I’m proud of Asa for changing her mind about not auditioning for the lead vocalist role! I loved how she went up there and loudly declared she was going to sing. It was a great way to really root herself into the ground and steel her resolve! Although they didn’t outright give us the results, we do see that she did succeed in acquiring the role and the performance will be on April 10th.
Additionally, Asa has decided how she wanted to go about her parent’s memorial. She decided she’d rather celebrate their birthdays as that’s what they’ve always have done since they were only a few days apart (April 10th and April 13th). It was very sweet to see how much Makio liked the idea as well.
There were a lot of reasons why I loved this episode, but I think the most powerful part of it was the discussion that dug into the male-centric rituals bandwagon. This is such a big deal, and I think it’s super important to talk about especially now in the age of viral influences and the likes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard enough about bad influencers who promote these male-centric rituals as though it’s a “good thing”, and if you don’t do it then you’re not “manly enough”, or the kind of ridiculous rules like “men don’t cry” or “shouldn’t talk about their feelings”, which is utter bullshit. This was also subtly touched using the example of the first year student who quit the baseball team because he got sick of the way they were running things. He didn’t want to be a part of that anymore. He wanted to play baseball, not be a part of the crap he’s been subjected to. It can also be correlated to how misogyny is playing a terrible part in the evaluations (where it has no business being) for candidates for medical school. The whole thing of objectifying women based on their appearances rather than their knowledge and skill-set needed for the medical field is beyond infuriating, which is why Chiyo absolutely lost it.
Shingo and Kazunari are absolutely the best example we have right now, as they both made the decision to walk away from that crowd. Shingo especially, made a point that doing so enabled him to grow a backbone, and accept being Human. And that’s such an invaluable distinction. In-fact, I think that is the best way to put it!
This episode hammers down the fact that every single one of us, male or female, gay or straight, non-binary, and so on forth— only we, ourselves should dictate who we want to be, and not be pressured into following the crowd of doing bad things, or things we know we’re uncomfortable with. Kazunari spoke at length about it when he realized he and Shingo were two peas of a pod. And it was honestly great to see, even better when he realized why Shingo’s attracted to Makio. (The way he connected the dots instantaneously was a hilarious light bulb moment!) He’s attracted to those who’re genuinely true to themselves.
Among the little details I really appreciated this week, it was really nice to see Asa create her own little space in the office’s closet. She made it into such a charming little hideout, even Makio was smitten by it!
It really made me think back to when I used to do that when I was a kid. Digging out the closet so I could make a little fort and decorate it so it’s my little corner so I wouldn’t be disturbed. I think it’s wonderful that Asa been able to do that, and it content with making that little space “her own room”. Unfortunately it’s a tad too small to stretch out and sleep inside, but she’s comfortable with sleeping out in the office on the futon when Makio’s working. Better yet Makio has gotten used to her being a part of her space as well, so she isn’t bothered by it all.
Another thing I really loved seeing was seeing the friendships and relationships blossoming between characters. Starting with Makio and Michiko. Day-time beer buddies, hitting off great as friends. And that’s great to see as both Makio and Machiko have been able to give each other advice in different ways to help each other. And now Shingo and Kazunari realizing the two of them have a lot in common, especially with sharing the sentiment to steer clear of the male toxicity crowd they’ve both cut out of their lives as much as they can.
Similarly I’m also happy to see Emiri being able to go about her own life while still maintaining her friendship with Asa. It looks like she’s dating now, and looks all around a lot lighter and happier now that she has found a new balance in her life. And best of all, this all couldn’t have happened at a better time since Asa’s at a point where she can comfortably just throw herself entirely into music. Participating with the band club gives her something to do without always having to be dependent on Emiri. So this is a very healthy development for both of them, and will undoubtedly help preserve their friendships in the long run. (Though if there’s one potential for conflict, it’s probably Emiri keeping the fact she’s dating a secret. But while that may upset Asa to be left out of that, it is Emiri’s right to keep it to herself.)
I am interested however in what will become of Asa and Chiyo though. The two of them aren’t actually friends yet, just classmates, so no more than acquaintances really. But considering both are processing their own respective griefs of how their entire world been turned upside down, I’m curious to see if a friendship will blossom between them. Ever since that article came out, Chiyo hasn’t been going to school, and there’s no indication that she was actually planning on going in this moment. And to be honest, I was genuinely terrified that Chiyo might’ve been having suicidal thoughts when we saw her standing by the tracks. I can’t tell you how relieved I was when she and Asa locked eyes. So I’m eager to see how the conversation between her and Asa will pan out, if any at all next week.
Next week is the final episode! This has been such a great show and I’ve had a great time covering it, so I’m going to miss it a lot!
