Tsuki ga Kirei – 11 [An Encouragement of Learning]

Tsuki ga Kirei again manages something I thought was difficult to achieve: it surpasses itself once more time. I was afraid that after the Kawagoe festival, there isn’t much left drama for the lovebirds now that Takumi and Chinatsu are all out of the picture; turn out that not only this episode enhances their relationship through their cute Christmas date, they showcase attentively Kotarou’s efforts for the exam and address beautifully on how much parents can sacrifice to support their child, even most of the time those kids don’t care about it. There’s only one episode left but at this point I can safely say that Tsuki ga Kirei has been a consistent ride, and I come to genuinely care about Kotarou and Akane more than I need to. Tsuki ga Kirei scratches the itch I don’t know I have.

This whole episode details Katarou’s utmost efforts to study for the upcoming exam. His grades are low, thanks mostly to his writing and the Hayashi practice, so he must study hard, night after night, to get a good enough standard score to apply for Koumei school. The results are not that rewarding though, for getting better grades is a long process, not a quick shortcut. He also feels that he needs to try harder to prove his parents that he made up his mind. I admit that I feel a bit irritated of the way Kotarou communicate with his parents about his school’s choice because I did the exact same things when I was his age. It hits a bit too close to home for comfort. Now that I’m more than double his age, I can clearly see how stupid and miscommunicated his actions just to show his little rebellion: hunger strike (when he clearly needs food to survive), avoid talking to the parents and didn’t inform them the school he picked. I totally understand his points of view, but that’s why I wanted him to be more open. Talk to them what you really want instead of this silent treatment, kid, your parents deserve better than this. At long last, upon knowing how his parents support him for his decision, he finally says something that he should’ve done to his mother long ago: Arigatou.

One of this episode’s best moments, however, come from Kotarou’s Mom as we witness how much she, like most of our parents, really, care for their own child. We have the impression before that she’s the type who want her son focusing on a good career path, and every step to that goal needed to be well-planed and perfect. Imagine her shock then that not only her son decided to pick school against her knowledge, it’s 2 hours away because of some girl he likes attending to that school. Must be a blow for her but one thing I really appreciate about her, it’s that she’s not a control freak. She gives Kotarou a necessary space for his own, and upon seeing how hard Kotarou is currently trying; she asks his homeroom teacher to give him a chance. The whole sequence when she talks to the homeroom teacher gives me a great impact from its show-don’t-tell approach, as we are only allowed to witness them exchanging gestures through the window. Subtle has always been a definitive style of Tsuki ga Kirei, but here it adds extra context: her action is supposed to be restraint, quiet, out of spotlight; just like how she makes him rice balls in the middle of the night for him to study, just like how she’s despite against the idea, still supports him because it is what he wanted; just like all the things that parents do for their kids and they just take them for granted.

And Kotarou and Akane’s love still progresses solidly. As they don’t have much time for each other during this study period, they LINE-ing each other and go out during Christmas. Akane makes him a handmade scarf and I swear her messy scarf is worth ten thousand times better than she was to buy one. Her sister makes a really good point of the burden the two gonna face if that love dies down (and from previous experience, I’m talking about her accurate thoughts on Chinatsu, I say you should listen to your sister, Akane, and listen well). Their time spending together, doing various activities alone just like a normal date would be, feel so warm and intimate. Whatever future (and the final episode) comes, I come to feel certain that the kids going to be happy together for a long time. This Tsuki ga Kirei’s ride has been a real treat, I swear. I will be sad to see it finally concludes.