So let me get this straight: a giant computing structure is being built beneath everyone’s noses, and it is immensely resource intensive: “If there’s not enough steam, use the civilian supply.” Yeah, I’d say that’s a little on the nose. Kihachi’s latest invention is a monstrosity. Dubbed the Electric Brain, the massive amalgamation of a million vacuum tubes, copper wire, magnets and quartz requires an exorbitant amount of steam power to operate. The sad thing is, it can’t even give Yosuke what he wants: “…we’ll be able to create humans and life itself.” No, you can’t. Specifically, the Electric Brain cannot reproduce the real thing, i.e., Seiroku. At the end of the day, Yosuke’s Frankensteinian puppet, much like AI art — or anything fashioned by generative AI for that matter — is soulless. It’s barely a simulacrum of the real thing. Even in Yosuke’s own words, this is just a bad copy: “I made the Electric Brain learn all the memories I have of you.”
This is, however, where the anime’s metaphor starts to get muddled. When Kihachi obviously refuses to cooperate any further — he knows his brother would never want to use the Electric Brain to mimic a human mind — Yosuke knocks the kid out. In fact, he likely foresaw this. Izo, his assistant, was already in position to strike Kihachi before the kid could lodge his protest. He intends to sacrifice the kid in order to imbue the puppet with a soul, and he probably always intended to do so from the start. If machine alone cannot do the trick, then man and machine must become one, an oft-repeated cautionary tale in science fiction. But why, then, does Yosuke suddenly need to stick the kid in a wedding dress? That’s the part that baffles me.
I guess I can see some of the parallels. In order to save the brewery, Inako felt like she had to give up a piece of her soul by agreeing to an arranged marriage with Yosuke. Then her motivations changed and she wanted to marry the guy for Kihachi’s sake. We’re now past that. She’s no longer engaged. It’s now Kihachi’s turn to leverage his own soul in order to achieve what he and his brother set out to do. As a result, he has to enter an unnatural union with the crazed Mizoe heir. But is this what Seiroku would’ve wanted for the kid?
Even so, I’m uncomfortable with the direction that the story is taking. I’m not saying that all gay representation needs to be positive. Homosexual people are just like us, so they can be bad and evil too. But when it’s the loudest voice in the room, I just think this is a little reckless and cavalier, especially when it’s easy to read this love triangle as Inako needing to save Kihachi from Yosuke’s “temptations.” Granted, Kate seems to have feelings for Suzu, so not all forms of homosexuality in this show are negative. But Kate and Suzu barely get any screen time, so it doesn’t quite balance out Yosuke’s craziness. Oh well, last week’s episode should be the last. We’ll soon be able to rid ourselves of this bad taste from our mouths.
In the meantime, I guess I can talk a bit about the kids and their still evolving relationship. Kihachi has recovered since the mining cave-in, but he is still obsessed with the Electric Brain. It’s enough to make other patients think he’s creepy. Still, when Inako visits him and asks about it, a glimmer of the old Kihachi comes out. As a result, the kids decide to have a friendly, little competition. Inako will make her Electric Nishiki while Kihachi tries to build his and his brother’s Electric Brain. Who will achieve their dream first? Like always, this seems innocent enough on paper. But Inako already has everything she needs to make her sake. She just needs to harness her ingenuity and know-how. She can’t simply follow her mother’s formula and thus strike gold. She will need to add her own personal touch to the sake in order to make it special.
The same can’t be said for Kihachi. He’s not just trying to build the first ever basic computer. This thing is supposed to have artificial intelligence. You can’t magically build something like that without resources and capital. In other words, Kihachi is going to have to make a deal with the devil, i.e., work with Yosuke. He knows he’s doing a bad thing too, because he doesn’t share this with Inako. He doesn’t let her know that he’s working with Yosuke. She only later finds out about their unnatural cooperation when she sees Yajiro climb into a car owned by the Mizoe Firm.
This means Inako and Kihachi haven’t seen each other for quite some time. They’ve been so single-minded about their individual pursuits that they’ve hardly had time for themselves. Inako can barely stay awake in class, and Kihachi is often passed out at his desk. One time, Saki comes along to check on Inako’s progress, but she seems to have an agenda in mind. Not all agendas are inherently negative, but it’s strange to me that she immediately poses the following question: “Who do you want to try your sake the most?” Obviously, she’s trying to remind Inako of the person who is most dear to her: Kihachi. Yes, the kids have a friendly competition, but they can’t lose sight of each other. She only made it this far with his encouragement and vice versa. This love is the special ingredient that will make the Electric Nishiki truly special. But why the hell would Saki know anything about this? If this had come from Noriko or Inako’s BFFs, it would at least make some sense. But this lady, Yosuke’s sister of all people, barely knows anything about Inako and Kihachi, but she’s here playing matchmaker? I dunno, man…
Eventually, Inako is successful in following her mother’s exact recipe, but she isn’t necessarily making her sake. As a result, Inako isn’t as elated as she should be. Without Kihachi by her side, it just isn’t the same. She was supposed to achieve her dreams with him, and she only now realizes it — well, with a little help from Saki. But again, I feel like this role should’ve gone to either Noriko or her friends. I just don’t understand why this relatively brand new character is the one who gives Inako the push she needs to pursue her love.
It’s still crazy to me, however, that it took the girl this long to come to this conclusion. She was ready to marry Yosuke for his sake, but she only now realizes that she loves Kihachi? I think that’s a little silly.
Stray thoughts & observations:
— When Jinemon announces to his workers that Inako will be taking over part of the brewery, none of them seem to mind one bit. Hell, someone even adds, “It’s been a while since we made some of Naeko’s sake!” That’s such an insane thing to hear, isn’t it? I mean, isn’t this brewery built on her back? Didn’t she die putting everything into this business? So what have they been doing all this time? Again, all signs seem to suggest that Jinemon doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing. On paper, it would be insane to hand the reins over to a kid. She should be eased into the role step-by-step, bit-by-bit. But Jinemon’s probably a numbskull at running the business, so sure, why not have the kid call the shots? Can’t get much worse, right?
— I don’t think I’ve ever seen how sake is made. What little we see here seems fascinating. Maybe I’ll go see if there’s a video detailing the process on Youtube or whatever.
— I know Inako is hard at work, but I think KyoAni might have overdone it a bit here.
— Also, doesn’t Saki have better things to do like checking up on her mentally deteriorating brother? I guess there isn’t much love between the Mizoe siblings.
— The real world parallels continue. The important, necessary infrastructure for the people can never be done on schedule, but whenever a company needs something built, it’s a whole ‘nother matter completely. Despite his workers’ protests, Yosuke still whips them into completing his steam-powered data center.
— Seeing multiple people question Yosuke about the dangers of the Electric Brain, I can’t help but think that Kihachi isn’t blameless either. Inventors can’t just build stuff just because they can. They also have to factor in both the ethics of what they’re making and the environmental impact. Sure, the bureaucratic red tape can swing too far in the other direction. I think they tried to build a Jolibee in San Francisco for years, but the project was always being held up for one inane reason or another. But that doesn’t mean you should recklessly charge forth with your inventions either. If an Electric Brain requires this many raw materials and resources, maybe it can wait. Maybe it doesn’t need to be built right this instant.
— Kihachi and Yosuke referring to each other by their first names feels so wrong. They don’t respect each other. They’re only using each other. Again, Seiroku wouldn’t want this.
— When Inako tries to see Kihachi, she gets turned away. We are reminded, however, that Yosuke is just a branch manager within the firm. How can he redirect all of the steam power in Kyoto for this little pet project when he’s just a branch manager? Sometimes, the anime takes these narrative shortcut that leaves me less than satisfied. I think this could’ve been a great show, but it’s just not quite there. The formula’s not quite right.
— The moment Yosuke seems to cross the moral event horizon, his physical appearance changes completely. It only lasts for a brief moment, but he becomes almost ghoul-like. We get one more jump scare at the very end of the episode, specifically when Yosuke sticks Kihachi in a tank of water then turns on some machine probably meant to drain the kid’s soul. Maybe this time, Yosuke’s hideous change will be permanent.
— Noriko doesn’t even get a speaking part in this week’s episode. Her sole contribution to the story is giving Inako a wink.
— Crazy people love jumping into holes. Just ask James Sunderland about his adventures at the Silent Hill Historical Society. If you need me to explain the obvious, these characters are losing their marbles.
