Tsuritama - 7

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Did shit just get real

Tsuritama has been mostly fun and games up until this episode, with little or no drama in any of the episodes but this episode marks further developments in the plot and the addition of drama for the characters. The Verdict: Tsuritama has proven that it can even do drama very well without sacrificing any of the comedy that we're used and that I love.

For me, this was an Akira episode; I don't know whether it was intentional that he got so much screen time or that he was the centre of attention in this episode, but he was the character that stood out most for me. This change should be welcomed since in the previous 6 episodes, our Indian MIB friend had very little to do - even in the last episode, the attention went back to the trio - and this was yet another episode that helped with the integration of his character into the circle of friends. What made this episode even more fun to watch was that Akira's involvement this episode was mostly him being the butt of the jokes, the best one being his new found fear of Haru which led him to wear a raincoat and bring an umbrella with him (can you guess the design on it ).

Of course the episode wasn't just all about Akira, it also focused on a reoccurring plot point involving Natsuki and his family. If I'm being honest, I felt like there would be some type of drama added into this episode when the topic of his birthday was brought up though the drama was something that I did not anticipate something as heavy as Natsuki slapping his little sister after she blames him for the fight and the tension in the atmosphere caused by it, a plot direction that I was shocked by but at the same time pleasantly surprised to an extent because it added more depth to Tsuritama's story and served as the plot point to bring together Akira, Haru and Yuki. It might have been an expected development in Tsuritama but it was placed at just the right episode to occur.

Other than the drama from Natsuki and the comedy from Akira, not much else was revealed in the episode. The few snippets about Bermuda Syndrome and the final scene where boats are travelling in the triangle formation didn't reveal anything else, and the most we got from this episode regarding the supernatural phenomena was that Haru was scared of it and trying to protect his friends (trying to stop them from fishing).

I really enjoyed this episode of Tsuritama because it was nicely different from the rest, and with 4 episodes left I'm excited to see how the series will wrap up.