Poco's Udon World

Episode 4

This week's Poco's Udon World introduces us to Souta's sister Rinko. Like last week's installment, episode 4 does an admirable job of fleshing out a supporting character while giving us some additional insight into Souta's past and personality. Although Rinko appears to have settled into adulthood more comfortably than her younger brother and Nakajima, she's clearly dealing with some complex emotions stemming from the loss of her father, Souta's return, and her perceived lack of maternal instinct.

Continuing from where episode 3 left off, this week's outing opens with Rinko arriving at the Tawara family home and discovering her brother's new adoptive son. After accepting Souta's explanation of Poco's presence without much suspicion, Rinko suggests that the three of them go out to lunch and pay a visit to the Yashima Shrine, where tribute is paid to various tanuki spirits—possibly explaining their prevalence in the area. When she inadvertently hurts Poco's feelings, Rinko laments how bad she is with children and wonders if she's even qualified to have any of her own. However, Poco being Poco, all is quickly forgiven, and after Rinko calmly rescues him from a precarious situation on a rickety old bridge, the little tanuki says he loves her.

With her intriguing forthrightness and small shades of self-doubt, Rinko certainly makes a welcome addition to the main cast. Like Nakajima, she has her own unique rapport with both Souta and Poco—to whom she is far less antagonistic. I also wouldn't mind seeing her interact more with Nakajima in the future, given how amusingly their personalities seem to clash. I appreciated that her latent “maternal instincts” surfaced in the form of her saving Poco from danger instead of her suddenly coming to the realization that she wants to have children of her own. Like the rest of the adult characters, Rinko is familiar yet flawed and not entirely certain what she wants out of life—which helps make her relatable to the target audience.

We're also given a little more insight into the Tawara family's history this week. Toward the middle of the episode, it's strongly hinted that Souta and Rinko's mother passed away from an unspecified illness when they were children. Whether or not this factored into Souta's decision to leave home remains to be seen, but I wouldn't be surprised to find that the rift between Souta and his late father is at least partially due to his mother's passing, nor would I be particularly shocked if the death of his mother is what ultimately caused Souta to associate his hometown with bad things.

Poco's Udon World continues to offer a bittersweet, slightly fanciful examination of a young man's quarter-life crisis. As we discover this week, it's not just Souta who's unsure about his place in the world—the only surviving member of his immediate family is also suffering from existential doubt. As usual, all of this introspection is interspersed with humorous interactions and the antics of a toddler-like tanuki. Whether Poco is actually a guardian spirit sent to guide Souta or is simply along for the ride, I can't wait to see the next chapter of their journey.

Rating: A

Poco's Udon World is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Amy is a YA fantasy author who has loved anime for over two decades.