This Ugly and Beautiful World ep.3

April 21, 2004 | 3 Comments

I've been a bit disappointed with this series lately that sometimes I want to stop watching it. Having said that, the opening title has always managed to make me see the entire episode. I think this is partly because every time I see the opening, I ended up thinking that maybe this time the episode will be as promising as the opening. Well, this episode is an improvement over episode one and especially two but that's not saying much. What makes the third episode more interesting to me is the fact that it contains some philosophical discussions that hopefully will be part of the story in future episodes.

The episode itself starts with Takeru having breakfast with Hikari and Mari. Mari acts like her usual passive/aggressive self in the sense that she displays the nosy, grouchy, and annoying personality of hers to Takeru even though deep down she really likes the guy. Did I ever mention that I have an intense dislike for characters like Mari? She comes off as a hypocrite to me every time she shows up in this show. I don't expect her to be all sweet and cloying to Takeru like Hikari but I don't like the bossy and know it all attitude that she uses to mask her interest in Takeru. I wish she'll just act normal for once.

Anyway, Hikari asks Mari if Takeru is going to school again today. Mari answers in affirmative that Takeru always go to school whether it is today, tomorrow, or day after tomorrow. This for some reason makes Hikari sad and wonders if school is fun. Mari snidely replies that just because people do something, it does not mean that it's fun. Their conversation, however, is cut short when Takeru leaves for school since Mari decides to tag along with him like always. On their way to the school, Mari tells Takeru that he should do something for Hikari since she always look lonely. Takeru says that he will but he also has to balance it will school and work and that's not easy so he'll just take things as they come.

Back at Takeru's or rather his uncle/aunt's house, Hikari is invited to have some watermelon by Takeru's auntie. Unbeknownst to both of them, a strange creature manages to steal that said watermelon and flies away with the fruit in tow. At Takeru's class, every student seem to be interested in talking bout the food thief that has been terrorising the town. Well, everyone except Ryo, who's too busy gazing at the window. When Takeru comes up to ask what's he's been thinking, Ryo tells him that unfortunately, he can't come to work today due to other appointment. Takeru then wonders if Ryo has a date and Ryo confirms that in some ways, it can be called a date, much to Takeru's surprise.

It turns out Ryo has been seeing the other alien girl who still live in the forest. Ryo ends up finding her near the lake, bathing in the rain. Ryo asks the girl if she likes rain. Unexpectedly, the girl says that she actually doesn't like it but she likes the sensation of being wet because of the rain. The show also reveals that the creature that has been stealing food has done it so that this girl can have some food while she's in the forest. At any rate, Ryo ends up visiting the girl again the next day and asking for her name. The girl says that unfortunately she doesn't know her name nor the reason that she is there. Besides, she thinks that her name is not that important.

Ryo, however, tells her that her name is important to him because he wants to know more about her. He believes that she was the bright light that he saw a couple of nights ago. Upon hearing Ryo's story, the girl suddenly gets flashes of her memory and she finally remembers her name and it is Akari. The next day, Ryo once again proceeds to leave for the forest after school. This seems to have an effect on Takeru who thinks that Ryo is a bit distant lately. Elsewhere, some farmer captures the little creature called Kuon as he tries to steal some more watermelon for Akari. However, it manages to escape but unfortunately not too long after this, a cat in an alley corners it.

In the forest, Ryo meets Akari again and tells her that he likes to take her out of the forest so she can see other things and meet other people. Akari wonders if that means she will see interesting things and good people. Ryo admits that there's a chance that not everything is interesting and some people probably have bad personality. Upon hearing this, Akari tells Ryo if that's the case, she prefers to be alone because she thinks that it is perfectly okay to be alone and not surrounded by other people. Akari, however, feels that Kuon is in danger and therefore decides to find Kuon with the help of Ryo. As they walk over the highway, Akari hurt herself on a broken glass. Ryo tells her that he's sorry for causing Akari to get hurt.

Akari, however, tells him there's nothing to be sorry about because she was the one who made the decision to come with him and look for Kuon. Finally, there's a female character in this show whose personality I actually like. It's nice to see a character who takes a responsibility over her own action instead of blaming others for her own misfortune. Akari is also not cloying like Hikari or worse, passive-aggressive like Mari. Anyway, Akari finally manages to sense the whereabouts of Kuon. They end up finding Kuon being held 'captive' a big fat cat as if Kuon is one of its children. Akari then 'asks' the cat to have Kuon returned to her because although there are other interesting things in this world, none of them can truly replaced something that she's lost. The episode ends with Kuon 'returned' to Akari and Akari passing out in Ryo's arm.

It's interesting to see how Akari gets all of the good lines in the series while Hikari simply gets to act cute and deliver Chii-like lines. Overall, although this episode still lacks in plot, this is a much interesting episode for me in comparison to the previous two. At the very least this episode is light on the embarrassing fan service and quite heavy on the philosophical talks which I feel fits right at home with the general mood that I think this show should have. I do wish that I like the characters a bit more though. At the moment, Akari, Ryo, and Takeru are the only characters who I thought are mildly interesting. Hikari has the potential to become an interesting character but so far she's stucked in that Chii personality of hers. I hope she turns out to be a giant praying mantis or a black widow spider. At least that'll make things interesting. And as far as the other characters are concerned, they can turn into bug foods for Hikari, especially Mari :P.

© memento 2003