That was a much-needed return to form for Nami yo Kiite Kure, after a couple episodes of problematic missteps.  Part of that – perhaps the biggest part – is that this was a complete structural reversal of last week’s scattershot and overfilled episode.   Rather than gadfly from one plot twist to the next, leaving them all unfulfilled and unfulfilling, here we got one development and explored it thoroughly and satisfyingly.  And it doesn’t hurt that the scope of the narrative was intimate and close-up, rather than a big set piece that isn’t this series’ strength.

The return of (really, the entry of) Mitsuo-san to the story is definitely a development that needed to be fleshed out.  It’s been the dominant event in Minare’s recent life, really, and the initiator of a chain reaction of events which led to the current situation.  Minare’s initial focus is on killing him (using their PC to Google obtaining a gun – that’s what friends are for) – I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt that she’s not serious – and then on using her status as a radio personality to humiliate him.  Mado-san disabuses her of this, though not for any altruistic reason – that sort of thing is simply bad for business.

Minare and Mitsuo’s day together is utterly fascinating in the slow-motion train wreck way that Nami yo Kitte Kure can be.  They start off with a visit to Mt. Moiwa (I went there myself during my visit to Sapporo last winter), where Mitsuo surprises Minare not just by paying her back for the ticket (I agree with Mitsuo – 17 bucks is too much for a 14-minute round trip) , but half the ¥500000 he owes her.  Afterwards he suggests they go out for soup curry (it’s telling that he’s already forgotten that the whole reason she was available was that Voyager was closed), and the pair have a rather pleasant meal and conversation.

The dynamic here is a little bit complicated, I think.  It’s clear that Minare genuinely likes Mitsuo on some level, and is attracted to him (and he probably reciprocates).  They have a certain chemistry, and he has a certain charm.  He smiles easily, seems to enjoy life and isn’t an emotional clamshell like so many guys his age are.  And what’s more, Minare definitely enjoys being the adult in this relationship (which, one assumes, is a rare occurrence in her life).  This is comfortable and easy for Minare – too comfortable, and too easy.

“This is the horror of the man-child.” Minare realizes in the episode’s finest moment.  “He makes the woman think she’s taking the lead, but actually…  She becomes subservient to him.”  Needless to say this is not a rare relationship dynamic anywhere – though perhaps even less rare in Japan than most places.  This is a big moment for Minare – she’s seen Mitsuo for what he is, and she’s seen through one of her own hidden trip-wires and managed to stay on her feet.  That’s not to say she’s fixed or healthy, but a little more self-awareness is something she surely needed and this is a decent start.

Once Minare realizes the truth via some conveniently Conan-like deduction – Mitsuo actually had another woman in his apartment recently and that’s where he got the money – the ep quickly devolves into the usual Nami grim slapstick.  But it was still a major step forward both for the show and the character.  Absurdity at the personal level really works for this series (Mitsuo cheerfully retelling how Minare’s broadcast caused his recent ex-girlfriend to be hit by a car was hilariously absurd), and both for Minare and the audience some unknowns are now knowns.  That will hopefully allow her to progress beyond the emotional quicksand she’s been foundering in, and in doing so drag Nami yo Kiite Kure with her.