© NEGAPOSI-ANGLER PROJECT
With Hiro's character established and his storyline underway, it's time for the Positively Negative Fisherman to turn his attention to the supporting cast. Unsurprisingly, Hana's oversized personality is pushed to the fore, and her antics make for another charming and poignant episode full of fish.
Hana is interesting because she is full of contradictions. In Hiro's eyes, she has a life together, but he is shocked to learn that she is both younger than him and still in high school. She's mature enough to balance school, hobbies, and a shift at a convenience store. However, she still tends to play childish and spontaneous games. She was knowledgeable about the intricate techniques of fishing, but her mind burned when she calculated the changes of her customers. While Hiro finds these personality quirks exasperating, Hana's example gives him hope. She has a weird and chaotic life but she still tries to do something that works. Her situation doesn't exactly match Hiro's, but they're similar enough to see what NegaPosi Angler is trying to say by putting them together.
I also thought Hana was in college so I thought a relationship between her and Hiro might be in the works. That could still happen, but now the show may be taking a different direction. Hiro's reaction to her age is clear and understandable. He put on a serious face while his soul withered when thinking about his juniors who had surpassed him in every aspect of life. Romance doesn't even get into it. The scene where they fish together later in the episode is also very friendly and familiar. Hana acts like a precocious little sister and she drags Hiro around just like him. I'm not naive enough to believe that these sibling vibes prevent the development of a potential romance (this is the anime world, after all), but I like their dynamic. Also, with this new information, I'm now rooting for Takaaki to make his move.
The episode's construction conveyed a lot of personality into Hana. I have never seen such a strong and poetic green screen anime character. I laughed out loud about that, and I'm happy to see the show continue to embrace those animated flourishes. To reiterate last week's point, Hiromi Taniguchi's character designs are fantastic and the producers seem intent on breathing as much life into her work as possible. Hana's hair is another great example, and I love how it flows and fits its round shape. That round shape makes her seem more vivacious, which is interesting in contrast to Hiro's darker appearance and personality. And while Fairouz Ai is impressive with her performance (and if you haven't already, please check out last season's Mayonaka Punch for more of her gremlin mode voice acting), I also is a big fan of the silent video that summarizes Hana's daily routine. NegaPosi Angler is in no hurry at all. It's confident enough to slow down the plot for a meaningful character portrait and digression.
That montage also highlights the power of Tomoki Kikuya's soundtrack. He's been around in anime for a while, but I can hear the continuity between his soundtracks and Bocchi the Rock!. While the guitar riffs fit Bocchi's themes, they also fit well with Angler's indie film feel. The clean and crisp plucking and production is not too outstanding, which is good. However, if you pay attention, the music can jump out at you like a fish breaking the surface. These are strong compositions and I can't wait to hear the full score once it's released. I especially like when the music changes tempo and increases the bass when someone catches a fish on their fishing line. It feels like an homage to Nobuo Uematsu's fighting themes for the Final Fantasy series, and if that was the intention then it's awesome. After all, fishing is probably our closest real-life counterpart to random encounters in an RPG.
Ultimately, this has little to do with the plot or its theme, but I was surprised to learn the math-heavy fishing is. I don't just mean that it's cute to see these characters struggle to convert from the counting system to the metric system (and, as an American, I apologize for that). To fish, you have to deal with bait weight, fluid dynamics, water density, tensile strength, parts compatibility, reel speed, etc. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. who has seriously thought about fishing for at least two minutes, but honestly I haven't done so before. I like it when my brain wrinkles. I'm still in no rush to hike to the nearest lake and pack a pair of wading boots, but I'm starting to understand the appeal. I think Hiro is the same. It's like jazz. It's not just about the fish you catch. It also has a lot to do with the fish you don't catch.
Rating:
Negative Positive Angler is now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Steve is on Twitter while it lasted. Fish are certainly not afraid of him. You can also see him chatting about trash and treasure on This Week in Anime.