Isshuukan Friends – 06

Best mom of spring 2014!

Two things: I did not expect Kaori’s mother to know about her condition, and I did not expect the show to delve into the cause of the condition.

Unexpected Developments

You have her mom’s approval, Yuuki!

It makes so much more sense in hindsight, but I never really thought that Kaori’s mother would be so explicitly aware of Kaori’s memory condition. I guess I always thought it was something she kept secret and at best her mother would only be marginally aware that there is something wrong with her daughter. But owing to the circumstances of the condition’s origin, that kind of situation was pretty much impossible. Also, I should have realized Kaori would gush on about her friends at home. Anyway, I also never thought the show would even try to explore the roots of Kaori’s condition since it is so… unusual. I always figured it was a premise that we just had to accept, and from there the gang would have to somehow help Kaori fully overcome it. Of course, this goal still remains in the face of the different direction the show has taken, but at least now they might have some clues as to how to fight the condition.

Fending off Amnesia

The accident.

The short of the situation as I understood it is, Kaori might have developed some sort of trauma that somehow linked the concept of friends to the car accident in her mind. Don’t ask me how that works. All I know is she left home looking forward to meeting a friend, got into the accident, and when she woke up she no longer remembered any of her friends. So that’s the best I can come up with. It doesn’t have to be scientifically accurate in any way, but I imagine the whole purpose of introducing this background is to provide the gang with some ideas on the nature of Kaori’s condition as well as how she can potentially train or change herself to overcome it one day.

And thus Kaori and Jun “officially” became friends.

That said, I wonder if she even really needs that kind of intervention if it does come about in the show eventually. It seems to me that she’s already getting all the right kinds of help in the form of the gang being there for her as friends. And beyond that, they’re also helping her to become more outgoing and make even more friends. All of this, hinted to be improving her retention of memories of friends. Even if we (or the cast) don’t understand why it’s working to help her remember Yuuki and co. every Monday, at least it’s making a good amount of progress. But in the end, I suppose it’s true it would be hugely beneficial if the gang can get to the bottom of her condition and thus cure it “the right way” with a proper understanding of its workings. So perhaps this is the right direction for the show to take after all.

Whatever the case, I’m glad that this episode shows off how much Kaori’s mom cares for her. This much should have been obvious anyway, but I guess what I’m mostly happy that we see she’s actually had a more active involvement in her daughter’s life rather than watching from the sidelines as it previously appeared. So now that the origin story of Kaori’s amnesia has been revealed, what’s next? Well, I don’t expect the gang to jump into detective mode to solve the mystery. Instead, the show will most likely stick to its guns and continue to give us the same character and relationship development that it’s always had. Waking up every Monday with a firm grip on who her friends are will come eventually, but right now what’s most important is for Kaori to keep making more friends and to grow ever closer to the ones she already has.

Things are looking up for Kaori.

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