For both Asa & Maiko this was an interesting episode. For Asa, the difference is how Minori & Maiko are so different as guardians. In most of Asa’s flashbacks, we get to see that Minori seems like a good mother, but in this episode she seemed very controlling of Asa. Not exactly in a negative sense because I feel like it came from love. It started to condition Asa to rely on adults to make decisions for her. Which is where Maiko is fine as long as it doesn’t cause problems with the school. Though it does seem more that Minori became more like Maiko before she passed away, which is interesting.
I can assume that Minori took a similar parenting style from her mother. A bit controlling, and Minori much like Asa, listened to what her parents said. We can see the sisters’s relationship drifting because Minori seemed to be pushed to act a certain way. For instance, the manga in Maiko’s room where we see Minori thinking it is for kids and it’s time to grow out of it. I bet that was her mom saying she is too old for that stuff. Given how the grandmother cried at Minori’s funeral, you knew she loved her daughters but just had trouble expressing it. Which is a theme with the sisters and their mom.
Well, the attorney brought a storm to that household in a heartbeat. This is a great indicator that Maiko doesn’t have everything figured out. Still, the 300,000 yen withdrawal would give Maiko a heart attack and would alert the attorney that something is wrong. In Asa’s mind, she felt she had to decide regarding the club she wanted to join and wanted to go with what was in her heart. Unlike previously, with Minori pushing for Choir. Her experience with her mom might suggest she thought Maiko would be against her joining the band club if she had to buy the expensive laptop. This is an example where both Minori & Maiko styles aren’t ideal. Minori is too controlling, and as such, Asa now has trouble making decisions. With Maiko being too hands-off, Asa doesn’t have an adult to guide her when she needs help.
Still, I really enjoyed the final scene in contrast to the scene with Minori at the start of the episode because both Maiko & Kasamachi don’t make assumptions about why Asa enjoys the band. They simply mention the music and compliment her taste. Minori mentioned that Asa must like the guy in the band, probably implying that, from her experience in life, many things she did were because she had to act a certain way. Rather than choosing something because you genuinely enjoy it.
