sister

Is Null Just Inside a Simulation?

While there have been plenty of questions to contemplate in this otherwise amusing short anime prior to now, episodes 6 and 7 seriously take it to the next level all while presenting what on the surface is a standard beach and haunted school style story lines. Where previously I was wondering what Peta actually was, now I’m wondering whether or not everything we’ve experienced in this anime is just a simulation Null is inside of; that in turn makes me wonder whether Null is actually alive and if she is, where is she?

There’s certainly been evidence before in regards to some of the things Null has created and invented and the fact that she has no family other than the robot Peta she created. Also, despite Peta’s insistence that Null go to school there’s no other consequence of her not going. Nor does anyone ever check on the house after one of the explosions that have occurred there. Basically, the world has been a little odd from the start but seemed like it could be shrugged off as anime.

However, this episode, where the people leaving the beach obviously glitch and then the virus that infects Peta, as well as her dire warning that the school will be no-more, before we see it glitch as well, seems like they are finally ready to pull back the curtain and maybe let the audience in on what is actually going on. And I’m pretty keen to find out because Null and Peta, while it has remained relatively silly, has proven time and time again to have surprising depth.

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What episode 6 also brought to the table was a rare glimpse of Null interacting with someone other than Peta. It was almost the beginning of an actual friendship and while I’m not overly hopeful that the unnamed girl will return later, it brought out a different side of Null.

But these episodes most definitely leave us with more questions than answers and I really want to know where it is going. However, what is more important is that it has been a lot of fun getting to this point and this one has been an ongoing surprise this season as it continues to be very entertaining.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Null Peta. Dir. H Ogura. Shin-Ei Animation. 2019.

Who Is Peta?

Null & Peta has been surprisingly enjoyable for a comedy short, but there have been glimpses of more emotional depth as Null is nagged by her robot sister. These glimpses come to the forefront in episode 5 as the jokes are swapped out for a clear instance of denial followed by a heart wrenching plea. Null is one incredibly lonely girl and the loss of her sister, even in robot form, isn’t a pill she’s able to swallow.

Admittedly, in the short time frame this one doesn’t pack quite the punch of some longer form anime that build up characters over many hours of viewing before pulling such a poignant moment, but for the time given Null & Peta is doing its best to take the viewer on a journey with Null. While most of the time this seems to be your standard anime hijinks with a super-powered robot trying to feed her sister purple fried rice and drag her to school, the underlying theme of feeling like she’s the odd one out and alone continues to surface adding just enough depth to keep this series interesting.

This week Null is confronted with the possibility that while she might be able to recharge Peta she’s unable to back-up her data. At first she dismisses this as unimportant and claims she’ll be happy that the new robot won’t nag her about school and the like, however it is very clear this is bravado and the facade crumbles pretty quickly.

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Ultimately though the situation resolves itself through a comedy of errors and we realise once again that while Null & Peta is willing to dip its toes into emotional depth, ultimately it is just a bit of fun. However, the conclusion here doesn’t cheapen the reality of Null’s emotional moment even a little bit.

I know some people don’t watch short anime, but so far this one has been a treat this season. Not to mention, it is a very small time investment to give it a go.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Null Peta. Dir. H Ogura. Shin-Ei Animation. 2019.

She Should Have Gone To School

This episode is framed by Null’s thought that she should have just gone to school and it works very well in terms of giving us five minutes of entertainment. After seeing Null’s initial thought against the backdrop of a space station we cut to Peta having made fake Sakura trees and blowing petals at Null to give her the illusion that it is the first day of school. It is sweet in an overbearing kind of way.

Null however, despite being in her school uniform, isn’t buying it and attempts to return home but her backpack suddenly turns into a rocket and begins to fly her to school. Turns out she thinks she’s a step ahead of her robot sister this time and she’s already modified it so that she can go get ice-cream. Null is really kind of pleasant to spend time with in this series. I kind of wish we’d get a bit more depth into why she is on her own but her motivation is always really clear and her actions make logical sense within the context of the show at least.

However, Peta isn’t having it and when they fight for control the rocket launches Null into space. Which you would think would make her safe from Peta’s nagging except it really doesn’t.

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Again, I wonder about the programming of Peta as she nearly kills Null by trying to feed her in space where removing her helmet will definitely kill her. Not long after that though, tragedy strikes and we are left wondering how Null will get out of the situation or even if the anime will try to get her out of it or whether we’ll just reset as we have at the start of most episodes.

It’s all just kind of sweet nonsense but underlying it you can kind of sense that Null is in real pain. I’d love to give her a hug and I think that’s the reason I keep watching this. I want to see Null eventually get free of the pain she is in. Probably won’t happen given this one seems to be a strictly formulaic comedy but I can hope.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Null Peta. Dir. H Ogura. Shin-Ei Animation. 2019.

Bed Time Stories With Maths

I always thought Maths existed to put people to sleep and episode 3 of Null & Peta does exactly that but turns it into a really sweet and touching moment for a troubled and lonely genius child inventor. And this is why I can’t discuss anime with people who aren’t used to it.

Alright, our five minutes this episode are continuing the saga of Peta, the robot with the sister’s personality, trying to lean on Null to go to school. However, unlike the previous episode which have resulted in almost Saturday morning cartoon levels of silliness, this time we get a more direct conversation regarding Null not wanting to go to school. Admittedly it is framed around a bath scene but after all it is anime so of course it is.

And it isn’t as though all the humour is thrown out the window. We still get plenty of antics from the offer to massage her scalp before bringing out instruments that look like they will kill her to the robot overflowing the tub, there’s levity here. It’s just that Null’s genuine desire to not go to school now makes sense. We see her experience in the classroom through her eyes, this keen and bright young girl, and we realise exactly why she has no interest in being there even if she is very interested in learning.

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This episode made me genuinely wonder whether Peta actually existed or whether she’s a product of Null’s over-active imagination. It would certainly explain why this robot can literally do anything and seems to have taken on way too much of Null’s sister’s personality. Of course, that might be a bit too much for this story to deal with in five minute snippets but it would certainly be an interesting twist.

This anime continues to be a bit of fun each week and with the soft touch on emotions this week it has pretty much secured its spot until the end of the season. Hopefully it continues to deliver some light laughs and maybe a few more poignant moments.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Null Peta. Dir. H Ogura. Shin-Ei Animation. 2019.

Breakfast: The Most
Important Meal

You don’t expect much from a five minute short so Null & Peta delivering a basic set up gag and repeating with escalation for its run is fairly much expected. There’s a few cute moments to be had, the escalation works well enough and the finale is suitable for the run time. There’s really nothing to complain about given what the show is, though it isn’t exactly must watch material. More a brain break inbetween watching more involved stories.

I actually enjoyed the set up though. Seeing Null dreaming about her sister waking her up was nice as it does help you to feel her loneliness and the reason why she tried to build a robot sister. The process she has waking her up and preparing her for the day is reminiscent of the Jetsons and was kind of adorable. I’m just wondering where her parents are and how she funds all these inventions. Also, why does a girl who can build a sentient robot even need to go to school?

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Still, Peta’s bait and switch with the hologram breakfast and then producing the purple fried rice of death (I still want to know how anime characters manage to produce purple food with such regularity) before pursuing Null to try to force her to eat it is more or less where the episode becomes an episode of the Road Runner. Only in this case the Road Runner is chasing Wile E Coyote and it ends with Null blowing up one of her inventions in order to stop Peta. Too bad she designed Peta to be pretty durable.

It doesn’t do much but it is enough. There’s some sweetness here and some cute moments as well as some that will hopefully make you smile and then it comes to an end. Short and sweet.

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Karandi James

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Images from: Null Peta. Dir. H Ogura. Shin-Ei Animation. 2019.

Sugar and Spice and
All Things Nice

Short anime don’t get a lot of time and Null & Peta seems well aware of it five minute run time as it drops us straight into watching Null throwing her ‘ingredients’ into some kind of machine to make her robot sister. We’re left to assume that her sister for whatever reason is no longer around and parents don’t feature anywhere here. It isn’t long before we get a blinding light and an explosion and then the appearance of the robot sister that isn’t what Null, or the audience, probably expected.

I enjoyed this first episode. Null was cute on her own and it really did feel like the nursery rhyme as she mixed the different attributes she wanted for her sister together. While it doesn’t even vaguely hold up to the sci-fi tag MAL has on this show, because there’s no science actually happening and it is more pseudo magic or plot development through wishing, it is kind of cute how earnestly she is working and even when it isn’t quite right Null is still delighted by the presence of her sister even if she has some interesting new features.

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In the final minutes, the robot learns that Null hasn’t been attending school and hugs her before capturing her tightly and flying off toward the school. It is a cute sisterly moment and works well enough. I think if this went for twenty minutes I probably couldn’t stomach it but at five it worked really well and it certainly made me curious as to what Null and Peta will get up to next.

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Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
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Karandi James

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Images from: Null Peta. Dir. H Ogura. Shin-Ei Animation. 2019.