In the Clear Moonlit Dusk

Episode 7

Thank you to everyone who came back after the rather harrowing end of last week's class! We've lost access to our classroom, but surely nobody will give us a hard time as a discussion group out on the quad, right? Never mind that it's 40 degrees Fahrenheit and rainy. Just let's have the smaller students sit closer to the middle. Athletic scholarships around the perimeter. Yep, just like that.

Now, did anyone notice a difference between this episode and the previous ones? Yes? That's right! It didn't look like hot garbage! While the character animation was still quite limited and flat, much of “You on the Night of the Festival” takes place at the festival, which creates many opportunities for dramatic lighting and framing. Warm light emanates from the booths that line the road as well as the lanterns overhead, shifting the ordinary street into a magical, transformative space. Yoi and Ichimura's final confrontation takes place under vermilion torii gates, setting a supernatural stage for the shift in their relationship.

Oh, hey, a group of stoners coming out to smoke. That will surely make us look less conspicuous out here. Or at the very least, they'll draw any anti-DEI agents' attention away from us.

So anyway. Much of the episode takes place from Ichimura's point of view. Still in a jealous snit, he seems to see his relationship with Yoi as basically over. He reflects on all the girls he dated, who were universally shallow gold-digging bitches who saw him as a status symbol. Every single one of them was pretty, but not a single one of them was interested in forming a genuine connection. They just wanted to brag to their friends about their rich, handsome boyfriend. Yoi is different, though. Not like other girls. Women! Am I right, fellas?

No, Aidan, you're not supposed to agree. Stop nodding and put that hand down. I am not high-fiving you.

Yoi and Ichimura spend much of the episode staring at their phones, not texting each other about their festival plans. While I often find these two and their motivations baffling, this was consistent with communication in the modern age. Although we are theoretically more connected than ever, the ease of communication will at times accentuate the sense of disconnection and loneliness that can develop between two people. Ichimura doesn't text because he figures the relationship is finished. What's the bother, there goes another one. He is in denial about his feelings, despite his buddies' protests. Yoi doesn't text because she fears the response, preferring silence over explicit rejection. In conversation with Ooji, she disparages her lack of experience in love. What's clear is neither of them is willing to take a chance.

This is a casual discussion, not a class, so let's take a moment to chill and chat about our experiences with how technology has made communication more fraught instead of facilitating it. Nice and chill. Emma, could you scootch over a bit? I want to keep an eye on that guy playing the panpipes in that tree over there.

Those aren't pipes, they're blow darts! Everyone down!

Thank you for tackling him, Emily. So sad that Jacob took one in the throat, but let's not let that get in the way of our discussion. Jeez, we're barely even talking about gender roles this week.

Let's talk about the festival symbolism. They're popular in Japanese mass media for the romanticism of their fireworks, the sense of tradition, and the transformative beauty of the yukata. Although some cities have unique traditions that people gather around the world for, most towns have their own smaller ones. Although few anime focus on their religious aspect, they stem from Shinto traditions, with ceremonies meant to appeal to local gods. There are times when the natural and supernatural mix, and the gods walk among humans.

Oh, god, that group is taking something out! Oh, wait! It's just a hacky sack. The fog is getting so thick, I'm sure you can understand that mistake. Let's continue.

Yoi appears before Ichimura in a thicket of vermillion torii adorned with pinwheels, wearing a black-and-purple yukata and wearing a fox mask. The setting appears to be a shrine to Inari, a Shinto agricultural fox god. There's a surprisingly complex amount of layered symbolism happening here! The morning glories on her yukata represent “summer love” in hanakotoba, appropriate for the situation. In Japanese folklore, foxes, or kitsune, are tricksters and shapeshifters that often play pranks on humans. By donning the mask, Yoi transforms herself, resonating with the series theme of the mismatch between the interior and exterior. The mask covers her whole face, her eyes barely visible through slits, shielding her from her emotions and vulnerability being exposed.

Kitsune may be tricksters, but Inari also offers protection to his followers, and Yoi needs all the protection she can get from having her heart broken. The white of the mask also communicates purity of intent and a wish for good luck. Meanwhile, the torii create a sense of a liminal space between the human world and the divine, away from the hustle and bustle of the festival. For a girl who didn't even own a yukata, Yoi sure has decked herself out in traditional symbols to indicate her intent and protect her heart!

This fog is getting weirdly thick. I'm going to assign you all homework now instead of at the end. Do some independent research about the symbols in this scene: matsuri, kitsune, torii, pinwheels, morning glories, or anything else that struck you. Report back with your findings next week.

Hey, do you smell that? Nothing, right? What happened to those stoners? Something stinks, but only metaphorically.

It's a beautiful scene, and I truly wish I felt something for these characters and their romance so I could fully immerse myself in it. The episode concludes with Ichimura coming in for a kiss, but she, of the maidenly heart, blocks him. The two walk back to the festival hand-in-hand, Ichimura wearing his first sincere smile of the whole series.

OH GOD, THE HACKY SACKS ARE BOMBS! I REPEAT, THE HACKY SACKS ARE BOMBS! EVERYONE, GRAB YOUR BACKPACK SHIELDS AND SCATTER! CHECK THE SIGNAL CHAT FOR OUR NEXT MEETING LOCATION!

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In the Clear Moonlit Dusk is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.