Yet another episode focused on Yuki and his character development. It was quite an expected one as we saw in the previous episode that he decided to talk to his mother about the meeting. But it is always a treat to watch him grow. But now it has started to seem like he has been in the spotlight a little too much since the series started. He is actually starting to seem like a male protagonist when we all know Kyo is the main character. It can be a bit annoying for the fans, especially those who are not much of Yuki fans. But it is very unlikely that he can be hated for that reason. Yuki was the main focus of the series but there were some other important things that were touched upon, related to other characters that I will discuss before getting on the stuff related to Yuki.
Shigure is undoubtedly a very fascinating character even after showing all his negative and selfish sides. Although his shadiness overshadows all good things about him, his concern for Tohru and Hatori is noticeable. There was a moment when he actually felt guilty for using Tohru and some of his actions shows his care for Hatori. But I never thought that he is capable of caring about any other person until now when he told Ayame about the conference meeting. It shows that there is also a nice side of him. No matter what his intention was, he helped Yuki. That’s the reason why he is the most complex characters in the series, his intentions are always unknown and most of the time he has shown to be manipulative but sometimes his actions make him look genuinely kind.
We didn’t get to see much of the character development when it comes to Kyo after that big realization in beech arc. Although, it make sense as he is going to be confined after graduation. Out of all meetings, Kyo’s parent teacher meeting was the most depressing one as he doesn’t have any future but he can’t tell that to Mayu. The way Mayu reacted to Yuki’s mother behavior, I’m sure Mayu would not remain quite if she is told about Kyo’s future in confinement after graduation, for the rest of his life.
It seems like Tohru is soon going to have a major development in the series. While she is determined to break the curse to save Kyo (which reminds of the part when she is deliberately trying to interfere even after Akito’s warning) she doesn’t seem to figure out about her future as well. And she seems disturbed because of that lately. It seems like she won’t be able to “keep the lid on the box” for longer as she has been thinking about it a lot lately. If we compare her with how she was portrayed in the beginning of the series, she has changed a lot. She was a perfect female protagonist who keeps everyone happy and resolve all issues. But if we look closely, Tohru is not really the person who is makes things right in their lives. They all are struggling and trying to sort things out either on their own or with someone’s support like Yuki.
Her affection for Kyo is starting to get quite serious as she relates the grief of her mother’s death with losing him as it was shown in the box that she has kept locked along with her feelings for Kyo. If she really gets separated from him, I’m sure she won’t be able to endure it as she is still on the verge of break down. It’s good that she has friends to relieve stress and take break from the stressful discussion of career path and future plans. I’m looking forward to Tohru’s development but can’t say if it will happen in this season as the chapters are not in the same sequence in the anime.
We saw comparison between two parents in this episode which was between Kazuma and Yuki’s mother. Despite of being an adoptive father, Kazuma has always supported Kyo’s will. He wants him to have a free will and live his like any other normal person. But Yuki’s mother is completely opposite as wealth and status is everything for her. She has her priorities set and her sons are nowhere in that list as she even sold Yuki and kept her distance from him, but even while keeping distance from him she wants him to live his life according to her plans, that only benefits her. She has always used him as a tool. We can even see the difference of the relationship between these two. Kyo’s relation with Kazuma full of warmth and compassion while the relationship of Yuki with his mother is cold and distant.
Like Yuki mentioned that he feels like he is back in the dark room while talking to his mother, the entire scene with his mother felt dark. It was quite depressing which depicts Yuki’s emotions. It’s understandable why it’s hard for Yuki to speak up when his mother is around. Yuki’s thoughts were never given any importance by his mother even when he tried to explain her. It doesn’t matter what he tells her, she would act as he never said that. It was so sad to see how his mother completely denied that he once told her about not living in Sohma household. That’s because she never listened to him. Poor Yuki was so hurt.
I’m sure that those who never liked Ayame would have certainly love him now. As soon as Ayame made his entry in the middle of the meeting, the entire mood changed and his timing was great as Yuki was at his breaking point. Ayame has always tried to make his relation better with Yuki but this was the first time he came when he needed someone’s support and it meant a lot to Yuki. When Ayame told his mother not to interfere with Yuki’s future, it felt so good. It also made Yuki realize how weak his mother is as she is not even able to say anything to Ayame. This encouraged him to finally speak up infront of her, although he did that for Ayame but telling her that Ayame is not useless made him really happy. Yuki can really depend on him.
Ayame has accepted his faults and did his best to make up for his past mistakes as he said himself that he was like his mother to Yuki. But it’s good that he realized it before it’s late. He is even grateful to Yuki for giving him a second chance because if Yuki wouldn’t have let him, things would have been different. What Yuki said about Ayame made him really happy that was evident in his smile which was adorable.
I like the little details that are shown through symbolism in the series. When his mom yelled at both of them and regretting for having them as her children, she slammed the door while leaving the room but when Yuki went out he left the door open after thanking Ayame for coming which tells that he is not going to shut him out of his life anymore.
Ayame is hilarious and I couldn’t stop laughing his entire scene. No matter how outrageous he is, as an elder brother he is the best. Everytime he takes out his phone to tell every detail about his relation with Yuki, I can’ seem to control over my laugh. It shows how genuinely happy he is to see Yuki being grateful for his arrival since he texted “he looked grateful for my presence! Our brotherly love is now mutual” to Hatori. Ayame is adorable.
I really admired Mayu in this episode, for being so considerate towards her students. She didn’t just sit there and listened to whatever Yuki’s mom said about her son as she knows it was not appropriate. She even told Tohru to lighten up her burden which shows how much she understands her students.
It’s good that Yuki decided to let go his mother and. He clearly doesn’t need her as people around him are enough to support him like Haru, Ayame and Tohru. He is better off without his mother being around. I like that he finally told her that he wants to do that makes him proud and not what she tells him to choose. It was the moment when it felt like he finally freed himself from her control and she is no longer going to be an obstacle in his life.
