Angel Heart – 19

Summary:
Shanin is upset that Ryo gets up so late in the day, after she’s already eaten breakfast. To make it worse, he’s not even in a rush to check out the message board. Instead, he goes to the Cat’s Eye to eat and hears from Umibouzu about the new Chinese restaurant next door opened by none other than old man Chen. After chatting with Chen himself, Ryo decides to have Shanin work there and Umibouzu even volunteers Shin Hon. Though Shin Hon tells Shanin her duties, Shanin doesn’t know anything about the dishes or any of the proper waitress things to do. But once she gets through the initial hiccups, she starts to notice how much everyone is enjoying their meal. Chen tells her that it’s because they’re eating delicious food with their friends and family, so they’re all very happy.
In the evening, the local yakuza boss comes with his underlings – one of them Mochiyama – to harass the store because they’re not following the rules of the city (i.e. paying them off). Their plan is to plant cockroaches in the food, but that appears unnecessary when they find a band-aid in their food. Mochiyama tries to diffuse the situation after having recognized Shanin and Shin Hon, but the boss’s goon still goes after Shanin. She beats him up and then threatens the boss’s life with a pair of chopsticks. When Chen comes out to see what the commotion is about, the boss quickly recognizes him and backs off. He even leaves Mochiyama to help with the restaurant. At the end of the day, Chen serves up a meal for the two workers and Ryo. Sharing the meal with her loved ones, Shanin starts to understand why everyone was so happy. Ryo notices, however, that both Shin Hon and Shanin finish their meals really fast, too quickly to enjoy the flavor. The next morning, Shanin pulls Ryo out of bed so that they can share breakfast together. She even slows herself down so that she can enjoy the meal with Ryo more.

And yet another episode that puts a smile on my face. This time, it’s Shanin learning how much fun it is to eat with family and friends, with an upbeat insert song playing in the background. The song is Christy&Clinton’s A Brand New Day, though I’ve never heard of Christy&Clinton, nor can I seem to find any mention of them online. This episode features the return of old man Chen, who seems to get nicer every time they show him, but his eyes are still really freaky. Mochiyama too, but he’s more comedic relief (as usual).
Next week’s title, Prelude of Fate, sounds like we’re starting a new arc.