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Yatterman Night
Episode 8

by Rose Bridges,

This week's Yatterman Night was almost as silly as the last. Yet, it didn't feel like filler, at least not in the same way. It took time away from the jokes to give several characters more development and backstory, and show us what the group is like in their quieter moments. The battle-of-the-week actually tied in with the characters' larger arcs and the series' themes, and the goofy jokes actually landed this time…mostly.

Yatterman Night models its raunchier bits after the original Yatterman, which could be pretty naughty for a capital-K kids' show. Most of the jokes are obvious and overused though, and don't quite nail the tonal shifts that previous episodes did. Voltkatze and Elephantus are about as non-menacing as two "pervert" characters can get in their scenes leering at Alouette, but those moments still made me a little uncomfortable. I think it's because of Alouette's helplessness. So often, she doesn't know who is touching her or watching over her, and the characters take advantage of this to hold her hand. The fact that the series frames one of them getting with her as "we'll all be one Big Happy Family!" doesn't help. We don't need this just because Leopard will presumably end up with Gatchan.

Speaking of, I enjoyed how Leopard's crush on Gatchan progressed here. The hints of it last week came out of nowhere, and it seems like this week's episode is selling us on it. It's unsurprising that a coming-of-age story would feature first love, but I'm glad Yatterman Night develops it instead of treating it as inevitable. We see why Leopard is so into him in the first place. He's caring and thoughtful, but also shares her intense curiosity about the world. Her fantasy sequences are far less uncomfortable than Voltkatze and Elephantus' ones about Alouette. It doesn't seem like her to dream about being his housewife, but crushes can be weird like that. They can make you want things you never thought you wanted. Leopard is confused by this, and by how far she finds herself taking her "cute" act to get his attention. She blushes and acts embarrassed about it, like any young teen first awakening to their sexuality.

Anyway, let's talk about the episode's main course and why it worked so much better than last week's. Alouette finds a Nessie-like sea serpent named Kutchan, who made his way into their local lake when he lost his mom. Our ragtag orphans, especially Leopard, decide the most important thing now is to return Kutchan home. At first, this is as bizarre as last week's turtles and pervy fisherman, but it ends up fitting better into the show's themes and the characters' motivations. After all, Leopard's entire reason for going on this quest is to avenge her mother's death. The loss of their parents is important to Alouette and Gatchan too, and a flashback reveals how much of Alouette's attitude toward Leopard comes from her father. A good chunk of the episode is spent on the idea of our heroes as replacement parents to each other, ranging from Voltkatze and Elephantus pleading to be Leopard's "mother and father" to the more serious stuff on Leopard and Alouette's relationship. It makes perfect sense that Kutchan's plea would capture their hearts, so the diversion feels earned. It also doesn't hurt that Kutchan and his mom are so gosh-darn cute. Every anime could use more moe dinosaurs.

On that note, let's take some time to admire this series' visual and sonic design. It's surprising how little I've talked about the music in Yatterman Night so far, because it consistently knocks it out of the park. I love the wide variety of selections, from the quieter moments' lullabies to the bass-heavy hard rock of this week's battle scenes. I really love how expertly placed they are. The music matches the many environments and moods our characters go through in their adventures. I've talked about the visuals before, but it hit me just how deliberate the "storybook" feeling of it was. It's not just the pastel backgrounds that look drawn in crayon, but the way it zeroes in on characters by framing them in circles also seems storybook-like. The show resembles the design of children's books because these characters are heroes from those kinds of books. They base their conception of the world in storybooks (as Gatchan shows again this week by reading one to a sick Leopard). Their adventures are about re-writing the story to better reflect their realities.

I'm not sure where Yatterman Night is going at this point. Like the characters, it seems lost in meandering through this brave new world, forgetting its goals. It reminds me of the weaker episodes of Digimon Adventure more than its fellow "revisionist kids' shows." If the show is going to wander off though, this is the way to do it. Hopefully it can get back on track soon, or at least figure out what its goals are. In the meantime, you could have worse "filler" than this. It uses the time off to further develop its characters, and makes the adventure cute and funny in the process.

Rating: B+

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.


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