Kids these days… if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!
What They Say:
Episode #8: “Onde (Buddhist chanting and dancing)”
Handa experiences summer on the island, and sees a different side of Naru when he joins her in paying a visit to her family grave.
The Review
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
A birthday and the Obon festival, reminders of the beginning and ending of all things in this episode. Except for this series it’s just another day on the island.
Naru’s birthday is coming up and the girls want to throw her a surprise party. After shaking down Handa for his contribution to the birthday cake fund they warn him that he’d better get Naru a present. Handa struggles over ideas of what to get Naru on short notice and eventually runs into the little boys catching bugs. Of course a big rare bug would be the perfect gift for Naru, and an afternoon long hunt ensues.
The whole bug hunt plays out exactly how you’d expect it would, with much posturing from Handa and much annoyance from the boys. Sensei still doesn’t want to touch any creepy crawlies, and when a prize bug is found everyone screws up in the frantic chase to catch it. The boys are just happy Sensei took the time to hang out with them, as the adults of the village don’t typically play with the kids.
Sensei returns empty handed but comes up with a last minute gift idea for Naru. The girls, along with the cake and snacks, give her some peacock feathers and bubble wrap (which is a brilliant idea.) Sensei’s gift is deceptively simply, but is a big hit with Naru much to everyone’s surprise.
The second half of the episode has Naru requesting Sensei go with her to the graveyard for Obon remembrance. Handa once again proves to be lacking in knowledge of local customs and his own area’s because he rarely observes Obon. He’s also feeling a bit out of place being asked to participate in another family’s memorial observances. He doesn’t know much about Naru and her Grandfather’s family other than that he’s a farmer and Naru is living with him.
This leads to the question that I’m sure everyone is wondering, is Naru an orphan? I was waiting for the crushing emotional reveal but all we discover is that people making the rounds are paying their respects to Naru’s departed grandmother. No one mentions Naru’s parents, so they’re either alive somewhere far away or… who knows.
The girls show up and immediately abandon their own family obligations to light off fireworks with Sensei and Naru. A group comes by to offer chanted prayers for the dead and one of the masked drummers ends up being Hiroshi, who gives Handa a scare. Sensei may not feel like part of the family of the island, but at this point he might as well be. Naru is happy to have someone to keep her company.
The episode closes out on yet more crayfishing, which makes me wonder if anyone is ever going to catch any.
Episode Grade: B +
