Time of Eve Writing Contest
Yug‘s cafe is not the Time of Eve!
I ended up not deviating much from the original–
In trying to answer the question, I thought of some ideas of what the Time of Eve cafe could be. At first I thought it is like an online BBS where people can ignore their identities (even at time obvious) and see each other eye to eye. The cafe also could be a bar, like American TV show “Cheers” or the manga “Bartender”; Nagi is a bartender. A colorful cast of characters come together in the story, despite their conflicts and affiliations. The interaction between them is fun to watch and a highlight of the show.
At the same time, the cafe is a figurative Petri dish, a social experiment. Both the special rules regarding treating androids equally and the automatic door that lock or unlock on pre-determined rules seemed purposeful beyond protection of privacy of the cafe’s patrons. Some of the scenes during the episode looked as if recorded from a surveillance camera from inside the cafe, adding a third-person perspective.
Still, if I had to pick a single answer, I’d say the cafe is a home. For Rikuo and Masaki, the cafe is where they can be true to themselves, ironically something they can’t do at home. When we think of a home, we think of a place where we feel we belong, that shelters us from the elements–both weather and society. The Time of Eve cafe shelters Rikuo and Masaki from the pressures of social norms and allowed them to explore their curiosities and past troubles. It seemed fair that while the cafe isolated Rikuo and Masaki from pressure, Masaki and Rikuo also did their part to follow the rules of the cafe and in the end, protect their way of life within the cafe from outside influences.
Just a reminder–the contest ends November 1. Read all about it here.
Before there were blogs and net pundits, there were the usual audience-creator interaction. Like, you could mail in a postcard saying something, or a survey or some such. We know the Japanese do this (Excel Saga episode 2 anyone?) but there’s little to nothing like that for us gaijin types. I mean, a legal way to simulcast stuff really opens this door, don’t you think? I hope some marketing people really take advantage of this, it could be a good idea.
I really need to add you to my blogroll so I can keep track of you more frequently. This was a good read, and I only wish I got to it sooner.