Give Up Already

In contrast with the rest of the series so far, Episode 8, 'Give Up Already', focusses on human characters. Gudetama has been captured by Director Inoue (Akiyoshi Nakao), as the latter is trying to create a new show based around the anthropomorphic egg. It appears, however, that the Director is too high-strung to observe Gudetama in their true form and sees the protagonist as just a raw egg instead. Assistant Director Suzuki (Serena Motola) - her enthusiasm matching Gudetama's - serves as the go-between for Inoue and his would-be star. The result is a game of Chinese whispers and a grotesque pitch delivered to a senior executive. The humour, for most part, feels both primitive and forced.

There is an underlying message akin to 'hakuna matata' of El rey león (1994): to see everything that there is, one must forget the worries. That may be related to the notion of child-like wonder: how, when experiencing the world for the first time, we are fascinated by all of it, and how adults tend to operate under a burden of expectations that often limits their views. Gudetama's lazy and passive nature can be seen as wise and unperturbed. Really, both descriptions apply.

The episode has very little Shakipiyo, but, by the end of it, we are as close to finding the mother hen as we have ever been.