In the last few episodes, we have seen Asa’s behavior being a bit more brat-like. The journal was the thing that really set it off. The fact that Makio didn’t interact with Asa to say something was wrong worsened it. She wanted attention, for she was upset and hurting. As we know, Asa hates loneliness. It’s not that Asa is without blame because she even distances herself from Emiri, who is more than willing to lend her support.
Makio might say she is not trying to be Asa’s mom, but what she did was very much what a good parent does. Drop what she was working on and not wait until Asa comes home to talk to her. We see a good comparison when Kasamachi mentions how his father dealt with him when he skipped school. What Makio did was great in comparison. Even better, she tried not to put pressure on Asa.
Asa is still very much a teen when she knows she can’t win her argument and lashes out at Makio in things that aren’t relevant to the conversation. We all know Makio is not the most organized person in the world. At this point giving Asa the journal is good because if she denied her, then that would be another thing Asa would add to the pile to poke at. Of course the root of the issue at hand is that Asa is unable to know if her mom loved her.
Makio and Asa are very different when they handle stress. Makio wants to escape from it, and loneliness can help her cope with what is happening. Meanwhile, for Asa, loneliness is just something that increases the stress on her. Simply, Asa wanted reassurance that her mom loved her, but it is against Makio’s nature to give an answer that she is not sure of. Not a surprise Makio has been seen as an overly logical person in her mindset. Which is part of the source of some of her issues.
Then Asa sees Makio’s novel, where she sees her writing about facing when the person you care about most is dead and dealing with it. It is the point where reading that Makio understands what Asa is feeling, but she is doing it in her own way. It is clear that Makio is not a very emotional person, but she really cares for Asa. Asa finally expresses the loneliness of her parents deaths for the first time, and Makio is there to comfort her. Fantastic episode.
