Nobuta wo Produce – Episode 3: The writing on the mirror or the pressures of being a Producer

Shuji – the sewing man, the singer-guitarist, the photographer and the Producer.

I quite liked this episode although nothing important happened in it, apart from revelation of the information that wherever you might be, you always have daddy issues.

So, in this one, the class festival is close-by and Nobuko’s class is undecided on the theme. One of the bullies is responsible for deciding what happens and she chooses the theme of the haunted house. For her this is a chance to ridicule Nobuko again, and take kicks out of her appearance.

The bully says, “We’ll do a haunted house. In a dark room, Nobuko will be standing alone…The main character, Nobuko; the props, Nobuko; the scenery, Nobuko; the Director, Nobuko…”

The return of the hair!

However, Nobuko takes it in the spirit of having fun – something they all will remember when they are older and far away; like when you are studying and look back at the time when you were playing a videogame… (there is some skewed logic there.)

On the other hand, Shuji finds that his brother knows his secret – his split personality is open to his kid brother (who I find acts a bit clumsily). The brother, in his essay, wonders whether Shuji will be a better person when he grows up…as he keeps juggling himself in front of others.

Shuji who ponders over his brothers’ words never reflects back on them when he is asked for multiple favours by other school folks. They all want his help in the festival and he cannot say no to them.  In his bid to remain popular, he never says no and accepts all the tasks.

Hanging out with the teachers….(fail!)

While he does all that, Akira and Nobuko finish the haunted house. On the festival day, however, they find someone has destroyed their work. While re-doing it, Nobuko’s step father visits her with food. While unable to say kind words to him there, she runs after him with a rice ball, after Akira tells her that he found the man kind and not a monster he had imagined.

Soon after, Nobuko comes to realise and more importantly, say, that even if you are a mole, constantly digging, there is a chance that you will meet someone, your mates. This message, she writes, on the exit of the haunted house, and it supposedly ‘warms’ up people.

“Right now, the person’s hand that you hold, the chance of ever having met that person, is a miracle.”

But the episode ends with an introspection. Shuji, who likes to label people and keep up appearances, knows all about Akira and Nobuko. He knew that once the fest was over, Akira would be back to being weird and Nobuko would be ridiculed. But he wonder what he will be: “I was worried about myself, who had nothing.”

Thoughts: The third episode, I thought, revealed more about characters than it was supposed to. The school festival which was supposed to be the centre of attraction took a back seat as compared to the misadventures and runnings of Shuji, who was over-whelmed by tasks due to his refusal to say no to them. Overall, a good look into the mind of the producer.

Rating: 3.5/5