Asatte no Houkou episode 2

She’s cute. I think I have a dangerous CCS (Compulsive Cuteness Swooning, not cardcapter sakura) problem.

I profess myself not to be a pedo but the Shoukou in child mood can be so cute, simply because she is a cynical woman right down. Notice I avoid the word bitch because she is not that bad yet. In fact, she is generally the calmer one (even though it’s clear she is shaken) due to the fact that she’s a downright cynical person that has seen too much to hurt on this.

Asatte is probably starting to split people here, especially with some things in this episode that I feel might deter others from watching it. I will talk about my thoughts about this later as well.

Anyway, without any further ado, time for the episode summary.

Episode summary

The two stood together in shock, as they were surprised at the sudden transformation. Shoukou brought the shocked and crying Karada back to her house, where Karada bathe and slept in her place still in complete disbelief of what had happened. Hiro was busy trying to call everyone to see where Karada went and left the door open for her, just in case if she came back. It was apparant that he was in despair now, considering Karada had gone missing suddenly. Karada slowly cried herself to sleep, still wondering why she had suddenly turned into an adult, and Shoukou to a little girl. Shoukou simply lied down quietly, and her mind was definitely troubled as well.

The next day, Karada had not gone to school yet and the boy noticed as he went to Karada’s house. It was then that Hiro also reached home and he saw that the door was ajar. As he rushed in and shouted for Karada, he noticed it was just the boy. The boy, the boy’s sister and Hiro started to discuss where Karada could go. He had gone to all the places that she might have been, or could have been and even tried to contact everyone. He then noted that when he called Shoukou, it was a missed call and he rushed over to the wishing stone, since Karada had gone there very often.

The scene cut to Shoukou trying to ask if Karada wanted any food and the likes. It seemed that Karada was still in the state of shock, wondering why she had turned into a woman. They went out to the balcony as they looked over the view, which was why Shoukou chose this place. It calmed her. As Karada started to remember, she realized that it was probably because she wished with the wishing stone to be an adult, as she rushed out to the place.

She then mentioned that she did not want to be a burden to Hiro and wanted to grow up so that Hiro can get his freedom finally. Shoukou looked on sadly, as Hiro rushed over to the scene. However, he could not recognise as he rushed off. That left Karada crying as her own brother cannot even recognise her anymore.

Shoukou simply stood there quietly, mumbling that it was impossible for him to recognise them in this state.

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Thoughts

Well, as I was saying, Asatte’s pacing is really really slow. For many people, this will be a very strong deterrent because some people might consider this show to be utterly boring. I have to admit that there is little character development in this episode in a way, but the mood works for me, because of the idyllic feeling associated with this show.

In my opinion, I like this pace because it is portraying the emotions really well. Instead of making it an emo-fest (which it can jolly well do), it makes the irrealistic incident feel real. You really feel for Karada, who even after getting her wish, is totally lost on what she can do. A wish sometimes seem to be very simple, but when you actually get it, are you ready?

That is the question. I am sure that their wishes are truly wanted, but when they do come, you usually cannot handle it. Karada, no matter how hot or cute she is at this older age, is simply a child at heart. To accept such a dramatic change is supremely impossible for a middle school student. Shoukou’s viciousness has all but disappeared, and she seems to be a really reliable person. It is pretty amusing to see a grown up turning totally clueless and the kid being so knowledgable.

The next episode seems to centre on Shoukou, her previous relationship with Hiro as well as her wish to start afresh. What would face her next?