“Should I water my loneliness?” is an interesting question. It’s an interesting way to put it, too, which of course stems from Asa’s mental retreat to the desert whenever she needs to reflect (with Emiri it’s a beach, interestingly). As an introvert I would answer “yes”, of course. But that’s because that makes sense for me. I can’t get where I need to be, whether it be writing or any other significant task, without finding my inner space and sorting everything out interrupted. Is it like that for Asa, too? I honestly don’t know the answer to that. But all of us can grow as people by forcing ourselves out of our comfort zones.
This episode, like the series, was full of quiet moments that seem small as they happen but on reflection pack significance. One such moment was that conversation Asa and Makio had about not answering her texts immediately (“Only sometimes!” Makio protests). I do that too – and for the exact same reason Makio does. I need to protect my peace and quiet. “Isn’t that lonely, though?” is a perfectly natural response from Asa. She’s not mocking her aunt – she legit has no idea why someone wouldn’t immediately answer a LINE message. Maybe this is a fundamental divide amount humans – those who always answer right away, and those who don’t.
The context for that conversation was important too. Emiri not answering Asa’s texts was upsetting to her, for obvious reasons. But Emiri is doing it for different reasons than Makio does it. I can apply many adjectives to Ikoku Nikki, and “unsparing” is definitely one of them. It doesn’t turn a blind eye to the darkness in life. Emiri is herself – she exists as more than Asa’s friend character. Her circle is expanding – she has Chichi, her future comrade on the science track, planning to be a doctor. And she has the girl from cram school, who indeed seems to be her first girlfriend. And it’s while Emiri is with her that those messages go unanswered.
That conversation was quiet and low-key, but boy, was it dark. The notion Emiri expresses – frustration that she “can never stop being Asa’s friend” because of what happened to her – comes off as cold and selfish. But it’s honest, and it’s understandable. Emiri isn’t responsible for what happened to Asa, or for Asa herself. She – being a teen – feels the unfairness of the burden their friendship places on her. And despite her denials, it’s pretty clear the two of them are growing apart. She hasn’t told Asa about her sexual orientation, for starters. Maybe this is just a natural thing that would always have happened when the pair of them reached high school. Or maybe – unfair as it is to Asa – it’s happening because of what happened to Asa’s family.
They’re very different people, these two. And that matters. Asa and Makio could hardly be more different, and let’s be honest – if they were contemporaneous and not related, is it likely that they would be friends? Circumstances – and kindness – have thrown them together. And, I would argue, to the benefit of both of them. But if that hadn’t happened they’d have been two ships passing in the night, even in the context of Makio being Asa’s aunt. I don’t think they ever would have been close if Asa’s parents had lived. Makio felt no burning desire to have a chibi in her life, and she would probably have always been the weird but sort of interesting aunt that Asa saw twice a year.
That ties into the other key conversation of the episode, between Makio and Juno-san (who’s more or less confirmed to be non-binary). Makio is operating under the assumption that once Asa “goes to college or becomes a legal adult” their relationship will effectively end. Which is really the most Makio thing ever. “I’ll try my best until then. So just a few more years.” It’s not coldness – that’s just how she’s wired. She’s wrong of course – she just doesn’t know she is. Until Juno points it out, and she starts to muse on what had seemed obvious when filtered through her old worldview. She’s building something with Asa that will remain until one of them departs this world, most likely. It’s just hard for her to recalibrate her thinking to accept that.
This is what Asa is for Makio – an earthquake that changes everything in her life. She’s learning on the job, and I have sympathy for her because I get how hard all this is. But I have sympathy for Asa too, because she’s tied into this relationship with someone she can’t begin to understand. And if indeed Emiri sails away from her shores, that will be extremely difficult for her to cope with – Asa seems to have no other close friends. Maybe something will develop with Chichi, even though she came into Asa’a life as part of Emiri’s orbit. Incidentally that news story Chichi is raging about – a medical university automatically lopping points off entrance exam scores for female applicants – is absolutely a real thing. It was a huge scandal – and should have been – and it’ll be interesting to see Ikoku Nikki explore it.
Kurik
March 10, 2026 at 12:55 am“a medical university automatically lopping points off entrance exam scores for female applicants – is absolutely a real thing”- what is wrong with ppl?? I know Japan is male dominant but how can just decide this? Anyway, good episode. Had me a little confused in places as to what it was trying to say aka the curse but the rest was solid.
Guardian Enzo
March 10, 2026 at 8:28 amIt’s just one of those things that’s more Japan than Japan, like the middle school that refused to let boys wear winter coats because “the reason has existed for a long time and no one remembers why”. I seem to remember the medical school defended it, too, as if it were perfectly justified and not just a horrible act they were caught in.
Vance
March 10, 2026 at 5:07 amMaybe it’s just me, but from what I’m seeing online (not you, Enzo), I feel a number of people are misreading Emiri and Asa’s current relationship. I don’t think that Emiri merely needs some space/time for herself but that she and Asa have drifted apart to an extent due to Asa constantly asking if she wants a boyfriend and lying to her when Asa skipped school. Emiri has given Asa plenty of hints regarding her sexual orientation with how she remarked that she likes girls more as being why she follows female idols, her responses to Asa asking about whether she wants a boyfriend, and even talking about how she enjoys embroidery ’cause it’s calming and makes her forget other stuff.
To Emiri she may see that she has given hints about what troubles her, only Asa isn’t picking up on it, which makes her not the best friend to have around. I have a feeling part of the reason she’s still friends with Asa is ’cause of Makio. Asa may be somewhat emotionally stunted due to growing up with a father who almost never spoke up and a mother who kept her true thoughts to herself to project that she was living a perfect life like she thought her friends were living, and I believe having Makio as her legal guardian is good for her since Makio is very emotionally honest and can pick up on stuff.
Guardian Enzo
March 10, 2026 at 8:32 amI don’t blame her for not doing so because it’s hard at any age, never mind 16. But if Emiri wants the friendship to survive the best way to proceed would be to just flat out tell Asa everything and put the onus on her to get past it. Trust her, which is very hard to do under the circumstances but maybe the only option.
That said, I don’t think it’s just that that’s causing them to drift apart. They’re just growing into different people and you have to accept that happens, sometimes.
Simone
March 13, 2026 at 8:57 pmI mean, I feel like expecting a rather sheltered teenager who’s also going through an emotional storm of her own to pick up on subtle hints about sexuality is the kind of thing so dumb only a different teenager going through an emotional storm would do. So checks out! But ultimately I don’t think there’s a lot of fault on Asa’s part. Both are being a bit closed off because they’re processing stuff. Both maybe worry that the other would not understand in full. Both are possibly wrong on that count! But as it turns out even extroversion has a limit, you still have some thoughts and issues you can’t share willy nilly.
Nadavu
March 15, 2026 at 8:42 amThis is the second time the girl-who-used-to-be-bullied is mentioned, so she must become relevant sometime soon. The first time, I thought she’d end up Emiri’s love interest, but since that’s not the case, I wonder what her function is going to be.
I totally understand Emiri – when someone close to you goes through a life-altering disaster, it’s very hard to step away even if the friendship seems to have run its course.
Guardian Enzo
March 15, 2026 at 11:20 amYeah, I don’t blame her for her feelings (and I agree with Makio in principle that whatever someone feels is their business). I’m just not sure whether the relationship has truly run its course or not.
Sometimes BFF relationships can evolve into more low-key friendships rather than totally splinter. Like, two friends as part of a group of friends, or part of their individual but different groups. You hang occasionally, you talk, you call for a favor once in a while, and every now and then have one of those shared moments where you know only the two of you in the entire world are in on the joke, and share a smile.