Honey Lemon Soda

Episode 9

I'm not a parent, and I've never been an only child (even before my sisters were born, my parents raised two of my older cousins), so I can't speak to how Uka's father acts this week from any personal experience. But I have been the kid who was transferred mid-school year when her parents figured out she was being bullied. In the middle of seventh grade, my parents put all of the pieces – the broken arm, the flushed glasses, the battered cello – together and pulled me out of my then-current school. You might wonder how it took them so long, but the answer is simple: I didn't tell them. Like Uka, I kept things as hidden as possible so as not to worry them, and like Uka's dad, the minute they figured it out, they sprang into action.

The difference is, of course, that Uka's father was three years too late. But his reaction is understandable – Uka has been the center of his world since birth, and he doesn't want anything to happen to her. A piece of him may even have been aware that Uka's cheerful demeanor in middle school was a ruse. Certainly, he wasn't happy when she left the admissions test for his choice of high school blank, and he's been leery of Hachimitsu High from the start. The alacrity with which he jumps to demonizing Uka's friends and trying to pull her from school hints that he's been on edge for a while, longer than simply sending her to high school for one semester. He's too attached to his daughter not to have suspected her unhappiness for some time, even if he doesn't want to believe in her present contentment.

But the most important piece of this episode isn't Mr. Ishimori's actions or even the way that Ayumi, Yuru, and Serina spring to Uka's defense. It's the fact that Uka herself is ready to take a stand. She kept all of her pain inside for three years in middle school, putting on a brave face when inside she was screaming, and she realizes that if she doesn't want to have to do that again, she needs to speak up. (Trust me, mid-year school changes are terrifying, something Uka no doubt anticipates.) For her entire life, Uka has been doing what she believes her dad wants her to do, and at fifteen, she's ready to admit that that isn't always what she wants to do. Maybe her friends don't look like “good” kids, but that's her dad's problem, not hers. Speaking her mind to her father is the only way for her to move forward.

I don't believe for a minute that Uka's dad is trying to control her. He's acting out of love for his only child but is also having trouble seeing that she's growing up. Interestingly, Uka's mom is pleased that she went out with friends, which suggests that she's more aware of what her teenage daughter needs. But her unwillingness to suggest that to her husband (on screen, at least) suggests that Uka learned her passivity from her mother. It's good that Ayumi, Yuru, and Serina (and the unnamed girl with the long hair) all show up to talk to Uka's dad, because that means that Uka can see that they really are the good friends she believes they are. Kai's decision to bring Uka's middle school bullies is a little less awesome, but his reasoning makes sense; he wants to prove everyone's innocence by showing Mr. Ishimori the real villains. He's also not fooled for a second that Kai isn't interested in Uka in a romantic way, but then Kai isn't really trying to hide it.

Still, all that takes a back seat for Uka to find her voice. It may not be the greater part of the episode, but it's absolutely the most important.

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