Episode 6: This is what happens to women because men are children. In the end, a wife has only two choices: to be the wife from hell or the weeping wife. How absurd. Spouses are a farce
Ryo, who is overwhelmed by Akari, leaves the house and meets Aki at a family restaurant. Looking out at the falling snow, he starts to tell her about his memories of high school days. One day after school, he ran off with Shiomi Kaoru, a female classmate, on a sleeper train bound for Hokkaido. They intended to live in a town somewhere in Hokkaido where no one knew them and never return to Tokyo. Because Kaoru was a class representative and the most outstanding student in her year, Ryo thinks anyone would have done for her. It did not have to be him … …
Mitsuo wakes up in the morning with a cold after falling asleep on the sofa in the living room while waiting for Akari and Ryo who were going to submit their marriage registration form again. Mitsuo and Yuka had been asked to be witnesses for the two of them. However, they did not show up. Neither did they contact Mitsuo and Yuka. Mitsuo trudges to work despite his illness. He happens to encounter Akari who is out jogging in the neighbourhood and asks her if she and Ryo have registered their marriage yet. Akari merely apologises and leaves without providing any details.
When Mitsuo returns home after work believing that he has been cured of his cold, he finds Yuka in bed with a high fever. Refusing to go anywhere near her, he dons a face mask and resorts to communicating through a small gap in the door. He tries to prescribe a remedy of ginger juice to her but all she wants is Baskin-Robins’ red velvet cake. Just as she is worrying about not being able to open the laundry shop tomorrow because Satoko is not available in the morning, Junnosuke calls. Yuka asks him to tend the shop for her.
The following morning, Mitsuo explains the work at the laundry shop to Junnosuke when he arrives. However, Junnosuke seems to have had experience working part-time at a laundry business so there is no need to worry. Junnosuke enquires about Yuka and her temperature right now but Mitsuo says it is a private matter and nothing for an outsider to worry about. Then, Junnosuke hands a bag to him. Seeing that he has bought the red velvet cake which Yuka wanted to eat last night, Mitsuo has mixed feelings. It does not help that when he tells her to call him if anything should happen, she responds by saying that she will rely on Junnosuke.
That night, Mitsuo comes home with groceries to cook a nutritious dinner for Yuka. Junnosuke has finished work and is about to take his cue to leave after helping Mitsuo to bring up some freshly laundered clothes. At that moment, Yuka emerges from her bedroom and tells him to stay for dinner. Pretending to agree, Mitsuo throws an arm around Junnosuke and claims he had just invited him. It aggravates Mitsuo to see that Yuka and Junnosuke are on close terms, and he behaves like a petulant child as they have dinner together. Junnosuke tries to initiate conversation by asking what Mitsuo does during the weekend. However, Mitsuo curtly replies that no one ever does the same thing each time. A chastened Junnosuke turns his attention to his food. In an attempt to dispel the awkward atmosphere, Yuka asks if the two of them have any common interests. Junnosuke enthusiastically talks about his interest in music by Exile and Funky Monkey Babys as well as old comics like Slam Dunk. Mitsuo responds cynically to everything he says but Junnosuke takes Mitsuo’s obnoxious, prickly manner good-naturedly and even expresses admiration for his intellect and knowledge.
Glaring at Mitsuo, Yuka tells Junnosuke that he is just twisted and theoretical. In her opinion, a straightforward person with no affectations spreads happiness around. Junnosuke’s ability to cheer others up is worth more than Mitsuo’s intellect and knowledge. That appears to hit a raw nerve and Mitsuo’s expression changes. Giving a brittle smile, he says Yuka is right. When Junnosuke declares the gyoza delicious, Mitsuo smirks about its resemblance to pupa in a cocoon and how the pupa is like soup before it becomes a thick liquid from which a butterfly emerges. Yuka sinks low in her seat, stewing in anger. Mitsuo excuses himself to go to his room and miserably sinks down onto a cushion in the dark.
Sometime later after Junnosuke has left, Mitsuo comes out into the living room where Yuka is lying on the sofa. He comments that Junnosuke is a wonderful person. Manly, generous, cheerful, honest, kind, popular with children and even has conventional interests. He thinks Junnosuke will make a good partner for Yuka because they suit each other, and wonders if he should tell Junnosuke to take good care of Yuka when he brings his CDs over the next time. He congratulates her and she thanks him with a smile, but their words both sound hollow.
The next morning, Mitsuo encounters Akari who is out jogging again. However, he is still not able to hear from her about what happened. She reminds him that he used to call those who would ask how people are doing all of the time irritating. It is normal for some to feel down and survive like this so he should not make it seem as if it is the natural order of things for people to be cheerful.
When Yuka is preparing to open the laundry shop, Junnosuke comes by. He had gone to the convenience store to work part-time after dinner at the Hamasakis. Feeling that it will be dangerous for him to ride back on his motorbike in this condition, Yuka tells him to come up to their house. She lets him wear Mitsuo’s pyjamas and instructs him to sleep in her bed. On the other hand, Junnosuke wants to know if there is still anything between Yuka and Mitsuo so she tells him to go to the ward office and take a look at her family register. But it is actually her heart that he wishes to know. Yuka abruptly changes the topic and declares that she is going to take a shower since she has not bathed in two days.
As luck would have it, Aiko comes to deliver food to Yuka at that moment. When no one answers the door, Aiko lets herself in. She finds a male stranger in bed wearing Mitsuo’s pyjamas and quickly retreats from the bedroom. To make matters worse, she hears Yuka singing Tsuji Ayano’s song about a younger man. Yuka comes out of the shower and her jaw drops at the sight of Aiko in the living room. Aiko says she saw a younger man in the bedroom and Yuka tries to explain the situation. However, Junnosuke chooses that moment to step out. Aiko takes one look at him, excuses herself for disturbing them, and hurries out of the house with the food while a stuttering Yuka trails behind her, unsure of what she should say.
Meanwhile, Mitsuo is on a date with Nana at an indoor rock climbing gym. He asks what she does when she feels down or is troubled. Is she the kind who would want him to listen and then lose her temper when he gives advice? It would be better if that person did not talk about it in the first place. After all, he is not the therapeutic sort. Nana wonders if Mitsuo ever finds himself tiresome. He admits that the first time he did was in kindergarten but it is many years too late to fix it now. Nevertheless, Nana declares that she likes him this way. He does not respond. They adjourn for dinner, but Mitsuo is so absorbed in his thoughts that by the time he realises it, they are walking through a district with love hotels. As he struggles to explain how they ended up here, Nana suggests that they go into one since her earlier declaration amounts to a confession of feelings for him. Mitsuo says he will consider it. However, she doubts that he will. Guessing that he has been thinking about someone else the whole time, she decides to call it a day.
Mitsuo’s eyes widen in surprise to see Ryo heading in his direction with Aki. The three of them end up at a family restaurant where Mitsuo immediately demands to know if Ryo has registered his marriage. Ryo apologises and says they did not submit the paper for a number of reasons. He is the one at fault. Aki informs Mitsuo that he is mistaken about the two of them. They were just passing through the district and did not come from a love hotel. It is also none of his business even if that is the nature of their relationship. By this time, a tired Ryo, who has been sleeping on the couch in his office the last two days, has dozed off.
Mitsuo learns about the story of Shiomi Kaoru from Aki. It seems Kaoru wanted to escape from her form teacher Yoshikawa, whom she was dating, because he took all sorts of photographs of her and was abusive. Ryo had always liked her so when she told him to run away with her, he was happy. He also thought he had to protect her. In fact, he wanted to marry her immediately when they arrived in Sapporo. However, he was a year shy of the legal age and told her he would do so when he turned 18. Through tears, she replied that she would not marry. He tried to persuade her, vowing that he would do any work, love only her and do his best to make them happy. Although she was grateful to him, he was not enough for her. The only person she liked and wanted to marry was Yoshikawa. In any case, it came to an end on the third day. They were caught at a Sapporo hotel after Kaoru’s parents filed a missing person’s report. Yoshikawa’s matter came to light and he was dismissed while Kaoru was expelled. Ryo was the only one to remain in school and would go on wondering where he was lacking. The fact that Yoshikawa was an art teacher probably influenced his choices in life. Even though Kaoru eventually married a completely different man of the same age as Ryo, Ryo would occasionally think that if he had married her, he might have kept his promise to love her alone and been very happy.
Aki believes that Ryo is not good at being happy. He is afraid of wishing for happiness. When he thinks of the future and imagines warmth, he would at the same time be reminded of that moment when his happiness was crushed and feel insecure. Mitsuo does not think it justifies Ryo having affairs or hurting the person by his side. Aki speaks up in Ryo’s defence. In his mind, he is aware that he should not, but he cannot keep himself from doing so and being involved with a person. After Ryo is awakened, Mitsuo asks what he plans to do about Akari who seems to be in shock because jogging is out of character for her. Ryo says he does not want to break up with her.
Later that night, Ryo and Mitsuo wait by the canal for Akari, but Ryo completely freezes when he sees her and Mitsuo is forced to come to his rescue. Akari and Ryo are brought to the Hamasakis with Mitsuo determined to play mediator. Akari rightfully points out that their matter does not concern him and there is nothing more to talk about. He is undeterred and insists that they discuss it even though Yuka advises him not to interfere. If everyone does not care, society will fall apart, he reasons. Besides, Akari is not the type who jogs, she reads books at home. Akari declares it a prejudiced view and tells Ryo that it is over between them. To Ryo, this is a decision she has made all on her own. Yuka hisses to Mitsuo that there will soon be bloodshed if that is what he wished for.
Akari gets up to leave and Ryo stands up to follow her home because he wants to speak to her. She sits back down again and asks what he wants to talk about at this point. An apology will also not suffice. She does not want him to do or say anything. Moreover, their matter is not something to be discussed in someone else’s home. He tries to stop her when she gets up again, but she shakes off his hand, warning him not to touch her with hands that have touched others. Then she casually asks where he has been the past two days. When he says he slept in the university office, she responds that she is tired of hearing his excuses. Ryo turns to Mitsuo to vouch for him.
Yuka says Ryo must first clearly explain why he did not submit the marriage registration form or nothing can be done. Akari nods in agreement. Pressed for an answer by Yuka, Ryo claims he has not really thought about it. A flabbergasted Yuka accuses him of talking about marriage, of deceiving Akari without any thought. Ryo’s repeated apology annoys Yuka who raises her voice at him. Mitsuo interrupts and tells her that their matter does not concern her, causing Akari to scoff at him for making them talk about it in the first place.
Against his better judgment, Mitsuo attempts to shed light on how men think about marriage, prompting Yuka to accuse him of standing on Ryo’s side. Akari says he is better off dead while Yuka is glad that they have split. Ryo finally offers to explain to Akari but she cuts him off. Turning to him, she apologises and asks him to break up with her, reminding him that he has never once refused her request. But this time, Ryo declines in spite of her pleas. Taking Mitsuo’s scissors for the bonsai plant, he tells her that she can castrate him if he ever cheats on her again. Akari asks how dare he mention a next time, so he quickly refers to this time. Grabbing the scissors, Akari declares that she will castrate him now. Shock registers on Ryo’s face but he shrugs out of his pants and tells her to go ahead.
Before Akari can take action, Yuka shouts no, pushes Ryo aside and passes the scissors to Mitsuo. She tells Ryo he is greatly mistaken if he thinks the pain from castration can smooth things over. Akari’s pain and hurt is more than that. But Akari clarifies that is not the case because she lost. The loser is the one who will keep saying what is right and condemn the other party. That is the only thing she can say. If she cannot say anything except what is right, it makes her feel an idiot. Yuka can empathise with her. “It feels stupid, saying the obvious like an embarrassing idiot. Because men are like children, women have only two choices as wives. To be the wife from hell or the weeping wife. How absurd. Spouses are a farce.” Akari agrees that this happens due to marriage. It is better to live one’s life alone, every man for himself. Silence descends over the group.
All of a sudden, Mitsuo vehemently protests that she should not say such things. “If you say that, almost all of us here will never be happy! If that’s the case, there’s no way to become a funky monkey family!!!”
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itsumademo arigatou gozaimasu 😀
Another awesome episode summary.
raw eps w/japanese subs + jadfrost synopses = WIN
Mouuu…I meant “jadefrost”. Oops.