Love Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky Ep 1 [First Impression]

Well I have to say, this was certainly an interesting way to introduce the main character. Sorano Kakeru isn’t exactly the kind who appeals to readers or viewers right off the bat, in-fact, to most people he probably came off as absolutely infuriating. I thought the same during the first five minutes of the episode, because boy, was this guy a Negative-Nancy to the finest degree. But as the moment he was dragged off by his friend Harumi Usio to speak with two girls (Fuyutsuki Koharu and Hayase Yuuko) who were in their own corner, that’s when things started to change my perspective of him.

It appeared Kakeru was able to connect the dots and figured out that Koharu was blind before his friend did, who then had blurted out a rather frank question of asking her if she has bad eye-sight. Kakeru was startled because he knew that was super rude to do, but what took him aback was how Koharu just unabashedly revealed she’s completely blind. Despite hearing that, the two of them didn’t leave the girls, instead they stuck around and continued to talk with them— well, Ushio did at least. Takeru was dragged there to this party in the first place, so he just sat tight the whole time. Even afterwards, when he joined Usio escorting them back home, Takeru habitually was keeping his distance.

The first thing they showed us in that moment was how Kakeru’s very mindful of his spoken words, to the point he overthinks whether what he says is tactless or not. It’s not necessarily a bad thing to be self-aware like that, but too much of it is what causes one to paralyze and be at loss of what to do because of it. And this is because growing up, Kakeru’s parents got divorced and he and his mother were left with little choice but to move between relatives homes over and over again. Because of that, at a very young age, Kakeru had learned in order to protect himself (and probably his mother too from being stigmatized as a divorcee), the best thing he could do is keep his head down, behave well, blend into the background, and hope nobody will notice him. That’s why, even though he knows in his head the right thing to do is to step up and do something, it’s so nerve-wracking to the point it actually distresses him to do so. o rather than judging him harshly for it, I understand why he’s like this way, and I’m willing to give him some time to overcome that hurdle.

But I think the one scene that was probably feels difficult to excuse and was honestly worst time and situation for it to really highlight Kakeru’s anxiety, was when the two of them were alone in the classroom. It was a situation where Koharu dropped her walking stick down a couple of steps, and he was just standing there, kicking himself for doing just that, before finally taking action to do something. I get the author is trying to convey his internal struggle of stepping up to the plate (which involves putting himself out there), but I feel like this was probably a really bad way to go about it. There’s literally no one around to judge him for it, and the one who needs it would only be thankful for helping her find it. That’s why I’m sure all of us were thinking, “DO SOMETHING YOU FOOL!”

In this particular case, I think the way his fear wasn’t really showcased in an appropriate way was because just earlier, he had picked up her braille bookmark that had fallen on the floor, and handed it back to her. Did he hesitate then? Yes, but it sure felt like he was hesitating even longer because he was spending more time kicking himself for hesitating in the first place. One could argue this hesitation is consistent on his part, but on the other-hand, the two circumstances were different.

Which leads me back to Yuuko asking Kakeru if he’d be up to volunteering to help Koharu out in their class together. It really wasn’t her place to be pushy with Kakeru about taking up the role as Koharu’s student guide. While she said ‘no pressure, he could say no’, she also sent him a message the next day, ‘Please keep an eye on Koharu-chan for me!’, and that’s the part where it felt like she was really starting to push it on him. Probably hoping that once he notices some of the troubles Koharu encounters, he’ll step right into the role. While yes, he and Koharu do share a class together, she doesn’t know Kakeru! She literally just met him! And now she’s making some very strong assumptions that he’d be open to volunteering for the cause! You can’t assume that someone would be willing to volunteer such role, because everyone has their own comfort zones. Is it fair to ask a shy introvert to ask questions on another behalf if you’re unable to do so? Of course not! Not everyone is suitable to be Student Guides, and that includes some who choose to volunteer/or decide to do so as job for some extra cash. That’s why I didn’t like the way Yuuko’s going about this.

But most importantly, it’s also so important that it’s someone who’s committed to doing their job properly. I’ve had plenty of experiences with ‘school guides’ or in my particular case, ‘assistants’ for my entire school life. As I’m severely deaf, my assistants’ roles were ‘Note-takers’ to fill in the blanks of things not written on the board and spoken out loud. However it pains me to say that, outside of high-school (because my note-takers happened to by my friends, who were also VERY good at it) I never had any good experiences with the Students Accessibility Services’ assistants.

Apart from that, I’m both curious to see whether or not Takeru will take up that role, or instead help her simply because they become friends. Either way, this involves him stepping out of his comfort-zone. But it goes without saying that just this first meeting with meeting Koharu is probably the best thing to ever happen to him. It’s going to motivate him to come out of that shell of his. She’s the complete opposite of him, who’s embracing life in ways it’s hard for him to fathom. For Koharu to live freely as much as she pleases, she has to be brave, all while understanding and accepting her limitations. She can’t see the fireworks, but that doesn’t stop her from loving them and hoping that one day she and her friends can set off fireworks of their own!

And Koharu isn’t someone to be pitied, and Kakeru understands that much, to the point he’s constantly trying to catch himself before he thinks that way, and is also conscious of his words (such as, immediately apologizing when he catches a tactless slip-up). She was happy to show Kakeru how she’s able to achieve independence by following not just a systematic routine that creates consistency, but also her due diligence to memorize and master things so that it empowers her to do just that. Being able to go to ‘her’ vending machine and picking out the correct beverage she wants thanks to Yuuko helping her list out the selection, and learning where each of them are at is one example of how a little help can go a long way to empower one to stand on their own.

And that’s the general rule of the thumb for any of us with disabilities. We uses the tools available to us, we seek help when we need it, set up a system that works for us (and that can benefit those who help us as well by making it easier to do so), and just do the best we can to just live to the fullest, just like everyone else.

With that said, although this was a bit of a rocky start, it’s enough to intrigue me to see how Koharu’s experiences will help Kakeru overcome his own barriers that have been formed out of trauma and hardships. He spoke about his insecurity of sharing anything about being raised by a single, divorced mom, and we were also told he isn’t the type to really make connections with other people. So I’m looking forward to his healing journey as well.

And last but not least, it was really great to see Student Guides getting some spotlight, as stories are a great way highlight how important these services are for individuals like Koharu (and myself) who can turn to when needed. These services are invaluable when the right people are doing the job. And for those who do, let me just say thank you! You make our lives so much easier!

I know this will be a show I’ll be watching from start to finish this season, but I will wait and see how the next two episodes go, and then I’ll decide whether or not I’ll continue covering it. Right now it’s up in the air for me. If I do however, I strongly suspect this will be the type of show I’ll be doing double-posts for a more comfortable write-up.

Possibility of Blogging: Moderate