Negative Positive Angler

Episode 8

Negative Positive Angler continues to deliver banger after banger. I'm especially impressed by the script this week, and I'd go as far as saying that this is Tomohiro Suzuki's best show yet. He started out writing for Tiger & Bunny, and also headed the spinoff Double Decker, so his flair for quirky casts isn't in question. NegaPosi Angler, however, has cohesion and a strong emotional core that doesn't veer too far in either treacly or disaffected directions. In other words, there's a balance here, bobbing up and down like a float attached to a fishing line.

That balance does great things for this week's story about Everymart's manager Machida. A divorced dad struggling to connect with his son is familiar dramatic territory, and these stories can often villainize or lionize the estranged father, with little room in between. I can't personally relate to either side of this equation, but I can understand that divergence as a matter of perspective. In abstract, both the kid and the dad are coming at this situation from wildly different angles/life experiences, and when dramatized, that turns this stuff into a hotbed of emotions soaking up all kinds of personal history before and after the divorce.

By showing Machida in both scathing and sympathetic lights, NegaPosi Angler transforms a potentially rote narrative into an engaging one. The really important part is that neither Machida or Yuu are our POV characters this week. Instead, we experience this day through the color commentary provided by our trio of nosey narrators, namely Hana, Takaaki, and Hiro (listed in order from most to least excited about doing this). Machida is their friend and fishing companion, but he's also their boss. That's a complicated dynamic, and while they're eager to see him succeed, they don't go easy on him either. Moreover, because the audience can't peek inside Machida and Yuu's heads, we're forced to become observers as well, relying on their dialogue and body language in order to interpret what's going on underneath.

On that front, the anime delivers a rich portrait of a father-son relationship with minimal brushstrokes. We don't learn “important” details like why Machida divorced Yuu's mom in the first place, but we're invited to infer a lot. Machida, more than anything, is a frustrating character. He's indecisive, awkward, and rarely present in the moment. It's easy to see how these qualities would have strained a marriage, and his inability to correctly recall a past fishing trip with Yuu also suggests he wasn't the most attentive father before the divorce. At the same time, though, we can see there's nothing malicious in his bumbling. He wants a better relationship with Yuu. However, he lacks the fundamental emotional intelligence to put himself in Yuu's shoes. In fact, I think this fishing trip is the first time Machida realizes that Yuu is an actual person and not simply his child.

Yuu's decision to throw the record-breaking sea bream back in the water is the key to this episode. It adds depth to Yuu's character, showing how smart and sensitive a kid he is. He knows that catching a big fish isn't going to repair his family, but he's willing to indulge and prolong the fantasy if it sustains his connection to his dad. This also supports the anime's overall thesis that the fishing is more important than the fish. And Machida, who sees this scene from the shadows, realizes that his son loves him enough to lie to him. This whole trip, Machida had been plagued by the mounting evidence that Yuu didn't need him anymore, which turned Machida into even more of a desperate and awkward mess. Yuu, however, doesn't need to need his dad. He wants his dad. That's enough.

Sadly, though, it's not quite enough to break Machida out of his shell. When the end of the day comes, he can't bring himself to follow Yuu's cue and propose a fishing trip with his ex. It's the most frustrating scene of the episode, and it's also what makes the episode so good. It avoids the neat and tidy ending because that's not what NegaPosi Angler is about. These are flawed people. They're real people. Machida isn't going to mutate into a well-adjusted human being just because his son asks him to. That's going to take time, if it happens at all. But maybe occasionally going fishing with his slightly shitty dad is all Yuu needs from him, and maybe that's okay, too. Regardless, I prefer this nuanced non-conclusion to a happily-ever-after.

Before I wrap up, here's a smattering of other highlights from this week. I love that the opening conversation drags on so long that Ice evolves from her blob mode into her realistically proportioned form. That's good cartooning, as are the shots of Hana, Takaaki, and Hiro piled on top of each other as they peek out from around a corner. Hiro's contributions to this story are also cute, and it's nice to see that a third grader has his life more put-together than he does. Finally, there are a couple scenes where we can see Machida's eyes behind his glasses, and they're each deployed perfectly. This isn't the flashiest anime of the season, but it might be the most quietly confident.

Rating:

Negative Positive Angler is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Steve is on Bluesky now, and he's okay with that. Fish most certainly do not fear him. You can also catch him chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime.