Skip and Loafer
a review by ZNote
a review by ZNote
Let’s start with a rather cynical stance (I won’t stay there for long, I promise) – it is perhaps silly to expect that the main group of characters in Skip to Loafer would end up becoming such good friends. They come from such different worlds, both in terms of their social and geographical qualities. Each one has their own preoccupations and problems that stand in their own way, running the gamut through vanity, listlessness, a lack of recognition, and having cold doses of reality splashed in their faces. With so many obstacles in place, one could say that this confluence of forces would keep the characters apart, left to their own devices to be far lonelier in the end.
Yet, through life’s odd ironic twists, it is one such force that gets everything moving. Iwakura Mitsumi is late to her first day of high school, lost in Tokyo and not knowing her left from her right. A girl who is driven to succeed has driven herself into a corner. But coming “to the rescue” is Shima Sousuke, who likewise is late to the first day of school, but doesn’t seem to pay much mind to being late. Within this strange encounter from two people with opposite perspectives, they hoof it to the school, Mitsumi tripping. But in one moment of sheer determination, she takes off her shoes and socks, continuing to run as the pavement pounds her feet. Shima looks on for a moment, seemingly taking in the sight of something both physically goofy and, for him, emotionally foreign. He cannot help but run along as well in her wake, and with a more spirited purpose than before. In just trying to get to school on time, both characters are thrown into new beginnings, complete with sakura blossoms.
“New beginnings” runs throughout Skip to Loafer’s threads, and more specifically, new beginnings that are simply unexpected. It may have been pure coincidence that brought Mitsumi and Shima into each other’s lives from opposite ends of the attitude spectrum, but at their core, they could not be more abstractly similar. These two, along with the rest of the anime’s cast, are tied together in them entering high school, yet each has a comfort zone within themselves that they don’t want to, or cannot, quite budge from. It’s a form of boundary that helps shield oneself from disappointments, whether external or internal. They feel it better to try and march to the beat of their own drum. With everyone housing their own insecurities or ways of seeing and experiencing each other, you cannot necessarily know what everyone is thinking.
But as is often the case with entering new social spheres, that comfort zone must be left behind and you step into a new world of possibilities for people, things, and thoughts. It doesn’t have to involve a complete reinvention of who you are, either. There are numerous, tiny ways that the characters in Skip to Loafer express that they understand one another, even if they inevitably will leave some things housed within. The result is a fascinating breed of understanding and familiarity through understanding unfamiliarity, the acknowledgement that being able to read the room with just a touch more awareness makes the metaphorical barriers between people disappear. Tiny moments like these accrue throughout, blossoming the friendships into something that, while perhaps starting tenuously, end up feeling as comfy as an old pair of shoes. In that sense, it is a true ensemble show, and though Mitsumi and Shima’s self-actualization may be at the forefront, the others are hardly out of the spotlight for long.
To be sure, the characters are not above their own melodrama. They aren’t always the most saintly, and while it may be a little strange that they are often not letting their emotions run wild like teenagers are sometimes known to do, Skip to Loafer’s comedic sense is more subdued than in-your-face. Its occasional bursts of more-explosive humor are kept to a minimum, opting instead for coziness and smiles induced through warmth and the softness of its colors and lines. Writer-director Deai Kotomi adopts a quieter ambiance in their approach, letting it pour through the screen by being bright without blare, sometimes hanging on pillow shots to let a tone sink in.
Such was the warmth of its web that any combination of characters in any setting at any time, could be put together and the dialogue that would play feels as natural as a summer’s breeze. By the time the show reaches its final episode, the sense of camaraderie is firmly established, sweet, and lovely. Not all the characters may have undergone life-altering changes, but they didn’t need to. Simply taking their first small steps into new beginnings was all that was needed, and wherever they go from now on, they’ll have someone in their corner with them, helping them along. Their world is a little warmer than it was before.
And that’s what it’s all about.
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