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Interesting episode. Very interesting. This is prolly the first anime I've seen where romance and family matters aren't mutually exclusive i.e. Ohana returning to Tokyo to her mother means also returning to her love interest(?) or vice-versa. It's very realistic in that sense which is what I like about this show.
First off, and what I believe is the emphasis of this ep, was certainly Ohana's relationship with Ko. As others have mentioned, it doesn't appear that Ohana's given up on him whereas Ko has decided to move on from her. However, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the only one to really blame for that is Ohana considering she's had quite a number of chances to respond to his declaration at the beginning of the series, such as last week's meet-up at the bar, and then this week during the phone call. That being said, I wouldn't brand her as the villain, but more like the jester as she's trying to juggle too many things at the same time. Couple that with the fact Ohana's not too much of an expert in dealing or understanding other people, and this is what you get. I'm glad to see that she's getting better at that, and her next step now should be to learn to take things one at a time rather than rushing into things without thinking about knocking other people over, and she's getting there now.
Even tho this understanding is beginning to dawn on her, this doesn't neccessarily mean she will return to Ko (unless she understands this REALLY fast because I have the gut feeling Ko's gonna go out with the bookstore girl pretty soon, and I wouldn't like for Ohana to be that fast). At this point, if there's going to be any romance, I'd rather seen it happen with a new character. Yes, that means not Tohru, but someone else she could encounter at Kissuiso or perhaps at school. However, to me, romance isn't neccessary for Ohana to show how much she's grown and understood from her mistakes with Ko, particularly when this series isn't about romance, but Ohana becoming of age.
There's also the matter of Satsuki. This episode threw me off completely. I have to agree with Roger Rambo about this series being a trollercoaster. I few might remember how outspoken I was about Satsuki and how much she disgusted me as a character. The series did a 180 this week and showed a completely different side of her. I still hate her for the fact that she's incredibly flighty, leaving her family, eloping and abandoning her daughter in the process. That's nothing to do with not knowing how to deal with people, that's just being selfish to the point of no return. Forget not knowing how to deal with people, that's simply not wanting to deal with people at all. Tho she was going to tell Ohana about her return to Tokyo, I honestly have to wonder what was taking her so long.
However, she does seem to have some caring for Ohana after all when she said how awesome it must be to have a mother who'se always wrong. To me, that says Satsuki does recognize her mistakes with Ohana and that she could perhaps do better with her and with other people as well, much the same way Ohana recognized her deficiencies when it comes to Ko as well as handling people in general. Another good thing I have to say about Satsuki is despite how rotten she can act, she is at least quite honest when she has the chance, considering her article on Kissuiso was her honest opinion (tho opinions alone only go so far when making an argument for or against something, especially when backed up by old memories than present facts).
On the side, I really liked Minchi in this ep, and perhaps the last one. I found her really annoying at the beginning of the series but I'm really starting to feel that she's also a girl I'd find worth going out with (had she been real imho). I felt sorry for her "date" with Tohru and how she was essentially a punching bag for Tohru to vent his frustration (albeit unintentionally). Good thing for him that she's a masochist when it comes to him.
Anyways, good turn-about in this ep, really keen to see more development b/n Ohana and Ko as well as the mom(s).
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