Like many seasonal anime fans, I am watching Sono Bisque Doll. It’s cute, it’s quirky, it’s a lot of fun, and it has just enough fanservice that doesn’t estrange the average anime fan. So far it’s been really good – with only four episodes in, who knows – this might be the best one true pairing of the year. With all the turmoil our world is going through, it is refreshing to have a series to fall back on every week like this. However, this article is not about me making a snap judgement on only four episodes, rather it was me wanting to write about something that really resonated with me in this recent episode – Are These Your Girlfriends?.
I think I was about 23 years old when I realized that I did not have enough time in the day. When I realized that between work, school, social commitments, and regular life stuff – how could one balance everything? And as you get older you might get married, have more in possession to account for, have kids or whatever – it just seems like life will only get harder, no matter how much you prosper and figure it out. I remember exactly how it felt when I started feeling overwhelmed with life. I remember deadlines kept popping up, one after the next and me thinking “Oh my God – I’m in trouble”. This feeling has never been something that I’ve been vocal about because I think it’s just something that everyone on Earth has to go through. I mean for goodness sake, people even block off time to meal prep in order to have meals for their entire week because they don’t have time to cook food when they’re hungry.
Even though this feeling seems to be universal, it is a feeling that our protagonist Gojo has to go through as he runs his (hospitalized) grandfather’s business, while under pressure of not disappointing the request of his friend and studying for exams. That first realization of “Oh that deadline is soon,” then the following “Oh I have to do that too, but I wasn’t even done that first task,” followed by “Wait, there’s more? But – I can’t…”. That last moment that leads to breakdown – wow. I have seen over 300 seasons/films of anime in my life – I have never seen an anime touch on this theme so well. I have rarely ever had an anime demonstrate a feeling so well, period.
So far, Sono Bisque Doll has been really good. I believe that it’s only going to get better as we learn more about our pair. As Kitagawa starts seeing Gojo as more than just a warm person and opens up about her personal life that we haven’t seen much of. And as Gojo learns to be more confident in himself. The great thing about Gojo’s demeanor is that he is unaware of his competency. When he starts talking about Hina dolls, fabric, and focusing on his grandfather’s workshop – when he’s in that mode, he’s the most confident and strong high schooler in the world. But that’s a topic for another article. I hope you’re enjoying Sono Bisque Doll as much as I am!
