Alternative title(s): Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai
Anime Original by Doga Kobo
Streaming on HIDIVE

Premise

Mahiru wanted to be an artist, but is now a normal, responsible high school student. After a chance encounter with a former idol, her passion for art is renewed and the two girls form the artist group “JELEE”.

Jel’s verdict: I wish this was made by P.A. Works

I think my main problem with this episode is that it’s trying to depict a relatable, realistic struggle that many creative kids go through, but it feels like it is written by a person that has never talked to a human before. The characters don’t talk or act like real people, but like “anime characters”, and it makes it really hard to buy into the pensive, emotional tone they are going for during most of the episode.

Then there’s the weirdly creepy opening scene, as well as a few other creeper cam shots, that tell you who Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night is really for. This is not a heartwarming P.A. Works show about girls working hard to find their place in life. This is a show directed by the director of Eromanga Sensei, master of the down-the-shirt camera angle. It’s a voyeurism, peeping in on a fake ideal made for the writer’s (and target audience’s) own gratification. They try to hide it behind the pretty animation and emotional story beats, but you can’t start your anime the way this episode does and fool anyone.

If I sound like I’m being dramatic, I think I’m just matching the grand, cinematic energy of the episode. Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night presents itself as something special, but shoots itself in the foot with bad writing and pervy moments that are completely out of place. It’s a shame too, because on paper Mahiru’s struggle to find the courage to pursue art is very relatable. Not just in her lack of confidence, but the fact that making a living as an artist is, let’s say, not the most stable life choice you can make. There’s a story to be told here, I just don’t see the writing having the chops to tell it.

Artemis’ verdict: NopeNopeNope

Overall reactions to Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night seem (from what little I could tell) broadly positive. I had the exact opposite reaction.

To be clear, I’m not that saying Jellyfish has zero artistic merit. However, I do feel a certain type of way about shows that aim to showcase the hopes, dreams, and struggles of teenage girls in a way that feel as though they were either written by or for a bunch of horny older men (if not both). Can someone create a story about an un-lived experience? Sure. Does that mean an anime about high school girls is contractually obligated to zoom straaaaight to the cleavage shot in the first couple of minutes? At this point, you’d be forgiven for thinking so. Jellyfish certainly isn’t the first anime to be guilty of this, and it of course won’t be the last. It’s also far from the worst example I can think of (remember Akebi’s Sailor Uniform, anyone)? Nonetheless, I’m so tired of the trope at this point that the opening scene absolutely ruined any hope of the series drawing me in later on, no matter how purportedly good some of the shots got later on.

At least a series like Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included is honest. Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night, by comparison, is less fanservicey yet comes across as downright predatory.