Have to say I was expecting everything to go downhill in this episode, but it really turned out to be a great episode. A much needed one really for both Kouko and Banri to just vent a lot of things they’d been holding in and take important steps forward as characters. I thought this was going to be a lot worse, but as the episode went on I could see where they were going and was completely behind it.

Not that it didn’t start badly. I mean we had the crisis of the accident which was pretty seriously handled. Part of me was like “well the car is fine they could just drive off”, but I suppose that was too simple and not that realistic. They are all pretty responsible people (aside from the whole driving while tired thing) so they had to do it properly. Plus the whole epic slap from her father really seemed over the top. Not to mention risky. Was I the only one expecting him to get arrested after hitting his daughter in that kind of situation? I mean sure it’s the classic slap instead of saying you’re glad they are ok, just seemed really over the top and unnecessary.

There was a great deal of aftermath here. I was a bit surprised with Chinami getting hurt like that, but it worked. Even though it wasn’t a serious crash having someone injured did add to the “holy crap” feel of the moment. You can throw blame everywhere, but in the end they did come close to dying there. Even better, the episode was devoid of Ghost Banri! Could just focus on the result.

I do think everyone has their share of blame. Kouko certainly does have her burden to bear because in the end she was the one who was driving. But she wasn’t the only one who fell asleep that’s for sure. They should have made a conscious effort to try and keep awake together. Blast the radio, get into a debate about something. It’s really easy especially as the passenger to fall asleep during a drive. You are sitting and there isn’t much to focus on. They all got lucky there.

While the slap didn’t put Kouko’s father in my good books, the rest of the scenes with him worked alright. Was pretty professional and maturely went around to meet with everyone involved. He took care of cleaning up for the mess and putting things right. A lot was going on of course with Chinami recovering and going to find a new place to live. Moving is a pretty busy and stressful time so I can only imagine how she was managing all while recovering and worrying about Kouko who had cut contact with everyone. The only other really weird scene for me was the Nana bread attack. I’m not sure what that was all about.

It really all came down to the showdown with Kouko and Banri. One of those cases where the people involved will end up closer than ever or just completely split up. I wasn’t sure for a moment where things were going to go, but in the end it turned out well. It was really needed for these two to have this sort of moment. It’s fine to just laugh and just enjoy the good times, but eventually tough times are going to come. Honestly I enjoyed both how Kouko pointed out some of the things Banri was doing in regards to leaving his past behind and pretending to be over Linda. While it was nice to see Banri come right back at her. Since she was the one who told him to pretty much do just that.

I did like how Kouko was also dealing with some real stress. That accident really putting a scare into her. But like how Banri had his fears about Kouko leaving him that was also going through her mind as well. As much as Banri losing his memories and coming here gave them a chance to meet it also set a pattern. If he lost his memory again it might be a repeat. Could she endure what Linda has gone through? To be fair things never really went to the relationship level with old Banri and Linda, but it had been close. It’d be hard to endure and I can understand that also being a really serious fear for her.

The whole pillow fight just worked. Things building up from Kouko just trying to cut everything away and really just being lost after that accident. Then they both just blew up at each other. But once the smoke had settled they were probably in a stronger position than ever. I really wondered how things would turn out with the Linda factor and everything else. But it was a moment like this that gives me real faith that these two will figure things out. Banri is prepared now to face his past a bit and to move forward with Kouko. A scary situation, but better than trying to bottle the past up and throw it away. At least they are less likely to piss off any ghosts that way XD.

I thought it was a really good episode. One of the best we’ve had in a while in just real development for the main couple. There are enough episodes left for things to just go crazy still, but this was just a nice episode in which everything turned out alright. It really could have gone either way near the end and I’m glad it turned out the way it did. A good chance for Kouko to realize that growing up isn’t easy.
Score: A