Thanks for visiting Anime Rants. My appreciation of Tasokare Hotel went down slightly in these two episodes because there was no further development for Neko or Masaki Osoto. Instead, these two installments focused more on the supporting characters, Atori and Ruri. Regardless, since I currently have no job, I have the time to keep watching this show. There are definitely parts I still like, including the OST, the 1940s aesthetic, and the character of Neko. Let’s talk about Tasokare Hotel episodes 6 and 7.
Contents
- Episode 6: Space and Music
- Episode 7: A Carousel and Brass Knuckles
Episode 6: Space and Music
Episode Rating: 6/10
This episode was not bad, but also not great. It was good enough to keep me focused for most of the events, but it was underwhelming. The animation quality is poor, though that has always been the case. The main issue for me was that this felt like a filler. We got some new information about Atori, but besides that, it was just a pair of random stories about a kid and an old musician. Their stories were not terribly interesting to me. One thing that helped this episode was the music. It sounded nice at several points.
I’ll quickly go over the story of the kid. A boy around five years old showed up at the hotel chasing a cat. At first, the kid had a spaceship for a head becuase he was interested in rockets and astronauts. (That had nothing to with why he was at the hotel, though). While he was staying, the boy enjoyed spending time with another guest – an old muscian who acted like a grandpa. They played piano together. Later on, with some help from Neko, the boy recovered his memories and his face.
The boy’s name was Shota and the cat was a stray he named Mii. Since he had asthma, he wasn’t allowed to keep the cat, even though it was sick and dying. So, with Mii in his arms, Shota ran away from home. He later had an asthma attack that made him fall off a playground slide and hit his head. Shota was unconscious but alive. After hearing the voice of his mother in his head, Shota knew he had to go back. He checked out of the hotel after a fond goodbye to Mii and the old musician.
Next, let’s talk about the old musician and his connection to Atori. He was a renowned saxophone player with several popular records. I forgot his full name already, but his surname was Ogawa. He was Atori’s idol, whose music inspired the young man to study music overseas and join a jazz band. It didn’t work out because Atori’s band members told him his saxophone playing lacked passion. Atori gave up, feeling like he was empty on the inside. However, that wasn’t his only connection to Ogawa.
Some time later, when working as a hotel concierge, Atori encountered Ogawa. The old man had a heart attack. If not for Atori’s quick response, he would have died then. But thanks to the rescue, for a while after, Ogawa kept playing the saxophone. He was so passionate that he died of another heart attack while performing in front of a crowd. Once he remembered his name and the fact that he died, Ogawa was surprisingly calm. He was ready to move on.
Ogawa gave a final performance for Atori, Neko, and the Manager. At the end, he faded away peacefully, taking the cat with him. He left behind his saxophone, which Neko insisted Atori keep for the memories. It was sad for Atori that his idol died, but it must have also been good to see him again. Maybe this will inspire some passion in Atori’s heart. I’m not worried about him. Like Ogawa said, he’s still young and can do whatever he wants – assuming he’s not dead.
Episode 7: A Carousel and Brass Knuckles
Episode Rating: 7/10
This episode was better than the last one, in my opinion, because the side story of the guest interested me more. It was about two different guests: Ruri and Akari Mutou. The latter was the woman with the brass knuckles for a head. Once again in this episode, I was impressed with the OST playing in the background. It adds a lot to a scene. Anyway, let’s begin by discussing the character and history of Ruri.
First of all, Ruri is only fourteen years old. Looking at her behavior, that definitely tracks – but I was under the impression she was around eighteen if not older. This also means I’ve misunderstood Neko’s fascination with Ruri. At least, I hope I was wrong, because I thought Neko was attracted to Ruri. Now it seems like it’s more of a doting older sister sort of thing. Neko thinks Ruri is cute – but she means cute like a child. Even so, her affection seems a bit over-the-top.
When Ruri first came to Tasokare Hotel, she couldn’t remember anything and her head looked like a miniature carousel. She was wary of the Manager for some time, before he helped her recover her memories. Ruri loved carousels because she rode one on the last day she ever saw her mother. The woman abandoned the family, leaving Ruri’s father to raise the child alone and pay off her debts.
Ruri took it upon herself to cook, clean, and do the chores for her father. She was a very self-reliant and serious girl. Since she was poor, Ruri was embarrassed around other students her own age. She always tried to avoid them, resulting in a lack of friends. One day, while trying to avoid a group of middleschool girls, Ruri stepped into the crosswalk at the wrong time and got it by a truck. Insert obligatory joke about Truck-kun here.
(Side Note #1: Ruri is still at the hotel despite remembering her name and face. She also remembers that she’s alive in the real world in a comatose state. But she doesn’t want to go back yet because of how stressful things would be. That’s why she started working at the hotel. In return for being the hotel chef, Ruri is allowed to stay as long as she likes.)
Now let’s talk about the other guest: Akari Mutou, the woman who had brass knuckles for a head at first. That violent item represented her love and admiration for her male friend, who always carried brass knuckles. But he turned out to be a piece of shit who dragged Akari into a scam. He told her it was a normal telemarketing job, but it was a criminal scam that cheated the elderly. Since Akari was a single mother, she was hard-pressed for money. Once she discovered it was a scam, though, she tried to quit.
On the same day, the police came to arrest Akari’s friend, who made a quick escape. Akari decided to do the same after realizing that she couldn’t take care of her daughter if she was put in prison. The poor woman fell to her death trying to jump from a window over to the next building. Now that she remembered all this, Akari was full of regret. On the bright side, she felt confident that her ex-husband would adopt their daughter and care for her well. Still, it was a painful story.
Akari checked out of the hotel after hugging Ruri goodbye. I hope she found closure out before disappearing. Rest in peace, Akari Mutou. People smarter than you have died in even stupider ways.
At first, I thought this episode’s framing was a bit problematic. The moral of the story seemed at first to be that Akari should have stayed with her husband. If that was the message, it would indeed be an issue. But after re-watching, I think the moral was actually more about the importance of seeking help from others in a general sense. If Akari had gotten financial help from her ex-husband, that would have been far better than getting involved in a scam.
(Side Note #2: The voice actress playing Akari Mutou was Ami Koshimizu. She is a well-known and well-respected voice actress in the anime world. I know her best from when she played Holo in Spice and Wolf and Kallen in Code Geass, but her roles are numerous. It is always a treat to hear this lady’s lovely voice.)
The last scene in this episode was so sweet and wholesome that it almost brought tears to my eyes. Neko and Atori made a meal for Ruri to let her know they care about her. They know she doesn’t have a parent who makes her food in the real world. The warm fuzzy feelings were great. And that wraps things up for today.
~Thank you for reading~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
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