Kowloon Generic Romance

Episode 5

With episode 5, we come to one of my only gripes about Kowloon Generic Romance's source manga – the resolution to last episode's “cliffhanger,” where Kudo admits to Kujirai that he “killed” her predecessor. This is instantly walked back within seconds, seemingly cheapening a dramatic moment. It's the only time in the manga something this maddening happens, so I can reassure anime-only fans that this isn't a storytelling trope we'll need to get used to going forward.

Apart from author Mayuzuki using Kudo's fake admission to artificially raise tension, why did he make the poor-taste joke about Kujirai B's death? It doesn't take much mental effort to deduce that Kudo feels a mixture of both profound regret and perhaps guilt. We don't yet know what happened to his former fiancée, “who is no longer in this world,” but the searing pain of her loss drives everything Kudo does, likely including why he has returned to whatever version of Kowloon this is.

While Kudo's raising all kinds of red flags with his shifty behavior (and Yaomay in super-protective best friend mode is convinced that Kudo's a stone-cold murderer returning to the scene of his crime), Kujirai's similarly odd response is to appreciate that she's now seen a side to him no one else has. She's witnessed firsthand his anguished expression and claims it as her own.

Back in her apartment, Kujirai discovers what looks like Kujirai B's engagement ring, hiding behind a book. This strikes me as odd, because don't people wear engagement rings pretty much continually? If she died, would she not have been wearing it at the time? Was there a reason she'd removed it, or is this merely a recreation of the original? The ring isn't the only object in Kujirai's apartment that belonged to her predecessor. Kujirai B was a fan of Japanese mystery novels, and it seems Kujirai A also is, who, after reading the first volume she finds on the shelf, is desperate to read its second, concluding volume. A trip to the second-hand bookstore with Kudo (and a super-suspicious Yaomay) adds yet another wrinkle to Kowloon's underlying mystery. While the second volume is indeed in stock, most of it comprises unintelligible gibberish. When Kudo offers to spoil the ending, he lets slip that although he's read both volumes, he skimmed through the second. Does this suggest that the current Kowloon is a projection generated from Kudo's memories?

The link between Kudo's mental state and Kowloon itself seems to be confirmed when, during his moment of emotional distress, Kowloon experiences an earthquake, which other characters notice, to their confusion. Unlike Japan, the Hong Kong area isn't a hotspot for tectonic activity. This isn't the first time there's been weirdness like this – consider Xiaomei's odd “glitch in the matrix” when talking about leaving Kowloon, and Kujirai's previous collapse when overloaded. Kudo also tries to discourage Kujirai from considering traveling elsewhere… Is the emotional power of Kudo's love and nostalgia for Kowloon (and Kujirai) what's facilitating the continued existence of the whole city, and by extension, most of the people in it?

Also, what's going on with Yaomay? We learn a bit more about her past and her reasons for wanting to escape it. As the child of a famous actress, she was raised by her controlling mother to be a replacement, almost like a clone, with identical features, clothing, and accessories. She felt herself subsumed beneath her mother's desires, and only by altering her name and appearance could she break free. Triggered by a re-run of her mother's old movie (the “Butterfly Dream” of the title evoking a famous, and extremely story-relevant, Chinese poem where the dreamer wonders if he was a butterfly dreaming he was human), in the dark privacy of her apartment, Yaomay's appearance reverts to her pre-surgery state. Is this merely a figment of her imagination, or a sign that strong emotions cause Kowloon's physical projection to distort? Has Yaomay truly had surgery, or do others only see her as she desires to be seen? Kujirai's supportive acceptance of Yaomay's “fake” persona causes her to immediately revert to her chosen appearance.

While there are stark differences between Kujirai and Yaomay, particularly about their memories (Kujirai has none, and Yaomay wishes to escape hers), their similarities bring them together. This episode's primary theme, as stated by Dr Miyuki Hebinuma, is that “sometimes when you're given something, something else is taken away.” In Yaomay's case, her mother giving her clothing and accessories to match her own robbed her of an identity. Similarly, Kujirai seeking to emulate what Kujirai B left behind may rob her of her chance to develop into her own person, her “Absolute Self.”

Miyuki's hilarious TV appearance is one of my favorite scenes from the manga. While in the anime he's mostly been portrayed as a creep, there's much more to his character than that, as we see when he counsels a young woman about plastic surgery. His comment about the human heart being more potent than surgery when it comes to facial expressions suggests he's a surgeon who won't commit to surgical intervention when it may cause more harm than good. His advice is reasonable, perhaps he does have a conscience? Also, his fellow commentator deserved to be kicked off his chair for calling Miyuki a “second-generation generic.” It seems his past and his upbringing are a touchy subject…

One major casualty of Kowloon Generic Romance's speedy adaptation has been the sacrifice of multiple scenes involving Miyuki and Gwen, who get far more scenes in the manga to the point where they are essentially the secondary romantic couple. This episode skirts past an entire, integral plotline involving their relationship, and I worry that important context for later events may be left on the cutting-room floor. This anime has seen fit to re-order events, however, so it maybe we'll get some flashbacks of the missing scenes next episode? For the moment, an anime-only viewer is unlikely to notice anything's missing, the cuts have been seamless so far.

By the time the closing credits rolled on this episode, I felt like only five minutes had passed, and while I was ready to chalk that up to its usual high quality making the show pass so effortlessly, I should have realized there'd be a post-credit stinger. Kowloon Generic Romance's determination to reach volume 5's concluding scene at this time is probably the reason for the multiple excised Miyuki/Gwen interactions. This scene opens up a whole can of worms I can't possibly have room to discuss in detail here, but… Hong Kong has hover-cars! If the Giant Floating Octahedron Of Ominousness wasn't enough of a clue, outside of Kowloon, it's a futuristic world. As Gwen returns to Kowloon, while he sees the walled city in all its ramshackle splendor, his taxi driver sees only ruins… What does it all mean? This revelation could change everything.

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Kowloon Generic Romance is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Saturdays.