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「花道と銀橋」 (Hanamichi to Ginkyou)
“The Hanamichi and the Silver Bridge”
The Phantom’s words echo inside Sarasa’s mind. If she continues to copy others, she won’t make it to the top. Andou-sensei is crystalline in his delivery, Kouka wants Sarasa’s interpretation of the characters. “For a guy who looks like he doesn’t brush his hair, he sure is harsh.” Sarasa’s sassy comment causes a fit of giggles on two very unexpected train passengers and we end up having a meeting between the upcoming top Winter Kouka stars. That felt very much like foreshadowing for Ai and Sarasa’s future roles in the troupe. Insert dramatic drumroll because we finally learned about Andou’s nickname origins! The sensei used to be a top performer, renowned for his portrayal of the Phantom of the Opera (hence the nickname) until tragedy struck in the form of a stage accident and his career was cut short. Andou breathes and lives for theater, so even if Sarasa may find his criticism harsh, I hope she will eventually see it for what it is: not a blockage but a challenge.
It’s undeniable that Sarasa has a special talent, but this week we took a deeper dive into her past, where Kabuki was her biggest passion and dreams, and it was from this ancestral craft that she took her structural teachings. According to Kouzaburou, Kabuki’s tradition lies in a performer mastering a perfect copy of the previous generation act, thus bringing it back to life. That seems very Japanese-like, to immortalize a performance and carry it across time. Akiya’s troupe, like many traditional Japanese businesses, is a family business. At the head of the Satomi house and troupe is Shirakawa Kaou, whose only daughter is married to Kouzaburou. Akiya’s father is Kaou’s cousin and during flashbacks we learn that some actors saw his blood relations as being the sole reason as to why he was even in the troupe.
Akiya’s relationship with Sarasa is painted with a little bit of inferiority complex, insecurities as well as a big chunk of honest admiration and affinity. Perhaps this may be the reason why Ai is slightly confused by their relationship (shaking hands to say goodbye) and how it seems like they’re more childhood friends than actual boyfriend and girlfriend. It seems like Akiya wants to prove himself first? Meh, but what if he never became an actor as good as Sarasa, then what would he do? On a real cool note though, I’ve liked Sarasa’s grandpa since the first moment I saw him, but after the dance teacher made her cry and he cut business with the theater, damn, what a badass gramps. I loved his “no one messes with my sunshine of a granddaughter!” attitude.
I apologize in advance for the quality in the review, I got dengue and am doing fairly better now, but still not 100%. Stay safe everyone!
Full-length images: 36.
This episode confirmed what I had been saying all along that Kouzaburou was not romantically interested in Sarasa. Sarasa is supposedly his illegitimate daughter, and even if she isn’t, Kouzaburou thinks that she is, and that’s why he dotes on her and is so protective of her.
Indeed! It was fun to speculate though, I feel like the author did it on purpose just to create a little bit of tension until she clarified everything (especially given the parallels with GM).
Hm. I wonder if she really is his illegitimate child, or really just a child who both him and Kaou see incredible potential as an actress. I guess we’ll find out.