PET episode 3 – Fishbowl

You know, I gotta to give it to Pet, whatever else it may be, it is a very consistent show. And by that I mean that if you’ve been watching it, you should already know what you’re in for with this series.

This week, the Pet centred on the “company’s” dealings with a Chinese mobster while as Tsukasa and Hiroki are getting their small business fish pert store off the ground. Well Hiroki is, Tsukasa is still working as a mentalist Yakuza most days.

There are a lot of fish in Pet. The imagery of both fish and water is everywhere and it seems the name of the series does in fact refer to a pet goldfish. Like most things this show does, it’s not exactly subtle. But it’s not completely shallow either. There is some attempt at subtext.

Somewhere beneath the posturing dark and dreary storyline, there’s some point about how we are bound by our own pasts and how we chose to take in what we experience. How our emotions can hold us captive and limit us our entire lives. Sure, the series does always go just one step too far in the macabre to illustrate this simple point and I think it ends up weakening the impact rather than enhancing it. But at least it does try to say something. Or I’m pouring in my own subtext for funsies. I do that sometimes.

I must say I was fairly disinterested in the plight of Inui, our bad guy and victim this week. He was fine but simply didn’t really capture my imagination. I did remember his name though so I guess that’s progress! There was also more gender themed plot threads. It’s becoming a real recurring theme and I am starting to feel like I’m reading Pet all wrong. But I’ll reserve that judgment for a little later in the series. I don’t think I have enough pieces yet.

We also didn’t get to see much of Satoru at all in this episode but we got the reveal that Hayashi may be coming back to the story so I foresee some confrontation ahead for the worlds least confrontational psychic yakuza. This is not a sentence I ever thought I would write and sadly it makes Pet sound much more interesting than it is.

This said, I once again didn’t not enjoy the episode. It was fine and I want to see the next one. It’s sort of frustrating to review but I’ve also watched much worse. One element I did in fact just plain enjoy was the hint that the power dynamics may not be quite as simple as they appear. The premise sets up the possibility for spectacular double crosses and that could be fun to watch. At least I hope so.

I was rather thrilled and surprised to find out that I am not in fact the only one watching this show and that others share my ambivalent appreciation of it. I hope that’s still the case this week.

Contributed by Irina
from I Drink And Watch Anime!