Episode 2 Staff

Episode 3 Staff

Takopi’s Salvation

Well, I’m a bit behind, so I decided to write about both episode 2 and episode 3. Normally, I would just write about one and skip the other, but this show is so good, and I want to talk about it, so here it is.

Once again, the production quality of both episodes is honestly still stellar. The second episode is storyboarded and directed by Moaang, who is an amazing animator. I think this might be his first time in this position? This episode starts off as a somewhat easier watch compared to the first in terms of graphic content. We finally see what happened to Chappy and how Marina caused it, but it isn’t as visually brutal as the suicide or the beating we saw directly in episode 1.

Yet I feel Moaang’s direction and the story beats make this episode feel even more empty and hopeless than the first. There are several moments where we see Takopi trying to stop Chappy from running away, only to realize he can’t actually do anything about it. Shizuka’s almost non-reaction to the situation adds to the sense of hopelessness. The lighting throughout the episode stays much darker and more obscured, since many scenes take place at night. Even the daytime school scenes feel dimmer than before, and the toonish background characters aren’t drawn as quirkily as they were earlier. The only real sign of brightness in this episode comes literally from Takopi himself, like when he initially says he’ll help with the Chappy situation. That moment even features a beautiful camera turn, used as a cool transition from Shizuka being enveloped in darkness to Takopi, who is shining brightly like magic.

But again, that brightness is quickly snuffed out, as his attempts ultimately fail. Then comes the moment when Marina leads Shizuka into the woods and beats her. And beats her again. Your heart sinks. This is hopeless. What can Takopi even do?

We see through Takopi’s eyes for the first time, watching as he stares at the horror in front of him, fidgeting with his camera, unsure of what to do. Another instance of Mooang showing he love of using the camera as a way to convey a message. He remembers the sight of Shizuka happy, but also the moment of her death. He knows he has to act, but he doesn’t know how. In a moment of panic, he rushes toward Marina and hits her, much harder than he likely intended.

She’s dead.

The camera broke.

She can’t come back.

Yet the direction seems to shift. Happy classical music begins to play as Shizuka gushes about how happy she is. This is not only the brightest and most literally sparkly moment in the episode, it is also the truest happiness we have ever seen from Shizuka, even more than when she was playing with her dog. This is genuine joy. The death of her torturer, Marina, has made her elated.

But of course, this is not a normal reaction to death. Yet as the viewer, after witnessing the torture Shizuka endured from Marina, it is hard not to feel at least a fleeting sense of relief at Marina’s death, because her actions were truly awful and likely would not have stopped otherwise.

However, at the same time, you know this is wrong, and that a child should not have been killed. This scene, more than the murder itself, is terrifying. A child witnessing another child’s death and celebrating it as if it were the greatest birthday gift is surreal. The implication that Chappy might begin to see this as a “good” thing only makes it more disturbing.

Perhaps this is Takopi’s Original Sin, or it was sinful in the first place to go back in time, that remains to be seen. But this is the beginning of Takopi’s journey with no restart. Now as I finished this episode I was so curious at what was to bbe happened next. I mean how is Marinas murder going to be covered up, will Shizuka get hurt? Will Takopi try to kill more people thinking its good? Thankfully I got my answer in episode 3 which is for the most part a “calmer” experience, but that isn’t saying much when it comes to a show like Takopi huh.

Takopi’s Confession

Marina’s mruder is temporaily helped covered up by Azuma, who followed Shizuka and Marina here out of worried. He was originally against helping them, but as saw through the flashes of his eyes, he’s a kid who is in deperate need of some valdiation or praise. While his abuse at home is not physical like Marina, he’s again the result of a parent neglecting to be well good parents. So he agrees to help with hiding murder and helping Chappy, motivated by his need for praise and seemingly crush for Shizuka. They end up using Takopi’s flower holding gadget to put Marina’s body in there, and Takopi himself turns into Marina so no one will know she died.

This episode was storyboarded and directed by Rikka, who I’m not very familiar with, at least not off the top of my head. But I really loved the POV shots she gave us. For example, when Azuma is talking to Shizuka about the murder, we first see them from a top-down view, with the leaves barely letting us see what’s going on. Then it switches to Azuma’s direct perspective, no longer allowing us to watch as detached outsiders. We become something else: witnesses to this crime. It’s not something we can look away from.

The second time this technique is used is when Takopi, disguised as Marina, walks into “her house” for the first time. Again, we see things from his point of view. The house doesn’t appear wrong, and Takopi doesn’t notice anything unusual, but we as viewers feel a deep sense of dread. It feels like we are walking into a place full of abuse from every angle. We are nervous about what is going to happen to Takopi. I wanted to highlight these moments because this episode might be one of the less graphically brutal ones even referring to the abuse from Maria’s mom at the end, but it is still full of subtle and unsettling scenes that make you feel a sense of dread.

I think he also creates a great contrast with the scenes where Shizuka, Azuma, and Takopi are just hanging out together. Shizuka’s role in this episode is somewhat diminished in terms of the main story, yet she is still the one who convinces Azuma to help with the murder, find Chappy, and even steal his own brother’s ring. That brother, at the moment, seems like the only sensible older person in the show. Azuma is clearly deflecting his own trauma and insecurities onto him. The brother appears free from their mother’s control, as he’s getting a job, dating, and not caring about their mom’s expectations. Azuma, on the other hand, can’t seem to get it out of his head.

That being said, Shizuka, while becoming slightly more manipulative, also reverts a bit to being a child. Throughout the episode, we can tell how much of a burden Marina really was. Shizuka starts noticing a bug on Takopi’s antenna, and the next day she’s chasing it and acting more like a kid. This isn’t how she was depicted in the first two episodes, where she seemed more mature than her age, likely because of what she was going through. Now we’re seeing how she is supposed to be, maybe even how Marina and Azuma could have been if the adults in their lives weren’t such a mess.

As Shizuka becomes more childlike and Azuma finds a friend group in her and Takopi, things still aren’t entirely happy. They’re all playing together, planning to try and get Chappy (who might be dead, by the way) during the summer. In an offhand comment, Takopi mentions that his planet has an object that can turn back time. This makes Azuma angry because Takopi only brought useless tools with him. It also makes Takopi begin to question something: why can’t he go back to his planet?

I think this line will probably lead to some major discoveries later. Maybe the Happians aren’t as happy as we think. I haven’t read the manga, so this is just my theory, but the big alien mother might fit into the show’s theme of neglectful parents. Takopi is completely unaware of almost everything, yet he’s sent across the galaxy to spread happiness even though he doesn’t understand the planet he’s on or the risks he’s facing.

Second, at the end of the episode, of course, things can’t stay like this. Marina is gone, and Takopi now realizes that when he innocently agrees to go live at Marina’s dad’s house, which draws fury from Marina’s abusive mother. Yet despite the abuse, Marina’s mother breaks down, begging for her child back. I found this interesting because obviously Marina’s mom probably doesn’t think her daughter literally became someone else. She’s just crying because things are different. Marina is acting differently.

This might make Marina’s dad seem better in comparison. At least he doesn’t abuse his daughter. He seemingly treats her more kindly than the mom does in this episode. Yet he doesn’t notice anything strange about his own daughter, while the mom does, aside from laughing off the fact that his “daughter” now says “Pi” after every sentence. In other words, all the adults in this show are absolutely awful in their own ways.

Takopi has started to reflect on what they’re doing. He realizes that this isn’t right. He has replaced a member of someone else’s family, someone who can’t come back. And he can’t truly be that person either. I’m not sure what will happen next… but I doubt it’ll be ending well, as it seems that the police have also found Marina’s body. This show is one of my favorite shows airing this season, and I’m so glad I am watching it blindly.