Ruri Rocks

Episode 8

Adding a new character means creating new dynamics for a series to explore between its cast. Ruri and Shoko have become friends in mineral-hunting, and the ways they interact in doing that can develop their personalities and methodologies. Ruri Rocks has always been all about how science affects the way people observe and interface with their world. For Ruri and Shoko, it does that while also affecting the ways they observe and interface with each other. Appropriate for a show about sedimentary studies, there are layers to the interactions going on, and it's fulfilling to just kick back and observe all of them.

On the surface, there's the story kicking off this week's episode, as Shoko has Ruri come along to do water quality testing for their school project. Just the difference in attention spans and focus levels between the two ignites a unique dynamic that wouldn't be seen with just Ruri roaming around checking stuff out before running to Nagi for more information. Shoko's naturally studious, obvious for someone who liked simply looking at rocks from a young age. It's shown how she's already picking up attentive habits from Imari, and Shoko's even able to keep Ruri engaged in writing down observations on water, how that functions as a sub-subject of rock research, and just generally learning from the surroundings.

On another level, it's also shown how both young girls together help teach each other in their pursuits. Ruri's still coming to understand how water quality ties into mineralogy, but then she gets to indulge Shoko in the joys of panning for pieces of ore. It serves as a reminder of how, even adjacent to homework, this activity is still primarily a hobby for these two, and they'll happily do it for the love of the game—even if that game comes with disheartening losses sometimes, as Shoko fumbles the unique orange gem the pair discovers.

I like how Ruri and Shoko's reactions in this situation are ascribed to duo dynamics. Ruri might normally throw a fit on her own over losing such an enticing specimen, but as she immediately catches onto how frustrated Shoko is about it, she instead turns to staying upbeat and undeterred, encouraging both to look over again. I feel like a lot of people can empathize (I certainly can) with suppressing your own frustrations for the sake of the worries of a friend. Even a goober like Ruri can shift into Problem-Solving Mode if someone else's situation spurs her to.

It's a basic dynamic, but it's reflective of the broader idea in Ruri Rocks, particularly in this episode, about how different environments shape and produce unique elements. Shoko's dropping of the orange rock and subsequent disheartening is a "negative" event, but it ultimately leads to Ruri and the others making the bigger, more unique discovery of zincite at an abandoned factory. Symbolically, the zincite itself is produced from "negative" factors like pollution and contamination from that abandoned factory, though the mineral itself is still an impressive, miraculous find in these circumstances. It's a point Ruri meditates on at the end of this episode: how these negative factors are complex and reflect the complexities of the world she's learned to observe.

Said factors also give this episode of Ruri Rocks somewhat different elements for Studio Bind to expect their lush artistry on. There's a somber sense of the impact the abandoned factory has had on the surrounding environment. But it's still lovingly rendered in the way it's been whittled away at and started being subsumed into nature itself. The zincite crystals sparkle out as a shocking find among all that rust and detritus, even with the understanding that those crumbling conditions are what let them form in the first place. It's a strong stylistic climax to watching the characters climb through the mountains, alongside the river, viewers just marinating in that atmosphere. It's also still finding time for little characteristic details to focus on, even while just watching the characters get their steps in, like how Imari's heavy packing and lesser physicality leave her more sweaty and winded than the others. It's not called attention to; it's simply there to observe, like the increased contamination in the river, or Shoko's on-point fashion game.

This episode feels progressive, defining and deepening Shoko and Ruri's friendship while also showing the effects learning about the complexities of their world is having on them. It might not lead to them becoming world-weary grad students as Nagi and Imari have, but they, and the audience, are finding out about the importance of observation. This applies even as the world changes, for better or worse, and the treasures and connections that can be sought out in the midst of all that. I don't know that it's trying to be quite that poetic—this is a more clinical-feeling episode of Ruri Rocks overall compared to the more emotional effort of last week. But there's still a palpable love for the subject and its values, from the characters practicing it in the series to the artists rendering them doing so in this anime.

Rating:

Ruri Rocks is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Chris doesn't know much about cool rocks, but he could talk your ear off about cool anime and cool Transformers. Catch him doing so over on his BlueSky, or see previous posts over on his blog.

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Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.

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