Summary:
Hachi remembers that the reason she chose her job was because she got weekends off, time which she wanted to spend with Shouji. He, meanwhile, after a night of passion with Sachiko, surprises Kyousuke by asking about cheating the next day. Kyousuke says that he wouldn’t cheat on Junko because he’d be too afraid of losing her. That night, Shouji has dinner with Hachi and she spends the entire time complaining about her new job. Hachi feels that her financial situation is different from Shouji’s since she has to support herself and he’s a student. After the meal, Shouji walks her home silently and then leaves. In the next few days, Hachi has to work at her job at the publishing company with an insufferable supervisor making her do menial tasks. But when she returns home one night, Nana tells her about an upcoming live concert that Blast is doing, which makes Hachi happy again.
Shouji, meanwhile, is spending more and more time at Sachiko’s place. Sachiko reveals that her birthday is coming up on Children’s Day (May 5th), so he offers to celebrate it with her. Their snuggling is interrupted by Shouji’s cell phone. The call is from Hachi, who tells Shouji about Nana’s upcoming concert, also on May 5th. Shouji lies to Hachi, saying that he can’t come because of work, and then goes onto the balcony to embrace Sachiko and make more plans for her birthday. Kyousuke, meanwhile, has been doing a lot of thinking about Shouji’s unfaithfulness, and confides to Junko about it. Kyousuke feels that Shouji is so in love with Sachiko that there’s nothing that can be done. The two of them become concerned about what Hachi will do if and when she finds out about it.
Over the phone, Hachi expresses to Junko her suspicion and worry for Shouji, and Junko tries to cover for him so as to not tip off Hachi. Junko suggests that Hachi spend more time with Shouji, so Hachi, accompanied by Nana and Shin, pays a visit to Shouji at the restaurant he works at. After they get seated and Shouji disappears, Sachiko notices Hachi there and realizes that she’s Shouji’s girlfriend. The shock causes Sachiko to drop the glass she’s carrying and cut herself on the shards. Hachi rushes over to help her, causing Sachiko to start crying and run away. Shouji, meanwhile, emerges from hiding in the bathroom right as the crying Sachiko runs by. The meeting with Hachi has had such an effect that Sachiko suggests that they break it off. Sachiko knows that as things are, it’ll only be more painful for herself and no one will be happy.
Back inside the restaurant, Nana and Hachi are talking with Shin about where he lives. It seems that Shin sometimes stays with Nobu and sometimes stays at different women’s homes, selling his body. The two girls are shocked to hear this, but that’s cut short by Shouji. Hachi wants to wait for him tonight because she’s got four days off that she wants to spend with him. Shouji tells her that she doesn’t need to wait, though he does want to talk with her later at home. In retrospect, Hachi thinks that, on that night, if Nana hadn’t been together with her, she would have thrown herself into the Tamagawa River and sunk to the bottom.

The directing for this episode was a lot better than usual. I loved the transition between the ShoujiXSachiko scene and the Junko/Kyousuke scene was Junko painting over that image of Shouji and Sachiko. And then during that same Junko scene, there were the male mallard duck with the two female mallards, one of whom dived into the water and disappeared. That’s a very interesting parallel to the plot of this episode, particularly given what Hachi says at the end. There were other scenes shown stylistically different from the manga, such as Hachi’s menial tasks being portrayed in the magazine and Hachi’s reflection in her boss’s glasses.
Unlike last week’s episode, this episode makes me start to despise Shouji. It’s all because of how he acts when Hachi calls him when he’s at Sachiko’s apartment. Lying to Hachi and then making more plans with Sachiko really casts him in an unflattering light. He should have broken it off with Hachi earlier if he really loved Sachiko more. Granted, that would be bad for Hachi if he had broken up with her earlier and Nana hadn’t been there for her, but that’s what-if speculation.
Next week, the big scene!

21 Comments

  1. >> The break up! I have been waiting for this! This was so painful when i read it in the manga.
    Of course the most painful of all is yet to come.
    by golthin July 5th, 2006 at 9:21 pm

    Hey, aren’t you the guy who got bashed by your fellow posters on Anime on DVD for saying stupid things?

    Bernium
  2. Oh I thought it was actually a different transition from the manga. Looking more closely now, it is the same. The anime made it much more apparent because Junko’s brush went from right to left instead of ending up on the bottom of the page 🙂

  3. “by Lalita July 5th, 2006 at 10:31 pm
    Ugh, I hate Sachiko, she’s so annoying! And Shouji is such a jerk!”

    That is what it is going to be so painful to watch, bring your tissues people!

    golthin
  4. While I cant bring myself to condemn Sachiko, I’m getting angry on Shouji! He should face one of the girls and say: Sorry, I love the other one more! In love as in war, fighting on 2 fronts is road to disaster…

    ewok
  5. oh shouji shouji…baka, should have just ended it with nana when he found out he’s in love with sachiko. now everyone’s hurt; nana, himself, and sachiko.

    cookie-chan
  6. Personally, I find Sachiko very attractive, both physically and as a person. I certainly don’t blame her for her passion. Souji is weak but pretty and charming. I can’t really blame him, either, right now. “Breaking up is hard to do.” I blamed him earlier for not being welcoming enough to Hachi when she arrived in Tokyo. I think he was actually drifting away from her even then, and didn’t realize it. If next week is going to be even more “painful” than this week, I’m not sure I’ll be able to take it.

  7. Shouji is suck a jerk! anyone could tell that they were drifting apart, but the fact is that he cheated with Sachiko on Hachi! i dont care what excuse any guy has he should never do that and i mean NEVER!

    breker
  8. I was waiting for this =)

    I’m glad the plot is moving along nicely (Can’t wait until Trapnest is introduced *_*)

    Anyways, I always felt it was both Hachi and Shouji’s fault that it ended up being like this. Shouji is not really THAT much of a jerk for cheating off Hachi, but it was going to happen anyways. Hachi has always been thinking of herself in the relationship. She barely considered Shouji’s feelings and putting hers first. We see that in the episode when Hachi and Shouji are at Jackson Burger, when Hachi was complaining the he never spent any time with her, and tells her that why couldn’t she work around his schedule. But I really can’t excuse Shouji for cheating off of her; if he would have had broken it off sooner.

    It was of course Shouji’s fault that the relationship ended in heartbreak, but I believe it was partially Hachi’s fault as well.

    And also I think Sachiko is sweet, she looks a bit like Hachi (the ugly hair cut that Hachi had before) She’s a nice girl, and I never thought she meant too much harm.

    **SPOILER STARTS**

    I was so disappointed and a little angry at Hachi when she meets up with Shouji again, and says that she still can’t forgive him. =/ But she did technically cheated off of Takumi with Nobu (And vice versa).

    **SPOILER ENDS**

    xinsanexdreamerx
  9. Ughh!!! i hate sachiko for being so coquetish with Shouji, and not breaking it off when she knew he had a girlfriend also for acting so bitchy when they were near the train station and leaving her heels cinderella-like and saying that she did it on purpose, honestly i would have hit her if i would have been there… Shouji is a complete wimp for not being able to decide whether he likes hachi or sachiko, and acting like such an ass with Nana when he was at Jackson’s Burger and when he talked on the phone with her.
    I do not condole Nana’s indifferent attitude sometimes with him ’cause it’s partly her fault, but cheating is the worst thing he could have done to someone he supposedly “loved”.

    anonimus
  10. man I think Souji needs to take lessons from shin, he’d be pimpin hoes left and right and wouldnt have to worry about that love shit pfft, love that fool is like 20 years old, wtf does he need to be fallin in love for. . .noob

    jackson burger
  11. Interesting, that from the main characters, Shin is the youngest, but also the mostly adult-spirited (making himself a male-prostitute at age of 15, now that shows tiny fear!).

    I also like that Sachiko isn’t as selfish, as mosly Hachi is, and recommands Shoji to be more careful for the feelings of her official girlfriend. Too bad Hachi and Sachiko never became friends.

    Angelus

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