It really is interesting to see the differences between the Kashima brothers and the Kamitani brothers. The Kashima brothers always had a more loving and softer relationship with both of them being pretty clingy with each other. The Kamitani brothers have a tougher love where they argue a lot and Taka is usually screaming and crying about something. One pair gets along, the other pair bickers a lot. But, at least they love each other.
We saw that again as the brothers took the spotlight in their own halves this episode. I thought the beach episode would be cute and silly, but it got pretty emotional. We’ve seen how much Kotaro worries about Ryu but we saw how understanding Kotaro is about possibly losing the last family member he has. The daycare peeps and the moms take a little beach trip and one half of the kids are terrified, while the other half loved it. Inomata was also there and honestly I don’t even know why, but her swimsuit was cute and I love that she has a little connection with Kirin. Later on Ryu goes into the water and dives and Kotaro sobs uncontrollably. Kotaro knew firsthand how scary the ocean could be and his fear that he could lost his brother made him actually try to swim. We haven’t seen a powerful reaction like that from Kotaro since episode one, where again he thought he lost his brother when he didn’t see him next to him. It’s just a reminder of their strong bond because of their circumstances, and how Ryu quickly runs to Kotaro’s aid. When you compare Kamitani’s previous actions in last week’s episode when it came to Taka (admitting to wanting to give up immediately), it’s pretty different. But that also has to do with their different personalities.
Taka is a cutie but he really is a bratty kid. Basically, being jealous that his older brother spends more time in his baseball club than playing with him, Taka grabbed an autographed baseball of his and drew a poop on it. A “See! That’s what you get!” kind of thing. Obviously Kamitani was pissed but instead of smacking Taka on his head, he completely ignored him, and to Taka that was way worse than being acknowledged for his bad deed. His mother explains the situation to Ryuichi and asks him to check on her son and the chairwoman and Saikawa watched Taka and Kotaro. With Kamitani, he’s more of a tough brother. Ryu mentioned Kotaro ruining his things but Ryu is such a soft-spoken and sweet guy that he probably never yelled at Kotaro, whereas Kamitani is a lot more harsh. He knows that Taka is a brat that doesn’t see the error in his ways but he decides to just suck it up. But thankfully the chairwoman had a very important conversation with Taka about ruining others’ precious possessions and how, yes, he was wrong. And of course he apologized in the end. I’m glad he understood that he was wrong, because just sucking it up and letting him get away with it doesn’t teach him anything. He’s at the age that he needs to learn right from wrong, and how particular actions can really hurt people. But Kamitani shows his love in the end and suggests playing baseball with the children the next day, making time to play with his little brother.
Growth was mentioned twice this episode. Ryu mentioning it with Taka growing a little in the end, and with sadness that Kotaro one day will grow and not need him anymore. But it’s steps that Taka took that leads to them being grown and responsible, and while that may feel sad at first, it’s also a good thing.
Next week is Vegetable Day and I saw the kids dressed up as veggies in the preview and I screamed. I can’t wait to see that! <3
