All I ask is for an episode where no one gets hurt and we were so close!! Seconds away from a perfectly happy episode, but now with that quite literal cliffhanger I’m stressed! Ahhhhhhhhh I hope nothing too bad comes out of this and everyone is okay! Why did the Nokkers wait 4 whole years and decide to crash in right now! Couldn’t they wait for another day? Talk about some really unfortunately timing.
Overall, I felt this episode was really nice despite the slower pace it took. There were some really good character interactions and it really started to feel like a slice of life anime. I’m glad that we got to have a solid interaction between Rean and Fushi since she doesn’t get very much spotlight to herself. She’s been a character that always seems to be there, but we don’t get to hear about her feelings very often. So, it was nice to hear her talk about what was going to happen on her sixteenth birthday and how much she doesn’t want to do what everyone expects her to do (also, after meeting her supposed fiancé… I would also want to get out of that relationship as fast as possible). It’s also the first time where she really expresses her feelings about Gugu and it’s such a cute and innocent crush. Prior to here, we haven’t been told what her feelings were towards him – if anything I would have assumed the crush was still with Fushi based on when she first arrived at the Boozeman’s house. It really led to a nice build-up throughout the episode.
Another surprise (well, not necessarily a surprise thanks to the episode preview last week haha) was seeing Gugu’s brother. And I’m pretty content with how that interaction ended up playing out. I think Gugu was totally right to be upset with his brother returning to try to reinsert himself back in his life after abandoning him all those years ago. Arguably, he probably grew in that time and turned his life around, but as far as Gugu’s concerned, he’s just showing up and trying to reinsert himself back into his life. Even though they didn’t really leave the conversation on the best of terms, I’m looking forward to seeing if he’ll reappear in the future and try to rebuild those bonds.
But for now, he’s just returned the ring that Rean gave Gugu all those years ago before she even knew who he was. Which again builds up her crush even more. She starts get memories back of when she gave the ring away initially. So, even though he was super flustered about it, I thought that her going up to him and telling him to confess was pretty cute. At this point they both seem to like each other, but neither of them really want to say it. And so, someone gets pelted by potatoes. But at this point, I’m cheering for both of them, I want them to be happy.
All of this does end up coming together during her birthday party. I love the little moment where Fushi and Gugu end up talking about getting her a gift. It was such a small scene, but in the grander scheme of things it just really goes to show what a kind guy Gugu is. And it’s really unfortunate the people don’t get to see how kind he is! Everyone at the party is just so cruel to him and all he’s doing is just existing… with a mask on, but he’s not bothering anyone! All he wants to do is give Rean a purple flower, how is he supposed to know that was a “bad” idea? Ah, I just feel bad for him because everyone is just ready to single him out and I feel bad for Rean that everyone gets to decide how she’s feeling for her. I just want them to be happy!
And we get SO CLOSE!! Rean is finally able to get away from her fiancé and confront Gugu about the event four years ago. I absolutely love the way it was handled. Rean slowly pushes towards the answer and Gugu is just so kind and respectful during the whole interaction. Yeah, he doesn’t out right say that the girl he rescued was her, but the way he handles it is just so good. He acknowledges how she felt about the whole thing even though his injury is so much worse than his. aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh I just really loved that second to last scene between them.
Now I just have to hope that everything is going to be okay! I mean, Gugu survived falling off a cliff once, so here’s to hoping that he will be able to do the same. I just want Gugu (and everyone else) to have a happy ending.
