Jellyfish‘s eighth episode centers around JELEE putting on a live concert to commemorate its first anniversary. I initially assumed that the anniversary refers to the day Kano created the JELEE account on social media but it turns out that the anniversary is dated on Halloween, the day Kano and Yoru hooked up Yoru joined the group. Given that JELEE is a group effort, I suppose Halloween is a more fitting date. I also suspect that Kano picked Halloween because that’s the day Yoru joined but maybe that’s my yuri brainrot talking. That said, it is a bit surprising for Jellyfish to reach a full year in-universe. Like, New Year’s was three episodes ago and Yoru and Mei started their third year of high school last year. Halloween is apparently within two month’s time so we’ve skipped about a quarter of the year at the start of this episode. At this rate, I should expect to see the girls in college in Episode 10.
For the upcoming concert, JELEE decides to work on a new song and they agree to have a sleepover to get it done, as well as plan out some other logistics. Mei finds the group a hotel though to her friends’ shock and her embarrassment, she accidentally books themselves at a love hotel. In Mei’s defense, the hotel does fulfill all of the criteria her friends laid out to her. I suppose there’s an subconscious ulterior motive here but I believe Mei when she says she’s simply made a honest mistake. After the sexual fanservice last episode, I thought for sure that we’d get some risqué material with this love hotel scene but there surprisingly isn’t anything of the like here. The girls stay focused with the task at hand. I kind of appreciate the restraint but it is weird to have it here, after the show has already perved on a couple of occasions. Anyway, the girls get the song done and they come up with a few other things for the concert, the most notable one being a request for the audience to bring blue glowsticks or umbrellas to the venue as a sign of unity with JELEE.
Unfortunately, plans for the concert start to go south when a random content creator exposes the connection between JELEE and Nodoka, resulting in JELEE and the venue getting harassed online. The content creator figures it out due to footage of JELEE’s impromptu performance at Miiko’s gig in Episode 6. I really like how seemingly minor gags end up playing a huge part in the plot later down the line. Like, it was a massive stretch for Kano to perform on that stage with only a change in hairstyle to conceal her identity. It makes so much more sense then that the disguise ultimately fails super hard and it comes back to haunt Kano and the others. The lack of a comeuppance for the content creator guy is frustrating but it is realistic how he exposes Kano for the sake of clout while hypocritically cowering behind his own anonymity. Him being a gamer with a RGB setup is also on point.
To appease the venue’s concerns for safety, JELEE decides to do their concert remotely. Yoru and Mei have their moments of standing up to the venue’s staff for Kano but I think the MVP award might have to go to Kiui. She puts her technical expertise to good use here by filling the room with blue lights and projections of JELEE fan art, allowing the concert to still retain the sense of unity Kano pitched earlier. I’m not sure what Yoru is doing onstage, she doesn’t even have the triangle for crying out loud, but it does feel right to have all four members of JELEE front and center.
The live stream will probably stand out as one of the more distinct ones in the show as it blends the in-person concert with the animated MV (well, animated in-universe, you know what I mean). As JELEE performs, a stylistic sequence featuring JELEE’s avatar plays out in parallel. The mixing of the two formats befits Kano’s loss of anonymity and her insistence that she is performing as JELEE and not Nodoka. The blue lighting in the stage is an apt choice for the concert; that creates an oceanic aesthetic, allowing Kano’s performance to better mirror JELEE’s story. I also dig that Yoru, Mei, and Kiui are depicted in the “animated” sequence as jellyfishes that help JELEE swim in the ocean, thereby symbolizing their importance within the group and for Kano. All four girls even have their respective characters drawn on their shirts.
I kind of was expecting the insert song to be grander and more showy, what with it being used for a big watershed moment in the story. Still, this is a nice pop song to listen. One could argue that the more calming and sentimental tone of the song is more befitting as it lends itself for Kano to be more genuine and more grateful towards the people tuning into the livestream. The lyrics are certainly fitting as it’s about the speaker no longer feeling alone thanks to the following they’ve garnered, who are of course referred as to “jellyfish” found in the “virtual world”. My one nitpick is that the TV edit for the song sort of ends a bit abruptly and that creates a slightly anti-climatic tone to what is otherwise a triumphant moment for JELEE.
Naturally, JELEE’s livestream is bombarded by trolls and haters but their comments ultimately get drowned out by waves of support for JELEE, especially Kano. The consensus seems to be that regardless of Kano’s past, it’s JELEE that they’re grown to love and not Nodoka so they’re willing to believe in her and give her a chance. I can see someone arguing over whether or not Kano deserves to make a comeback. The fact remains that she did punch a colleague in the face and that can’t easily be condoned, if ever. Not knowing exactly why Kano resorted to violence certainly doesn’t help. Me personally, I’ve always liked and empathized with Kano so I was rooting for this moment to happen. It especially helps that she’s grown as a person. When the show started, her goal was to get back at the opposition. But as she states in this episode, she now has a more proper goal: to repay her friends for her carrying her dream and giving her a reason to continue singing.
Some of the supporting characters appear in cameos and are shown watching the concert live. Definitely the most surprising cameo is Mero. Given how things may have went down between her and Kano, you’d think she wouldn’t bother watching the concert. She admittedly doesn’t look happy for Kano but the fact that she still watches the livestream has me thinking that there’s some complicated feelings between the two of them.
Speaking of the Sunflower Dolls, that ending is very surprising. Like, I know Yukine has to tie into the plot again but I didn’t expect her to directly contact Yoru for an art commission. We don’t even know if Yoru and Kano are actually a couple and already, Yoru is meeting one of her potential in-laws. Joking aside, I wonder what Yukine’s aim is here. Taking notes from JELEE’s livestream does make sense but to offer a job to Yoru does come across Yukine trying to ruin her daughter’s life once again. I imagine Yoru would decline out of support for Kano but I can see Kano prioritizing Yoru’s happiness over her own and therefore try to convince Yoru not to pass up on such an opportunity.
Watch Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night on HIDIVE
Xenodude Scribbles 