Arakawa Under the Bridge 8 – Fathers and Son

At first, I didn’t think much of this episode. It seemed too heavy on the drama, too light on the comedy. But it’s in situations like this where blogging a series can really change one’s mind. The more I thought about the episode and as I rewatched it for taking screenshots, I grew to really like it. It certainly got melodramatic at times, but it was still damned funny, and we found out more about Riku’s past, probably more than in any other episode before it.

Somehow, I feel that this final shot is very representative of this episode.

The father-son relationship was at the core of this episode. Of course, it’s sandwiched by scenes involving Riku’s own father. The pre-OP scene, instead of the usual monologue, featured a flashback to Riku’s grade school days. Instead of being another gag featuring the Ichinomiyas’ crazy motto, it showed Riku being damaged by his father in a much more commonplace way: his father’s lack of affection. Like many boys his age, he greatly looked up to his father and wanted to make him proud. And despite his father’s admonishment, this feeling seems to have stayed with him throughout his life. I especially loved the short shot of the father and son above the river. There was no need for any words; just seeing it was enough to be able to tell exactly what was going through Riku’s mind. It’s telling that the flashback was the one and only act of rebellion he had taken against his father.

Given that, it will be interesting to see how Riku’s father’s entrance in the coming episodes will move the plot. He didn’t necessarily seem to have malicious intent in that final scene, just severe disapproval. But the scene firmly placed him into the classic villain’s chair, so he’s sure to be a (negative) force in the show. I would guess that he’ll come around eventually and want what’s best for his son, but the cynic in me hopes that he will simply be left behind, wanting but unable to regain control of his son who has gotten a taste of freedom for the first time.

What has been seen cannot be unseen.

On the opposite end of the spectrum was Takai. It’s hard to say that I really like him, but he certainly became a lot more likable as the episode went on. Yes, his back story was too abrupt and did little to make him more sympathetic, and his love for Riku is… unhealthy. But at the same time, he was far more caring of Riku than his father was, and that tearful moment after he saw Riku and Nino kiss was very sweet. His joy in that scene showed that despite his obsession, he wanted what was best for Riku and was ready to let him go.

Sure, you saw it coming a mile away. It was still cute, though.

And speaking of which, yes, there’s the kiss! A lot of anime, just like Riku, treat that first kiss as a very big step in a relationship. But this show, like Nino, took it quite coolly. Actually, it was probably because of Nino that it didn’t seem like much of a step in their relationship at all. Nino did it in such a matter-of-fact way, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Which, of course, it was. I liked how Nino was still clueless after the kiss, asking Riku if he was affected because he was hungry.

The scene that followed with the conversation between Nino and Sister really showed this contrast between her and Riku. Having Riku in the background celebrating was the perfect reversal to Nino’s dragonfly chasing scene earlier in the episode. At the same time, Sister continues to seem like the most lucid member of the group, as he points out how the relationship has changed both Riku and Nino. Given that we don’t know much about Nino’s past or what she was like before the events of the show, it’s very meaningful to here sister say, “Thanks to [Riku], I was able to see you smile.” It reaffirms the theory that Nino is hiding a painful past with her excuses of being a Venusian.

Besides all the seriousness, though, this episode was really funny. Riku’s attempts at passing off Sister, Shiro, and Maria as business associates went as badly as you could imagine. Of course, Riku’s choices were limited, but, with Maria especially, did he really think it would go any other way? And it was icing on the cake to see the chief, Star, and Nino run to the scene just when things seemed to be going well with Shiro.

The visual gags in the episode worked really well. Riku’s quick KO of the chief, Nino’s dragonfly chasing and Riku somehow joining in, Riku and Takai inspecting each other’s teeth for cavities, they all had me laughing out loud. And I’m starting to enjoy Star’s character more and more. His homophobia might be downright despicable, but that’s what makes the trauma he suffered even more enjoyable (okay, his pun “homodachi,” on “tomodachi” (friend) was pretty funny). Though I can no longer think of “starfish” in anime without thinking of Clannad.

Yeah, "homodachi" might not be a bad way of putting it.

So contrary to what my first impressions were, this was a strong episode. The show is almost 2/3 of the way done now, and unlike most of Shaft’s works, this one actually has a cohesive plot that flows through the episodes, so I’m expecting things to accelerate towards a climax in the next few weeks. Surely it will involve Riku’s father in some way. Still, 5 episodes provides a lot of time, so this could be just another aside in showing the progression of the romantic story between Riku and Nino. Then again, Shaft could do like they did with Natsu no Arashi! and save the final episode for a pure gag-filled fun-fest unrelated to the main story; given the similarity of the 2 shows, I wouldn’t be surprised and would actually enjoy it if they did that.

The preview initially made it seem like the kappa was smoking a huge blunt, which would make perfect sense given the context of this show, but it was actually a cucumber.