(CR) Amaama to Inazuma (Sweetness and Lightning)

[mangatron]

heh, she got her own poster

I like this series. Sometimes I want to time it with my meals and eat along with them

[Alf]

Originally Posted by LKK

My first thought after hearing that was Yagi had the same role back when he was with sensei and his girlfriend-eventual-wife. The role of third man out, a.k.a the third wheel.

It's third wheel, but it's more a matter of group relationship. In some small group of friends there is a very small number of people being the center of the group. It might be a couple, or a family with a child, and the interaction between those people are the main focus in a gathering.

By that effect, other people of the group may not have the chance to do what they wanted most. Although it's still a good time for gathering, there will be stress if this happen very frequently.

So perhaps Yagi recalled when Tsumugi's mother still there, he's just the role of watching the family and help things out.

[Stark700]

Episode 7:

What a fun little adventure starring Tsugumi ths week. Simply adorable.

I hope we also get to see more of Iida's past too even though we saw a brief glimpse of her childhood. Also, I wonder if that magical girl in the TV (the anime that Tsugumi was watching) was voiced by Iida's VA? They sound familiar...

[HandofFate]

i think tsumugi got off too easy, but at least she understood

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by HandofFate

i think tsumugi got off too easy, but at least she understood

Yeah, and the problem remains: what does she do if her father's sick? What if it's more serious next time? He should teach her to operate a phone, even if it's just the speed dial.

[SeijiSensei]

When kids start attending school, they become little infection machines. I can't count the number of times that my daughter would come home from school with some minor illness between ages four and nine. She'd have to take a day off. Since I had no immunities to any of the stuff she was infected with, I'd be laid up for a week. Kohei was lucky to recover in just a day.

I can still recall the morning I woke up in excruciating pain from kidney stones. Somehow I managed to get us both in the car and off to the hospital. I had a bout of appendicitis when she was five. I think I was lucky that time that she was off staying with relatives while I again went to the hospital. The times when the single parent is ill are some of the most difficult ones to deal with.

As Anh_Minh says, Kohei needs to show her how to use a phone and put some numbers for people like Yagi, Kotori, and perhaps some of the parents from school in it. I haven't seen Tsumugi reading very often, but she ought to know the characters for the names of important people in her life.

[Wandering Soul]

Well I'm glad it all ended okay, but Kohei really should make sure this doesn't happen again in the future. It shouldn't be that hard to teach her how to use a phone.

[PreSage]

This episode was cuteness overload to the max! I couldn't stop myself from grinning throughout her little adventure to Katori's house.

I really like how they had Kohei yell at her like that. It was a very realistic reaction, as well as Tsumugi's tantrum as a way of expressing her frustration. Although some think that Kohei went easy on the disciplining but I think it was reasonable. Some kids are quite intelligent and sensitive, despite their age; that a stern but gentle reprimand as shown is enough to make them understand. I think Tsumugi just happens to be this type. Yet, after this, Kohei should teach her to use the phone, etc. to call for help. I think Kohei's problem is that he doesn't want to trouble anyone and takes all responsibility on himself. Maybe it's a Japanese thing. We haven't seen whether Kohei has any relatives or in-laws he can rely on. The impression I get is he's quite socially isolated aside from Yagi.

And we caught a glimpse of Katori's Dad...it isn't disclosed yet what happened to her father, right?

[Master_Yoma]

Thats some wierd song Tsumugi was singing

Kotori was cute as a kid

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by PreSage

And we caught a glimpse of Katori's Dad...it isn't disclosed yet what happened to her father, right?

Divorce when she was in third grade. But yeah, nothing else.

[Irenesharda]

Being a single parent is hard, I watched my mother deal with it for a large part of my life between the years where my parents divorced when I was a kid, and then later got remarried when I was a young adult.
I was too young to understand all that she went through until I was older. Thankfully she had a lot of support.

For Kohei here, he needed to make sure that Tsumugi knows what to do if he gets sick or if there is an emergency. He needs to teach her all the important numbers to call or at least have them on speed dial. If she can't yet read, put a small photo next to each of the person the number belongs to.
And Tsumugi also needs to understand what she did was very dangerous. Thankfully Japan seems to be a lot more safe then where I live in the States, but here, what she did would have been EXTREMELY dangerous. I know I would have probably gotten more than yelled at. But like many have said, it really depends on the child. Most parents know what level their child is at and what kind of technique works on them. Some just need a reprimand, while other need the wrath of God. It all depends.

I can definitely understand his worry not only as a parent, but also to the fact that he just lost his wife less than a year ago. Even the possibility of something happening to his daughter is a huge scare.

[Gan_HOPE326]

Originally Posted by Irenesharda

And Tsumugi also needs to understand what she did was very dangerous. Thankfully Japan seems to be a lot more safe then where I live in the States, but here, what she did would have been EXTREMELY dangerous.

Why do you think so? Crime or other reasons? I know in many places I lived in the prominent danger would have been reckless drivers, though she seemed very well educated about the dangers of crossing the road. Other than that, the biggest risk is probably that she'd lose her way... the road seemed pretty long and remembering it all for a child that age who always does it together with her father doesn't seem so trivial.

[karice67]

Whilst I loved seeing Tsumugi turn her mission into a fun adventure in her head, I'm glad that the author/writers showed all the problems in this kind of situation. I think the important thing is that Tsumugi understands what she did wrong (even though it was with the best of intentions). And I do also hope Kyohei thinks about what he can do to make sure Tsumugi has plans of action if he ever falls sick again (I mean - they have neighbours, right?!).

But otherwise, this episode brought a smile to my face because it reminded me of a long-running Japanese program called "Hajimete no Otsukai," or "My first errand." Whilst city-living parents wouldn't do this, it apparently isn't all that unusual for parents to send young children (maybe 5-7) out on quick errands in smaller towns and villages where everyone knows everyone else, and the people at the shops etc will help the kids out.

And it's not that uncommon for slightly older children to go short distances by themselves in other countries, in safer areas, anyway. I'm fairly certain that my older brother would have been 7/8 when he'd have been walking maybe 10 minutes home from school by himself...though of course, he generally stopped in the park to play with friends for a while.

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by karice67

And it's not that uncommon for slightly older children to go short distances by themselves in other countries, in safer areas, anyway. I'm fairly certain that my older brother would have been 7/8 when he'd have been walking maybe 10 minutes home from school by himself...though of course, he generally stopped in the park to play with friends for a while.

I'm not of the "Millennial" generation but when I was 7/8 I was pretty much going alone to school and back home at the end of the day, it was actually pretty common among children that age. For me it only involved walking and a somewhat long tram ride, but other kids had longer and/or more complicated routes. Of course, in those days fewer people had cars where I live, and parents worked the same long hours, so there weren't a lot of choices. It was pretty common for kids of that age to go to school alone, come home alone, and then make themselves some snack and/or study and/or do whatever at home until a parent came home.

Anyway, this episode was really sweet and very cute.

[Yamada II]

Episode 7

So Inuzuka is down with a fever and Tsumugi is worried about him, obviously. She can't use the phone, there is no one around whom she can ask for help, she doesn't know where anyone lives except for Kotori. So she goes there for help. Tsumugi thought of this as an adventure to save her dad when in reality she was doing a super dangerous thing. She's what, six or something? And she's roaming around the city alone. What if she gets hurt? What if some bad man does something to her? What if she gets lost? Tsumugi is a little kid so obviously she didn't think that far. Kotori should have at least told Tsumugi that she shouldn't have come all the way out here alone because it's dangerous. It was really good to see Inuzuka not being all happy that Tsumugi did all this for his sake and how brave she is or whatever. He was angry at her probably for the first time. That was nice seeing him shout at her out of pure concern. All those aforementioned things were running in his mind. The fact that Tsumugi was nowhere in the house was enough to get all that adrenaline out. And Tsugumi obviously started crying because first of all she was scolded big time like this and thought her father was being scary and who knows what he might end up doing, and second, she thought that she went all the way to Kotori and didn't cry or anything and she's getting a big scolding in return (the second point much less though). And Inuzuka wanted to go straight home to give Tsumugi some time out and Tsumugi grabbed hold of Kotori. It was also nice how Inuzuka got hold of his anger and apologized for his sudden outburst but then also had Tsumugi know that she shouldn't go out like that without notice.

Kotori didn't play a positive role here. Instead of telling Tsumugi how dangerous her little adventure was and how worried Inuzuka would be if he found out, she kinda encourages her by saying that she's brave and whatever. Obviously she is at least older than Tsumugi so she should know that little kids like her shouldn't wander around alone in the city. And then she said that she'll drop Tsumugi near her house and she'll have to go the remaining distance alone. She should at the very least drop Tsumugi at her door. I didn't expect the random people outside to do anything for her because obviously they're strangers, but Kotori isn't a stranger and her not doing any of that is disappointing.

The parts with Inuzuka and Tsumugi were done quite brilliantly but Kotori's role wasn't good enough here and that disappointed me. It was an overall good episode which could have been better though with some tweaking.

[Ultragunner]

hm....shouldn't Kotori's first action be like...you know...calling Inuzuka right away?

[HayashiTakara]

In Japan kids are encouraged to be able to go to and from school on their own by the time they enter first grade. Tsumugi isn't gonna have any issues adapting

[Gan_HOPE326]

Originally Posted by Ultragunner

hm....shouldn't Kotori's first action be like...you know...calling Inuzuka right away?

Yeah, that too. Not scolding Tsumugi or anything but just tell her "oh, but your dad might be worried, let's check on him!" might have been sensible . And if she thought Tsumugi meant her dad was so sick he was actually in danger, then why dillydally with canned peaches and other foodstuff?

But overall, adorable episode. Tsumugi's visionary "fantasy" moments were amazing, especially the shark scene. And that song .

[FateAnomaly]

Tsumugi told kotori her dad is sleeping so she probably doesn't want to wake him up if he is sick.

Wait does she even has his number?

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Irenesharda

Being a single parent is hard, I watched my mother deal with it for a large part of my life between the years where my parents divorced when I was a kid, and then later got remarried when I was a young adult.
I was too young to understand all that she went through until I was older. Thankfully she had a lot of support.

For Kohei here, he needed to make sure that Tsumugi knows what to do if he gets sick or if there is an emergency. He needs to teach her all the important numbers to call or at least have them on speed dial. If she can't yet read, put a small photo next to each of the person the number belongs to.
And Tsumugi also needs to understand what she did was very dangerous. Thankfully Japan seems to be a lot more safe then where I live in the States, but here, what she did would have been EXTREMELY dangerous.

Those "sidewalks" that are just a line looked plenty dangerous to me. But at least there weren't parked cars to hide her. And it didn't look very circulated.

Originally Posted by Yamada II

Kotori didn't play a positive role here. Instead of telling Tsumugi how dangerous her little adventure was and how worried Inuzuka would be if he found out, she kinda encourages her by saying that she's brave and whatever. Obviously she is at least older than Tsumugi so she should know that little kids like her shouldn't wander around alone in the city. And then she said that she'll drop Tsumugi near her house and she'll have to go the remaining distance alone. She should at the very least drop Tsumugi at her door. I didn't expect the random people outside to do anything for her because obviously they're strangers, but Kotori isn't a stranger and her not doing any of that is disappointing.

It's not that simple. On several levels.

First, while the the trip at first looked like a fun adventure, it was a bit of an ordeal. In the end, Tsumugi was hot, thirsty, tired, maybe unsure she could find the way to Kotori's. And she went in the first place because she was worried about her father. She needed to be reassured that all was well.

Second, while Kotori's a friend, she's not Tsumugi's mother or sister. Who knows how she'd react to a scolding? The priority should have been contacting her father, and if that wasn't possible, reuniting them.

Third, while, yes, what she did was very dangerous, it's not necessarily the worst thing she could have done. I blame Kouhei there - she really needed instructions on what to do, who to call. I mean, imagine he was really, really sick. Is she supposed to let both of them die in that apartment?