©︎Hisaya Amagishi/MF Books/DB PROJECT
Another week, another thing happening, in no particular order. Unlike last week, there’s at least some level of conflict, but it’s short-lived and a little confusing. What’s more, this marks another week where 75% of the episodes are people sitting around a table having sensible conversations, with everyone’s emotions being kept in check for almost the entire session. Congratulations, if you’ve ever wanted to experience the fantasy of attending an industry trade show, you’ve achieved it.
I don’t need this show to be an exciting battle of wits. I’m all for low-key slice-of-life stories about Daria, a mad scientist who invents everything from soap bottles to electromagnetic guns in her cobblestone lab. The sequence in the episode where it’s just her and Wolfe discussing how she got hurt while making the magic bracelet is easily the most engaging, even if it’s too short in comparison. Just if blooming dahlia To spend half or more of its time dealing with the logistics of running an Imagineering business, it has to make those sections feel more than perfunctory, and a lot of it hinges on presentation.
Take Wolfe’s meeting with his brother, for example. On paper, we learn a lot of important information about Wolfe and his family arrangement, but you’d never know it from the characters. Their expressions were stoic, almost lifeless. Aside from standing and bowing, their body language is almost irrelevant. These two are talking about a family tragedy that both have spent years trying to deal with, but to look at them you’d think they were discussing their favorite brands of fabric softener. No matter how hard the voice actors try, they can’t make up for the lack of energy, which means the interaction is only interesting in an abstract sense. It’s nice that Wolfe’s family isn’t as emotionally distant as he thought, but beyond that, I don’t know what this show means to me.
Likewise, Daria’s negotiations with a manufacturer for a soap bottle were just…that. There was an argument and a brief misunderstanding when Daria insisted that the manufacturer take credit for the improvements he proposed. Still, it’s an easily resolved conflict and I couldn’t tell you what the point is. Like, hey, Dahlia isn’t stingy with credit, and she certainly knows what it feels like to have your hard work and ideas stolen, but this guy’s reasoning against it seems contrived. For some reason, he interpreted the offer as mercy or charity, and it seemed perfectly reasonable to believe him when he immediately suggested multiple design changes and improvements. Anyway, the issue was resolved amicably and we moved on.
All of this might play a bigger role in the story, but that doesn’t seem to be the case right now. Does any of this lead to any meaningful developments for our main cast? Not really. Is it at least interesting, entertaining, or engaging? I guess if you like watching CCTV of the boardroom, that’s fine. Dalia and Wolfe’s increasingly aimless meetings are not only unentertaining, but take up too much time compared to the actual magic-making this story is supposed to be about.
grade:
Dahlias in Bloom: Using Magical Tools to Create a New Beginning Currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
