My weekend without Internet, meant to be spent catching up on my posting, was actually spent sleeping at all hours and screwing with my jet-lagged schedule even more. With almost an entire week passing since then, I'm so back-logged now that it's actually kind of worrisome. Time to work hard...?
This episode was more about the bonding of the two families, this time over Rin's sickness. The scene before the OP was about Rin's first baby tooth coming loose, although it wasn't touched on really for the remainder of the episode. After the break, Daikichi headed to the elementary school to attend the Cultural Festival. It's quite amusing how, at that age, the parents would attend, whereas in middle/high school, it becomes all about networking with students from other schools (in order to find a girlfriend/boyfriend, often times).
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| Wow, even adult men can look like high school girls, gossiping in a circle... |
At the school, Daikichi met the parent of one of Rin's classmates (who was probably in the scene at her school in the previous episode; she didn't stand out enough for me to remember her), who looked like a model (though slightly aged). He was the same age as Daikichi, and they began to network quite quickly, along with a childhood friend of the stylish guy. The childhood friend was pretty "normal"; he reminded me of Poppo from AnoHana. Anyway, this encounter lead to Daikichi thinking about how his world had expanded since Rin came into it, due to his new acquaintances both in his work and personal life.
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| And that's how the urge to be a mother is born. |
From the time that Kouki's mother showed up, she kind of didn't leave for the remainder of the episode. With Kouki being in another class, Daikichi stumbled into her as he walked down the hallway (thinking about how his world had grown). The conversation turned to how she was worried about Kouki getting sick (stopped momentarily in the middle due to the Poppo-lookalike's son, Poppo-lookalike Jr, showing up), and how parents weren't really in a position to take much time off from work. The entire conversation made me feel as though job security in Japan was an issue; while it's not like all employers in Canada would definitely understand someone taking days off for a sick child, there's probably a lot more leeway in general than in Japan.
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| ...so they even discipline together. |
This episode just continued to increase my intense shipping of this coupling, considering how well they seemed to handle the parental nagging of both Rin and Kouki. While it looked like Kouki was already sick (with his runny nose), it was actually Rin that was wilting on the way home. Kouki's mother confirmed that Rin had a fever, and a trip to the doctor's explained that it was a stomach bug. Daikichi seemed ill-equipped to handle a sick child, considering that he was unable to get Rin to eat or drink anything much, and freaked out quite a lot about it. It was nice to see that his own mother was able to give some advice; it'd probably have been a lot scarier if he were entirely alone.
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| If I were a different kind of person, I'd have much to say. |
The next morning, Kouki's mother arrived with Kouki (although I'm sure that everyone knew that Rin wouldn't be going to school), and helped out with taking care of her a little. Her biggest contribution, even though she got Rin to have some ice to cool down (questionable cure, given the potential of a sore throat), was in getting Daikichi to just calm down. She explained that he needed to be comforting to Rin, instead of looking so harried. It was nice to see her in such a strong position.
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| She knows just what to say. |
While Daikichi took the day off work (pretty easily, leading me to believe it's either because his department is full of family men or because he's been with his company for so long), he was mostly useless in taking care of Rin. Evening found Kouki and his mother returning to the house, though, where Kouki hung around in the room next to Rin's (watching TV for the most part) and his mother took care of both Rin and Daikichi. Her pep talk earlier that day seemed to have internalized his worries (such as how Rin's fever was rising) and she deftly tended to both him and Rin.
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| Dramatic moment! |
Rin's sickness was all gone the next day, just as Kouki's mother had predicted, and she seemed good to go to school. That evening, however, Kouki revealed that his mother was sick - either as a result of hanging around Rin, or kind of unrelated, which was the "cliffhanger" that the episode ended on. It's good to see that the final episode will round off the "trilogy" dealing with the combined families.
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| Everyday should start like this. |
I don't know what to expect of the final episode. While there's been a lot of focus on Kouki's mother (making me happy), I wonder how it'll actually work out. I'm suspicious of over-exposure leading to obvious heartbreak (for me). At the very least, I know it'll be a heart-warming episode, since it's Daikichi's turn to return the favour.
~Aaro
