Episode 08: “Missing person! Losing sight of life and love in winter”
BRIEF SUMMARY: Mayama is at Fujiwara Design, worried about where Nomiya and Yamada might have gone to. Meanwhile, Nomiya takes Yamada to a hotel, but not for any malicious purpose. He notes that it’s relaxing to be in a one-sided relationship since the other person who knows your feelings will treat you kindly because of guilt and it won’t bring any more pain. Takemoto continues on his journey. Shuuji walks in on Hagu desperately trying to paint. Morita keeps on working on his attempt at painting which he aspires to serve as an entry to the Paris competition. His agent drops by and makes fun of him, saying that he should just stick to sculpting since painting is not his forte.
Shuuji finds Hagu’s study abroad program brochures, realizing why Hagu is in despair. At the hotel, Nomiya relates to Yamada that decorating that place was his first big job. When he wants to be by himself, he often comes there. He says that looking at the ferris wheel that can be seen out the window relaxes him. Meanwhile, Miwako orders Mayama to go home and get some rest. He tries to resist since they haven’t heard from Nomiya and Yamada yet. Miwako insists that he go home, saying that she’ll contact him if she gets a call from Nomiya. She adds that Mayama isn’t required to worry about Yamada and it’s because of this attitude that Yamada can’t move forward. Switch back to the hotel, Nomiya asks why Yamada likes Mayama. She answers she doesn’t really know, but if she does really like him then she should be happy for Mayama and Rika. However, she tearfully admits that she feels that it’s better if their relationship ended instead. At Shuuji’s place, he kindly tells Hagu that she shouldn’t force herself to paint and just forget about the study abroad thing.
As Takemoto continues on his journey, he remembers that when he was young, he wondered how far will he go if he was to keep pedaling on his bike, where will he be and what the place he wil reach might look like. Miwako calls Mayama and informs him that Nomiya said they are on their way home. She tells Mayama not to worry because nothing happened between Nomiya and Yamada. She adds that people like Nomiya who has a strong pride will never take advantage of a girl. As expected, Yamada gets yelled at for failing to call home to say she was spending the night somewhere else. Miwako saves the day. Back in the office, Nomiya thanks her for covering for Yamada. Miwako asks if he’s serious about Yamada. Nomiya tries to deny what she means. Miwako is amused to hear this, a knowing smile on her face.Meanwhile, Hagu finally makes a decision. She tells the annoying lady teacher that she won’t be participating in the competition for the study abroad thing. The teacher is disappointed to hear this and cruelly tells Hagu that people like her don’t have a place in society.
Mayama begins his job back in Harada Design. Rika gives him the office key. Back at the apartment, Mayama buys dinner for Morita and Takemoto. They then notice that Takemoto is missing, causing them to worry. Takemoto later calls Shuuji’s place, letting them know that he’s alive. On his journey, he stops to rest on a field, wondering if he’ll ever find whatever he’s looking for. He remembers Hagu’s words of encouragement. He notices clovers planted on the ground and proceeds to look for a 4-leaf clover. He manages to find one and sends it over to Hagu by sticking it on a postcard. He also sends a postcard to the rest of the gang, letting them know that he’s fine on his journey. After several days on the road, Takemoto has run out of money plus his bike gets a flat tire and he looks like a total mess. The next morning, a group of construction guys find him sleeping on the floor. They learn that he has come all the way from Tokyo on a self-discovery sort of journey. When asked, he notes that he wants to continue his journey but has run out of money and his bike is ruined. They offer him a place to stay and a temp job by cooking meals for the crew, which Takemoto gladly accepts.The construction crew turns out to be experts who undertake shrine restoration projects. The leader notes that Takemoto tries to help out with carving. The leader notes that he is good with his hands, but not skilled enough in his craftsmanship.
Meanwhile, Morita finishes his panting. Hagu is inspired to paint again after much contemplation and re-reading Takemoto’s encouraging words in the postcard. Mayama presents Rika a new project requested by their client. After seeing the location (Otaru) Rika’s mood turns bitter and grumpily asks Mayama to turn the job down. He learns from Shuuji that Otaru was where Harada grew up. Rika later goes emo, remembering Harada telling her that he would take her to Otaru someday. The leader from the construction crew gives Takemoto his pay and tells him that he should continue on his journey. He may feel comfortable with them now, but the point of his journey will remain unresolved if he stays with them at this time. Morita wins the Paris competition with his painting. He meets with Hagu and attempts to confess his feelings. Hagu cuts him off saying that she he doesn’t have to worry anymore since she won’t be saying silly things like “I like you” anymore.
~ end of episode
IMPRESSION: Ah, two episode summaries in one day… I’m trying to make up for my lack of posts due to work, as usual. Heh. Anyway, the hotel part was not spot on, but it was really quite similar with the one in the anime. The ferris wheel was nice and seeing it outside the window was nice. It made me kinda wish I was there, it would’ve been a nice view to see. ^^ I found the scene between Shuji and Hagu to be nice, telling her she shouldn’t force herself to paint.Takemoto’s little voice over when he wonders how his destination will look like if he ever reaches it, I liked that they showed each of the characters as he was saying that. What he was pondering about was quite applicable to his friends as they are trying to deal with their own problems. The tables have turned for Morita as he was trying to tell Hagu he likes her. LOL.
With regard to what Nomiya told Yamada (see quote below), I can see his point. Having a one-sided love is not a pretty situation to be in, but I don’t think it’s relaxing per se. I suppose you somehow feel some sense of satisfaction. I guess you choose to stay that way because at least you can be with the person you like even if he doesn’t return your feelings. Like Yamada, even though you know you should just stop and get over it, it’s not that simple. You can’t just turn a switch off and stop the way you feel. It’s one of those things that’s much easier said than done. Where the relationship between Nomiya x Yamada and Rika x Mayama is going, also with Takemoto’s predicament over trying to find his place in life, I think Honey and Clover took a pretty realistic approach in trying to convey and represent those feelings. Yamada may cry quite a lot over Mayama, but I think it’s understandable. It takes time. I’d really rather not talk much about it, it’s a complicated matter and I don’t wanna have to go all emo about it. ;P
Some Quotable quotes:
- Takemoto: “Crying from the pain of aspiring something and crying from having nothing to aspire, I wonder which is most difficult.”
- Nomiya [to Yamada, referring to her affection for Mayama]: “It’s very relaxing to be in a one-sided relationship. When the other person understands your feelings, it becomes even more relaxing. The other person will treat you kindly because he feels guilty. Nothing bad will ever happen again. It won’t bring you any more pain. As long as you’re with him, you will be happy.”
- Takemoto [referring to his journey on his bicycle]: “How far will if I go if I was to ride like this forever? If I continue on like this, where will I be? the place that I reach, what will it look like?”
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