We open this week’s episode with Inako being more done up than usual. She’s draped in a furisode (long-sleeved kimono), and her hair is arranged in two rather childish-looking side buns, which does not scream “I’m old enough to be married.” Nevertheless, we soon find out that her “betrothal ceremony” is coming up, and she’s not the least bit happy about it. Inako’s father suddenly pops into the room, but we know he only ever appears to yell at her. This time, he warns her not to get her furisode dirty before disappearing again. They have no father-daughter relationship; she’s just a bargaining chip. Meanwhile, Kihachi has also snuck onto the estate, but he’s still not at the point where he’s freely doing it for Inako’s sake. He’s not self-motivated to see her even though he should be. Rather, Kate had asked him to come. It’s probably evident to Inako’s loved ones — except her father, of course, but we can debate whether or not there’s even love between the two of them — that the girl has a unique bond with Kihachi, a bond she doesn’t share with anyone else, so they’ll do what they can to nurture it. But for Kihachi, you can blame it on him still being immature (mentally and physically, boys do develop later than girls), or blame it on him having tunnel-vision for his inventions and inventions only, so he’s not at a stage where he can support Inako all on his own. He still needs a push from others. He hasn’t quite realized just how much Inako inspires him. You could even call her his muse.
Just the mention of the word “betrothal” alone, however, draws a strong response from Kihachi, who, until then, was happy to yap about his battery. To be fair, the invention of the battery is genuinely world-changing and bigger than any undesired betrothal. Or is it? Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe we’re thinking too much like Inako’s father, i.e. trying to measure the worth of two different things that should never be compared in the first place. Inako is a person — a young child, really — with her own hopes and dreams, but they’re about to be dashed because her father thinks keeping the brewery running — making sure he doesn’t look like an abject failure without his wife’s vision and strong guiding hand — is more important than his daughter’s happiness. Likewise, is Kihachi’s battery, no matter how earth-shattering it might be for the world at large, truly more important than someone losing their future? Maybe we shouldn’t compare these altogether. This is why so many moral frameworks have inviolable clauses to prevent us from going down the slippery slope of utilitarianism, because this is what happens when you try to squeeze the worth of a human life into your moral calculus.
Kihachi suddenly becomes the most strident voice in the room, but he’s just saying what everyone is thinking. They’re just too scared — or maybe they feel as though it isn’t their place — to say it: “Even with the brewery safe, it won’t mean anything if your dream is crushed… You’re Inago, right? Believe in yourself!” I don’t think there’s any reason why her friends can’t say those same words. Her sister could say them too. Those three, especially Noriko, have known Inako way longer than Kihachi. Logically speaking, their thoughts and feelings should mean more to her than Kihachi’s. But there’s a budding romance at the core of this story, so I suppose logic can go out the window; the words have to come from Kihachi. And in response, Inako declares, “I don’t want to get married. I want to become a master brewer. Just like my mother, I want to make delicious sake that makes people smile.” None of these feelings are new; Inako’s hopes and dreams have never been a mystery to us. But she needs to scream them loudly so as to stir everyone from their doldrums. In her heart, Noriko knows what Inako needs, but I guess she needs to hear it directly from the girl to support her. But support her to what end? Well, the episode is titled “Elopement” for a reason, but are the kids truly brave enough to pull this stunt at (again) episode seven of the series?
Kate isn’t clueless even though she asked moments ago what a betrothal ceremony was. She must have known all along. It’s the only way to explain why she called Kihachi to the estate. And as soon as Inako affirms her desire to defy her father, Kate whips out a letter from her own father that is addressed to Kihachi. Apparently, he’s in possession of the other half of the Electrical Catalog. Wait, I thought we were talking about helping Inako escape her engagement? Why are we changing the subject? Well, this story has always been about technology bringing about a revolution. Not the bloody kind that shatters the barriers between classes, mind you, but a revolution that frees Inako to pursue her dreams. But it’s a bit odd, because this was exactly what her mother did. Her mother had already achieved that dream. Inako is only trapped because her father is regressive. So we’re revolutionizing in order to return to the status quo? I probably speculated in the past that Kihachi’s electrically-inclined inventions might lead to brewing methods that are safe — that won’t cut Inako’s life short like her mother. So in a sense, we’re still making progress, but it is rather odd that we’re fighting to win back a privilege that her mother had already earned — a privilege that her daughters should have rightfully inherited if not for their horrible father having his ego wounded by his own mismanagement.
Upon reading Kate’s father’s letter, Kihachi is in disbelief. He first thinks to himself, “Could Kate’s father have the second half of the catalog?” He then yells, “Impossible! I won’t be fooled. There must be a catch. It’s a trick.” Why does he keep doing this? A trick to do what? What does this man stand to gain by lying to him? I guess Kihachi doesn’t want to get his hopes up, so this is a defense mechanism. Still, I find this quirk of his rather annoying. Well, it’s now Inako’s turn to talk some sense into him. He tries to argue that he needs to prioritize her escape, but she knows that their only path forward is to pursue this lead. They need to acquire the other half of the catalog, because Kihachi’s inventions have already done so much. As ridiculous as the heavy metal concert was last week, what’s important was that Inako got to express herself to her father, her sister, and the whole world for the first time. Not that it did any good in the end, but y’know, baby steps. You gotta build on each achievement until you reach the mountaintop beneath the clear blue sky. That is when and where Inako can take flight. “Freedom through technology,” as they say — a sentiment shared by Cid Garlond of FFXIV. I had to squeeze that reference in there. I thought it would be incredibly goofy to do so, so I did. But I digress. The point is, their freedom lies in technology, and their course is set for Shiga.
Stray thoughts & observations:
— We get the OP again this week, and it feels a general OP this time. Kinda. It features every character in the story thus far, but for the most part, it seems to feature Kihachi searching for something or looking for a way forward. He eventually reaches what seems like a dead end filled with live images of himself. When he reaches out and tears down the cloth that the live images are projected on, he finds himself in a completely empty space except for Inako who says something to him. The two then walk off together. So what does all of this mean? Fight through the urge to be self-indulgent? Fight through your interiority? Fight until you clear away the distractions and find the person who is most important to you?
— So what even is a betrothal ceremony anyway? According to Suzu, it “formalize[s] the promise of a marriage.” Oh, okay, so being engaged isn’t sufficient enough as a promise. You gotta promise to fulfill your promise. They use the word “formalize,” which has some weight to it, but even so, nothing is official official. And thank god for that, because it’s only episode seven. We still have a long way to go before we wrap up this story. Plenty of time to jailbreak Inako from her fate.
— Elsewhere, we see Kengo on a bridge, looking as though he’s about to puke. In his hands, he has a letter for Noriko — what’s with all the letters this week? — that will perhaps confess a dark and awful truth. What is it? Did he get Seiroku killed? But images of Kate’s father also floods his mind. What does it all mean?
— The betrothal ceremony happens anyway, but without Inako in attendance. Instead, Noriko had disguised herself as Inako. She then pins their father to the ground again like in last week’s episode. I guess this buys Inako more time to escape. More importantly, isn’t it quite sad that no one noticed that it was Noriko until now? Sisters certainly look alike, but a father should have no problem telling them apart. It just goes to show you that he’s no father of theirs. He doesn’t give two shits about them.
— But why does Noriko answer them when they demand to know where Inako had gone (Shiga)? Why not just stay mum?
— Funnily enough, Yosuke wasn’t at the betrothal ceremony either. Just his parents, I suppose. How sad. Inako means nothing to either him or her father. She’s only important because she gets them money (Inako’s father) or power (Yosuke).
— It looks like Kengo is helping Yosuke and Jinemon drag Inako back, but why? What exactly is this oaf thinking? Where exactly does he stand? I mean, he assigned his old war buddies to act as bodyguards for Kihachi. But then he goes and hop into a car with Yousuke because Inako’s father asked him to. Kengo knows what Noriko wants, right? Actually, I’m not even sure about that anymore. Kengo is such an enigma.
— Kihachi and Inako can’t take any of the ferries or trains, because those are all owned by Yosuke’s family. The kids have to travel by foot and slow, little wooden ships (still steam-powered). As a result, Yosuke quickly catches up to them. Suzu, however, has… uh, smoke bombs to distract their pursuers. It’s only thanks to her that the kids can continue on their merry way. Since when was Suzu a ninja? But more importantly, this makes it even more inexplicable that Noriko spilled the beans on the kids’ intended destination. I guess a proper chase sequence heightens the tension, but I find this all rather silly. After all, Suzu and Kate are anime-original characters, so how did this scene play out in the light novel? Does it even exist in the light novel?
— Japan isn’t completely blanketed by steam. Once you leave the confines of a big city, you can see the blue sky again. But if the story wants to suggest that an electrical revolution will bring those blue skies back to the big cities, which Kihachi explicitly mentions… hah… hahaha. Generating electricity can still be quite dirty unless we’re talking solar panels or windmills. But even then, those come with their own set of problems. All of a sudden, you’ll have fools on horseback charging at said windmills… and corpulent golfers whining about their precious skyline.
— The kids start talking in metaphors. Inako wants to fly higher than ever, because she wants to see Mt. Fuji with her own eyes. Kihachi promises to bring those blue skies back to Kyoto. This, however, is when Yosuke’s cloying steam rears its ugly head and interrupts the kids’ little moment. Kengo instead has a warning for Kihachi: he tells the kid not to come to Shiga yet. Why? Is Stuart, Kate’s father, potentially dangerous? But instead of answers, we get a ridiculous scene where Kengo is dangling from a bamboo tree like he’s fishing bait. He literally tries to reel Kihachi in. And to think, this all might have been avoided if Noriko hadn’t mentioned Shiga. But our chase sequence, though! You gotta have a chase sequence!
— For the sake of drama, Kengo can’t get the words out. He can’t explain himself. He only manages to tell the kids that he’s not trying to get in their way before he ultimately lets go of Kihachi. Ugh. Just fucking say what you need to say. It shouldn’t take more than a few seconds! Half a minute, maybe!
— Eventually, Kihachi uses his battery to juice up their boat, allowing him and Inako to outrun Yosuke’s car. Hilarious. What do you suppose the boatman is even thinking right about now? He sure as hell didn’t sign up for this. I’m just amazed he doesn’t start freaking out. I sure as hell would if my boat was suddenly careening down the river at 60-plus miles per hour.
— Yosuke couldn’t keep the chase up, but Kengo somehow gets launched off the “fishing pole” and lands on the getaway boat. What are the odds! He’s all contrite now, too. Upon hearing about Kihachi’s battery, he even adds, “You really are Seiroku’s little brother.” You were still doubting him?!
— Kengo warns the kids that they’ll be surrounded as soon as they reach Lake Biwa. How would Yosuke get the word out so quickly? How would they “rally the troops” this fast? By telegraph? Doesn’t that require… electricity? In any case, this gives the former soldier an opportunity to earn Kihachi’s trust. Y’see, there’s a vertical shaft in the middle of the mountain that the kids can use to avoid approaching the lake altogether, but they will need Kengo’s raw, inhuman strength to make the climb. Fine, fine, but he still hasn’t explained why he initially didn’t think they should go to Shiga. Clearly, he doesn’t think that anymore since he’s not doing anything to stop them. But shouldn’t he at least explain why he was getting in their way in the first place? I know they’re literally in the dark (tunnel) right now, but damn, stop leaving us in the dark!
— Lake Biwa instantly brings back old memories. I’m sure we’ll see plenty of flashbacks with Seiroku in the next episode.
— Finally, the kids reach their destination, and Kengo is still with them. Has he… explained anything? Anything at all? Probably not. Instead, we just see him sweat buckets as Stuart greets everyone at the door. And thus the episode ends. Man…
