Sonny Boy Episode 3 Discussion

deg said:
to me its basically "we live in a society" show

deg said:
and Nagara might be the one transported them to this Absurd World for escapism purposes against society

nautilus64 said:

I completely agree with the show being about "we live in a society" or "there are rules and how we deal with them". I only disagree (as I said some msgs back) that this necessarily/immediately entails government or politics are somehow being addressed. (Family relations, friendships etc are social relations, with certain rules and expectations, but there's no government directly creating or forcing any of the rules)


I completely agree, again. I had this impression from the 1st ep, where it seems to be implied that they were transported during Nagara's frustration (with life? with something to be shown later?) that day reaching a boiling point when he was locked on the school ceiling. (I think someone here mentioned the same impression).
Nagara reminds me of Shinji Ikari: the frustrated, depressed character who somehow gets to decide the destiny of those around them.
Maybe the show is some kind of exploration of his trajectory of getting out of his funk/depression and handling his life situation better or seeing things in a more constructive, less escapist light in the end.

deg said:

they organize themselves with a governing body since episode 1 with that class representatives thing and now up to episode 3 they have their own division of labor going on so it is government in a way

heck Mizuho just applies capitalism or free market to her powers too with digital currency exchange or just barter

yes since episode 1 they all talk about rules of this world and that it might be an analogy for rules of society

Reelens said:


This isn't really commenting on real politics. All it shows is these characters are interested in maintaining the previous order and how that causes friction with some of the others. It doesn't really say anything more than that. What they prioritize is going to come down to what they individually believe is most important as fictional characters with backgrounds we don't fully understand 3 episodes in.

nautilus64 said:

I don't think the anime is about politics stricto sensu (as in left/right, parties, ideologies, current events, vaccine denial, etc.) at all.

I think it's much more a metaphorical reflection about society, social interactions, more broadly: human beings live in society, impose arbitrary rules on one another that don't come from any definite source in particular (what is right and wrong, how to behave, what are the worthy goals to pursue etc.), assign arbitrary roles to each other, confer authority to some people for whatever reason, punish one another for ["perceivedly"] breaking the vague, arbitrary rules, live constrained to the environment and roles that they assume have been assigned to them, sometimes see beyond and defy those constraints and find other modes of life, other interpretations of the reality around them, ostracize or ignore those who are not well-regarded or connected, etc.

All of these things could, of course, be called "political" or "politics", but only in the vaguest, most etymological way possible, and it makes it confusing, because none of these things are particularly intrinsic to what most readily comes to mind when one mentions "political climates", with party politics, right/left, or ideological divides. All that I've seen in the anime is much less related to politics in this most readily thought of sense than to the usual types of situations that everyone, regardless of "lateralization", has to deal with on account of us being social animals.

I think calling all these types of things and interactions "society", "social interactions" is the right level of broadness to refer to what I interpret is being addressed in the anime.

Reelens said:
By that definition, you're technically correct. Like any work of fiction about a group of castaway teenagers with no adult supervision, it's going to have a bunch of society-building stuff.

The main character is Nagara though, so I don't recommend watching this for the politics.

Having read The Drifting Classroom, which this anime seems like a love letter to, I don't expect this to focus on politics to any real degree, compared to the situations the characters confront while exploring worlds.

Ryuseishun said:
This wasn't my own comment, btw. Someone else quoted me and had that very statement that you quoted here.

samashi20 said:
@deg, you're really putting 2 and 2 together. I liked your interpretation of how it all might have started.

deg said:


thats the beauty of original anime since its not about expositions or spoon feeding like anime adaptations but more of show do not tell so ye lots of ways to interpret the show that way

samashi20 said:

I also read somewhere that the producer or author (not exactly sure who it was) said that they're leaving a lot open to interpretation, and that makes it even better in my opinion, since I personally enjoy reading and learning about the different perspectives.

ezegonz said:


This may be my mistake since I find Nagara's character to be so annoying, so I just take it out on the poor guy xD

Scomoth said:


I don't think so. They adapt the show very well in a way soundtrack is not needed. Only the first episode felt like the lack of soundtrack made it boring but that's done to make up for the void environment.

Maybe try to enjoy the vibe? This is just an opinion. I feel like you're not actually enjoying the anime in a way the staff wanted you to. I might be wrong.

-II said:
Sonny Boy really is the Dark Souls of anime

Longicaudatus said:
I honestly love how this show doesn't treat its viewers like dumbasses. Its a breath of fresh air from the dozens of anime that will spell everything out letter by letter just in case you don't get it.

Natsude_tanaka said:


i mean he's not annoying bro hahha come on man.

Gwenpool said:
So why did they even bring back the missing students?

Reelens said:


It ties into Asakaze's lie, Sagara's fight with Mizuho and his realization that nobody ends up alone like that on purpose. They weren't actually loners by choice. The guy was streaming games hoping people would watch him. The girl gives Mizuho a plushie. They had been excluded from the group and nobody was taking responsibility for it, not even themselves.

sKyBlazer08 said:
Another very wtf and abstract episode, but we also got some really interesting information. So some of them can already use their powers even before transporting. I guess Hoshi's power is "God" talking to him or it could be much more than just a power. I'd rather have nyamazon though lmao.

Someone finally noticed specifically Nozomi that Nagara's power might be to jump through worlds, but still no 100% confirmation, it could be just as Nagara said, a coincidence. The savior Hoshi's "God" is talking about must be Nagara and I don't like the sound of that. Whoever brought them there if it's not Nagara himself must really want them to stay lost in those worlds. Looking forward to the next episode.

ezegonz said:


+ What was that weird looking antenae they were holding while looking for the kids?
+ What was the dogs they were using when closing (?) the portal?
+ Was that portal just linked to that school room? Then why were there (pressumably) a lot of space?
+ What was that fight between Azakase and Nagara?
+ It was stated that Nozomi was after Nagara but that was NEVER shown. They just... hang out a lot without any kind of even flirting.
+ How did they destroy the portal in the island but Mizuho still found what (probably) acted as a key?

I feel disappointed as per chapter 3. The premise of chapter 1 was good, but the plot seems so mediocre and efortless that now that it enrages me.

JohnnyDee said:
Ok crackpot theory time
The voice Hoshi is talking to is a representation of someone in the animes staff, probably Shingo Natsume. His future sight is in fact implicate knowledge of how the anime works from talks with his gods, and he's to be the arbiter of the characters and, to a lesser extent, the audience.