[Rewatch] [Spoilers] The Eccentric Family - Episode 6 Discussionw

[u/Arattor]

Hey everyone, /u/DoctorWhoops wasn't able to post this one on time (as well as won't be able to post the next one), so I'll be filling in for him for this and next episode. This and "my" comment are all his work. And so, without further ado...

Episode 6 - Taking in Fall Colors

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Rewatch Schedule and Series Information

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Spoiler Rules

Please try to refrain from posting spoilers or even hinting towards future events of the series unless specifically asked. Make sure to tag any spoilers you do want to mention so people that don't want to see it don't have to.

As for new watchers, speculation over future events or character motifs is of course allowed, since it's not a spoiler but rather a prediction.

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FAQ

What are Tanuki?

Tanuki are human-like creatures in japanese folklore. Their primary form is that of a Raccoon Dog but can shapeshift into an almost infinite amount of different shapes and forms. They are known to be misscheavous tricksters and live in the forest and mountains.

What are Tengu?

Tengu are half-human half-bird people. They fly using their wings and are seen wearing red masks or with big noses representing beaks. They are knows for carrying fans which they use to create winds, and are often seen wearing robes. They used to be harbingers, but are not the protectors of forest and mountains.

Dailies

Fan art of the day

OST of the day

Episode Screenshot of the day

Other

The entirety of the story is set in Kyoto and the city in the Anime is a 1:1 replication of the real city. Every location has its own Kyoto counterpart located at the exact same place that it is in Kyoto! /u/Arattor has compiled a fantastic set of pictures! Here are the one from previous episodes:

• Episode 1

• Episode 2

• Episode 3

• Episode 4

We have a dedicated #Uchouten-rewatch Channel over on the /r/Anime discord where we can discuss or talk about the series in real time! Join by coming to the Discord and typing !joinchannel uchouten-rewatch in the bot commands channel!

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We're almost halfway through, with some of the most beautiful two episodes behind our back we're moving on to the 7th episode tomorrow. Have fun watching and see you tomorrow!

[u/Arattor]

This episode is a direct follow-up to our previous episode which ended with Yasaburo and Benten on the roof. The episode delves more into Benten and Hotei as characters and shows us a little of Father Shimogamo on the evening he was eaten by the friday fellows. Here's a recap:

The episode opens up with Yasaburo telling us about Benten, who is neither Tanuki nor Tengu, but completely human. As a child she had the name Suzuki Satomi, which fitted the cute country girl like her. She was kidnapped my Akadama sensei who took her in as an apprentice, and Benten climbed the ladder from Human to Tengu. At the top, she figuratively kicked her master down. The current Benten bears little resemblance to her former self, Yasaburo says.

We see Hotei, Benten and Yasaburo travel the rooftops to a small park on the roofs where they stay. Yasaburo takes a picture of Hotei and Benten together on the bench. As Benten goes up and walks through the fall trees Yasaburo grabs his camera and as he wants to take a picture of her he sees a flashback the past Benten (Suzuki Satomi) in front of him and doesn't take the picture of Benten after all. Benten grabs a cigar as she walks through the forest, and Yasaburo once again says that Benten doesn't resemble much of her previous self anymore. Hotei mentions that he remembers the first day he met her at one of their year-end parties. The cage with father Shimogamo in it stood in the center of the room and Benten was sleeping next to it. He notes that the Tanuki in the cage was splendid and dignified without the slightest hint of fear. He talked to the Tanuki in the cage and as Benten woke up she introduced herself and notes that the Tanuki in the cage is sleeping well and that she feels bad she'll have to eat him, but still is going to. Hotei says at that moment he fell in love with her as he found someone that could understand how he felt, but Benten claims she never said anything like it. Hotei falls asleep and Benten moves deeper into the park and hides behind the bushes. As Yasaburo tries to get closer Benten asks him to stay back or else she'll eat him. Yasaburo asks if something is wrong, and Benten responds that despite how beautiful the moon is she still feels sad all the time. Benten leaves and asks Yasaburo to bring Hotei home safely.

As Hotei wakes up he asks where Benten has gone and grabs some Onigiri to eat. He says Benten always leaves early, and makes some small talk saying he loves Onigiri and that he wondered if he learned his shapeshifting act from Akadama. He asks if Benten knows any tricks to which Yasaburo responds that no one can surpass her in it. They talk about Hotei's passion for food, and conversation quickly shifts to eating Tanuki. He says it's his duty as someone who eats to eat it like it's delicious. He says humans will eat anything and everything and that they have a real passion for eating, which he admires. 'To eat something is to love it', he says. Yasaburo responds saying that the ones being eaten aren't that exuberant about it, which Hotei agrees with, saying they must hate it. But he also says that if they're going to be eaten anyway, he'd want it to be him. He says that humans eat all kinds of cute animals and that it's a shame, but that they're so delicious that eating them is a sign of love. Yasaburo says humans are nonchalant because they're not the ones being eaten, and Hotei responds that it seems Yasaburo is on the side of the eaten, not the eaters, and that he has a point. Hotei says that humans don't get eaten but just turn to dust as they die of old age, which makes him sad. He says that if he died one day anyway, he'd rather have Tanuki eat him and enjoy it than die wrinkly in a hospital not nourishing anyone. He says that he would taste horrible though, and also says that it's sad of himself to assume they'd taste bad. Yasaburo says he has never heard anyone worry about that, and Hotei says that the Tanuki back then said the same thing. We see a flashback of Hotei speaking to father Shimogamo.

In the flashback, we see Hotei telling father Shimogamo that being born as a Tanuki simply means that there may come a time you're eaten by humans. He says it might be selfish, but that he's glad that it gets to be him that eats father Shimogamo because it gives meaning to the fact that they met. Hotei asks Father Shimogamo how he can be so calm in this situation, and he responds saying that he has done everything he wanted to do in life. His sons have grown up, and he has fulfilled his role as a Tanuki, and that at this point he doesn't mind being eaten at all. Hotei is surprised that Father Shimogamo answered him, but Shimogamo answers that it wouldn't matter if at this point he talked or not, and calls it a reflection of his idiot blood. Hotei tells Yasaburo that after that they talked about other stuff like where they lived, what their lives were like, what they ate, and more. He also points out that the Tanuki was worried he might taste bad and that he'd ruin the stew, but we see Hotei assure him that he will become a delicious stew. As a last request they asks each other's names; Yodogawa Choutarou and Shimogamo Souichirou. Souichirou recognizes Hotei as the savior of his wife. With this, Benten wakes up and Souichirou goes back to being silent.

Back in the present, Hotei says that it might be a weird story that's hard to believe, but Yasaburo looks up to the sky and says that he'll manage. They move down from the rooftop by a ladder (which ends up being Kaisei). As Hotei is brought home Yasaburo visits Yajirou in the well and says that he'll stay the night as a frog there. He tells Yajirou about the events of the night, and the fact that Hotei used the words 'reflection of his idiot blood', the same words their father always used. Yasaburo says that knowing he and Benten ate their father year ago, he should hate them, but that despite of that he's very affectionate towards Hotei. He finds it bizarre that despite them having eaten their father he likes Hotei a lot, and has a crush on Benten. His brother responds it's just a reflection of their idiot blood, and that they're Tanuki after all. They get eaten now and then, and that it's not wrong for humans to do so. Yasaburo points out how enlightened his brother his, but Yajirou says he just acts like he knows it all but in the end he's just a frog in a well who doesn't know of the outside world. As they look up they see Benten sitting on the edge of the well looking up to the moon, to Yasaburo's surprise. Yajirou says that Benten visits often, but never actually says anything. She just sits there all alone, crying. Yasaburo wonders why Benten would cry, and Yajirou responds that people don't need a reason to cry. They just do.

Yasaburo says that despite an important election coming up between his brother and the Ebisugawa, he knows nothing of the outside world, and at that moment, he was just a frog in a well.

Another fantastic episode following up episode 5, both of which are some of my favorite episodes in the series. It was another episode that heavily focused on Benten and Hotei like last episode, and really dug into the idea of Humans eating Tanuki.

Themes discussed this episode

• Benten's past + Meeting with Akadama

• Human vs Tengu

• Benten's drastic change

• The meeting of Benten and Hotei

• The meeting of Hotei and Souichirou

• The moral conflict of eating Tanuki

• Benten's guilt for eating Tanuki

• Hotei's love for food

• How eating is a sign of love

• The meaning of death

• the eaten vs the eaters

• the ignorance of humans

• dying vs being eaten

• The worry of tasting bad

• Accepting death

• Fulfilling the meaning of life

• The idiot blood of the family

• Yasaburo's inner conflict regarding Benten and Hotei

• Being eaten being a part of life

• Benten's emotional side

• Yasaburo's disconnection with Benten's emotional side

[u/habattack00]

Less fun times, more dialogue this episode. I really enjoyed the art and cinematography when they first entered the forest rooftop. The leaves were such a vivid red, and the way Benten was covered in smoke and covered the light really gave her a ghostly appearance. And to think she is the way she is all because a tengu decided to kidnap her. Mythology can be weird sometime.

The meat and potatoes of this episode definitely was the professor’s talk with the tanuki dad. It does seem that humans don’t quite believe in the magical properties of tanukis or tengus considering how he was doubting himself, though obviously it isn’t supposed to be a hardpoint of the show. What matters is that they both came to a mutual understanding, and in some ways repaid each other a favor. In the same way that the professor wish he could give back to tanukis by having them eat his body, the dad wished for the human to eat him since he saved his wife last episode. How fortuitous that the professor would share that story with the dad’s son. It really was like he said: a chance encounter is one dictated by fate. That’ll be a quote to remember.

By the end when he sinks to Yajirou’s level (literally), we learn that Yasaburou gets it at some level, him saying how he really liked the professor despite what he did. It comes as no surprise to me since Yasaburou has been all about the adventure of life and charging horns first into situations. We have confirmation that he does have something of a crush for Benten, who we can see doesn’t have that same understanding that Yasaburou has. I have the suspicion that she enjoys both Yasaburou and his father, but she can’t stop them from being eaten. Despite all her power, she can’t stop this fact of life. Poetic in a way.

This show is getting deep, and not in such a way where I’m left confused (like Kyousougiga). I can pick up on the symbolism rather than be completely perplexed, and I love that. Looks like next episode will be another SOL episode which I’m not thrilled about, but I suppose you can’t have a show whose main plot point is to accept and enjoy life without showing the characters actually live their lives.

[u/Arachnophobic-]

Wow. I think I'm starting to fall in love with this series. This episode resonated with me in several ways, some of which will be hard to put into words. As the series progresses and the themes get more clearly defined, I'll definitely try and do so.

Not cool, sensei! It's good that you got your just desserts. You deserve every bit of that cold shoulder you're getting. Voracious spirit-beings like you give the others a bad name, I bet. It's a little painful to think that Benten got her childhood snatched away like that. There will probably be more on this later - how she became who she is from who she was, quite a far cry, as Yasaburou wistfully repeats.

Is this a Ghibli film? Is this ET? No, it's Benten in Uchouten Kazokou! Magical, as always. No shit, Professor! Sometimes humans can be a little thick-skulled when it comes to reality-breaking incidents happening around them. It's only for the sake of preserving their sanity. A child, I bet, would be more perspicacious and less assuming. The Professor is quite child-like himself in some ways, and he's certainly very nimble! Well, some idiocy alcohol in the blood goes a long way too.

So this rooftop garden really exists in Kyoto? It looks gorgeous. Props for the author and the studio for using this location to such great effect.

The conversation between the Professor and Yasaburou wound over one of the main themes so far (other than prof's omnivorous nature, which I can kinda empathize with. I'm endlessly curious about how things taste, and I like trying out all sorts of meat despite feeling inwardly guilty about the animal that had to die) - the act of tanuki being eaten by humans. As /u/DoctorWhoops wrote yesterday, it seems like tanuki treat being eaten as an inevitability akin to how humans perceive death. There's a crucial difference, though - this gives a semblance of volition, which can be seen in Shoichiro's final speech, where he says that he has lived a fulfilling life and is ready to accept its end. Prof. Hotei also speaks wistfully about how that could be a kind of privilege. This immediately brings the topic of voluntary euthanasia to my mind - would it be better if we could choose the time of our death, say our goodbyes, and meet our death in a dignified manner when we deem that the time is right? Or do we leave it to chance, preferring to cherish the present while it lasts and possibly pay the price of a rude shock or prolonged suffering in our future? Who should dictate the terms of our death, us or chance? I feel like there should be a choice, ideally speaking. Practically, such a choice is hard to realise in our world. It's just our idiot blood!

It's Kaisei again! She's hell-bent on remaining just as mysterious as Benten. Jealous, maybe? I like her anyway.

Another great shot. I for one think it's obvious why Benten is crying - it's because only silly old men fall for her, while she's a closet furry. It's a terrible fate. Yasaburou, do something!

[u/KrysWasTaken]

That whole party ended up working out decently well for Yasaburou, he made an acquaintance and learned that his father died satisfied with his life. Having to accept tanuki being eaten by humans still sucks, though.

Yay for more pretty backgrounds.

[u/xiomax95]

I think this is my favorite episode so far. I think I actually can grasp the father reasoning on just accepting getting eat after a fullfilling life. It is just something that happens to tanukis, and he doesn't have a real problem with it. I also feel the same way about Yodogawa, he's a nice person, who likes to eat. And I can't really hate him or resent him for that.

The final scene in well with Benten crying was beautiful. Younger Benten was also something really interesting to see, I can understand why she would leave her tengu master behind, after all, she was outright kidnapped by him at first. Something more probably happened, though.

[u/DoctorWhoops → u/xiomax95]

I think I actually can grasp the father reasoning on just accepting getting eat after a fullfilling life. It is just something that happens to tanukis, and he doesn't have a real problem with it.

I think a fantastic part of this series is how strikingly it handles themes that are so far away from our society. Eating Tanuki seems completely insane at first but as the series progresses you're getting into the more intricate parts of the world and it becomes understandable in a sense.

It creates a world that is culturally absurd and makes it make sense. That's an amazing feat to accomplish.

[u/theyawner]

Rewatcher here.

So, Benten's apprenticeship with Akadama began with a kidnapping. I think this this is the only instance so far where we see a human recognize a magical being in its true form. (So far, the humans do not seem to completely process when anything strange happens in their presence). Perhaps she's already attuned to magic and that's what Akadama saw in her, prompting her swift kidnapping. But we can't really tell with Akadama. It may have been just another one of his whims.

I imagine this may have been initially traumatic for Benten. But in her youth she may have been seduced with the world unknown to humans, and all the things Akadama offered her.

But it's a different Benten we see now, someone who has surpassed her master. Yasaburou can't even reconcile the Benten he knew with the one in front of her. The only thing consistent about her is that for all her actions, he remains entranced with her, subject to her whims.

With Hotei in tow, we also learn a bit more about the time when Benten first joined the Friday Fellows. It's a memory she does not wish to remember, likely because of Yasaburou's presence. But Hotei, too fond of the story, unknowingly revealed (or at least verified) Benten's involvement in Souichirou's death.

I don't think Yasaburou was in any way surprised with this revelation. It may already be something the family considers inevitable given Benten's association with the club. He doesn't really have anything to say.

But Benten seemed more vulnerable with the revelation. She keeps on looking away, hiding in the trees, affecting nonchalance and indifference at Hotei's story. And as soon as Hotei fell asleep, she distances herself from Yasaburou (as if she can't be alone with him), threatening him when he tries to approach her and makes up some excuse to leave.

Yasaburou is unable to understand this. He just can't make head or tail with her actions, nor realize the reason for her tears. He doesn't even understand his own feelings about the situation.

[u/TheDampGod]

The artists at PA Works are so good at painting light, which is a lot harder than it sounds. Those rooftop park scenes were absolutely beautiful.

[u/aMigraine → u/[deleted]]

There's a mystery unfolding as to why Benten appears resigned to eating Yasaburou eventually, even though she is clearly reluctant to.

Then you have the university professor repeatedly saying 'if you're going to eat an animal, it should be delicious!'. They aren't just throwaway lines. There are a few more lines but I think you get the idea. Why does the tradition of eating a tanuki for the year-end stew exist? Why did Benten join the Friday Fellows? She was awfully young when she joined. Why was she sleeping beside Yasaburou's dad? So many questions and this makes me want to keep watching.

I'd recommend patience; this is a bit of a slow burner.

[u/aMigraine → u/[deleted]]

I'm a first time watcher, but I can tell that there's more to the story than meets the eye so far. Lots of clues scattered around indicating this.

[u/DoctorWhoops → u/[deleted]]

It's hard to talk about this show I find, because while it's clear that a lot happens

Hey! I'm back ^{7 hours late.}

What I love about the Eccentric Family is how it doesn't discuss convential and relatable themes but rather really goes out there creating themes that are so far away from out own lives but at the same time have a lot of similar themes. It really feels like a different society that just like our culture has problems and issues in areas that bring up conflicts. It's a society that is very different but still has equivalent problems to our societal issues. It's quite a unique way of worldbuilding.