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animebw · 4 years

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Binge-Watching: Rinne no Lagrange, Episodes 7-9

In which a series of great moments turn me around on this show, though I still have my complaints.

Wordless Beauty

Coming into the back half of Rinne no Lagrange’s first season, I wasn’t feeling too optimistic. This show hasn’t been awful, but it’s been plagued by issues from the start that seem too systemic to really go away. I haven’t been awfully engaged by the characters, or the story, or the themes, and it didn’t seem like it was capable of really turning things around when it had already played so many cards. Still, as always, I’m loathe to give up on a show until it proves itself irredeemable. So deep down, part of me still hoped that Rinne no Lagrange could pull itself together and pull its component parts into an engaging show before all was said and done.

And I’m happy to say, it succeeded.

The turnaround isn’t gradual either; from the very first moments of episode 7, this show is pushing itself to greater heights than it’s ever hit before. The backstory of Muginami and Villa isn’t just good by this show’s standards, it’s genuinely fucking great storytelling. It’s told pretty much entirely without dialogue; the only direct exposition we get is Lan confirming later on that Muginami was born on a gutter planet outside the intergalactic federation’s purview and thus grew up in extreme poverty, and Villa was presumably exiled there when he was stripped from De Metrio royalty. The rest goes my completely wordlessly, telling the story of how Muginami and Villa met on that lonely world and escaped together solely through visual storytelling. And it’s powerful fucking stuff. Muginami walks the desolate shores with nothing but an apple core for nourishment, but when she finds Villa washed up and starving, she offers him what little food she has left regardless, a sacrifice that instantly marks her as a good person and solidifies their bond. We see how hard life was for them, how Muginame had to steal and suffer beatings just for the chance to keep them both fed. And when she comes up short, and Villa comes back with an apple of his own that he offers her out of the same kindness she once showed him, and she wordlessly walks by the apple to hug him because she’s so grateful he’s still alive... Jesus. There’s not a scrap of dialogue, and yet it tells you everything about why their relationship was so important to her. You feel every ounce of the kindness Villa was once capable of, and every ounce of the heartache that he’s slipped so far from his former capacity for good. It’s a shame this comes after the big blow-up that relies on this emotional connection for context, but at least now I completely understand why Muginami was so willing to take Villa’s side even after he insulted her.

Welcome Developments

Speaking of that blow-up, it thankfully does exactly what I wanted it to: force Madoka to grow up after recognizing where she’s falling short. It’s understandable why she came to the conclusions she did: Villa was a jerk! He hurt someone she cared about! It was a reasonable assumption that kicking Villa’s ass would be the best thing for Muginami after what he did to her. She just never bothered to hear Muginami’s side of the story before rushing off, and thus, she never understood why this guy was so important to her, and why she still wanted to believe in him despite what he’d done. That’s the selfishness Muginame was talking about: she went into battle because that’s what she wanted to do, not because it’s what Muginami wanted her to do. And it takes her a while to understand where Muginami’s coming from instead of getting trapped in her own head and refusing to see another perspective. Admittedly, the moment of realization was kinda awkward: she realizes that Muginami didn’t want to give up on him, which means she has... Jersey Club spirit, I guess? I dunno, it’s weird. But regardless of how she got there, she apologizes in this really beautiful moment where they hug in the bath and Muginami’s tressed-up hair tumbles down, and there’s this great bit of symmetry where Madoka starts the episode by writing Muginami an indignant letter that doesn’t understand why she does the things she does (”I don’t get it, what’s with you?”), and she ends the episode by echoing Muginami’s response and proving she’s willing to listen now (”Thank you for thinking about me.”), and Muginami symbolically lets the apple wash away in the waves as she accepts her new family over her old one and Christ. In just a single episode, I buy the relationships between the three protagonists more than I did for the entire rest of the show up until this point.

And Madoka’s growth carries through! We learn more about the backstory of the Voxes in the next episode: the alien races we’ve met are actually descendants of a race of hyper-advanced humans who lived on earth 20,000 years ago. They fled when the Vox went wild and almost destroyed the earth, which is the basis for the prophecy of demons that haunts Lan and Le Garite as a whole. Now Earth is neutral territory, but people are coming back for the Voxes in fear that they could destroy the earth with the circle of Rin-ne, whatever that is. And the emergency order comes down to lock Madoka’s Midori away, out of fear it’ll do that bizarre flower blooming thing again and possibly cause another great cataclysm. In this kind of scenario, the protagonist almost always fights against getting their powers taken away, often sulking and stewing in resentment if it actually happens (before getting them back, of course). But instead, Madoka accepts it. In fact, she’s the one who has to tell her friends not to make a big deal out of losing Vox Aura. Her conception of doing the right thing has shifted from “Just help people and kick bad guy butt” to something less self-centered. Sometimes, the right thing to do isn’t glamorous, or fun, or pleasant, or satisfying, or personally gratifying. But if stepping down from being a pilot is the best way to ensure another disaster doesn’t happen, she’s willing to make that sacrifice. She’s still doing her best as a Jersey Club member to help people, but she’s learned how to see the big picture now, even when it’s inconvenient to do so. I suspect she’ll be riding Vox Aura again before too much longer, but still, it’s refreshing to know she’s learned her lesson.

Day About Town

And yet, for all that good stuff, it’s all dwarfed in quality by episode 9, which is by far the best this show has ever been. It’s pretty much just a cooldown episode to watch the characters stretch and hang out before the climax picks up, but it’s centered around an ingenious framing device executed perfectly: the members of De Metrio- Kirius, Array and Izo- all head out into town and experience culture shock with life on Earth in different ways, all while learning more about their supposed enemy Madoka (and thus letting the audience learn more about her as well). These guys have always been my favorite characters in the show, and this episode does wonders with them. Array casually walking around in a maid outfit, Izo going on a dramatic revenge quest that gets interrupted by a chatty old lady who keeps him company over the course of a long train ride, Kirius discovering the horrors of a ticket machine refusing to take the bills you’re trying to insert, Array getting to be smug about having a blinged-out credit card before he gets stuck in a place that only takes cash, Izo misinterpreting the point of samurai movies so badly that he makes Madoka’s friends think he’s her boyfriend by accident (”You’re serious about her?” “Yes.”) Kirius poetically comparing the smell of the ocean breeze to his home planet as a kid just casually pisses into the ocean around the bend... the comedy this episode wrings from their interactions with Earth’s unfamiliarities is just wonderful.

And then we get to Madoka herself, who’s backstory is revealed to Izo and Array as it’s revealed to us: her gung-ho saving people attitude was inspired by Youko. When Madoka’s mother drowned in the ocean, she grew reserved and scared, stuck in her shell. But Youko, who at the time was a Jersey Club girl all on her own, was exactly the person Madoka would grow up into. She helped people wherever she could, she dove into the ocean to save drowning kids, and she never let her own fears hold her back. Witnessing her heroism, Madoka was inspired to try her best as well, and she came out of her shell into the lovable goofball she is today. So not only is Madoka someone who tries her best to do good, she’s constantly facing her fears by saving people at risk of suffering the same death her mother did. Meanwhile, Kirius gets the chance to see that heorism in action as Madoka saves another kid right in front of him. He doesn’t know it’s her, but he easily recognizes that this girl is a good person, and he forges a connection with her easy as breathing. Suddenly, all three of these supposed antagonists realize, in their own ways, that the enemy pilot they’ve been so determined to defeat is actually a really great person, and the prospect of fighting her again no longer sounds appealing. It’s meaningful, it’s packed with character, it pushes events forward without being hurried or underbaked, and it’s just damn endearing to watch unfold. As nervous as I came into this session, episode 9 fully restored my hope. I’m on board. I want to see how this story ends. If the season one finale can really stick the landing, then I think Rinne no Lagrange might just prove itself worthwhile all the same.

UN. FUCKING. NECESSARY.

But before I let my praise get too out of hand, I need to add a caveat to it. As many promising strides forward as this show just made, there’s still one area where it absolutely sucks: the fanservice. It just doesn’t work at all, and it only makes the show weaker for its presence. There’s this weird scene where someone randomly dumps a truckful of eels into the swimming pool in episode 7 that comes right the fuck out of nowhere and stops the plot dead in its tracks; it literally exists for no other reason than to make the girls squirm uncomfortably in wet clothes with eels writhing all around their body because I guess it’s, like, suggestive of floppy dicks smacking them all over or something? I dunno, it’s fucking weird. It adds nothing, it slams the pacing to a halt, and it could’ve easily been cut with no ill effects, but god dammit, we need to see Lan flail around in a wet schoolgirl uniform with wriggly eels going through her clothes! And apparently, we also need a random little girl to constantly grope Madoka for no reason throughout episode 8, because that joke hasn’t been run into the ground so hard it’s popped up in China. Christ, I do not fucking get why anime keeps pulling this shit. If I wanted to watch softcore hentai, I would just watch softcore hentai. Save your fetishes for where they’re welcome and stop making them invade shows that don’t need them, and everyone would be a million times happier.

Odds and Ends

-”In Le Garite, adults stay out of arguments between children.” Between that line and the crimes he’s committing to that ice cream, I don’t trust this fucker one bit.

-Muginami wordlessly blowing a kiss goodbye to Madoka’s door as she tries to leave in the dead of night? Touching.

-”In Le Garite, when someone becomes part of your family, you all have to take a bath together!” Lan I swear to god you’re too gay for this

-Something about the commander spilling coffee on himself thanks to the mechas’ antics really cracks me up.

-”I was lying when I said that was an earth greeting.” skhskjdfhsdkjf oh my god Lan I’m so sorry

-”By any chance, is the person on the other end of that line...” “The president of the united states.” fucking lol

-why are you in union strike cosplay oh my god

-”Forget what I just said.” Live your best life, Array.

-Oh shit, this Yurikano girl triggered a near-cataclysm too? Was she alive 20000 years ago and everyone jut has super long lifespans?

-”Ouch.” Lan, you are fucking adorable.

-Aaah, Kinect.

Goddamn, things are looking up. See you next time for the end of season 1!

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #rinne no lagrange #lagrange: the flower of rin-ne #lagrange

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