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I think I can see some things a little better now. But I'm wiping at my
vision a little trying to get a better view.
Shouko - she obviously still carries a torch for for Hiro, still remembers
what was and is resentful about why he left and wrote that letter that
shook her to the core.
She feels his leaving and subsequent "dismissal of her services" was
probably a selfish thing but I could see Hiro thinking it was a "I don't
want to burden you with this, you should find someone better"
selfless type act - ironically, I'm guessing this is the same thing
that Karada is going "I'm burdening you two, I ruined your good
relationship" type thinking. Which might be why she left.
But we still need to know more!
As far as Hiro and Shouko I can see when they were together she tried
to do nice things for him but when they failed she never mentioned it
(the dinner out). Bad habits (smoking) and frustration, a past riddled
with regret (she never played with the neighborhood kids or whatever)
when she was a kid. Something was holding her back - she was getting
some kind of emotional payoff by holding back - she could be "right" as
long as she was some kind of victim perhaps.
I'm hoping (and this is a hope) that what this is going to let her do
is reorient her childhood that will change everything about her
adulthood when she goes back to adult-Shouko. Her playing with
those kids, her learning a little more about cooking (as kid-Shouko)
and the like is going to help her be a little more open and friendly
and maybe not so bitter.
I like her but she seems like the kind of person who sort of used the
things she didn't get to do when she was a kid and/or her relationship
that failed as a weapon or way to prevent her from progressing - in
other words trying to maintain control over her situation where she
in reality had no control.
And what really didn't make sense to me is Hiro just leaving and then
that letter. A classier way of approaching it would have been indicating
that he'd been appointed guardianship of this girl and that he had to
take care of her since there was no-one else - I suspect she wouldn't
have objected but we haven't really seen much of the negative sides
of their relationship - you can see when he was younger his hair was
a lot more in control and he's been more or less a wreck that's slowly
reverting to what might have been.
I really hope we see more about the sides of the relationship that
might have driven Hiro away - it is always possible he just didn't
care for her as much as she did him. Or, if he did he felt that by
staying in Japan and caring for Harada as guardian was a price he
had to (and was willing to) pay despite losing Shouko.
Karada's departure after seeing the photo is an interesting
development. When the denouement of this story nears I'm
hoping we have an ending opposite the one I can easily
visualize.
What turned him into a chain smoking, scruffy guy who might not be
terribly happy? Does he feel regret for the lost relationship with Shouko?
I can see hints of it but he's not saying anything - he hardly say anything
at all!
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