CITY The Animation

Episode 9

Episode 9 of CITY The Animation gives us another single event that unifies much of the show's ensemble cast and, just like the Tanabe Mansion cookout from episode 5, this episode makes it clear that the whimsical community at the heart of this show and the relationships between its members is its greatest strength.

Teased in the previous episode, this city-wide event is a footrace held once every four years. In true CITY tough, this race has several quirks and odd rules to make it more exciting. Runners are competing in teams of two and can only clear checkpoints along the course as a team. There are also a number of challenges, like a maze, obstacle course, and a “know your partner” quiz, that competing teams need to clear to advance; and people not competing in the race can still get a share of prize money if they selected the winning team before the race began.

This setup immediately creates several delightful dynamics and fun situations. The first team the show introduces us to is Tatsuta Adatara and Ms. Tanabe. They're doing well, largely because the over-zealous goons that work at the Tanabe Mansion chip in to help them navigate the obstacles in the early stretch of the race. As her foot is still healing, her confident, fit, and beaten-up hot crush bridal carries her through the race! Tanabe is absolutely smitten every time she's on screen, and I'm honestly jealous! Tanabe also manages to ask the eldest Adatara sibling out to dinner in this episode, and the voice actor who plays her (whose name I regrettably cannot find anywhere online) does a great job of conveying barely contained nervous excitement when he casually says yes to the date.

Nagumo and Niikura also compete in this race, and while Nagumo is in it for the money, Niikura actually has some external motivation for competing. Members of Tatewaku's soccer team are betting on her and Niikura to win. After revealing what appears to be her lost locket to her, they say they will only return it if she and Nagumo win the race. This lights a fire under Niikura and, over the course of the race, she gains some insight into her affection for Nagumo.

Though she doesn't admit it outright, Niikura figures out that she's attracted to the driven version of her talented friend and likes her best when she's pursuing a goal. As a former gifted-and-talented kid who knows plenty of burnt-out gifted-and-talented adults, this revelation also struck a chord with me. It's frustrating when you feel so much for a version of a person that seems to be slipping away, and I hope Niikura can help Nagumo find her drive in the remaining three episodes of CITY.

The last big pairing of the episode is, of course, Matsuri and Ecchan. Utilizing the single brain cell that the two share, they win the race their own way while going at their own pace. While this victory is cute and fun by itself, it also further drives home CITY The Animation's central themes of community and relationships. Of course, Matsuri and Ecchan would win a tag-team race; they're better friends and can work together better than anyone else! There was also no possible better way for the pair to win this race than while completely enamored with the cavalcade of insane shenanigans happening around them.

The post-credits scene where Ecchan and Matsuri figure out what to do with the one million yen they just won is as hilarious as it is emotionally affecting. The two of them yes-anding each other into countless derisions always works best when it's distracting from a goal that they're supposed to be working towards. Ecchan's suggestion that they split the prize money so that they can visit each other after she moves away is so incredibly wholesome that it brought a genuine tear to my eye. Even if CITY The Animation looked much worse than it does, I'm confident that these charming characters would still make it one of the best anime of the season, if not the year.

Thankfully, I don't have to entertain this hypothetical as episode 9 of CITY The Animation is yet another visually stunning work of animation! Both the beginning and ending of the episode feature run cycles where an incredible amount of animation is happening on screen simultaneously. The interstitials featuring updates on different pairings' position in the race, as well as their emotional states and any schemes they have brewing, are also a nice touch. You'd think by now CITY would be out of tricks, but no, it's still finding new ways to impress both visually and emotionally nine episodes in.

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Lucas DeRuyter was born and raised in the middle of nowhere, Wisconsin, but will now become physically unwell if forced away from a major metropolitan area for more than a week at a time. You can read about his experiences with city livin' on his Bluesky account, and some of his best work on his portfolio. However, he does take a break from the hustle and bustle of the big city to contribute weekly to ANN's This Week and Anime column.

CITY The Animation is currently streaming on Prime Video.