krofire

Project No.9’s 2021 drama seems to give the plot away in the title but all is not as it seems. The story neatly sidesteps many obvious anime tropes to deliver a delightful, if occasionally quite emotional, drama. It concerns topics that make it very much for adults and the older audience: Sayu Ogiwara is a runaway 17-year-old surviving on the streets of Tokyo by selling her body to any man that will put a roof over her head. She has fled her home after a traumatic incident at school made worse by the mother-from-hell. Our main protagonist mid-twenties Yoshida is a young and single, yet upwardly mobile professional, who happens upon Sayu one night and offers her a place to stay. Things have not been going well in his love life and he was gloriously drunk at the time. Although Sayu offered him sex he refused. Learning more about her story he offers to put her up indefinitely in return for her performing chores. He is taking quite a risk with this because, although she has not been posted as missing, it is illegal to make home with a minor without the parent’s permission – however well intended the arrangements are.

At this point of the story, you might expect it to descend into the typical romantic farce whereby Yoshida attempts to keep his teenage guest a secret. However, that is not how this narrative pans out at all. Within the space of a few short episodes, he shares his predicament with three of his closest work colleagues. Despite romantic interest in Yoshida from two of these female colleagues the situation doesn’t blow up in his face because his friends know him to be such a super-nice guy. In fact, he is a nice-guy to a fault with one of the romantic interests complaining that he is simply too nice for his own good. His love life is inevitably going to cause friction with Sayu who starts to develop feelings for her host. What is she to do if he kicks her out in favour of a girlfriend? The situation never arises since a growing circle of friends form around Sayu and Yoshida to help them. However, they cannot delay the inevitable as Sayu’s family finally catchup with her.

Yoshida’s motivations always appear to be utterly pure although he rarely talks about how he feels about Sayu - preferring instead to fall into embarrassed silence. What we do learn is that her presence in his life has changed him. Everyone notices. He genuinely wants Sayu to be happy, return to school and make friends her own age. Sayu is far more confused and becomes anxious that her host doesn’t want to have sex with her. This angers him and he vows to “set her straight”. She wonders out loud as to why he is so “nice” but he retorts that he is not “nice”, it is simply that she has been hanging around with the wrong sort of man. He becomes a man with a mission. He will protect Sayu and does so completely platonically. Pretty soon her expectations become adjusted to her new reality and she stops judging herself through her ability to sell herself. She kick-starts her life and makes plans for the future.

The story really is utter fantasy but a truly wonderful. The show is compelling and may demand that the audience has a few hankies tucked away for the occasional tear. Sayu’s backstory is tragic and how she bears up without falling apart is remarkable. Likewise, Yoshida is all too remarkably nice. Neither quite ring true. If he has any common-sense, he would have taken her to the police as soon as he sobered up. Yet if he had done that there would be no story to watch. The fact that he places himself in such peril with the law to care for Sayu is seldom raised in the plot. It just is what it is. He is taking a risk to care for the girl and those who learn of it come to respect his decision. This is a story that could have been made worse in so many ways. Yet it shows maturity in the writing that makes it a watchable commodity. You just don’t know where the story is going nor will the audience quite know what to make of Sayu and Yoshida’s relationship. Does he love her? Does she return those feelings? Somehow it doesn’t matter so much as the journey is thrilling. The ambiguity concerning their relationship and age-difference recalls that deployed in Kyoto Animation’s period drama “Violet Evergarden”. In that story the main character endlessly searches for her Major Gilbert despite the fact that she is barely 14. The Major’s relationship with the girl is portrayed as being as a father figure. He cares for her, teaches her and gives her her humanity. The audience expects romance between them but know, logically, that this doesn’t quite make sense. Both stories revel in that ambiguity which lifts them to a level of sophistication we seldom witness. A glorious story that will have you thinking about it long after the final titles roll.