Mar 8, 2008
As this is a slice of life show, there's not really much story to speak of. It's more episodic than arc-based. The most important aspect to this show is probably the way Matsukata's ambitiousness clashes with her life as a woman and her desire (and, at times, need) to be feminine. While this is mostly positive, there are a few moments where the femininity contradicts the ambitiousness, rather than contrasting with it. In other words, there are some points where Matsukata is portrayed as less of a strong, independent, struggling woman and more of a vulnerable, weak, victimized woman. While
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disappointing, these moments are few and the series is ultimately more inspiring than off-putting.
Matsukata is ultimately the only character that gets any real focus; the other characters get at best part of one episode focused on them, then a couple lines here and there afterwards. This actually becomes repetitive, as a character is introduced, portrayed a certain way, then revealed to have some thought or emotion which contrasts with how they're portrayed. This type of motif might have been more successful at entertaining if the viewer were given more time with the character, so as to develop some empathy. While this is used to good effect at some points, the series would most likely be better if there was no pretense of depth for all but a few of the characters.
The pacing is decent; it plods along a little bit near the end, and in the final episode there's a bizarre repeating of scenes. Presumably, the intent is to show some events and actions and then follow up by revealing the circumstances behind them; but since it replays the relevant scenes in their entirety it looks suspiciously like the final episode was originally too short, and then padded to fill time. This very well may not be the case, but whatever the intent was, the effect is unwelcome and detracts from the experience.
Ultimately, the most appealing aspect of this show is the philosophical. It is somewhat enjoyable, but the lack of screen time for most of the characters makes empathizing with them difficult, resulting in what feels like filler.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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