English Dub Review: A Centaur’s Life “When You Choose to Look at Contemporary Art for a Date… Part 1 | When You Choose to Look at Contemporary Art for a Date… Part 2”

What is art?

Overview:

The first segment features the main trio following Suu on a date with Nakafumi. Suu hasn’t expressed interest in dating anyone before, so this is entirely new to the girls. They want to make sure the date goes well, and possibly see if anything interesting happens. They aren’t the only ones following Suu– various government-personnel, including from the CIA and FBI, are also following them to make sure that she doesn’t accidentally get targeted by terrorist organizations. They go to a contemporary art exhibit, and Suu is puzzled by the art. Nakafumi tries his best to explain it, and actually ends up going into the evolution of art culture.

Nakafumi points out that art used to only be limited to the rich, but since nowadays modern technology make it increasingly easier for the general public to capture what they can see, art has shifted more towards the abstract. In other words, something that can’t be easily seen, but can be interpreted, something he says that is a continuous struggle to push the boundaries of artistic meaning. It’s a pretty good insight, although he understandably can’t explain what the concept of art is. Despite being confused, Suu says she enjoyed the exhibit, saying that it’s new to find something that can’t be easily understood.

On the other side is Mitama going on a date with Toma to the same exhibit. Along the way, Mitama wonders about art, saying that she doesn’t quite understand her father’s passion for painting. At lunch, she muses that she’s not sure how to treat it, saying that he doesn’t turn it into a profession and doesn’t seem interested in pursuing it as a career, but she doesn’t want to devalue his efforts by calling it a hobby. Toma points out that nothing Mitama says is new, and that she’s being soft on her father, who’s likely thought this all through. He’s an adult, and he can figure out what to do with his paintings. Mitama is comforted by this. They’re right, that art is hard. It’s all subjective, and it’s very hard to turn it into a career with the way society looks at it these days. However, if you’re determined with your craft, you’ll figure it out.

Our Take

All in all, a cute episode about art and how it’s consumed, mixed with some cute dating and spying.