I’m glad Takezou was featured more in this week, especially how much he has been cut out in the last few episodes. We got to see more of his lack of confidence as the club’s president, but make the effort to try do a better job of leading the group and keeping them together. While he is unable to provide more support in regards to more adequately teaching the group how to play, he is starting to learn what he is good at: Keeping the team’s morale up and helping the team better communicate with each other. This is particularly important in practice, to help ensure nobody gets discouraged when things are not progressing well. He also serves as a good middleman, for softening or explaining Satowa’s unintentionally harsh words or complex explanation. We also saw him standing up to the Light Music Club, looking to shutdown the rumours going around that he is being bullied by delinquents in the club. Chika also contributed by regarding Takezou with respect in front of the guys, to show that he is not being pushed around. This is also a huge improvement for Chika with the way he chooses to engage in conflicts.
And speaking of helping each other, both Takezou and Chika played an instrumental role of helping Satowa feel more comfortable within the group. Not only did Chika make sure that Satowa came along with them to eat, but he and Takezou gave her the assurance she desperately needed to know that it’s okay for her not to know the answer to everything, and if she doesn’t know, just ask. It was important for her to hear that because she growing more and more restless with her difficulty of teaching the others, and her discomfort of asking for help when her mother has scolded her for not knowing things/failing to achieve perfection. Satowa is also still struggling with communicating with others, as she unwittingly ends up making off-hand comments that doesn’t help anyone, ahaha. Luckily nobody has any hard feelings about it.
This week, we also go to see Chika’ impatience and desire to do play like Satowa. having learned his fingers are still too soft, he has been working hard to develop calluses by practicing whenever he can with his cardboard koto. And so he ends up going to Granny’s shop, along side Kouta, Sane and Mittsu, asking her to let them practice there. It was so adorable and hilarious how he had tried give her vouchers, and then told her they will let her hear an amazing performance… a memory she can take with her to the afterlife. AHAHAHAHAHA! It’s so heartening to see Granny let them borrow her instruments and help them learn. She is the best!
And seriously, can we take a moment to acknowledge just how insane their practice routine has become? It’s no joke! Morning, lunch, after school, evening secret training at Granny’s place (until Takezou and Satowa joins them). It is especially lovely to see Kouta, Sane and Mittsu all be completely on board with this schedule, because frankly, nobody is forcing them to do this. It is all because they see how hard Chika is working, that is motivates them to do the same. Better yet, even when it gets hard, and it’s difficult to keep up, such as Kouta, who was seen struggling to follow and keep up with the group’s timing when it comes to playing in sync with each other.
With the performance just around the corner, we also got to see the team discuss how Ryuuseigun can be interpreted, and what they want to convey to the audience. They collectively agree it embodies a wish for their true feeling to reach others. This particularly struck Chika, as someone who is constantly being misunderstood and facing prejudice of others, was able to tap into the potential we had seen his grandfather gush about to Granny when Chika had played the Koto for the first time. Gen recognized he has the talent just waiting to be polished, and having heard the soft and gentle sound Chika had been able to produce, caught both Takezou and Satowa off-guard. It was hilarious how Chika himself didn’t even realize it! Seeing just a hint of his potential makes me so excited for how he will grow as the series goes on.
Overall I would say this is probably the strongest episode to date. I am glad they didn’t skip over the practice bits, something I was a bit weary about after how criminally short the spring music festival performance was. A solid start, and a dramatic finish with Satowa finally learning about Chika’s traumatic past. I am very much looking forward to next week’s episode!
