Hoo boy, I feel like I’m watching one of those tearjerker K-dramas.

— Just to be clear, I think Ikuto’s mom is in the clear. She didn’t ask to get sick, and she’s trying her best. Maybe she should’ve taken the doctor’s advice and gotten the operation sooner, but when emotions run high, people don’t always make the right decisions.

— Likewise, I can’t blame Honoka too much for lashing out at Ikuto. She has displaced aggression, and she needs to vent. She’ll regret tearing up their mother’s letter, but it isn’t the end of the world.

— Luckily, the operation was a success. The bad news, however, is that the family has to pay up as soon as the mother is released. Yeesh, the entire sum? There’s no payment plan that can help poor families? Is it really like that in Japan? Well, we have our own healthcare issues in the ‘States. I would love to go on a rant about how free healthcare is a moral imperative… but this isn’t the right place for it. I can only hope that voters make the right decision come election day…

— Alright, so the stage is set. Ikuto and his sisters need money and they need money badly. As a result, our aspiring fashion designer intends to quit his current apprentice roles in order to work a bunch of part-time jobs. This is when the predators come out. Give them a little blood and they show no goddamn mercy.

— At first, it seems as though Toh is gonna be a nice guy. He’ll take Ikuto on full-time and help with the hospital bills. Wow, what a swell guy! But then the truth comes out: he doesn’t see Ikuto as a fashion designer at all. He just wants the kid’s talent in pattern-making. In Toh’s universe, not only is he the leading man, everyone else is just a cog in the machine to help prop him up. Y’know, there’s truly something broken in you if you try to emotionally manipulate someone when their mother is in the hospital.

— Which then leads us to Yu, the other shitty adult of the episode. She somehow learned about Ikuto’s financial troubles, so she offers a bit of quid pro quo. It’s simple, really: Ikuto can have this fat stack of cash as long as he makes Kokoro quit her dreams of becoming a fashion designer. Great. Fabulous. One adult wants a high school kid to shit on his own dreams. Another adult wants the same high school kid to sell his soul and shit on his friend’s dreams. I hope they both step on legos, and that their dogs won’t greet them when they come home.

— Naw son, y’see, if you’re poor, it just means you didn’t work hard enough! Pick yourself up by your bootstraps!!!

— But at some point, a show becomes too melodramatic. At some point, a show can become too exhausting to watch. I feel like I’m hitting that limit with Runway de Waratte. I came into this show wanting to learn a thing or two about fashion and modeling, but instead, it’s only further indoctrinating me towards leftest ideals! A family should not have to face bankruptcy because someone got sick! High school kids should have to get multiple jobs just to pay their mother’s hospital bills! And y’know what? Maybe the people working for these despotic fashion designers should unionize!!! Ahem, let’s continue on…

— Oh yeah, I should mention that short stack is in Paris and completely bombing it. This will be important for later.

— We can’t talk about shitty adults without mentioning Hazime. He, however, isn’t found berating anyone. Instead, he’s just bummed out that he lost his wage slave. Aw man, I guess you just can’t appreciate someone’s hard labor until they quit on you.

— Ikuto reject the offers from both devils. Instead, he’s going to simply work his butt off. He’s got his part-time jobs in addition to designing an outfit for the upcoming finals. Unfortunately, the pressure of making it all work ends up turning him into a monster. See? The lack of truly free healthcare destroys families!

— He’s about to give in to Toh’s demands when he gets an unexpected phone call from Chiyuki’s father. Alright, time for a schmaltzy happy ending.

— Remember that blue dress that Chiyuki wore? The ugly one that nevertheless became viral? Well, Chiyuki’s father is gonna buy the design for a couple million yen. That should cover the hospital bills and more. Great, fantastic. We got ourselves out of this mess…

— …except for the fact that for every Ikuto out there, there are plenty  more who won’t have the same luck. There are plenty more who will be destroyed by medical bills. I really don’t want to go on a leftist rant. I don’t! Not right now! But uuuuugggggh…

— Freed from financial burdens, all that Ikuto has left to do is to cheer Chiyuki up. As a result, he asks if she would like to model for him. Look at her being all tsundere.

— Last but not least, can we at least pay the electric bill for the hospital? Goddamn, why is it so dark in there?