Odd Taxi Episode 6 – Deterioration

This weekend was the first time in quite a while that I spent any amount of time out in public simply for the purposes of having fun. I’m not normally someone who longs to be outside, but after spending such a large fraction of time stuck inside over the past year, I was hungry (literally, as it turned out) for some big, dumb event. My state’s state fair organization held a series of mini-events over the past week for folks to spend time on the fairgrounds eating fair food and doing activities, and while it definitely wasn’t the same as actually being at the event (I’m still a little wary of that – our state fair is considered one of the best in the country and attendance numbers will attest to that fact) it scratched an itch that I wasn’t aware needed addressing.

Now that I’m sufficiently sunburnt from that and then spending another couple of hours outside that day caddying for my husband (disc golf, not actual golf), I feel like I’m sufficiently back in the mood for some anime. To any other bloggers reading out there (I feel like that’s most of my audience at this point, lol) make sure you take some time out for yourself to have some fun if you can. It really helps to refresh your brain a little bit after sitting in front of your computer for hours at a time; without nurturing your mental health (in whatever way that means to you) it becomes easy for it to crumble and deteriorate.

As always, this post will contain spoilers up to and including this point in Odd Taxi. Be sure to check out my previous entries for this series, linked below for your convenience:

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5

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This episode seems to mark a point in the series where so many of the threads we’ve been following since early on start to get more serious, resulting in worse and more… complicated situations for the involved characters. We’re nearing the halfway point of the show, and I feel as though this episode is probably setting things in motion along the paths they’ll be taking to the end of the storyline. This results in some fairly brief check-ins with several characters, and admittedly I’ve got some knots forming in my stomach because their potential for downfall or self-destruction is being laid-bare and I’m not sure I’m quite ready to deal with that.

I think the two most blatantly obvious “oh, shit!” situations are those involving Kabasawa, whose manufactured vendetta against Dobu has suddenly garnered him the internet fame he’s always wanted, and Imai, who stupidly broadcasted his lottery winnings to the whole of the Japanese-speaking internet, including the numbers provided to him by Odokawa. There are reasons why there are laws on the books in several states that allow lottery winners to remain anonymous while still collecting their prizes; not only does everyone you’ve ever met come out of the woodwork looking for a piece of your success if they know you have it, but being inexperienced with handling large sums of money and then suddenly having access to more money than you’ve ever imagined can put you in real danger. Imai seems to be unaware at the viral power of the internet, believing that revealing information there just doesn’t have the same impact as it does speaking it aloud. Yet, I think all of us living in this day and age have witnessed both the good and the bad that comes along with being internet-famous and realize that, once information is available online it never really goes away. Imai seems to have no idea of what he might be in for.

I think Imai’s all-too-relaxed expressions of his success form an interesting contrast with what Kabasawa is up to in regards to his ill-thought-out crusade against Dobu. Imai simply doesn’t seem to understand the pitfalls of internet fame, but Kabasawa seems to have willingly embraced those very pitfalls, at least in the sense that he understands the reach even just one viral post can have. Unfortunately, I suspect he doesn’t fully comprehend the potential consequences of that reach, especially considering that his fame rides on the back of a known dangerous criminal. We can easily see the foolhardiness of his actions, outside observers that we are, but we also aren’t blinded by our need for internet fame (at least, I hope no one reading this is thinking of putting themselves in danger in pursuit of e-fame). It’s easy to be objective when you’re not in the thick of something huge and stressful.

In light of these developments (namely Kabasawa’s and Imai’s brokenness expressing itself in very public ways), I think it’s worth looking back at Tanaka’s story once again, especially since he’s shown up in a very public manner to take out Odokawa. Aside from the immediate reality that he continues to haunt Odokawa in this episode in the most terrifying of ways, I think it’s still worthwhile to look at his actions as a reaction to the emptiness in his heart that has still never been properly addressed. Shirakawa phrases it best when she talks to Odokawa about “broken windows,” the figurative and literal belief being that leaving a broken window unaddressed leads to further deterioration, because it gives off the impression that no one cares to fix or maintain anything in the vicinity. I’ve heard a similar sentiment when it comes to fandom communities, actually; if you’ve ever heard folks whisper about “missing stairs,” what they’re referring to are issues – typically high-ranking or famous but otherwise abusive members of a community – that are known via a whisper network, but whose bad actions are never really addressed publicly or in any comprehensive way. It’s up to folks to hear about the “missing stair” on their own, and manage their own safety by finding some way to tip-toe around the problem.

The actual difference between the two ideas may not be that large; in my mind they have more to do with how internal/external or broad-reaching the the core issue is and the actions and reactions of the people who find themselves faced with it. I feel like there are a lot of broken windows in this story; Odokawa’s past trauma, whatever it entails, seems to have lead to him attracting all sorts of other broken people, while the broken window in Tanaka’s soul has turned him into a potential murderer. On the other hand, everyone knows Dobu is a “missing stair” because his name is on the lips of everyone in town and they all know to steer clear if they want to maintain their own safety. Yet no one, including the police, seem to be willing to do anything about his criminal dealings, despite knowing exactly what he looks like and to whom he’s connected. Both types of situations arise from an unwillingness to face problems in a forthright way, either through a fear of looking within, or a fear of creating too many public “waves.”

Seen through that lens, Kabasawa’s public call-outs actually start to seem more virtuous (if still incredibly dangerous and stupid). At the very least, whatever his reasons for doing so might be, he’s willing to say what needs to be said about Dobu and to make some preliminary moves at stopping him, even if he can’t differentiate Dobu from the masked Tanaka opening fire at a cabaret club. The fact that he’s gained so much internet fame in the process seems to suggest that there are many people out there who feel the same way, but were never going to make the first moves. It remains to be seen whether or not this mob will ultimately end up contributing to or detracting from the effort.

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There were some other interesting story developments during this episode; I’ll go over the most interesting ones to me at a high level below.

Firstly, I think it was interesting to hear more of Shirakawa’s truth. We learn (through her own words) about her dealings with Dobu, who has her on a short leash due to the debt she owes him, and who’s been abusing her in the process. Shirakawa’s always seemed like a messy character, but a sympathetic one and I don’t think that’s changed (at least for me). I think her story serves as a good reminder that people who don’t or can’t leave abusive situations are often stuck in those situations due to the isolation and hopelessness instilled in them by their abusers. That said, it makes it more difficult to parse what her feelings are toward Odokawa. Does she see him as a way out of her predicament, or are her feelings toward him genuine? I think this is a case where there may not actually be a real, true answer as of yet. I know from my own experience that meeting a “safe” person and being able to see them as part of your escape route can often muddy the waters a bit (although those relationships aren’t always doomed to failure, despite that extra baggage). In any case, despite the fact that Odokawa continues to push her away (there are those trust issues again, although in this case it’s still difficult to determine how trustworthy Shirakawa is) he also makes a deal with Dobu to alleviate her debt.

We get slightly more insight into the kind of foolhardy activities that Kakihana’s been up to. As suggested at the end of the previous episode, he’s been dealing with loan sharks; it’s not clear to me whether what we see is meant to fill in that information gap, or whether he’s returned to the loan agency to ask for more money, but either way it can’t be good. Watching him fall victim to what is obviously a love scam and then fall into financial ruin because of it reminds me of a situation a friend of mine had to deal with in relation to a parent. This parent fell victim to a scam in which a social media profile (most likely 100% fake), started paying attention to them and trying to form a romantic relationship. The parent started wiring this person money, and despite the friend of mine explaining just exactly how this was an obvious scam, the parent would hear none of it. It ended up really damaging their relationship with one-another. The power of belief in these cases is unreal, and once again they come packaged with the logical fallacy of sunken cost. It’s extremely difficult to extricate someone from this type of situation when the reason they’ve fallen victim to it in the first place is likely complicated and not being directly addressed. When Odokawa tried to get Kakihana to snap out of it, it turned into a fight. All I can think at this point is “this can’t turn out well.”

I think the other major, notable aspect of this episode is the insight we gain into how Baba’s and Shibagaki’s careers have gone in completely different directions. While still nominally part of the comedy duo “Homo-Sapiens,” Baba’s individual success has set him on an entirely separate path from Shibagaki, who still needs to hold down a side job to make ends meet. We find out that Baba’s been dating Rui Nikaidou from Mystery Kiss (although as with all romantic relationships involving idols, theirs is become more complicated by the day). Baba may have the fame, but Shibagaki seems more suited to it due to his more down-to-earth attitude. Ah, irony!

This also marks the second time that Shibagaki has (perhaps inadvertently) tried to intervene in Tanaka’s self-destructive actions (the first was in episode 4). As in the cases of missing stairs, it’s often people willing to constructively intervene in situations, that seem more likely to bring about positive outcomes. Shibagaki invites Tanaka to shoot at him, which at least serves as a distraction and allows Odokawa to get away. But simply being seen and acknowledged can sometimes have a positive effect even on people who are in the middle of committing violent acts. Perhaps Shibagaki’s chance interactions with Tanaka might help things turn out better than they might have otherwise?

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Now that we’re about to crest the midpoint in this series, I’m finding myself extremely worried about many of the characters (lol). I suppose that’s the mark of a great story and characterization, but I just want everyone to be okay and I’m feeling like that might not come to pass. In any case, be sure to check in on my next time to help me handle the stress brought about by this amazing series!