Celestial Method

Episode 5

As I was watching this episode, I was all set to grouse about how stagnant Yuzuki and Shione are as characters, how their irrational hatred of Nonoka was dragging the show down. And those things are still true. However, this fifth episode of Celestial Method also finally gets things moving in a positive direction, with Nonoka's can-do positivity making its mark on at least one of the difficult characters, making things start to look like the attraction some of us had to this show initially will pan out.

The main plot this time is that Nonoka, in an effort to make things up to the relentlessly angry Yuzuki, is going to try to have fireworks over the lake. She starts making that plan when she finds a picture of herself with her mother from seven years ago, at the festival against a backdrop of fireworks. Koharu offers to help, and Nonoka spreads the word that this is going to happen. Whether it does or not largely hinges on Noel, of course – she is, after all, the saucer, and that's what's been gumming up the works for the last seven years. In a cynical moment before the episode starts to move, one might ask oneself, “So why doesn't Nonoka just ask Noel if she minds fireworks?” A reasonable question...until you find out that Noel has no idea what fireworks are. And really, why would she? There haven't been any since she arrived. But Noel is nothing if not determined to do right by her friends, a fact that this episode does a beautiful job of both showing and telling. The former isn't terribly subtle – she flat out states to Yuzuki that she's happiest when the group is smiling. (The showing at the end is much more remarkable.) Those words (and Nonoka's photo album) are what Yuzuki needs to finally get over the hurt she's been nursing for so long, and we do get a clearer idea of why she's so angry. The loss of the fireworks led her to run away one night, which resulted in Souta hurting himself. It's easier for Yuzuki to blame the saucer for her brother's broken leg than to blame herself. Immature, yes, but fairly consistent for the age that she was and is, and we do get to see her finally face facts and grow up a little. I also have to wonder if looking at the picture of Nonoka and her mother made her realize that while she lost the festival and got her brother injured, Nonoka's mother actually died, making her grudge pale in comparison.

The fly in the ointment remains Shione, who is stubborn in her insistence that Nonoka is a liar. Symbolically at the end of the episode she, too, is looking up, but whether or not Noel can reach her seems in question. Shione's hatred is so deeply rooted that even Noel's moe charms struggle to reach her, we see her put on her headphones when Nonoka is talking to her, a very clear rejection. Given that we finally understand Yuzuki, there would seem to be hope for Shione, but it does need to come soon, or at least a concrete reason for her grudge. She's still in line to drag the show down, and with the half-way mark coming up next episode, Celestial Method really needs to get its ducks in a row.

Luckily each episode does provide some fairly wonderful eye candy. The town (which we now know is in Hokkaido) has a pastoral beauty that makes you want to visit, and there are small details, such as fireworks shaped like a ringed planet, that feel like Easter eggs when you notice them, so quickly do they go by. And of course the ending theme is remarkable with its attention to gait, posture, and smooth animation. Celestial Method finally seems to be reaching a point where the story is as good as its first episode promised, and the preview looks like it will keep heading in that positive direction. Now if Shione can just get sorted out sooner rather than later, this show could hop back on the right track before too many viewers get fed up with its characters' immaturity.

Rating: B-

Celestial Method is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rebecca Silverman teaches courses in folklore and children's literature and writes ANN's manga review column, RTO.