Orange – 07
Suwa finally confesses to Kakeru. Show’s over.
 |
Starting with words and ending with tears can be a bad thing, but sometimes it’s a good thing. |
Comparing Notes
“Hey, what was after this part?”
“Oh, that was where it told me to get you two togeth.. I mean, ‘nothing’.”
So Suwa finally reveals to Naho that he got a letter, too. I kind of wonder what led him to the conclusion that she had received one as well. Has he known, or at least surmised? Perhaps the things she’s done that seem prescient, or those things that were somewhat out of character for her, have drawn him to think that she’s in the same boat. And do either of them, realizing that they both got a letter from their future selves, start thinking that maybe Azusa, Takako, and Higata have as well? Or does that even matter? Perhaps their own coordination will make a difference.
What kind of guy gives his wife flowers as a confession from his 10-years-dead friend ? This guy.
But I do wonder what the rest of Suwa’s letter said about Naho. There was a reason that he didn’t bring the whole thing along, and ducked the question of whether there was anything important in the rest of it. We know that Naho’s talked about the role Suwa played in putting her back together after Kakeru’s death, but it didn’t go much further than that. But could Suwa’s have mentioned his future with Naho? What kind of position or mindset does that put teenage Suwa in? Would it cause at least a little conflict in his heart? Or could he be confident enough that even if he helps save the person that the person he likes is interested in, he’d still be able to end up with her, or at least be happier overall? I think that would be an interesting road to go down, if a bit angsty (not like this show isn’t angsty as it is). But we get that answer later, when reading Future Suwa’s letter. It sounds like he knew at the time, but kinda went hands-off supporting the two of them, and after Kakeru’s death realized that if he had helped Kakeru and Naho more, they wouldn’t have ended up like that.
Do these two know about the future? Or are they just great friends? Or it could be both.
Letting It All Out
Don’t make Takako angry. She’ll get like 8 feet tall…
The main happening this episode was revolving around Kakeru’s birthday. After Suwa and Naho coordinate their efforts, the next thing is to get Kakeru to tell them when his birthday is so that they can have him celebrate it. Of course, this also means presents, but not really presents, because they have to go through some rigamarole where you can’t ASK for a present, that would be gauche. Instead you have to act as though you don’t want any presents, and then say what you’d hypothetically like to have if it just appeared in front of you. The two that had some meaning were Naho’s present of a sports bag, which precipitated a (final? Maybe? Please?) showdown with Ueda-senpai where Takako almost decks her, and Suwa’s gift of a bouquet of flowers. This last is definitely something that unless Suwa was pushing Kakeru to confess to Naho that he wouldn’t have done. But that’s the point. Changing the things you regret in the past mean sometimes acting like you wouldn’t have acted. And part of that extends to getting Kakeru to change the way he is as well.
“Geez, do you all have to stand RIGHT THERE?”
Kakeru does manage to confess to Naho, and she then dithers for a while after that, with him letting her off the hook saying she doesn’t need to answer him. This is where I don’t really get Naho. There’s no uncertainty around you: You know you like Kakeru, you know he likes you, you know that everyone else is supporting you. Why can’t you say “I like you too”? Why is it so embarrassing that it’s impossible to say? Why would it be a bother to him? But that goes out the window with the knowledge that Kakeru might attempt suicide after meeting his friends from Tokyo. I wonder how much having fun with his friends is causing Kakeru to feel more guilt at his mother’s death, a reminder that he chose them over her, that he (now in his head) callously called her a bother, and now is enjoying his life while hers has ended. It’s hard to know if it would have changed anything had Suwa and Naho been able to short-circuit that very first request (and send the letters a day earlier or something, sheesh! Why’s it always gotta be just in time?) but at this point, there’s nothing he can do about it.
Brohugs solve problems
As one of my favorite lines from Emi in Katawa Shoujo went: “These things happen.” They may be good, they may be horrible. But when they’ve happened, they’ve happened, and it doesn’t need to have a reason, and there’s no need to punish someone more. But Naho can’t bring herself to say anything to assuage Kakeru’s guilt, and Suwa is the one who makes the move, which also lets on that he knows about Kakeru’s mother. Kakeru hasn’t wanted to trouble his friends with his problems, and giving it the most favorable read would be that he is hoping that the fun times with his friends can bring him out of his depression. But that hasn’t worked, and hopefully finally being able to open up to Naho and Suwa will help him. And the other thing that happens is that Naho finally gets over her fear of confessing to Kakeru, wanting him to know that there’s someone else who wants him to be around.
Naho finally gets it out
How much did they know before, and how much do they know now?
A tear-filled ending to this episode, but hopefully some tears here will prevent worse tears later. And now the ice is broken about Kakeru’s mother, not just with Naho but with everyone else. And now that both Kakeru and Naho have confessed to each other, how much of the future issues about Naho being unable to say it to Kakeru will go away? I think that will be a major point, and we’ll see if there is significant divergence from the letters now. I’m glad that Naho was able to confess, and also that Suwa is such a great guy here. You can certainly see how he was able to be that guy for Naho after Kakeru’s death, and maybe he can be that guy for Kakeru, now that he knows about Kakeru’s mother. But even before that, he was doing that, for instance one of my favorite scenes this episode where Kakeru asks Suwa what he can do for Naho, and gets the straightaway answer: “Confess to her.” He doesn’t seem to want to cut in front of Suwa, but doesn’t understand it’s not about ‘fair’ to Suwa. Love isn’t fair. And even if Suwa was thinking of confessing to Naho, he wouldn’t do that to her when she’s obviously only got eyes for Kakeru.
About Highway
Proving that you don't have to be young to love anime, I enjoy all genres and styles of shows. If it's not hurting anyone else, you should never be ashamed of what you like!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
As far as who else has a letter? That will be something akin to an October Surprise (dammit, US politics is getting everywhere!!!!!), I think. Best to reveal these things with the appropriate dramatics – to go along with the angst!
But I’m fostering a theory about Kakeru and what they might be trying to accomplish without knowing Show ▼