The Kagami sip has a new competitor.

Recap: Kasuga is a hipster, Saeki is an angel and Nakamura is a ninja.

The Flowers of Evil always has had some sort of morbid comedy undertone to it thanks to its animation. Whether it is women with moustaches or schoolgirls with sideburns, these dubiously intentional bits rarely ever flew past the radar, but they have never marred the show in such a way that it cannot be taken seriously anymore. If anything, they alienate the viewers even more, like a modern day Bethold Brecht taunting an audience that was just waiting for him to screw up. These small visual details raised more questions than laughter, especially when it turned out that the sideburns girl was literally animated over a dude in pigtails. Did this show finally jumped the shark like detractors hope it would, was it just a little gag for attentive viewers, or is the production staff deliberately trying to make viewers question the very nature of just what the heck they are watching?

This week’s episode sees The Flowers of Evil taking that little dilemma outward, with a scene that is both disturbing and hilarious.  Sure, Nakamura gleefully skipping around like an eight-year-old playing ninja while stalking Saeki and Kasuga on their date completely disrupts the usually morose vibe of the show, but that just happens to be the point. Nakamura is unpredictable, and will do everything in her power to alienate her victims. Her deliberately unsubtle, childlike sneaking around serves as a constant reminder to Kasuga that she is the one in charge and she likes it. She needs to stay on top of him for her sadistic pleasures to continue. This even extends to the audience to a certain degree. Have you ever noticed that not Kasuga, but Nakamura is in charge of where this show heads next? Because Kasuga is so passive, Nakamura is the driving force behind the plot and the vibe of the show. If she’s being silly, the directing will follow suite. If she’s angry, may God have mercy on your soul.

Religion won’t save you, Kasuga.

That’s why the scene that comes after is so important. Kasuga asking Saeki to go out with him “in a purely platonic way” counts not only as him “proving” to everyone involved that he is not a pervert, it is also Kasuga’s attempt at defying Nakamura’s commands and one-upping her, going one step further than she wanted him to go to try and “take over” control over “his” story. It is an important bit of character development, but of course, since this is still The Flowers of Evil, it backfires horribly. Nakamura does not tolerate defiance and promptly guerilla-bombs him with a bucket of water, not only humiliating him in front of Saeki, but also to remind him no neglect of her mind games will go unpunished. Nakamura’s firm hold on Kagusa and the direction of the show, and his desperate attempts to defy this is essentially what The Flowers of Evil is all about. Nakamura is the personification of a world that actively refuses you happiness. She is not another sadistic anime character, but a force of nature. Insert obligatory quote from The Dark Knight here.

Random Observations:

• I love the directing of this show, but it still does not get away with repeating a key scene over and over again, only shot from different angles. It’s not the nineties anymore.
• NicoNico has been streaming the original live-action footage that was animated over to create the rotoscoping. Apparently, the entirety of the show has been shot on-location, with actual costumes and all. The streams are not live anymore, but you can find some footage on Tumblr and Youtube. Very interesting to watch.
• Apparently, two schoolgirls in Kanagawa prefecture have trashed and flooded their classroom, allegedly inspired by The Flowers of Evil to do so. We might have a new Death Note on our hands here. Also, I probably don’t have to stress this, but no matter how interesting a character Nakamura might be, don’t try to be like her.
• The Flowers of Evil has changed air date from Thursday to Sunday. Expect posts to come out on Wednesday from now on.