Sweetness and Lightning – 02
Can’t say no to these two~
It’s pork soup with a warm side of feels in this week’s Sweetness and Lightning.
Keep It Proper
A gift from father to daughter.
There has been debate over the decision to make Kotori a high schooler, so it came as a pleasant surprise to me when the show chose to address this upfront. It’s nice to see that Kouhei feels as concerned about the propriety of being with a student outside of the school setting as we are concerned with the thought of a student-teacher romance potentially unfolding between him and Kotori. In fact, it bothers him so much that he seeks the advice of a senpai sensei, who reassures him that teachers visiting students at home and even having dinner with their families was completely normal back in his day. Despite those words, Kouhei still feels the need to go through formal channels and seeks an audience with Kotori’s ever-elusive mother for approval. The meeting doesn’t end up taking place thanks to a business call on the part of Mrs. Iida, which leaves me wondering if we will ever get to meet her. Kouhei just can’t say no to Tsumugi though, so in the end it is his daughter’s smiling face and fond memories of delicious food at the Iida restaurant that convinces him to keep coming back.
A Warm Home
Kotori protects her beloved home.
As for Kotori, we learn a bit more about her circumstances and why she needs Kouhei and Tsumugi. Tsumugi discovers an “autograph” secretly written on the underside of the counter when she accidentally drops a marker on the floor. No doubt this was left by a young Kotori, which suggests that she grew up in the restaurant and has many fond memories associated with the place. As her mother is spending more and more time on her career as a cooking expert on TV lately, the restaurant has been increasingly left unattended. This leads Kotori to fear that the home she loves so much will eventually disappear, so she seeks to keep it alive by tending to it in her mother’s place. There’s just one problem: she can’t cook. Or to be more precise, she has a fear of knives, which is a significant handicap when it comes to preparing food. Thus, when Kouhei and Tsumugi first stop by, she concocts a plan to enlist her teacher’s help in the kitchen. It’s a win-win situation for everyone; the lights stay on at the Kotori’s home, and Kouhei can learn to prepare food for his daughter with the aid of a cooking expert’s daughter.
Extras
I’m glad that Kouhei makes it a point to keep his dinners at the Iida restaurant proper by creating rules and a schedule. His attitude makes it clear that he is considering the social implications of spending so much time outside of school with a student, and hopefully it is a sign that the show will not head in a questionable direction. Moreover, the fact that Kotori’s parents are divorced creates the possibility that the girl might come to see Kouhei as the father figure missing from her life, rather than an object of attraction. The OP also suggests that two more characters will join the fray in time, one of whom is another high school girl (perhaps Kotori’s friend?) while the other is a man who appears to be around Kouhei’s age. So I’m thinking that once the cast increases in size, the situation between Kotori and the Inuzuka family will receive less scrutiny.
A single word from his daughter can move a man to tears.
About Sumairii
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
So we already have a neat little place for some family drama/slice of life-ing when it comes to Kotori and her mother and the restaurant. It being a source for her childhood memories, and with Tsumugi getting just the hint of that. That should be a nice development in future episodes.
Also, konnyaku is really odd. It doesn’t seem to have a purpose other than to add bulk, or be a low carb noodle substitution…
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
I was really glad to see Kouhei realize how any kind of relationship between him and Kotori outside of the classroom could be seen as improper and his taking steps to address that.
Also, I spied a rice cooker in the Inuzuka family’s home.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
It took me a while to get it into my head that Kotori is always drawn with a blush, no matter what. She’s not always blushing about Kouhei being there.
POWUH: 400-499 with 445 comments
hahaha last week’s ep should have been more than enough to drive that home 🙂
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Last week it was plausible that she never got over her embarrassment / uneasiness at his presence. This week was a lot more comfortable.