After last week’s horrific episode, it was a little morbid when this one started out a little lighthearted and cutesy because of Shio’s attitude. But things immediately took a shift when we looked back on Shio’s backstory with her mother. Things took a really interesting turn near the end but was resolved rather quickly, which I thought was odd. But basically, this episode made me wonder what I even want to see in this show anymore.
We already know that Shio, Asahi, and their mother lived terrible lives in their home. But while Asahi stayed behind, Shio and her mother lived in an apartment and mostly stayed in there. Watching the scenes in their home with the abusive husband was awful and it was worse seeing Shio’s mother have a breakdown when he told her to sell the beautiful kimono she got from her grandparents. I’ve seen manga readers say that they skipped over Yuuna’s backstory (the mother), and I actually read up on spoilers and….I’m shocked. They might have to censor it if they want to put it on TV, or they might gloss over it, or they might not even mention it at all. But the spoilers I read was one of the most awful and tragic backstories I’ve read simply because of how realistic it is. I won’t say anything right now, I’d actually like to read the chapters (if I can stomach it) and maybe mention it in spoiler tags if the anime doesn’t end up mentioning it. Anyway, from what we got this episode, Yunna, like everyone else in this show, is completely broken. Shio mentioned saying that she felt like she had multiple mothers: a kind one, a scary one, and a sad one. The two would make do with what they had, which was absolutely nothing. We learned that they lost all their money because Shio or Yuuna got injured when Shio walked across the street without looking both ways and got in the way of a bus. Since then, Yuuna’s mental state worsened and Shio could see that her mother’s heart (as a jar) was almost shattered. She forbade her from leaving the apartment for good, and it was interesting to see how similar Shio’s life with her mother was to her current life with Satou. Then one night, they both go out again and Yuuna takes Shio…and abandons her on the street, saying she has no need for her anymore.
Not too long after that, Satou found her. So, no, Satou didn’t kidnap Shio. It’s not really kidnapping when the child is abandoned. I have no clue what Yuuna was thinking, just abandoning her daughter out of the blue and it makes me so sad that poor Shio has had to suffer so much. Her reactions later to Satou’s truths later were strange, but then again I can’t blame her. She’s been a sheltered girl her entire life, and the fact that she had no clue how to open that can of food was quite telling, as well as in the beginning of the show when she didn’t even know how to use a TV, etc.
It was so shocking to see Shio lash out at Satou all of a sudden. I think she realized how similar Satou kind of was to her mother and it angered her, making her yell out that she hated Satou and that it annoyed her when Satou would keep secrets from her. This all came to be when Satou suddenly said that they had to leave their apartment (because of killing Shoko). Shio lashes out and runs off into a room and Satou is completely mortified. Not going to lie at all, it was really satisfying seeing Satou suffer. The sweetness of her life was slipping away and it left her a shell. But then it was really strange that Shio suddenly changed her mind and said she loved Satou and wanted to protect her. Kids don’t get over tantrums that quickly so the interesting turn in events was solved in only a couple minutes, which was…whatever. They want to love and protect each other, and Shio doesn’t want Satou to keep secrets from her anymore. And so Satou tells her the truth: She killed someone, she’s hurt many people, stole things, and they need to move away. And all Shio did was nod and say “OK”. Which again was strange! But again, Shio was such a sheltered girl that hardly ever went out, she didn’t have a TV because of how poor they were, so I don’t think she understands the severity of Satou’s actions, like murder. But even with the weird moments, this was a great episode for Shio. She’s always just been this…object, a symbol of purity and love. She never really felt like a character until finally this time so I really liked that. It’s just terrible the stuff Shio had to go through, and that I don’t think she understands how severe it is when she said that she’ll be Satou’s partner in crime.
My conflict is…what should happen? Watching what kind of life Shio lived before, it was basically the same but much worse. We don’t even know what happened with Yuuna. I’m guessing suicide? If that’s so, then her only family is Asahi and honestly how are they going to live? Shio doesn’t even seem to remember Asahi because he didn’t show up at all in her memories. Should Shio leave Satou, and live with her only family in squalor? Or should Shio live with a psychopathic killer in a nicer home since Satou can actually provide for them? There’s no winner here, because Asahi can’t provide for them. These two children need love and support from adults, they can’t fend for themselves. But living with a psycho like Satou isn’t too safe either, even though they both understand each other.
I…I don’t know. I just don’t know what I want, because for sure we are not going to get a satisfying ending.
