Man, I can already tell this is probably going to be my favourite show for the Winter season!
This week was yet another soulful episode, and I just love the literary beauty of. Like, obsessed with it. The parts when they are narrating passages from Makio’s novel, UGH SO GOOD!
Asa didn’t quite use her journal this week, though we did see her draw the desert she described her self to be lost in the previous episode! But it was fascinating to watch her observe adult interactions that she’s not used to. Clearly her mother didn’t quite have friends over or the likes, because seeing Makio and her friend Nana talk to each other like Asa would do with her own friends came as a bit of a shell-shock. She wasn’t really sure what to expect, but it still surprised her. It was cute in a way how she likened the way the two talk (of not being able to quite follow) a totally different language that she couldn’t quite follow.
I think the most endearing part of the episode though was seeing how Makio and Asa are more similar to each other than either one of them realizes. It makes them two peas of a pod, and in more ways than one a good fit I’d say. They balance each other out!
It also goes without saying, Asa’s incredibly lucky to be taken in by someone who’s as considerate as Makio. Although this whole thing terrifies her, Makio is doing the best she can, and is very hyper aware how saying something can leave a mark on someone’s life. She’s very attentive and respectful of Asa as well, from suggesting to close her journal if she wants more privacy for it, and observing that Asa has been sleeping a lot more than she herself realizes and it worries her a bit. She suspects it’s part of processing the loss, so she’s not entirely sure how to go about it.
Makio’s equally as lucky to have some reliable friends to turn to. Her friend Nana helped out with bringing some food and had them doing a cooking session of prepping Gyoza together. And then she has her ex-boyfriend Shingo Kasamachi, who just seems like an all around good guy. It appears they broke up because they wanted different things in life (like he wanted kids, and she didn’t), so they decided to just be friends. It’s endearing to see he’s an avid reader and really enjoys her novels, to the point he asks questions about the endings and characters’ thoughts at the end of the story. I think it’s wonderful to have someone who genuinely enjoys your work that much.
He was the one who explained to Makio that she needs to petition for Guardianship in order to obtain Asa’s parents’ life insurance, among many other things they need. He had also suggested perhaps moving to a large apartment for the two of them. After-all hers is pretty cramped and Asa has to sleep in the room she works, or otherwise sleep on the couch. But Makio is reluctant to leave it because she owns it (especially considering her books don’t’ seem to be selling as well as of the late). Though hearing she owns the place caught Shingo by surprise, because as it turned out she bought it six years ago while they were dating, but said nothing of it.
The reason why Makio didn’t tell him at the time was because she wasn’t expecting her novels to be that successful and was afraid if she said anything, she’d wake up from a dream. And I get that, if I were in her shoes, I feel like I’d probably respond and think the exact same way. Sometimes there’s this thought of when something really good happens to you, you feel so grateful for it, that you’re afraid if you bring it up, you’ll jinx it and lose it all.
Now that Makio knows she needs to take Asa back to her house to collect her stuff, it’ll be interesting to see how the two will feel when they do so. Asa has been processing her grief very slowly, and as she pointed out to Makio today, she was thankful when she had told her at the cafe that day that she can be sad if the time comes. Asa was worried at the time that it was strange that she didn’t feel particularly sad, so it was a relief when she was told that. Asa promises her that she will tell her when she does get sad, but for now she’s okay. Needless to say, despite saying so, one has to wonder if she’s still running on adrenaline at the moment, especially at the times she realizes she can’t even remember her mother’s cooking, or what ingredients she used.
Speaking of Asa’s mother, we did see more about Makio’s trauma and friction with her sister. She made a point to tell Asa not to pressure her, which Asa was quick to pick up on exactly what she meant by that. From what we’ve seen in the brief flashbacks so far, Minori would constantly ridiculed and was demeaning towards Makio. The freaking audacity for her to shame her for being an author even! One has wonder if we’re actually ever going to see her be nice for an exchange? I think the one time we didn’t see her frowning for an exchange was when Asa was remembering her cooking in the kitchen.
With that, yeah this episode absolutely solidified this is a keeper. I’ll be blogging this one way or another this season. Just a heads up though: If I don’t announce that I’m going to do a double-post, there may be days when I will have to release this on Mondays. Just varies whether I have the time and energy to do two entries in one day. There’s a lot of shows that look really promising this season, so I really want to make it work for as many as I’m able to do!
