RDG: Red Data Girl - 3

"The First Time"

RDG has proven itself worthy of taking up a slot on the schedule this Spring. It's just a shame that it's not worth waiting two whole weeks for the capping quality it deserves.

It's rather surprising to me that a 12 episode series would painstakingly take its time to set up a three episode introduction, but it isn't by any means a bad decision on part of the studio. This is exactly the kind of development I'd expect from a novel adaptation and it pays off quite well in both characterization and plot, proving that this isn't a series to take lightly. If I have any lingering doubts, it's what this series hopes to achieve in the next nine episodes, because it feels fairly ambitious to delve into this much development for the amount of characters we've been promised. For now though, I'll keep my apprehension in check and hope against hope that things proceed smoothly for the remainder of the run, if only because we now have proof that this series isn't going to leave its premise and characters in a one-dimensional format.

The characterization has been so subtle since episode one that it's difficult to tell just where the shifts in behavior come from despite having been laid out quite firmly throughout these first three episodes. Izumiko and Miyuki are suddenly on much friendlier terms, though this is in part due to the experience they had together in Tokyo. Miyuki has changed his mind about becoming Izumiko's protector, partly in rebellion to his father's denouncing him as unworthy, and partly because he's intrigued by the Himegami. He's also realized that Izumiko isn't as dull and useless as he originally thought, and the prospect of being bound to her isn't as bleak as it used to be. Much of his behavior, however, is ultimately influenced by Yukimasa's actions, and his determination to go to Tokyo and become a proper monk is his way of getting on his father's nerves, though it's entirely possible that Yukimasa is manipulating him from the shadows through reverse psychology.

As for Izumiko, she proves herself much less timid this episode, and her own feelings toward Miyuki, while not yet love, certainly have grown from his determination to protect her while in Tokyo. Her desire to come out of her shell is manifested in both Wataya-kun's presence as well as in her actions to dispel and exorcise him, and her decision to go to school in Tokyo is something she's been working toward even before Wataya forced her to admit it to herself. What's most satisfying about her change is that no one really makes her do it; Miyuki begs her to listen to Wataya when he realizes he hasn't the power to protect them both, and it's Izumiko who takes matters into her own hands, through her own beliefs. She's far from incapable or without opinion; she simply needs to muster the courage to really do and say what she thinks. This is really what being an introvert is all about, and I think it's really something to see this unconventional development in a series which initially seemed so lackluster in the character department. Still, wishing to change is only the first step in doing so, and Izumiko is bound to face many more challenges in escaping her self-imposed prison, especially now that she's thrown herself headfirst into a completely new life in Tokyo.

N.B.: Thanks to Ivan for picking up capping duty on this series; you're an invaluable help!