I love Nagomu, he’s so positive, passionate and caring. Its understandable that he decided to chase another dream after hearing his parents comment that he should pursue another path, and then having his grandfather who he looked up to for his wagashi pass away. Its not that he just ran away from his original dream either, he only quit performing in Tokyo after 10 years when his band disbanded. He clearly had a lot of passion for the guitar. Despite returning home to start from the bottom after his musical career came to an end, he didn’t lament at being told that he wouldn’t be succeeding the family business even though he did think he would. Furthermore, he accepted that his parents had taken in a new kid and named her their successor and didn’t make any excuses or refuse to believe that they would name a child their successor over him. That’s a level of maturity you rarely see in a protagonist at the start of a series.

What’s even more amazing still, is that he immediately decided to take care of Itsuka and be a fatherly figure to her despite just meeting her and her cold attitude towards him. Again, adults in anime don’t usually act so maturely, and that’s why Nagomu is great. Its not even that he was told to be a father to Itsuka by his mother; in Ep 7 he doesn’t even remember that she made such a request. He just cared so deeply for this kid who had been abandoned by her father.

Flawed characters

Itsuka’s father is the easiest character to fault, given that all we know about him is that he left his child behind and disappeared. However, most of the other young adults in the cast also have their flaws which I have trouble emphasizing with, leaving them feeling very two-dimensional.

His abandoning her was absolutely terrible. Yet at the same time, the show constantly compares Nagomu to him. Nagomu shares a lot of similarities to Itsuka’s father, he’s frivolous and doesn’t have a strong sense of responsibility. While I did empathize with him running away from his childhood dream, its also true that he did so before really trying. Its because of these similarities that Itsuka sees her father in him, and why she is so tsundere towards him. I could easily imagine Itsuka’s father being a fun person to be with, and Itsuka also clearly really loved and misses him despite him abandoning her. Its not impossible to conclude that Itsuka’s father did really care for her and being a single father and a musician must have made it hard for him, leading to him leaving her somewhere he might have thought might have given her a better life. Even so, I do not condone his actions, he never came back and he didn’t even let the mother know! It does make you wonder though, given circumstances, would Nagomu do the same? I’d feel really betrayed if he did.

I’m on the fence about Itsuka’s mother. I understand that she could have fallen out of love with the father given what we know about him. Its also not that she left Itsuka behind, but she believed that Itsuka would rather have stayed with her father. She even went so far as to hire a PI to get Itsuka back after becoming unable to contact the father. However for Itsuka to feel that her mother would rather be with her work than her, I feel that she was too focused on her career. Leaving her with her adoptive family too I can understand, given that it was a loving family that Itsuka didn’t want to leave. However she clearly holds no resentment for her mother and does miss her. I hope that Itsuka’s mother will learn her lesson wrap things up in France to be with Itsuka, but only time will tell.

Kanako is introduced as a heartbroken woman who was dumped, yet we quickly learn that she was the one who left him, simply declaring that she preferred western confectioneries. After hearing that the band had broken up, that Nagomu’s father was hospitalized and that he wanted her to accompany him home, she left without saying anything meaningful, adding yet another wound to the poor man. She might not have wanted to go to another city or be in a long-distance relationship, both are valid reasons for breaking up, but the way she chose to do it, and the story she told herself makes it difficult to emphasize with her actions. Ultimately the communication problems in their relationship could have gone both ways, given Nagomu’s note that simply says sorry.

Conclusion

While I might not have touched on the stories, they add to the encouragement to better myself and the warm feelings the show elicits. The opening and ending are also great and healing.