What They Say:
Episode 12
“I’m Going to the Future”
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Glad to say I wasn’t wrong last week and I’m actually proud of Yokai Apartment for treating this issue like it did while managing to stay light-hearted enough.
Last week’s cliffhanger gets solved fairly easy with the help of Brondis and a bit of luck. Since Miura attacked Tashiro from behind, she never saw his face and because of the loud sound Brondis makes, it only took a simple suggestion on the part of Yushi to make everyone believe it had all been the result of a gas explosion.
Miura doesn’t remember anything, he just knows that apparently he got out of the hospital and wandered aimlessly, he even apologizes about it, but wait, don’t hold your breath. Of course, this isn’t over yet.
Yushi still wants to help. After all, as he says, it’s not Miura’s fault he got possessed, everything that’s happened so far has been the result of a chain of ill-fated coincidences. Miura just happened to be there at the wrong moment and he just happened to carry with him a traumatic experience that aligned with the hatred in that room which just happened to be cursed. Tashiro just happened to be seen with Yushi at the moment of possession and if we go even further back, Yushi moving to Kabuki-so and becoming a Bookmaster is also part of the narrative, the only good part.
The whole conversation about coincidences and how one event leads to the other reminded me of The Unbearable Lightness of Being since it’s a segment that has remained with me since the first time I read it. Akine, who’s just come back, reaches the conclusion that it must be fate and so she decides to assist Yushi since it must also be his fate that he was there to help out. There’s also a bit of a discussion to be had here as to how much of this you can attribute to fate and how much is your own free will and Yokai Apartment does not run from it even if it’s conveyed in a somewhat subtle manner.
Akine does help, immensely by the way and in doing so the series tricks you into believing it’s going to follow the dreaded “damsel in distress” cliché only to turn it around on its head. I mean, I was already rolling my eyes at Tashiro being thrown around once more when suddenly I had no idea as to what was happening anymore. It was great.
We also find out what happened to Miura in the past to make him who he is and I have to admit that while not impossible, the event that leads him to this, made me incredibly uncomfortable for the same reason I mentioned last week. There are just too many fingers pointing at women who dare speak against abuse that using this “she lied” plot is not really original. Instead, it falls into the same trap of victim blaming. “It’s you girls fault we boys are mean”. It wouldn’t be such a big deal if this wasn’t an excuse brandished constantly over every woman who dares to stand up against harassment or abuse, but being the way it is, it just doesn’t feel right. This is why I got so uncomfortable around this part and also why I ended up loving Yokai Apartment so much more by the end of this episode.
I’m not saying what those girls did was right, it’s just not what usually happens and the way Miura reacts is absolutely disproportionate. Let’s face it, they got him fired from a job, it sucks, yes, but he got another one and is doing just fine. I seriously thought his trauma was way more terrifying and possibly scarring. Yushi is mature enough to see through this and even though he was happy to help it doesn’t mean he agrees with Miura’s outlook on women, nor in his inability to face the facts. As Yushi himself says, Miura can’t even see what it is he did wrong. he just won’t admit to any of the blame. This goes all the way back to the conversation they had before about what truly makes an adult. In the end is about how you deal with what life throws your way and while coincidences may exist, it’s always up to you. Miura did a lot of things because he was possessed but he wouldn’t have been possessed if he didn’t hold those dark feelings inside him already and even after being saved he continued nurturing his anger and hatred. Yushi on the other hand, decided to help of his own accord, he could have just as easily walked away, but he didn’t and because of that, he has no regrets even if he ended up being disappointed in Miura. As Akira said, “Some people just can’t be saved”.
In Summary:
Just like the inhabitants of Kotobuki-so have deeper layers to themselves, I sincerely believe Yokai Apartment to be more profound than it appears at first sight. What makes it different and enjoyable is it doesn’t ram these lessons down your throat. You are just as welcomed to enjoy its silly antics without much though if you want. And even if its lessons may be things you’ve heard before, I believe they are worthy of repeating. Some things seem obvious until you run into someone who has never thought about it before or who just don’t get it. And for those of you who are feeling weighed down by the heaviness, next week we’re going to the beach. I never thought we’d be getting a beach episode out of Yokai Apartment but I’m certainly not going to complain, we’ve earned it, haven’t we?
Grade: A
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
