Summer Anime: The Eccentric Family (Uchoten Kazoku) |OT| Dad Became Stew

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Uchouten Kazoku - 03

Man, this show is legit.

We get some more lore and some character/relationship backstory. Definitely another character driven story but done really well with the fantasy element. They blend together so seamlessly. I really enjoy Yasaburo's relationships with the various characters in the series. I do hope we get some insight into his other brothers (we've got some with Frog-kun at the start of the show, which I thought was great).

Benten is seriously the hottest character this season. Just the right amount of intrigue, allure and overall danger. That final scene was amazing as well. She really is one of the main reasons I'm sticking with this show.
 
Finally had time to the watch the last 2 episodes. Very impressed that the visuals stayed consistently good and I hope they go all out with the fire festival next episode.
 
Episode 2 was pretty great. Although I feel like I need to re-watch the first two episodes, finding the dialogue and a number of the relationships hard to follow. Wonder if it can be attributed to the way the setting is presented here.
 
I really enjoyed the first two episodes
Episode 2 more so
The subtle humour sits well with me too. My favourite part so far is the beautiful character designs.

I look forward to watching episode three.
 
Episode 04

That was all kinds of enjoyable.

The flashback was funny and silly.

The fireworks festival was great as well.

This show just does not disappoint.
 
Episode 4

Another nice episode. This week they expand on a lot of the themes introduced in the previous episode, but with more flair. The expanded flashback was great, and the festival itself was relaxed and leisurely until it all goes to hell before a) everyone is silly, b) fireworks are dangerous! :D Oh and the music that plays in the middle of the episode was really catchy!

This week's nice crowd scenes:
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Click to expand...
 
Episode 4

The Eccentric Family 4

This show man. This damn show. So good. So much fun. Loved the exchange between Yasaburo and the Professor as he was coming to the party. And of course Benten with her schemes.
 
Yeah, this show is something else.

Episode 3 was probably my favorite--loved the dreamy trip to the restaurant and then across the water--but all of them have been pretty great. The mom was very adorable in her raccoon form in the second episode. And my god, Benten is so damn cool. Look forward to seeing this world get further fleshed out in coming episodes, seems like we're going to learn more about the Friday Fellows next time.
 
Episode two was good. The rather absurd fate of being boiled alive in a hotpot is a nice toner for the, well, tragedy of it. It's really touching stuff.

I suppose the frog-bro represents a fate similar to what happened in the author's other (anime-adapted) work, Tatami Galaxy, trapped and unable/unwilling to move forward into the future.
 
Episode three - God, Benten is appealing. Yasaburo's attraction for her is almost elemental, the tug-of-war with the whale's tail a representation of his warring desires. He knows it's a bad idea, but he can't help it, and we can't as viewers, either; femme fatale total.

I hope we get to see Kaisei soon.

Episode four - The false mountain flashback was not only entertaining, it's basically a big red flag as to the kind of impact and shadow their father casts over them all. The way that the family acts in wake of his death is illustrative of the void he's left, and is reinforced even further by the way his narrative fills in their present escapades. The implicit assumption being that even for his father, it was a facade he had to maintain, and perhaps this lofty estimation of that deceased tanuki is what holds the sons from stepping forward as a whole.

djWkQy4.jpg
Click to expand...

Disappointed that we didn't get to see Kaisei. Benten/10
 
I'm starting to wonder myself if their father is really dead. For a tanuki with so much influence and power to just randomly die and end up on a hotpot seems like the sort of horror story you tell your children if you want them to be more careful around humans. At the same time, if they really believe that, then it would also seem like an easy method to... disappear so to speak? I dunno, there's something fishy about it I think.
 
Episodes 3-4

uchoutenkazuko4.jpg


They've done a great job setting up the family and their struggle to fill in the hole their late father left them. But clearly the stat of the show is the femme fatale Benten. *swoon*

duckroll said:
I'm starting to wonder myself if their father is really dead. For a tanuki with so much influence and power to just randomly die and end up on a hotpot seems like the sort of horror story you tell your children if you want them to be more careful around humans. At the same time, if they really believe that, then it would also seem like an easy method to... disappear so to speak? I dunno, there's something fishy about it I think.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's pretty hard to believe that someone who could
literally turn themselves into a mountain for a whole week
would go out so easily.
 
Episode 5

The characterizations of Yasaburo and Benten are clearly the driving force of this series. It's interesting in an alluring way because of how distant and mystical the relationship between the two feels compared to reality. Both characters are clearly more not human in nature, but at the same time it is not their powers which mark them as such, but rather their personalities. Their perspectives feel like something we can never truly relate to or understand, but there's a sense of something magical about their very existence.

The dinner scenes were pretty cool, with some lively bits of animation, and a very honest take on how we as humans consider our food and the nature of meat. It's just more disturbing when viewed from the perspective of a protagonist who could very well be a food item in future. I think it's idiosyncrasies like these which make this a very charming and original show to watch, It's different, and also well directed.
 
Uchouten Kazoku - 5

Another good episode! Not that it's news a this point. The key this time was the range of emotional register. This episode was friendly, creepy, tense, and sad at equal parts. Even a few jokes between the menace of being eaten by the girl that likes you.

But I still confused as hell! Do the Friday Fellows know they are eating intelligent tanukis or not?? Do people in general know they are spirits and magic in the world, or only a select few? Do they know one part and not the other?
The cosmology of the series is making me crazy.

At first I thought the intelligent tanukis are a few, they are beings that exist apart from the normal tanukis/raccoons. But I'm starting to think it's not like that, all the tanukis are special in this world, that's why even if the FF (friday fellows) take one at random in the forest, they are eating up a tanuki of the "magical animal society", which is why their annual tanuki-eating party is sadly famous between Tanukis.

In the FF meet, when Yajiro transforms into stuff, I think they thought they were being tricked, commenting "how is he doing it?!", and when Benten says is a tanuki, it's interpreted as a joke. But later she goees flying with the FF looking, so they know there is supernatural shit in the world. I'm still doubting if that means they really know the Tanukis, or just Benten powers.

The dialogues during the party made my dizzy, some parts seemed to support the notion they weren't known, but a few could imply the opposite.

The whole "I like you so much... I want to eat you up!" ...

reminds me of fables / old fairy tales, in fact Benten coincides with the figure in some legends of a dangerous powerful witch whom cutting a deal with her can both save you or/and condemn you, and how maybe the hope of the young hero is using making her fall in love so he won't be eaten.

Or maybe that will make her wanting to eat him even more. Frigging vores.
 
Episode 5 was good stuff, as usual. The Friday Fellows is just another means to an end for Benten, and I get the feeling that the tricks she has Yasaburo do for the group's amusement is foreshadowing for what's to come. Really liked the dinner scene in general - how it wraps the conversation from earlier with his mother, the shift in perspective regarding the eater and the eaten, stuff.

Hope we see Kaisei soon. But then, perhaps unseen-moe is the most-moe.
 
Episode 5

Benten is quickly turning into my favorite character in this show.

The adorable story was also great.

Unseen moe.

Definitely like how the dialogue was lively yet creepy once you really get to thinking about it.
 
Turin Turambar said:
Uchouten Kazoku - 5

Another good episode! Not that it's news a this point. The key this time was the range of emotional register. This episode was friendly, creepy, tense, and sad at equal parts. Even a few jokes between the menace of being eaten by the girl that likes you.

But I still confused as hell! Do the Friday Fellows know they are eating intelligent tanukis or not?? Do people in general know they are spirits and magic in the world, or only a select few? Do they know one part and not the other?
The cosmology of the series is making me crazy.

At first I thought the intelligent tanukis are a few, they are beings that exist apart from the normal tanukis/raccoons. But I'm starting to think it's not like that, all the tanukis are special in this world, that's why even if the FF (friday fellows) take one at random in the forest, they are eating up a tanuki of the "magical animal society", which is why their annual tanuki-eating party is sadly famous between Tanukis.

In the FF meet, when Yajiro transforms into stuff, I think they thought they were being tricked, commenting "how is he doing it?!", and when Benten says is a tanuki, it's interpreted as a joke. But later she goees flying with the FF looking, so they know there is supernatural shit in the world. I'm still doubting if that means they really know the Tanukis, or just Benten powers.

The dialogues during the party made my dizzy, some parts seemed to support the notion they weren't known, but a few could imply the opposite.

The whole "I like you so much... I want to eat you up!" ...

reminds me of fables / old fairy tales, in fact Benten coincides with the figure in some legends of a dangerous powerful witch whom cutting a deal with her can both save you or/and condemn you, and how maybe the hope of the young hero is using making her fall in love so he won't be eaten.

Or maybe that will make her wanting to eat him even more. Frigging vores.
Click to expand...

I don't think that humans on a whole have any knowledge that there are really intelligent tanuki, tengu, etc in modern Japan living right under their noses. The Friday Fellows seem to be mostly well connected or influential people in Kyoto who just get together for drinks and meals. Benten is the only one who seems aware of the magical world while also pretending to be a normal human. Keep in mind that by the time she flies off with Yasaburo, they were all already really, really drunk.
 
Episode 5
Ah so good. loved everything about this episode. We got to see what the Friday Fellows are. And we got more delicious Benten.
I was surprised to see that it was one of the Friday Fellows who saved Yasaburo's mom. So there is nothing really malevolent about the tanuki hot pot but that some how makes it even more sinister. The end scene with Benten was fantastic and pretty much summed up her allure for Yasaburo.
 
Episode 5

There was some really good use of perspective in this episode and the light shone upon (most of) the Friday Fellows was much appreciated, even if it was still kinda creepy overall. The last scenes with Yasaburo and Benten were definitely the highlight of this great episode for me.

I can't help but feel kinda disturbed and worried about
Hotei's connection with the mother and his role to find the Tanuki for this year's hot pot. :(
 
Episode 06

GC6Dih3l.jpg


For an episode where there was mostly lots of talking, it still very interesting talking coupled with beautiful scenery.
 
Most of the scenes on the rooftop were stunning. Nice use of framing and of the color contrast between nocturnal Kyoto and the autumn-colored park.

We continue to dig deeper and deeper into the protagonists's feelings. Yasaburo admitted he had a crush on Benten (which was obvious, but still), Hotei's eating philophosy and his fear of not tasting good enough would be comical if it wasn't linked to the tragic pater stew, and Benten, while still for the most part a puzzle wrapped in an enigma, feels more and more human.

The series continues to confirm its status as the jewel of the season, so consistently it's not even funny.
 
Episode 6

Great stuff. I think what I love most about the genre of magic realism is that it takes place in familiar settings, but the actual rules, characters, and relationships feel totally alien and strange. This show really nails that feeling with the lead character's relationships with both other "magical" creatures like himself, and with humans like Benten and the professor. The conversations feel like things we should understand but yet will never quite relate to. Another world just within our reach but something we can never really be part of. The dream-like atmosphere is addictive, evocative, and yet carries a sense of ominous sadness. It always feels like nothing here is going to last, and the mood is something held together by a thin wire represented by Benten's mood.

Sogood.gif
 
yup still the best show this season, have confidence that they'll follow through in the remaining episodes as well
 
Uchouten Kazoku 6
So the world-view of the series is coming to light, along with more sprinkles of backstory. The relationship between tanuki/humans/tengu is really well integrated into the narrative. It actually feels like well-done magical realism, which I suppose comes from the source material being a legit novel. But the directing can draw that dreamy feeling extremely well due to the precise layouts and editing, the very competent sound direction and the absolutely arresting art/colour direction.

In other words,
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Click to expand...
 
I keep forgetting that this show has it's own OT. This episode was one of my favorites thus far. I'm going to assume that Benten wouldn't eat his Dad if she knew it was him. I'm somewhat skeptical that she knew Tanuki were sentient at all before she accidentally ate one in a hotpot. Then again, that's just me assuming she's going to turn out to be a good person and that she's crying over what she helped do to his dad.

I love the odd social structure in this show. The professor has no problem admitting that he heard a Tanuki talk, realized that they're intelligent beings, and then ate one anyway. In any other setting he'd be a monster, but since this is a fantasy, somehow Yasaburo is able to put up with him. I didn't know if it was an odd translation or what, but we now know that he doesn't realize Yasaburo is a tanuki (at least I don't think he does) which is kind of odd considering that the Tengu are so closely allied with the Friday Fellows. You'd think someone would have told him.

In any case, I'm looking forward to seeing where the series goes. I get the sense that there's something not being said, or else something going on beneath the scenes.

Also....he kidnapped her. I did not see that one coming. I assume that's some part of Tengu lore that I don't know. Either way, it was out of left field for me.
 
LordCanti said:
The professor has no problem admitting that he heard a Tanuki talk, realized that they're intelligent beings, and then ate one anyway. In any other setting he'd be a monster, but since this is a fantasy, somehow Yasaburo is able to put up with him.
Click to expand...

He thought at first he heard the tanuki talk, and then he tought he was having a dream. Like Duckroll said 'magic realism' is the best category which fits the series; not strictly realism nor fantasy, but a realist setting where the scientific method isn't the only functioning rule. Oniric logic may apply, too, among others.

Concerning Benten, I believe she perfectly knew what she was doing when she had eaten Yasaburo's dad, she knew he was sentient, and I believe she is not a bad person notwithstanding. A bad person wouldn't go cry at night after finding that the moon is pretty.

I love when the characters in a show are complex, believable people.

Also....he kidnapped her. I did not see that one coming. I assume that's some part of Tengu lore that I don't know. Either way, it was out of left field for me.
Click to expand...

They seem to be famous for it. Didn't know about it, too (it's not something about japanese folklore Urusei Yatsura taught me about)

They are said to enjoy spreading chaos and confusion in the human world, punishing the vain, annoying the powerful and rewarding the humble folk who can join in their nocturnal merrymaking without fear. Sometimes they kidnap people and leave them wandering through the woods in a state of dementia called tengu-kakushi, but sometimes they are called upon to help lost children find their way home.

http://www.obakemono.com/obake/tengu/
 
FlyingSaucer said:
He thought at first he heard the tanuki talk, and then he tought he was having a dream. Like Duckroll said 'magic realism' is the best category which fits the series; not strictly realism nor fantasy, but a realist setting where the scientific method isn't the only functioning rule. Oniric logic may apply, too, among others.

Concerning Benten, I believe she perfectly knew what she was doing when she had eaten Yasaburo's dad, she knew he was sentient, and I believe she is not a bad person notwithstanding. A bad person wouldn't go cry at night after finding that the moon is pretty.

I love when the characters in a show are complex, believable people.



They seem to be famous for it. Didn't know about it, too (it's not something about japanese folklore Urusei Yatsura taught me about)

They are said to enjoy spreading chaos and confusion in the human world, punishing the vain, annoying the powerful and rewarding the humble folk who can join in their nocturnal merrymaking without fear. Sometimes they kidnap people and leave them wandering through the woods in a state of dementia called tengu-kakushi, but sometimes they are called upon to help lost children find their way home.

http://www.obakemono.com/obake/tengu/
Click to expand...

Mmm, I don't know. It was kind of obvious to me that Yasaburo's Dad quit talking to the professor as soon as he thought that Benten might hear him. It was also noted that Benten went to the well other times, which makes it seem as if the moon had nothing to do with her tears.

It's a bit of a stretch to think that she didn't know that Tanuki were sentient for sure, and I guess it doesn't matter when applying the logic of this show, but it doesn't make sense for Yasaburo's dad to have stopped talking when he did if she already knew. It's possible that she trained with the professor and Yasaburo without realizing that he was a Tanuki. In any case, it's hard to believe that she'd literally eat his father if she was aware of the fact that she was doing it.

Then again, we're operating under a morality system where Tanuki are undoubtedly lower on the food chain (as noted by the show itself) so anything is possible.
 
I wonder if tanukis have a Masquerade ^^
Anyway, we will probably learn more about the interactions between human and tanuki societies when the series will focus on the niseamon (soon, apparently).
 
Episode 6
uchoutenkazuko6.jpg
uchoutenkazuko6a.jpg

uchoutenkazuko6b.jpg
uchoutenkazuko6c.jpg
Click to expand...

By far and away one of the most visually striking things I've watched in a long time. You could really sense Benten's longing for the days before
she was kidnapped by the professor and (everything that's come of it)
and the mental anguish caused by the strong facade she has to put up for appearances. What an utterly astounding episode.
 
You know this seriously might be my favorite show of the season. Everything about it just hits the mark right.

Had put off watching it, but went and marathoned all 6 eps and this is on the top of the list now.
 
Man the chat about eating Tanuki somehow got me, its true us human often talk "cow are cute etc" but we eat them anyway lol.. that chat are so simple yet so deep, Yasuburo's father word that saying he afraid not taste good made me got weird feel.
 
I like how comfortably and naturally presented the world is in this show. A lot of the outlandish events are treated in a very low-key manner and almost taken for granted as possibilities, like
Benten's kidnapping and Yasaburo's father being eaten
. It reveals some crazy events and customs without them being distracting, or detracting from the center piece of the show, which is the characters.

Like duckroll said above, you can't quite relate to the proceedings, but I think the presentation of it all allows you to accept that quickly and get on with loving the show.
and Benten
 
The OP confused the hell out of me when I was looking at the descriptions of the sons and then their names below it. Yaichiro and Yashiro got switched.
 
DeadRockstar said:
I like how comfortably and naturally presented the world is in this show. A lot of the outlandish events are treated in a very low-key manner and almost taken for granted as possibilities, like
Benten's kidnapping and Yasaburo's father being eaten
. It reveals some crazy events and customs without them being distracting, or detracting from the center piece of the show, which is the characters.

Like duckroll said above, you can't quite relate to the proceedings, but I think the presentation of it all allows you to accept that quickly and get on with loving the show.
and Benten
Click to expand...

I think the detached narration from the MC overlaid some events helps a big deal. From simple thematic exposition (first few lines of episode 1) to commenting and contextualising certain aspects of the show (like the first scene of this episode), it sets us up for the matter-of-fact approach the show has to its world and dynamics.

It was actually a prominent aspect in Tatami Galaxy, albeit it was far more wordy there and it was going for a different mood anyway, but I think it's something the novelist likes to do that translates in this particular way when adapted into animation.
 
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