REVIEW: ‘Skip And Loafer’ Episode 4 — “Tingling and Scraping”

There may come a point where this series doesn’t delight, but Skip and Loafer Episode 4 isn’t it. The biggest nitpick to offer — and it’s a personal one — is that despite just how good the OP is or how charming the visuals for it are in particular, it could be better if it had managed to snag Korean band LUCY to record the song. The violin and sweeping sense of whimsy and nostalgia practically beg for the singer’s vocals to cascade over us. It’s more a personal preference than a complaint — but this band would’ve elevated an already sweet and catchy OP. (See the video at the bottom of this review)

Honestly, though, at this point and only four episodes in, Skip and Loafer is a joyful experience. The studio that adapted the anime, P.A. Works, has had hits in the past, especially series such as Angel Beats, which had an enthusiastic fanbase. However, 2023 makes them a formidable powerhouse through the delicate artistry they’re painstakingly highlighting. Buddy Daddies, despite the violence and bloodshed and more profound, thematic narratives about found families and breaking the cycle of trauma and abuse, found its considerable heart through detailed animation. Skip and Loafer is as different as a show can be from the former. Yet, it shares that same delicacy and attention to micro-expressions that unearth hidden layers of characters who, on paper, might seem one-dimensional. 

The animation, in many cases in this episode, relies on stilted character imagery with line animation utilized to enhance their emotions. The result is an episode lacking the same kinetic imagery as the previous three, but it makes up for it through world-building and character exploration. Skip and Loafer Episode 4 triumphs in further deconstructing and interrogating the characters not through the story itself but through upending expectations. 

A big part of the character’s charm comes from the archetypes they’re built on. Mitsumi (Tomoyo Kurosawa) and Shima (Akinori Egosh) have that excitable cat and lounging dog dynamic (Mitsumi even compares Shima to her family dog in the second episode.) That said, they bend the rules of the tropes they’ve been written into, forming more intriguing characters on their own and together. Mitsumi, evidenced in “Tingling and Scraping,” is an enigmatic protagonist, despite her straightforwardness. She’s eager to learn, dedicated to her goals, and admires other go-getters. 

Where other characters who share her aspirations and intellect might be written as cold and aloof to further contrast them with their potential love interest’s more laid-back attitude, Mitsumi refreshingly remains distracted. She isn’t just one thing, something that inspires those around her. She’s down to earth and naive, intelligent and down to earth, observant but constantly questioning social cues. The character is compelling because of these contradictions, as they make her more well-rounded and, ultimately, more human. 

We see it this week in particular in a brief but poignant scene between her and Shima after she’s been accosted to ask him to join the theater club. She’s been told that he used to be a child actor, a part of a short-lived sitcom with a strong, lasting fanbase. When she brings this up to him, it’s after it’s caused her a day of angst, making her unable to focus on anything else around her, from her tests to a volleyball heading straight to her face. 

She’s considerate, which makes her listen to him detail why he’s not interested in joining, even if there’s something he’s leaving out, all the more emotionally stirring. Sure, the scene’s vibrancy helps with an abundance of oranges and yellows so that the fading afternoon sun casts a dreamlike glow on their secluded corner, but the insight sells it. We’re reminded that there’s more to Shima than meets the eye, and he doesn’t just exist to play foil to Mitsumi’s ignorance. In turn, Mitsumi’s naivete doesn’t negate her depth of knowledge, as she uses an experience with her childhood friend to reach Shima. 

This give and take between the two and how their personalities overlap makes Skip and Loafer stand apart from other romances. The story makes such efforts to establish the friendship first and foremost. The result is characters we care deeply about beyond romantic relationships because the platonic ones are so sturdy. Late in the episode, one of Mitsumi’s seniors realizes that even though she’s at the top of her class, she daydreams and is easily lost in thought. It’s a moment that showcases Mitsumi’s similarity to people’s perception of Shima. 

Skip and Loafer Episode 4 hits some stagnant frames of animation that utilize expressive flourishes in exchange for character movement. But the stillness in the moments in the countryside and the greater look into the characters’ inner and past lives make for another strong, well-written installment. 

Skip and Loafer Season 1 is available to stream on Crunchyroll.

[MV] LUCY _ Flowering(개화)

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