Japanese Title: Itsuka Kono Koi wo Omoidashite Kitto Naite Shimau
This drama has successfully made every soul in here lonely and
yet I feel comforted that they will indeed find their happiness whenever that may
be. For this episode the one that did the finding has become the one that has
been found.
In Ren’s dreams, he’s his younger self stubbornly helping
out his grandpa with the farming despite his grandpa urging him to study
instead. Even as a young boy, Ren was quiet but obstinate about what he loves.
He remembers grandpa telling him
that since he has no parents, he “should be in touch with the earth. The
mountain will watch over [him].” His grandpa also tells him to keep his “chin
up” as a form of a cheer. And this is the dream that makes him cry every time.
This time though, his girlfriend isn’t around to wipe his tears, instead he’s
sleeping with his buddy, Haruta. Uh.
Ren always visits this grandmother who lives alone. She
makes his favourite sweet, Daigaku Imo (sweet potatoes) and serves them to Ren
and his friends who happen to all be there, including Konatsu. She’s in Tokyo
pursuing her dream of becoming a designer. She’s also the girl that separated
Oto and Ren. Apparently Konatsu is extremely gullible and that’s why Ren had to
ditch Oto to save Konatsu.
Remembering back to that day, Ren mutters to himself: We got separated because I saved you.
He sulks and Konatsu picks up on it rather quickly.
When Ren and Konatsu leave for work, Haruta and grandmother
are the only ones left at the house. Grandmother tells Haruta that everything
in the garden was grown by Ren. More
flower theme.
Grandmother: When
he sees a lonely person, he can’t leave them alone.
On their way to work, Konatsu updates Ren about his
grandpa’s condition. She knows because her mother told her. She tells him his
grandfather has to walk half an hour to a bath house because his bath broke.
When she urges him to visit him in the countryside he brushes it off saying he
doesn’t have the time nor money. Seconds later, he makes his way to a lonely pup
and feeds him/her. Grandmother was right on the dot when she
said he can’t leave those who are lonely, even if it’s a puppy.
And that’s Ren’s typical morning before he takes the bus to
work. If you’re curious to know, he still lives in Yukigaya (as noted from the
bus stop).
A usual morning for Oto starts off with watering the flowers
on her balcony and taking the subway to work. However, she always arrives early
at the subway station as if she’s waiting for someone. I’d say she’s searching
for someone. It’s fruitless though.
Oto works at a retirement and nursing home. She’s preparing
to get her level 2 certificate as a caregiver and she’s making ends meet by
working part-time at a gas station. Her friend and co-worker, Funakawa-san,
complains about their meager salary but Oto is genuine about loving her job
despite the low pay and laborious tasks. To cheer up her friend, Oto offers her
candy.
In their conversation, Oto mentions that she lives in
Yukigaya Ootsuka. That’s
where Ren lives! Funakawa-san also makes a small comment on Oto’s love
for snow is even reflected on the place she chose to live because the “yuki” in
Yukigaya means snow. Why
does Oto love snow? And puh-lease, we all know why she chose to live there of
all places.
Funakawa-san isn’t done with her complaints: she’s worried
she’ll break-up with her new boyfriend because they haven’t seen each other for
a week. This news puzzles Oto. Well,
the girl has been waiting for a guy, whose name she doesn’t even know among
many other things, for an entire year.
Oto’s day ends off with her waiting at the subway station
and when time’s up she leaves alone. Girl, he takes the bus.
See, Ren is getting off the bus.
They both go to the same
laundromat (Coin Laundry) but at different locations! Oto goes to the North
Exit while Ren goes to the South Exit store. So close yet so far. A magazine grabs Ren’s
attention as he waits for his laundry to finish. I’m thinking it’s the “Hokkaido” in big letters that’s
making him do a double take because that’s where Oto lived. As he sits
down to read he makes a farting noise. Quickly, he grabs the stool to clarify
to the other person it was the chair that farted and not him, but
the lady has her headphones on. Afterwards, Ren hears a dog barking outside and
turns to that direction. The scene then switches to Oto reading her caregiver
books wondering where Mr. Mover is. Is the dog barking echoing the lonely cries in each of their hearts?
The next day, Ren, who is still working for that same moving
company, gets a complaint because an antique speaker was broken while he was on
duty but that wasn’t Ren’s fault; it was Sabiki-san’s fault. Ren specifically told him to leave the
box upright, but Sabiki-san was negligent and now Ren has to cough up nearly
200 000 yen. Poor Ren can’t even properly mutter out who’s the real culprit, neither does his company care whether he’s the actual one at fault as
long as he pays up.
Oto is addressed as Sugihara-san at work! Her manager
assigns the late shift to Funakawa-san because Oto had the early shift but
Funakawa was supposed to meet up with her boyfriend (otherwise they’ll break
up) so Oto volunteers herself for the late shift.
During that shift, she meets Asahi Ibuki, who’s
recklessly showing off his basketball moves in front of the seniors. Fearing he’d lose
control of the ball, Oto snatches it from him. Impressed with her skills, Ibuki
rewards her with a watch from “Vacheron Constantin” that costs a few million
yen. Is this the same brand
the watch Shirai-san gave to her foster father? Flabbergasted by the
expensiveness, Oto dashes out to his limo to return the watch. Even if you’re rich, is it really
necessary to ride a limo everywhere? He asks her whether they’ve seen
each other before but she doesn’t remember. He probably remembers her from the gas station. He also invites her to dinner which annoys Oto making her slam the door in his face.
It’s only until Ibuki left does she learn who he actually
is: the chairman’s son that manages this institution. Her coworkers think Ibuki
is flirting with her. Hearing that, Oto’s expression falls flat and she excuses
herself to go clean the toilet. The
watch. The rich dude. The toilet. Everything’s reminding me of the foster
father again. Ugh.
It’s the end of another day and both Oto and Ren get off
work. Oto religiously waits in front of the subway station until it’s time to leave.
Today their lives also mirror each other as they go to the same convenience
store but they end up missing each other. Ren was there to buy pet food for the
pup. Neglected by his/her owner, the pup is left outside to
starve in the cold upon a pile of garbage.
Ren returns home to find Kihoko waiting for him with bags of
groceries. So he’s still
dating her. Haruta was happily about to barge in on them but Konatsu
stops him in time. Notice that Konatsu is also carrying a bag of groceries. Did
she plan to cook for Ren too? I guess plans changed as her bag of groceries
sits on the side while she’s having ramen at a restaurant with Haruta. Apparently
this is an opportunity for her to explain Ren’s entire life story to Haruta.
Ren’s mother died early and his father remarried so he was
raised by his grandfather. His entire childhood revolved around the
daikon-field. Ren’s dream was to inherit his grandfather’s farm. However, when
Ren was 20, his grandfather was scammed of his land, which is why Ren is in
Tokyo to earn back the money to retrieve his land. That’s Ren’s American
Tokyo Dream.
Konatsu is tactless; she drinks his beverage knowing he
doesn’t drink after someone else. Insensitive to whether her audience is paying
attention (who isn’t, he’s busy flirting), she tells her story to her content.
However, it’s not her story to tell and Haruta criticizes her for it. Haruta
tells her Ren won’t return to the country side otherwise he’ll realize his
dreams can’t come true.
Haruta: Tokyo
isn’t a place where dreams come true, it’s a place where you can live without
noticing your dreams didn’t come true.
Haruta isn’t done with the harshness, he reveals to Konatsu
that Ren doesn’t love Kihoko. And then he delivers his last blow, telling
Konatsu to give up on being a designer because she’s got zero sense of fashion. Such a scrooge but I can’t argue
back to his harsh truths. However, it’s the comment on Ren’s insincerity
with love that bothers her the most.
Meanwhile, during Kihoko and Ren’s dinner, they just happen
to be on the topic of love.
Kihoko: Love, you
know, comes in the same order as the necessities of life (in
Japanese character, the word “Necessity” is made up of three words that
individually mean clothes, food, and home). At first, love is something
you get to show off, like clothes, then it becomes something you get to
thoroughly enjoy, like food, and in the end, you make it your home. I no longer
need the love I can wear, I want to eat it. She pauses
here. Looking around the house, she continues talking, I want to change
the curtains too. Uh… does
that mean she wants the third stage too? To make her love her home?
That night, Oto goes to her local laundromat only to find
that they’re under renovation so she gets directed to the North branch. Her
actions mirror Ren’s: she picks up the Hokkaido magazine and sits on the
farting stool, then she attempts to clarify to the headphone lady, and finally,
she gets distracted by the dog’s barking. I’m racking my brain to understand the significance of
this!
Back with Ren and Kihoko, Ren tells her he’ll walk her to
the subway station because he needs to go to the laundromat anyways. Yes, please go! However,
Kihoko’s distracted by the letter of complaint Ren received earlier that day
demanding him of 200 000 yen. She keeps it a secret from him that she knows. Instead she tells him she
wants to stay the night.
Kihoko: You can say no whenever you want to. I just keep taking advantage of your kindness.
Ren just shakes
his head like a puppy: Let’s take the bus to work together in the morning. The laundromat!
Touched, Kihoko
snuggles into him, sadly telling him: He and his wife are expecting a second
child. I would die if you abandoned me too. So warm – your body temperature is
so high. So he's dating her but it's not out of love.
The next day Oto is pressured into taking Funakawa’s shift
because she’s late. The manager that forced her into it annoyingly stresses the
fact that since they’re “friends”, she should believe that Funakawa would
eventually show up. Does he
have no friends? Poor Oto is going to have to work almost 24 hours
(including last night’s late shift she substituted Funakawa for). It doesn’t
help that her manager is a creep. He mockingly sings her a cheer up song. It’s actually creepy.
Ren’s got it tough too. He finally confronts Sabiki-san
about taking responsibility for his own blunder. They make a deal: if Ren can
do 300 push ups just like Sabiki-san can, then Sabiki will pay for the
compensation. The coworkers are surprised at his physicality because he almost
reaches 200 but it really shouldn’t come as a shock if Ren is always doing the
brute end of the work. The boss enters the room as Ren struggles to complete the challenge. She updates
him that a stylish looking lady already paid for him. Exhausted, Ren continues
to push because the money isn’t his. He’s making me pout. Sabiki-san can’t bear to watch anymore so he
grumpily leaves.
On the other hand, Oto has just braved through the rain,
umbrella-less, to make a delivery. Returning to the nursing home, she’s greeted
by Ibuki who wonders why she’s cold towards him and whether she has someone she
likes. Oto clarifies she neither likes or dislikes him and that she does have
someone she likes even though she doesn’t know him. Ibuki’s confused but Oto
doesn’t find it strange.
Oto: Isn’t love
born at a time when you can’t meet someone instead of when you can?
That same day Ren meets up with Kihoko to sincerely thank
her for her help and bows his head to her. This wasn’t the reaction Kihoko was
expecting because she thought Ren would be angry at her for meddling in his
business and looking down on his capabilities.
When Ren asks for the bill, he
clearly underestimated how much two cups of coffee could cost. Even after
emptying his wallet, he’s still 30 yen short but Kihoko only has large bills so
in the end she pays for the drinks using her bills and takes all his money
that’s scattered on the table. Regardless, she thanks him for the treat. Oh, the embarrassment.
Oto isn’t faring any better. She’s drained of all her energy
and her brain practically shuts down on her but luckily Funakawa arrives right
before 12am to take her shift back. Thinking that it’s too late to catch the subway, Oto plans to
spend the night at the residence but her coworker tells her to take the bus
home instead. Apparently, Oto didn’t know that there was a bus that went to
Yukigaya. And voila it’s the
same bus that Ren takes! I made sure to check the stupid bus sign every time
the drama shows Ren taking it.
Lugging herself home that night, Oto’s shoelace undoes
itself and that’s when she hears a dog barking. She finds the dog, abandoned
and lonely, so she decides to take the pup home. It’s the same dog Ren cares
for everyday because that pup happens to have gone missing when Ren went to
feed it. Apparently, the owner got herself a new dog. Not knowing that the pup
is safe with Oto, Ren searches for it everywhere, calling out “Oi, Oi”. Oi =
Hey. Remember that
large store “OIOI” that Oto mocks at for sounding weird when it’s actually
supposed to be pronounced as Marui? Would it be possible for them to name the
pup Marui or OiOI then?
However, Oto is struggling to get home. Even when the
pedestrian light turns green, she can’t even manage to put her foot forward to
walk. She hunches forward and her knees buckle. Unable to stand up, she apologizes to the puppy. And
once again, the puppy calls for help.
The call reaches Ren, guiding him to Oto. At the moment,
they’re separated at either side of the busy street but once the light turns green
again, Ren runs towards her.
Oto looks up at
him: I found you. I found you. Nod.
Nod. Nod. Sniff.
Ren nods.
Oto tears up: Mr.
Mover, if it’s would be alright, tell me your name. Tell me your number. I’m tearing up. The plea in her
voice.
Ren nods.
Oto: Because I’m
also doing my best in Tokyo.
Ren firmly nods.
Being completely drained from energy, she’s piggybacked by
Ren while the pup is in his backpack, looking quite comfortable – the both of
them that is. Oto learns that the pup doesn’t have an owner (anymore), which is
just like her and Ren, orphans.
Ren took her to the grandmother’s place where Oto is currently
sleeping soundly at. He prepares food for her and lingers for a small bit until
he goes out of the room, hesitating to phone his grandfather. The grandson and
grandfather take turns asking about each other. Near the end, Ren starts to
tear up but he doesn’t let his grandfather know. He even attempts to cheer himself up again by reciting "Chin up." However, Ren is unaware that
Oto heard everything. Stifling her sobs under her blanket, she sympathizes with
Ren having to struggle in Tokyo alone just like her.
In the morning, Oto thanks the grandmother for the
hospitality and the grandmother welcomes her to come back anytime. Oto gladly
accepts her kindness. The grandmother also gives her a note that Ren has left
for Oto. And I think grandma is taking care of the pup for now.
Grandmother: He
is surrounded by lonely people. Among them, he was the loneliest one of all.
But then…
Grandmother doesn’t finish her sentence but simply stares at Oto and smiles. I smile
too. He won’t be lonely anymore with Oto around (:
Alone in the room now, Oto smiles sweetly at the note with
Mr. Mover’s name and number. He’s finally within her grasp now.
 |
| He actually looks pretty in this angle |
All rejuvenated at her work now, Oto walks around brightly.
That day she also learns that Ibuki isn’t hanging around the nursery home to
flirt, he has goals of becoming a dementia care specialist. She spots him
caring for Sonoda-san rather sincerely and this seems to have impressed Oto.
At night, Ren returns home and finds Kihoko waiting for him
with new curtains in her hands.
- - - Comments - - -
Oto is the flower;
Ren is the earth
Ren’s grandpa tells him “to be in
touch with earth.” Unlike his parents, the earth will always be there,
providing the stability in rain or snow. It’s not a coincidence then that Oto’s
character revolves around flowers. Ren will be the earth that helps Oto
grow and bloom.
On a side note, I love the small
details (like that isn’t obvious already) in Oto’s room: her cupboard has petal designs, her balcony
has flowers, and her wall has a flower portrait. Those details
The dog’s barks and
the sirens
Just like the sirens that night
alerting Ren of Oto’s lonely cries, the dog’s barking brings Ren to her once
again.
Oto’s dam story was a fantasy she
relied on to help her escape the town, at least in her mind. It is Ren that
made her story into reality. The sirens called to him to help her; the sirens
are her cries for help. This time, the barks called him to her. But what if the
dog’s barks is actually Ren’s lonely cry for help and not Oto’s?
Although it looks like Ren found
Oto, but if Oto hadn’t found the dog, Ren wouldn’t have found her. Even Oto had
said “I found you” to Ren. In fact this
entire episode focuses on Oto actively searching for Ren: she purposely chose
to live in Yukigaya Ootsuka and she religiously waits for Ren at the subway
station every day and every night.
I might be over-analyzing this
but I can’t help it when Ren looks so much like a puppy when he’s shaking his
head with that shabby hair of his.
Another side note: he shakes his
head a lot with Kihoko (during dinner) but when he and Oto are finally
reunited, he kept nodding his head.
Cinderella II
When the clock stroke 12, Cinderella ran out of the ball, leaving her
shoe behind.
I really should go back and check
out what time it was when Oto ran away from home and left her shoe behind while
running to her peach truck. But the ending of her Cinderella story was that she ran away from her Prince Charming. For this episode it was 12 when she left work and while walking home she made sure her shoes were firmly on by tying
her shoelaces. With both her shoes on she finds Ren (by finding the puppy). Oto doesn't need a Prince Charming to change her life, she just needs her charioteer.
Just listing out the parallels:
Last episode it was Oto that
cried in front of Ren. This episode it was Ren crying in front of Oto.
Ren found Oto in the first
episode. Oto finds Ren in this episode.
The laundromat scenes where Oto’s
actions mirrored Ren’s.
Ren and Oto’s struggle with money
but they’re surrounded by people that can easily gather 200 000 yen or gift a
million dollar watch like its nothing.
And both are working hard in
Tokyo.
I’m glad that Oto is now “Sugihara” instead of “Hayashida”
meaning she’s successfully “drowned” her old self. Now, for the name of the
pup, please use Oi-Oi!! (It's just 'cause Ren kept saying "Oi" when he was looking for the abandoned pup and that reminded me of Oto making a comment on a weird company name: OIOI)
Credits: Sanashi for subbing and Cubical Noses for timing.
--------------------------------------------
Links:
Love That Makes You Cry Episode 3
Love That Makes You Cry Episode 1
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