Anime-Gataris

Episode 3

A third episode about the three-episode rule? Anime-Gataris is officially one of the most meta shows I've seen. This series' intense self-awareness keeps its soul intact, even amidst so much nonstop otaku fanservice, and this week's fast-paced episode establishes the rules that these characters suggest any good anime should follow, right before the plot promptly breaks them. The show continues to be a sincere love letter to anime, but its story is strong enough to stand up against a constant barrage of parodic references.

The Student Council is being anal-retentive for seemingly no reason, so the Anime Club decides to lift their spirits with a field trip to Akihabara, which means more anime references than you can shake a stick at! For starters, when they step into Anime Soul (a riff on the real life store Animate), the actual theme song from Akiba's Trip is playing in the background. Beyond that, it's a whole lot of copyright skirting again. (My favorite reference in this episode is when Erika wants to cosplay “Nakamushi Saddle” aka Yowamushi Pedal.) Somehow, Minoa is the most exuberant participant out of everyone, even though she's the one who knows the least about anime. She stokes the others' egos with her animated interest. “You're not bored? I mean, you're listening to me,” Kai says with surprise. I appreciate that the show doesn't take Minoa's fascination for granted, as if everyone should know that anime fans are the most interesting people on the planet. Instead, the way its characters open up shyly at first and then with increasing boldness reminds me of what it's like to meet new friends in anime fandom, before the slow dawning that you both like the same thing.

When it's time to head home, the group gets into a spirited discussion of what should happen during an anime's third episode. They bring up two different shows that demonstrate a major twist during the third episode (Love Live! and Madoka Magica) before acknowledging that the third episode twist isn't necessarily a good thing if it doesn't work. From then on the question is: will they or won't they? Is this third episode about to drop a major plot twist, or is it simply establishing more setting details and character rapport, as Alice and Miko suggest might be better.

It's ambiguous, but I think Anime-Gataris has opted for a break from the third episode twist that some of its characters feel so strongly about. Instead of cracking the story wide open with an unexpected turn, the student council arc is succinctly resolved, finally establishing the anime club within three episodes. Instead of showing new character growth, this episode continues to nail down the characters' best beats. It's not Minoa who finds the inner strength to save the anime club (and neither a viewing of MAOYU nor ripping off the Sieg Zion speech at the assembly does her any favors).

Instead it's her chuunibyou upperclassman Kai who saves the day. “It's in anime that we learned justice, friendship, and perseverance,” he counters dramatically to the student council's claim that anime consists of “childish, empty stories” that “waste huge amounts of time.” In these two sides, we see two hyperbolic descriptions of anime, neither of which is without its speaker's bias. While the student council is unreasonably down on anime, you have to admit that if Kai had given that speech at any real life high school, there wouldn't be heroic music playing in the background—it was more than a little nerdy and awkward! Once again, Anime-Gataris makes anime fandom look better than it is—potentially inspiring and encouraging outsiders to become anime fans themselves. There are certainly times the club's gushing ideation of anime gets a little cringey, but it's so heartfelt that I can't dislike it.

“Episode three is when the background and setting have been presented, and the story really begins to move forward,” insists Miko. With our first arc wrapped up, everything is going according to Miko's unwitting narration. There are hints at something deeper brewing, like the way the student council president calls anime club member Erika by her first name. With the fourth episode dramatically titled, “Club Room Explosion,” there's no reason to believe that Miko's hypothesis won't come true. The question remains whether it can find a place among the anime classics it begs comparison to with every new reference, or whether the "third episode twist" isn't the only anime rule it will break.

Rating: B

Anime-Gataris is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Lauren writes about geek careers at Otaku Journalist.