09.18
Rocket Power cast post-operation.
The Great Curry High Trip… that title explains it all, doesn’t it? I was prepared to go all smarmy lit critic and discuss how the episode’s a discussion on duality between the roles women are given, but then they flew Nanami to Africa and the whole episode became stupid. It’s a fun kind of stupid, with some parts that make the episode almost worth the experience of a naked Saionji eating a banana, but this outing feels hollow compared to last week’s. It’s an episode that does nothing but pull repeated jokes that milk the series’ surreal atmosphere dry, where a plot device that could have been subverted or tossed around is played straight to a mind-numbing degree.
That isn’t to say this episode is complete filler though. Having Anthy be perfectly fine in Utena’s body while Utena feels otherwise makes for some intriguing character interactions, like when Utena’s personality shifts Anthy from her regular role as the victim who gets slapped around every week. It’s a bit of fun seeing other characters react to this change, though it would have been nice to see more drama or at least a brief dollop of tension from these events. Alongside those two, the episode reinforces Nanami’s love for Touga and his disinterest and often annoyance of her. Even if Nanami’s part of the council, she does little to advance their plans. Quit the opposite, when she almost squanders their main agenda through almost harming the Rose Bride. Touga’s aware of this, and exiles her off to Africa so she can fix her mistake while being as far away as possible. While Nanami’s thoroughly portrayed as an unpleasant person, this episode goes out of its way to screw up any and all of her actions, even the good-intentioned ones. It’s cathartic seeing someone who would be an actual threat in other high school shows reduced to a complete joke.
There’s also some enlightenment for Saionji’s character in the mix. Behind that abusive demeanor lies a guy in deep enamor over a girl, but is too thick to directly open his feelings to her (as well too out of the loop from the rest of this week’s events). Though his blindness to Utena’s personality follows Nanami’s adventure in being cathartic, there could have been more done with these two meeting up in such a circumstance. This would have been a way for Utena to figure out what Anthy’s relationships with other characters can be like beyond the slap on the face. She even gets Anthy and Saionji’s love diary, which could help her figure out who the hell this girl that claims to be her bride is supposed to be.
Yet, this doesn’t get explored further. Instead, it’s just more wackiness. The episode overdoes the “Isn’t it funny if the tomboy acted like the damsel and vice-versa?” shtick after a while, going for gags and sitcom-level hijinks in lieu of looking deeper into that question. That might sound pretentious, and even a bit dismissive of comic relief, but it’s just a bit uneven for a dramatic episode where a young woman expresses her traumatic past through fighting other people with a Freaky Friday allusion. The idea of an aspiring prince forced into a damsel’s position sounds neat on paper, and I’m a bit disheartened that they didn’t take this opportunity to show a duel between a body-switched Utena and one of the council members.
In the end, a comedic farce that thinks it’s funnier than it actually is, something that seems like the writers taking a day off or Ikuhara taking the piss. Or both. But to give the episode credit, it’s worth watching if only for the surfing elephants shot.