Something kind and cold #WelcomeBackMone

This is the "Diary of a Girl Who's Too Excited for Welcome Back Mone" updated every Friday. Friday's (8/27) broadcast was a bit chaotic, so the second half of my thoughts is a bit longer! Let's look back on the week's broadcasts! Illustrations and text by Sayumi.

*From here on, spoilers from the 15th week broadcast will be included. If you haven't watched it yet, please return now.

August 8 (Monday) Women have courage

Mi-chan has come to Shiomi-yu! I don't know much about Nakame, but I'm from Kesennuma and am very familiar with Meguro. There are two "Meguro Sanma Festivals" held in Meguro. The "Meguro Sanma Festival" in front of the station uses sanma from Miyako, and the "Meguro Sanma Festival" (without the okurigana "ri") held as part of the Meguro Ward Citizens' Festival uses sanma from Kesennuma. Due to this connection, Kesennuma and Meguro are sister cities.

And Mone and Suganami sensei call to update each other on their current situations. Mone goes to bed early and gets up early like a fisherman, so I guess lunch is her free time to call. Mone had made a promise with the sensei on the weekend, but huh? Didn't she say she was going to hang out with Mi-chan? I wonder if that means she'll let Suganami sensei and Mi-chan meet. I think the sensei is definitely looking forward to them meeting alone!

As for Mone's work, she was nervous during rehearsals and her face was stiff, but she was perfect on the actual show. She's cheerful and bright, and her hairstyle and makeup are cute! She'll be popular! I'm already worried about a scandal with Suganami-sensei. Meanwhile, Riko was so nervous during the actual show that she made a series of mistakes... This is what happens when you try too hard to do well.
Professor Suganami praised Monet by saying she had "damn courage," but with all my respect for the TV drama series and Sugako Hashida, I would say, "Women need courage" (but men need courage too, Suganami Professor!).

What will happen on Tuesday, August 8th? Weekend!

Monet and Riko had a mixed debut. Riko said something nasty to Monet like, "You're unexpectedly tough," but she quickly admitted and apologized, saying, "Oh, sorry. I was just a little jealous!" It was typical of Riko! Monet retorted back, "I'll follow up from the broadcast location," so I think they've built a good relationship.

At Tome, everyone is worried about the lack of progress in their relationship, but the teacher says, "I'll see you on the weekend." But, I don't think the two of you are alone. Mi-chan might be there too.

While everyone around her is excited about Monet's TV debut, Mi-chan is still gloomy even on a business trip. She ignores her mother's calls. She says, "It's not fair that only my sister gets to be the one."
The other person with a gloomy expression was Ryochin. It seemed more to do with Kouji's words that "she has a boyfriend who's a doctor" than with Mone being successful? In other words, Ryochin feels that "it's a bit..." that Mone has a boyfriend? This has never been clearly explained before, but is that really the case?
Things seemed to be going well in both love and work, but now things are starting to look a bit ominous!

Timing: Wednesday, August 8

The Nagaura family in Kesennuma. The reason why the Oikawas came was not only to show them the recording of Monet, but also to meet their maternal grandmother. "About Minami..." they said, handing over an envelope with "Kesennuma City" written on it. I think it's some kind of document, but I wonder... It's definitely a serious matter.

Meanwhile, Mi-chan has just returned from a business trip to Shizuoka and is relaxing with Mone and Sue-chan (the sweets and tapioca are cute). Sue-chan is excited to tell Suganami-sensei how she feels, but Mone says she has no intention of telling him. In other words, I think Mone already has romantic feelings for Suganami-sensei that she has no intention of telling him, but those "feelings" can't be something like "thank you for everything"... right? The teacher is going to stumble again.

Sue-chan further emphasizes that there is only a moment when both you and the other person will love each other. So don't miss this chance! But... if that's the case, it might be better when Mii-chan isn't there. Suganami-sensei, Sue-chan, and everyone at Tome are so excited about tomorrow's date that I'm starting to worry that Mone just wants to introduce them to Mii-chan and doesn't have any plans...
And just as that one last moment was approaching, Ryochin appeared in front of Shiomiyu! He was empty-handed, so he must have just decided to come.
But please stop going on about how you liked Monet...I want Ryo-chin to be happy!

Thursday, August 8 I wish I could talk

Ryo-chin, who came to Tsukiji, went to Shiomiyu. When he and Monet were talking, I wondered why he lied by saying "I haven't seen (the TV show with Monet) yet," and I thought maybe he didn't want to tell Monet about going to her house and why he went there. No, knowing Ryo-chin, he might have been considerate and thought that if he told her everything, she would worry again.
"Ryo-chin, how are you?" Monet's words seemed to see through Ryo-chin, as if she was thinking, "Maybe you're carrying something inside." Just as he was about to say something, Mi-chan and Su-chan showed up.

I thought it was great that Sue-chan picked out clothes for Mii-chan and accompanied her on a day of sightseeing in Tokyo, and I was also curious about Ryo-chin's expression when Monet was talking to Sue-chan about their date tomorrow, but more than anything... the next morning, Ryo-chin finally met Suganami-sensei, who had arrived early in excitement!!

I want to confirm one thing here, but I don't think it was explicitly stated that "Ryo-chin likes Monet." I also feel that the reason his expression clouded over the previous day when "Monet has a boyfriend" was because he was "lonely about his childhood friend becoming a distant figure."
This is just my imagination, but I think that (1) Ryo-chin has special feelings for Monet, but they aren't necessarily romantic feelings; or (2) because Monet is the most important person to Ryo-chin, he doesn't admit his feelings to her, even if he does have feelings for her.

Well, let's leave aside for the moment whether he has romantic feelings for her or not. But, from the fact that he only sent the message "My father has boarded a ship" to Monet, I think that Monet is the only special person that Ryochin can rely on.
With that in mind, let's watch the next scene. Ryo-chin's reaction when Dr. Suganami arrives, and then when Monet, Mi-chan, and Su-chan arrive. When Monet tries to introduce him to Dr. Suganami, he interrupts, saying, "I'm fine," and even though Monet says he has time until around mid-afternoon, he says, "I don't have time," and quickly leaves. If this means he is erasing his "desire to rely on Monet" in order to prioritize "Monet's happiness"...isn't that just too heartbreaking?

Oh, Ryochin, this has happened before. When Monet came back to her hometown for Obon and got on the bus back to Tome, you were trying to say something but didn't say anything. Please say something!!
After that, the date was postponed until the next day due to an urgent matter with the teacher. Late that night, Monet found out that Ryochin had not returned to the ship. What will happen tomorrow?

Friday, August 8th I want to quit.

First of all, before writing today's diary, I would like to remind myself that "no one is at fault" and "there is not just one right way!"

First, Mone and Michi learn from Ayako's phone call that Ryo-chin hasn't returned to the ship. A little while ago, Grandma (Ryo's maternal grandmother) came to the Nagaura house to submit Minami's death certificate. "I don't have much time left. I'm going over there now. I want to see Minami there," says Grandma. After that, Shinji takes the paperwork home with him... but this causes him to get drunk and violent at the temporary housing.

Shinji, Ryochin, and Grandma are all the same in the sense that they lost a loved one, but I think Grandma wants to put an end to it by having a funeral and filing the death certificate. However, for Shinji, stamping the death certificate is acknowledging the death of his wife. I wrote before that "Shinji doesn't want to recover from his grief because he thinks it would mean forgetting Minami," but this must be cruel to Shinji. It was painful to hear Shinji shout, "What do you mean, the other side? Where is the other side?" From Shinji's point of view, I think he must be thinking, "There is no God." I also remember the image of Koji holding Shinji down as if he was trying to hold him down.

Ryo-chin's whereabouts are unknown, but when Mone calls him, Ryo-chin answers the phone. Ryo-chin finally reveals his true feelings: "I want to stop everything," and "Mone is the only person I can talk to." (Maybe it would have been better not to put him on speaker...)
After this, there was a scene where Mi-chan poured out her emotions on the calm Mone. Mi-chan complained about "Ryo-chin's pain", but I thought she was talking about herself quite a bit (this is my personal opinion).

She was told to "do what you love" and chose the path for herself, but it's not going as well as her sister's. She's the one who's always worked hard in her hometown, knowing that someone had to stay. So she's the one who understands Ryo-chin's feelings best. And yet it's her sister who Ryo-chin relies on. I think Mii-chan's emotions in this scene are all mixed up. She's not yet mature enough to be able to admit, like Riko, "I'm sorry, I was just jealous."
So I also think, "The date with Suganami-sensei has nothing to do with this, Mi-chan!", but I think I can think that way because I'm an adult now and a stranger. I also think, "I hope Shinji gets over it," because I don't know the same pain and I'm a stranger... But I think there are times when being a stranger can help someone.
I thought to myself, but then this week ended and I was left in a daze for a while. What will happen next week...?

I'm sure everyone who watched this week had a variety of thoughts. My diary entry is just one impression, so I'm sure there are some who felt it was completely different. I think it's great that there isn't just one answer and that everyone has a variety of impressions, so please send me your letters if you can (see post address below)!

By the way, do you remember? "You're right, but your way of saying it is a little cold," Monet said to Suganami-sensei earlier. If we expand on this image of "kindness" and "coldness," "kindness" is emotional, self-centered, subjective, and wet. "Coldness" is calm, other-centered, neutral, dry... (This is also my personal opinion.) I feel that the contrast between the worlds of the drama as a whole, the weekly title "Momo and the unknown" and "the countryside and the city," will also be added to this contrast.
It's not a question of which is better or worse, but I think that in the end, the ideal situation is a fusion of the two, a state where both kindness and coldness are present.

#I'm so excited for Welcome Back Mone
#WelcomeBackMone
#Meguro Sanma Festival
#It's cancelled this year but I'm sure it will happen next year
#Sanma is only available in Kesennuma
#I'm waiting for your letters
#Monet painting

(Text and illustrations by Sayumi)

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Person who wrote this article

Sayumi

I live in Kesennuma. I write illustrations, articles and manga for "Kesennuma Saite Kerain" and other websites. I share information about fun things to do and delicious food in Kesennuma. I am in charge of the "Okaeri Mone Diary." I like comedy, manga, games and horror movies. [Twitter] @sayumino1nichi　 [Instagram]@sayumi_insta

• Welcome back, Mone
• I'm so excited for Welcome Back Mone
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• Kentaro Sakaguchi
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