This definitely feels like the cooldown episode considering what happened in the past few episodes. After a week’s hiatus of being left on quite the rude cliffhanger, we finally get to see the continuation of Aqua and Himekawa’s conversation of being half siblings. The conversation ended up being a lot more lowkey than I expected. Especially since Himekawa didn’t seem particularly shocked about the information. He actually seemed fairly happy and excited to have a relative. Though considering what happened to his parents, it kind of makes sense. I am curious as to how their relationship will go from now on. However, the information we learn about Himekawa’s dad was probably tragically shocking to Aqua. After putting so much time and effort into finding his dad to get his revenge, I can’t even imagine how it must have felt for him to find out that he’s been dead for a number of years. It probably must have felt like he had been wasting so much of his time trying to find someone who couldn’t be found anymore. It would probably feel unsatisfying as well.
Despite feeling absolutely lost after finding out that his dad is already dead, it actually seemed like Aqua was ready to live his life and be happy. And while, I feel like it’s obvious that this isn’t the end to his revenge story, I am glad that he feels compelled to continue to live his life. Especially since it seemed like he was ready to end his life when Ai died. Though I think this momentary peace allowed him to see that there are a lot of people who care about him and would be devastated if he were to “disappear.” It’s honestly comforting to see him realize this and actually accepts the fact that he can “live” now. To which, he even ends up losing the star in his eye… which I didn’t even NOTICE until at the end of the episode… ON A REWATCH. I felt so incredibly slow at that moment lol. The star in his eye almost seemed to symbolize his drive and motivations. But once he lost his reason for revenge, the star also disappeared. He seems almost relieved that this burden he placed upon himself was gone and we finally got a true genuine smile from him that had no fear of being tainted by grief and guilt. Even bringing “light” back into his life, symbolized by him opening up the curtains and allowing him to bathe in the sunlight despite having lost the “light” in his eye. It was such a poetic moment and I am just dreading the day where all of this peace gets ripped away from him again. Especially since he’ll be visiting the place where he originally worked in his previous life and also died. With how ominous that ending was, I’m really worried at what will happen to him next.
We finally see what’s been going on with the new B-Komachi while also getting a rundown on how youtube works in Japan lol. But man, this part was honestly hard to get through because I was experiencing severe second-hand embarrassment from Kana during her daydream about being with Aqua. She’s so dumb I say lovingly. Putting that aside, we also get a little more of Ruby, who has been mostly absent this season. Ruby is such a pure soul but is also bogged down by her own feelings for Ai’s death. Seeing the shot of her in front of the blinds while also wearing a striped shirt makes me think that she has a lot more complex emotions towards the subject than she lets on. Almost makes her look like a prisoner. Despite that, the fact she wants to continue on being an idol while keeping the fact she’s Ai’s daughter a secret forever is quite the feat. It seems like she wants to be able to share it, but also believes that this secret should go to the grave with her. We also learn exactly why she named her group the same as Ai’s. Not only did she want to continue her mom’s legacy, but also in hopes of catching Goro’s eye and they would be reunited. Even finding out that he went “missing” didn’t stop her from hoping that he’ll find her one day. With how strong her feelings for Goro are, it does make me curious as to how she’d react if she found out that Aqua was his reincarnation. I can only HOPE that things won’t get weird between the two.
While Ruby can be childish, she does show more a certain amount of maturity for her age from time to time. Not to mention that her very positive and outspoken ways can also be used as a great motivator for others. Shown by convincing Miyako to try and get into contact with the song writer again. Her passion and determination reminiscent of Ichigo’s dream of having B-Komachi perform at the dome. And honestly, seeing the very brief flashback of Miyako and Ichigo together was so bittersweet. Especially since it seemed like the two had grown closer over time and actually started sharing the same excitement over B-Komachi’s success. Only for Ichigo to seemingly abandon them to who knows where. And while we don’t know how Miyako feels about Ichigo just up and leaving, it seems like she still looks back at some of the moments they shared fondly.
Ruby’s positivity even went as far as to affect the song writer as well by sending him a personal video of gratitude of excitement for the new song. Giving him the motivation and inspiration to most likely come up with a banger of a song. While it may seem small, I think showing gratitude in this way really goes a long way. Especially since I think it’s very different from just getting a commission from a “faceless” person through messages. Actually seeing and receiving the person’s gratitude face-to-face is one heck of a motivator and also giving the person the willingness to follow through with the project they were given despite the set backs.
