Sparks of Tomorrow

Episode 6

It only took six episodes, but Sparks of Tomorrow is finally charged up and putting out a decent wattage! By a mile, this is the most thematically complete episode that we've seen so far this season, and I love seeing this work transition into a thoughtful exploration of social and technological innovation rather than meander in its premise and — still not all that compelling — characters. While the problems of flimsy character motivations and introducing new plotlines before providing meaningful updates on old ones still exist, this is the first episode that's given me enough positives to appreciate that I can finally overlook these flaws.

Beginning with Inako practicing the Shamisen, the episode transitions to Kihachi and company at an amusement park where Mizoe reveals the world's largest steam organ, and a battle-of-the-bands scenario unfolds. Kihachi invents electric instruments for them to play, and a training montage unfolds, this time in a '70s throwback animation style. Inako's confidence is shot, though after her father objects to the performance for reasons that don't make a lot of sense to me, but with Mizoe rapidly becoming a Scooby-Doo villain, I guess this show needs actual antagonists to create tension, and Inako's dad is as good as anyone for that role.

Returning to the festival grounds, Suzu and her identical-looking little sisters do a fake shadow clone jutsu gag that got a genuine laugh out of me for the first time in this show's run, and Kate's university professor father triggers PTSD in the veteran Kengo Kuga. This goes unaddressed, though, and the episode transitions to Mizoe's steam organ performance, which is revealed to be a classical number by a steam-powered automaton. With a push from Kihachi, Inako overcomes her anxiety, and she, Suzu, and Kate give a rock performance with these electrical instruments.

Even if it's a little blunt, the crescendo of this episode being such a succinct expression of how technological advancement should bring with it artistic innovation rather than mimicry is incredibly affecting to me personally. In a time when AI technologies that aim only to provide a facsimile of familiar content are shoved down our throats at seemingly every opportunity, it's nothing short of invigorating to see Sparks of Tomorrow profess that new technologies should bring about new experiences rather than recycle old ones. I want so badly to feel excited about new technology in the real world again, and this episode of Sparks of Tomorrow gave me the shot of enthusiasm I need to make it until the AI bubble finally bursts.

Now, does this bit of affirmation make up for characters in Sparks of Tomorrow behaving shallowly, nobody communicating as real people would, and Mizoe's motivations going unexplained? Not really, though based on the post-credits sequence I now get the impression that he's now egging Kihachi on to create different electrical catalog inventions until he eventually gets to one that might be able to revive Seiroku's corpse ala Frankenstein's Monster. Still, I'd rather the show telegraph that a bit better rather than leave it to my inference. This is the best Sparks of Tomorrow has been so far and I'd much rather take this dollop of technological optimism than nitpick over the show's persistent shortcomings.

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Lucas DeRuyter finds sparks of inspiration in all parts of his life, which would explain why his portfolio features such a broad array of interests and writing formats! To read what he's ruminating on more regularly, you can keep up with his regular contributions to ANN's This Week in Anime column.

Sparks of Tomorrow is currently streaming on Netflix.