Judging from the comment density on my Kure-nai posts and the fact that not a single person even noticed when I skipped blogging it for a week, this is my least read series. Which I find rather strange as it’s a really damn good show.

Case and point, this episode made me laugh more than any single anime episode in recent history. The sheer WTF and combined hilarity of the impromptu musical was pure brilliance.

The city is holding a festival soon and the budget is so low that they’re canvasing neighborhoods in the hopes of finding volunteer performers. Shinkurou is asked to put on a play with the other members of the building, the man so desperate that even standing on stage and merely reading the script would be acceptable. Shinkurou denies the invitation at first, saying that the women of Samidare Apartment are a cruel bunch, rarely exhibiting traits one could call womanly. However, when Tamaki and Yamie catch wind of it, hearing it’s to be acted out as a musical as well, they jump at the idea.

So the preparations begin, Shinkurou telling Ginko at school the next day, presumably so she doesn’t schedule any jobs for him between now and the Marutomi Park Festival, as well as inviting her to come watch. Later, Shinkurou along with Murasaku, Tamaki and Yamie, go through the script dividing the parts, Yamie flexing her ego by taking the lead role, while Shinkurou is worried about casting Murasaki in a public play. He calls Benika for permission, and even though Yayoi is against the idea, Benika agrees, thinking it’ll be a good memory for Murasaki.

A much bigger issue comes up as practice actually begins, after noting that the harmonics of the group are terrible, they go through their parts one by one to find that Yamie is a terrible singer, despite claiming to have been in a choir as a child. Shinkurou takes her outside to give her some personal training, only to find out that she merely knew the choir and wasn’t actually a part of it. Desperate for a replacement, Shinkurou calls up Yuuno to see if she’s free to help, but her performance is at best on par with Yamie’s.

Shinkurou kicks everyone out to give Yuuno some one on one training, leaving everyone to go practice on their own. Yamie swallows her pride and approaches Yayoi, who has been watching the debacle from a distance, asking for her help. Meanwhile, Murasaki and Tamaki eavesdrop on Shinkurou and Yuuno’s private training session, which ends up as little more than Yuuno fawning over him.

A stroke of genius then hits Shinkurou, asking Yuuno to sing a duet with him, in an attempt to synchronize her pitch with his. The improvement is immediate, Yuuno having complete control over her range within minutes. Then, everyone in the apartment busts out into a two-and-a-half minute impromptu musical.

Afterwards, the group performs the play in front of the festival committee, only to overshoot the ending and continue the story, incorporating their ad lib performance from before. It’s at this point that Benika and Ginko arrive on scene to deliver some hilariously bad news. There is no play planned for the Marutomi Park Festival, the only act being put on their is a comedy troupe performance, the whole thing was a ruse set up by Benika so everyone could let loose and have some fun. Despite hearing that, the women of Samidare Apartment long to continue their play, leaving only Shinkurou with the feeling of wasted time.

Thoughts

Well, obviously there’s not much to be said about this episode in terms of plot, it was filler in every sense of the word, despite being more entertaining than the main story. It makes me wonder exactly where we’re going with Kure-nai, the entire series is only 13 episodes and we’re nearing the halfway point. I don’t want them to ruin the slice-of-life-esque feel that they’ve built up, but at the same time I would like to walk away from this with some sort of story. And it’s clear that the foundation for something beyond what we have now exists, I just hope that Kure-nai doesn’t trip over itself trying to decide between the two.

I guess I can’t get away with my usual methods of ignoring musical elements in anime this time, since that’s all there was. The song was great, very fitting of the situation in that it wasn’t trying to be epic in stature. It wasn’t an insert song by any means, the vocal parts were very clearly those of the seiyuu themselves, and that made it all the better, as you could hear the latent singing talent, but never once did they ever break character. I was especially impressed with Murasaki, who managed to display a capable vocal performance while still having the clear presence of an innocent loli.

On a whole, the scene was ridiculously funny and unexpected. If I had only one complaint, it would be that the animation was so jerky in the midst of it all, but that’s part of Kure-nai’s style, so I can’t dock it much for that.

Benika’s reasoning behind the whole scheme was to get everyone to loosen up a bit, and it certainly proved effective. Even Yayoi got so caught up in the performance that she missed one of Benika’s calls, this coming from a usually punctual person rooted in habit and principle. By the end of it, only Shinkurou seemed the slightest bit irked that it was all a sham.

Next episode doesn’t look very plot heavy either, titled “Women” and showcasing Tamaki taking Murasaki out for some fun, Shinkurou working on his relationship with Yuuno and Yamie probably going on off on one of her monologue tangents.

Consolation shot of Yuuno’s ass kicking abilities, for those disappointed for its lack of coverage

~ Shirukii ~