The Jellyfish Princess – 03
So I’m having some difficulty with Kuranosuke at the moment. On the one hand, he is someone who sees the good in others, even when they might act a little outside of society’s rules. He certainly doesn’t judge on first look. These are all good points about his varied and flamboyant character. Oh, and he’s a giant dick.
Yep, truly. Let’s take a look at his actions, shall we? From what we know so far, Kuranosuke’s been cross-dressing to shift responsibility away from himself and on to his brother, who seems to be wrapped around his little finger. Sure, perhaps the responsibility of the family “business” is a little great, but I don’t think he’s dealing with it in the best way. Being a hipster, he has other hipster friends, but look – he seems to have been ignoring them recently, even going as far as telling one of them, over the phone…
I’m not going to say that he’s completely at fault, given how the caller in question wasn’t exactly selfless about her reasons for phoning, but even at that, it seems a little harsh to throw out all of your friends.
Not to mention his constant intrusions at the Nunnery. The girls seem to have accepted the fact that he’s going to keep doing this, yet still he persists. Despite this, the culture clash that inevitably happens every time he’s there is always fun and exciting to watch, especially his interactions with Tsukimi.
And on Tsukimi, she seems to be setting herself up for a fall awfully early. I think we know that this will probably end in tears sooner or later, but I’m hoping that Kuragehime puts a better spin on the unrequited love trope. It certainly seems the type of show that could do that.
The redevelopment plans certainly sound foreboding, though it sets up an interesting dynamic with Kuranosuke at the centre of everything. It just might be a chance to redeem himself.
Princess Jellyfish is available to stream in North America on Funimation’s video site and Youtube channel. Fansubs available from the usual channels for everyone else.
Hi there.
Found your blog through Animenano. First off, let me say that I think you’re right about Kuranosuke, but I can’t make up my mind about him objectively. In this episode, he forcibly takes Tsukimi to his room, ties her up, strips her to her underwear and gives her a makeover against her will. She runs away at the first opportunity. Any normal woman would be traumatized, and Tsukimi seems more meek and sensitive than most.
Yet I can’t hate him. He is such fun and lovable in his own way. I can’t quite put my finger on it. Maybe it’s because he dresses as a woman, so it doesn’t quite sink in just how rough he’s been treating Tsukimi.
You’re right that any normal woman would be traumatised, and what’s worse is that I think he knows that and knows he can get away with treating Tsukimi and the rest like he does with no repercussions.
But I know what you mean with not hating him. I think it (and he) has been portrayed in a kind of “fun” way, so we don’t really think about it. Disregarding his actions, he is a fascinating character nonetheless, given there seems to be a lot of issues hidden under the surface.