Overview (Spoilers Below):
Yaeka goes to the hospital to visit her mother. Kirishima goes with her, and they both run into Aoi, Kirishima’s senior and the former first lieutenant of the Sakuragi Family. On the way back from the hospital, Kirishima and Yaeka find a high school girl and an abandoned kitty. Yaeka asks Kirishima if they could take the kitty home, and…
Our Take:
I never would’ve expected myself to be immediately engaged with a show like this, but here we are. With its combination of gangster elements, comedy, and genuine heartfelt moments, The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting has become an absolute delight that delivers more than just a rip-off of Adventures in Babysitting. At least so far, based on my experience with the first two episodes.
The first episode delivers a pleasant introduction to the series’ odd tone that balances yakuza action and light-hearted humor. Its second episode, however, managed to provide emotion into the mix with Yaeka’s mother, Miyuki, being in a coma after a horrific accident. The result is a poignant and heartwarming chapter that displays the situation from a young child’s perspective and showcases Kirishima’s good-natured side.
This week’s episode, “A Visit and a Reunion”, picks up where the previous one left off, with Yaeka having the courage to visit Miyuki at the hospital. Yaeka’s able to apologize to her for not visiting her often, while Kazuhiko apologizes for not being a good parent without her. This moment carries over from last week’s episode, marking the next chapter of Yaeka’s growth. It’s unknown at this point whether Miyuki will wake up, but this sequence offers enough heartfelt moments to satisfy us until then.
Afterwards, the episode takes a break from the drama in favor of some more light-hearted moments involving Kirishima and Yaeka. One of them introduces us to Toichiro Aoi, a former member of the Sakuragi and Kirishima’s mentor who quit to take care of his six-year-old son, Koki. Then, Kirishima and Yaeka encounter a stray kitty and a high school runaway, Hanada Ayumu, taking care of it. So Yaeka decides to adopt the kitten so Ayumu can return home. The result is what you would expect from an adopted pet.
“A Visit and a Reunion” once again showcases the show’s genuine emotions, with Yaeka reuniting with her mother and Kazuhiko seeing Yaeka as his wife. However, it also delivers a few comical situations that surprisingly balance well with the drama. Koki having a crush on Yaeka and the kitty, Ohagi, scaring the Sakuragi members brought the biggest laughs out of me. The encounters with Aoi and Ayumu were also sweet little diversions that offered a mixture of charm and humor. As a result, the third episode is enough for me to keep watching the series, especially since a mysterious man is plotting to expose Kirishima’s true nature.