The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting

Episode 9

Episode 9 of The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting returns to form in the best possible way. It is sweet and wholesome, with lots of tender moments between the cast members. It revels in the little things that are universal to us all while also exploring their specific personal experiences in detail. It had precisely the right tone and impact for me, and reminded me of why I fell in love with the series early on.

This is another episode divided into two halves, with the first focusing on Kirishima's birthday. Plot-wise, there's not a whole lot to this: everyone wants to throw Kirishima a surprise birthday party, but he's being too hard-headed and won't make it easy on them. Hijinks ensue. It's sweet and silly and there's not much else to say, but when Yaeka uses the confetti popper to surprise Kirishima and he has a flashback to his happy moments as a child – well, that's the good stuff folks. That's what the show does best.

The back half of the episode focuses more on the shop that Kanami runs and the courtship of her sister and Kazuhiko when they were young. It's an interesting dynamic and I like it a lot. The flashback sequences are cute and awkward in the way young love often is. And even though there's a sense of sadness with her sister's current medical situation, there's also a bittersweet joy to be had in everyone being together in the present to worry about it. No one wants to be brought back together by tragic circumstances, but just being together can remind us of happier times and bring us closer together all over again. It's a very true to life sentiment and (yet another) tender moment for the series. I know that as we get closer to the finale this sort of episode will likely be harder to come by as the season's plot ramps up, but I'm glad we got such a heavy character-focused entry this week.

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