KAIJU GIRL CARAMELISE ‒ Episode 7
Visibility continues to be an important theme running through Kaiju Girl Caramelise's oversized backbone. This week, Minami finds himself at the center of the public's attention, and while it is not necessarily malicious, it speaks to the way the media, at best, enjoys rubbernecking queer existence.
Every subsequent episode further convinces me that this series is richest when viewed through a transgender lens. Kuroe's transformation into Harugon is an especially potent metaphor for how the uptick in trans visibility over the past decade has been coupled with a reactionary political backlash framing us, quite frankly as monsters. The kaiju angle works on other levels too; there are days when I feel like I stick out like a sore thumb, and there are days when I don't notice any extra attention. I know I can control my mindset and my appearance to some extent, but like Kuroe, there are externalities I simply have to deal with.
Because the ruling political class wants to legislate trans people into nonexistence (or worse), they police not only us, but also those adjacent to and associated with us. This was Kuroe's fear a couple weeks back, and now it has happened to Minami, as the photo of him smooching Harugon sweeps the airwaves and stir up a gaggle of paparazzi stalking his every move. After all, if we want to dissuade the existence of these “kaiju” girls, then we certainly cannot accept the existence of those who love us. That is almost as perverse, so it must be put on display and made an example of.
This is a romcom, though, so the series itself covers this subtext with light brushstrokes. The paparazzi do not do much more than annoy Minami, and he and Kuroe find ways to be intimate outside their purview. It's a sign of how healthy their relationship is, although Kuroe cannot stop herself from feeling guilty and reflexively apologizing to him (another transfem quality I am unfortunately very familiar with). And naturally, Minami still does not know that she's a kaiju, which is a gargantuan component of this metaphor. While that knowledge gap drives a decent portion of the romcom shenanigans, it is also a Sword of Damocles portending a future dramatic confrontation. I know that I, personally, would not want to date somebody who did not know and accept my transness, and I would hope Kuroe comes to a similar conclusion eventually.
On a crasser note, I also love that much of Kuroe's romantic distress revolves around her ill-timed erections while in Minami's company. Her horns, spikes, and tail are all blatantly phallic symbols of her kaijuhood, and they reflect the fraught relationship many trans women have with their body. Plus, I'm immature and find boner jokes funny. More seriously, though, it's nice to see Kuroe grow a bit more comfortable appearing in her casual getup on the video call with Minami. Last time, I touted the power of makeup, and I stand by that, but intimate relationships are opportunities to be comfortable around another person as your more unvarnished self. That too is important to have.
Many of these themes carry through into the festival in the episode's second half. Again, Kuroe's cataloguing of bathrooms along her route feels extremely trans-coded to me; she is identifying safe areas she can retreat to should she need to “fix” her appearance. It's a safety measure. Her inability to tie her yukata also echoes how many of us trans women miss out on the usual hallmarks of growing up as a girl, so it's extra sweet to see Rinko step in and help her like a supportive mom. Elsewhere, Minami's plan to blend in with the crowd speaks to my personal experience. For the most part, if I'm in a large enough crowd, I rarely feel like I'm the center of anybody's attention, good or bad, and that usually helps assuage my anxiety. That being said, I'm also far less likely to go to such places on my own anymore, because it's important I have someone like Minami I can fall back on should things take a turn for the worse.
Here, when the crowd separates Kuroe from Minami, her overwhelmed emotional state prompts another full transformation into Harugon. I believe this is a first, as it is not her crush on Minami that triggers it, but rather her despair at being alone and missing out on the fireworks. And this is interesting, because it reframes her kaiju mode as a kind of defensive measure. She retreats to the “safety” of being a monster, which causes the rest of the crowd to leave her alone. This, in turn, allows her to enjoy the festival's climax alongside Minami, just like they originally wanted (well, maybe not just like). Being a kaiju girl cannot be all bad if it gives you and your date a front-row seat to the fireworks show.
Manatsu, meanwhile, spends the entire episode slinking around in the background, and I suspect she may be more than a bit jealous that Minami stole a kiss from her precious Harugon. And given her appearance in the post-credits scene, I doubt she is going to let him off easy next week.
Rating:
KAIJU GIRL CARAMELISE is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
Sylvia is on Bluesky for all of your posting needs. She is a girl who likes kaiju. You can also catch her chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime.
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