Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Girlish Number
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SilverTalon01
Posts: 2404 |
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How old are these characters suppose to be? I thought Chitose was suppose to be kind of young, but she was drinking beer so she must be at least 20.
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John Thacker
Posts: 1006 |
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Two steps forward, one step back, surely, at least if we're talking about actual growth? |
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HelloBucket
 Posts: 477 Location: Upstate New York |
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I don't think that Momoka was bitter because that's all the studio was looking for - I think the scene is a little more complicated. Shibasaki seems to have taken note that Momoka was the one who coached Chitose. Her dig at Chitose's acting wasn't at Chitose herself, but at Momoka, which Momoka was aware enough to realize. She's bitter for being chastised for a lack of ambition (living off her name and just doing what is expected of her, no less but no more) and is using "that's all they want from me anyway" as an excuse to shrug it off. This is all in line with a running thread about Shibasaki resenting Momoka's blithe acceptance of what she sees as a terrible state of affairs. |
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whiskeyii
 Posts: 2248 |
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Well, kind of relieved we've gotten some growth out of Chitose this early on, because otherwise this would've been a slog for me. I'm glad someone finally hit her over the head with a cluebat, and it's interesting to see the other characters' insights about the process, but I have to say, Kuzu just drags down every scene he's in for me. I think he works best in very, very small doses.
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23833 |
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@ HelloBucket - nice analysis. I didn't really pick up on all that nuance, but I find your interpretation persuasive.
Chitose continues to delight me. "It's not my fault. It's society's."  Only cute girls can get away with lines like that.
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zrnzle500
 Posts: 3767 |
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I don't think Momoka just wants to live off her family name. If she is unambitious in her acting, I doesn't seem fully of her own volition. When she said "that's all they want from me anyway", it seemed more forlorn than cynically lazy, like she wanted to do more but couldn't due to the limits of the role, like Nick said. And frankly trying to be ambitious with your acting in these sort of roles would kinda just seem like overacting. "Relax, you're just playing Stock Action Harem Tsundere #3547. This ain't Shakespeare" they might say.
She probably isn't the only one who wants more out of her and finds her acting dull, if her pained expression when her mother was brought up is any indication. I do believe that Shibasaki thinks that Momoka only got where she is because of her parents and looks at her with contempt for that, being someone who made her own name. Momoka seems to realize that there is some truth to the notion she wouldn't be where she is without her parents being who they are, especially her mother, but she also believes that her hard work, achievements, and talent are being obscured by being in the shadow of her mother. Expectations of her are higher from both people in the industry and her parents because of how good her mother was. She can't just be a good actress. She needs to be as good and probably even better than her mother for her talents to be recognized as her own and not just because her mother, from both who view that positively like Chitose and negatively like Shibasaki, and she knows that full well. From the haphazard advice (which almost seemed self taught) she gave Chitose, I don't think that her mother coached her, probably wanting her to prove herself with her own effort and not just leech of her talent and experience, and again from that expression I mentioned earlier, she hasn't succeeded in proving herself to her mother yet. In short, I don't see Momoka as someone skating by on her name, but rather someone yearning to be recognized for her own efforts and talent but knowing that having the parents that she has gave her an advantage in the industry. As for Kuzu, he definitely lives up to his name (Garbage as they said in the preview. I've also seen it translated as scum. Either way  )
As to the production values, yeah it isn't KyoAni level, but it is probably the best effort I've seen from Diomedea. A moderately low bar to be sure, but still a good effort from Diomedea. |
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Treeborn
 Posts: 729 |
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Favorite part was when she apologized to the blonde girl (I'll get the name down eventually) for taking so long with her lines. She said it so honestly embarrassed that it was clear she cares a lot about what the blonde thinks of her. Her expression was pretty adorable too :p
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FilthyCasual
Posts: 2214 |
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So is the super quiet guy called Sensei the author while the otaku stereotype from episode one is the illustrator?
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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They're both authors of two separate light novel series. The first one was where Chitose just had a bit role and joined the live event at the last minute whereas the second is where Chitose is voicing a lead role.
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Jayhosh
 Posts: 972 Location: Millmont, Pennsylvania |
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I don't think shows are necessarily required to have traditionally "good" or moral characters. One of my favorite comedies is It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and everyone in that show is a terrible human being. But they're so awful that they somehow revert back to being likable. Though that is a fine line to straddle, and not many shows can succeed at doing it. So I'm glad this show decided to give it's main character some self-realization to get her out of her delusional mindset a bit, it's probably the best direction for it to go in.
Also, the producer is starting to annoy me too. |
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meiam
Posts: 3442 |
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I'll double that the main character doesn't have to be a "good" character, been thoroughly enjoying Bojack Horseman and pretty much none of the character are good in it.
And she's really not that bad. |
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HelloBucket
Posts: 477 Location: Upstate New York |
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In line with my take on Momoka, I think she doesn't like being put on the spot. Her trying to deflect conversation of her mother is her trying to deflect a conversation that is difficult and unflattering. She had a very similar reaction initially when Chitose asked her for acting advice, which quickly gave way to relief and a return of confidence once it became clear Chitose actually appreciated what she said despite how little insight she actually had provided. Also, if she was concerned with not getting roles that warrant or allow for stronger acting, I doubt she'd take as much glee, as she did in episode one, in insulting the creators of source material. There was no sign of disappointment there, just contempt. An additional thought as to why I'm interpreting the character as thus: In pretty much any series where a character is entering into a new occupation/industry there's usually someone you can clearly mark as their first friend. In an optimistic show, this person will typically be at least a notably good/talented person if not an outright Mary Sue/Gary Stu role model. The more cynical/pessimistic the show becomes, and the more this character tends to be flawed up to the point of being an outright villain - someone who, to at least some extent, represents and perpetuates the sicknesses within that arena. Momoka is clearly Chitose's first friend in this show and this is a relatively cynical show. Even if you ignore the whole first friend angle. I don't expect to see a flawless character in a show like this, so what's hers? The more positive spin on Momoka doesn't seem to leave her with one. At least, not one worth speaking of relative to the other characters who have been given any development (the two other newbies have been pretty minor thus far). |
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zrnzle500
Posts: 3767 |
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I don't think she is without flaws or that a sympathetic interpretation of her character necessarily leaves no room for her being flawed. She probably isn't as ambitious with her acting as she could be, not out of a nepotistic cynical laziness but out of an underestimation of how much can be done within restricting roles. Shibasaki definitely tries to put as much acting as she can into the very similar roles. Saying there isn't any room for acting in such roles was a bit pat, but the sentiment is understandable if wrong, which is the direction I think they will take her character.
We'll see where they take Momoka's character, but I don't think they will make her totally villainous. But they don't need to make her completely villainous to have her perpetuate the flawed system. Just take the production staff. Some have aired serious qualms about how the producer wants to run the show, and they still go along with it and don't quit in protest, which does seem to be a option given the series composition writer quit because of the utter dross the author calls a novel. While his novel ain't Shakespeare, the author is letting himself get run over as the producer makes quite possibly the worst version of the story, or at least a very bad one. The staff and the author aren't bad people but they perpetuate the flawed system nonetheless, which is where I would put Momoka. *Insert Edmund Burke quote* If anyone is the villain and avatar of the scum of the industry, its the aptly named Kuzu. Certainly not all his characters are complex (the aforementioned Kuzu) but Wataru's main characters are usually so, and I would be disappointed if she just turned out to be just nepotistically coasting off her family name and didn't want to be a good actress. |
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Yttrbio
 Posts: 3653 |
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I'm apparently the only one who likes Kuzu. He's definitely representing the industry, but much like Momoka, he's doing what's expected. His job is to get things done, not be an artist. For all the romaticization of art that typically goes on, if everyone thought about it that way all the time, there would be no anime industry. It's easy to point him out as a villain, but if it wasn't for him, there would be no show, everyone would just argue in their wishy-washy way, and it's unemployment for everyone.
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zrnzle500
Posts: 3767 |
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Certainly you need someone to approach it from the business end so you can actually make the art. The problem with him isn't that he is a producer not an artist, but that he is a shitty producer. You can't really ignore that many of his decisions are making for a very troubled production. He doesn't need to be an artist but he needs to actually give a shit about what the company is making so they can actually make something they can be proud of, even if it isn't the height of art. |
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