I want to apologize, I had this episode and the previous one mixed up:  Kawafuji got beaten this episode and not last.  I watched these two final episodes back-to-back and I probably should have written this post around the same time as that one.

Slow pacing that’s definitely something this show needed a lot more of:  we could have seen more genuine moments with the Village Chief, Hiro among the others of the village.  This episode was a nice turn around to that–  Seishu still in Tokyo discusses with his parents and Kawafuji to have his father accept it and his mother left in denial.  The mention of hisan-iwo just shows how strongly Seishu has blended in to the village, and what that can do to others.

Still, Emi is the best character of this show and it’s regrettable we could not have seen a lot more of her:  she stole the spotlight out of everyone in this!  Very funny adult character that doesn’t want to see her son grow up so she acts like a child and has temper tantrums. Seimei seems so level-headed and is just trying to understand how Seishu is feeling and as he’s punched by his wife, we get this fantastic family dynamic here.

Everything back on the island was just what I’d expect from this:  a heartwarming welcome home from Naru and the others.  The writers did a great job at developing this sense of homesick through Naru’s excitement at the sight of his face, the dinner scene that culminated in Seishu’s best work, a calligraphy piece of the friends that helped him mature, and understand that life can be fun when it is spent with others.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 8/10

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