A tree to commemorate one’s life. I would like one too… to leap over it like a ninja. 

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My, my, Rin is a first grader! And before you know it, she is going to grow up real fast. But she’s already showing signs of maturity, taking after her legitimate father’s mannerisms and wisdom. It’s hard to imagine a young girl being so collected, yet, she shows some vulnerabilities like understanding how the world works. (Milk and cereal, cereal and milk!) She often gets lost in thought when trying to figure out ‘life’, especially after Daikichi mentions having a personal tree that he grew up with to commemorate his life. She catches on, knowing that her seed isn’t the tree she’s looking for. 

My understanding of Japanese culture and folklore and all that stuff is very limited — obviously not having been to Japan myself puts a serious strain on the knowledge of customs. However, I do find this little ritual appealing. Leaping over a tree to help both the ninja and the plant itself is kind of a cool idea in theory. Although Kouki here isn’t trying to do that, he keeps up being a little rascal. In a way, it bothers me that he’s going to be the one growing up with Rin to protect her from anything and everything, but that’s just my being protective. 

After an unexpected second meeting with Masako, Daikichi learns that his grandfather did plant a tree for Rin. It happens to be the same olive tree that he has, now thirty years young, with the same scented leaves that bring joy to the girl. The height comparison scenes are endearing because it is such a kiddish thing to do yet with the intention of wanting to grow up. But please, take your time growing up. And don’t try to leap over the six-year old tree for it can get a little hazardous. 

My irritation of Kouki has something to do with knowing what six, seven year old boys are like. I was one myself, believe it or not, and sure, all boys were little rascals. I see Kouki and Rin growing up together as childhood friends and potential lovers in the future the way they are being brought together. He’s a little wild but she can bear it and keep him at a controlled level. He’s the impulsive idiot and she’s the voice of reason. Opposites like them can — really tempted to say will but I can’t promise any guarantees, too many variables in life — bless them a happy life together. Not necessarily end together, but I hope you know what I mean. In any case, it seems like Daikichi can trust Kouki to watch over Rin outside the house. 

GO Rating: 3.5/5

It got a little mellow again, with the whole tree analogy to life. While the whole custom, or family ritual, is a well rooted tradition, I found it a little hard to endure when Rin turned melancholic thinking about what the tree means and how it’s supposed to correlate to how she ages. Thankfully, Daikichi’s grandfather was an awesome planner and an awesome dude in general; he’s so awesome that he planted her an olive tree. And as the blood flows in him, Daikichi also has a lot of spare time to track Masako down and ask her about the tree, then dig up the tree so that ‘life’ is restored in Rin when he brings it home. I can’t imagine a child’s happiness when she can grow up together with her own tree. I’m sure it will serve as more than a symbol for life, hope and perseverance. 

And yeah, I don’t like Kouki because he’s so rambunctious and impulsive but I think he will be just fine. It seems like he can’t function without Rin around so I expect him to do a lot of maturing as time passes. But it’s far too early for me to start pairing them up. I mean, they’re just kids. Plus that interferes with Daikichi having slight interest in Yukari. Oh, that motherly assertiveness must be so appealing! 

The celebration of one’s life and of one’s smile.