Man, this episode started out so cute and fun…. I wasn’t expecting the episode to take the turn that it did. But boy does the plot thicken and Takemichi has a lot more on his plate than when he first started. I hope he’s going to be okay, with Hina and her death he just heard about it over the news and has been trying to connect back with her and save her. But what happened with Akkun in this episode? He saw that firsthand and that’s traumatizing. We do get pretty solid evidence that Kisaki Tetta is one dangerous character… but at what cost?
Well… actually we know it’s at least three lives, but even knowing all this what is our crybaby hero supposed to do about it?? I had to pause the episode because I was in disbelief about what happened. I really wouldn’t have been surprised if Akkun turned out pull the “We aren’t friends anymore, we haven’t seen you in 10 years.” And had a backstabbing moment. But the fact that Takemichi maintained that Akkun was a friend no matter how much Naoto doubted him made the ending hurt so much more. I knew that Kisaki was going to be a pretty scummy guy based on what we had seen in the last episode. But to cause this much fear?? He makes Kiyomasa look like a little puppy.
And while I’m still baffled at what happened in this episode, it really does make me more invested. I want Takemichi to succeed so he can save everyone from this horrible future they’ve all found themselves in. Like, I understand why Naoto was so upset that he didn’t just kill Mikey when they met in the past due to everything surrounding Hina. But dang, if Takemichi doesn’t take out Kisaki I’m going to do it myself. Like, I’m convinced he is just rotten to the core. I can totally imagine Takemichi trying to save him from being the terrible person he’s going to become… but uh I don’t think there’s any redeeming him at this point. Like you can try… but there are at least three people dead because of this situation and how many more are we going to find?????
With all that said, I do want to circle back to the beginning of the episode because it was a fun way to start the episode and just another moment to appreciate how sincere Hina is. From yelling at the kids to scoot over on the train to provide convenience to the other riders to helping Takemichi achieve his dreams… even if he doesn’t quite remember what they are. I appreciate that she’s genuinely interested in learning more about him and hasn’t exactly run off since he’s different than the first iteration of himself. And honestly, part of me wants to know what the OG Takemichi was like… but so far it seems like he’s changing things for the better… Or at least I hope he is. But the scene on the rooftop was just so wholesome and cute. It’s so nice to see her be so excited for the fireworks and Takemichi continue to realize just how special she is to him. I can’t believe he gave her up the first time around! If only he could have held her hand… but it was a great reintroduction of young Naoto. Not too long ago, Takemichi was looking for him as an escape from the past and he was nowhere to be found. But now that he wants to hold Hina’s hand? Perfect timing.
But hey! I really was! It’s good to check back into the future to see what has changed. Granted this trip back to the future, while it did provide proof that things could change… also brought up some other unpleasant things. Good luck Takemichi… you’re really going to need it.
