Holmes of Kyoto

Episode 4

This week Holmes of Kyoto throws the mystery out the window in favor of a slice-of-life story about past loves. Aoi's been attempting to deal with the revelation that after she moved to Kyoto her boyfriend and best friend began dating, and if you recall, her initial need for cash was so that she could go back and confront them. As it turns out, that's not necessary, because her former friends are taking a school trip to Kyoto for the Gion Festival and want to meet up with Aoi.

I have to give Aoi a lot of credit – she knew from the start that meeting them was a bad idea. Apart from the fact that she still has low-key nightmares about her betrayal by the two people she trusted most, she's rightly suspicious of “friends” whose only communication to date has been to tell her about that very betrayal. She's spent most of her time in Kyoto having a hard time trusting and bonding with her new classmates, and that mistrust has its roots in her previous ones. Agreeing to meet them seems more like hoping against hope than any real expectation that things will go well.

Presumably Kiyotaka also realizes this, but he's willing to let Aoi brazen it out because he understands that she has to. Besides, he's in a similar position with the unexpected entry of his former girlfriend Izumi into the store. She says she's just there to see if the dish made by Royal Copenhagen is the real thing, since it's not from their famous cobalt blue Christmas line, but that's very clearly an excuse. No sooner has Kiyotaka confirmed the plate's pedigree then she launches into a spiel that can be summed up as, “I made a mistake marrying that other guy and now I want to switch back to you.” Granted, her husband doesn't sound like a winner, but coming on to her ex-boyfriend hardly makes her much better. It's similar to what happened to Aoi in a way, if only in that it shows the immaturity of the exes in question and that both Kiyotaka and Aoi are better off without them. Kiyotaka's had time to realize this; this episode marks the moment when Aoi learns it.

Part of what helps her to that realization is the fact that her “friends” only contacted her at the behest of her exes. Maybe this is just me, but I hadn't fully understood that the new couple hadn't told Aoi themselves that they were dating. That definitely makes it worse, especially when they sheepishly try to excuse themselves for their adolescent cowardice. They knew how hurt Aoi would be; otherwise they would have asked to meet her themselves rather than going through other friends. It isn't hard to imagine how they justified things as a group, but honestly, they should have just told her themselves. A lot of us know that the fiction that high school friendships are forever is just that – a fiction – but for Aoi, this is a particularly harsh lesson. She does handle it with as much grace as she possibly can (though I kind of wanted her to deliver a cutting remark or two), and if nothing else that elevates her above their level.

While there is talk of the symbolism of Japanese mugwort (a highly magical herb by Western standards), the emotions of the potter in forming a tea bowl, and waka (also called tanka) poems, this episode is really about Kiyotaka and Aoi as a duo. They aren't a couple officially, but they're coming to understand each other better and they have an ease with each other that isn't there when they interact with other people. Kiyotaka's jealousy aside, he's got less of a veneer to his actions and words around Aoi, and she's simply more comfortable with him than with anyone else. Issues with the mystery plot and the consistency of the production quality aside, it's the two of them that make this show work—even if it feels like it may be trolling us with the idea of an overarching counterfeiting plot.

Rating: B-

Holmes of Kyoto is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.