Ive grown complacent in taking many things for granted. But when others look at those very same things they brood on each one and stumble. Looking at Amakasu agonizing over finding her own answer I think that there might not be even a single thing in this world that can be taken for granted. Haruto Okonogi episode 10 I was complacent. But when others look at those very same things ... Haruto Okonogi episode 12 Repetition is one key to memory. Advertisers use it to make you remember their product. My teachers in school would frequently repeat themselves when saying something important that was likely to appear on the exam. So when a character in a show like this which smacks of very deliberate construction in every area repeats himself nearly verbatim in a span of three episodes it must be important. Surely it must speak to something with thematic weight. What had I taken for granted as the viewer? Looking back on it now there were clearly some things. Id like to think that now I have the benefit of the full picture for context but I can think of a few things in particular that I actually took for granted. Firstly Hisone Amakasu is a woman. This is a pretty minor thing to overlook because it usually isnt very relevant. It does turn out to be so in this case though. In fact all the Dpilots are female. This is something anime has trained us to take for granted. Allfemale casts are present in hundreds of anime and usually this doesnt have any meaning in the context of the story. This isnt an allfemale cast though. There are many male supporting characters and one Id even consider a lead even though he doesnt appear so at first. In fact the interactions between man and woman is a major thematic element in this story. Romance appears in many anime and this is no exception. Its familiar and thus we can take its presence for granted. However the interplay of the sexes does a lot more here. It wasnt until I was writing this review that I realized the general level of power disparity between the men and the women in the show. Very few of the men are subordinate to any of the women and this is pretty clear to see because of the military setting and its clear delineation of hierarchy. I dont remember the show doing anything specific to highlight this aspect. It could be this is one thing we are meant to take for granted. One thing well never entirely overlook hopefully is sexual harassment. The level of it in this show is pretty tame relatively. Surely theres nothing here that would be considered a firing offense in the real world but its presence was strange and slightly offputting. The scenes with the tailor if you can call him that followed the usual beats for this kind of thing in anime. Its played for laughs and he comes across as pretty harmless in the end. This isnt the only place where this kind of thing appears though. In another instance it gets called out as sexual harassment on the spot and it doesnt come across as funny at all. Given the context in which it occurs it can simply be read as yet another thing making Hisone uncomfortable about her new position as Dpilot and thats all it seemed for the moment. However these kinds of things continue to pile up to where they cant be ignored anymore. In retrospect I have to respect Mari Okada for weaving this subject in so well. Its a slippery topic and she slips it in right under our noses. For me the breaking point was when they explicitly stated that the Dpilots arent allowed to fall in love. I knew this was wrong. This was not a thing that made sense however justified the person saying it believed himself to be. In retrospect I can see that this was done just right. If it had come any later the Shinto elements would have been known and we could have easily written this off. Its normal in mythology for the gods to make unreasonable demands of men. But since these things hadnt been introduced yet this comes across as a man making unreasonable demands of a woman. It has just enough time to settle in and make us a little uncomfortable. Thankfully this is far from my first anime rodeo and I have a little outsidecontext knowledge of the topic being addressed here. Otherwise Id be unlikely to know the very specific thing which was taken for granted that the plot eventually addresses. Ive reached my threshold for how much of the plot Im willing to directly reveal. That is married women dont work at least not in Japan. I can remember instances in anime where women explained why they were quitting their job simply as Im getting married. Not Im getting married my fiance already has a highpaying job and I want to have children but merely Im getting married. It doesnt require explanation because its taken for granted that married women dont have careers. They may have parttime jobs or do volunteer work or what have you but having a career and supporting a family is for the man. Thats what Hisone and Masotan is about to me. Its about the plight of the working woman. Im a true believer in the death of the author approach to literary interpretation so if it meant something else to you then thats fine. It has elements that speak to Japanese culture specifically but this isnt an anime made entirely for Japan. Continuing a recent trend of such shows it will also be airing on Netflix. Taking the theme of defying what was taken for granted into the metafictional realm much of this show is designed from first principles disregarding the anime status quo. The first youll probably notice is the character design. Stock anime character designs simply dont lend themselves well to animation so this production team abandoned them. What we get is something memorable and unique and the animation team takes full advantage of the streamlined designs to make them much more expressive in practice. See also: every Yuasa anime ever. This extends to the background art as well. We get something rather unique here too. It looks something like watercolor. Theres been a trend toward very digital shiny saturated backgrounds lately and some of these are even quite good in their own right. This has something hazier with more of a handdrawn look. It fits very well with the character art and it just feels very good. To me background art is a strong contributor to the feel of an anime. Many of my favorites have particularly good art design and it makes them a joy to watch. Another element that tends to appeal directly on an emotional level is music. This has whats probably the best soundtrack of the season. Again theres no regard for whats considered typical of anime. There is no JPop to be seen here. Even when they have the cast sing in character for the ED its an old French song that they sing. I wasnt expecting it to be relevant but it is a song about taking a holiday in France. There is a moment where something like that comes up in context so keep your eyes open for it. All in all this really seems like it could be an enduring classic. There have been numerous contenders lately. Megalo Box plays it too safe never escaping its status as a tribute to a classic when it could have been one in its own right. Devilman: Crybaby had production quality issues which this lacks. Though the dub hasnt been made yet so that could still become an issue like it was for Devilman. Koe no Katachi pulled its punches a little and waters down its message by dragging on too long and including some unnecessary elements. This may fly a little under the radar but it delivers its strike with laserguided precision. I need to seriously reconsider my previous stance on Mari Okada if this is what shes really capable of when she takes the gloves off. P.S.: When I say this anime made me uncomfortable know that I dont consider that to be a bad thing. In fact I consider it to be a rare and valuable thing. Youtuber MrBtongue made a video on this you should see if you havent already.https://www..com/watch?v=LgLp5bO1U8