Season 1, Episode 6 - The Tree Plot V - "Fun Times with Japanimations"

Holding up an umbrella to keep herself dry from the drizzle, Esther hadn’t arrived later that morning in front of Isaac’s door just to recruit him for their secret mission to the Institute library. She also had something important to give to her sister.

When the door opened and Isaac’s friendly face appeared, Esther took a deep breath.

“Morning,” Isaac greeted. “Seems like everybody’s coming to my apartment this morning. Reed’s here, and you just missed Audrey.”

“Oh, she left already?” Esther said. She gently placed her hand into a jacket pocket and pulled out two small white objects. “I brought some cufflinks for her.”

Isaac raised an eyebrow. “Cufflinks?”

Esther gave a small laugh. “Um…she and her friend Lynn wanted to wear suits for their tree plot. She told me that suits have power. And no suit is complete with cufflinks.”

“Well, that sounds like her,” Isaac supposed.

Esther turned toward Audrey’s door. “I’ll just drop them off and head home-”

Another round of thunder came. Esther bobbled the cufflinks, then sighed in relief when she kept them in her hand. Her umbrella moved all over the place, sending some water splashing down on her. She shivered from the icy chill of the late autumn rain.

“You should stay,” Isaac offered. “It’s about to pour. And Audrey locks her door now, anyways.”

“Really?” Esther said in surprise since an offer to stay was so incomprehensible to her that only the second part registered. She placed a hand on Audrey’s doorknob and turned - the door opened easily.

Isaac and Esther mutely stared at the open door.

Isaac scratched his head. “Well…at least she intended on locking her door this time.”

Esther smiled at the thought of her sister’s goofy grin.

More thunder clapped, the booms echoing the apartment walkway, and the wind picked up. Esther’s umbrella threatened to fly away from her hand, so she tightened her grip.

“You really should stay,” Isaac offered again. “At least until the worst of the storm passes.”

Esther placed the cufflinks back in her pocket. “Um, well, you know…I don’t want to intrude or anything.”

Reed poked her head out from the door. “Intrude? Esther, how are you going to leave without saying hello to your dear friend Reed?”

Esther wasn’t aware that Reed was her dear friend. They only had a limited number of interactions, but if Reed was important to Audrey, Esther supposed that would make Reed important to her. So, maybe the same applied from Reed’s perspective.

“Um…hello, Reed,” Esther greeted. “I like your haircut.”

Reed smiled. “Thanks. Audrey gave it to me. She’s pretty good with a pair of scissors.”

“Yes…back in Salem Slot, she used to run around with them a lot-”

The rain picked up in intensity and Esther even saw a flash of lightning in the distance. She looked at Isaac and Reed; both of them beckoned to her to come inside the apartment.

“Um…alright.”

To recruit Isaac for the mission, she would’ve had to talk with him eventually. Well, somebody else could’ve told him, but since they would be partners (partners!) Esther elected to do it herself. A mission would be a natural, easy conversation topic, well within Esther’s known parameters of communication.

But Reed shouldn’t know about the mission, at least until after it happened, so Esther couldn’t rely on her practiced dialogue about the mission to speak with Isaac. She would have to do it on the fly.

Esther hung her coat up on Isaac’s coat rack and slipped out of her loafers. Isaac and Reed took up their usual well-worn positions on Isaac’s couch, with Reed scooching over so Esther would have a spot next to her.

“Look at me,” Reed said as Esther took her spot. “I’m sacrificing myself to sit in the middle while letting Esther get the armrest. I willingly chose bitch seat. New Reed is on a roll.”

“Reed’s turning over a new leaf,” Isaac told Esther. “Though she’s just as smug as she used to be.”

“Baby steps,” Reed reminded him.

“That’s great you’re trying to make a change,” Esther told her. She tapped her index fingers together, since if Reed could change, then maybe she could change. The years of social isolation in her childhood - well, all that time hitting the books served her good in making it out of Salem Slot and arriving at the Academy, but left her socially underdeveloped.

Yes, Esther decided right then and there that if Reed could change, then she could change. She would become a social butterfly.

“Hey, Esther-”

Reed’s voice brought Esther out of her inspirational monologue and nearly made her yelp. She decided to become a social caterpillar first.

“Y-yes?”

“Me and Isaac were about to marathon another Japanimation series,” Reed said, a dull sort of enthusiasm in her voice. Esther still lacked a touch for understanding human behavior, but when Reed spoke with that same tone during the last marathon for that Spirit Hunter show, she turned out to be very excited beneath the surface. “We’re going to make you cultured.”

Esther wanted to say that she was cultured, and that being able to quote the poems of Elizabeth Barret Browning was actually higher culture than Asian cartoons, thank you very much, but elitism was wrong. More to the point - saying something like that, according to Audrey’s California Cool monthly teen magazine, would make her a square. And Esther didn’t want to be a square.

“I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “W-what’s it called?”

“Futsū no 10-dai no seikatsu o okuritakatta nodesuga, sonokawarini gakku zentai ga watashi ni koi o shite imasu,” Reed answered.

“...um…”

“I Just Wanted to Live a Normal Teenage Life, But Instead, the Whole School District’s in Love With Me!” Isaac translated. “It’s a romantic comedy classic from the mid-2020s. I guess it was all the rage in Japan back then. There was even a stabbing incident at a convention between Mizuno and Makino fans.”

“I see,” Esther said. Outside of paintings and photos in her textbook and the occasional classic film, she had very little experience with visual media. She wasn’t aware people would fight over their favorite cartoon characters - though history had shown her that a lot of fights start over silly reasons.

Isaac pressed play on his remote. The black-and-white television screen came to life and Esther entered the wonderful world of Japanimations once again.

“You see, Spirit Hunter is very basic level,” Reed explained. “It’s a good beginner entry for new fans. This is one step further. You’ll be exposed to some new clichés and the, shall we say, deeper aspects of Japanese culture.”

Esther did like experiencing new cultures.

“Though, there might be some culture shock,” Isaac warned her.

Esther had recently read about ancient Assyrian sackings of towns and Aztec human sacrifice.

I’ve been exposed to many different cultures. I just need to understand that cultures value different things, and while that may seem wrong to us, it might not be wrong to them. Nothing is universally wrong - well, some things are, but that’s subjective. The whole thing’s subjective.

To prevent herself from spiraling into an ethical discussion, Esther concluded her thoughts as the story began. I just need to keep an open mind-

Within ten seconds, the television displayed the underwear of a fourteen-year-old girl.

…um…

Many school girls were incredibly overdeveloped for their age.

..okay…

Esther tried to follow along with the plot over the course of several episodes. The “plot” in question seemed to be nothing more than a series of romantic comedy misunderstandings between the members of homeroom 1-B in some Japanese city.

Esther knew a great amount about the pre-Great Asian War Japanese school system; after all, the rebuilt post-Unleashing American school systems took a lot of inspiration from it, as covered in Volume 13, Numbers 2 and 3 of the Journal of Educational Studies.

However, she did not know that the Japanese school system produced so much...sexual tension. Some of the stuff on that television screen made Esther blush even more than usual, but Isaac and Reed seemed to take it in stride. They cheered loudly when certain characters appeared, groaned when others showed up, and clinked their glasses of water together when a girl confessed her love. Esther did appreciate that the confession worked out, but…

“Um, do you guys enjoy watching this?” Esther asked after a round of complaints from Isaac and Reed when Mizuno (?) got so anxious around the protagonist that she ran away, repeating the phrase “doshio” to herself the whole way home.

Isaac shrugged. “When it’s funny, it’s funny.”

“And when it’s shitty, it’s funny,” Reed confirmed.

Isaac nodded. “This show does nothing new, yet its soullessness has soul all the same.”

Esther looked back at the television. “...um, okay...”

Isaac repeatedly tapped Reed on the shoulder. “Here’s the part, here’s the part! Makino’s gonna say it!”

“What a show,” she said, shaking her head. “What a goddamn show.”

Esther tried to figure out what was going on amidst the slight static and distortion of the videotape. The character in question, Makino, appeared to be the younger sister of the main protagonist, a high school student named Makoto. Apparently, while the protagonist walked home with his friend Mizuno from the Student Council, Mizuno noticed Makino stalking them right as she went to hold Makoto’s hand, causing Mizuno to run away in embarrassment and fear. None the wiser, Makoto arrived home, where Makino was waiting for him.

“Ah, Makino-chan,” Makoto greeted.

Makino crossed her arms and turned her head away. “Baka!”

“Nani? Was it something I said?”

“It’s what you don’t say to me, bakanii-chan.”

Isaac pointed at the television screen. Reed had an amused look on her face.

“Some of the other girls have told me you’ve been acting sort of off recently,” Makoto said kindly. “Is something wrong?”

“You’re the one who’s wrong, bakanii-chan!” Makino exclaimed. “You’re always with those girls.” Makino’s voice softened and her hair covered her eyes (can hair do that?). “You never spend any time with your sister anymore.”

Makoto looked shocked for a moment, then collected himself and smiled. “You’re the baka here, Makino-chan,” he said softly. He knelt down in front of her so they could see eye to eye. “Girls may come and go, but my dear sister will always remain dear to me.”

“Clunky dialogue,” Reed muttered, sipping from her water.

“Yeah, me and you never talk real clunky like that in real life or nothing,” Isaac confirmed.

“...h-honto?” Makino asked, her eyes sparkling. “Thank you, nii-chan!”

The two hugged.

“And nii-chan, just to remind you...” Makino whispered, the camera zooming in on a devilish smile. “..we aren’t actually blood-related.”

The ending credits kicked in. Esther felt like she had just made the Marines' suicide charge across the airfield on Peleliu.

“What do you think?” Reed asked. “We’ve seen a few episodes now.”

Well, it’s not like Esther hated it. Her current feelings consisted of a general sense of confusion.

“Um…it’s alright.”

Esther recognized a brief flash in Reed’s eyes before they returned to normal. It was the type of flash that came when that person realized something, something big.

“Isn’t this funny,” Reed said. “Usually, Esther is the pattern person and data scientist, but I actually know the patterns in Japanimations more than she does.”

That got Esther’s attention. It’s ironic - while she had little experience with visual media, she knew a lot more about general trends in cinema history and the like. Books on German Expressionism could be found in her dorm room bookshelf.

“Patterns?”

Reed nodded. “This show was the culmination of every early 21st century Japanimation trends. Moe and the like, blank main characters, and the archetypes.”

“Archetypes?” Esther asked. “Like stock characters in cinema?”

“Exactly,” Isaac said. “This show centers around a web of romantic comedy misunderstandings that occasionally delves into a lighter shade of drama. All these archetypes make up the web.”

Reed countered on her fingers. “In the center is Makoto, the everyman high school student. He’s easily flustered, not that academically bright, maybe he even has a hobby or two. The point is to make you feel like you could be him – that you can insert yourself into his shoes. Because wouldn’t it be nice if a handful of hot girls liked a boring guy like you?”

Boring? This show...it sounds like it understands me.

Esther found herself seeing the show in a new light once she understood more of the meta and background behind it.

“I’m ready to insert myself,” Esther declared with a nod.

Reed raised her hand and Esther gasped.

I recognize the motion she’s making!

Esther raised her own hand, turned it into a fist, and bumped Reed’s hand.

“Hell yeah.”

“Um...h-hell yeah.”

“So, you got the everyman main character,” Isaac continued, “And for some reason, there’s a plethora of girls into him.”

“Um...maybe his personality’s nice,” Esther supposed.

“Sometimes they’re cool,” Isaac said. “Sometimes they’re good characters, if a little flat.”

I’m a good character, even if I’m a little flat.

But are there any attractive girls – I mean guys, into me?

Esther snuck a glance at Isaac, but he was busy counting on his fingers. She looked back down at her shoes.

“First, you got the upbeat, optimistic girl that crashes into his life, sometimes literally,” Isaac explained. “She’ll be attracted to him for some reason that is never really explored, and her self-confidence will rub off onto the guy until he learns to come a little out of his shell, too.”

“Sometimes she dies,” Reed added.

That surprised Esther. “S-she...dies?”

“The hyper girl will occasionally have a hyper terminal illness,” Reed said. “Sometimes they just bring it up in the final episodes if the guy making the show just doesn’t feel like making it anymore. But that’s alright, because that means my favorite character can win by default due to the other third of the love triangle dying.”

“Love triangle?” Esther asked.

“Two girls like one guy,” Isaac explained. “Well, it can vary, but that’s usually how it goes. One girl is the hyper girl. The other girl is the childhood tsundere.”

“...the what?”

Reed took her turn in further explaining this wonderful world to Esther. “The tsundere is a classic. Hot and cold. She hides her love for the main character by being a little hard on him. Sometimes she can even get violent. Sometimes the violence is funny, but other times...not so much.”

Both Isaac and Reed shuddered at some sort of memory of a television show, leaving Esther scratching her head.

Reed raised a finger. “Part of the drama comes from the main character and the tsundere being friends since childhood. All this time, she’s loved him, but he’s never noticed, and she’s been too scared and in denial of her own feelings to confess her love until it’s too late. And they never win. They never win, Esther.”

Esther didn’t know what to say, hearing the sudden influx of dull passion in Reed’s voice. “I’m...I’m sorry?”

Reed looked at Esther, then sighed and slouched back in her seat. “Every time, you root for the childhood friend, and the only time she ever wins is when the hyper girl gets killed by testicular cancer or something.”

“Um...I don’t think...I don’t think that’s how it works...”

While Reed wallowed in pity, Isaac picked up the slack. “And this next episode’s full of clichés, too. It’s not only a beach episode, it’s an Okinawa episode!”

“Like the island?”

“Exactly the island,” Reed said, returning to the conversation. “I’ll give you a quick rundown. An older relative will have leftover tickets and gives them to the main friend group. They’ll head to the island in perfect summer conditions unless there’s a thunderstorm that’s played for comedic effect as well as drama, trapping them all inside and forcing them to talk about the brewing romantic drama among the group. But, assuming there’s no rain, there’ll be sata andagi (sata andagi!), the guys going slackjawed when the girls come out in their swimsuits, the childhood tsundere going slackjawed when the hyper girl and her behongas arrive at the beach, a bunch of still images of them playing around on the beach in order to explore the fetishes of the show-runners and save budget on the animation, each image being accompanied by a soft playful noise made by the seiyuus, then at night they’ll play with fire crackers on the beach, maybe even have a test of courage involving the local shrine. They’ll split into smaller groups – perhaps the tsundere love interest will get some alone time with the main character, but while she’s trying to sort out her feelings, he’s looking off into the distance, his mind clearly not on her, which makes it hurt all the more...or perhaps the main character will be off with the hyper girl, trying to sort out his feelings, and the tsundere will go looking for them, often with the help of the main character’s best friend, who’s in love her and wants her to win the main character's heart - yet at the same time, he wishes she would look at him...the side characters might go off and do their own romantic thing...”

Isaac stifled a laugh at Reed’s rambling dourness, while Esther mulled it over.

“Um...you sound sort of...jaded...”

Reed sighed. “I know everything in a Japanimation beat-for-beat now. And yet, I still watch. Just to suffer? Who knows?”

“Reed’s favorite character doesn’t win the guy in this show,” Isaac informed Esther.

“...ah...”

To down her sorrows, Reed cracked open a thing of Soda Punch and downed it quickly.

Isaac pressed play, and the scenario played out exactly as described.

The main character’s older sister gave him spare tickets to Okinawa.

Wow, he even has a loving older sister, too. I really do feel like this main character.

The friend group headed to the island in perfect summer conditions and arrived at the beach. When the guys went slackjawed, Esther snuck a glance at Isaac, but he just yawned. When the tsundere went slackjawed when the hyper behongas entered, Esther looked down at herself.

Is this really how girls interact?

A bunch of still images played on the television, accompanied by high-pitched gasps of fun, and one too many close-ups on the feet of the girls.

Aren’t these people underage?

Night soon fell, and the cast all ate sata andagi.

“Sata andagi!” the three kids on the couch all exclaimed each time it was said on the show. Esther didn’t know why, but it felt nice, finally being part of the thing called an “inside joke” that she had heard so much about.

The group then played with fireworks on the beach, and then split into teams of two for a test of courage that involved going to the local shrine under the cover of darkness.

“You got the couple team,” Reed explained for Esther’s benefit. “This is the already-established couple that might give pointers out to their friends seeking love.”

A girl and a guy headed off into the forest, holding hands, leaving some of the girls and guys waiting their turn a little jealous, including the main character.

Don’t worry, main character, I feel just as jealous.

“Next up is the cool couple,” Reed said. “This is a guy and a girl who don’t really interact all that much, but when they do, they’re just cool about it. They might occasionally get a scene in the spotlight or two.”

That team went off as well.

“Eto...where’s Kotori-chan and Makoto-kun?” student council member Mizuno asked, her voice sounding slightly distorted due to the VHS static, getting ready to send the next team off.

The remaining guys and girls all looked around, but the two were missing.

“I bet those love birds are off-”

Resident childhood tsundere Mizuki smacked main character best friend Shinsuke on the head. “Baka. Knowing Makoto, he probably got lost.”

Shinsuke rubbed the back of his head. “Then why’d Kotori-san go missing, too?”

The music cut out and cicadas chirped all around in the background.

Mizuki’s face grew a little scarlet (the part that wasn’t covered by the hair going over her eyes, at least). She balled her fists and walked off. “I’ll go find them.”

Mizuno – who was also in love with Makoto for some reason – raised a trembling hand. “Eto...doshio...you shouldn’t go off alone, Mizuki-chan!”

Mizuki ignored her and walked away. Shinsuke looked at Mizuno apologetically. “I’ll keep an eye on her,” he said, then followed after the tsundere.

“Why are all their voices high-pitched?” Esther asked.

Reed shrugged. “It appealed to a well-paying audience, apparently.”

“...Um, okay...”

While Esther enjoyed applying the meta and background to the show, she was struggling with the actual content on the screen.

Why are there so many characters? What happened to the focus on the main character and his trio! A-All these subplots!

It’s too much!