Talentless Nana

Episode 5

This is why I shouldn't try to get one step ahead of these shows. I threw out all kinds of nefarious, duplicitous reasons last week explaining why Tsunekichi would have kept his visions secret from the rest of the class, but I missed the most obvious (and correct) one: he's just a shitty, horny teen boy. Nana, naturally, is a lot savvier than I am and quickly picks up that this sleazebag's intention all along was blackmail. While gross, this is convenient for her, because it means she only has to “take care” of one person to keep her identity a secret. However, this time both the target and his Talent prove to be uniquely challenging obstacles, as she has to figure out a way to manipulate fate itself to catch her captor off guard.

Tsunekichi stands out as the first legitimately villainous student that Nana has to deal with. Nanao and Shibusawa each possessed misguided masculine confidence in their spirit and abilities, but they weren't exactly bad people. Tsunekichi, however, is the portrait of jaded male entitlement—a guy who believes he was supposed to be guaranteed everything, and in the absence of that, turns and lashes out at the people who have “wronged” him. We all probably know numerous examples of this kind of guy, both in our private lives and in the public sphere. He couldn't care less about the lives of his fellow students; he just wants to exploit the leverage over Nana that he stumbled into. It's selfish and childish, and it's also uncomfortable to watch.

Talentless Nana revels in the over-the-top murderous subterfuge of its adorable main character, but this is the first episode where the present threat might be too heavy for more sensitive viewers. Tsunekichi starts out by extracting pseudo-sexual favors from Nana, then traps her in his room, and finally attempts to assault her. The optics can't help but resemble an abusive relationship, and that's also surely intentional on the series' part. This is our first real example of how someone could use their Talent to inflict lasting harm on another person, and despite the presence of Nana's body count app, it's probably not a mistake that this has nothing to do with warfare. If people randomly got superpowers, it's far more likely they'd use them for more commonplace evils than attempt world domination. It also makes sense, though, that a person willing to terrorize one person with their power might find it easier to terrorize countless others, given further reinforcement and radicalization. Hence, Tsunekichi might be the closest thing to an actual Enemy of Humanity that Nana has encountered so far. However, one might argue that Tsunekichi only turned out this way because of his Talent. That's a salient point, but it still doesn't excuse him. People have wrestled with the possibility and implications of determinism for a long time, and it's never given them the right to abdicate their personal responsibility. Tsunekichi only reached the conclusion he did because it was convenient for him. That proves to be his undoing.

On a technical level, Talentless Nana constructs its most effective thriller yet out of this week's material. Nana offsets her clear and present danger with her usual intelligent asides to the audience, but the tension never completely lets up. Every time she claims an advantage over Tsunekichi, he manages to neutralize it. He might be a huge piece of shit, but he's also not a complete idiot—not to mention the fact that he has the apparent inevitability of fate on his side. However, Nana cleverly realizes that she doesn't have to fight destiny itself if she can instead exploit Tsunekichi's fatalistic faith in it. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that she faked her death polaroid (hell, even I immediately figured it out), yet Tsunekichi falls for it uncritically because it reinforces his sense of entitlement. It's a hard-won battle of wits, reminding us that Nana is anything but infallible. That makes her victories all the more satisfying to watch, because a flawed character is a good character. Sure, she's assassinating adolescents for a shady government entity almost certainly using her like an expendable pink-hued pawn, but that doesn't mean I can't root for her!

Of course, Talentless Nana isn't one to let its titular protagonist simply succeed, instead practically shoving Kyoya and MICHIRU through the shed door with impeccably comical timing immediately post-murder. The narrative understands that it is most entertaining as long as Nana remains a hair's breadth away from being found out. Nana herself comments that Kyoya is going to pick up on every small mistake or inconsistency in her alibis—but never conclusively enough to thwart her mission. While I can totally understand that some viewers will find this a frustratingly implausible needle for the show to thread, Talentless Nana has earned enough goodwill from me with its characters, commentary, and comedy. I can forgive a bit of hackneyed writing if it's in the service of a stronger whole. Plus, I cannot bring myself to hate a show that has a bubbly pink-haired girl patiently explain hip-hop terminology to a gamer shut-in who doesn't listen to rap. They might be sworn cat-and-mouse enemies, but Nana and Kyoya's weird and unpredictable relationship is one of my favorite facets of Talentless Nana.

Talentless Nana also definitely benefits from a strong cliffhanger game, from the literal one at the end of its premiere, to the onslaught of them at the end of every subsequent episode. Sure, it's cheap, but it's still an effective way to dig its claws into the audience and drag them back the following week. I know I'm dying to find out how Nana is going to handle this week's mess. It's deliciously ironic too that her target should shift from the most despicable class member yet to the most angelic. Does she try to kill MICHIRU? Can she kill MICHIRU? I think it's more likely that Nana uses her comrade's gullibility to lie her way out of the situation, but that's still gonna be one hell of a fib. Whatever happens, there's sure to be plenty of Smug Nana, Panicked Nana, and all the Nanas in between. And until we start peeling back more of the setting's increasingly translucent layers, that's the Good Stuff keeping me going.

Rating:

Talentless Nana is currently streaming on Funimation.

Steve is, most unfortunately, still in vtuber hell over on Twitter. We're all praying for his salvation.