[Two] Yuyushiki and the Whales

Sometimes, we really just don’t know.

This past summer, I had the pleasure of rewatching Yuyushiki. It was initially a series to relax with, following a long work day. I could bask in the visual direction, laugh or cringe at the nuanced relationship dynamics, or simply smile at their goofiness.

One night, as I queued up an episode, I received a text from a close friend stating that his father – with whom I am also fairly close – was in the hospital following a stroke. This episode in particular found Yuzuko, Yukari, and Yui surfing the internet for whale facts. They end their search with the summary above, unable to organize the facts that they had gathered with the magnitude and perceived majesty of a whale. Stunned and unable to sleep – as my friend’s father’s condition was still unstable – I finished this episode after checking in with my friend, and proceeded to look up as many facts on strokes as possible. However, none of these facts helped me in understanding what was actually happening to someone I care about. Researching and knowing things, in this case, still resulted in “Really . . . don’t know.”

Time has passed, and one wouldn’t be able to tell that my friend’s father had suffered a stroke as his recovery was that swift and fortunate. To this day, I’ll admit that I likely ascribe more profundity to this particular episode of Yuyushiki than the episode itself actually has.

Yet, it was oddly resonant and timely, especially for a series with the simple premise of three friends searching for random facts on the internet.