Shiroi Suna no Aquatope | Episode 2 Review

Episode Two Thoughts

There is something I will admit. It seems a little odd to be asking for a job at an aquarium out of the blue, especially the first day you arrived in Okinawa. But, it’s anime; expect the unexpected! After watching episode two, I feel a little less enthusiastic about Shiroi Suna no Aquatope. I couldn’t help but feel a little off as I watched the episode. Maybe it was because of how everything played out. I don’t get why you hire someone you just met. Then you have them do all this work without properly training them, then proceed to get frustrated to the point where you threaten to fire because of a mistake your new employee made. Which again, was a mistake that happened as a result of you, the employer, not properly training or showing them how to do their job correctly. I think that’s what bothers me the most. Suppose the wellbeing and safety of the animals in the aquarium is your number one priority. In that case, you should teach and adequately demonstrate to your new employee how to do their job. In that regard, I am frustrated with both Kukuru and Fuuka. All that was a significant turn-off for me.

The one redeeming factor of the episode was that Fuuka understood why Kukuru acted the way she did. Hearing that the aquarium was on the verge of shutting down and that Kukuru was doing everything possible to prevent it from happening because it was her dream. I’m sure it resonated with Fuuka. She, too, had a dream and worked hard to make it a reality, but in the end, she failed, and her dream slipped from her fingers. She didn’t want the same thing to happen to Kukuru. So instead of watching another dream die, Fuuka chooses to support Kukuru’s dream. This was the redeeming factor of the episode for me. However, it took a long time to get to this point, and I believe that it also happened a little too quickly.

Since this series will be going the distance (24 episodes), I would have preferred it if all realizations made by the characters had a gradual build-up. Because now I feel like all the future episodes will be us following Kukuru around with everyone else playing the supporting role under her. Now, I’m not sure if that’ll be the case, I doubt it will, but it does feel like it’s going to happen. In the future, I would like to see growth out of Fuuka because her character doesn’t feel all that strong or complete. I don’t want her to be a person who is only there to support someone else’s dream. I want her to discover a new dream, something for her to aim for, so that’s something I would like to see next, and I hope that there will be some episodes geared towards that.

I do not know what all the future episodes will entail, nor do I know the struggles that they will face. However, I know that each episode from here on out will most likely be geared towards saving the aquarium from closure. Am I looking forward to that? Not really, and that’s why after episode two, I’ve become less enthusiastic.