WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1, Episode 3 of Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater, "Flatheads," now streaming on FUNimation.
Hina has leveled-up her fishing skills and overcome her most obnoxious hurdle: being afraid of fishing itself. But when the cruel reality of the fish's fate rears its ugly head, she's back to square one in Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater's Episode 3, “Flatheads.”
It should be noted that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the slice-of-life series has gone fishing, i.e., has been delayed until further notice, which makes “Flatheads” the last episode for a while. Considering the episode's subject matter, it's a shame that the series is going on hiatus just as Hina and pals get to the guts of the matter -- literally.
When Hina catches her first big fish, the flathead -- a bottom-dwelling fish that resembles a stereotypical fish despite what Natsumi claimed it to look like in Episode 2, “Reels and Casting” -- it's a big moment for the Breakwater Club's new recruit. Not only does she manage to do so without injuring her peers, but with only just a little help from Makoto, she reels it in through mostly her own effort. This is a big leap forward for the meek girl who screamed in terror at the sight of a small bug when the series began, signaling her mental growth. One could even say she appears to be enjoying herself.
That all changes when Hina is faced with the stark reality of fishing. Having caught the flathead, Hina and the club bring it back to headquarters where Makoto lays it flat upon a table. Club president Yūki then offers Hina a knife and tells her that since she caught it, she gets to clean it.
Hina's naivety is almost unreal, though up until this point, her attitude had mostly steered toward being grossed out by the fish rather than completely ignorant of what happens when one goes fishing. The concept of killing the fish seems to have never crossed her mind even when her hook tore through its fishy face and she ripped it from the ocean.
Makoto instructs Hina on how to kill the fish “humanely,” if such a thing exists, even as the fish is gasping for air on the cleaning table. She places the knife over where she says the spine will be and tells her to press down with enough force to sever the bone. This is followed by a time jump -- Hina either blacks out or is in a sort of fugue state during this time when the fish is cleaned, as the very next scene is the club enjoying it in many different ways. Sashimi, tempura... traumatic experience. Regardless of how it happened, Hina's mental well-being is called into question when she faints in what Yūki describes as being a “very talented way” when presented with her prize for catching the fish: it's head in a soup.
All of the issues Hina had with fishing prior to catching the flathead could be attributed to an ick-factor. Chum is gross, after all, and learning to cast a lure is trickier than it looks. Killing the fish post-catch is a prerequisite for becoming a fisherman, at least one who does so to eat the fishy bounty. In spite of her best efforts to overcome her initial fears, Hina is faced with a dilemma that may question her morals -- will she be comfortable with taking a life, or is it simply her nerves returning to haunt her?
At the dinner table, after having regained the ability to form memories, Hina eats the sashimi readily and never questions the act she had just committed. A real twist for this easy-going series would be for Hina to denounce the club and commit herself to vegetarianism, eating only kelp salad. Though this is clearly never going to happen, it may be even more unlikely that Hina becomes comfortable with killing and cleaning the fish she catches.
