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[Music]
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in my recent video on neon genesis
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evangelion i described how that series
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is generally considered to have launched
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the sec-ik trend in anime and manga a
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genre label used to describe a flurry of
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series that seemed to follow in the
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footsteps of evangelion crafting stories
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that intertwine internal drama usually
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that of teenagers with some kind of
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world-changing tragedy in her
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dissertation sikaike as existentialist
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narrative stephanie thomas describes the
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sikh ik as being built around the
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omission of a mediating social dimension
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between individual characters and an
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apocalyptic large-scale situation and
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sunnyboy does follow the journey of a
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group of characters who have explicitly
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been extracted from their societal
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context and left to their own devices
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their individual personalities very much
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affecting their surroundings on a large
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scale through their use of superpowers
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and through a manipulation of the rules
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of the worlds they inhabit add to this
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the characteristic withdrawn and
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indecisive male protagonist as well as
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the confrontation with grand
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metaphysical forces and i think it's
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fair to say that sunnyboy does land
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somewhere in this lineage of sick ik
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stories that being said this series
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certainly proposes a new approach to
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this kind of narrative where sunnyboy
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stands out is in how it seemingly gives
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to the grandest of adventures the most
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insignificant of outcomes when the anime
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comes to an end our main characters have
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traversed a reality warping realm that
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allows them to go against the will of
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god himself and return to their original
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reality leaving behind a world of
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potentialities lost to the flow of time
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it's a bit complicated to say the least
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but what do these characters do once
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they finally get back from this
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mind-bending adventure well
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not much they don't confront god they
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don't change the system go back and save
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their friends
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they just live their lives when shinji
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makes his big decision in end of
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evangelion the world is altered forever
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a statement has been made but when sunni
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boy's protagonist nagana returns to
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reality the effects of his decision
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are virtually non-existent in fact many
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aspects of this show's narrative feel
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incomplete in this way somewhat
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underwhelming so what is the true
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significance of sunni boy's apparently
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insignificant ending
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the show's premise immediately brings to
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mind such stories as lord of the flies
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the drifting classroom or julvern's two
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years vacation but with its superpowered
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cast bizarre worlds and fast-moving plot
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that gets wrapped up in only 12 episodes
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sunny boy's narrative becomes
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exponentially more complex with each
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passing episode very quickly leaving the
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realm of simple adventure stories that
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focus on creating a microcosm of society
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in order to examine the inner workings
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of social dynamics
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towards something much more intricate
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but this complexity is our first clue as
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to what this series is really all about
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it is not something to be decoded like a
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conventional mystery this overwhelming
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confusion is an integral aspect of the
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work's message as creator natsume shingo
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has stated sunnyboy is about boys and
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girls who square off against theological
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the theme of this work is the
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frustrations and difficulties that
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anyone has felt through living every
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subjective point of view no matter what
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it is has its own form of correctness
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one of the themes of the story is the
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children who continue to resist the
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illogicality that is born from that
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subjectivity all the confusion and
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mysteries present in the narrative serve
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to express this confrontation with
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theological this is natsume's approach
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to the coming-of-age story and this
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illogicality that results from the
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confusion of subjectivities is expressed
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in a number of ways it is first of all
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apparent in the incredibly diverse
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artwork found throughout the anime the
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ever-changing worlds of sunnyboy give
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the animators the opportunity to dip in
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and out of different styles and this
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multiplicity of artistic voices comes as
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the result of the immense freedom given
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to the artists working on this project
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producing an overflow of artistic
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expression an anime bursting at the
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seams with creativity everything gives
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the impression of a world that could
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change at any given moment which is of
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course literally the case within the
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show's narrative and the character
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designs and backgrounds reflect this
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these brightly colored shapes and forms
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almost bleed into one another there's a
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fluidity to the world and characters a
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stylistic pension that natsume perhaps
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inherited from his mentor yuasa masaaki
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however the most incongruous element of
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the work in my view is its purposefully
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fractured editing both in the
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moment-to-moment montage but also on the
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larger scale of the overarching story
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itself the series demonstrates a very
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laid-back and somewhat messy approach to
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narrative construction it feels kind of
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volatile in a way that matches the
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animation it could go in any direction
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in fact producer mukeshi motoki
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encouraged natsume to include a new
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twist in each episode to keep the
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audience engaged and the in-media res
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opening contributes to this sense of
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mystery that keeps the viewer hooked
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we're already in the void already in the
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thick of the mystery and the rest of the
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series builds on this by constantly
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jumping around different characters
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perspectives as well as jumping around
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in time never quite providing the full
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picture and the show's extensive use of
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ellipses further alienates the viewer
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feeding into natsume's desire to create
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an illogical experience one where not
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only the characters but the viewers
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themselves must find ways to reconcile
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this strange and elusive narrative with
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their own world view
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[Music]
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[Music]
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this editing style feels more like
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connecting thematic dots rather than
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advancing through the plot in a linear
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fashion but where this elliptical
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approach to storytelling may prove
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frustrating for some viewers is in how
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the anime handles its characters and
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plot developments by the end of the
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series we may feel as though sunnyboy
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has failed to adequately explain itself
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or provide satisfying conclusions to
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many of its character's storylines
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almost as if entire chunks of the plot
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have been removed or condensed i'd even
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go so far as to say that in the end
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sunnyboy is nothing but loose ends but
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of course i don't think this is a flaw
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in fact i think this is the show's
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greatest strength and what makes it
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stand out as a particularly memorable
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experience sunnyboy provides us with
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that very special feeling of having only
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caught a glimpse of a moment a glimpse
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of these people's lives rather than
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having observed a complete picture that
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leaves nothing to the imagination
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the incomplete storylines of secondary
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characters and to be honest even the
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main characters imply the continuation
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of their lives beyond the scope of the
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series it is an anime made of a thousand
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threads each going off in different
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directions because netsume gives great
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freedom to the individual components of
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his work he doesn't seek to wrap
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everything up neatly at the end and
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despite the grand sci-fi mystery that
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lies at the show's core sunnyboy often
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veers off into a more episodic structure
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reminiscent of works like kino's journey
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for example taking time to ponder
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specific philosophical or moral
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questions within the context of
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self-contained stories this is
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especially the case in episode 11 when
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rajdhani returns from his travels and
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recounts two separate tales that very
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much feel like small fables meant to
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impart some kind of moral that informs
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or in some way reflects our main
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character's journeys sunny boy's
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narrative stands somewhere between this
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episodic format and the serialized
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mystery driven narrative that its
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premise and major plot developments
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hinge on at the drop of a hat we can
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jump from an episode about nagala
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playing baseball to an episode that
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completely transforms our character's
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conception of reality this creates a
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very disorienting effect which in some
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way diminishes the impact of such
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mind-blowing twists these moments are
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not really given time to breathe they're
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handled the same way any other plot
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development would be this has the effect
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of essentially leveling the grand sci-fi
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concepts and small character beats to
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the same plane of importance which
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according to gainax co-founder okada
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toshio is the essence of the sekai k the
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big twist of the show's midpoint or
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episode 12's dimension jumping journey
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are made to feel almost normal and the
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consequence of this
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is that when we do finally return to the
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normal world things feel positively
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abnormal no superpowers no dramatic
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twists no supernatural worlds to explore
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only a rainy day at school a girl you
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watch from afar someone you used to know
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cold grey reality
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which leads us to the conclusion of our
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protagonist's arc inaction is the
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central floor of this character and the
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tension between his desire to act and
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the confusion that arises from the many
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possibilities that lie before him and
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his inability to commit himself to a
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particular ethic is the driving force of
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his entire arc and the flurry of strange
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worlds and moral quandaries that he and
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the other characters encounter is
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representative of this tension this
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uncertainty about the future which path
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to take and so naturally it's what we
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expect to see concluded in this final
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sequence especially since we once again
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return to a situation where nagala is
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given the opportunity to help a dying
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bird and he's even confronted with
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nozomi the character who has been
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pulling him out of his passivity
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throughout the entire story and is also
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something of a love interest for his
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character and so it appears that
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everything is pointing toward this scene
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being the perfect resolution for his
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character he accepts to take on the
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burden of caring for this animal thus
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overcoming his apathy and inertia once
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and for all while at the same time maybe
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even bonding with nozomi giving the
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audience the satisfaction of knowing
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that maybe one day these two might
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finally get together but none of that
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really happens
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instead he fumbles through the
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interaction refusing the offer to take
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care of the bird and nazumi just returns
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to asakase and the anime ends with
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nagara simply
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walking away and this is where i feel
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the true effect of sunny boy's inversion
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of significance because this one moment
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of quiet awkward and slightly
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dissatisfying human interaction reveals
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itself to me as much more poignant than
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almost anything else that's happened in
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the series so far and that includes our
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characters realizing that they have been
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rejected by god and that their real
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selves back in the real world are moving
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on without them that they are simply the
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rejects of an endless ocean of potential
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futures but why is that why is this one
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moment just as moving or even more so
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than the plot's many shocking twists and
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turns i think it's because in this
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moment i realized that maybe the idea of
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nothing happening at all
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would be a much more devastating
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apocalypse than the world itself coming
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to an end because the inability to
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change the outside world
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leaves only the self to be worked on
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this ending reduces the scope of the
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story to a microscopic scale after an
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adventure that made explicit the
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underlying complexity and confusion of
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the real world by exteriorizing the
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inner workings of intertwining
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subjectivities we return to that one
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small world that maybe we can control
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the one mystery we can slowly decode
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the self but in the end did nagala
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really accomplish anything did he really
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change
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he didn't get the girl after all he
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didn't even pursue her but he did leave
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with a smile and he did make the
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decision to go to the train station and
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check on the bird in the first place and
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if it wasn't for all those supposedly
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meaningless worlds all those stories all
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those what-ifs he might not have it
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might have been just another rainy day
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and so even if that smile that single
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moment of bliss was all he got from this
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adventure it was still worth it the
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ending tells us that nagara will not
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immediately be rewarded with a
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girlfriend just for being active and
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considerate for once in his life if he
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was doing it just for nozomi that would
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kind of defeat the purpose he's doing it
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for himself he's doing it to better
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himself we may not see what this change
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in his personality will eventually lead
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to but we do see the change
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and that should be enough
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at every moment of our lives there hangs
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a thousand maybes suspended in a realm
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of potential and sunnyboy is a story
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that teaches us to value and nurture
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that voice within us that urges us to
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smile urges us to move forward perhaps
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this kind of narrative does leave us
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feeling even more powerless in the face
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of an ever-changing complex adult world
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but it also leaves us with a much more
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optimistic outlook on how we can choose
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to operate within this world how we
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choose to interpret the meaning and
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significance of our presence in this
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complex reality it might be an illogical
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world composed of contradictory
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subjectivities but it's also a world
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where we can smile if we really want to
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and if cultural critic asaba michiaki is
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right in describing the sekai k as a
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story where personal crisis and the
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crisis of the entire world become
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synchronized then sunny boy is perhaps
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one of the most important entries in the
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genre one that manages to infuse the
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most insignificant of moments with all
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the profundity
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of a world-changing event
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[Music]
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my
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[Music]
