Skip to Loafer – 10

「バタバタ ポロポロ」 (Batabata Poroporo)
“Scrambling and Dripping”

The Sound of Music was an unexpected choice for the class musical. I get why they chose it as the back drop for Sou being torn between his past and his present like Johan. However, the comparison is a bit extreme- there’s a huge difference between peer pressure to perform a class play and peer pressure to sell out a family to be brutally murdered. That aside, one of my favorite scenes was at the end, where Sou and Mitsumi re-enact the “16 going on 17” dance scene.

Up until now, the focus has been on how Sou and Mitsumi are different- he’s the laid back one and Mitsumi’s the go-getter. In actuality, the two are a lot more similar than would appear at first, both being people pleasers. Despite an aversion to acting, Sou can’t stand up to the peer pressure to perform and ends up acting as Johan. As much as he tries to keep a distance between himself and others, he still can’t shake the habit of living up to people’s expectations. Mitsumi also has the people pleaser bug, trying experience everything and help everyone even when it just isn’t physically possible or healthy to do so. This similarity runs so deep, it even triggers a from a childhood flashback in Sou.

As someone who also has the instinct to want to make everyone happy, I totally get Mitsumi’s exhaustion and the gut punch feeling when you’ve let someone down because you’re only human and can’t do it all. You can try to do it all, but then not do any of it well. When you’re so used to going above and beyond and fall short of that, it’s a hard pill to swallow.

For Mitsumi, this is probably a first and she’s got a big learning curve. As a girl from a small town, she’s not used to the conflicts and pressures that go along with a large circle of peers. It’s inevitable that you’ll disappoint someone, multiple people throughout life. It’s a hard lesson to learn, but one you’ve got to learn to deal with. Eventually through practice, you learn to navigate that so you can prioritize who you disappoint and who you don’t so you can take on a healthy load of responsibility.

For Sou, Mitsumi represents the innocent, joyful child he once was. Of course he’d want to protect her, he doesn’t want her to go through what he did, it would be like relieving the past all over again for him. However, wishing her back into the country is not a good solution- you can’t shield someone for life. You get stronger through learning to overcome failure. You need to develop a thicker skin to get through life, otherwise you’ll become a very unhappy, anxious adult, always worried about whether you’ve failed someone and your mood, your self-esteem become linked to other people. That’s not a fun or even healthy place to be in. That fear of letting others down is what holds you back. It’s part of what’s holding Sou back from pursuing his own dreams, afraid of disappointing himself and others.

Mitsumi takes the right approach- she cries, then picks herself back up again. Honesty is the best policy here. It’s very humbling to have to admit “I couldn’t do it”, but it’s better for everyone involved than half-assing it. It also makes you stronger, acknowledging your limits and working within that. Mitsumi did have a point that trying to please everyone is selfish in a way in that the exhilaration of making others happy becomes like a drug. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with helping others, provided it’s done at a humanly realistic level and is not the sole source of one’s esteem. Mitsumi’s situation will hopefully encourage Sou to learn to face himself and his past though his desire to place her in a bubble is concerning, we’ll have to see where that goes.

That bit at the end where Sou’s mom finds the play leaflet in his room- what wind is she going to blow in this storm? From flashbacks I get the sense that Sou felt responsible for making his mother happy in an unhappy home life and when he couldn’t do anything about that, it fed into his burn out, perhaps due to whatever pressure she may have put on him. Will she take more of an interest in him or put the pressure back on once she finds out he’s dipped his toes back into acting?