Summary:

As it turns out, Recruit was unable to muster enough courage to call his father on the phone, and he suffers the ridicule of the bridge residents until Nino steps in to defend him. Hoshi seeks to turn Ric’s lapse to his advantage by offering his services to Nino as a wishing star, and Maria gleefully turns this into a chance to terrorize both Hoshi and Recruit (for the good of all) by repeatedly throwing the two shooting stars off the bridge piling. Meanwhile, Mr. Ichinomiya receives a disturbing call informing him that the riverbank project has been canceled. Enraged, Seki informs the minister’s secretary that he will cut off their funding, but a suspiciously kappa-esque voice from the shadows later assures the minister that his needs will be met.

Unable to accept that his son has ruined his plans, but also unable to consider that anyone else might have done so, Kou’s father takes it upon himself to travel to the riverbank to see what his son is up to. Reprising Kou’s first contact with the bridge, Seki is quickly rendered pantless and then meets Nino who is fishing as usual. Refusing her help, Seki peers over the railing of the bridge to catch a brief glimpse of the insanity that is rampant along the riverbank, along with the sight of his son, still in Hoshi’s mask, hanging underneath the bridge as the star of hope. Realizing that Kou did nothing to foil his plans, Seki leaves, but not before Recruit attempts to reach him on his phone. Again refusing Nino’s assistance, Seki tells Nino to answer the phone, and leaves the bridge. Nino, unsure how to answer the call, manages to hit the right button and hears Recruit trying to tell his father that no matter what may happen, he wants to stay with Nino forever. Later, Ric receives a call letting him know that Nino’s wish came true, and that the riverbank construction has been called off.

Reaction:

I think my favorite part of this episode was when Seki looked over the railing of the bridge and watched as the scene below him degenerated into complete chaos with everyone trying to flog Recruit, and Maria’s insults flying right and left. Something about the nuclear launch of Maria’s ire set to classical music just does something for me, and her calling Sister “cookie bitch” was just too funny. Despite all the crazy gags and Ric-riminations though, there were quite a few interesting developments this time around (like the truth behind the Kappas’ control of the government), mainly focused around the long-awaited confrontation between Recruit and his father.

Last time I thought that Seki had deliberately given Recruit the wrong number, but we learn that Recruit had simply been too afraid to dial the real number the first time. Though I failed to consider that possibility, it shouldn’t have been that surprising as Recruit has never directly confronted his father, choosing instead to avoid the situation (like when he didn’t speak up for his dreams) or try to deal with him indirectly. The playground-style ridicule that ensues as a result of the missed call is extremely appropriate: Recruit’s fear of his father is juvenile, like the other fears that Nino lists in his “defense,” and is a sign that despite all his time in the adult world, Recruit still hasn’t really ever grown up. He may be capable of running a successful company, but as we have been reminded time and time again, his emotional development is way behind the power curve.

The juvenile theme is also explored through the reintroduction of the wish idea from episode 10: thinking that they are out of options, the bridge residents begin to make wishes on Recruit and Hoshi, placing their faith in them in a very child-like manner. As stated in the wish monologue, and as is made clear by the Chief’s actions here, wishes do not come true without a bit of effort from the wisher (or the wished upon), and everyone but Seki can clearly see that Recruit is working to help make their dreams come true. His efforts are based on a child’s understanding of wishes and how the world works though, and it isn’t until the end of the episode that Recruit truly takes his own destiny into his hands and tries to approach the situation with his father in an adult manner: taking what he thinks is effective direct action to make everyone’s wishes come true.

The call scene isn’t just about Recruit finally gathering the courage to face his father, it’s about him finally accepting responsibility for his own happiness and growing up a bit in the process. Though he is terrified, he places the call, and without any of his usual blustery talk or bravado he actually manages to stand up to his father… or he would have if Seki had bothered to pick up the phone. Even without the direct confrontation, however, we see that Kou has (unknowingly) gained a measure of respect in Seki’s eyes: for having the courage to call; for having the strength to love another; and for finally acting like an adult. It is interesting that Recruit only gained his father’s respect by doing something that he could not do himself, while all of Recruit’s efforts and accomplishments in the “real world” never seemed to register at all. Though it is at least partly due to Seki’s competitive nature, the fact that Seki ignores Recruit’s business accomplishments while guardedly admiring his son’s personal ones again gives weight to the idea that in his own way he has been trying to do his best for Kou all along. While he claims that he wasn’t going to waste his time on Kou anyway, Seki’s discomfort at Takai’s antics and his decision to personally visit the bridge are clues that he actually does care for Kou, and it was nice to finally see more of his true character alongside all of Recruit’s growth.

At the same time that Recruit was making positive steps in his relationship with his father we also finally got some real progress on the Recruit/Nino front with him declaring that he wants to stay with Nino forever. Though Nino running along the riverbank searching for Kou with the phone was terribly amusing, it was also a neat comment on the fact that even if they don’t always pick up on one another’s signals, they are still deeply connected. Recruit’s desire to hold onto that connection no matter what his father might say or do shows just how important she has become to him, and how much he has changed from the boy who cynically told Takai that he was better off alone.

While we didn’t get the dramatic confrontation I think everyone (or at least I) was expecting, this episode wrapped things up pretty nicely and set things up for what is probably going to be a light final episode (that everyone else but me has seen at this point). As late as this review is, I’ve avoided any content spoilers for the next episode, but I do know that there is eventually going to be a second season of Arakawa Under the Bridge. Knowing that tempers my expectations for the final episode somewhat, and I’m really looking forward to catching the final bit of Arakawa insanity before the break.

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