Written by: Karlo Cervantes | Published on: April 10, 2021
Rejections, Seductions, and Miso Soup!
If you ever came home drunk to an attractive girl willing to do sexual favors in exchange for staying the night, would you do it? Read on as we dissect the pilot episode of Higehiro where we’ll cover a brief overview, an analysis of events and characters, and some predictions for the upcoming episodes.
“The Teenage Girl Beneath the Lamplight” covered Chapters 1 and 2 of Shimesaba’s Japanese light novel: Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway. (Hige wo Soru. Soshite Joshikousei wo Hirou.)
The Animation
In charge of the show’s animation is Project No. 9 and judging from the first episode, they’ve done the manga justice. Do note, however, that we’re only on the pilot episode where everything is just an introduction as the plot gets laid out. We would have to wait for the succeeding ones to know if the production takes on some creative independence and veer away from its source material or completely sticks with it all throughout the season.
The production was able to showcase their creativity by using elements like dark alley ways and blurry visions to depict uniformity towards the anime’s theme prior to the meeting of the main characters. But as the show progresses, they use brighter and bubblier aspects to denote its transition from a dark and heavy background to a somewhat lighter atmosphere – a great representation of how the two characters found brightness given their unfortunate situations.
Omoide Shiritori by Japanese idol group DIALOGUE+ was played at the end of the episode but it’s actually the opening theme for the anime. Putting it at the end of the pilot was actually a good move given its playful and upbeat tune. It would have seemed weird if it were played at the beginning where the audience had no context of the anime. Hearing it at the end actually complements the narrative of the show but only if there’s full understanding of the plot.
This has tragic backstory written all over it
Upon reading the synopsis of the anime, one cannot help but be intrigued as the show tackles a sensitive subject that foreshadows a heavy backstory. Given how the description was written, the expected fan service was an attempt to balance out the dark past that the character has encountered. The plot, however, outweighed this and caused more intrigue for the audience that lead to a build-up in curiosity. In terms of engagement, this alone is enough to draw in the audience.
As the episode focused more on establishing its narrative, there was a clear highlight on the two main characters, Ogiwara Sayu and Yoshida; as well as their individual backgrounds. The former is a runaway high school student while the latter is a twenty-six year old salaryman. It was a great display of representation of how a naïve and innocent young girl thinks compared to a seemingly mature and responsible adult.
In relation to this, we often found a certain character that thinks out loud compared to actually voicing those thoughts out into dialogue to another character. This greatly affects the dynamics as the audience is able to see the situation in the show through that characters’ eyes and it gives the feeling of involvement compared to only having that third person perspective.
From the creative elements, unique delivery of perspective, and great amount of intrigue brought about by the storyline, there were a lot of commendable things that the episode and the show was able to establish in this pilot alone. But one unique thing that we should all watch out for as the show continues on is how a person with set values already intact affects and influences another person to have their own.
The show already has a great narrative and it’s just a matter of delivery at this point.
Episode 2 of Hige wo Soru. Soshite Joshikousei wo Hirou entitled “Cell Phone” airs on April 12, 2021 at 10:30PM (JST).
TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)
Project No.9 did the manga justice by sticking to its source material and making use of creative elements to depict the show's narrative and landscape
Creative use of Omoide Shiritori by DIALOGUE+ allowed the episode on a lighter note contrary to its seemingly tragic plot
The synopsis of the anime encapsulates the entire first episode and caused great intrigue and curiosity for the audience
The episode focused on how Ogiwara Sayu, a high school runaway, meets Yoshida, a 26-year old salaryman
How does a person with set values already in tact affect and influence someone to have their own?
Official Anime Website: Higehiro
Official Anime Twitter: @higehiro_anime
What do you think about this new anime? Let us know in the comments below!
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