Forum - View topic(The) aquatope on white sand (TV).
|
Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4 Next |
| Author | Message | ||
|---|---|---|---|
ACｘS
 Posts: 911 |
|
||
|
14:
Fuuka coming back because she's now working at Tingaara too, and lives next to Kukuru? Talk about a convenient plot twist. It's quite a godsend that Kukuru is assigned to the PR marketing department. That's the one thing she struggled back at Gama Gama, and (partially) the cause of its downfall. Not sure if Kukuru realizes this, since she's mostly into being hands-on with the animals, especially the penguins. Kukuru is essentially all of us: wanting to do the part we enjoy the most, but (unconsciously?) avoiding the part we need to work on the most. Aren't we all guilty of this? So Kukuru learns firsthand about the bureaucracy of a large workplace. When there are multiple departments with different objectives and duties, there will be conflict of interests. Marketing wants to spread the word, but the maintenance department wants to keep things under wraps, and attendants want to protect the animals as much as possible. If you've worked in a typical company, you'd notice how the marketing department are often at loggerheads with the accounting department because one wants to spend money on advertising, and the other wants to reduce expenditure as much as possible. Conflict of interests... it's definitely not Gama Gama where it's just one small family. A bit about Chiyu: she's proud of her work. My perception of her in this aspect hasn't changed. But I do have some insight about her personality. She prioritises the animals' welfare at least, and takes her job seriously. Something also tells me she's also protective of her team. She may not like Kukuru of their history, but also because she's not part of her team (if you like to stereotype, she's probably the type most likely to form a clique... or have formed one at high school). And lastly, we look at Akari, the part-timer. Although she's just a side character, she has the role of reminding people (especially Kukuru) that not everyone works at Tingaara because they love aquariums; some are there simply for practical reasons. Money, close to home, job proficiency (some people are good at something even if they don't necessarily like it). But as demonstrated by Fuuka in the first cour, do it long enough and one end up liking their job. In the real world, you may meet up with people at the workplace who don't necessarily love their job but at there for other motives. Managers thinking about how to incentivize their teams must first recognize what is it that motivate them work in the first place. I like the second cour a lot more than the first; the things that Kukuru and Fuuka are learning are much more applicable to work in RL so it's a lot more relatable to me. The first cour is a nice story, the second cour is showing to be a true story. |
|||
|
|||
Piglet the Grate
 Posts: 593 Location: North America |
|
||
Marina Yonekura - What am I, chum? 
I see Marina as the one to be the peacemaker between Chiyu and Kukura. |
|||
|
|||
|
ACｘS
Posts: 911 |
|
||
I also see her as that one person in a department who can defuse any tense situation. She may seem clueless to people based on first impression, but may surprise people with her capabilities. She also be that one person whom others like to approach to nudge another person (i.e. Chiyu, in this case). |
|||
|
|||
|
ACｘS
Posts: 911 |
|
||
|
15:
I will say one thing: the second cour is waaaay more interesting to watch than the first. The reality of the workplace is utterly engaging to me. The topic of conflict of interests between department continues, with the marketing team versus the attendants. The show basically spells it out for us: the marketing team values the guests, whereas the attendants prioritize the animals. Doesn't get any clearer than that, when it comes to understanding why friction often happens between different departments. Even in the best companies, this happens all the time. And this is where Kukuru did something incredible: getting the support of an "opposing" department, despite her "loyalty" being her own team. Kaoru and Kukuru had a honest conversation—which is amazingly rare; when's the last time you had a serious talk with someone who's not from your department at the workplace?—and found a common goal (albeit with different approaches). And even if they finally saw something eye-to-eye, Kukuru didn't get a win-win situation: her project was still a compromise at the expense of her boss's approval. She didn't get to do exactly as her boss asked her to, but in the big picture, she gets the attendants' approval via Kaoru. And even later down the road, I can tell that Kukuru's a huge prospect for Tingaara because she's demonstrated one important trait: she's not a pushover who will simply do whatever her boss tells her to. If I were the boss, I may not like her but I have to respect her and say she's got guts. Chiyu apparently (still) bears a grudge against the Gama-Gama faction, and I can sense why. She probably felt belittled during her time (2 days, mind you) there when she "didn't learn anything". But if she were the mature team leader she's supposed to be, she will have to put that behind her sooner or later. Same for Kukuru, but all the more so for Chiyu since she's a figure of authority. But I feel like anyone who's interacting and expressing disapproval with the Gama-Gama faction will have a change of heart eventually, after witnessing their passion and persistence. You know which subplot excites me the most now? Kuuya-Kaoru. Isn't it obvious how Kaoru is deliberately made to be a character who doesn't seem effeminate compared to the other female characters? That makes it extra tricky for Kuuya to deal with her on a daily basis: a woman whom he didn't even think was one. By "extra tricky", I mean extra interesting. |
|||
|
|||
|
Piglet the Grate
Posts: 593 Location: North America |
|
||
|
Episode 16. The show takes on the issue of Japanese women trying to combine a career with motherhood.
We have some iyashikei moments as characters exchange infighting for empathy. |
|||
|
|||
|
ACｘS
Posts: 911 |
|
||
|
16:
Aha. Let's be honest: it's not a huge surprise that Chiyu is a single mother. The writing's on the wall: her seemingly having to leave work abruptly (seen in earlier episodes), her claim to be "desperate" (back in the first cour), and in fact, her protectiveness (motherly instinct?). Even the awkward meeting between Chiyu and the doctor was a sign that they had something in common (a kid). I knew that Kukuru trying to bulldoze her way into correcting Chiyu was going to be a disaster. Even if she had the right intention (looking out for your fellow teammates), she made it her issue, and not her Chiyu's team ("finally, an issue I can raise up to her, time for some revenge!"). But more importantly, she doesn't bother to ask Chiyu (or even herself) why Chiyu is doing what she's doing (one thing you learn when you grow up: paying attention not only to what is being said/done, but what is not being said/done). More so when she became opportunistic with increasing her chances of becoming an attendant. Her fall-out with Chiyu was a given, all because Kukuru didn't try to find out what's going on with Chiyu. Although it's a classic trope to paint Chiyu as this "villain" at first and adding a background story to her character to change your mind, it's nicely done. I knew that the show deliberately portrayed her as the bad guy at first, even when this is the kind of show that wouldn't have "bad" people (let's be honest: it's a feel-good show, so why have baddies here?). But deep inside, I knew she has her reasons... now we know what they are. I bet the next "villain" to be given the background-story treatment is Kukuru's boss. And for that, I'll easily that this is the best episode so far and a big part of that is because of the pointed social commentary on single motherhood. Especially the discrimination on single mothers (especially in Japan, I want to say, although it's a pretty universal societal problem). Yeah, they have it really hard: when there's a divorce, it's the woman who almost always carry the burden of raising the kid. Workplaces singling them out make it unbearable. (And some people wonder why more women don't want to have kids...). I thought that Kukuru's crash course in empathy was an unnecessarily LOL moment, but I guess she has her own way of atoning. It's a familiar setup: Kukuru and Chiyu hating each other's guts. But now they respect other. Don't you just love it when people learn to get along? (Have I mentioned how the second cour is so much better than the first?) |
|||
|
|||
|
ACｘS
Posts: 911 |
|
||
|
17:
I never knew: I also needed this kind of episode. I remembered my first working experience, and the problems of shift work. My friends were from outside the workplace circle, so shift work made it incredibly hard to meet them during my off-days. So by default (and this applies to a lot of people too), my friends end up being my colleagues too. A chance to hang out outside work helps to build camaraderie, because rarely you don't talk about personal stuff at work. Another problem I had at my workplace was how my interests were different from my colleagues. By "different", I mean they're not aligned with work i.e. tourism for me. So it was hard for me to gel with them, but upon hindsight it made me realize that it's not just about having the same interests; it's about being able to socialise and work together despite our differences. I feel happy to see Kukuru and Chiyu making up. I really do. |
|||
|
|||
|
Piglet the Grate
Posts: 593 Location: North America |
|
||
If one only watched EP 17, they would think this is an iyashikei show. Hope we get more background on Marina Yonekura. Based on her name, appearance, and Japanese not being her native language, my guess would be she is from Brazil where there is a substantial population of people with Japanese ancestry. |
|||
|
|||
|
ACｘS
Posts: 911 |
|
||
|
18:
what has been seen. When it comes to work, it's almost inevitable to touch on the topic of "passion". Yes, that old yet topical subject that affects every working adult. Conventional wisdom says you should "follow your passion", but this has often been debunked, calling it misguided. Opponents says that you should "hone your craft", and the passion will come only after it. Whichever school of thought you believe in, it's an unavoidable topic when it comes to motivation at work. Personally, I resonate with Akari's sentiments. Everyone at Tingaara has an emotional investment to work there: they love marine life and aquariums, so working at a place like Tingaara is a no-brainer. Akari, being a part-timer, is there only for the work. Absolutely nothing wrong with that; in fact, all the staff are at the aquarium officially for work. Anything else other than that, it's for personal reasons. What makes Akari highly relatable to me is how, like me, she doesn't have any passion or calling. At least not yet. I didn't even know what I wanted to do when I graduated from college, and I once wondered if there was something wrong with me. Most of us were raised to think that we should find our passion and pursue it. The earlier we find it, the better. But what if we don't know what our passion is? Does that mean we are failures? This is the part that most of us weren't really taught as kids: that it's okay if we haven't found our passions, or that it's even okay if we don't know what it is yet. That's why, between "follow your passion" and "hone your craft", I believe in the second school of thought more. If you already know what your passion is, then great. But if you haven't, you should focus at being good at something, which in turn makes you more emotionally invested in your craft. That's exactly what happened with Fuuka and it worked for her, whereas Kukuru is an example of someone who already knows what she loves doing. |
|||
|
|||
|
ACｘS
Posts: 911 |
|
||
|
19:
Nothing much for me to discuss about the episode itself. But if I can go on a tangent, idolatry is something I just can't understand. I know what it's about, but I can't understand fans of idols (not just the ones in Japan, but idols in general). Most fans are all right, but some can either so loyal that if something bad crops about their idol, they either become even more loyal or become the strongest detractor. Ruka being harassed by her own fans is symptomatic of what idolatry can be, and even this is considered mild compared to more extreme cases. |
|||
|
|||
bonbonsrus
 Posts: 1537 Location: Michigan, USA |
|
||
|
Ya know, I still love this show, I really like the characters and the interactions and the growing up the characters have to do...but I really thought this was going to have a more magical element (and not in a magical girl way) from what the beginning was leading me to believe.
It's much more subtly found here and there instead of being a slightly more stand out part like I somehow thought it would be. The fairies at the beginning, and the memory trips people were having in the old aquarium that was sweet and dreamy...almost seem like this show didn't go where they were thinking at first or maybe it'll come together again by the end. Just something I was thinking about this week watching it, kinda like "oh yeah, whatever happened with that?" Either way, I still like the tone of this show. |
|||
|
|||
|
ACｘS
Posts: 911 |
|
||
|
To be honest, it feels as though the second cour is done by a different altogether. Personally I prefer the second cour's tone, but only because it's more relatable to me in terms of work culture.
But since the first cour has more magical elements, it does feel jarring to see them completely nonexistent in the second cour. Like, "what, did they decide to scrape it altogether and just focus on 'being real' instead?". Same goes for Kukuru's grandpa too: what used to be a character who play quite an important role in the first cour, now he's retired (figuratively and literally) from the second. But I still like the second cour more. Love it. |
|||
|
|||
|
ACｘS
Posts: 911 |
|
||
|
20:
Oh no. OH GOD NO. What Kukuru is going through is giving me flashbacks. Kukuru is getting swamped by her work. Happens to all of us working adults at least one point of our careers. Frustration builds up and you need to vent it out. Sounds familiar, right? Kukuru had been doing the same thing, and for the most parts, it's all right. But then, work keeps piling up, so much that it's beginning to take away your own personal life: your hobbies, the things you love. At one point, you feel like you're getting drowned by work. Quite literally. You even start dreaming about work. That's when work takes up the rest of your life, and you begin to question the purpose of your work. And the worse thing is, everyone around you are saying that you should be focusing on the work and not everything else. If something bad happens outside work, then it's not your fault. It's just work. "It can't be helped!". Before you know it, you cast away everything and simply focus on your work. Everything: your feelings, the things you care about. Everyone around you is basically telling you to do that, so you're doing the right thing, aren't you? To make matters worse, Kukuru learns about the one harsh truth about work: people don't care about what you personally care about. Call it "conflict of interest" if you want, but in the working world where your company depends on customer demands, sometimes the most important isn't what you care about; it's what the customer wants. And it gets even worse: she's been taken away from her animals. You know, the things that is (quite literally) keeping her sanity, and giving her meaning in work in the first place. Do you want happens next? Disengagement. Disillusionment. Ultimately, apathy and then the IDGAF attitude. Kukuru sacrifices a lot from her end into her work, and she doesn't get anything in return, so it's like she said: "What am I working so hard for?". It's the start of the existential crisis that working adults know too much. Why do you work so hard for people who don't seem to care about your welfare and your feelings? Kukuru: "I'm overworked!" Everyone: "Keep going!" Kukuru: "The boss hates me." Everyone: "The boss looks up to you!" Kukuru: "I'm failing at my work." Everyone: "Don't give up!" Sure, people are talking to her... but are they listening? So naturally, Kukuru gradually feels devoid of her work and simply goes through the motion. Just doing what she is told to do, and put her emotions away because people aren't asking about it. And then the worst happened: she missed the destruction of the most precious thing in her life. And people won't blame her because she had work, so "it can't be helped!". The problem is, she had a choice. She always has a choice. Kukuru has always felt alive because she made her own choices, even at the ire of her boss. But now she's doing what everyone is telling her to do, and she's not happy about it. The natural thing, and the worst thing to happen next, is when she's feeling apathetic. When she doesn't care if she fails to get the proposal, angers her boss, or disappoints her friends anymore. Because by then, she just doesn't care. ^Everything I said above? This is exactly what I personally went through during my first working stint, and I ended up resigning (for the better, thankfully). Good thing is, Kukuru's boss did pick up on the hint that Kukuru is slowly having a nervous breakdown. He's a hard-ass but I know he's not a bad person. He's going to do something to help Kukuru because let's face it: it's time. I haven't seen one instance where he compliments Kukuru's hard work... which is one of the most fundamental needs of an employee: recognition. Recognition is ultimately tied to meaning at work: "Why bother working so hard when my boss doesn't even care if I do a good job or not?". And communication is the other essential component: you can't expect the employee to know you recognize their hard work; it's something you have to explicitly recognize. Sorry if my post is long; it's just that this episode hits too close to home this time. Part of me died on the inside (in a good way, actually). |
|||
|
|||
|
Piglet the Grate
Posts: 593 Location: North America |
|
||
No, ultimately in some cases it results in immune system depression and/or adrenaline system stimulation from stress, which leads to physical illness symptoms that prevent the person from working or even dying (particularly in countries that have no social safety net of a culture that does not admit that overwork is a problem). Do "salary-men" in Japan still occasionally drop out and/or die from overwork? (In the USA it is harder to identify the problem, since when people die prematurely from heart disease or similar, they are blamed for choosing a bad lifestyle even if their lifestyle was imposed on them by work and financial demands.) Fortunately, Kukuru is young and healthy, so she has a good chance of recovering. From the general nature of Aquatope, I expect her friends, family, and co-workers will rally to help her to a happy ending, even if in real life that would be less likely. |
|||
|
|||
|
ACｘS
Posts: 911 |
|
||
|
True, Kukuru's experience is a red flag for going down the road of depression. Some are more prone to depression than others, and genetics play a part, but I'll be going on a tangent if I go any further. I have no reason to think that Kukuru won't get back on her feet, and not just because she's young and healthy. I just don't think the show would allow a sad ending like that.
I think this is clearly where Kukuru's boss will help her. Of course her friends and family will help; they've always been supportive of her. But from an storytelling standpoint, this is the perfect time for her boss to step in. He's been portrayed as this emotionless superior, but clearly he's not heartless type of person. The show did the same thing with Chiyu by portraying her as this haughty and ungrateful guest at first, only to reveal her desperation and situation at the end. Probably the show's going to do the same with the boss; it's only the right thing to happen now. Otherwise, I'd be very disappointed. |
|||
|
|||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group