The Fruit of Grisaia

Episode 8

Congratulations, Yuuji! You've leveled up from big brother to papa! Given that Yuuji doesn't emote much, it's hard to know how he feels about this announcement at the beginning of The Fruit of Grisaia's eighth episode, but he does agree to the role that Makina wants him to play, much to the bemusement and confusion of their classmates. (That a hefty check was involved may or may not have any bearing on it; I suspect that Yuuji took it to keep her from propositioning other potential dads who would have cashed it.) So what does Yuuji think being a dad means? Making Makina train, do her homework, and teaching her how to be a sniper, apparently. Granted, my father taught me how to sail and take apart an engine, but Grisaia's world is one where sniping skills might be more useful...and Makina clearly has a confused idea of what fathers do anyway – at one point she jumps on Yuuji and starts Frenching him, declaring that it's what fathers and daughters do. I must admit that the slurpy sounds that accompanied this scene grossed me out, so if you're the kind of person who dislikes that sort of noise, you've been warned. (Hey, we're all squeamish about different things.) What's most important about this new “level” of their relationship, however, is that Makina gets Yuuji to open up about his past. Finally we learn more about Mr. Stoic, and it certainly does give us insight into some of his behaviors and his apparent need to save the girls he lives with.

This is actually the most plot-intensive episode in terms of Yuuji that we've had thus far in the show, and the episode itself is particularly well-constructed. It balances the series' sense of humor, fanservice, and more serious moments well, ending on a cliff-hanger that feels appropriately urgent. All of the girls have a brief moment to contribute to the overall plot in some way and Yuuji himself becomes a bit less of a cipher than he has been, showing actual honest-to-goodness emotion by the end. The fly in the ointment is that there's one scene that is particularly poorly animated, with Yuuji and Sakaki standing and yelling at each other while their bodies just sort of vibrate on the screen.There are a few other places where the art is off or the animation is stiff, usually scenes of Makina walking for some reason.

Luckily Makina's past is one of the more interesting ones, and if we no longer see evidence of the aphasia she suffered in the past, we do come to understand her relationship with her family. Actually, the show missed a good moment to bring her past back to haunt her towards the end when she experiences a traumatic event, but generally speaking, Makina is one of the more believable characters. She is relatively open about her issues, she recalls what caused them, and she still shows that she cares about the family that ultimately rejected her. Her emotions are, in other words, somewhat healthier than the other girls', that whole French-kissing-your-dad thing aside. It makes her more sympathetic, and I would hazard that she strikes Yuuji that way too, given that he tells her much more about himself than he's allowed anyone else to know, even Green Eyed MICHIRU.

The Fruit of Grisaia has had some rocky moments, but this episode isn't one of them. The pace is good, the backstory interesting and relevant, and the cliff-hanger one that has me eagerly awaiting the next episode. It's probably a bit too late for the series as a whole to pull itself out of mediocrity, but it looks like it is going wrap things up with a bang. Or at least Makina's arc; we still do have Amane to handle. But now I have renewed hope that it will be done well.

Rating: A-

The Fruit of Grisaia is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rebecca Silverman writes ANN's manga review column RTO and teaches writing and literature.