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EP. REVIEW: Skip and Loafer

Two very interesting sequences this week: the travel scenes at the beginning and then the watermelon scene. Most anime would have skipped the travel scenes or only shown a plane taking off/landing. It seems the long build up was just so Mitsumi could have that moment looking out at the plane upon arrival.

The watermelon scene was beautiful. Just wondering if there was any meaning to the uneaten watermelon being left behind. The camera lingered on the bowl at the end enough that I thought maybe the show was trying to convey something.

2 points/questions/thoughts on Ep8 and 9.
*Nao "disguising" herself as a man was the only question mark I had in regards to her trans nature (For lack of better phrasing). I wasnt sure if that was frowned upon or whatever. I mean its an excellent way to get Mitsumi not to notice her, but I just wasnt sure where the trans community is on it. I am happy to be enlightened by any in the know on the subject.

The watermelon scene was beautiful. Just wondering if there was any meaning to the uneaten watermelon being left behind. The camera lingered on the bowl at the end enough that I thought maybe the show was trying to convey something.

The Scream Man wrote:

2 points/questions/thoughts on Ep8 and 9. *Nao "disguising" herself as a man was the only question mark I had in regards to her trans nature (For lack of better phrasing)

It really depends on the person. I personally would never do it under any circumstances and am at a point where I couldn't even if I wanted to. Some people are more fine with it. It's really just dependent on the individual - based on how people tend to react to Nao in public she didn't get a huge amount of physical changes from her HRT (in my case for example outside of some voice issues basically nobody can tell just by looking at me) so she has the option of doing so more readily available and may be more comfortable doing it on occasion because of that.

Azure Chrysanthemum wrote:

The Scream Man wrote: 2 points/questions/thoughts on Ep8 and 9. *Nao "disguising" herself as a man was the only question mark I had in regards to her trans nature (For lack of better phrasing) It really depends on the person. I personally would never do it under any circumstances and am at a point where I couldn't even if I wanted to. Some people are more fine with it. It's really just dependent on the individual - based on how people tend to react to Nao in public she didn't get a huge amount of physical changes from her HRT (in my case for example outside of some voice issues basically nobody can tell just by looking at me) so she has the option of doing so more readily available and may be more comfortable doing it on occasion because of that.

And she may naturally flow between the two presentations (is that the right terminology?), I've known a couple of trans individuals that did so. In my (disclaimer: very limited) experience, there can be a spectrum - it's not always a hard switch where you're one or the other.

TheWayEyeRoll wrote:

The watermelon scene was beautiful. Just wondering if there was any meaning to the uneaten watermelon being left behind. The camera lingered on the bowl at the end enough that I thought maybe the show was trying to convey something.

I interpreted it as being symbolic of how you can't quite have everything. Mitsumi is at a point where she has to make some choices, and those impact her life in various ways. She can sit home and eat all of the melon or she can go out with her friends, but she can't fully have both at once. It's kind of a metaphor for growing up, in my over analytical brain.

Yep! That's common especially with folks who are genderfluid.

The Scream Man wrote:

2 points/questions/thoughts on Ep8 and 9. *Nao "disguising" herself as a man was the only question mark I had in regards to her trans nature (For lack of better phrasing). I wasnt sure if that was frowned upon or whatever. I mean its an excellent way to get Mitsumi not to notice her, but I just wasnt sure where the trans community is on it. I am happy to be enlightened by any in the know on the subject.

It really depends on the person. I personally would never do it under any circumstances and am at a point where I couldn't even if I wanted to. Some people are more fine with it. It's really just dependent on the individual - based on how people tend to react to Nao in public she didn't get a huge amount of physical changes from her HRT (in my case for example outside of some voice issues basically nobody can tell just by looking at me) so she has the option of doing so more readily available and may be more comfortable doing it on occasion because of that.

Azure Chrysanthemum wrote:

The Scream Man wrote: 2 points/questions/thoughts on Ep8 and 9. *Nao "disguising" herself as a man was the only question mark I had in regards to her trans nature (For lack of better phrasing). I wasnt sure if that was frowned upon or whatever. I mean its an excellent way to get Mitsumi not to notice her, but I just wasnt sure where the trans community is on it. I am happy to be enlightened by any in the know on the subject. It really depends on the person. I personally would never do it under any circumstances and am at a point where I couldn't even if I wanted to. Some people are more fine with it. It's really just dependent on the individual - based on how people tend to react to Nao in public she didn't get a huge amount of physical changes from her HRT (in my case for example outside of some voice issues basically nobody can tell just by looking at me) so she has the option of doing so more readily available and may be more comfortable doing it on occasion because of that.

Thank you for the insight!
i assume because she had male ID as well that it may be she is unable to legally transition? Im unsure as the laws on that in Japan.

The Scream Man wrote:

Azure Chrysanthemum wrote: The Scream Man wrote: 2 points/questions/thoughts on Ep8 and 9. *Nao "disguising" herself as a man was the only question mark I had in regards to her trans nature (For lack of better phrasing). I wasnt sure if that was frowned upon or whatever. I mean its an excellent way to get Mitsumi not to notice her, but I just wasnt sure where the trans community is on it. I am happy to be enlightened by any in the know on the subject. It really depends on the person. I personally would never do it under any circumstances and am at a point where I couldn't even if I wanted to. Some people are more fine with it. It's really just dependent on the individual - based on how people tend to react to Nao in public she didn't get a huge amount of physical changes from her HRT (in my case for example outside of some voice issues basically nobody can tell just by looking at me) so she has the option of doing so more readily available and may be more comfortable doing it on occasion because of that. Thank you for the insight! i assume because she had male ID as well that it may be she is unable to legally transition? Im unsure as the laws on that in Japan.

Human Rights Watch actually has an article on it from 2019, in general it's not great: https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/03/19/interview-invisible-struggle-japans-transgender-population

A quick glance through and I couldn't find any mentions of amendments so unfortunately that's likely what still stands.

The ID was actually a nice little detail, I know at least for us trans women having IDs like that are one of the main reasons we might have to "boymode" in some circumstances just to be able to get through certain official things.

Princess_Irene wrote:

TheWayEyeRoll wrote: The watermelon scene was beautiful. Just wondering if there was any meaning to the uneaten watermelon being left behind. The camera lingered on the bowl at the end enough that I thought maybe the show was trying to convey something. I interpreted it as being symbolic of how you can't quite have everything. Mitsumi is at a point where she has to make some choices, and those impact her life in various ways. She can sit home and eat all of the melon or she can go out with her friends, but she can't fully have both at once. It's kind of a metaphor for growing up, in my over analytical brain.

No, I got the same kind of feelings from it, too. Also the ephemeral nature of life, and how time seems to move faster and faster as we grow up. The way the episodes have mostly been two chapters/storylines worked in an effective way here: We get the watermelon scene, then the commercial/title card, a brief beach scene, and then we're back in Tokyo; Summer break is a memory. We the viewers are still thinking about the watermelon(or at least I was), but Mitsumi has already moved on ahead of us. "I cried a little, but that's all in the past".