Kobato Episode 21: Um...okay

Oh hai spoiler pic!!!

Um….okay?

I guess after last week (FAI) anything was bound to be less than perfect. I mean…it was Fai. And some other people that Fai travels with (Kurogane is mighty important too though). Fai has the ability to make anything better. I say that and most of Fai is some sad, horrible back story. But he makes ME feel better when I see his happy face.

So even taking away the amazing Fai factor of last week this episode still would have been X_X. And wtf? But it was plot related at least?

Episode 21: The episode of thinking.

Episode summary because I am feeling generous:
Kobato leaves her best chocolate for Fujimoto but he seems mixed about the present. As Kobato tries to skirt the issue around the little kids Okiura shows up at the nursery. Kobato tries to put on a tough girl act and protect Sayaka but Sayaka comes out and says she will speak to Okiura. She tries to reason with Okiura but they repeat the same old conversation with the same old information. Fujimoto comes in and tries to be the hero when Sayaka agrees to give up the nursery after graduation. This makes Kobato cry. Fujimoto tries to cheer her up in his special Fujimoto way. Fujimoto then gets in contact with Okiura’s number one man (the dude that had to be rushed to the hospital a few weeks ago) and learns that Okiura has really been protecting Sayaka all along from the real person in charge, his father.

You can't ignore Kobato! She will get into your soul!

Kobato decides the best course of action is to wait outside Okiura’s place until he comes out. After standing out in the rain all night Okiura comes out and eventually confesses that he doesn’t hate Sayaka and he is doing this all for her. Then Kobato collapses. Okiura brings her to the nursery where Fujimoto doesn’t totally hate his soul now and Kobato tells Sayaka that Okiura still loves her. Despite the fact that everything is messed up and confusing Sayaka runs after Okiura and they embrace. Kobato looks on as Fujimoto once again has mixed feelings about the situation. THE END!

I am so about the important points.

Clearly the most important issue at hand is something I didn’t cover in the review. Because the detail was that tiny it might be easily looked over and forgotten. But not if you are a crazy person like me! No the important part of the episode for me was Kobato admitting that she can’t eat food. Heck I don’t even think she has admitted it in the manga. She has never been shown EATING before but she doesn’t flat out say it. The moment was almost lost as the twins and Chitose just assumed that Kobato didn’t want to eat because of the sad mood. Almost lost but I am all over that!

Well she's special.....

So is Kobato an angel? Maybe as Kohaku can’t consume anything that was once living. She is only allowed to have milk and honey. But we have never seen Kobato have milk and honey. Kobato also has to wear a hat at all times and Kohaku doesn’t. So since we know something important is under that hat it might be safer to assume it is animal ears rather than a halo. We will soon find our answer won’t we……

NICER FACE PLEASE!!!!

I think we could have had more to do with Kobato’s chocolate. Fujimoto could have been more grateful, embarrassed, or at least smiled in a way that lets the audience know he returns Kobato’s confused feelings. More evidence of a romance please! Plus those chocolates were special. However I was happy that Kobato did give the chocolates to Fujimoto. XD

I'm so moody and gorgeous. Is that you Kamui?

But the bulk of the episode was devoted to Okiura and his apparent undying love to Sayaka. Since Sayaka is the one who Kobato wanted to heal and help since episode two/volume two you would think this issue would have been handled with more…something. At least a resolution my gosh.

Dramatic so close yet our hearts are so far moment...

Everyone and their blind granny could have seen the “Okiura’s father is the bad guy” from a mile away. This is a fluffy fluffy CLAMP series which means the bad guys aren’t really bad guys and they must have a reason for why they did all this crap (heck Fei Wong Reed almost got a pass and look what he did X_X). So the more Fujimoto went on about how evil Okiura was I knew that it was going to turn out that Okiura was super duper misunderstood. That and I wanted to believe that Sayaka wasn’t that stupid.

Wait. Tell me all your secrets!

So…Okiura was trying to protect Sayaka from the real baddie his father. His father is the one who tricked Sayaka’s father into getting the loan and creating this whole mess. Now call me crazy but I am pretty sure that Okiura knew his father was a Yakuza (or had some ties to the Yakuza) before he met and married Sayaka. So if Okiura wanted to protect Sayaka he shouldn’t have married her. But that’s just me making sense.

So what's different now?

I could have a stronger case if I could remember when Sayaka’s father got into debt with Okiura’s father. I want to say that Sayaka has had owner ship over the nursery for two years but who knows when the debt happened. Or maybe they told me and I forgot. The point is did Sayaka marry Okiura before or after the debt? If Okiura really loved his wife why could he say “yo pops, I am down with you shaking up all the other old grandpas of the world but let me have my woman and her nursery?” Would that have been so hard? Or is the story more angsty if we forget that all of this mess could have been easily avoided? I am assuming we are supposed to go the forget route.

So what’s done is done and there is no sense harping on the fact that this whole situation is unbelievable. Instead we shall focus on why Sayaka and Okiura getting together and hugging it out makes NO SENSE AT ALL!

Let's not die when we are trying to heal hearts Kobato!

Sayaka had to give up the nursery. I get that. Also since the attendance was really, really low anyway she probably had to at this point. And it would be too easy for Okiura to just go against his dad now and give Sayaka the nursery. This still may happen as this is FLUFFY FLUFFY CLAMP but still. If he didn’t go against his dad all this time I don’t see why he would do it now. So when Fujimoto and Kobato told Sayaka that Okiura did all this to protect her this would have been an acceptable ending: “Sayaka runs after Okiura and they look at each other…and smile. They finally understand each other and they can move on with their lives now. Sayaka wasn’t in love with Okiura anymore, just hurt and confused by his decisions. Okiura is still in love with Sayaka but knows now that he would only hurt her if they stayed together. They part ways, but on a much happier note”.

RUN TO THE PERSON WHO RUINED YOUR LIFE!!!

No. That is not what happens. Sayaka learns that Okiura has been protecting her all along, runs after him…and one assumes they are back together. RARW! RARW I SAY! Are things really that simple in CLAMP land that one can forgive at least two years of asshatness that Sayaka will come running into his arms? I mean…at least wait until he says he is sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you…SOMETHING! Don’t be so desperate Sayaka.

Why Sayaka why?!?!?

And really, what has changed? They still have the same problems as before only Sayaka knows that Okiura doesn’t mean to be a huge jerk. Awesome. NOW WHAT?!?!?! Oh and what was with the sad “I am second again” eyes Fujimoto?! KOBATO WAS WATCHING!
Sigh. Maybe I am going off on a situation before we know the TRUE ending. Maybe next episode there will be true resolution to this….thisness. I could go back and edit my entire opinion but 1) I don’t wanna and b) I think this was the final resolution. But I’ll apologize for my crazy if I end up being wrong.

Good job failing there Fujimoto.

Only three episodes left and Oh Kobato TIME IS UP! Spring is here so you need to get your act together. Episode 22 you are saying Bye and Episode 23 we are learning your wish? Well at least they didn’t wait until the last episode.

Show of hands who thinks Fai needs to be in the last episode?