hontou ni sou omou?

YUA is one of those classic series that comes from the earlier era of my anime watching history. I remember how catching the opening strains of Julia Mazda’s Starting Up was the highlight of my Saturday mornings while the series was airing on Sg terrestial TV. Somehow the Chinese dubs on Channel 8 were perfectly acceptable but the English dubs on the AnimEigo DVDs were so atrocious that I ripped my earphones off in a panic while frantically trying to switch the audio track.

I’ve been itching to write about Miyuki x Natsumi for a while. There’s absolutely nothing in the canon that points to a romantic or sexual relationship between the two - the remarks next to them in "The List" maintained by Yuricon reads "right, we know they aren’t, but c’mon….!" In fact, the unspoken attraction between Miyuki and Ken Nakajima is a source of much humour throughout the two seasons as is Natsumi’s prerference for older men - thus her crush on the station chief and then ending up going out with an eternally absent younger colleague (edit: Toukairin - thanks, tj_han86!). But they do seem to give off the aura of a very seasoned couple which this episode really showcases.

The opening sequence is completely devoid of dialogue as each policewoman anticipates each other’s actions and use hand signals to seamlessly communicate intent. However, after the opening credits, we find that their quarry gets away. In just five minutes, we get reminded about how Miyuki is the more feminine one while Natsumi has more masculine characteristics.

Miyuki unintentionally hurts Natsumi’s feelings while trying to console her - saying that the moto-compo didn’t have enough power to catch up with the bike. Natsumi, on the other hand, has ridiculous strength she uses to carry her moto-compo as well as to use her feet as additional brakes for the mini-patrol car. She has an enormous appetite, a rougher, more casual way of speaking and loves motorbikes. However, to balance against the female/male stereotyping, I should also note that Miyuki is also an ace mechanic and skilled driver. The former characteristic also appears in Kousuke Fujishima’s other work, Oh My Goddess, with Megumi Morisato and Skuld.

It’s Nakajima-kun to the rescue - the Eagle of Bokutou has captured the offender. While Miyuki chats up her wannabe boyfriend, her partner makes off to have lunch at the shrine and vent her frustration to the resident priest but good ole Nats doesn’t dwell on it after that.

The station chief delivers news that Natsumi is being considered for the female motorcycle team, Silver Hawks, and she’s thrilled to bits until she realizes that she’ll have to transfer to HQ. Natsumi agonizes about how to tell Natsumi about it but never seems to be able to work up the courage.

After a chat with Nakajima perks up her spirits, she goes to tell Miyuki who already knows and has made her a farewell present. This was a tad cruel of Miyuki - knowing Natsumi as well as she did, she would have also known that Natsumi was stewing under the pressure of trying to tell Miyuki all this time. Ah the joys of passive aggression. :) Station busybody Yoriko, however, isnt’ keen to see Natsumi go and is much more honest with her feelings while Akiko Hiramatsu does a brilliant job of conveying Miyuki’s attempt to be positive and happy for her friend while holding in her own feelings to the contrary. In a guy-like response, Natsumi takes Miyuki’s words at their face value.

However, Natsumi soon finds that training isn’t all as great as she imagined it would be. The instructor really hits the nail on the head when he says that others are here to learn how to control their vehicles, the free-spirited Natsumi is here to learn how to control herself.

Meanwhile Miyuki is suffering withdrawal symptoms - glancing at Natsumi’s empty desk and nearly calling Yoriko Natsumi by accident. Yoriko notices that Miyuki is clearly unhappy and the continued presence of Natsumi’s custom moto-compo in the mini-patrol reinforces how Miyuki is having trouble letting go of her partner.

Transferring not only means that Natsumi is at a different workplace from Miyuki but that she’s moved out from the apartment they share to the police dorms. Miyuki’s rather desolate visit to Natsumi’s empty (and immaculately preserved) room was a sad, wistful one reinforced by the simple yet effective background score. If this were Kannazuki, Yamibou or StoPani, we would have seen Miyuki getting into the bed and cuddling up to the pillow and making a comment about Natsumi’s scent. X_X As it is, the director just lets the reptilian brain do the dirty work for ourselves. It’s also interesting to note that Natsumi’s suffering seems to be the chafing of her freedom while Miyuki’s angst centres on her now Natsumi-less life.

Things finally come to a head for Miyuki when she drives like she usually did when Natsumi was onboard. Except Yoriko can’t apply foot brakes. She wrecks the pride and joy, her mini-patrol, as a result. At this time, Natsumi comes to visit the station on her day-off and tries to cheer up her friend by saying that she’s considering returning to Bokutou. Miyuki is aghast, thinking that Natsumi is giving up her cherished dream because Miyuki couldn’t cope. As a result, Natsumi has no chance to give voice to her own misgivings about the reality of her dream.

Events might have worried Harold Macmillan but lo and behold, they come to the rescue for Miyuki x Natsumi. I won’t go into details but suffice to say, with Nakajima’s help, our favourite Tokyo policewoman duo save the day.

Their getting-back-together scene was just the sweetness. Natsumi rides up to Miyuki and cheerfully enquires: “The seat next to you free, girlfriend (kanojo)?” When Miyuki ignores her, she calls out Miyuki’s name plaintively. Unable to be cross with Natsumi for long, Miyuki gently scolds her: “Baka!” and Natsumi happily nods: “Unn!” Awwwww. What probably should have followed was flowers, dinner and makeup sex. LOL

We end like we started - both policewomen have gotten back their groove and are strutting their stuff along the streets of Tokyo. I guess it also helped that the Silver Hawks were not a “real job” to Natsumi - mainly for ceremonial duties it seems. This reminded me of how the all-female pilots of the 801 TTS Airbats struggled to achieve combat status.

Despite the series’ age, the animation quality didn’t look particularly bad especially when compared to Suzuka or Girl’s High. The loving attention to the designs of the mini-patrol and moto-compo was also very true to Fujishima’s art. The crimes and events dealt with by our intrepid duo aren’t heinous by any measure and mix a good slice of friendly neighbour life. Overall, the series (especially the two seasons of the TV series) is more about the relationships between the characters - and I certainly felt teased about the possibilities between Miyuki and Natsumi. :)