Celestial Method

Episode 4

Watching Celestial Method is starting to feel a bit like an exercise in frustration. This episode, like the three that preceded it, deals in coy hints and some truly obnoxious middle school girl behavior, but at the same time keeps your eyes fixed (mostly) on the screen as you try to piece together the vague hints and sometimes weird character motivations. Taking the cake there would be Yuzuki, who in episode two recruited Nonoka for her anti-saucer campaign only to find out at the end of episode three that she was the one who convinced the rest of the gang to summon it in the first place. This has been Shione's beef with Nonoka from day one, although she seems (ridiculously) to blame her former friend for leaving, while Yuzuki's personal vendetta is against the saucer itself. We see this time that she's been crusading against the glowing vessel since she was in elementary school, and are led to believe that it is part of why she and her twin brother don't get along. As for why, however...well, right now the only firm reason we have is that it stopped the fireworks over the lake. Even for a middle schooler, that seems to be a pretty lame reason.

Of course, there's (hopefully) probably more to it. We do see a brief flashback of little Yuzuki at the hospital, and her parents have been conspicuously absent, so maybe there's a more viable explanation. In the meantime, her behavior is just annoying, particularly her actions towards Nonoka, who is totally in the dark. She now remembers summoning the saucer (albeit vaguely) and we learned at the end of the previous episode how Noel and the saucer are linked (the best line in the episode is when Noel tells people not to look at the saucer because it's embarrassing), but generally speaking, Nonoka has exactly no clue why Yuzuki is so vehemently anti-saucer. And when she asks the other girl to explain? She flat out refuses. This isn't great for us viewers either, but what's more frustrating is that Koharu, who is standing right there, doesn't volunteer an answer either. How can Nonoka make amends or start fitting in if no one will talk to her?

All of that aside, there's still something that makes Celestial Method attractive and would keep me tuning in even if I wasn't writing these reviews. Noel is a major factor – she's not only adorable, but she isn't overly so, and she clearly cares deeply for everyone who took part in whatever it was before Nonoka left. She even helps Yuzuki distribute fliers, which given her identity seems like the last thing she'd want to do; she just cares that much. Trying to figure out all of the character relationships is also something that keeps your attention, and in that case the slow build really works. One of the most satisfying moments of the episode is when Nonoka and Souta just sit down and talk, showing an ease and level of comfort that has been sadly lacking with the girls. (Koharu seems perpetually uncomfortable, which is also interesting.) The art is also much more attractive than you might at first assume based on the fairly generic character designs, having a real sense of place and a pastoral beauty that makes the small details remarkable, such as some of the scenes of the ferry this episode.

Episode four of Celestial Method does begin to give us a little more in the way of answers and it is lovely to look at, but it also maintains the frustrating aspects of the show, with too little information being given and some truly obnoxious behavior on the part of some of the characters. Noel remains a saving grace, especially when she's with Yuzuki (who definitely takes things too far at both the start and finish of the episode), but overall I walked away from this with a grumble...and a wish that episode five would come in less than a week.

Rating:B-

Celestial Method is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rebecca Silverman teaches writing and literature and writes ANN's manga review column, RTO.