In a flashback, we learn that Kihachi had come up with a lot (if not most) of the ideas found in the Electrical Catalog. The doodles are certainly drawn by his hand. Well, those ideas should still be in his head. We immediately cut to a different flashback. This time, it involves Yosuke, who looked quite different in the past. What happened to him? Regardless, Seiroku made the same promise to two different people — two different “little brothers.”

Back in the present, it’s sweet of Inako to jump to Kihachi’s defense. But as the scene unfolds, I can’t help but think, Yo, this is what we want. Let the jerk believe that both Kihachi and the Electrical Catalog are useless and leave. Which is what he ends up doing. Unfortunately, he still refers to the girl as his “honey.” Ugh, this still makes my skin crawl. Even if she was in her twenties, it would still make my skin crawl, ’cause she doesn’t want this. Her father sold her. Speaking of the devil, he immediately accosts Kihachi.

Kengo pretended to take Kihachi to the police, but he ultimately lets the kid go. But that’s it. He has little else to say. I dunno, I feel like most of the men in this story are not only dumb or malicious, they’re also severely lacking in empathy. You finally meet your war buddy’s little brother, and you have nothing to say to the kid? Nothing at all? Not even a few comforting words about your war buddy? Everyone seems to have loved Seiroku, but none of them gives even an ounce of shit about his little brother. Well, Kengo’s archetype is typically emotionally constipated, so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised.

When we next see Yosuke, he is surrounded by female admirers. Typical. He doesn’t desire any of them. He technically doesn’t desire Inako either. He just wants the connection to her family name. The electrical revolution would be wasted on a small-minded thinker like Yosuke, still clinging to antiquated notions like the prestige of one’s family name. Yes, he desires control of his Mizue firm, so he’s playing the necessary game. But I suppose a real entrepreneur would strive to break the mold and blaze their own path. Even if things were going his way — if the Electrical Catalog were full of explicit details and not freeform ideas — he’d still just be stealing someone else’s ideas. Hell, even his aide questions if Yosuke should’ve given up on that half of the catalog so easily.

What’s even dumber to me is how Yosuke bought Seiroku’s spiel hook, line, and sinker, but not once did he ask to look inside the catalog? When Seiroku was still breathing, not once did Yosuke ask him to explain anything? It’s hilarious, no? Yosuke is simply fixated on their promise, which sounds like it was glibly made — said in the spur of the moment with no real weight behind it. This man is ridiculous.

The next day, it’s not Inako who shows up to Kihachi’s humble abode, but her two friends. Not only that, they know his name. Apparently, Noriko filled them in on everything. Big sis is once again pulling all the strings to try and liberate Inako. Well, it turns out Inako has been hospitalized. We next see the kids as they sneak up to the window of the room where Inako is “convalescing.” She is not seriously ill or even injured. Her father is merely being overprotective, but for all the wrong reasons. He’s making sure he can deliver his biggest “asset” when the time comes. His late wife must be spinning in her grave. If only the gods and spirits were real so she could scare the bejeezus out of him. There’s probably a solid chance that Momokawa senior sees the light by the end of the series and learns to respect his daughters’ dreams and autonomy. But I’m not sure I would accept this change. What a gross, pathetic man. Can’t run a business, can’t be a good father.

Kihachi is still down about his brother’s disappearance, and this negativity colors how he sees the world and his situation. He starts being a downer then eventually tries to leave. He doesn’t even bother to take the Electrical Catalog with him. I guess he internalized Yosuke’s insults from the previous night. Inako then reveals an odd detail: the catalog carries the faintest hint of her late mother’s sake. Suzu, one of her friends, then follow up with a simple trick that reveals previously invisible text lurking within the catalog. Seiroku had not only left a message for Kihachi, he littered the catalog with clues for each of the “childish doodles.”

The kid remains skeptical. He’s still afraid to believe, because doing so would open him up to disappointment. As a result, Inako has to keep lifting his spirits, has to keep pushing him forward, and has to keep offering her support every step of the way. I wonder what her friends think while this scene is unfolding before them. Her argument makes perfect sense, though: the best way to prove whether or not the hidden writing is a hoax is to just try one of the ideas. I almost wish she was the one with the brilliant engineering mind — that she could do more than play the good wife behind the man. But sadly, this is what we have.

With the girls’ help, Kihachi starts trying to create a “full moon.” None of the filaments he’s been experimenting with are lasting, but one of the girls draws a connection from the “full moon” to the classic tale of Kaguya. As a result, a light bulb goes off in Kihachi’s head (pun fully intended), and he realizes he needs to make a filament out of bamboo fibers. Huh, that’s what Edison also used, right? Japanese bamboo, to be exact. So our little anime isn’t a huge departure from the original story.

The kid struggles to harvest the bamboo stalks himself, but Kengo suddenly shows up to lend his muscles. I like to think Noriko gave the stoic, taciturn man a good talking to, but who can say for sure? But at least they’re now talking about Seiroku, revealing that they were also former classmates. Both adults are emotionally invested in seeing the “full moon” idea work out, because this represents their dear, departed friend’s legacy.

Most of what we see next is a montage accompanied by little dialogue. At one point, Inako uses her late mother’s connections to introduce Kihachi to a glass workshop. Gotta get the shape of the light bulb right, after all. These scenes are all beautifully animated. It’s also fun to see Inako’s friends lending a hand even though we know relatively little about their characters. I only wish we could’ve gotten a better glimpse at Kihachi’s thought process, because that’s the fun part. I also have to laugh, because while Inako busies herself with this project over the course of several days if not weeks, her father doesn’t seem to have a single clue what she’s been up to.

Y’know how it goes: you try out an idea, it doesn’t quite work, you tweak the idea, maybe it works a little better, you keep tweaking, so on and so forth. Progress isn’t always linear, but little by little, you inch closer to the goal. You refine and refine and refine until something sticks. And when everything finally comes together, there’s no better feeling. This applies to everything: writing, coding, sewing, cooking, what have you. Doesn’t have to be coming up with a new invention. It’s the marvel of seeing a process through from start to finish. It might seem like I’m taking unnecessary potshots at the guy, but I can’t help but wonder if Yosuke has ever actually committed to a project like this.

In the end, Yosuke receives an invitation from Inako. Sure, I get it: the kids want Yosuke to eat his words. They want to prove him wrong, and thus validate the “childish doodles” in the Electrical Catalog. This would help bolster Kihachi’s confidence. Even so, I can’t help but feel like this is a bad move. You gotta just let this asshole go. Let sleeping dogs lie. Who cares what he thinks?

Yosuke arrives to find a working light bulb that has glowed for several days now — “hundreds of hours” in Kihachi’s own words. But it’s not enough. It’s not quite the “full moon” that was promised. So with Inako’s seemingly undying support — much like the finished light bulb — Kihachi unveils the real thing: a cluster of light bulbs that completely illuminates the immediate neighborhood. It’s bright enough to not only clear away the steam surrounding them, but it also scares away the demons that haunt Kihachi in the dark. Their shared vision of a brighter world is reforged. Most of all, the “full moon” revives the promise Kihachi had made with his brother all those years ago.

Hm, kinda looks like a jellyfish from this angle, doesn’t it? Still, this is an amazing breakthrough. The first working light bulb? That’s a million dollar idea back when a million dollars actually meant something. Maybe even a billion dollars! Jokes aside, a true entrepreneur would be chomping at the bit to take advantage of this. Maybe even steal the idea and patent it for himself (were patents a thing in Japan during this era?). But all Yosuke can do at the moment is suffer a breakdown, ’cause it was supposed to be him! He was meant to carry out the promise with Seiroku, not this kid! Why is Yosuke like this? Why is he acting like a jilted lover? Was he Seiroku’s former lover? I’m not even being facetious. I just can’t otherwise understand this dude’s problem. This might seem like a strange connection to make, but I can’t help but think of Final Fantasy XIV‘s Asahi’s temper tantrum over Zenos as his sister lay dying before him. But even then, if he truly loved the man, wouldn’t Seiroku be disappointed to see Yosuke spew venom at his brother?

And what now? By Kihachi’s admission, he only has half of the catalog. Where is the other half? Whom could Seiroku have entrusted it to? Some unmet character, probably. And yes, Yosuke still hates Kihachi, but what’s his next move? Is he really going to sit idly by while the kid continues to make every idea within the catalog come to life? Or will he continue being the villain that he is and try to deter Kihachi (while also insisting on marrying Inako)? Or worse yet, might he perhaps capitalize on the kid’s inventions?