Tsuritama Episode 2--Be My Friend!

Because you have no choice! ♥




The most interesting aspect of Tsuritama for me is how straightforward it is, yet there are still plenty of mysteries to speculate about. Equally interesting is how the inhabitants of this world seem to be okay with all this weirdness. A character declares himself an alien and starts living in the main character's house? No problem! Said character and his eclectically dressed sister carry around water pistols that control people's minds? Sure! A 25-year-old Indian man and his duck transfer into a high school? Why not? This general acceptance of the fantastic by pretty much everyone (with the exception of Yuki and sometimes Usami) doesn't smack of things happening just because the plot demands them to, though. There is a feeling that we, the viewers, have inadvertently stepped into some kind of fairy-tale world, like the one depicted at the beginning of the first episode. We already have the element of the fantastic--aliens and possibly shape-shifting fish--and the broad declaration that what's about to happen will save the world in another unbelievable yet straightforward setup--catch a certain fish!




Speaking of fairy tale elements, at first it seemed that this episode would focus on the protagonist's choice to go on his quest. In a way, it still does, but not in the way that I expected, which will probably be the norm for this show. Instead, it was a "heads I win, tails you lose" scenario; Yuki could just walk away from the aliens and the fishing and the other nonsense, but then he would be forced into helping them anyway because of their mind-control water guns. Instead, it became an episode about respect and following through on your decisions. I do wonder how far Haru will get without having to use his water gun, though.

As a side note, I found it interesting that Yuki and Usami, the only two characters to have normal reactions to Haru (read: reactions that a person in our world would probably have if confronted by him) also have suffered significant loss. Yuki doesn't have parents, and Usami mother has been gone for two years. It's possible that Akira might have some loss in his life as well since he's actively chasing Haru, but at the moment it seems to be a case of the pot meeting the kettle (you don't call other people weird when you hide in the sand with your duck). It's kind of a random theory at the moment, but it's the kind of show that seems open to that kind of thing, and I'm interested in seeing whether I'm proved right or wrong.

Images from Crunchyroll.com.