SHOSHIMIN: How to become Ordinary

Episode 3

The cracks are beginning to show. We had a decent idea last week – and even in the first episode, if you look hard enough – that Kobato's dedication to being “ordinary” was based on how obnoxious people found him in middle school. This week he confirms that he was basically an unpopular Encyclopedia Brown with a side of an asshole, and the implication is that he wants to be ordinary so that he doesn't find himself in that position again. His pal Kengo has feelings about this decision, but it makes sense, even if Kobato is finding it harder to quit mysteries than he anticipated.

But what about Osanai? Before this week, we knew she had a sweet tooth and wanted to become “ordinary,” but that was it. She seemed upset that her bicycle was stolen in episode one, and that she got called into the Guidance Office at school because it was spotted at the scene of a crime, but she didn't seem to react all that strongly; mild annoyance seemed to be her default emotion. This week, however, things changed. Not only do we learn that she doesn't just like sweets, she binge eats cake when she's upset, but she's also much more than “mildly” upset about the theft of her ride and its attendant summons to the office. The expression on her face when she sees the thief riding past on her bike is subtly, but still stunningly, angry, especially given her paucity of expressed emotions thus far. She doesn't just want her bicycle back, she seems obsessed with the idea. Yes, she bought a new one, but she still keenly feels the hurt of having lost the first, and when she gets called into the office again after her abandoned bike was run over, she's furious. Even Kobato seems shocked by Osanai's reactions, and the image of her standing on a bridge against a bloodred sunset, smiling beatifically, while basically vowing to make the thief pay made me reconsider what made Osanai not ordinary in the first place.

We know that she's hard on herself at times – look at her reaction to missing a question on her biology exam. We know that she wants what she wants – her determination to nab two strawberry tarts and her fixation on Kobato enabling that made it clear. So what does this vengeful moment tell us? Does Osanai have a vicious temper? Is she a secret serial killer? Is she just basically selfish and not good at sharing? She did seem to eat Kobato's mont blanc when he left to get his phone from school and seemed disproportionately upset that he wasn't answering her texts. I'm not sure at this point, but I am definitely beginning to worry. Kobato also seems to be in the discovery period as far as Osanai's true self is concerned, and there are moments in this episode that make me think he's a little bit afraid of what he'll find out.

It does seem almost certain that he will find out, though. The mysteries he solves this week are small ones, but the clues do require a bit of searching. The more interesting of the two is what caused a vase to shatter in a locker during the exams in Osanai's classroom. That one was reasonably clever. The melting ice trick is a classic internationally (Murder in the Crooked House by Soji Shimada, published in English by Pushkin Vertigo, is a good Japanese example), and the way that it's used to get around the classroom directive not to take your eyes off of your test makes sense. The driving school question is a little less exciting, although it establishes that all onscreen text ought to be paid attention to.

I'm not fully sold on this series yet, but it is pulling me in more with each episode. Whatever Osanai is hiding may not benefit from being dragged into the light, but at this point, I'm curious enough that even if I wasn't writing about it, I'd want to see episode four.

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SHOSHIMIN: How to become Ordinary is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.