All three or four of you that have religiously followed my Tsuritama posts are probably still reeling from how I didn’t write on it last week—or not, seeing as the only new thing it brought to the table was a group of silly people in squeaky suits. This week was no different, unfortunately, since all it did was continue building up to the grand finale while ending on an unbearable cliffhanger, a nasty habit that otherwise great shows of this season seem to have. And yet, even if I’m finding it nightmarishly difficult to write about, there’s still an underlying charm that leaves me looking forward to it week to week, something that has stopped happening for almost every other show airing this season.
I don’t think it needs to be said that very few anime are out to reinvent the medium as a whole. For every Madoka Magica that makes one really stop and ponder the Faustian nature of magical girl contracts and their darkest logical conclusions, there are hundreds of adaptations of light and visual novels that hammer out the same story time and time again with minor, if any, variations. Tsuritama seemed poised to fall outside of this broad group from the get-go due to its goofy premise and colorful visuals, but upon further inspection, at some point it was still caught and dragged kicking and screaming into the ravenous maw of “entertaining, but nothing at all new.” Wonderfully enough though, this is one of a few select examples of something that actually grows stronger because it applies well-worn tropes and devices in a meaningful way.
The biggest strength of Tsuritama is without a doubt the confidence and boundless energy that every episode seems to exude, like a swaggering eight year old happy that his dodgeball connected with his crush’s skull. In a word, it’s charming. In several words, it’s what carries the show from scene to scene while still keeping a large, slightly creepy smile plastered on my face from ear to ear. And yet, this confidence doesn’t lead to Tsuritama trying a whole lot that’s new; looking past the bright animation and the equally colorful characters, there are so few original thoughts in Tsuritama’s head that it would spell doom if it didn’t come together so beautifully.
Don’t mistake this for me that Tsuritama is at all simplistic. It may wear its heart on its proverbial sleeve, or more appropriately its most sentimental lure on its fishing line, but there’s depth to it that shouldn’t be discounted—I’ve just blogged about everything that I found worth blogging in this episode at one time or another, and way better than I ever could here. As a writer, I’ve taken quite a lot away from Tsuritama to apply to my own future incomprehensible scribblings, most importantly being that originality as a concept is overrated; certainly important, but not necessary to create a stirring piece as long as the trappings are interesting enough. And, quite frankly, it doesn’t get more interesting than hypnosis-induced dancing and squeaky suits.
I’ve come to a pretty similar conclusion. It’s hard to overestimate the importance of execution. I don’t know if you’re a gamer, but the Infamous games are a similar deal. Pretty unoriginal, dull premise, really solid execution, great games.
Tsuritama has plenty of issues, but it’s kept me solidly entertained all season in a way no other series (this season) has.
People who expect shows to be “original” first and foremost, are putting the cart before the horse.
Shows need to be *interesting*, and for that, they need a certain level of originality (since watching the exact same Bathroom Accident Scene over and over again with slightly different hairstyles and MAYBE faces, isn’t very interesting).
But it’s wrong to automatically expect everything to be more original for the sake of being more original, because after a certain point, making already interesting and refreshing shows even more original, would just make them non-relatable.
Simplifying the problem that many modern anime are boring to a solution that “the more originality, the better”, is like simplifying a recipe that needs more salt, to “the more salt, the better”
I think I agree with what you’re saying, but since that borders on how I felt about Madoka, I really can’t say that there’s a problem either way. For me the surprise was that Tsuritama ended up being a popcorn anime.
But if anything, Madoka was just more evidence that you have to temper your ambition with your running time, so I can’t fault Tsuritama any more for ending up the way it did.
Amongst writers I’ve heard the saying, “Ideas are cheap.” AKA your amazing original never-before-thought-of magnificent premise for your work of fiction doesn’t really matter all that much. Sure, you can work with some pretty crazy ideas, but at the end of the day hardly anybody is going to care if you’re not a decent storyteller.
IMO, Tsuritama works with themes and general concepts we’ve all seen before, but stylistically it is quite a breath of fresh air. And more importantly, it has *nailed* characterization. I’d be hard-pressed to name very many anime that have gotten me to care so much about the entirety of its cast the way that Tsuritama has. And now that I think about it, the anime I’ve seen that *have* gotten me so concerned about the entirety of its cast are generally my favorite shows.
And while the general plot isn’t anything new, I’ll give Tsuritama credit as a unique show for its creativity and ingenuity in regards to world-building. Fish aliens, Yuki’s mental drowning, the DUCK organization… Heck, I’d even include the fact that the show’s “men in black” are from India as being something unique. Thanks to Hollywood, it’s pretty rare to see an organization outside of America that deals with aliens, you know?
At any rate, Tsuritama has been fun to blog. Like you, I wish there were more people joining in on my discussions. I feel there’s been lots of things people could talk about regarding its aesthetics, character development, and–well–just how dang fun the show is. Perhaps there were just too many shows people were interested in this season.
I follow your Tsuritama posts, but I’m a shitty commenter so there. I remember people on MAL reacting to Tsuritama sarcastically pointing out the whole ‘save the world plot’ and it turns out the show was aware of that. What it lacks in a complex plot it makes up for some of the best, consistent characterization I’ve seen in years.
Oh who cares if the plot premise has been done many times before? It’s damn good, if relatively straightforward, and we both know it. :)