Yasuhide is being sent to the boonies and that just doesn’t sit well with him.
What They Say:
No episode summary provided.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As the series progresses, we get a little more poetry from time to time, such as when Yoshiko visits an area from a famous poem and it’s recited there, leaving her thrilled at seeing what the poet had seen. It’s always interesting to see how poets and fans of poetry react to being in the area where such famous poems come from, and having someone like Narihira there along with her just adds to it. Adding Ysuhide to the mix as they watch her glee is rather cute since they give it all a kind of mild context that works well and makes Yoshiko all the more adorable.
With this episode, we get the trio on a bit of a journey as Yasuhide has been sent east and he’s invited Yoshiko to go along in order to show her some of the sights and to be close to her. Unfortunately for him, Narihira has shown up as well and is inviting himself on that journey since he suspects a good time will be had by going. For Yoshiko, she wants to go and is interested in the world, but she’s also dealing with her planned relationship that has her unable to really see the world in a way, to have things clearly defined and her limits made plain. She wants more out of life but understands the choices she’s made that has left her where she is.
With the planned journey in the offing, we get some good time amongst the three and others while they get ready for it as stories are told and we see from Narihira some of his supposed past and problems he saw when it came to past loves of others. While the poetry isn’t used heavily, the influences of it is there and I like how we get people like Narihira that says much in words normally but with just the right kind o flair to give it extra meaning. The dialogue used throughout is fun to watch and engaging in its own way, but it’s also something that is very different from most other shows because, in its own way, very little happens.
In Summary:
Utakoi is a series that while I struggle with it in some ways, I’m continually surprised it made it to air. It’s a very distinct and niche show, one with some really interesting moments, but it’s a hard sell. And I love the hard sell series because often they are trying to do something different. Between character animation designs, locales, dialogue and the general premise, Utakoi is on its own path and it does things well, but I do struggle with my enjoyment of it. Sometimes it’s just a little too wrapped up in itself and a bit more inaccessible. And sometimes, like this one, it has too much of a feeling of nothing happening at all. Not that something has to always happen, but you find yourself hard pressed to really say what an episode was about.
Grade: C+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
