In order to escape the pressure to succeed in his studies, Yuugo Hachiken, a hard-working city-dwelling high-schooler decides to switch schools to an agricultural boarding school out in the country. Upon first meeting his classmates, he believes that he will far exceed everyone’s abilities; he is quickly thrown for a loop when the main focus of studies turns towards agriculture and animal sciences. All of his classmates who have been living and working on farms their whole lives thrive in these fields.
Whether it’s waking up at 4 am, tending to animals, or knowledge about farming, Hachiken meets the challenge with a hard-working attitude, and a small desire to be the best student. His new friends are surprised and glad to meet someone who knows nothing of their world and teach him what a hard blue collar lifestyle is all about.
REVIEW
Gin no Saji doesn’t fail to let the viewer know about the intended metaphor or message by the wrap up of each episode, but the hope is that it has been well laid out to the point where pointing it out will really hit home. The writing style plays well to the characters that deliver the poignant lines to the protagonist (and you). This already sounds as if the show comes across as pushy and pretentious with the lofty ideals and moral lessons; it is most certainly NOT that at all. More than anything else this show is a comedy set on a farm, with a protagonist that knows nothing about farming.
What draws me back to this show again and again is how it makes me feel, and how it makes me want to be more proactive and productive. I generally consider an anime to be really good if it can make me think about something: 1) from a new perspective 2) new and interesting 3) to deepen my own perspective. Not only does this anime do that, those are literally the major themes of the anime; it’s about a city boy coming to a farm and learning about life from the perspective of kids that have grown up on farms their entire lives.
This is a good show to come to if you don’t really have a great vision for the future, what you want to do, or who you want to become. I think the reason it has always been one of my favorites is because I was able to relate to Hachiken from the onset of the show. Writing this in more stream of consciousness style, I would actually consider this as a first anime for people, depending on their tastes.
While it does still house a few of the tropes that make an anime an anime, there is a lot about it that parallels western TV shows. Within the pilot or first episode of most TV shows in America it is recommended that a few checkboxes are hit: 1) Main characters are introduced 2) the protagonist’s motivation or struggle is laid out 3) major relationships and connections are laid-out 4) any necessary framework for future adventures are set. Anime are only given a short amount of time to tell a story, for Gin no Saji, that would be 11 episodes. The first episode does an exceptional job of meeting all the criteria of your average NBC sitcom. Hachiken is pretty obviously introduced as the protagonist; we are soon shown his background as an over-worked, anxious, prep-school student who has escaped to an agricultural boarding school. The viewers join the show about 2 weeks into his stay at this school; classes and work have yet to kick off, but he has at least been able to live in the dorms and meet a few students. The other major characters naturally appear as the episode progresses. Without any specific denotation, you just become comfortable with these new characters and they make the story whole.
Hachiken is a refreshing change of pace for a protagonist. The general Shounen lead is a power-hungry, single-minded, motivated fiend. That certainly has its benefits, but as a regular human being with a variety of interests and no particular main life goal, Hachiken is perfectly relatable. He is a blank slate to write yourself onto. This is not to say he is without character; he is a very well-written complex soul, with an interesting backstory and arc throughout the show. It was his goal, or lack thereof that I first connected with though.
Enough about me just pointing out how much I enjoy the show; as for what actually happens to make it so good, Hachiken goes through daily struggles to learn not only about farm life, but how the perspectives of his new friends’ shape how he has viewed his academic world, and how he attacks life altogether. Some of the key issues that are brought up in the show both seriously and comedically are: family issues, ethical treatment of livestock, the financial difficulty of maintaining a small business, the expectations for higher education in differing familial standings. Hachiken slowly develops an appreciation for the parallels between his life and situations he faces.
A long running theme in Gin no Saji is Hachiken’s lack of future plans or dreams. He quickly views this from a negative angle upon learning that most of his classmates have either dreams or paths set before them. As he builds these friendships up and learns that everyone is having struggles in their own path, his perspective on his own life plan alters to a more positive outlook. Summed up quite simply by one of his new friends; don’t think of it as you have no dreams for the future, instead, you have endless opportunities and the chance to choose anywhere you want to go from here.
One running element of the show is viewing human life in parallel to livestock. Particularly seen with Hachiken’s interactions with horses and the equestrian club. The commonalities that human personalities share with the horses’ personalities are often brought up to Hachiken, and thus the viewer as well, by the characters well-ingrained to the farm culture. The more subtle and slightly gruesome parallel is how Hachiken views his own struggles in comparison to the animals set for slaughter. These moments are not brought up lightly and are not lacking in intention. It is often when Hachiken gains the full perspective of what really occurs in the farming world with livestock. Because all of the other main characters have grown up in farming families they have in a sense become desensitized to how a someone outside of the community might react to the reality of where food is coming from. It is the butting heads of Hachiken and everyone else that leads to the symbiotic relationship that they share. Everyone is able to grow and learn from one another.
When I consider what it is that makes a story good, I think about how the show made me feel after each episode, or if it even made me feel anything. A show is “good” in my book if it is able to make me think about something in a new way, teach me a solid lesson, or make me curious about a topic enough to do research outside of watching the show. Gin no Saji hits all the marks for this; granted some of the major themes essentially quote my criteria.
This anime gave me the inspiration to consider how I connect with other people coming from different backgrounds, it made me curious about agriculture and farming, and it gave me a chance to step back and really consider my goals and aspirations. I have a tendency to get overly inspired from anime and attempt to take on elements of a new persona based on what I have watched. I generally remain somewhat realistic, but I enjoy learning enough to the point where I will actively research new topics and engage in some new interesting activities. I don’t think that it is too bad to find elements of anime that you can apply to your own life in a beneficial way. Specifically, after watching this anime, again, I felt a push to work harder on some creative projects and enlist the help of some people with a variety of skills. I have also begun planning an event for my college in hopes that it will stick around as an annual event (granted that’s sort of part of my job at the university).
Anywhosie. That’s that in a sense. Gin no Saji is good. 2 seasons, 22 episodes. Watch it.
Thanks for reading,
AnimeSuperFuntime Ace Reviewer, KrackenPax
