Attention all my dear he’s, she’s, and them’s– — it’s time for another Anime Rant!

Most of this episode is unusually focused on Uo-chan, or Uotani Arisa. This could be all in my head, but in this episode, I felt there was way too much of the sentiment that traditionally feminine girls are “good girls,” and bold, outspoken girls are weird or bad. Mostly it’s in regards to Uo-chan’s story as a former delinquent and her current behavior as a nontraditional girl. I get that being in a gang isn’t a good thing, and Uo-chan did behave badly with her violence and possible use of drugs. But now that she’s not in a gang or being violent, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Uo-chan’s personality or behavior.

Anyone who thinks Uo-chan is inappropriate is small-minded. A girl wants to wear a super long skirt because short skirts are incredibly inconvenient, and associated with sexist pressure in Japan. So, um, let her wear a long skirt. What’s the big deal? A girl talks in a livelier, more natural way in a culture that stresses high pitch and timidity for girls’ voices. Ok, let her talk naturally and energetically. Where’s the problem? A girl uses posture, gestures and speech patterns generally associated with boys. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, please, Uotani, go ahead and keep challenging gender stereotypes.

What’s irritating too is Uo-chan realized it was small-minded and selfish of her to lose respect for Kyoko just because she became a loving mother. It’s fine to be a normal, loving mother. Long live mothers and domestic women! But it’s also fine to be a tomboy, wear clothes you like, and talk how you like. So why do people keep giving Uo-chan grief about it in the present? Not that any of it affects her. She’s so damn cool and laidback.

This was supposed to be a normal episode review, but I just wrote over 200 words about something little that ticked me off, which was not even a major message of the episode. You’ll have to excuse me for that. This blog is called Anime Rants for a reason. Now, back to discussing the episode, I loved how everyone pitched in to get Tooru a new swimsuit. I agree pink suits her way better than orange or blue. It was cute seeing middle-school Tooru and how she met with Uo-chan.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait for the next episode to see the story of Tooru saving Uo-chan from her dangerous lifestyle. I guess we’ll also have to wait another week to see Tooru in her swimsuit. I’m looking forward to that! 😛 Anyway, that’s all, folks. Thank you so very much for reading this! Your readership is immensely appreciated, as is any feedback you give. Have a wonderful rest of your day. Ja, ne!

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PATREON

(Images From: Fruits Basket. Dir. Y Ibata. TMS Entertainment. 2019.)