Deaimon – 03

「夏宵囃子」 (Natsuyoi Bayashi)
“A Summer Night’s Accompaniment”

Honestly, if it wasn’t for this episode, Itsuka would grow more and more annoying by the passing second. This spell suggested a different take on how Itsuka might grow to trust Nagomu and even consider him somewhat of a parental figure. Slowly, the molds she has been building up for herself are coming down and she’s able to place her trust in other people and let herself be vulnerable around them. She’s really interesting as a character because as I previously mentioned last week, I was getting somewhat of tsundere vibes from her. But it’s so much deeper than that. She’s acting snobby and uptight because being vulnerable around the people that take care of her might mean accepting that her real father might not come back. And that might be something she knows in the back of her mind, but just doesn’t have the words or is unable to put jumbled thoughts together.

So she acts uptight towards Nagomu because, he himself is easygoing and has a carefree approach to life, something Itsuka doesn’t let herself have because she really counts her blessings – I mean she’s aware of them, and doesn’t take them for granted. While Nagomu – superficially, does seem to do so. But he’s actually a really passionate person and cares for those around him. Case and point how he was the first one to go and search for Itsuka before the storm started, even more so how he takes his father’s violence and doesn’t even complain about being thrown out the doors like it’s a super Saiyajin kick.

But as the weeks progress, I’ll keep breaking down these characters to the best of my ability, as I am no professional, all of this is my speculation and the things I can infer from watching the show. So far I’m really loving it, and personally think the wholesome side of things is really working. So I really do hope it continues this way.

Okay ~ so in this episode Itsuka does something really out of character, even though it kinda goes with her essence. When walking to school, she sees yet another man with a guitar on his back and decides it’s her papa so she gets on the bus, stalking this man, and well, she falls asleep. Ending all the way at the last stop. She ends up skipping school and her teacher calls home, where Nagomu picks up the phone and gets all worried about her whereabouts.

Thankfully he takes a taxi and goes towards her last known location. Itsuka ends up bumping into Matsukaze, Kanoko (Takahashi, Minam) who ends up being Nagomu’s ex, who walked out on him because she prefers western sweets. Like okay…. This man is in the middle of a life crisis with his family and you just walk out on him, because of some arbitrary reason like preferring western confectionery over the Japanese one. You could at least wait until Nagomu knows about his dad’s situation before breaking up with him like that (Are they really broken up?). Nevertheless, if we hadn’t learned about her through Itsuka, her character would pretty much be irredeemable. Itsuka and Kanonko have a little date at the shrine when Nagomu catches up to them and is taken by surprise.

Then they drop off Itsuka at school and Nagomu has to go back to Ryokshou to deal with things at home, not before inviting Kanoko to have some tea or something, unfortunately, the shop is super busy, so Kanoko ends up helping because Nagomu is super slow, and things are heating up during rush hour. Kanoko ends up staying until closing time and Fuki, Nagomu’s mother, takes stride and ask’s the girls to change into a Yukata which she had lying around, consequently, she had already prepared one for Itsuka.

Then Itsuka confesses that her real dad actually had promised to go with her to the festival next year, so she was actually trying to save the date for his return. But Kanoko suggests that she take it in stride and thinks of this time as a practice for when her real dad actually shows up. Finally, at the festival, Nagomu extends his hand to Itsuka and she takes it. Taking one small step toward opening her feelings and being vulnerable around her newfound family. Something that she has struggled with up to this point.

Nevertheless, Nagomu’s easy-going vibe certainly works for a show like this, where someone like Itsuka mask’s her vulnerability through bravery and toughness. She doesn’t need anyone to take care of her, she can take care of herself. However, life has handed her a tough situation, that she might struggle through, and going at it alone is never easy, especially for someone of such a young age. So when she lets herself be vulnerable around Nagomu and starts trusting him as if he were her real father, is when Deaimon truly starts to show what it means to make a recipe for happiness.

Full-length images: 36.

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