Reflecting Lights

A really sweet episode focused on Manami.

Manami has a bit of a rough life. She must constantly keep any eye on impish Kurumi, she does almost all the cooking and cleaning, and she has to deal with a sexist brother to boot. Plus, though cute, she’s pretty mousy looking with her ponytail and glasses. So with all of that weighing down on her, Manami decides to give herself a makeover (wig, contacts, makeup, some flashier clothes) and heads out for a day of fun where she intends to find herself a boyfriend and have a fiery romance.

It doesn’t take very long before some Yanki girls come after her (even knocking out her contacts), but a man in sunglasses (seriously, why did he put on the sunglasses before interfering?) rescues her. It’s Kyosuke, but with her lacking contacts and him wearing sunglasses (and with a weird voice due to Kurumi’s cooking) she can’t recognize him, and while he think she looks familiar, he can’t quite place her through all the changes in her appearance.

They spend some time together, and she talks about her temptation to truly run away, talking about all of the work she does, and that it’s hard when her family can be inconsiderate. She wants to “fly away,” so Kyosuke takes her on a Ferris wheel, as it’s the close as he can give her. On it, she tries to kiss him and he finally realizes who she is. When they get off, he goes to cool his head and runs into Madoka and Hikaru who have the wrong idea. He explains the situation, and then does something absolutely wonderful. He continued the charade to give Manami the day she needed so much. He manages to avoid any intimacy, but he takes her on rides, in a row boat, etc. It was so sweet, the way he went ahead and gave her what she needed.

After he leaves, the girls come back and attack her again. Thankfully Madoka’s there to save her, and as she hands her back her glasses (the case had been knocked out of her bag), she notes that glasses truly suit her.

It’s not quite over though. When Manami returns home, Kyosuke has done the cleaning, laundry, and made dinner. For once the eldest daughter had a moment of freedom, something she could cherish and look back to when her humdrum life got to be too much.

This is easily one of my favorite episodes. So often the series finds a way to piss me off, but really, not this time. There’s nothing wrong with a boy and a girl spending time together (he didn’t even ogle her like he usually does), and Madoka and Hikaru were understanding as well. It was all focused on giving Manami the break she so dearly needed, and it was done with a certain tenderness that tugs on the heartstrings a bit. The Yanki girls were kind of excessive (particularly given the gang fighting in the previous episode), but I did like the scene it set up with Madoka at the end.

Truly a great episode.  And I think it inspired a certain episode of Love Hina where Keitaro and Naru both lose their glasses and spend the day together having fun and not fighting.  Except I like it better here, as it was such a selfless act, and Manami never learns the truth, allowing her to savor that day for the rest of her life.