Recap

New Years! Only slightly less important than Christmas and Cinderella in Japanese dramas.

Yutaka hasn’t heard from Minoru and sighs at work over pictures of them together. His nice coworker is still having trouble with her boyfriend. While she wants to avoid the problem, since he’s important she knows she has to face him head on.

Minoru is still depressed and Tane is expecting Yutaka to go to the shrine with them for New Year’s. Minoru warns Tane that it might not happen. Tane doesn’t accept it and offers to apologize with him if they fought.

Yutaka goes to see his family and learns his brother tried to be friends with him and nursed him when he was ill. As he walks home Yutaka stops, thinks, and then goes running.

Minoru’s father checks on him because he’s sitting there looking miserable. He supports Yutaka and Minoru’s relationship, in nonspecific terms, and knows something happened. First, he brings up Minoru’s dead mother and then he physically shoves him out the door. 

Minoru goes running, but he doesn’t need to go far because Yutaka is there.

They eat convenience store buns while sitting on the swings. Yutaka tells Minoru that he’s comfortable with him and wants to face him head-on. He likes him too, but… can’t finish what he’s saying. 

Minoru rushes to reassure him things can go back to normal but Yutaka finally declares that he more than likes Minoru. He takes Minoru’s hand and tells him he wants to be with him.

Big hug! Some internal dialogue from Yutaka. A sweet kiss. Then awkwardness and laughter. 

They go with Tane to the shrine for New Year’s. Minoru tells Yutaka that he’s really happy now, so happy he’s scared.

Yutaka goes to a work dinner and learns his nice coworker broke up with her boyfriend after all and is lonely now. He starts to worry. 

Thoughts

While I’m glad to see our guys together, I do think this is one of the weaker episodes. There wasn’t really enough material in the manga for 10 episodes so here it gets padded out. Minoru and Yutaka each get advised again to face things head-on, again.

Then there’s this family scene that isn’t in the manga and I don’t see what it adds to the story. Yutaka’s backstory is that he was so scarred by being rejected at the dinner table that he couldn’t eat with others. But now it turns out really his brother loved him? Yutaka’s the one who rejected the family? Yutaka didn’t see it then, but thanks to Minoru he can see it now? 

From me, this revelation gets a big “so what?” His brother traumatized him and didn’t apologize but guilted him for rejecting the family. If the show wants to reassure me that most families are good this didn’t work. I’m editing this scene out in my mind, but if you like it you can always leave it in.

After that, we get back to the important stuff. I think it says so much that Yutaka feels comfortable around Minoru when he clearly feels so uncomfortable so much of the time. Then he was able to say what he felt and get through to Minoru, who was caught up in guilt at pushing Yutaka. It’s strange to feel proud of a fictional character, but I’m kind of proud of Yutaka here.

Because this show is more found family than romance, I can live with the fumbling of the episode around an important romantic moment. But if they wanted to pad it out, it would have been more fun to watch them make miso soup or omurice or oyakodon.

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