Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night
|
Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Next Note: this is the discussion thread for this article |
| Author | Message | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
YackDe
 Posts: 150 |
|
|||
|
Think this episode pretty definitively kills the "Kano has cancer" theory that some people seemed oddly attached to. This was the episode staff said to make sure to keep watching till, and this would've been the moment to drop an emotional bombshell like that heading into the climax of the show.
|
||||
|
||||
Takkun4343
 Posts: 1572 Location: Englewood, Ohio |
|
|||
|
I was hoping Kano never actually punched Mero and it was just hearsay presented as fact. I really, really hoped that was the case. That said, I do appreciate what they included alongside the reveal that it actually did in fact happen, which basically boils down to "Mero is a sh*tgoblin who deserved it 100%". But if the trade-off was that following POV sequence of everyone telling Kano how much they hate her because of it... let's just say my prior hopes are doubling as my present wishes.
|
||||
|
||||
|
Impermanence
Posts: 19 |
|
|||
|
The artistic choices were great this week, with shots going 'in and out of focus', with the impressionistic smearing as Kano's equilibrium shatters in the fallout of that punch.
And Kano's emotional outburst accidentally mirroring the positive words that her mother used to uplift Mahiru less than a day prior as her incisive remark? Oof. |
||||
|
||||
|
Animegomaniac
Posts: 4157 |
|
|||
|
When are we going to talk about the jellyfish in the room... that Yoru's cute character art has nothing to do with that mural?
The mural was done by two art students so who helped who there? The name not crossed out on the mural is Watase... hey, we have a Watase in the cast...in the group... who designed her own color coordinated V-Tuber... What made the mural special is what Kiui did during the live show, she projected a good selection of colors and motion... a grade schooler doing that on a 2d non moving image is pretty good. Hey, if Yoru is suffering from imposter syndrome, is it possible, however unlikely, she is an imposter?
Is the real problem that her first closest friend isn't talking? |
||||
|
||||
Yuvelir
 Posts: 1624 |
|
|||
|
Even ignoring the obvious red flags, when watching I was so preoccupied reliving awful memories of watching SaeKano that the emotional side didn't quite click.
This is Kano's mother, who she knows are apart, for Kano's old group, that she knows has caused her deep trauma, while Kano herself has shown how panicked she is at the prospect. In favour of accepting is that... this is a chance that like she'll never ever get again because... reasons? She had become famous after taking back drawing for a few months and thinks she'll never been seen again? In light of this, Kano's critically crafted insult was more dramatic, but Yoru was the bigger bitch here coldly accepting to do something that she KNEW with certainty would deeply wound her best friend in many levels, and delaying her life project to add insult to injury. Almost feels like Kano's dramatic outburst doubled duty with covering for Yoru's nonsense. So basically Yoru had to ignore a truckload of red flags regarding her own safety, have zero regards for her friend's mental wellbeing, and on top of that Kiwi's typically great head stopped working as she watched Yoru walk into a hornet nest. For the sake of the plot continuing where it wanted to go. |
||||
|
||||
Beltane70
 Posts: 3969 |
|
|||
Actually it does since the mural was based on Mahiru's illustration. Yes, she didn't paint the mural herself, but the design is her's. |
||||
|
||||
Covnam
 Posts: 3816 |
|
|||
|
I agree that it feels like Yoru is going a bit out of character, but I also feel people are being a bit hard on her. We as the audience know about Yukine and Kano, but I don't recall Kano talking to Yoru about it much, if at all (feel free to remind me though...). Kano's sister did say a little, but that wasn't much (that we saw).
It's not too much of a stretch to see someone young see this as being too big of an opportunity to ignore.
I noticed this as well while watching. It's interesting that they chose not to show Yoru's side. It definitely makes you think that Yukine swept Yoru up in to agreeing. She definitely seems like the type of person who could someone to agree anything and make them think it was their decision. Considering her position, it was odd that Yukine just stuck Kano in an existing group rather then build one around her. I guess it can show how she thinks of Kano (and the other girls) as tools for her goals, but it doesn't seem like great planning if you consider the group and their fans. It does seem a bit much for Mero to have been able to do that channel all by herself. I also thought it was a bit extreme that Kano suddenly punched her over it. I would have liked to have seen more tension build up between the two so Kano didn't come off like she had a screw loose. Speaking of unusual reactions, an entire group of adults laughing at a child saying that they want to be like their parent seems pretty harsh. Though perhaps it was just filtered through Kano's eyes and was really more light hearted than it seemed.
Agreed, though I think they could have eased up on the focusing part a bit, I thought something was wrong with my eyes or my tv 
|
||||
|
||||
NeverConvex
 Subscriber Posts: 2510 |
|
|||
Hm -- I feel like this is maybe actually pretty in-character for her? Not in the sense that she doesn't care about her friend's feelings (or, maybe more than a friend, really) or generally prioritize them, but in that, from the beginning of the show, she has been struggling with insecurity about the quality of her art and whether she can really succeed on her own merits, constantly comparing herself to what she sees as her much more talented bandmates. With that backdrop, even with all the red flags on it, Kano's mom flying down out of the aether and telling her she, individually and uniquely, is talented, important, and valuable (via/with a job offer), has got to be awfully hard to reject. Kano's mom is validating her in exactly the ways she craves. I'm not sure the execution fully illustrated how this felt for Yoru, but this seems like what it was going for, and I feel like it makes sense at least in high-level summary. |
||||
|
||||
|
Yuvelir
Posts: 1624 |
|
|||
At the very least, she knows Kano is holding a grudge against the Sunflower Dolls (or was it Sundolls?) and that she isn't on good terms with her mother. Additionally, Kano bluntly recommended against meeting Yukine and there was of heckton of non-verbal communication telling how bad this was. Yoru had to ignore a lot of words, warnings and hints to make that interview happen. |
||||
|
||||
Thesarum
 SubscriberPosts: 506 |
|
|||
I'm inclined to agree with this take for the most part. I think she knew it'd hurt Kano, but maybe not this bad. And she genuinely felt that if she didn't take this miracle of an opportunity, she'd never get another one. She's almost certainly wrong about that, but it's not a rational thing. Kano for her part hasn't explained her hangups, nor the truth of the incident that ended her time with the Dolls and her relationship with her mom. And the others haven't asked. Did Yoru make this decision in the full knowledge that she might be choosing between her own goals and the group's? I think not really. But it probably does highlight that the emotion invented in the group by Yoru and Kano is very different. For Yoru it's a fun project with a friend group, it's not her future career. She's going to art school and then getting "a proper job" in illustration or similar. For Kano it really is her entire identity and all her goals for the future. |
||||
|
||||
|
musouka
Posts: 718 |
|
|||
|
I believe what we're supposed to get from all of this is the idea that both Mahiru and Kano have been talking past one another a bit because they love one another so much.
Kano doesn't want to talk about her past with Mahiru because not only was it a dark part of her life, it also involves a certain level of humiliation. Who wants to admit to someone you care about that you're still - somewhat childishly - hung up on this person that used you up and tossed you aside? Somewhat selfishly, Kano also doesn't show any particular interest in Mahiru as an artist, just as someone who can illustrate for her own goals, because Kano has a personal connection to Mahiru's art. (On some level, I do understand. If Hagio Moto was going to illustrate something for me, you can bet my absolute life I'm not sitting there going, "oh, that arm looks a bit wonk, sensei." I'm such a fan she could scribble something for me on a napkin and I'd literally cry in joy.) When Kano says "the artist HAS to be Mahiru", it's not because of anything intrinsic to Mahiru's art; it's still all about the way Kano felt during the worst moments of her life. But on the other hand, the balance of power is a little lopsided and Mahiru does take advantage of that. Kano's adoration might not be as specific as Mahiru craves, but it still makes her feel good. It's nice to be wanted and it feels good to be loved, but it's obvious from the way this situation shaped out that Mahiru doesn't feel a lot of personal loyalty to JELEE or Kano herself. Much like how you don't invite your partner's verbally abusive dad over for dinner in the hopes that you'll be able to reconcile them, friendship and something-mores do come with a level of responsibility towards the other person's emotions. Mahiru might be saying she feels like she should discuss the opportunity being offered with Kano, but she's being extremely tight lipped on what makes the offer such an attractive proposition to her in the first place, and what it offers her that JELEE can't. All of this sounds really great when you write it out, but the execution really leaves something to be desired. It feels like huge important chunks are missing out of episodes, which will then focus way too much time on things that don't really matter. (Like that one woman with the fake boobs that took up so much runtime in episode seven for no reason I can fathom. That's a character to have in the novels and leave on the cutting room floor for the anime if there ever was one.) Was this anime made by four amateur high school students? It sort of feels like it, to be honest. |
||||
|
||||
darkchibi07
 Posts: 5510 |
|
|||
|
I'll admit, I've turned around in Mei's attempts to get Kano back into fold despite the awful singing.
It just feels so weird that we have all these major events happening in this episode yet Mahiru seemingly had no idea these were happening since she was too busy working. Does she have any idea Mei and Kiui were fired from the cafe as well? 
|
||||
|
||||
|
Yuvelir
Posts: 1624 |
|
|||
|
I'm a bit more willing to judge Yoru. She had a right to be upset after last episode, but what little screentime was dedicated to
1 - show that she actually wasn't 2 - show that she knew well about what was going on with Kano, but chose to say, do or feel nothing 3 - show that she knew the group's dissolving was imminent, and once again chose to say and do nothing, and all we saw her feeling was mild relief Like, what? How are we supposed to think good of her anymore? How are we supposed to believe she wants to improve for the sake of Jelee (there was one throwaway line about that in the "wait for me" thing) when she shirked any and all responsibility or emotional investment? It isn't better that said "wait for me" lines kind of prove that the reviewer's fears will be realized. |
||||
|
||||
|
musouka
Posts: 718 |
|
|||
|
The reason why Mahiru wasn't in much of this episode is because the episode was about establishing that JELEE was just as important to Mei and Kiui as it was to Kano and Mahiru. Mahiru "couldn't" be the one to set things right, because we had to show that Mei and Kiui were as willing and able to reach Kano when the chips are down.
How successful was it at that? Ehhhhh... I just don't think it's a very good show. It has glimmers of good ideas here and there, but its comedic moments are not very funny, and its emotional moments have been done better in better shows than Jellyfish. Like, showing Mahiru at the end, smiling over her friends' antics is not something a better show would have indulged in. They should have kept her reaction as a mystery in the episode itself, and then allow her to be conflicted over having drifted so far from her friends and JELEE that she wasn't even told they were in danger of being disbanded. But, well, Jellyfish is what it is. EDIT: I seem to recall official accounts hyping this episode up in particular. I have no idea why. |
||||
|
||||
|
Thesarum
Subscriber Posts: 506 |
|
|||
|
I think maybe we're supposed to get "there's something I must do" and "I trust my friends to deal with this" from Mahiru... But we mostly get weirdly distant and entirely unconcerned instead, reinforcing the impression that JELEE has never been more than a stepping stone to her... Which is probably not where the show is aiming. Even Kiui the shut in who was kinda just dragged into this by Mahiru does a better job of being a friend with emotional investment in the collective. Mahiru has always been kinda self obsessed, initially with her doubts and anxiety, and now with pursuing her own career. But I just can't see there being any reckoning with that. She'll be welcomed back having undergone her evolution with enthusiastic open arms. She won't be told she's been a bad friend, and it'll all feel a bit like a wasted opportunity. Which is a shame, because I really like this show.
|
||||
|
||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group