That was strange, but I think I liked it.
I've long since come to terms with the fact that
"weird" does not necessarily equal "bad". Even more so, I've come to find that most bizarre premieres, like this one, tend to develop into shows I genuinely love later on, and thus I would be foolish beyond belief to toss
Uchouten Kazoku aside on the mere observation that it is a bit different from most. In fact, if anything, the title (which translates to something like "Eccentric Family") really fits the bill when talking about this series, and not just because we're talking about tengu, tanuki, or psychics. This really is just that, a show with a bit of an acquired taste, and whether that's to your liking or not is up to you. For now, however, I've definitely been hooked on
something. Perhaps it's that
PA Works visual magic, this time less realistic than
Red Data Girl but gorgeous and stylized nonetheless, though I have a feeling there's more here.
There's definitely something magical and quirky when you talk about a place
as mystical as Kyoto, and while the animation and tone definitely catch on that, there's also a profound sense of history and mysticism, something I also felt well reflected despite the fantastical characters in a vaguely non-fantastical context. Shimogamo Yasaburou (
Sakurai Takahiro) is a tanuki, for example, though he doesn't necessarily live as one. He waltzes around (in a girl's uniform and body, no less), cares for an old tengu living in a small appartment, and generally doesn't do all that much in the way of magic, unless it's in shooting notices at human girls or lessening his own bust size when it's more useful. But at the same time you get characters like
Suzuki Satomi (
Noto Mamiko) who go flying around every few minutes (despite being described as a human, interestingly so), so not all is mundane. It's exactly the sort of atmosphere you'd expect from such a place; you can imagine all sorts of going ons you might not necessarily be privy to.
As to the plot in question, I'm not entirely sure what the point is yet. It sounds as if Suzuki and Yasaburou are former disciples of the
tengu master, and that Suzuki recently had some falling out with him, though I could be entirely wrong. I'm sure there is a larger story behind all of this, considering how different Suzuki is in her current state compared to the flashback Yasaburou has of her, though it's entirely possible that there are some romanticized elements in that recollection, or that Suzuki simply ended up being an
entirely different person than was expected of her. In any case, I'm not quite watching this for the story yet, though that might change in the following episodes; regardless, I'm pretty sure I want to see where this goes, so I'm definitely saving it a spot on the schedule.
N.B.: Thanks to Ivan for the caps! Also, happy birthday (on the American clock anyway, gomen)! LoQ wouldn't even be here without you, so thank you so much for everything!
OP "Uchouten Jinsei (有頂天人生)" by milktub
Episode 1 Screencaps: "Goddess of the Noryo-Yuka"
ED "Qué Será, Será (ケセラセラ)" by fhána
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