Tsurune

Episode 5

The latest episode of Tsurune puts the characters in the driver's seat. In the midst of fairly mundane actions like chores and grocery shopping, emotional development unfurls in a way that feels almost organic. Nothing really happens over the course of “A Frequent Messenger,” yet by the time it's over, everything has changed. This is a slow and atmospheric slice-of-life episode that plays to Kyoto Animation's visual strengths while lending its often-textbook character types some real emotional heft.

It's the training camp episode! Sports anime fans have seen this exact setup a million times before, and yet it continues to be compelling. I think that's because training camps create a communal environment that incubates opportunities for team bonding even moreso than day-to-day practices. The kyudo team isn't going particularly far from home when they hold a training camp at Masa's shrine-side range, but it makes for a distinct mentality shift. And Masa's training camp schedule doesn't seem particularly heavy on the kyudo. Instead, it's time for his “servants” to grow closer to one another through a sense of shared misery. As usual, it's mostly about the boys on the team, while the girls are criminally underused. It's so funny to see Noa become accustomed to getting waited on while the other girls watch in horror.

It isn't only the boys who grow closer to one another; we also gain a deeper understanding of the kyudo team. Through dull and repetitive tasks like early-morning weeding, each character shows a new side of himself. (It's particularly funny to see the normally put-together Seiya falling asleep on his feet.) None of the boys are particularly happy with this arrangement, which leads to some earnest feelings coming out, especially as Onogi and Minato finally reach a mutual understanding. Through a one-on-one conversation with Nanao, Minato realizes on his own how alike he and his self-proclaimed nemesis are, even as Onogi's best friend throws him under the bus. (“Kacchan makes finding his good side a real challenge.”) This culminates in a desperate jump for Nanao's baseball cap, which Minato thinks must be important because it is a gift from Onogi—and the earnestness of his feelings finally get through to Onogi himself. This is barely a plot, and yet everything changes afterward. By the time Tommy-sensei announces the firing order, it's common sense to all of us why Onogi is in front and Minato is in back—Onogi's confidence, conveyed through his stance, will pass like a contagion through the team, and Minato is finally at a place to accept that support.

This episode would make a dull reading experience, but it was lovely to watch. So much of the story was shown instead of told, with visual cues that illustrate change like the body language gradually shifting in the photos that Masa's brother captures. The cinematic framing of the servant shirts in the box that the kyudo club jackets arrived in signaled that we've closed one chapter and started a new one. It's also a big shift to see Minato cuddle with Who now; the last time the owl landed on his shoulder, he was surprised to say the least. This episode may have been about menial labor on the surface, but it was an exploration of human intimacy underneath. Tsurune does a great job illustrating the quiet and almost imperceptible ways we bond with one another through a cautious dance of butting heads and seeking common ground.

Rating: B+

Tsurune is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Lauren writes about geek careers at Otaku Journalist.