Kowloon Generic Romance

Episode 8

Romance between adults can get complicated, and anime isn't always the best medium for exploring this – with most romances focusing mainly on adolescent relationships. (Not that high school anime romance necessarily goes smoothly either!) Kowloon Generic Romance is definitely a refreshing outlier among its peers, as not only does it follow the complicated interpersonal entanglements of adults in their thirties, but these relationships are screwy existentially.

In other shows, we'd probably be cheering that Kujirai A and Kudo, who've been dancing around each other for eight full episodes now, finally get to know one another in the Biblical sense. However, given the fact that Kujirai A is an as-yet unexplained facsimile of Kudo's deceased fiancée, whom he definitely hasn't moved on from – we have to wonder if this arrangement is good for either of them. Who does Kudo see when he looks into Kujirai's eyes? Who is he thinking of as he caresses her bare skin? While taking solace in each other's bodies no doubt superficially soothes their deep existential wounds, it does little to bring resolution to their confused emotions.

Kujirai A has only just learned she's now likely unable to ever leave Kowloon 3.0 without vanishing into thin air, much like her dreams of travelling the world. She's trapped, as a fake human in a fake city, analogous to her increasingly tragically-named goldfish Success in its bespoke fishtank. While she desperately attempts to rationalize the reality of her existence with “I can smell and taste things”, she recognizes that Kudo has always known her nature. “You told me not to go anywhere,” she says, before begging him to do the same for her. Kudo hugs her for reassurance, promising, “I will always be here.” Is that promise for Kujirai A's sake, or merely to assuage his sense of regret and loss?

Yulong's continued investigation into Kujirai B's death only raises yet more questions. While we've been led to believe she died from a (presumably deliberate) sleeping pill overdose, her former doctor confirms that the dose she ingested was far from lethal. Instead, an unidentified substance was detected in her corpse, something that presumably links her death to Hebinuma Pharmaceuticals. The plot thickens! Was Kujirai B murdered, or was her death an unfortunate accident? Maybe there's a deeper reason Kudo feels responsible? During a flashback, Kudo learns of Kujirai B's insomnia and that she's taking prescription medication for it. His suggestion for alternative treatment “I'll show you such a good time every night you won't need pills to sleep” is adorably horny.

By the way, the anime has shied away from depicting Kudo's regular visits to the grimy local adult movie theater, yet another Kowloon establishment at which Kujirai's young female friend and frilly-dress enthusiast Xiaohei is employed. Talking about Xiaohei, we meet an oddly familiar-looking man of the same name, snooping on Kujirai and Kudo on the orders of Hebinuma Senior. I won't discuss him in detail here, as what we'll hopefully learn about him in the next couple of episodes makes him a fascinating character whose existence poses so many questions about how Kowloon 3.0 works.

Yaomay's trip outside Kowloon reveals more about the illusory city's true nature, first and foremost because her bank balance disappears. Poor Yaomay's emotional breakdown as the train station barrier refuses to let her is extremely relatable. As the ever-reliable Gwen explains, money earned within Kowloon 3.0 evaporates outside its boundaries. None of Yaomay's hard-earned cash is usable in Hong Kong itself. Just as well, Gwen is loaded, and as a good friend, is happy to load Yaomay whatever she needs.

In flashback, we see Yaomay's first encounter with Kowloon 3.0 as it emerges from the cold evening mist, a sinister, imposingly dark edifice, illuminated from behind by reddish light, almost hellish in appearance. She confirms that this was after her surgery, though seemingly before dying her hair blonde. What this means for her physical transformation to her previous self in a prior episode, I don't know, but from this memory, she realizes something weird about Kowloon. It's always midsummer, even when she entered six months ago, in early Spring. Everything about Kowloon 3.0's environment and sky is different once you the threshold, everything except Generic Terra, looming above.

Confirming the oddness in a way the manga did not at this stage, Kujirai A's phone screen confirms the date as July 1st. Last episode, Kudo turned up at her apartment on the early morning of August 31st, the anniversary of Kujirai B's death. It should be September now. It's not only that it's always midsummer in Kowloon, it seems to be always the same summer. While Kujirai A and Kudo appear to retain (at least some of) their memories, can the same be said for the other Kowloon residents? Is the whole city trapped in eternal summertime recursion? There's a heady tradition of summer time loops in anime (Summer Time Rendering), though they tend to be more horror-based stories. Last time I wondered what might happen to Yaomay and Kudo when their summertime ends, but what if it never does?

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Kowloon Generic Romance is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Saturdays.