Speed Grapher ep.02

April 15, 2005 | 13 Comments

This is probably the episode receiving only a (o) rating from me which left me with the best feeling so far. Why? Because it's becoming more and more evident that Speed Grapher is about telling a story first and foremost, and not just a show counting on cheap shock thrills. Yes, those also have a prominent role, but I'm increasingly convinced by now that the series has some real meat and bones.

The episode tells the background story of the descending "goddess" from the first episode, Kagura Tennouzo, who is also the sole daughter of the current zaibatsu leader Shinsen Tennouzo. It's a tale devoid of any traces of warmth, happiness or comedic relief, therefore don't expect receive any enjoyment from episode 2 (hence the low rating) - other than the insight that any anime who is willing to take this risk so early in the series must be confident in its own values.

Episode Rating: o

Let's remember: At the end of the last episode, the ogres were closing in to kill Saiga, who had just been kissed by Kagura and was obviously undergoing some strange metamorphosis. However, episode 2 doesn't begin at this scene. Instead, Kagura is dreaming about kissing yet another freak in her goddess mode, disgusting enough for her to shriek out of her nightmare. Checking the time, she realizes that she has overslept and is late when her mother arrives at the scene: Shinsen Tennouzo, the head of the Tennouzo group. It should be noted that Kagura addresses her with the formal-respectful "okaa-sama".

Under the lecturing of her mother Kagura is also having difficulties finding her school uniform, which she eventually finds in a spot where she most certainly didn't leave it the night before. Based on the circumstances it can be considered certain that the mistimed alarm clock and misplaced seifuku were purposely engineered by her mother. So Kagura has to leave the house without any breakfast, and even the bento box that one of the maids tries to hand her before leaving to school is intercepted by Shinsen and replaced by the "handmade food from her mother".

Suitengu arrives and accompanies Shinsen, who is burning with jealousy about Kagura's blossoming beauty while her own one is gradually withering away. Calling your own daughter a "freeloader" in her own home and remarking that Kagura is leeching the beauty away from her gives you a good idea of her character, and when she is motioning Suitengu to fondle her breasts in a small makeout session she reveals her hidden fear when she asks him if he'd actually prefer Kagura to her. It's obvious that this is a thought Shinsen absolutely cannot stand, so Suitengu wisely shrugs off the notion with the remark that he is no lolicon.

In school, Kagura's classmates approach her during lunchbreak trying to get her to eat with them. Kagura tries to decline, but one of the girl forcefully insists, leading to Kagura's bento box to fall to the ground and open up - it's empty. The way the other girls react ("Yappari - I thought so!") indicate pretty much that their intention was only based on mischievous curiosity, not on feelings of friendship. Therefore, it's logical to conclude that Kagura is isolated in school aswell.

Due to anemia and malnutrition, Kagura faints and regains consciousness in the infirmary, where the nurse checks her with visible concern and asks her if Kagura's mother might be abusing her. Kagura tries to weakly deny it, but when the nurse correctly adds up 2+2 and offers her an onigiri, Kagura can't even keep the rice with her, because her stomach revolts. The nurse promises Kagura to visit her mother and talk to her in order to make it stop. Did Kagura just gain an ally?

Once Kagura returns home, the floor leading to her room is decorated with a couple of berry plants. Driven by hunger, she devours some strawberries when she hears funny noises from her own room. Trying to find the source, she finds a disgusting scene: The school nurse and her mother are lying naked on Kagura's bed and are aggressively making out. Seeing Kagura's shocked reaction before she flees, the nurse looks slightly guilty and Shinsen very satisfied. She tells the nurse that she'll keep her promise: She can take with her as many cash wads as she can carry, as long as she leaves the Tennouzo estate naked - and reveals a pyramid of cash.

Outside, Kagura's heart is breaking over the betrayal. "Why, sensei?" is the teary question she poses to the nurse when she passes by butt-naked but arms loaded with wads. The nurse doesn't even flinch and even manages to ask Kagura to hand her back some bills she had dropped. That was the only scene in the entire episode to elicit a snort from me, remotely resembling pitch-black humor.

Suitengu and Shinsen arrive on the scene, and Kagura's mother is putting the escapade in sober perspective. "I've been teaching Kagura a lesson", she states. "You can buy everything with money". It's clear that she planned everything, to strip Kagura of a potential friend and at the same time prove exactly what she said. Of course, the berries were no coincidence, just like the making-out in Kagura's bead wasn't either. Shinsen is systematically abusing Kagura, demonstrating to her that she can buy off any form of friends or support which Kagura might gain. With her money and power, she'll make sure that everyone will humiliate him/herself who could be of use for Kagura.

To put it bluntly, there is some perverted and perfidious logic to Shinsen's actions. Partly she seems to simply live out her jealous hatred for her daughter, but at the same time I do believe that this "lesson" was genuine. This is exactly the way Shinsen's mind operates - everything and everybody has a price. Money is power. Use it. And don't trust anybody because of that. The damage to a young teenager's soul like Kagura's is going to be severe...

In an unrelated sidestory, Suitengu receives some character development when he visits a debitor who is due to pay back 300 million yen. The son of the poor guy appears and demands his allowance to buy a ball, but he shoos him off. While he is turning his back to his son, the rascal steals a 10.000 yen note from the wads of cash there - which is going to be missing when Suitengu machine-counts the money. Seeing the cars pass him by make the boy realize that he has put his father in serious jeopardy - and he runs back to return the cash. Too late, his father is dangling from the ceiling, dead. Here, it's Suitengu's turn to teach the boy a lesson: Every life has a price. If you want to take mine (to have revenge), get some money.

Finally, Suitengu drives Kagura to her piano lessons. On the way Kagura sees Saiga's prized "Are you happy?" shot we saw in the first episode, the naked but smiling little girl. Kagura wonders about the shot and wonders how the girl can smile like that. Even though she's poor, she is free and happy. Suitengu coldly remarks that noone who is poor and here is free, with all the loans, taxes and living expenses. Instead, to be poor here means being a prisoner. That's what this country is.

Kagura is scared by this. She wants to flee and go someplace far away, because she is having these hideous dreams. What will happen to her if she continues to have these dreams all night? Suitengu replies that she was chosen at birth, and she needs to get the best education to eventually succeed Shinsen as her heir...

Well, I think it's evident that Suitengu has plans of his own with Kagura. If I was Shinsen, I'd watch my back very closely. And not just about if her rear end is starting to get flabby.

I don't want to touch down on the piano lesson too much. We have our 'fetish of the week' here, this time a pianist who gets his kicks by ogling 'supple hands'. However, the 'angel' he worships about her supple hands is actually a rotting corpse - its stench distracts Kagura enough during playing that she misplays a note. These fetishes continue to be shown as depraved and sick, and I hope that they don't take too much room in the rest of the anime (though I suspect the opposite). I think that if they overdo it, the anime might lose the coherence of its social criticism, like too much salt can ruin the best of all dishes...

Jumping back to the present, Suitengu whispers something along the lines of "Kagura-sama, it's time for you to return to your real you" and she obviously blanks out, as a closeup of her eye indicates. She regains her senses in the scene from episode 1 right before she kisses Saiga, and she begs him to save her and get her out of there. However, while Saiga is going through his metamorphosis, the ogres close in on the order of Suitengo, and they begin to hack him to pieces with their machete-scimitars. Saiga is helpless and spews blood all over Kagura, whose beautiful face is soiled by blood and distorted by horror...

Conclusion

Two bits of criticism first: I'm annoyed that the OP showed spoiler shots from the episode once more. If this trend continues in the third episode aswell, I won't get to hear much Duran Duran anymore, because I'll be jumping forward each time. Who the HELL believes that anyone wants his episode spoiled beforehand??

The second issue: This episode was thoroughly unsatisfying and frustrating. The mental and physical abuses Shinsen inflicts on Kagura are really bothering me bigtime. On one hand, that's a sign of good storytelling, but it makes it difficult to really ENJOY the episode. Alas, any anime which is gutsy enough to serve THIS kind of dish to its unproven audience must be really confident about its storyline.

The way the materialistic post-modern world is depicted here really left me pondering. You see, I have a good and very well-paid job. I suffer no financial hardships whatsoever and can be called reasonably wealthy. Still, I wonder - if I was in the shoes of the nurse and had the opportunity to carry home wads of 100-dollar-bills... would I resist? Is the perfidious statement "you can buy everything with money" so wrong? Ask yourself. What is your price? Ten thousand bucks? Hundred thousand? A million? The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I got. I don't NEED it, so why do I think about it? How about you?

The good part is that if my antenna is correct, Speed Grapher will result in a fairly touching romance. I suspect that it will turn into something Koi Kaze-alike without the incest aspect. Episode 2 managed to give me a pretty solid emotional connection to Kagura's fate. I REALLY want to know where this is going. And that's more than what I can say to 90% of all shows whose second episode I watch.

Thus, this is probably the best (o)-rated episode I've seen so far.

© memento 2003