Kumamiko - Girl meets Bear

Episode 4

The fourth episode of Kumamiko, "Village Treasure," introduces a new character to the line-up: Hibiki Sakata. You might have noticed her in the OP and ED; she's the tough-looking, older blonde chick. It's harder to see how Hibiki will eventually fit into this world, but she does have a more distinctive personality than many of the previously introduced characters. She's a tough girl who Machi originally mistakes for a violent punk. She reacts physically when she's angry, often throwing Machi off-guard. And of course, like so many characters in anime, Hibiki has a secret soft side.

The episode eventually falls into a weird sequence where Hibiki and Machi go shopping together. They're presumably there to help her pick out a new miko outfit, since the ones from previous episodes have not met her muster. That's one of the bright spots of the episode; Kumamiko shows a surprising amount of continuity for a gag show. It's determined to make sure we remember what happened last week, by showing Machi wearing two of the different "summer outfits" that were designed for her (the two that are closest to her normal miko clothes) and reminds us of Natsu's weird fixation on the bear outfit. It's unfortunate that it has to pick the weaker half of last week's episode, though. Then again, the dancing joke from last week is probably best left where it is, without trying to make it any longer. The summer outfit parts come off less creepy this week, but it feels like beating a dead horse.

As for the shopping sequence, that forms the strongest part of this episode (not that that's saying much). After Hibiki's initial encounter with Machi comes off a bit creepy, this sequence reveals Hibiki as like a "cool big sister" to Machi. Hibiki is 24, closer in age to Yoshio, who is her friend. Of course, as she takes Machi shopping at a department store called Shimomura, things quickly get weird. Machi starts rattling off facts about the store in a trance, angered by Hibiki dismissing it as a discount store. She desperately points out the high-end brands and designers that Shimomura carries. As Hibiki states, it seems like a god possesses our miko—this one likely being the "god of apparel."

It didn't make me laugh out loud, but I was amused. Kumamiko's best jokes come from taking the village's old, sacred traditions and putting a goofy twist on them, usually by bringing them into the modern age. The other gags are references, as Hibiki and Machi's determination to find a pair of pants in a certain size leads them to another store, accompanied by '80s training-montage music. If Kumamiko isn't going to make me giggle, it can at least be clever enough to make me smile.

In between these two halves though, Kumamiko stumbles a bit. The show always has the most difficulty in the connective tissue between its two main jokes. Additionally, it nods back to the recurring theme of "Machi can't make it on her own," when she plays an adventure video game and treats it like a real-life journey, and then gets confused that Natsu can lock and unlock doors electronically. While the first bit was amusing and relatable, this particular theme is getting stale. If the series is going to keep returning to the well of how clueless Machi would be in the city, it needs to shake it up a bit. Why not take her to the actual city and see how she reacts, not just give her brief reminders of modern urban life in her small town? I hope Kumamiko eventually goes there.

It's interesting to see how Kumamiko uses continuity this week. I frequently feel like it's a series that would work better as a short gag show instead of a full-length series. (There seem to be a lot of comedy anime like that this season.) It's clear why Kumamiko's creators are doing this, though. The attempts at continuity show a desire to make it out to be something more, to be a bigger, more emotionally-resonant story. We still haven't seen much evidence of a bigger story actually showing up, unfortunately. The Kumamiko writers will have to try a little harder if they want the show to be bigger than its momentary gags. This week, even those gags could be stronger, and the fact that the series keeps repeating earlier jokes does not help.

So far, episodes 1 and 3 were full of fresh jokes, while 2 and 4 built too much on those earlier installments and failed to stand out on their own. I hope this doesn't become a pattern with Kumamiko's even-numbered episodes. There's still a lot to like in this show, but it needs to spread its repertoire out a bit. Every joke gets stale if you tell it too many times.

Rating: B-

Kumamiko - Girl meets Bear is currently streaming on Funimation.

Rose is a music Ph.D. student who loves overanalyzing anime soundtracks. Follow her on her media blog Rose's Turn, and on Twitter.