In a Sentimental Mood
Starting right off with last (last) week’s end, Kaoru is legitimately puzzled by the mittens he finds in his piano. And he really can’t be blamed, having already been rejected once by the knitter herself. Poor guy attempts to justify Ritsuko’s actions, but when he finally speaks to her, Kaoru goes and demeans himself. To the girl who had, after much effort, mustered the confidence to display her own affections. When the boy who played One Day My Prince Will Come for her and her alone… some amount of time I don’t remember ago, is now lacking in any confidence, it’s bound to shaken her spirit. The song is ingrained in her mind, as well as the courage it took Kaoru for his confession. Huff. At least this is where Sentaro comes in to push Ritsuko to meet Kaoru during his sick leave, which while at first is more of Kaoru’s unwillingness, turns into another memorable confession. This time less dignified and more of an outburst of emotion. What a sight to beho-And then it was Summer.
The rest of the episode is more dedicated to Sentaro, so let’s go back to before the sudden passage of time, even for this show’s brisk pace. We have a moment with Sentaro in front of Yurika’s painting, silently giving his farewells, as it’s being taken away, being the product of an eloping student and all. For all his misgivings previously, he’s now at peace with what had transpired with his crush. This may be at core the sort of character Sentaro is, the smiling boy in the rain from the first episode and the angelic child present in the flashbacks.
Now moving back to Summer, Kaoru hasn’t any progress with Ritsuko whatsoever. That’s… a feat in and of itself after two heartfelt confessions. He’s a special one, he is. Nearly a year having passed since the previous school festival though, Seiji the Rocker has issued the jazz playing infidels a challenge. And as excited as I should be for this, news of Sentaro’s dad return may hamper a triumphant school festival return. Sachiko’s despondence over the news almost mustered a whimper out of me, I could sympathize pretty well with her concern. A man who’s defining feature may as well have been the stench of alcohol, it’s a scary thought to have a return to violence. Sentaro manages to calm her down well enough assuring that Ma’ said he’s no longer like that, but clearly the issue weighs on his mind as well as he writes and fails to write a goodbye message to… wait. No. What are you doing man.
He… he released the pigeon. No Sentaro, no. Where are you going.
Left Alone
Continuing right off from last week’s end (sorry), Sentaro is just about ready to leave everything behind when Kaoru is there to intercept. Yeah, yeah, that’s my boy, I told you all he was special last week…! Knocking some good ol’ fashioned sense into Sentaro by bringing up the cowardice of his actions, Kaoru successfully manages to give a wake-up call, leaving Sentaro to meet his old pop when he returns. The sweet moment between Kaoru and Ritsuko is also a very sweet addition to the overall sweet scene.
Sentaro’s father finally does arrive, and the children are overjoyed to greet him. Yep. Dad makes for a great hat and baseball glove. Dad is great. But while the children are delighted, Sentaro and Dad here are naturally relatively quiet. But the father is attempts to make amends with a present for Sentaro as well, a fancy ball point pen. Estranged father son dynamics or not, the present is taken to heart. Extra words aren’t spoken and can’t be spoken yet, but the gesture is duly noted.
While the previous episode had a very sudden jump from it’s first half to the second half, this episode flows much much better from scene to scene, and I can’t help but picture it as if we’re running down the hill now. It really helps that we’re isolated to a smaller time frame, and that the entire episode is sprinkled with great scene after great scene.
Now back to the matter with the festival, Ritsuko’s dad proves to be one of those understated but overall really enjoyable characters. I mean, that would probably mean more if I didn’t always call him Ritsuko’s dad. But the main duo ask for his help with the festival. And on a more surprising note, they ask Ritsuko to sing for them as well, as she walks into the basement humming My Favorite Things. They practice and practice, and Ritsuko has a pretty decent voice on her. Sprawled on the floor, as they share they’re favorite things, that was pretty much just 100% adorable. Sentaro singing his things in tune made up most of that. *swoon
And yet. Here it comes, the moment when it all falls to pieces. Sentaro ends up in an accident when attempting to return Kaoru’s notesheet. Although when Kaoru arrives at the hospital, it’s Sachiko who’s in critical condition, bless her poor soul, and Sentaro scraped by with minor injuries. Nowhere to be seen though, Kaoru accurately predicts exactly where he is. And I know it’s dumb to point out at this point that ‘good god I think the soundtrack to this anime is might be amazing’, but the song that plays when Kauro arrives on the school rooftop is so different from anything else in the show, electric guitar accompanied by the sound of choir, really providing emphasis on the entire scene. In allusion to the first episode, Sentaro rests underneath a white sheet, which I only now realize as I type is pretty much the whole dead person treatment. Fitting to Sentaro’s current state of mind, but the “angel” Kaoru creates yet another touching moment, allowing Sentaro to weep freely. *sob
And then he wakes up to find Sentaro gone. Gone from everywhere. Sachiko luckily does manage to wake up as well, bless her pretty little soul, but nobody knows where Sentaro went, the ones closest to him nor the priest at the church. Leaving behind only his rosary on Sachiko’s hospital door, the rosary which Sentaro wished to never leave behind in fear of being abandoned by the world. As Kaoru ‘plays’ Sentaro’s drums in frustration, he realizes that he will probably never come back.
No Sentaro, no. Where are you.
