Apparently, Makio and Emiri’s mother are lunching, so Asa tries to invite Emiri over to hang out. Unfortunately, her friend continue to brush her off. Emiri is likely busy spending time with her girlfriend. It’s the classic scenario where you’re in the honeymoon period of a relationship, so everyone else in your life just fades away from existence. But at the same time, Asa hasn’t exactly been the bestest of friends. She has taken and taken and taken — and understandably so due to recent tragedy in her life — but this can drain the people you care about, the people who are trying their best to support you. So sometimes, two friends need to put some space between them so that the friendship can breathe again. I hope that when this is all said and done, Asa and Emiri will at least hash out where things currently stand for them. Even if it ultimately leads to the dissolution of their friendship, they should at least try to understand each other.
Coincidentally, Shingo and Kazunari are also lunching after randomly bumping into each other in the streets. The two men then bond over their inability to fit in. Kazunari apparently hates sharing his food or being pressured to drink. Eventually, people just stopped inviting him out altogether, because he doesn’t vibe with the group dynamic. Ah, to be the nail that sticks out, especially in Japan (or any collectivistic Asian nation) of all places. How dare you? How dare you? The anime then pointedly cuts to a baseball team as it is getting ready for practice. Sports can be such a contradiction. Deep down, everyone wants to be a star and thus stand out. Every baseball fan dreams of hitting the game-winning home run at the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs. But at the same time, you’re also meant to sacrifice everything for the sake of the team. Y’know, all that nonsense about how it’s about the name on the front of the jersey and not the back! But if you go to Japan right now, Shohei Ohtani’s mug is pretty much all over the place. Again, it’s a hilarious contradiction.
To even get to that point, however, you need to first fit in and accept everything that comes your way, even the abuse. Last week, we saw how a kid had reached his breaking point. I highly doubt, however, that the actual adult in the room bothered to reflect on their failure as both a coach and a mentor. The man likely just wrote the kid off as a quitter. In any case, I guess that kid used to be Kazunari. Shingo empathizes, because he too “hopped off the bandwagon” of “male-centric rituals.” Things like objectifying girls, or denying your own emotional needs because this is somehow considered manly. The easiest way to overcome the heavy expectations society puts on us is to “fit out,” which continues the discussion from last week’s episode. What are you meant to do if your actions do not align with the type of person you’re meant to be? Then simply deny being type-casted. Shingo and Kazunari are both Japanese men, but they do not have to be typical Japanese men.
Makio admits that she should’ve met Emiri’s mother a lot earlier. She won’t outright say it, but she’s slowly easing herself into the role of being the parental figure that Asa sorely needs. While the two women are having their little discussion, Asa kills her boredom by decorating a tiny space in Makio’s closet, which she proudly shows off later. This is her way of carving out a new home for herself. Up until now, she had been a stranger in strange land, but no more. I read a lot about blended families, and one common point of contention is whenever one (or more) of the children fails to get their own room. Not only does it feel less like a home to them, not having a space to call your own means you have safe space when you feel attacked or cornered. In a way, Makio and Asa are like a blended family. Hell, they even share the same problem, because Makio can’t afford to give Asa her own bedroom. So instead, the girl has been sleeping on a futon in the same cluttered room, having to endure her aunt’s tapping away at the keyboard during all those late night writing sessions. Asa has felt more like an intruder than an intrinsic part of Makio’s life. So ironically, to become more like family, the girl creates a boundary that separates her from the rest of Makio’s space. The little nook is finally her answer to that conundrum; she can’t quite sleep in it, but it’s her oasis in the lonely desert.
I love the fact that you don’t necessarily have to find your way out of your loneliness. You just need to find something within it to love and appreciate. Asa and Makio have certainly bumped heads over the past few months, more so her than her aunt. She often finds the woman difficult to understand because they’re such drastically different people. But running away from the only relative who truly cares about you isn’t the solution. She simply needs to find something in their relationship that she can nurture. At one point in this episode, Asa tries to ask Makio about one of the advice the latter had previously given. The woman had told the girl that not everything you write in a journal necessarily need to be true. Asa never understood what Makio meant by this, but the funny thing is, Makio doesn’t even remember giving said advice. Maybe earlier in the series, Asa would’ve exploded over this, getting herself all worked up because Makio can be so incorrigibly atypical. But now their back-and-forth just feels like friendly banter.
And with that, Asa also comes to a decision on how to honor her parents. Rather than doing it on the anniversary of their deaths, she prefers their birthdays instead. She’s taking another step forward in accepting that they’re gone, that she is ready to move forward in life.
Right before the credits roll, Asa bumps into the girl who has seemingly lost faith in her pursuit of becoming a doctor. I guess you could say the latter is lost within her own desert. I wonder what this encounter will entail.
Stray thoughts & observations:
— I wonder if those QR codes are legit, but I’m too lazy to scan them. My phone is just slightly outta reach right now.
— One of the judges is dissatisfied with the audition thus far, so he calls it a joke. That’s unreasonably mean, isn’t it? They’re your peers, i.e. high school students. They’re amateurs just trying to cultivate a new hobby. You’re not trying to find the next big idol.
— The restaurant’s name? Just “Itarian Restaurant”. Oof. Also not a big fan of people bringing their dogs out to eat.
— Wait, did Makio just say the hamburg steak sounds good? I mean, they are decent enough, but a hamburg steak at an Italian restaurant?
— Wow, beer for lunch. I guess it depends on what you have to do afterwards and whether or not you’re a lightweight. I still gotta work for a few more hours, so the last thing I want is to feel slightly buzzed. I only drink maybe twice a year, so a single beer would probably do it.
— I gotta say I’m the same about my dislike for sharing food. I haven’t had family style since I was a kid going to Asian restaurants with my parents. I want my own dish, and I don’t want anybody touching it.
— Ooh, I had this same thing just a while ago at a soba restaurant. It’s just soft tofu with some garnishes and soy sauce poured on top. But the simplicity of it is what makes it taste so good.
— Interestingly, Shingo’s desire to break free from the group is what made him so attracted to Makio. More than anything, he admires her independence.
— I’ve never had broccoli for breakfast. I can’t say I really like broccoli. I guess I don’t hate it, but it’s such a whatever vegetable. So many other veggies have more taste.
— I like how this character plays absolutely no role in the main characters’ lives. He’s just here to try and understand what his friend is struggling with.
