Girlish Number

Episode 7

This week's Girlish Number was titled “Curious Chitose and Parents' Day,” a title whose relevance became clear within the first few seconds. As Momoka and Chitose dragged a drunken Kazuha back to her apartment, they ran into Kazuha's mother, briefly visiting Tokyo to check up on her daughter. And so a deeply embarrassing series of parental interactions began, with Kazuha cringing her way through a radio program as her mother sat waving in the audience. Girlish Number let Kazuha-mom's presence prompt some convenient gags first, mostly courtesy of Kuzu-P's relentless idiocy. But this episode's true focus was contrasting Kazuha and Momoka's relationships with their parents, and when it came to that character-focused stuff, the show soared.

Kazuha has clearly always taken pride in her independence, and thus she finds her mother's presence embarrassing. Having her doting mom from the sticks here in Tokyo undercuts her professional persona, so she tries to push her mother away whenever possible. Kazuha's mom initially says her checkup was prompted by last episode's swimsuit features, but it ultimately becomes clear that her real goal is simply to make sure her daughter is happy and not being conned into any work she's not comfortable with. She also leaves with a warning - Kazuha's father isn't always going to be well, so she'd better get over her rebellious phase if she wants to live without regrets.

That warning led into this episode's most biting moment, once again courtesy of Koto. Koto possesses none of Chitose's childish snark, but as the oldest member of the group, her melancholy reflections on life carry great weight. Sharing drinks with Kazuha after work, she offers the cutting “parents tend to get smaller the longer you don't see them, and they're not as young as you think.” Girlish Number's comedy is fine enough, but it's the somber personal reflections like this that give it real poignancy. Moving away from Chitose's perspective has definitely helped the show foster moments like these - Chitose is funny, but her buffoonery is almost incompatible with meaningful personal reflection. Between this episode and the one before, Koto and Kazuha's impromptu friendship has proven to be one of Girlish Number's greatest assets.

While Kazuha is frustrated by her parents' hands-on approach, Momoka is confronted with the opposite problem. Momoka's feelings about Kazuha's mom are articulated subtly throughout this episode, in her changing expressions as the two bicker and others comment on their relationship. Though Momoka seemed professional and distant at the start, the snark she bounces off Chitose is absent in her interactions with others. She is legitimately interested in their perspectives and curious about how “normal parents” might feel about a career like voice acting.

Momoka's curiosity is reflective of her underlying unhappiness. While Kazuha complains that her mom is micromanaging her choices, Momoka ultimately wants her parents to care more and be more involved in her life. In the episode's final scene, she deliberately brings up the swimsuit footage and even more potentially skeevy opportunities in the hopes of provoking a reaction from her mother, only to hear that the only thing that matters is her professional image. I was very impressed by how well this episode conveyed Momoka's shifting feelings through expression work alone, particularly since Momoka is so good at defaulting to a blank smile. When other people compare her to her mother, she smiles and says nothing. When her mother treats her like a professional project, she smiles and agrees. Momoka is supported but isolated, and this episode managed to convey her feelings perfectly by presenting her as Kazuha's shadow.

Overall, this was Girlish Number's most emotionally incisive episode yet, articulating the complex feelings of Kazuha and Momoka with thoughtfulness and grace. I've said before that Girlish Number is far more likely to succeed as a character study than an industry takedown, and this episode presented some strong steps in that direction. By taking the focus off Chitose, Girlish Number has demonstrated its ultimately compassionate heart.

Overall: A-

Girlish Number is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Nick writes about anime, storytelling, and the meaning of life at Wrong Every Time.