Flower and Asura

Episode 4

Even when she's not actually on-screen all that much, Anne is definitely the most interesting character in this series so far. I've pointed out that this has been present in previous weeks, too, but this week's episode really seems to be putting the opposing mindsets of Anne vs those of Hana and, say, Totonoi, gradually more center stage. Which is to say: the eternal struggle of doing something one way because that's the way that optimizes you for maximum success as opposed to doing that same thing in a different way because that's the way that makes you happy, or that lets you have the most fun. It's a very prevalent struggle in many areas of life, but especially in competitive activities.

While that's not to say it's completely uncharted territory, more often than not in anime (in media in general, really) this isn't really a theme that gets explored in such a way. Or to be more specific: there's plenty of anime out there about doing something because you like it. But the list of anime that devote any time and energy to exploring this in a more substantial way, or in a way directly in contrast to doing something because that's where you'll be the most successful, is a lot shorter, and usually limited to platitudes and surface-level examinations of the idea. So I'm really excited at the prospect of an anime that actually tackles this theme in a way where it feels like more than an afterthought, or more than just a tool to highlight the importance of doing what you love, which Flower and Asura seems to be setting itself up for. Please, Flower and Asura, stay on this path.

But that's something that's still on the horizon; this week's episode was mostly about Hana picking some material to read, and trying the radio. For those wondering: what Totonoi said about classic literature usually being tricky, at least anecdotally, seems to be true for competitive speech as well. While that's not to say I never saw anyone try to tackle something, say, more than ~50 years old outside of standard oratory, they were definitely in the minority for more or less the exact reasons Totonoi talked about.

That being said, I loved Totonoi's little tangent about loving classic literature because it's a way to explore the thoughts of those who came before us, because she's exactly right. I love studying history so much, and one of the first things I always tell people when they ask me how they can get more into studying history is that if there's written content from the relevant time/place/people available, reading that is your first step. You'd be shocked at how much it'll flesh out your understanding of history. It's important to read about history, too, of course, but actually reading the history itself when you can is an immeasurably useful thing. It truly is, without rival, the best way to start any journey into the past if it's a resource that's available to you.

As for the radio stuff, I must say that Hana's nervousness caught me off-guard; not being able to ad-lib is one thing, but her nervousness seemed like a little more than that. It happens, but given her love of recitation, I was surprised that she wasn't more excited about doing radio. But I'll tell you what I was more surprised by is the fact that they're still calling it “radio” in 2025, and I'm only half-joking when I say that. Maybe it's a cultural thing, but I would've thought “announcements” or “podcasting” would've been words that either describe it better, or were easier for high school students to latch onto.

At four episodes in, so far every single episode of this show has been nothing short of great. It's still early on, so it's still way too early to make any blanket statements about this show, but I think it's safe to at least say that at least as far as I'm concerned, Flower and Asura is easily one of the highlights of the season thus far.

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