Girlish Number

Episode 8

Kazuha's trip home consumed this week's Girlish Number, as both she and Momoka worked to resolve their mixed feelings about their parents. Though there were some brief comic interludes courtesy of Kuzu-P, the almost total lack of Chitose meant this was a more contemplative and emotionally focused episode than ever. That focus spelled good things for this episode and the show at large. The more Girlish Number focuses on the human anxieties of its leads, the more emotionally effective it will be.

Kazuha's relationship with her father took center stage early in this episode, just after she, Momoka, and their three production friends arrived at her home. Kazuha's father was relatively polite to her producers, but this very politeness prompted Kazuha to enter and attack him, in an effort to dispel his pretension. The ensuing conversation was pointed and bitter, as Kazuha's father questioned the foundation of her work. Her father went over the line in his critiques, but his concerns were laced with truth, which made it much harder for Kazuha to fight back.

Kazuha is very childish in her attitudes - as her father points out, scorning the shows she works on doesn't reflect well on her, it simply makes her seem disposable and petty. The fact that Kazuha couldn't really fight on equal terms with her father was made visually clear through body language, as she actually jumped every time he spoke. In her father's presence, Kazuha became a little girl again - so sure she can't please him that she acts out instead, moving to Tokyo simply because she can't stand her mountain home.

That sharp-edged conversation was Girlish Number at its best, and the hits only continued as Kazuha and Momoka took a trip around Kazuha's small hometown. Everything Kazuha disliked about her family and town was smartly framed as reflective of her core anxieties. She first mentioned how she dislikes idle social events and the pretending she has to do. That's clear enough from her prior actions, but in the context of this episode, it seems that such events reminded her of her chilly and barely cordial relationship with her father. Later, her criticism of her hometown seemed even more personal - talking about how there's “nothing but a shrine” at the top of some long stairs, she seemed to be reflecting on her insecurities about her own nature and whether her father is right in his criticisms.

For her part, Momoka's anger at her parents was reflected through her very presence on the trip. It turns out this trip coincided with Momoka's dinner with her parents and the Pure Para producers. Her consistent ignoring of phone calls was basically her own act of rebellion. Momoka joined Kazuha to learn more about her, but she also joined her simply to provoke a reaction from her parents, to see if they really care.

All of this is intelligent character writing, but some elements of this show's emotional narrative felt a little too convenient for me. I wasn't totally on board with how perfectly Kazuha and Momoka mirrored each other - though it's fair enough that they have opposing problems with their parents, the fact that their concerns were so exactly mirrored by the other felt more like narrative convenience than emotional truth. Real people are messy, and though we can learn from each other's problems, purely instructive relationships like this don't really exist. It's not something I'd normally consider a failing, but Girlish Number has established a high enough standard of character writing that I feel it's above such easy tricks. On top of that, the visual metaphor of a young cat reuniting with its parent was so on-the-nose that I had to wince.

That said, the actual resolution to these conflicts was excellent. First off, Momoka's final conversation with her mother possessed all the sensitivity and complexity I was hoping for. Her mother didn't directly acknowledge Momoka's insecurities, but instead framed her own relationship with her daughter in a way Momoka hadn't considered - as respected rivals, moving toward the day they would work together again. That framing nicely sidestepped my previous criticism, that Momoka and Kazuha's feelings were too symmetrical. Momoka and her mother did not have perfectly compatible feelings, but they were still able to acknowledge how much they loved each other.

Kazuha's resolution was a bit more predictable, but still effective. It turns out Kazuha was just too much like her dad for the two of them to get along. Each of them held their feelings close to their chest, and each of them were inherently prickly people, but Kazuha's dad was still deeply invested in her work, and he even researched voice actors when she decided on her career. Whether expressed through small gestures or cathartic conversations, the love between all these parents and children felt very real.

Overall, this was another excellent episode of Girlish Number. It's weird to think the show is better off when it jettisons something as important as its own protagonist, but characters like Kazuha, Momoka, and Koto are just richer people than Chitose, and their material shines. Hopefully, the show's final act will be able to apply this sensitivity of characterization to Chitose herself and bring everything to a satisfying close.

Overall: A-

Girlish Number is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Nick writes about anime, storytelling, and the meaning of life at Wrong Every Time.