Overused as the term is, Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue. might conceivably be called a slice of life series.  And it sounds sort of odd to say a show like that would have a breather episode, but that’s kind of what this was.  In its understated way Doukyonin actually confronts some fairly heavy psychological issues, so in fact an episode pitched a little more emotionally low-key does represent a nice change of pace.  In fact, what I think we’re seeing is the settling influence Haru is starting to have on Subaru (and vice-versa, of course).

To the extent that there’s a serious underpinning to this ep, it’s the dream Subaru has, where he writes his first “book”.  More specifically, why he would be having this dream now after many years of not having it.  What’s changed in his life?  Well, the most obvious answer is Haru of course, but there’s also the fact that (because of her, mostly) Subaru has probably had more social interaction in the past few weeks (I’m guessing that’s how much time has passed) than he did for a year or more before that.  What is it, specifically, about that which brought these old memories back from his subconscious?

One thing I have to reiterate: cats are absolutely protective towards the humans they bond with.  How much so depends on the cat of course, but some are quite obsessive about it – and they have an emotional radar which is almost frightening in its sensitivity.  If even we tone-deaf humans can pick up on how fragile a soul Subaru is, it’s certainly no stretch that Haru would.  Subaru seems stuck in emotional childhood, in a way – having his parents taken from him has frozen part of him in time.  It’s quite heartbreaking really, seeing a successful adult man suffer so much in functional terms for not having his parents with him – but they, too, were protective.  And Subaru surely never understood just how much he depended on them until they were no longer in this world.

Hiroto is a good friend to Subaru (last week’s transgression notwithstanding), in part because he manages to be protective (Subaru can’t even be trusted to eat enough to sustain himself) without enabling all of his reclusive tendencies.  One imagines there were stretches of time were Hiroto, irritant though he might be, was Subaru’s only connection to the world for months at a time.  Haru may never warm to him the way things are going, but Hiroto can help him in ways she can’t.

The manufactured drama inherent in the anime cold withstanding, this was a nice, relaxing afternoon at the Mikazuki home.  Haru performs a housecat specialty, being better at getting into trouble than getting out of it.  Kawase-san stops by and goes into full maternal mode, and he and Hiroto make a lot of noise in the kitchen, much to Haru’s irritation.  I was relieved that Kawase had other plans for those leeks than I originally feared (and I’m sure Subaru would have been, too).  Little by little, you can see Subaru’s resistance to all this breaking down – these incursions from outside of his bubble are starting to feel almost normal for him now.  Stressful to be sure, but not panic-inducing.

Of course that all may change when the ante is upped, and Subaru has to seriously interact with large groups of strangers – like at a book signing.  And he won’t even have Haru there as his emotional totem, just Kawase.  But one of the reasons we were shown the dream I think – and Subaru’s uncertainty over the timing of it – was that Doukyonin wa Hiza was reiterating the importance Subaru places on sharing his creative soul with others (more than he even realizes, almost surely).  And perhaps that’s the reason why all this is coming back to him now – for the first time since his parents stole a look at his first true novel, he’ll be face to face with those who’ve read his work.  That’s likely to prove a watershed moment for him in many ways, and I’m looking forward to seeing (next week, it looks like) if this new Subaru can hold up under that kind of pressure.