For the first article of the new year, I decided to revisit a title I haven't written about properly lately, Mizuiro Jidai. This article is about a character who isn't shown as much as one might expect her to be given her place in the plot.
Forgotten Anime #2
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Exhibit #2 - "Kugayama-san Shows Her Feelings"
Cel and Douga - Sequence Number B6
Mizuiro Jidai (Alternate Title: “Aqua Age”)
Episode #18 - "Love Triangle"
Nippon Animation, Studio Comet
Runtime Location (approx.) - 00:15:03:15
Single Character: Natsumi Kugayama
Episode Director: Susumu Kudo
Animation Director: Tadayoshi Okimura
The Cel
The Douga
Finished Production Shot
About the Animation
The Episode Director was Susumu Kudo. His work includes Production Coordination for Fatal Fury and Fatal Fury 2 (the movies).
The Animation Director was Tadayoshi Okimura, who was involved in the production of series such as Captain Tsubasa, Gintama, as well movies based on Detective Conan, and Yu-Gi-Oh!.
This very brief sequence appears to be rather jerky, and by my count looks like it was animated "on the fours". I believe the jerking effect was intention for dramatic emphasis. Kugayama must have been rendered all on a single-layer cel for each animated frame of the sequence.
I'm going to guess that Yuuko standing behind her in the production shot is on A-layer, which I sadly don't have.
Condition
Overall the cel appears to be in good condition. No evidence of the dreaded vinegar syndrome. It did not want to lay perfectly flat at first, but I do not see that as a serious issue.
A Quick Rundown
Mizuiro Jidai chronicles the life of Yuuko "Yuu-chan" Kawaai through her years of high school. For many years prior, she counted her neighbor Hiroshi "Hiroshi-kun" Naganuma among her best friends. The series begins at a point in time where the winds are changing for these two adolescents. A few episodes in, they start "going-steady" as boyfriend and girlfriend.
Taking a page from shoujo anime, it isn't long before a potential rival appears. Natsumi Kugayama is a very popular girl with the seniors. Interestingly, she very much resembles a brunette version of Yuuko. Anyway Kugayama-san is manager of the boy's soccer team, on which Hiroshi-kun is not only a player, but also an important factor.
Hiroshi-kun spends alot of his free time with Kugayama-san working out issues with the team and practicing after school. As you have likely guessed, this causes Yuu-chan much consternation. She has good reason to be insecure-even her own best girl friend Taka was shown to have feelings for Hiroshi-kun. He seems to be a very well liked guy.
It is eventually shown that Kugayama-kun herself has feelings for one boy in particular. Yuuko and Taka spy on her as she refuses another suitor-telling him plainly but politely, that she like someone else.
Yuuko surmises that Hiroshi-kun is the intended object of her affections. This only adds to Yuuko's struggles with insecurity. It certainly doesn't help that Kugayama-san frequently complicates even Yuuko and Hiroshi-kun's phone conversations.
At one point, Hiroshi-kun shares a rather awkward walk home not only with Yuuko, but also (partway) with Kugayama-san. After the latter leaves them, Yuuko tries to tell him that she suspects Kugayama-san of having feelings for him. Suddenly, a young boy on a bike comes hurtling down a nearby hill. Turning the corner of the intersection has him bearing down on Yuuko. Hiroshi-kun chivalrously jumps between them at the last second. The bike crashes, but the rider is apparently not seriously injured. In the process however, Hiroshi-kun sprains his left ankle. He fixes the bike, and gently chides the rider about taking more care. The boy apologizes and is on his way.
The Scene in Context
As per usual, I have included a video showing the cel, along with a short segment from earlier in the episode for additional context.
(2 Scenes) Kugayama-san Refuses a Suitor, Kugayama-san Shows Her Feelings (contains cel)
During one of his practice soccer matches, Yuuko stands watching on the sidelines. She is very worried that Hiroshi-kun will hurt himself worse, as his ankle was never properly attended. Kugayama-san walks up beside her. After extremely abbreviated pleasantries, Yuuko expresses her concern that Hiroshi-kun should stop training for awhile. She asks Kugayama-san to tell him as much-he might listen to the team manager.
"But he's practiced so hard for the upcoming match--" Kugayama-san protests, her voice picking up speed, and rising a bit in pitch. "--I know how he feels." She continues, unaware at first that her tone has become rather forceful. "--I want him to do what he wants, So you see--" She doesn't finish her statement, as she looks at Yuuko. Yuuko has not said a word, and is just looking at her with a troubled expression.
Suddenly, Kugayama-san remembers herself. Perhaps she is speaking overly direct, or at least a bit out-of-turn. Maybe she sensed her intense protest was showing too much of her own feelings. Whatever Kugayama-san was thinking, she apologizes and turns to leave. The view switches to a close up of her descending a wide but moderately short set of steps. It is during the rather tense close-up sequence that this cel is shown on screen.
Not the Typical Rival
It would seem expected that Kugayama-san be a bitter rival to Yuuko. However, Kugayama-san doesn't come off that way. It is true that she monopolizes an appreciable chunk of Hiroshi-kun's free time, making it hard to blame Yuuko for being upset. It could be argued there is a bit of selfishness here on Kugayama-san's part, although she and Hiroshi-kun seem to talk mainly about the team and soccer.
She does not actively plot to try to steal him from Yuuko, however. I have seen pretty clear cut examples of such attempts in anime, and to me this doesn't look like one of them.
One can't help but sympathize with Kugayama-san at least some. She seems be the sort of girl who really does not want to hurt anybody, but has a hard time dealing with her own feelings in the process. I might add that Hiroshi-kun is more than a bit insensitive to Yuuko's feelings at times, but frankly we men are regular failures in that regard anyway. Besides, Hiroshi-kun is certainly not the most insensitive anime character I have come across.
About the Name
I'm not really sure why, but in the TV series she's always called Kugayama-san. I don't remember her ever being called "Natsumi" or "Natsumi-chan", etc. My guess is because she is not as directly involved with the broader core cast. If I had to take a guess, Yuuko would be fit to be tied if she ever heard Hiroshi-kun refer to her potential rival as "Natsumi" or something similar.
I sort of prefer "Natsumi-chan" to "Kugayama-san", so I will probably sprinkle a few in here and there.
Kugayama-san's Seiyuu
- ms_info2.png (110.45 KiB) Viewed 841 times
Maaya Sakamoto was cast as Natsumi Kugayama in Mizuiro Jidai. I remember coming across her name fairly regularly online in the mid 2000's. A sampling of her career includes characters such as Kiyomi Takada in Death Note, Motoko Kusanagi in several Ghost in the Shell projects, and the Nothing Card in the second CardCaptor Sakura movie.
Sakamoto-san has also performed songs for the CCS franchise. At least one of those songs, the 3rd season opening entitled "Platinum", was covered by CCS lead seiyuu Sakura Tange. Sakamoto-san returned to perform the opening for the newish CCS reboot, Clear Card Arc.
Sakamoto-san along with fellow Mizuiro Jidai alumnus Chieko Higuchi make up the pop duo Whoops! "Love Love Phantasy" and "Itsuka" are probably their better known selections.
Returning to Kugayama-san and Mizuiro Jidai, she doesn't get as much play as some of the other not-exactly-lead characters, but when she does, Sakamoto-san does a fine job. Actually, I really like the way she started getting intense here, only stopping when she realized she might be out-of-line. She sounds like a nice, gentle character normally, and is usually very polite. However, Kugayama-san's regard for Hiroshi-kun has a habit of getting the better of her. It is very cool to listen to her voice just sort of flow into the higher speed, slighter louder pattern of speech.
Final Thoughts
While I would have preferred a happier expression on Kugayama-san, I can't argue with the quality of the close-up. I must admit, the similarity in appearance to Yuuko is quite striking. Natsumi-chan more closely resembles her than Yuuko's own older sister. I am inclined to think I would constantly mistake Natsumi-chan for Yuu-chan were the former to have the same hair color. Indeed, Yuuko sometimes wears a warm-up suit very similar to this one, but her hair is usually pulled back in those situations.
I like Natsumi-chan. She seems very sweet, yet quite passionate at times. She's a breath of fresh air compared to the needy, clingy, desperate plotter archetype of a shoujo rival. I really hope I have read her character correctly.
Kugayama-san is a difficult character to find, and I'm pleased to have her in my collection. This cell has also increased the number of voice actors represented, as I have no other character voiced by Sakamoto-san in my collection. At least, not that I know of anyway.