he gives him a few tips around the island, and he show them around the house that he's now going to be living in. And right as he opens up the door to his new place, he sees some snacks and some sodas and stuff on the ground. He's like, what the thought you said this place was, like, abandoned. Like no one lived here. He's like, no, no one does. And as he says that, we see like, two I thought they were high schoolers. I think they're middle school, actually. Two young girls run behind the village. eleanor, like, kind of sneaking out the back, like, don't tell what we were here. So we quickly find out. Like any good abandoned lot, it's a squatting zone for teenagers, which I can relate too deeply.

You damn kids in your rock and roll music.

Hey, no one's living here. Why not? We just hang out, trash the place.

But like, the village chief, who I kept calling Tom nook, he's so interesting because he doesn't care.

Oh, he's totally in on it with them. Yeah. Like when the girls are running, they're trying to get away and they're running behind. He's like looking out the corner of his eye at them, like, yeah, go, go, go.

I got you.

He's not a narc. He knows.

No, he's not a narc at all.

And as we see him showing around the house, we see it's a pretty rustic, dated house. So like the shower, to get heat, you have to put wood under the water and crank it and stuff. So there's a lot of old fashioned stuff where it's like, yeah, you're not going to get your comfortable city life here, city boy. And as he's walking around, we see a mouse jump out and land on honda's face. He starts freaking out a bit. He's just like, god, this place. All right, well, let me see if there's anything else in the cabinets and stuff under the sink. And as he opens up the cabinet, he's just like a little girl sitting there. He just freaks in the hell out. Because, fair, if you're not expecting a small child in your house, it would be freaky.

Why? She's always been here.

She comes with the house.

She's tethered to the home. She can't leave.

She died here 70 years ago.

It's such a good entrance for that character too. I love that.

Yeah.

Yeah. The more we find out about her, it's like, oh, yeah, that makes sense. Why she's in there?

She does what she wants.

Yeah, she's a force in nature. No one controls her.

Naru does what naru wants, and she.

Jumps out and starts talking to him. And yeah, we find out this is her secret base. And like, the two middle school girls we saw earlier, she just kind of hangs out in this place all the time.

I love that. She immediately assumes because of his clothes and his haircut, that he's in a boy band. And she calls him boy band Boy.

Yeah.

Amazing.

He's all fancy. He's got to be something special. He's got to be celebrity. No, he's not in a boy band. He's kind of too old. And we see even though han is insulted by being called a boy band member, he's even more insulted by saying he's too old to be more like it's a double edged insult.

Yeah, because he's like, 23. He's supposed to be, like, 23 years old.

Yeah, he's just jaded dugan and I were talking a little bit before we started recording, like, oh, he's very young still.

Yeah.

I thought he was like, if I.

Hadn'T paid attention to that because at some point in the show, they mentioned his age. And if I had been paying attention to that, I would have been like, he's in his 30s. Because from 130s something to another, honda has very 30s energy.

I relate to them.

I relate.

Didn't you know, all artists have old souls?

And by old, I mean 30s.

Not even old.

You mean just tired. It's just tired energy.

Yeah. He's so worn down.

And as Honda is setting up and moving all the stuff aside and setting up his calligraphy table and tools, we see the narrative sneaks back in. She's like, oh, wow. What's going on over here? And he's like, get out of here. Throwing her out, like, really, like looney tune style, dramatically. And while he's doing while we're getting this little scene, we get a flashback of him remembering all the stuff people were saying about him after he punched out, turns out, the director of the exhibition. So it wasn't just like some random old guy. It was like, oh, it was like a professional big wig. He really shot himself in the foot here.

That was banksy.

Banksy. And we see Honda kind of gets fed up, and he's like, all right, I can't work. I got to take a little break, and goes to get a drink. And when he opens the door, he sees Narrow there, but he also sees the village leader there as well, just like, eating, like, snacks. And it's those one of the bugles where they're like little cone shapes and they have them on their fingers. And it's just like, I think nerves thing is like, oh, yeah, you got to eat them all like a bunch at once. The village leader's like, oh, when you're my age, you got to take them one at a time. You got to slow it down. It's like, why are you encouraging.

I love that he's the island council leader or whatever, and he's sitting on the floor of the kitchen with this child who's not his in this new man's house, like eating bugles. He's like the head honcho on the island. But I love that.

Yeah, encouraging her to break into yeah, I love that.

Like, all the adults and even some of the teenagers, they're all so willing in this show to like yes. And naru, whatever her line of thought is, they just go with it. They answer all of her questions. I love that nobody's ever too busy for her. It's just like she's everyone's kid.

Yeah, she's everyone's little sister.

One of my favorite types of shows or pieces of media is the sort of like, it takes a village to raise a child feeling and stuff and that and another thing we'll see later on start to develop are the two ways to warm my heart the fastest. And we get both in one show and it's so good.

So hans is like, freaked out. He's like, Where do you eat the rose? Both of them out, like, we see the door open and both just fly out. He's like, all right, now they're gone and get back to work. And he goes to sit down. He sees naru like, oh, hey, your colleague grouping tools are cool. You draw really well or you write really well. It's kind of like a textbook. He's like, Why do you keep showing up? She's like, oh, come on, you love me. And as he's yelling, he's trying to figure out he's like, oh, come on, I know all about you. Ms. kodo ishi, which is her last name, and confused me. I thought her full name was kodo and her last name was Ieshi. So I kept calling her ishi the whole time. And she's like, what? You know my name? He's like, yeah, I know about you. I also have a name. She's like, yeah, I know what it is, boymo Anderson. No, I love her commitment, though. She's like, It's this I'm totally sticking with this ridiculous name for this person. And we see nauru who says like, oh, yeah, you're writing your calligraphy. Writing reminds me of my school teacher. Like the stuff we kind of see in the textbooks and he gets mad at me.

That's so triggering for him.

That's exactly what the director said. He's like, this is a very textbook calligraphy. Like, it's very soulless. There's no personality to it. And Honda gets mad and starts yelling at her and gets her to leave. And this is around when he remembers telling his friend, well, I think this is his friend. Or is it like a manager talk to him about business, stuff like that?

Yeah, it's his manager, but they're also friends.

Okay, so he's talking to his manager after he punched out the director, entering like a little back room. And Honda is kind of having a hard time. My dad's telling me he's going to send me to this island, saying I have to get away from stuff and clear my head and I don't know what I did wrong. Yeah, I shouldn't have punched him, but he didn't have to tear into me like that. And his manager is kind of like, dude, you get like, that's part of the job. It sucks. But like, you can't be just swinging punches at people left and right.

Did no one teach you being an artist is 90% rejection?

Yeah, and then we cut back to like, the present day and honda's like, on his own walk around. He's thinking like, no, I didn't do anything wrong. The beauty is in the fundamentals. The beauty is in the very core structure of calligraphy. And that's what I wanted to highlight. So what I did was right. And as he's by himself, he starts singing themselves a little bit, like a fundamental song. And naru shows up and sings along with him and he's like, oh God, she heard me in my private moment, my me time, especially when I just.

Established I'm not in a boy band at this point.

It's so sweet that he gets embarrassed by that, like that this little girl might have heard him singing and he's just like, mortified, that's so cute.

And he says, if you're here asking for an apology, I won't apologize. She's like, no, you don't have anything to apologize for. I was the one that kept messing up. And she's like, I couldn't copy down what you're writing, but I tried a few times and shows like a piece of paper of her. She tried it a few times after he left. She's like, I can't quite get it. So, like, I get why you're mad at me. And Honda says like, oh, no, I wasn't mad at you about that. And she said, oh, good. And like, that cheers her up a bit. He's like, you know what I did at you a bit? I did go off I show no, so I apologize for that. So they make up a little bit and on the way back, he's looking at her calligraphy that she was practicing and be like, hey, you're not actually bad at this. This is actually pretty good, especially your age. She's like, oh yeah, it's easy because your calligraphy looks just like the stuff in my textbooks. And then he just swift kicks her into the river nearby after she says that's the exact thing that triggered him the first time. So she's climbing back up a rope and she's like, yeah, you can't do that. He's like, all right, sorry, I was a little rush, a little rash there. So he goes to pull his hand down and reach her, help her up, and she just pulls him into the river. She's like, well, fair is fair, and just yanks him down as well. And she jumps back in. So she's just playing around with him.

She says something about how much he loves revenge. You're six.

What does that word mean to you? Who's wrong?

Do you child the karmatic implications are something I greatly reflect upon. Oh, my God. This child and while they're swimming, since Honda wasn't ready for it, he's wearing like, a bunch of baggy clothes. He's like, I can barely swim in this stuff, they're so heavy. And now he's like, oh, here's an easy trick. You puff up your shirt, you seal it from the bottom, and you blow a bunch of air into it and you can float around in it like a bubble. He's like, oh, that actually makes sense. She's like, you city folk are dumb. You don't sit in mouse and country mouse and now runs off to, like, the docks and sees like, a big wall, I guess for keeping the ocean back and stuff at the dockside. And she's like, oh, come on, we got to climb up and see the sunset. He's like, what are you talking about? Honda is like, no, it's clouding. We can't even see the sun, so what's the point? And besides, that rope doesn't look good. It's probably dangerous up there. She's like, you never know until you get up here. Come on. And she finally begs him enough to climb up there and he sees the sunset. We get a very beautiful moment kind of learning experience for Honda, being like, hey, just do it. You never know if you just think yourself out of it before you even try.

I love that. So often in this show, they have these very quiet philosophical moments that they drop in at different points, and it's always so spot on. It's never corny or cheesy or eye rolly in any way. It's always like, oh, yeah, that's a good point. That's really sweet. And they drop those in a couple of times every episode. And it always to me at least, it always lands really well.

Yeah. From a six year old.

Yeah, it reminded me of even less heavy handed, but American cartoons for children often have like, well, I learned my lesson at the end and just like, summarize it a little bit, spells it out. And this is just such a nice, naturalistic way to have that sort of element of like, you're not just watching a show, we're actually helping you, the audience you watching, we know you're there. We're giving you wisdom too.

Yeah, it always feels very natural when they drop that in in the show. It never feels forced.

Yeah.

And that's hard to do.

Yeah. Something else impressive, I think, especially with this isolated island like lifestyle where you can have it. The life lessons of like, well, we don't have anything else around here, we have to learn it ourselves. So, like, it comes early, like at an early age. So explains why such a young child can have this, especially when they go back, we see the old farmer that gave Honda rides there. He's like, oh, come on, we were about to unpack without you. He's like, what? And we find out that's not his grandfather. So, jeez, curly getting a lot of wisdom from him. And as they come back, they see like the whole village is basically there around honda's house. Like, all right, come on, let's help you unpack. We got to go. He's like, what? No, it was like, my stuff. Like, you guys all have to do. He's like, no, you're one of us now. We help each other out. So come on, move it, city mouse. And there's also a member. We get Honda and us get introduced to a bunch of the other people. I was going to say village people, but that's something very different.

No cops on this island.

I don't think there are.

The lawless town naru is technically the chief of police.

She has a sticker.

And I like, that naru who comes running up to Honda and he's like, oh, here's my friend. hina. And he's like, oh, nice to meet you. hina. It's a young girl, not hers age. And she starts crying. She's like, oh, sorry, I didn't mean to be like, oh, no, she's shy. It's like, oh, well, it's pleasure to meet. And she starts crying more. She's like, oh, no. And everything Honda does just makes her cry. He's like, I don't know how to deal with this kid or this other.

She cries because she's shy. Oh, let me compliment her. She cries when she's happy. Oh, no, stop.

Me.

These two kids are driving me nuts already. And I just met them. And then at that moment, we just hear a kid to yell off camera, butt stab and just ramps his fingers upon his ass.

It's so random.

Kids are high energy and chaotic as hell. And then we get like a little montage of everyone helping Honda move in and unpacking and stuff. And once everyone's gone, we see Honda suits up, gets in his calligraphy gear and just starts inking away. And this is the scene we open the episode on of him just being like, really, mantic? And just going to town. And when he's done, he falls back and takes a sigh of relief and gets a phone call. He answers it and it's Kalafuji, who's his manager, kawafuji, and kawa fuji. And he's saying, like, oh, yeah, I don't like going all right so far. I think my dad might have been on something by getting away. I think it's already kind of clearing up my head and tell the director I'm sorry, I'm not going to say it to myself to him, not yet at least. And he's like, yeah, I think I'll manage out here pretty well. And we pan out and see a shot of the callography he's doing. It says, ease, comfort, relief. And then we get the ending, which is awesome. Live, which is love, the anime equivalent.

Is that how the series ends? He makes the first live laugh love sign.

He makes all of his money on that. And yeah, then we get the ending sequence, which is pretty much just all the watercolor from the opening sequence. It's just all in that style. But then it's all warm red, yellow and orange colors, like the sunset. So it's very beautiful, very pretty. And then we get a post credit scene of just the village leader coming by with some food for Honda as he's in that manic state while he's inking everything and laughing at himself. Just going to leave this out here on the doorstep and walk away. Yeah, that's episode one.

Very good. In episode two, we start off it's kind of like a flashback, but kind of just an inner monologue thoughts thing of a kid being told he's getting bad grades and he puts in no effort. And it is the Tom nook guy's son. His name is hiroshi and he's an air do well. And you can tell by the fact that he has blonde hair.

Yeah. Real quick though, he says, like, I'm not getting bad grades, but they're not good enough. And he's getting like a's and b's and like, what? How is that not good enough?

I see a plus next to that letter, son. Then it's not good enough.

Not good enough.

That's all I and he kind of like, snaps out of his thoughts. And his parents are there and they kind of tell him that he's a screw up, but like in a friendly parental way. And then they ask him to take some noodles to Honda. And he's like, how can you be making food for a stranger when your son is in the time of a crisis? And then his mom punches him the face.

We've got the violent mother trope happening here.

She's very passionate. She like goes into this monologue about how her husband isn't what she thought he was or something like that, and how Honda has awakened her womanly fire.

She has this whole monologue where it's like in the background. It's like pinks and yellows and the beach scene. And she's just like it's basically like a thirst monologue.

She's got like supermarket romance novel level of thirst for Honda.

The city boy has come to the country. It's my time.

Sweep me off my feet.

She's like, it's reawakened me as a woman. She's saying it.

They're both just sitting there in front.

Of her husband and son like it's totally normal.

Yeah, she's complaining about the two of them.

Mom, no being horny at dinner. Mom, please.

And then we see Honda and he can't get a grip on his writing. He came here to focus on his calligraphy, but that one big piece he did was in the heat of the moment and he can't replicate it. And he is shaken out of concentration by nauru and he's like, do you have to come every day? And she's like, yes, I'm your commuter wife. And he's like, that's no, that's not childhood. Do not call yourself that.

Like, how he says, I don't know what that is, but I know she shouldn't be calling herself that.

And then she had brought the two older girls, the middle school girls. I guess they just hang out with the child as well.

It's a small island.

Yeah. And they were the ones using his house as a secret hideout. And they start freaking out at him for taking down their posters and moving their cds. And then he's like, It's all in a box. Like, go take it. And then they start putting the posters up again. And honestly, the way they talked to him, I would be mad, too.

Oh, yeah.

Like, the way they're like, well, we were here first. This was our secret hideout. And he's like, I'm literally paying for this place.

This is my attic house. You have one.

These are water island rules.

Farmers rights.

And what's the one with the short hair named? I know the other one is tama.

Her name is miwa.

All right, so so miwa, she is talking to him, and she's like, oh, this must be a dream for you to be surrounded by young girls. And he immediately is like, no, stop that. Stop that. Gross.

It's nice and refreshing for an anime to acknowledge age differences between horny people and children.

He's not even horny.

I know.

To do his calligraphy.

He's horny for calligraphy.

Yeah.

It's sad that that is one of the most refreshing parts of this show, is that there's nothing creepy with him and any of the girls in the show. It's just totally everything's fine.

It doesn't turn into a hair. I'm halfway through for no reason.

It's a nice change of pace.

Not even the like, oh, no, I caught a fish from the lake, but it fell in my shirt. And, oh, you're a pervert. Like, not even the accidental. Like, oh, there's no way anyone would think this is sexual, but I'm going to call you a pervert because it involves my body.

You can tell a woman wrote this. Not at all surprising to me that a woman wrote this.

Stunning. And then he thinks about it, and he's like, you must be the ones that are, like, teaching naru to say naughty things. You shouldn't do that. Like, watch what you say around her. And then mila is kind of just like, oh, well, it's not our fault. She just repeats what she hears. And then he's like, that's what I'm saying.

Yeah, be careful what you say.

And it cuts to it cuts to all these little bits of her saying inappropriate things and not understanding what she's saying. It's like, I think there's one cut where she's like, I can't wait to lie down and have some pillow talk. Or she's like, this miso soup is getting me all hot and heavy.

Funny. And they're looking at his calligraphy, and they find one that he's doing for a restaurant. And then tama is taking up his writing tools. And she just writes a loser on.

A piece of paper.

And mila is like, oh, you're really good at that. I bet it's because you want to be a manga artist.

Wow.

Doing Calligraphy is like, much easier than it seems. And he's like, no. And he gets all fired up. And he also writes loser but in calligraphy. And they think it looks cool. And they're like, oh, yeah, we have homework, like penmanship homework that we have to do over the summer. Maybe you could do it for us because you're so talented. And then he gets all cocky. And he's like, of course I'll do that for you because I'm so gifted. And then they're like, great, we'll be back tomorrow. And then they leave, smoke up his.

Ace to look like a chimney.

Yeah. And once he's gone, he's like, shit.

Damn it.

They're going to be gear every day now.

They got me.

So after they're gone, we cut back to the mom still lamenting about her life and how horny she is.

This has been going on the entire time. And she has a spotlight on her just monologuing the thirst.

That's amazing. And her son finally agrees to take the noodles. And then we see Naru. She comes back to honda's house, and this time she brought hina. And he's like, you got to just go. But then hina starts crying. So he lets them stay.

He lets them have his desk. And he's like sitting on the floor. He's such a pushover. I love it.

He seems very, like, stern. But in reality, he's just a soft guy. So hina is doing a drawing, and then Naru is like, sipping some juice. And then Naru sees a mosquito. And she kind of, like, follows it around the room. And it lands on honda's face. And she knocks over his ink. And he's like, oh, what the heck. And then she slaps him to kill the mosquito. And then he starts tying her up. And he's like, that'll keep you still. And then mila comes back and she's like, gross. And he's like, no.

Yeah, because in the scene before, for some reason, naru sees some of the work that he's doing. And she says, like, S and M. And I don't know if she's like I don't know where she gets that from. Like, what make like, obviously does. She doesn't know what that means, but like, why she would make that connection.

Yeah.

And he's like, no, what are you talking about? It's just for a regular restaurant. Don't say that. And she's running around the house like, snm Club. snim Club back to it. And he's like, just infuriated, like trying to tie these kids up. The older girls come back like, snm. He's like, no, we don't say that.

Yeah, you misunderstand.

Like, he was holding up. He had, like, a big banner he was writing that was folded up, and it didn't quite work in the translation because they don't put, like, an English S and M on the folded up thing of, like, oh, the only two letters she saw on the banner were S and M, but it folded out into, like.

Supermarket.

Yeah. I was like, I couldn't think of any words that started with srm that were food related.

So he kicks them all out, and then we see hiroshi is on his way, and he's, like, talking to himself, and he's like, oh, this fancy boy thinks he's all high and mighty because he writes good. And he knocks on the door pretty hard and loud, and nobody comes. And then he starts, like, kicking it, and he's like, come on, at least say something if you're home. And then Honda answers the door, but he's so weak because he hasn't eaten anything all day. And he leans over hiroshi's shoulder, and he barfs.

And it's like gold glossening or it's like, pixelated or something.

Sparkled.

Sparkly.

There are a couple of moments in this show later on where they make the artistic decision to pixelate certain things that don't I mean, in any other context, would not need to be pixelated, but for comedic purposes, they choose to pixelate some things. And later on in the show, there are a couple of moments where it's just, oh, my God, so good.

So Naru comes back, and she sees this, and she's like, oh, what do I do? How can I help? And hiroshi is like, Just take the noodles from me. But instead, she, like, runs up and supports his back. And he's like, no, that's not what I said. And then he falls over, and the noodles fly out of his hands, but they're okay. No spills.

Oh, thank God.

Would have been such a shame. And then they go inside, and hiroshi and Naru are talking about Honda while he's knocked out, and hiroshi is talking about the difference between being born with talent. And hiroshi is like, I don't have that natural ability to do things. I'm just dumb no matter how hard I work. And then Naru kind of gets fired up, and she's like, I want to work hard at something. I want to work hard at my talent. Oh, I do have a talent. Let me show you. So she goes into a room nearby, and it has just a bunch of honda's writing projects all around the room.

It's got, like, serial killer vibes because walls and floor and everything, there is no blank surface in that room. That's why he's so run down and sick is because he's probably been doing that for, like, days and days on end without eating or sleeping. And hiroshi sees into that room, and he's like, oh, my God.

Oh.

So he actually does work really, really hard, I guess because they get into that conversation that you're just talking about dana, like the difference between talent being innate or developed. And then hiroshi is kind of like, wow, I guess having the motivation and the drive to work really hard is a talent in and of itself, which is interesting.

Yeah.

Another little Philippines.

Yeah. And Naru tells hiroshi like, oh, Honda says he's not talented all the time. He doesn't think he's talented at all. And yeah, then hiroshi has that epiphany where he's like, oh, so even if you're talented, you still have to work hard. And he gets emotional and he's about to cry. And she's like, are you crying? And he's like, no, something in my eye.

Baseball.

And then Naru has a bag of something. And she's like, let me show you my talent. And what it is, is collecting cicada shells. She just has a bunch of crusty cicada shells. And she's like, I'm the only one who does it. And I have a bunch of them. And I'm really good at doing this. So that's my talent, right? And I like how they frame these kind of life lessons through her eyes. Because kids will say things and they won't realize that they're like profound or meaningful. And I feel like that's this moment of her just like, having this genuine interest in such a weird thing and being like, this is what I'm good at, so I'm going to work hard.

I love that it's cicada shell collecting. Like, that. That is her thing. It fits the character so well. And you find out later on she loves bugs. And that's the whole thing later on. But I love that she's so proud of that in a way that only a really young kid can be because they have no insecurity. They don't question themselves at all. And that's just like such a nice foil to Honda, who is just completely riddled with insecurity and anxiety. And it's such a beautiful foil.

So Honda wakes up and he starts eating the noodles. And Naru is sucking on a noodle. She's like slurping it up. And he just has his hand on her head, just like, letting her eat his food. And he thanks hiroshi for bringing him the food. And then hiroshi is like, hey, we're not going to cook for you anymore. Because even though my mom won't say it, she's really burnt out by having to cook you food all the time. And I'm like, is she are you just putting words in her mouth?

She's getting off on this?

Yes.

She loves this shit.

You want me to cook more for you?

Whatever you say. Calm down, calm down.

And then hiroshi also says, I want to thank you because you've kind of, like, indirectly inspired me to work harder. But then Honda only is focusing on the fact that he doesn't get any food anymore.

I really love that the writer chose to take hiroshi in that direction so quickly because with that type of character, typically in anime, if they ever come around, it takes them quite a lot longer to become emotionally vulnerable with anybody. And he pretty much gives Honda that right out of the gate. I mean, he just straight it. I feel like that just shows a lot of emotional maturity with hiroshi. I thought that was such a nice moment. I was like, the first time I watched it, I remember being like, wow, that's impressive for a teenager of all ages to come out and say to somebody that maybe they felt threatened by. I just want to tell you that I feel very inspired by you. So thank you. That's so nice.

Yeah.

This show does very well with its quote, unquote, unlikable characters where there is beef, but they show you enough compassion and enough that they'll work through it that you're not like, this guy's just a dick. I don't like when he's on screen, it's like, no, he's upset for reasons, but he'll work through it. He'll get there. We're going to show you that they're going to be friends later on, so don't worry.

Yeah. I feel like all the characters have enough dimension to them that even if everybody has some negative aspects, but because they've been written with enough dimension yeah, it's just nice to see that because I feel like every single character in the show is endearing in some way. There's nobody who's just like all bad or all good. everybody's got lots of shades and variations to them, which is just I mean, that's just good writing.

Yeah, that's human.

Yeah. Like, our main character pushes a small child off a dock in the first episode, and I'm still firmly on his side.

He assaults an elderly man within the first 30 seconds of the show, and yet he's a very endearing character.

So he says that thing about not getting food anymore. And then hiroshi is like, I can make you some potatoes stew. I'll be back. And then he leaves. And then Naru comes back the next day and Honda is all tired again because he hasn't eaten anything. But it's like, extreme. So they go to the hospital and he's got a lot of problems. Like the nurse is listing them, heat stroke, dehydration, not getting enough food, et cetera, and that he should stay in the hospital. And this was really sweet. Naru was like, does it hurt worse than a bug bite? And then Honda is like, depends on the bug.

It's so cute. There's one thing that I noticed, probably like the fifth time I watch the show, naru says when she finds him that second time before it cuts to him being in the hospital and she finds him and she's freaking out, I think she says, we have a sense emergency. And I didn't pick that up for the longest time, but I'm almost positive that that's what's happening, which I love that even more.

Very cute. And Tom Nook and his wife are there, and they're like, oh, we'll go grab some essentials from your house. And then the wife is like, oh, the nurse is going to take very good care of you. And I know she's cute, but don't get any ideas. She's a married woman. And he's like, oh, no, I would never and then the nurse gets mad.

I would never try and make a move on her. And she's like, well, why not? Am I good enough?

Hey, what's wrong? What got something to say, big man?

And so he's, like, thinking about how he needs to keep himself in order and take care of himself. And Naru is still there. She's just playing with a little race car on the side of his bed and walking around the room playing with it. And he's like, Why don't you leave?

I think he said something like, look, I know the hospital is a blast and all. Could you please get out?

Yeah.

And then tama and mila are there to visit, and they kind of talk for a little bit, and then one of them notices that his IV drip is almost empty, and they just all start freaking out, and there's, like, a ton of commotion. And they're like, Naru, find the nurse button. Like, find the call button. And she's like, I don't know where it is. But then the nurse comes back, and she's like, it was nothing to worry about. Just like, calm down. His fever has gone up a bit. We could give you a suppository. And then he's just like, no, do not put anything up my butt.

He says something like, not those masochistic pleasures.

Yeah, he says pleasure.

He does not partake in those masochistic pleasures.

Oh, my God. Get in touch. You're an artist, baby.

Come on, dude.

Because when he says it, it's like a suppository, and it gets scared and, like, jumps back from the nurse a bit. But then at the same time, Thomas says this depository as well, and she's kind of leaning forward a bit and, like, blushing a little. She's like, we're going to find out.

About her and why.

Yeah, we find out.

He starts freaking out, and he's like, no, I had to do that once when I was little, and it got me so nervous that I threw up. And even just thinking about it makes me nauseous. I don't want to do it. So the nurse doesn't, and she leaves, and she tells tama and mila not to stress him out. And then they find Naru hiding under the bed, holding onto the call button, and they're like, It's okay. You can come out now. And she's like, no, I can't let him die.

It's so sweet.

And then the girls are like, well, no, he's fine now. The nurse says he's fine, and then she's like, no, you don't understand. There are ghosts in this hospital, and they might hurt Honda. And it's just something her grandpa told her to freak her out. But Honda hears that and gets spooked. He's like, I don't really believe in ghosts, but also now I'm spooked.

Now that's in my head, I'm going to be thinking about it while I'm alone in this hospital all night. Thanks, nauru.

I'm the one who has to stay here.

Could you NotU says if there's a ghost in this hospital and he meets a ghost and then I meet one, and then if I meet a ghost, the kids at school, I think I'm cool.

She's not that scared. She just wants to meet a ghost.

Terrifying. But the street cred.

And then Tom and Mueller like, just take the butt stuff, just calm down. And then hiroshi gets there to give him his stuff. And Honda looks through the bag and he's like, where are my calligraphy tools? And hiroshi is like, no, you're here because you were stressing out about that. I'm not going to give you those. And then they start arguing. And Tom and ela are both just standing there awkwardly. And they're like, should we go? Should we go? Is that okay? So he sees them out, and then he's walking down the hallway back to his room, and he sees an old man. And the old man says that he's staying in the room next to his and he apologizes for the commotion. And he's like, oh, no, it's fine. But you should take care of yourself because now you have friends, so you should take care of yourself, not only for your own sake, but for their sake too. And then Honda goes back to his room and he envisions a new piece of calligraphy. And he needs his tools. He needs to write. And he's like, standing on his hospital.

He's like, ready to paint hospital bedsheets. You can see it in his eyes. He's ready to just, like, paint on the bed.

I thought he was going to.

If he could, he would. And the nurse comes in and she's like, what are you doing? Sit down, lay down. And he's like, no, you don't understand. And then he faints again from working himself up too much. And then it's the next day.

I think the nurse knocks him out because he has, like a bump on.

Yeah, he gets grabbing her, and she's so worked up. He's like, I have to work. When the spirit moves me, I've got to do it right now. And he like, grabs her by the shoulders and like, please give me my tools or whatever. And she's like, get away later. She's like, I don't want to see you again. I don't need the strength of my marriage being tested. Like, every woman in this town is.

Hot from both.

But so Naru and them, the couple, the village elder couple, they come to get him, and he can leave. And that's when the nurse is like, Take your medicine. I don't want to see you back here. And then he's like, oh, I met a really nice guy last night. I want to say goodbye to him. And then he goes in the room, but it's full of empty beds. And he's like, to the nurse, he's like, hey, what happened to the old guy staying in there? And she's like, There was no one staying in there. You're actually the only guy in this wing right now. And then he faints again. He saw a ghost.

Very friendly ghost.

And that's episode two. Yeah, I wouldn't be upset if I met a ghost and it was nice like that. I don't know. I wouldn't be friends.

No complaints for me.

I'd be like, yeah, ghosts are chill. I'll invite them into your house. Why are we excluding these chill party friends?

Yeah, as soon as we saw the old guy walking away and the end of the hallway was just this glowing purple aura, I was like, oh, he's dead. Yeah, I got super good.

That guy's dead. So, yeah. We pick up in episode three. Naru is flexing and showing off her reading skills. She has a chocolate bar.

Because it immediately I think the first frame of this episode is a tight, tight shot on naru's face, but it's not the Naru that we have grown to love. I mean, she kind of looks like heman.

Yeah. Every anime needs a jojo moment. And this was a jojo moment.

It's totally a jojo moment. Oh, my God. Yes, it is.

So she has a chocolate bar and in the English print on it, she's reading it because her summer assignment she just completed. So she's fresh up on all her knowledge. So she's able to read some labels in English to Milan. And she's like, yeah, that's right. I'm a man now.

I love when she reads it to them because her whole persona has changed when she's in manly reader mode and she's, like, holding it, and she goes, this, ladies, is a premedium chocolate bar. They're like, oh, wow. You can read in English too? That's great.

She's like, yeah, good job.

It's my burden to bear. Only I can carry this village.

The total gold moment in this is they're like, oh, you can read that? How about this? And they pull out like, a little kid sized carton of milk. Can you read that? And she goes, open with push ups. They're like, Good enough close up.

Yeah, sure. So she's like, Hell, yeah. I've proven myself once again. And just very confidently just struts away and just, like, strikes a silhouette into the sun as she just, like, full bodied. Her shoulders grew ten sizes that day. She just swaggers over to honda's house where she hands them the milk and is like, hey, want to know what this says? And he's like, oh, yeah. Push up for milk. And she's like, oh fuck, I messed it up. She is just immediately so deflated.

Oh yeah, because you see her face deflate in the animation when he says like push to open. And you can just see her little heart like deflate. I said open with push ups.

No, man.

So cute. Best part of the show.

Part so far.

That's the most recognizable part for me. I've seen that face of hers like everywhere. So I was like, oh, it's that moment.

Finally the internet makes sense.

Dad, I get it now.

So after the opening credits, honda has sent off his latest art piece to a contest in the city. But in doing so, he depleted his ink supply so he has to go pick up some more. So he goes to a local, just small general store. Friendly old lady is there manning the shop. He's looking at the candy and he's like, I should pick up some fernaru. When she comes by, the shop keeps like looking at candy for naru, eh? He's like mind reader. He keeps looking through the shop. He sees like a tiny folded up piece of paper. He goes to open it to see what's inside and drops a bunch of sewing needles on the ground. So the shopkeep comes over with a magnet to give to him so he can clean up. So he's apologizing, finally sort of establishing that he's sort of getting it. He can be friendly to the village folk. He's a part of the community now.

I love that. Using the magnet to pick up the needles, that's such a specific thing. That had to be what they do in this town since the writers from there. It's such a specific thing. And I also love how we see all of these quirky little traditions that the island has. That's the kind of stuff where it's like writing what you know, 100%. You can't just make that up. It's so specific and so personal. I love that. I love all their little town traditions.

She's done it enough times where she figured out a trick to do it like the most efficient way possible.

Yeah. And it's totally what would be. That's totally what it would be.

And helpful for the person watching as well because I'm like, yeah, that is a good idea. Why don't I have a magnetic train for stuff like that? So another old lady comes in and being out in farmland, she's speaking with a very thick local dialect, just like purely colloquial verbiage and slang.

When she comes in, she says like I can't even say it. It's hotter than a June bride out there, y'all?

And she's fixing for a stitch.

I'm hankering stitch. All right.

Something I love so much is just like the accidental symmetry of American Southern and Japanese Southern having the same connotation of being like the farmland down home cooking sort of vibe and it just matches up so well.

I want to. Know where that trope came from because it's like the first dub that that happened in, it was just like, well, that's what we do now. Anytime it's like a part of Japan where it's like a specific dialect, they're like, let's make it Southern. I don't know where that started. I don't know how that came to be. But I love that trope, specifically in this show. I think it works really well. And I looked it up and apparently this part of Japan, they do speak with a different dialect. So he like, Honda coming from Tokyo probably would have been struggling to understand because they do speak with a different dialect, which is interesting.

Yeah, I think they just see in the script that's like, oh, they just have a regional dialect. So we're like, well, what's that in, like, America? Because all the main characters have that North Atlantic, like, no accent dialect already. So they're just like, well, we can't just have them have, like, a thick Jersey accent or like a thick main accent.

Were we? Four kids.

And joey wheeler from yukio. What's? They're just like, well, what's the most stereotypical American accent? It's just like texan and then just spirals into Southern.

Yeah, it's just like, what does rural sound like? Let's just go Southern. Let's keep it simple, everybody's Southern.

Yeah. So she comes in just like, anchoring for a stitch, and the shopkeeps like, yes, sure, whatever.

They say three times. And then they look to him and they're like question marks in the air.

Because the shopkeep, of course, is like playing along and being like a customer. I'm not going to be like, what are you talking about? I can't help you. So she's just like, well, actually.

I.

Watched this one in Japanese, and I think it's similar to stuff that happens in your name with translation stuff. Because the way she is saying, she's saying, like, I need thread is what I think the woman that came in is saying. But because of the dialect and because of the slang she's using, it's sounding like she's asking the shopkeep if her back hurts or something like that. So they just keep saying Itaka back and forth at each other.

It's like a nice moment because I've only ever seen the dove.

Yeah, it's like a nice moment for yeah, it shows him getting used to the dialect because he realizes what she means before the shock keeps.

Yeah. Because he's like, I think she wants some thread.

Yeah. So he jumps in and solves the problem, and he's talking to the old woman, and they're bonding, and the shopkeeper is like, oh, you motherfucker, you scoop.

My clients, my commission on this pool of thread.

Even though you don't work here and.

I own this shop, I get half a yen off those needles. So as he almost forgets to go get ink, as he turns to pick it up, Thomas is there. And she's also going for the ink. So they have a little Meat Cute where they both try to grab it at the same time. But he lets her have it. And he's like, I got some less sub quality, but I'll make it work. So he lets her have it and they're walking home and she's using the ink because she is a manga artist. And as they're talking, she's a little embarrassed about being a manga artist because of all the connotations that people have with it. And he's like, no, it's fine arts art. We're artists. It's great. And she's like, okay, great. Can you please read mine? I'd love your feedback. So he's like, finally the locals are getting that I'm the cool art person. Let me slide this out of the envelope and gore viscera everywhere.

A guy is like his torso is exploding and there are like intestines flying out. It's pretty extreme.

And she's like, you have to grab them on page one.

That's what I always say.

Isn't that a good opener?

Yeah, I'm interested.

And he's like, so is this going to a horror magazine? And she's like, no. And just has a very intense freak out of like, just because I'm a woman, I get put into these boxes and I'm tired of all these just like, friendship small stories. I want real art. We need this gritty visceral. This is redefining the genre and just like this very intense freak out as she's like, okay, you're going to read all of my work and let me know. You don't skip a single page.

I mean, I think this is how junji vita started. I think he started in like a monthly magazine that wasn't specifically horror. And he became like the king of existential horror and dread comics. Like, she might be on to something.

There you go.

You got to find your in somewhere. So they part ways. He goes home and he's dreading the stack of manga that he got assigned for homework because he did a nice thing. And she goes home and immediately regrets telling him because he is the first person in this village to know that she's a manga artist. And she's like, oh no. He's going to tell everyone. They're going to think I'm otaku scum. They're going to think I'm nothing but a knee. And just freaks out into her reputation just being tanked just because she does this. So she decides she's going to run over there and try to get it all back because she can't embarrass herself like that.

I love how in that scene, like this whole sequence with her regretting talking to him about the manga and giving him the manga to read. I love that whole sequence when she's back at home monologuing her regret about it and also trying to justify to herself why her love for this is okay. And she's like, I'm not a dirty otaku. I'm not into shipping, or I'm not a dirty fan girl and all this stuff. It's like she's desperately trying to justify it to herself. It's so good. It's like, takes me back to that.

Age, the early days.

Takes me back to prepping to record every episode of this.

Goddamn. This whole sequence was very relatable for me. And I love when Honda gets back to his place. He's like, I just want to hide under my bed where manga can't hurt me.

Such a green line cuts deep.

I was reading I like, spoon manga yesterday, and it said, prepare for the last issue of Silver Spoon next. I was like, no.

I like how in the stack of manga, one of them is just sold? It's not a made up manga.

They're just like, no, you know what it is? It's fine.

But then you see that one shot where you see some of the covers of the manga in the box, their soul leader. And then next to it is like, what she says when she originally started reading. It was like, I thought it was just an innocent workplace drama and that's not what it is.

Yeah, so she's like, wait, that one book that wasn't in the stack I gave him, right? And we get that flashback of her mom being like, oh, your cousin or whatever has a bunch of old manga. Here, you can start with these. And this is like how she's introduced. And she picks up one and oops, accidental yowie just, oh, no, I'm a pervert. I'm going to jail now.

I love how when she turns the page and you see the two characters kissing, like, she freaks out and she throws it across the room and it's like, oh, I've been corruptive awful and slowly just creeping back to it.

To continue reading no, please flip.

Oh, no.

As she's on the website ordering the next issue. Please don't.

Like a boy's loss.

Slowly scrolling.

Relatable.

So hiroshi has brought over dinner for Honda, and he's extra tired again, both by the manga and more artwork. So he's like, yeah, I'm working with subpar Inc. And hiroshi is like, oh yeah, I figured you would probably have that issue because everyone's doing their summer homework right now. So I have an extra bottle I figured I'd bring over for you. So right at that moment, tama arrives to get all her manga back. And Honda is so touched that he, one, hugs him, and two, collapses from exhaustion. So he just has this loving embrace. As tama turns the corner and sees.

Them, he literally falls into hiroshi's arms.

Yes.

And she explodes shorts, for one thing. From the show, I had seen just the gift of her mind exploding out.

It's like a supernova of just like, shipping explosion in her brain.

Yeah, it's the blast of an atomic bomb coming from two boys hugging.

Exactly.

All those repressions just being like, this doesn't only happen in manga.

It's real. It really happens.

Oh, lady, I can show you something.

Oh, no.

Feelings and memories kicked in like the kool Aid man blowing in the door.

So she so flustered she has to leave. And then she remembers why she went there in the first place. And she runs back.

Yeah, it blows her mind so completely that she's, like, sitting outside on the side of his house because she's just, like, been physically incapacitated by the sight of this. And she's just sitting there and you can hear them get off. And we man, stand up. She's like, wait, what am I doing here? What's happening? I should be at home working on my manga. And then she starts to remember it again. And in the dub at least, she takes off running back home. And as she takes off running, she just screams at the top of her lungs, curse my womanly urges. Oh, my god.

Give in. Embrace it. So the next day he finds out that the art piece he sent off won second place in the contest. But this is terrible news because the person who won was an 18 year old boy, some punk kid, a new Bee scrub. So the teens and naru arrive to hang out and they find him sulking in the corner with just like pure depression waves coming off of him. Just clouds of like purple fog of him being in a funk.

I love anime depression waves. It's so accurate. All my teenage years, honestly, at least from my experience, that is what it feels like when you are severely depressed. It feels like they're just black clouds following you everywhere and just, like, coming out of your body into the space you're occupying. It feels so accurate to me. It's such a good visual representation of that.

Yeah.

It's like in miyazaki movies, I think. I read one time that he animates tears how they feel like not how they look, but how they feel.

They have a lot more weight to them rather than just like a single trip of water.

Yeah. So he's freaking out. He's like, this dumb town is warping my artistic sensibilities. He's lashing out. And everyone's like, hey, fucking chill out, dude. You need to get out of the house. There's something going on by the water. Let's go over there. So they go into town. Everyone has bags because they're going out for an event where everyone's going to catch mochi. He's like, oh, I know. This is a thing when, like, people built houses. Did someone build a house? They're like, no, you idiot. This small boy got a new boat.

Of course.

So they go to the docks and they see the little boy that just ran his arm up his ass. Got a new boat.

But stabber, boy.

Yeah, but stabber boy, he's back. So his family is fisherman, and they're christening this new boat that will be his when he's older. So he's celebrating. And it's a big event that they toss out mochi from this and everyone from the town grabs it. So they're trying to walk Honda through the process because he's never done it before. But he and the teens, they all plan on winning. So they start throwing stuff up. They run into the fray, but he just cannot get in there. He keeps bouncing off. He can't compete. He's keeping his eye up into the sky to watch for where the mochi is going to land. But whenever he gets there, someone else is there first. So he's all sulky. He's saying he doesn't have the drive for this and he doesn't have the drive in general. And that's why he's such a terrible artist and an 18 year old is going to steal his life. And then the old lady from the store comes back and she's like, hey, younger. Youngster what's? Younger? That's nothing. Finally he's like, yeah, I just can't get the hang of this. I'm going to be a quitter. So she's like, hey, no, you dumb idiot. You just have to change your perspective while your eyes up in the sky, you're not seeing all the treasures that are falling to the ground that everyone's missing. So we get a big life lesson that you can't try to compete with people. You got to seize the opportunities that present themselves to you. So rather than fighting an 18 year old at art, make the art. That's good for when you get the inspiration to strike. And don't just try to be the trendy new young kid. So with this new found strategy, he's trying. But when people are getting in his way, he's like, oh, no, this was their opportunity. Let me step aside. So he's learning to share. So this big strong woman who's known for being the mochi queen gets in his way, pushes him out. He's like, no, it's fine. It's yours.

After you.

So he walks away empty handed. He did not catch a single mochi. And everyone's making fun of him. But once he gets back home, he sees that the woman made a nice red bean and mochi soup for him. So he still got a little something. He stepped out of the way and he still benefited.

Everybody's using their talents and strengths to the best of their ability and everybody's coming together. Yeah, it's such a nice little moment.

Community again, that's episode three. We also get a post credit scene of them fishing for crawfish. And Naru is freaking out because she's like, no, don't kill them.

I thought that was a really good moment because it was like one of those moments of kids realizing like, yeah, meat is from an animal. Because she's like, oh, we're fishing for crawfish. And then the teacher tries to use them as bait. She said, no, you can't use them as bait. Well, yeah, we'll get bigger fish. She's like, oh, well, bigger fish then. Yeah, we should do that. He's like, all right, how do you use them for bait? He rips a claw up. She's like, no. It's like this harsh lesson, but it's like I remember vividly as a kid learning the same thing.

I love the guy that's in the post credit sequence who we met earlier. I think in the first episode, he is the head teacher on the island. And I love we only ever see him chain smoking. He's like the Honda.

I can't believe this guy is a teacher because he's always chain smoking here. He's in like, cut off shorts and a tank top and he's just like, hey, you kids fishing? Me too.

Yeah, he's chain smoking, fishing on the side of the road.

Hello, local kids.

Hey, it's me. I'm going to teach you math.

He kind of sounds like that too.

Oh, boy.

But yeah, those are our episodes.

Excellent.

So, dugan, are we there yet?

Oh, yeah.

This is just surprised.

Such a good show. I mentioned it earlier that the two most heartwarming pieces of media for me are it Takes a Village to Raise a Child narrative. And also the gruff father figured, who softens because of a small, innocent, pure child. And we get both in one show and it's so wholesome and so delightful and genuinely funny. And the dub's good. There's no aspect of this that I disliked.

Same.

Wow.

High praise, maureen.

You really did it.

Well. You know, I was like when Patrick reached out to me, I was like, okay, let me think of some shows. And of course, I thought of some of the projects that I have worked on, but you guys had covered a lot of those because they're good shows. I'm biased, but they're good shows. I was like, what would be good to talk about and have people watch right now? And I thought, it's got to be barackman because it's just so wholesome and pure and sweet and feel good and just like, what's what we all need.

Yeah. I would love to eventually have actors do shows with us that they've been in, but I especially love when they get to bring shows that they just enjoy. I love hearing people talk about it. Like we just had Brian on to do Not someday's Book of Friends. And just listening to him talk about it, that's part of the delight for me.

I love it. I totally agree. It's fun to talk about projects that you've worked on, but it says something more, I think sometimes when it's something that you had absolutely nothing to do with, you just freaking love it. Which is the case for this because I have nothing to do with this show.

Because sometimes when you book a job, it's like, okay, this is fun, but it's fine. But when you're bringing stuff you actually love, it's like, okay, no, I can talk about this for hours.

Yeah.

And then when you're in something you actually love, that's a double annual that's.

The magic that was self at work for me all over.

That's the dream. Excellent.

All right, well, thank you so much for joining us and bringing such a delightful show.

Thank you for having me. And thank you for being on board to watch and discuss this one. I think it was very timely.

Yes.

And if you have it, keep watching. It beyond the first three because it gets so much better. I know it's already so good, but it just keeps getting better. And there are so many wonderful, wonderful moments in every single episode and so many laughs and so many aws. So keep watching.

I've said this many times before, but I think I'm going to.

The energy between, like, episodes one and two just skyrocketed so fast that it kind of caught me off guard. But as soon as he see Naru with just the super detailed man face, I was like, I'm in. I'm in for the long haul.

It's like, yeah, you caught me.

I was messaging Patrick. I was like, yeah, in episode I think it's the next episode. I think it's four. There's this subplot in that episode where naru's grandfather shows up one night, like, in honda's kitchen window with a plastic bag full of something to give him. And he's like, what's this? And the granddad's like, oh, it's pickles. Just holler when you need some more. And Honda is like, okay, dude, don't worry. I will. What is he talking about? And he just casually takes one out of the bag to try it and becomes immediately addicted. Like, the heavens open, the angels are singing, like it's some kind of secret pickle recipe. And he cannot focus because all he can think about is getting more of these pickles. And that is a subplot in the next episode.

I love Death Note.

So good.

All right, where can people find you online? Do you have any new shows that are coming up that you want to plug?

New stuff? Let's see. A couple of things came out recently. I am in the Show Inspector, which is streaming on crunchy Roll right now. And I'm in the the end of the most recent gundam series, which is streaming on YouTube, interestingly enough. But yeah, if people want to follow along and see what kind of anime related stuff I'm up to, you can follow me on Twitter. My Twitter handle is maureen A. Price. I'm also on Instagram. maureen Price Voice on Instagram. So you can follow me there if you want to keep up with my shenanigans.

Also, just a quick shout out, one of your projects I love so much, the Maximum Fun podcast bubble. Excellent. It's been out for a little bit, but all the episodes are out now for you to listen at your leisure.

Yeah, that is a fun one. That's a good Lockdown podcast because it's like a dystopian comedy. Yeah, that was such a fun project. So good. Yeah. Bubble on maximum fun.

Yeah. And if there's a show you would like us to watch, you can send your recommendations to us through our email. Are we there yet@gmail.com? Or you can reach out to us on Twitter and Instagram. Are we there yet? On both. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram at Mr. Patrick dugan.

You can find me on Instagram at queen. Period weebu and on twitter at queen underscore weebu and queen underscore weebu art.

You can find me on Twitter at abts brendan. That stands for Almost Better Than Silence, which is a video game podcast I sometimes do.

Thank you to camille ruley for our artwork. And thank you to louie zong for the use of our theme song stories off the album Beats. You can find all of louie's music at Louisong Bancamp.com. Thank you, and we hope you'll join us next week as we learn to live with anime.

Goodbye.

Adopt a small, chaotic, gremlin child video you.