I’m glad that this episode didn’t leave me with the same empty and angry feeling as last time. While this episode did end sadly, this one still had more hope to it. There were also some laughs this time so it was a big relief.
Even so, the first bit of the episode leading up to Rin and Tohru embracing made me emotional. It was just beautiful and it was also the first step to Rin’s recovery. It’s sad that the first time Rin saw Tohru, she had this reaction to run over to her and bury herself in her lap and vent out her feelings, and be comforted. She’s been so lonely that she yearns comforting attention, but deliberately sabotages these relationships because Rin doesn’t want to be involved with people as kind as Tohru and Haru. She doesn’t want to see kind people like them be taken advantage of and hurt in the process. But those feelings become too much when she collapses and finally reaches out to Tohru. I was afraid she was going to keep running away but I was so relieved when she accepted Tohru instead and let her true feelings out. She doesn’t know what to do anymore, but that doesn’t mean she needs to do this alone or be alone. Like Shigure said, you can let yourself be taken care of. What matters is what you do afterwards, and I like that we got that little focus on Yuki since he completely relates to that. And just like Yuki, I hope Rin can find the strength to change and better herself.
Honestly, this new friendship between the girls is pretty awesome! They’re both pretty similar and they get along pretty well, and I do think they should team up and figure out a way to break the curse. Neither of them have any leads on how to do it, though Tohru suspects that Kureno just might know something even though Rin brushes him off. It’s great that Rin is slowly opening up herself for Tohru, and we know that Rin really is a kind girl. She just hid that kindness under her anger and self-sabotage, and it shows when Rin knew and backed off when she asked Tohru something too personal and probably hurtful when asking what was most precious to her. She cares for Tohru, and I thought it was sweet that she also wants Tohru to meet someone to help her like Haru did for her.
Because Tohru is not well, and that ending was depressing. I do want to say I love how she stood her ground with Rin in the beginning saying that she will meddle no matter what. Times like these Tohru really shows off her strength, but we know that she also has a weaker and vulnerable side that she tries so hard to keep at bay. I was expecting a big loving speech when it came to Rin, like Tohru has done so many times before. But no. All she said as she held Rin was “It’s scary to be on your own.” with tears strolling down her face and a short flashback to when she was a child. Tohru is dealing with her own trauma and hiding it herself, but as hard as she was ignoring it and hoping those terrible feelings would go away, it’s starting to break. Interesting that Shigure said something was breaking at the start, and I think he was referring to the curse, but that line could also be talking about Tohru’s mental health. She’s slowly breaking more and more and we’ve been seeing it a lot this season, but I feel like Tohru not being able to answer Rin’s question and that dream is the start to something big.
Poor Tohru has always been a lonely person. Having a single mother and no siblings, Tohru was always on her own with her mother at work. I don’t think Tohru had many friends growing up, so there was always some loneliness there but she always had her mother and that was enough for her. Now that she’s lost her mother, she feels truly alone. Tohru never really properly grieved over her mother and always forced a smile, but she can’t keep up this charade forever. It’s so sad, and I feel like the eventual breakdown is going to be painful. ;~;
Even though there were emotional moments this episode, there’s a bit of hope. Rin is slowly recovering and Haru is in better spirits, and that whole Yun-Yun intercom scene was hilarious. The animation and hearts on the intercom was a perfect touch in making it funnier, and Kakeru is just Kakeru. He’s just a funny dude as crazy as he is. The student council might be a little too hectic, but I think it’s perfect for Yuki. It was a challenge to get them all on the same page, but their crazy personalities is a nice change of pace for him and I love seeing their interactions.
It looks like this’ll be the last post from me this week as Shadow will be back next time. It was fun and this season is pretty fantastic and I can’t wait to see what we’ll get next.
