Yet the Town Keeps Going 6 – And Going and Going and Going…

I probably should’ve seen this coming given the title of the show, but with this episode, Yet the Town Keeps Going pretty much defined “slice of life.” I’m not a fan of that label or “genre” (not the contents – I enjoy shows such as Hidamari Sketch that fall into the category, but I find the name of the category not to be descriptive and rather a convenient label that you can slap onto anything), but really, I can’t think of a better way to describe this show. Of course, it did provide some new material, but mainly, this was Another Couple of Days in the Life of Hotori Arashiyama. Fortunately for us, Hotori leads a pretty hilarious life.

The most notable thing in the first segment was the nonchalant introduction of Shizuka, a woman who gets a quick flash in the OP and who appears to be very aware of and exploitative of Hotori’s idiocy. As has been the tradition for this show, she didn’t get too much screen time or development in her first appearance – this has been the case with every major side character so far, including Sanada, Tatsuno, Kon, and Moriaki-sensei. And they’ve all returned to humorous effect the second time around, so we’ll have to wait and see what Shizuka will do in coming episodes. That she’s a named character and is played by an established voice actor in Satsuki Yukino – known for playing Mutsumi in Love Hina, Milly in Trigun and more recently the Sonozaki twins in the Higurashi series – means she’s likely to have plenty more appearances before all is said and done.

This was sort of a coming out episode for Kon Futaba, playing major roles in both segments and showing herself to be fully integrated with our main cast of characters. The bit about her birthday in the first segment went well with the theme of that segment. That is, the knowledge of her birthday was an obvious metaphor for Pandora’s Box, and Hotori ended up making everyone suffer the consequences when she opened it. I loved the image of Hotori dazedly trying to put the confetti back in the popper and to celebrate Kon’s birthday – another obvious nod to the segment’s title.

More reflections, in typical Shaft fashion. And while they look nice, I've noticed the art - particularly of the faces - suffering in some shots. SHAFT!

Kon is shaping up to be quite the cool character. Living alone, with a wall full of CDs, supposedly plays the bass, and knowledgeable about how to pick locks. Combine that with the way she handled Hotori in her introductory segment in episode 3, and we have someone who’s just plain… chill. To be honest, though that makes her very likable, it also makes her a bit too perfect, which can make for a boring character. And a little out of place in our regular cast of misfits. Though her fever-induced antics in the second segment showed her fallibility as well.

That second segment also played with the show’s romance angle, which is always welcome in my book. There was the artist in the red bandanna whom Hotori bribed with photos of Tatsuno, extending the 4-person long love chain by one link. Though that he wasn’t even given a name bodes ill for his return in future episodes. Then there was Hotori’s and Tatsuno’s impromptu visit to Sanada, which, despite playing out terribly predictably, managed to be funny thanks to both the dialogue and the physical comedy. If only Sanada had known about TrueCrypt, he would not have had to go through such pain! I liked both Hotori’s overreaction and that she was still walking home with him from school the next day. After all, no matter what wacky antics get between our characters, Yet the Town Keeps Going.

If nothing else, Yet the Town Keeps Going will be remembered fondly for the million faces of Hotori.

And that’s really the takeaway from this episode. This is a show that’s true to its title. I don’t expect it to reveal some grand narrative at this point, or even a minor one. We’re halfway in now, and I get the feeling the show is getting into its groove, showing us more and more of Hotori and the town that surrounds her as the characters keep going about their daily life. I’m still looking forward to learning more about the buck-toothed Harue, who should play a major role, given that she’s in the ED (even if only as the drummer) and has an established rivalry with Kon.