Overview: Sayu (Jill Harris) reveals her heart-wrenching past to both Yoshida (Alex Hom) and Asami (Kelsey Maher).
Our Take: Sayu’s older brother, Issa, reunites with her younger sister and meets Yoshida. Sayu’s mother wanting her to return home merely to end the rumors and suspicion regarding her safety really hammers home how despicable of a person she is, hinting at the terrible position Sayu is in. However, Issa seems to be a refreshing breath of fresh air, especially towards Yoshida for his politeness and even giving Sayu a week to get her affairs in order in feeling like she gained something on her runaway trip.
Her lonely past in being alienated from others and not caring about making friends is made less so when she makes friends with another lonely girl, Yuko. While it is a sweet sentiment, their dynamic is never built upon in any meaningful way, with its importance being subjected to a mere narration from Sayu and montage of them silently interacting. While she is endearing for who she is, the entire schtick of her character is her admiration of seemingly every aspect of Sayu and not much else complex or unique beyond that.
With that said, it does create some compelling drama by touching on some depressing subject matter of how bullying can push one to suicide in Yuko taking her own life. It is a timely issue that is difficult to watch but gripping in its execution through her pain of being bullied because of Sayu’s popularity with boys and vitriol from other girls as a result. Coming off of what has been said about Sayu’s venomous mother, she very much lives up to the talk in even going as far to blame her for Yuko’s death. The only saving grace yet again is her brother with their chemistry being a shining light in him being understanding and her having that support system. Sayu telling Yoshida and Asami is a nice step forward in her honesty and progression of her trauma. How Yoshida chooses to progress with Sayu and her situation, despite his position, will be intriguing in how he feels about her and what she wants.