The Third Season of Kanokari Anime Depicts a Story of "Passion" and "Love"
Hi. Are you enjoying Kanokari? If this is your first time, it's nice to meet you. I'm Korakuone, living at the bottom of the Kanokari original manga swamp.
The third season of the anime has started! Kazuya and Chizuru's movie production has started running. Mizuhara's wish to "show her grandma she acting on the screen" and Kazuya's desire to make her dream come true. Their dream has begun to come true. What kind of drama awaits them there...!
In this article, I would like to talk about the third season of the anime without spoilers so that all anime fans can read this article.
◆俺が金集める 水原は出ろ!!! 102話
The "Movie Production Arc" (also known as "Their Dream Arc" in Japan) is a particularly popular episode among fans of the original manga. Before you enjoy it, there is something that I, an avid fan of the original manga, would like you to understand. That is,
The third season of the anime will tell the story of Kazuya Kinoshita's "passion" and "love"!!!
Please know this!
In the second season of the anime (original manga volumes 7-12), Kazuya proposes a crowdfunding movie production for Chizuru to make her dream come true. Many viewers and readers must have felt that he "grew up" seeing his transformation from an unspectacular protagonist who was initially dependent on Chizuru. Some readers say that Kanokari is a "growth story" of the protagonist Kazuya Kinoshita. Certainly, the "growth" of the main character in the story is something many readers would have to expect.
However, just before the broadcast of the third anime season, the author Reiji Miyajima expressed his thoughts on the movie production arc in this way.
かのかり3期放送にあたって✍️ pic.twitter.com/cS6sBKg1nR
— 宮島礼吏 Reiji Miyajima (@Miyajimareiji) July 7, 2023
******
かのかり三期は「愛」の物語です。
The third season of Kanokari depicts a story of "love".
正直、物語序盤では醜態ともいえるお見苦しい姿を見せることもあった和也。
To be honest, I think Kazuya sometimes showed an unseemly side of himself that could be called an abomination in the early part of the story.
しかしそんな彼も今季では好きな人の為に努力します。
However, even he makes an effort for the person he loves in this season.
それは「欲しい」のか「支えたい」のか曖昧ではありますが、彼にとってはかつてないほど巨大な一歩。
It may be from vague motives, whether he "wants" her or wants to "support" her, but it is an unprecedentedly huge step for him.
人は誰にでも優しくできるわけではないけれど、大切な人の為なら如何様にも変わっていける。
People can't be kind to everyone, but they can change in any way for the sake of their loved ones.
そんな愚かまでの真っ直ぐさが時に相手の心を支える1ピースになったりもする。
Such foolish straightforwardness can be a piece of support for the heart of a loved one.
全ての「絆」が偶然の産物に思える事もあるけれど、確かにそこには諦めたくない「情熱」があった。
Sometimes all "bonds" seem to be the result of coincidence, but there was certainly a "passion" to not want to give up.
そんな夢を信じた愚か者が起こした奇跡を「愛」と呼びたい。
そんな物語です。
I would like to call the miracle that was brought about by such a fool who believed in a dream "love".
Such is the story.
今夜からの放送を是非お楽しみに。
Please look forward to the broadcast starting tonight.
******
So why did he discribe it as a story of "passion" and "love" instead of a story of "growth"?
Miyajima-san's comment made me realize once again that the reason I fell in love with Kanokari is because it is a story of "love. I also realized that what is needed when talking about the character Kazuya is not "growth" but "love.
What I want to convey in this article is that the third season of the anime should not be seen as a "story of Kazuya's growth" but as a drama of his "passion" and "love".
What exactly changed in Kazuya after he met and fell in love with Chizuru? What was it that drove him to take on the challenge of movie production? Let's reconsider this question. The reason why it should be called a story of "love" and not of "growth" becomes clear. You will discover more and more of the charm of "Kanojo, Okarishimasu".
What Grew in Kazuya Was Not "Ability" but "the Feeling of Caring for Chizuru"
This may seem a bit formal, but what is "growth"? If we proceed without a clear definition of what it means, misunderstandings are likely to occur, so before we discuss, let me define it.
People (Japanese people) describe "growth" as the improvement of some skill, becoming able to do something new, or a significant change in values or beliefs. For example, a person who made a lot of mistakes and caused trouble for others when he first joined the company gradually acquired work skills and is now a person on whom everyone relies. Or a young soccer player who worked hard and became a world-class player on a top team. A young boy who had been stuck in his house because of a traumatic event in his past found a goal and became so focused on it that he gained self-confidence and was able to overcome his trauma. People call it "growth" when a person acquires some ability or is essentially reborn for the better.
So, did Kazuya "grow up" in the story? Did he gain any abilities? Did he gain confidence in himself?
Was he able to suggest to Chizuru that he would make a movie because he had acquired the "ability to make movies"? Was it because he gained the confidence in himself that "I can make a movie"? Was it such ability and confidence that he developed after meeting Chizuru?
The answer is obviously "No". He had never made a movie before and had no idea how to even begin to complete it. He did not even know if Mizuhara would be convinced to cooperate with him in the crowdfunding approach. Fighting against these uncertainties, he still struggled with his worries and found the breakthrough of crowdfunding, researched how to do it, and proposed to make a movie. It must have been the biggest step he had ever taken.
He did not change because he gained competence or confidence (i.e., "grew up"). The true nature of what changed him is only "the feeling of caring for Chizuru. It was just his "passion" to make Mizuhara's dream come true. So it was never because he "grew up" that he was able to act to make Chizuru's dream come true.
◆あの時 水上げんのやめてたら あの花は咲かなかったんだよな 13話
From the very beginning of his appearance, Kazuya Kinoshita has been portrayed as a man who can pursue his dreams with a passion. This is told in the episode where he grows morning glories (Chapter 13). When Kibe was a little boy, he accidentally knocked over Kazuya's morning glory pot, and because of that, it should not have even sprouted from his pot. However, Kazuya did not listen to Kibe and continued to water the morning glory day after day, believing in a future where it would flower. As a result, the flower was not a morning glory, but it was bigger than anyone else's. So even before he fell in love with Chizuru, he was a "passionate" guy who believed that dreams would come true, strongly wished that they would, and could devote himself to them. You might say that he is a pure "dreamer" who does not succumb to difficult realities.
Kazuya did not "grow up" throughout the story. What has grown in him is not his ability or confidence, but his "feelings of care for Chizuru. In the first season of the anime, initially, his special someone was Mami. She was his first girlfriend and was his true love. However, he was rejected, and out of loneliness, he rents Chizuru. Through the relationship between the rental girlfriend and the customer, he is attracted to Chizuru, who is kind to him even though he is an idiot and does her best to play his "girlfriend. In the second season of the anime, Kazuya admires Chizuru as she pursues her dream of becoming an actress, and his love for her grows as they gradually get closer. Throughout the story, his special someone changes from Mami to Chizuru, and what grows inside him is not his ability or confidence, but his "love" for Chizuru.
Kazuya, who had initially relied on Chizuru so much and caused her so much trouble, now became the one to support Chizuru. If you look at it that way, it may seem that he has "grown up". In a story, the main character's "growth" is an important element, and readers expect it, and if you say he "grew up," you can talk about Kazuya as a wonderful person. So, it is understandable that readers are tempted to say Kazuya "grew up" when he started to work hard for Chizuru. However, the only thing that has changed in him is "the feeling of caring for Chizuru".
In the third season of the anime, Kazuya rushes to make Mizuhara's dream come true. He has no experience in movie production or crowdfunding. At best, he can calculate budgets a little. He is too weak to be called a hero. To use an analogy, he is a foolhardy little citizen who ventured into a dungeon with a wooden stick. Still, he does not give up, and for the sake of the wish he wants to fulfill, for the sake of those he cares about, he gets up again and again and tries to move forward.
His passion is ambiguous as to whether he "wants" Chizuru or genuinely wants to "support" her, and may be an immature form of "love," a mixture of both desire and devotion.
Even if so, his passion for taking on the challenge of making a movie he had never experienced before, and his strong desire to make Chizuru's dream come true, would be precious enough to be called "love". In the third season of the anime, the true nature of what fascinates and engages us would not be his "growth," but rather his "feelings for the people he cares about”.
That's how I talked about the topic of "the third season of the anime will be a story about love".
To be honest, I do not like it when people use the word "growth" to describe Kazuya, who is gradually changing to be "like a hero". Kazuya is often praised as "grown up" when he does things that are convenient for readers, and criticized as "not grown up" when he does things that are inconvenient for them. To begin with, Kanokari is a manga about romance and love, not growth. It is no use asking him to "grow up". Therefore, I do not want readers to sumarize his efforts and his love for Chizuru with the word "growth".
You may use the word "growth" to describe his "passion" and "love" that grew as he fell in love with Chizuru. However, it is my selfish desire, but I would be happy if you understand his passion and care for Chizuru and find his feelings wonderful.
So, let's enjoy the third season of the anime!