Yatterman Night

Episode 5

There's nothing like a winter episode of anime when it's actually a snow wasteland outside in the real world. Doronbow, Galina and Alouette find themselves at a snow festival this week on Yatterman Night. There are snow sculptures from preying mantises to Lord and Lady Yatterman themselves, along with...a wrestling tournament? I thought that was a Summer Olympic sport.

Apparently not the case in the bizarre world of the Yatter Kingdom. In this village, kids have to strip down and fight their way to the top to win sheep and pocket money. One superhumanly strong boy named Takeshi aims to win the sumo tournament so he can help his sick mother. It's a dilemma that Leopard and friends can relate to all too well. Even when Galina goes up against him, Takeshi's struggle steals the group's heart. The Doronbow boys con the villagers with a fake "leaping snowbunny" (using a magnet), but lose face when Takeshi buys it. They give him the money back and the magnet after hearing his sob story.

All that heartwarming stuff aside, this episode of Yatterman Night stuck closer to the sillier end of things. There was a battle at the end, but none of the dark life-or-death stuff from earlier installments. Even when General Goro and his "Yatterpug" are chasing down the group at the end, it's played for laughs, unlike the tense chases of earlier episodes. So you probably won't enjoy this episode if you don't like the series' brand of comedy, especially its potty humor. There are multiple gags involving Takeshi peeing on things, including his pee freezing in the winter cold and sparkling when he's happy. Personally, I found it hilarious, but I'm a 5-year-old when it comes to comedy. If you're sick of the tonal shifts though, rejoice: this episode does keep things on the lighter side throughout.

That said, part of the fun in this show comes from the hints it dangles about its world's darker nature, even in happier moments. With Takeshi, we have yet another person living in the Yatter Kingdom who doesn't have everything he needs. In fact, he has the same problem that set Leopard on her quest in the first place. Then there's the reveal at the end that the contest is rigged. The true winners must defeat a Yatter mecha for the top prize, which is of course impossible. Even Takeshi's super-strength is no match for that. The mechas' funny names and powers aside, it's depressing that even something as simple as sheep and pocket change is too much for the government to grant its citizens. Good only triumphs when the Doronbow gang break out their own mecha, a round-headed monstrosity named "Genghiskhan." It defeats all the Yatter robots (Voltkatze must have learned something from their last battle,) and the Doronbow gang gives the prize money and livestock to Takeshi before taking off for their next adventure.

All that wrestling and fighting makes for stunning visuals. As I said last week, I love how fluid this series' animation can be, along with its thin, colorful linework. The characters and objects ebb and flow so seamlessly into each other without looking blurry. It's just fuzzy, in an artistic and cozy sort of way. It adds more to the series' homey, childlike feel, and that's especially true for this episode. It was nice to see a snowy landscape again through the eyes of a child, as Leopard and Alouette built snowpeople of their friends. For all the darkness at the heart of its premise, Yatterman Night retains a youthful whimsy at all times. It's about Leopard growing up, as her treatment of Alouette this episode parallels her mother's toward her younger self. At the same time, the show is also about her retaining her innocence and fun-loving spirit in spite of harsh truths.

This episode was nonstop fun from start to finish, and a further testament to the series' mastery of many moods. While I can't wait for it to dig in more to its main conflict, I hope Yatterman Night never loses that spirit of fun. As repetitive as the old Yatterman series could be, Yatterman Night is at its best when it still has one foot in its source material. This show can make you think and make you feel like a kid again.

Rating: A-

Yatterman Night is currently streaming on Funimation.

Rose is a musicologist who studies film music. She writes about anime and many other topics on Autostraddle.com, her blog and her Twitter.