NegaPosi Angler – Episode 08

Episode Synopsis:

Divorcee Machida has a day of fishing with his son, Yuu. Hiro, Hana, and Tataaki tag along for moral support, but it’s clear that there’s a wide gap between father and son. They still seem to bond over fishing, and Yuu asks his dad if he’ll come home when Yuu catches a prize sea bream.

Review:

Machida takes the lead this episode, though it’s still more of an ensemble piece as the poor guy is just so wishy-washy that he can’t quite hold down the plot alone. That said, it’s still a beautiful episode, and a little bit heartbreaking.

We open with Machida trying to decide where to take his son on their day together, especially since he hasn’t seen Yuu in a long time. Unsurprisingly, the gang suggests they spend it fishing, though they all have different ideas of what to fish for. There are some delightful bits of animation, like Hana’s little note when someone mentions fishing, or how Ice reverts to her more realistic design when she’s annoyed.

This episode has a lot of great shot composition throughout, starting with the physical distance between Machida and Yuu – a mirror for the space that has grown in their relationship since the divorce. Their expressions show that they still love each other, but Machida’s absentmindedness about anything beyond fishing and Yuu’s naive wish that his father could simply come home sour that relationship.

Eventually, Yuu proposes that if he can catch a big enough fish (a sea bream so large you can’t guess how old it could be), his dad will come home, and Machida gets volun-told by Hana to go along with it. While it’s unclear what exactly what drove Machida and his wife apart, it was enough for them to separate despite having a young child, so I don’t think it’s likely such a thing would be possible. Even so, Machida shows Yuu how to fish for sea bream, even sneakily swapping out his line for a stronger one so the kid has a fighting chance.

Late into the evening, Yuu finally does manage to catch a large enough fish, but decides to throw it back so he can have an excuse to keep hanging out with his dad. The gang is there to support him, even though Machida is just across the canal, watching the whole affair.

When it’s time for Yuu to go back to his mother, he and Machida are much closer together – the composition once again doing a great job of showing the ebb and flow of their relationship throughout the day.

Just before he leaves though, kid drops another heart-wrenching line, delivered with such innocence and hope that it hits like a baseball bat to the gut.

There’s a brief moment where Machida almost says something as Yuu and his mom walk away. He desperately wants to spend more time with his son, but is that enough to start repairing a broken marriage? Being a loving father doesn’t necessarily make you a good husband. I don’t know if we’ll ever find out more about why they’re apart or if there’s a chance for the family to be whole again, but I genuinely hope we’ll at least get to see father and son fishing together again before the show is over.

Summary:

The show did well in peppering its earlier episodes with bits of character detail that have expanded into larger parts of the story. There’s sadness and struggle in everyone’s lives, but they still find joy and love with friends, family, or in shared hobbies. Fishing is just the doorway that led us into these characters’ lives, and they are richer and more complex than I’d expected.

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