Wandering Son - Episode 11 (Completed)

Yes, I know, Wandering Son's episode count and layout has become decidedly confusing over the past couple of weeks, but here we are at the proper finale of the series, even though last week's instalment somehow felt like a proper and fitting end to proceedings as it was.

Despite that however, there's still quite a lot for this eleventh episode proper to explore - perhaps most important is the thawing in any tension between Chiba, Nitori and Takatsuki, who end up hanging out again at Chiba's house just like old times at her invitation... well, almost like old times, and probably about as close as things will get between the three of them I would imagine.  This episode also offers a surprisingly quick chance for Nitori to patch things up with Doi, who continues to baffle regarding whether he is teasing or helping Nitori but nonetheless proves himself to be an even more proficient script-writer for the culture festival's play than Nitori himself - thus, the two of them end up working together to make Nitori's original work even better.

If last week's episode was all about the growth of some of its main character, this time around the focus is very much on redemption for these characters, as others begin to accept their quirks and foibles as normal and therefore go on to accept those individuals themselves in what is perhaps a convenient but nonetheless satisfying way.  As we reach the day of the school culture festival, even Anna and Nitori's relationship is ironed out (although we don't get to hear the entirety of their conversation), and come the end of the series our main male protagonist is applauded out on stage very much as an accepted part of a group rather than the increasingly isolated individual we saw last week.

So, now we really do come to the end of Wandering Son, and I think even given this additional episode my summary thoughts from last week still stand true - this is a visually beautiful and surprisingly thoughtful series, that manages to fill itself with believable, well-rounded and realistic characters despite the slight incredibility of some of its scenarios - a combination that keeps you thinking, and even guessing, as to the motives and inner thoughts of those characters in a way that makes for a viewing experience which leaves you captive.  Add some neat touches of humour to the mix, and you have yourself a great series - so much so that I already have the first volume of the manga in English on pre-order.

Wandering Son - Episode 10 + 11

Somehow, only a series with the quality of Wandering Son would manage to ram two of its episodes together into a single instalment and still turn our a coherent and fascinating narrative, which is basically exactly what we get with this "episode 10 + 11" medley.

Of course, the entire resulting episode deals largely with the fall out which comes from Nitori turning up to school dressed as a girl - something he's forced to face and discuss with both his school teachers and parents, and something he refuses to shrink from as he calmly and directly explains his actions while he quite rightly internally ponders why it's okay for Chi and Takatsuki to turn up dressed as boys but it's alarming or offensive for him to dress as a girl.

For all of Nitori's bravery in the face of this embarrassing barrage of questions, the effects of his cross-dressing being cast out into the open has effects far beyond Nitori himself - his sister is blamed for causing his desire to dress as a girl on the one hand while she's too ashamed to go to school on the other, while Chi finds herself labelled as part of a "bunch of freaks" (not that she cares) and Takatsuki finds herself getting some unexpected attention from various quarters.

The real motif of this episode however is growth - Nitori has grown from a shy, retiring kid into one who will stand up for himself (however hard it is to do), Takatsuki is more comfortable in her own skin and more determined to do things her way, and so the list goes on.  The physical comparison of Shuu and Maho at the end of the episode is really the telling one - this isn't simply a comparison of physical growth, but a pointer that Nitori as a person has now outgrown his sister; a beautiful way to end a visually and emotionally beautiful series that has, itself, grown and grown in confidence with an increasingly assured hand guiding its comedy, drama and emotion to a fantastic finale.  Well, a finale of sorts, with full versions of these episodes and a bonus instalment promised with the Blu-Ray release of the series in Japan.  Let's hope it does well enough to get a second season - it certainly deserves one, and seems to have plenty of material to hand to fill it.

Wandering Son - Episode 9

For all of her self-doubt and reluctance to stand out from the crowd in general, Takatsuki shows herself to have rather a courageous streak during the course of Wandering Son's ninth episode.

Takatsuki's forwardness comes to the fore from the very off, as she (arguably unnecessarily) asks Anna for permission to hang out with Nitori sometimes (which is of course granted), before turning up at school wearing the boy's uniform - a first for her, and an event which brings forth questioning from teachers as you might expect.  Still, she manages to wear it well (both literally and figuratively) and thus achieves the admiration of classmates and the support of friends without too much effort.

Meanwhile, Nitori is having some interesting experiences of his own courtesy of his seemingly mismatched friendship with Doi.  Finding himself press-ganged into taking her to meet "the pretty woman" Doi spotted Nitori with, the former ends up learning that said pretty woman is in fact a transsexual... a pretty big culture shock for anyone, never mind a hormonal boy.  It's difficult to discern Doi's true reaction to this discovery, but next thing we know he's demanding to see Nitori dressed as a girl before suggesting that he try going to school wearing the girls uniform.  Is he just teasing or deadly serious?  Either way, Nitori seriously considers it, and despite the advice of both Chi and Takatsuki come the end of the episode he's turned up at school wearing full female garb - needless to say next week's episode is set aside for the fallout from this "stunt".

Once again, Wandering Son has turned in a fantastic and fascinating performance that happily prods at the oddities of gender inequality on the one hand (why can a girl dress as a guy and be cool but not vice versa?) whilst serving up wonderfully intriguing characters at the same time.  It isn't just the lead roles that still the "intriguing" adjective either, with Doi's character this week proving to be a decidedly interesting melting pot of hormones, experimentation and a big fat question mark over whether he's genuinely curious about Nitori's proclivities or simply a bully who has gotten smarter about dishing out his emotional pain.  It's this kind of clever writing and characterisation that keeps me glued to this series week after week, and I'll genuinely be sorry when it comes to an end - as an exhibit of how to mix these interesting elements with a genuinely entertaining viewing experience, Wandering Son is hitting all the right notes.

Wandering Son - Episode 8

Time sure does fly within Wandering Son's world, as this eighth episode takes us to the beginning of a new school year for our medley of characters - just in time for Chiba's return to school after her Nitori-induced absence, incidentally.

Unfortunately, this new year also sees most of our characters separated into different classes, with Nitori perhaps given the toughest assignment as he finds himself sharing a class with Doi, a boy who used to tease him back in the day as well as his sister's boyfriend of sorts.

Speaking of relationships, Nitori and Anna are still hanging out together ("going out" seems like too strong a term for it), although a comment from Anna to his sister Maho querying his cross-dressing habits (which of course is passed down from sister to brother in rather blunt terms) leaves Nitori worrying that it will leave her disgusted by him.  However, he still plucks up the courage to ask her about it, and it appears that she doesn't mind at all, although it does also throw up a question as to the exact nature of their relationship as Anna not only treats Nitori as a kind of little sister, but also refers to him directly as being like one too.

Meanwhile, Chiba and Takatsuki have become surprisingly close despite their former love rivalry, to the extent of going on shopping trips and hanging out together themselves.  It's just such a day out which leads Chiba and Takatsuki (dressed as a boy) bumping into Anna and Nitori (dressed as a girl) - a chance meeting which turns into possibly the most awkward karaoke session in the world, complete with Chiba demanding that Anna order her a beer and all kinds of blurted revelations that, somehow, ends up with everyone friends and swapping mobile numbers.... an occurrence which brings us back to Doi, and his request to become friends with Nitori - exactly what does he want?

At the moment it just seems like Wandering Son is getting better by the episode - if the early instalments threatened to concern themselves too much with the whole cross-dressing angle, we're now at a point where this is very much secondary (yet still somehow hugely important) to proceedings.  This really allows the shows characters and their changing relationships to shine - witness the Nitori/Anna and Chiba/Takatsuki relationships here, both of which are utterly fascinating yet somehow believable even when the four of them come together and things threaten to get messy.  Gorgeous visuals aside, there's something beautifully fun and care-free about watching all these kids bounce off one another, and for all the arguments of the show being unrealistic the core nature of their relationships reminds me somewhat of my own childhood - arguments about seemingly important things that would be forgotten two minutes later, your biggest enemy and bully ending up as your friend, and those awkward "girlfriend but not quite" relationships.

Anyway, regardless of all that I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying this show - it both fascinates me and makes me laugh on a regular basis, which is a pretty potent combinations of assets in my book.

Wandering Son - Episode 7

With the school culture festival and its play out of the way, it's back to normality for episode seven of Wandering Son... and a rather harsh reality it is too for Nitori as this instalment begins and puberty begins to take its toll on him.

With his sister being as unhelpful as ever in the face of Nitori's outbreak of spots, it's her friend Anna who he instead turns to for advice, finding her to be surprisingly kind and helpful compared to that cold and slightly scary exterior that he kept his distance from previously.  From simply asking for help with his complexion and face cleansing routine, something a little bit deeper builds between them pair of them, and before we know it Nitori has rather bravely confessed his love to Anna, leading to the two beginning to date.

While this is quite the shock to all those who hear it, needless to say it's Takatsuki and Chiba who take the news the hardest.  Takatsuki is first to hear the news from the mouth of Nitori himself, and although she takes the news pretty coolly outwardly there's an obvious and immediate change in her relationship with her friend, as Nitori finds himself subject to her behaving in a detached manner as Takatsuki does her utmost to avoid him.  It's also Takatsuki who informs Chiba of Nitori's budding romance, and in contrast to her supposed love rival Chiba simply loses the will to do anything much, refusing to go to school and going as far as to tell her mother that she wants to quit.  Of course, this leaves Takatsuki feeling rather guilty about the whole thing, but is an uneasy truce-cum-friendship really going to build up between this pair of girls?

As per the rest of this series so far, Wandering Son's fourth episode is as beautiful to look at as ever, to the point where even Nitori's pimples are somehow aesthetically pleasing.  That aside, this instalment really shows the strength of this show beyond its gender issues, instead portraying some good old-fashioned teenage love drama which barely touched upon Nitori's proclivities at all - this could have been a story of love, friendship and jealousy from any bunch of individuals, and it works tremendously well at blending its very human realities with drama and humour almost effortlessly to make for a great slice of life outing.  In short, this was a pretty beautiful episode of Wandering Son both inside and out, and it seems to have found itself a story arc that proves that it has far more strings to its bow than cross-dressing alone.

Wandering Son - Episode 6

After building up to it over its previous three episodes, it's finally the day of the school culture festival, and of course that all-important performance of the version of Romeo and Juliet worked on by the class.

Before that however, we get to enjoy a little of the culture festival itself, from some surprise visitors including model Maiko and Takatsuki's friend Yuki (who, of course, was cross-dressing as a boy complete with a suit for the occasion) through to early preparations for the play, with Makoto understandably nervous about taking on Juliet's role while Chiba is the snarkiest, most ice cold Romeo you'll probably ever find.  The highlight of the pre-play goings on however must surely be the world's least scary haunted house, which many of our main characters somehow manage to make the most of anyway in a decidedly amusing fashion.

This takes us to the play itself, and after an abortive attempt by Makoto to deliver his opening lines a heartfelt plea to the audience to start over manages to break the tension and allow for the rest of the play to go smoothly, complete with hammy acting and comedy moustaches.  All in all the play is a hit and the overall venture is a success, but has it changed the relationship between Chiba and Makoto at all?  The bunch of (admittedly second hand) flowers given by the former to the latter suggest so, as well as being a role reversal in itself, but with Chiba's icy demeanour it's hard to tell anything for sure.

This might not have made for the most innovative episode of Wandering Son, but it was still an entertaining one that managed to effortlessly squeeze comedy from aspects of its scenario without ever casting aspersions upon its central premise - if anything, its focus on Makoto this episode helped to strengthen that while posing some curious questions about his own desires and emotions away from the main focus upon Nitori and Takatsuki the series tends towards.  If nothing else this proves how robust Wandering Son's character dynamics are as a whole, rather than having to rely solely on its two leads, which can't be a bad thing.

Wandering Son - Episode 5

After a week off last week, Wandering Son returns, and of course its focus returns immediately to that gender-bending Romeo and Juliet play currently being planned for the school culture festival.

With work on the script now extended to the show's entire circle of friends, Chiba can barely hide her distaste at the carefully planned script she sees as being "ruined" by the involvement of so many people, watching the play turning back towards a far more traditional take on Shakespeare's work (gender swapping aside).  As if that wasn't bad enough up pops a friend of Chiba, who proceeds to blab about Nitori's cross-dressing within moments of seeing him - not a smart move, although it seems that Takatsuki's the only one who is upset at this outburst while Nitori remains relatively unfazed and the rest of the group are merely curious about it if anything.

With the Romeo and Juliet script eventually finished it's time to cast roles for the class, and of course this not being some kind of idealistic romance series the lead roles don't go to who you might expect, with Chiba snaring her part as Romeo only to find herself cast against Makoto in Juliet's role.  This only succeeds in bringing the worst out of Chiba - she wants to act alongside Nitori yet at the same time she doesn't want Makoto to wimp out and give the part to his friend, and somewhere along the way she's decided that she wants to rewrite the script anyhow to fill it with death, doom and gloom, requiring some intervention from the teacher to talk her out of the idea.  Come the end of the episode, we're returned to relative normality, although it seems as though preparations for this play will bring up some additional twists and turns yet.

In comparison to previous episodes, this week's Wandering Son was actually pretty light on all-out drama, sporting a lighter touch for the moments that did require serious attention in building, moulding and shaping its various relationships as Nitori figures out a little more about why he likes Takatsuki and the increasingly intriguing dynamic between Chiba and Ariga develops.  Above all though, this episode was really one for entertainment, with lots of perfectly time dialogues, reaction shots and one-liners than underlined the show's comedy credentials which occasionally underpin its character-building.  Of course, all of this was accompanied by that beautiful artwork which has become perhaps the biggest hallmark of the series so far, reminding me why I missed not being able to watch this careful, considered but nonetheless enjoyable slice of life series last week.

Wandering Son - Episode 4

Although the play agreed upon last episode for the school culture festival continues to take up the lion's share of Wandering Son's consideration this week, before that episode four begins with a swimming lesson; an event which really underlines the difference between the out-going, attention seeking Sarashina and Takatsuki, who continues to loathe her growing body.

As well as that swimming lesson, this episode also offers a few other brief asides from its main focus, with Takatsuki looking (and possibly) finding a way to hide those budding breasts, while Nitori continues to find himself the centre of attention for some of his sister's friends who seem to have an odd fascination with him which sits somewhere between teasing and flirting.

In the midst of all this, the play being written by Nitori and Chiba starts to have a very definite impact upon the real lives of some of the show's characters, thanks largely to an outburst by Chi as she openly questions what Shu wants from a relationship with Takatsuki - does he love her while seeing himself as a boy and her as a girl, while seeing her as a boy and himself as a girl or something else entirely?  It's a question which Nitori can't easily answer, but over the course of the episode he seems to come to the realisation that the unique take he's written on the Romeo and Juliet story is a reflection of his own desire, that is to be a girl and to be seen as a girl by Takatsuki, while looking at her as a boy.  Of course, this makes for a mighty complicated relationship in the first instance, and with Chiba still in love with Nitori this seems to give her some similar conflicts and issues of her own to deal with.  Throw in the addition of some more hands to work on the script for the class play, and it seems as though there's plenty more drama to be wrought from this event before it's through.

By this point in the series, it feels like Wandering Son is now well and truly comfortable in its own skin - ironic for a series about characters who aren't comfortable with themselves, isn't it?  Now that we have a handle on its major characters, its far easier to be swept up in their emotions, desires and confusion, making the drama that much more compelling and those little slithers of humour which are sneaked in here and there all the funnier.  Coupled with the fact that those characters are all quite likeable, sometimes in rather odd ways, this is very definitely turning into a series which is as worth watching for its story and character development as it is those beautiful visuals.

Wandering Son - Episode 3

Come the end of Wandering Son's previous episode, it seemed as though everyone was friends and all was well in its world for the first time... of course, this was never likely to last given all of the trials and tribulations surrounding its cast of characters.

It's Chiba who causes some of this initial drama once again early in this episode courtesy of another of her outbursts, although it seems that by this point everyone else is so used to it that it isn't such a big deal now.  However, what is rather a big deal for Takatsuki is the arrival of puberty and her swelling chest, with friendly taunts about her needing a bra proving to be something that she really doesn't want to have to deal with given her longing to be a boy.

Of course, she isn't the only one wishing she could avoid adolescence here, but that aside the main focus of this episode is on the school's forthcoming culture festival, where Nitori et al's class have opted to create a play.  Not just any play though - thanks to a suggestion from Chiba, in this play all of the girls roles will be played by boys and vice versa.  Pretty much everybody in the class seems strangely excited by this idea (outside of the usual suspects who you'd expect to like it), and so the concept is passed by their teacher, with Nitori and (it later turns out) Chiba both working on a script idea for said play.  Throw in yet more embarrassment for Nitori's sister caused by his cross-dressing and an assortment of other little points of interest, and you have yourself another episode of Wandering Son.

Really, the "wandering" part of this shows title couldn't be much more apt - Wandering Son really does prove to have quite the roving eye, skipping between characters and scenarios with gay abandon and never spending too much time focusing on a single subject before moving elsewhere and then occasionally moving back to its more important story lines intermittently throughout.  Somehow, this series so far has managed to avoid most if not all of the pitfalls of this tactic - rather than being disjointed it remains fresh and entertaining from beginning to end with its subtle blend of drama, slice of life and humour sprinkling itself throughout to good effect.  Indeed, subtly is the name of the game here - Chiba aside, we're left to read the thoughts of most of the characters here through their actions and expressions rather than having major points of interest thrust at us via flashing neon lights.  This makes for a quiet and thoughtful take on growing up and adolescence, and helped along by those gorgeous visuals it continues to do pretty much everything right.

Wandering Son - Episode 2

The opening episode of Wandering Son left us with quite a lot to take in, throwing us as it did right into the heart of the manga from which it was adapted much as the series itself threw all of its characters into a brand new school regardless of any baggage they were carrying along with them.

With that "in at the deep end" beginning working surprisingly effectively, episode two finds itself with the opportunity to be a little more focused, and this comes courtesy of the diminutive but straight-talking to the point of arrogance Saori Chiba.  Chiba is a former friend of both Nitori and Takatsuki, but something has clearly soured that relationship - a change which has left Saori looking increasingly isolated, which is quite the problem for a girl such as she who thinks nothing of offended people out of habit.

Between this and Chiba's staunch refusal to make up with her former friends, it seems as though there's no way forward as we glance back at what caused this entire scenario, which as expected is a love triangle involving herself and her two friends which Chiba foolishly blames on Takatsuki even though it isn't really her fault.  Eventually however, common sense wins the day, and come the end of the episode relative normality has been restored and friendships repaired - indeed, our initial group of friends seems to have grown somewhat with the addition of the out-going oddball Chi Sarashina and her rather clingy best friend.

Although I didn't really mention much in my last entry on this series, I do have to point out (especially now I've grown accustomed to its art style) just how beautiful Wandering Son is to look at, and someone this second episode looked even more fabulous than the first to make for one of the season's more visually striking shows.  Away from that, the series continues to do great work in its subtle yet still suitably dramatic take on a group of friends hitting adolescence - a time where everything anyone does is a threat to you in some way and most emotions tend to be downright confusing.  All of this is portrayed with a compelling honesty, helped along by paying attention to every character in every scene rather than leaving any of them hanging around like paintings on a wall, with this episode thinking nothing of cutting away from the mainstay of the story just to note another character's reaction and more importantly, how that is viewed by someone else.  It's these little touches and attention to detail which really brings Wandering Son into a league of its own, away from the world of overblown drama yet steered away from slice of life territory.  Never mind the visuals alone, thus far Wandering Son has simply been a beautiful piece of work outright.

Wandering Son - Episode 1

Starting a new school is a pretty big deal at the best of times... however, when you're starting a new school and you're the first episode of a noitaminA timeslot series, you're pretty much guaranteed a pretty hefty slice of thought-provoking drama to chew on.

Certainly, Wandering Son wastes no time in dumping us slap-bang into the middle of its ensemble of characters as they begin their middle school life with an initial focus upon Nitori, a boy who complains of the discomfort of his new uniform for reasons that soon become clear.  With a class introductory session that's missing said classes new teacher entirely (you can't get the staff these days), the normally formal process of introducing yourself to your new classmates soon becomes corrupted by rumours Nitori dating a girl named Yoshino Takatsuki, which of course causes quite a commotion.

Of course, it's Nitori and Takatsuki who are the two main players in this series as this opening episode sets up the relationship for the viewer as well as what makes this show unique - the fact that the former wants to dress as a girl while the latter would far rather look like a boy.  They aren't the only ones judging by this opening either, although with all of that established it's Nitori who we really follow as we see him supported by his friends, holding an odd sort of relationship with his sister, and of course mulling over his friendship with Takatsuki.

Truth be told, I'm struggling to know what to say about this first episode of Wandering Son simply because I feel like I haven't processed it in head yet.  Given the way the series jumps into its story and subject matter there's a lot to take in and plenty of complex inter-relationships to ponder, and given the subtle nature in which much of this is presented it requires some genuine thought as opposed to the series opting for flashing neon lights which tell you what you should be thinking or feeling.

The good news is that it's that under-stated, confident and subtle air to the series that makes it feel so compelling here - this is a series that doesn't feel the need to spell things out for us, and this bodes well for a story which I suspect will generate plenty of unique takes and opinions amongst those who watch it.  I'm going to refrain from any such opinions at this early stage about the content of the series for the reason I expressed at the start of the last paragraph, but there's certainly an equal and slightly odd beauty about the show's animation style - at times it looks gorgeous, while its aesthetic is a clear attempt to keep the feel of the manga intact with generally good results.. although yes, everyone does have very shiny hair.

Overall then, I'm excited for Wandering Son - not in a "wow, that cliffhanger means that next week can't come soon enough" kind of way, but in the sense that there's a huge amount of potential within this series in terms of drama and exploration of gender, relationships and so on,while the show also looks quite ready to mix itself in with the odd slither of humour to good effect too.  Oh, and I'm a sucker for Clair de Lune as well, which always helps I suppose.