Summer 2018 First Impressions – We Rent Tsukumogami

Fukagawa ward of old Edo (present-day Tokyo) is prone to fire and flooding, so residents rent everyday items like pots, futons, and clothing from shops instead of purchasing them, so as not to impede them when they flee. Okō and Seiji, an older sister and younger brother, run one such rental shop called Izumoya. However, mixed in with their inventory are tsukumogami, objects that have turned into spirits after a hundred years of existence. The siblings sometimes lend these sentient items to customers. Both Okō and Seiji can see and talk to these spirits, and other tsukumogami often come to the store after hearing of the famed siblings. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: TBA

Source: Novel

Episode 1 Summary: Siblings Okou and Seiji manage a rental shop in Edo called Izumonya. While their bread and butter is based around renting everyday objects to customers, they also hold onto an inventory of tsukumogami, well-loved items that have gone on to develop souls. Though they try to keep a lid on this strange specialty, word tends to get around; they’re called upon by a man about to marry into a wealthy family who’s lost a particular family heirloom. The mouse netsuke (charm) that’s gone missing is said to have sprouted legs and run away, and while the siblings are coy about the possibility of it being a tsukumogami (or even acknowledging that tsukumogami are real), they soon employ their own tsukumogami to gather information about the situation. What are eventually discovered are some half-truths about the impending marriage, as well as some fuller truths about the groom’s relationship with his older brother. There might also be some complicated feelings between Seiji and Okou, who aren’t related by blood.

Impressions: In our current environment it’s so easy to just throw away an item once it’s old and worn-out and replace it with something fresh and new. We don’t tend to put much of a value on the items that we use every day. Things like clothing, furniture, and tableware, which at one time might have been made to last, are produced cheaply and in bulk and tend to adhere more to the whims of fashion and popularity than to concepts like durability and sustainability. despite that, many families likely have quirky old items sitting around that still get some use even though they might be old and less advanced than what we have now. My father collects and restores old cast-iron skillets, waffle-irons, and other cooking tools. Nowadays we have all sorts of light non-stick cookware that can go straight from the stove top to the oven to the dishwasher, no sweat. But I believe that there’s still something to be gained from lugging out a huge heavy pan every once-in-a-while and using it to cook something delicious, especially if the pan’s been passed down from individual to individual with years upon years worth of food memories embedded in its surface.

The beliefs surrounding tsukumogami have always been something I’ve loved about Japan for this very reason; they acknowledge that an object might not be fashionable or in the best shape, but if it’s been used for its intended purpose and taken care of, it absolutely has its own personality and likely some stories to tell. Awarding it a soul is simply a more fantastical way of imbuing it with an inner life, with the added benefit of providing it a spiritual quality that’s great for storytelling purposes. We Rent Tsukumogami takes this concept even further, using tsukumogami as a jumping-off point to tell what seem to be somewhat low-stakes stories about special objects and how they interact with and affect the lives of their owners.

This episode possesses a quality that I think I’m going to have a difficult time describing. It seems to have a good idea of what it’s doing and doesn’t need to rely on flashiness or overblown character drama to tell the story that it wants to tell. I do a panel at some local conventions called “Anime for Grown-Ups,” and while the anime we discuss sometimes veers into the kind of subject matter you might expect (sex and violence, specifically), often the series that I find more joy in highlighting are those that not only feature adults in important roles, but which present them in a mature way without too much fuss and drama. In this episode there’s tension between two families and a married relationship built on the needs of those families rather than the actual romantic relationships occurring on the fringes. Per our modern sensibilities this is far from ideal and the people entering into the marriage obviously believe so as well, but no one tries to harm anyone else, there are no kidnappings, and there’s no public argument over who should be with whom – these discussions all take place quietly and thoughtfully and definitely not in public. It’s easy to get excited about yelling and violence, but speaking for myself as a viewer I find that what I prefer are stories about mature people being reasonable about their conflicts without making a spectacle of them. That aspect of this episode definitely appealed to me.

I also like the idea of maintaining a speaking cast of tsukumogami and enjoy their portrayal here. What amused me is that the tsukumogami seem to have a rule about revealing themselves to humans, and so those in the shop will stop and drop if Seiji or Okou are close enough. If their human owners are out-of-sight, however, they have no compunctions about speaking loudly enough for the humans to hear (and the same goes for the humans). That is, in fact, how they formulate a plan for the tsukumogami to infiltrate the wealthy homes of the soon-to-be-newlyweds. I find it amusing that the human proprietors of the shop feign ignorance and their spirited objects do their best not to acknowledge their owners’ existences to the extent that it suits them.

There are, unfortunately, some less-than-great aspects of this episode, mostly related to things that were more common realities in the time period depicted. The young woman being married-off against her will is only sixteen years old, and while people getting married younger in general was common years ago, considering all of the news and activism lately related to age of consent laws and child marriage in the United States and elsewhere, it’s probably impossible to witness the situation in this episode without coming face-to-face with some negative feelings. I’m also wary of where Seiji and Okou’s relationship is fated to go. The “they’re not blood-related” excuse seems drawn straight from a C-rate hentai plot. Even if the story doesn’t end up creepy and gross, I feel like I’d be more satisfied if they could just exist as siblings running a shop together. Sometimes sexual tension, whether mutual or unrequited, is just unnecessary; let the characters stand on their own merits and be who they are.

It’s interesting that some of the series it’s taken me the longest to check out are some that I didn’t know to anticipate and am very happy to have made the effort to see. We Rent Tsukumogami seems like a lighter version of anime like Natsume’s Book of Friends or even Mononoke, both series that tell human stories enhanced by the inclusion of demons and spirits. To be able to compare this episode favorably with two of my favorites is special, indeed.

Pros: Tells a human story with a touch of supernatural magic. The episode feels mature and doesn’t rely on overblown drama.

Cons: There are some situations that might have been “okay” a couple centuries ago, but are more inappropriate nowadays.

Grade: B