I’m sure it’s not an aspect that everyone will notice, and it’s not an aspect that will detract from everyone’s experience with the show. And it’s a fraught topic to discuss because it’s not “fan service” in the traditional use of the word, not explicitly sexual imagery or framing or placing the female characters in compromising positions. There’s a scene of Komichi and her little sister in the bath together that manages to be very frank and un-leery about their nudity, which I was impressed by until I started noticing other things that the storyboarding did focus on with an adoring intensity: an extra-shiny pair of lips here, an extra-crinkly piece of fabric against a girl’s body there.
Anime characters, anime girls, no matter their handling in their individual properties, are imaginary constructs designed for audience consumption. It may seem a circular, handwringing discussion to worry about this when it’s part and parcel of all creative industries, particularly this one. Yet I just can’t shake how the invited, implied method of consumption for Akebi feels odd as though it has extra eyes and teeth. I just can’t shake my discomfort with the intimacy of some of these shots. The way this sweet-natured girl is placed so deliberately before us.
I also want to talk about the sweet relationship between Komichi and her mother. I want to talk about the plot, which is cute but relies on a breakdown of communication that could have been avoided pretty easily. Komichi gets her dream of wearing a sailor uniform, only to turn up on her first day of school and discover that the uniform has been changed since her mother attended. Determined to honor her wish and her mother’s hard sewing work, Komichi resolves to attend in her sailor suit even if she won’t match the rest of the student body.
