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Summary:
Hachi remembers that the reason she chose her job was because she got weekends off, time which she wanted to spend with Shouji. He, meanwhile, after a night of passion with Sachiko, surprises Kyousuke by asking about cheating the next day. Kyousuke says that he wouldn’t cheat on Junko because he’d be too afraid of losing her. That night, Shouji has dinner with Hachi and she spends the entire time complaining about her new job. Hachi feels that her financial situation is different from Shouji’s since she has to support herself and he’s a student. After the meal, Shouji walks her home silently and then leaves. In the next few days, Hachi has to work at her job at the publishing company with an insufferable supervisor making her do menial tasks. But when she returns home one night, Nana tells her about an upcoming live concert that Blast is doing, which makes Hachi happy again.
Shouji, meanwhile, is spending more and more time at Sachiko’s place. Sachiko reveals that her birthday is coming up on Children’s Day (May 5th), so he offers to celebrate it with her. Their snuggling is interrupted by Shouji’s cell phone. The call is from Hachi, who tells Shouji about Nana’s upcoming concert, also on May 5th. Shouji lies to Hachi, saying that he can’t come because of work, and then goes onto the balcony to embrace Sachiko and make more plans for her birthday. Kyousuke, meanwhile, has been doing a lot of thinking about Shouji’s unfaithfulness, and confides to Junko about it. Kyousuke feels that Shouji is so in love with Sachiko that there’s nothing that can be done. The two of them become concerned about what Hachi will do if and when she finds out about it.
Over the phone, Hachi expresses to Junko her suspicion and worry for Shouji, and Junko tries to cover for him so as to not tip off Hachi. Junko suggests that Hachi spend more time with Shouji, so Hachi, accompanied by Nana and Shin, pays a visit to Shouji at the restaurant he works at. After they get seated and Shouji disappears, Sachiko notices Hachi there and realizes that she’s Shouji’s girlfriend. The shock causes Sachiko to drop the glass she’s carrying and cut herself on the shards. Hachi rushes over to help her, causing Sachiko to start crying and run away. Shouji, meanwhile, emerges from hiding in the bathroom right as the crying Sachiko runs by. The meeting with Hachi has had such an effect that Sachiko suggests that they break it off. Sachiko knows that as things are, it’ll only be more painful for herself and no one will be happy.
Back inside the restaurant, Nana and Hachi are talking with Shin about where he lives. It seems that Shin sometimes stays with Nobu and sometimes stays at different women’s homes, selling his body. The two girls are shocked to hear this, but that’s cut short by Shouji. Hachi wants to wait for him tonight because she’s got four days off that she wants to spend with him. Shouji tells her that she doesn’t need to wait, though he does want to talk with her later at home. In retrospect, Hachi thinks that, on that night, if Nana hadn’t been together with her, she would have thrown herself into the Tamagawa River and sunk to the bottom.
The directing for this episode was a lot better than usual. I loved the transition between the ShoujiXSachiko scene and the Junko/Kyousuke scene was Junko painting over that image of Shouji and Sachiko. And then during that same Junko scene, there were the male mallard duck with the two female mallards, one of whom dived into the water and disappeared. That’s a very interesting parallel to the plot of this episode, particularly given what Hachi says at the end. There were other scenes shown stylistically different from the manga, such as Hachi’s menial tasks being portrayed in the magazine and Hachi’s reflection in her boss’s glasses.
Unlike last week’s episode, this episode makes me start to despise Shouji. It’s all because of how he acts when Hachi calls him when he’s at Sachiko’s apartment. Lying to Hachi and then making more plans with Sachiko really casts him in an unflattering light. He should have broken it off with Hachi earlier if he really loved Sachiko more. Granted, that would be bad for Hachi if he had broken up with her earlier and Nana hadn’t been there for her, but that’s what-if speculation.
Next week, the big scene!
