I can’t think of anything to include in this little “before-review” paragraph that connects to the episode itself, however, since I am somewhat interested in the subject matter, I’d like to remind everyone that May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Try and make sure that this month (and let’s be honest every month), you take actions that benefit your mental health.
This episode begins by tracking back to the events of the ending of last week’s episode, showing that Grandma has turned young again…but it isn’t just limited to her appearance (excluding hair color) changing to be reflective of how she looked when she was young. This time, her hair has changed color AND she doesn’t remember anything past when her memories would’ve placed her current look. The two talk, with Grandpa coming to the conclusion that Grandma’s memories have turned young again. After Grandma realizes that what Grandpa has said is true, Grandma then makes a proposition…have Grandpa attempt to have her fall in love again!
After that, the opening theme plays, leaving my brain to mull over whether this could truly be considered the wholesome anime of the season, or if that title is more deserving for another anime I’ve been following this season that I haven’t been covering for the blog. Now, this doesn’t mean wholesome stuff can’t have conflicts that are clearly more serious…but I digress, this is causing this review to get off track. Now, where was I…?
Ah, yes, Grandpa was talking about how Grandma is going through something that might be tough, but it seems that Grandma has her attention on the rice cooker. After explaining it, he even offers for her to try some of the rice from it. She tries it…and figures that it’s good! The two then eat some leftovers, and after an awkward moment, the two proceed with traditional Japanese customs and give thanks for the meal.
However, she is a bit confused when she sees Grandpa doing chores around the house even though he’s what would be considered the head of the household. Grandpa explains his own home life, and how he was trying to not become like his father, which was honestly super heartwarming to see, and the two end up doing the chores together.
Grandpa then tries to explain to Grandma the whole “turning young again” thing, which she reasonably gets confused by. He says that if she takes a rest she’ll understand, and the next morning, we get to see physically and mentally younger Grandma’s reaction to physically younger Grandpa. It also turns out that Grandma hadn’t had the hourglass dream, causing Grandpa to get a bit downcast…and for Grandma to wish in her head that he’d share some of that pain with her. Ooh, is she starting to fall for him again? Because to me, that seems like a pretty good sign…
Anyway, Grandpa shows Grandma a picture of Yoshiaki and his family, explaining to her how they’re good people. Grandma thinks about how bad it would be if they found out that she lost her memory…and then we hear Mino’s voice, as she and her family came to visit, with the two needing to act. Conversations go well, but then Grandma slips into one of her old habits, and Grandpa quickly comes up with an excuse that she’s been having fun with the accent ever since she put on the school uniform in the last episode. During the conversation, Grandma hugs Mino, causing Mino to get flustered.
The next step is for a meal to be made…and we see that Grandma at this point in time has no idea how to cook because the servants that were there did the cooking on her behalf. Grandpa ends up having to teach Grandma how to cut the ingredients…but even then, it appears there are still some differences from how it’s usually made.
We then see a flashback of Yoshiaki showing his parents a good test grade…which leads into another flashback where Yoshiaki is told to work harder. Also, the place where he’s employed isn’t doing the best. Yikes. Yoshiaki is convinced that he has to work harder, but Grandma reminds him that it’s okay to feel disheartened. And from my own observations, it feels like Yoshiaki needs a day that’s dedicated to getting his mental health in a better place because it seems like stress is taking its toll on him. Grandma also provides my favorite line from this episode at this point: “As long as those above you are taking advantage of your hard work and kindness, no matter how diligent you are, your situation will never change. You’re human. It’s all right to feel disheartened.”
Just…something about that quote feels like it’s hitting home for me. It’s probably the last part that’s causing it for me.
Anyway, after Grandma basically tells Yoshiaki that he’s free to return whenever, Yoshiaki ends up drinking some alcohol, and while drunk, makes some observations that even cause Grandma to wonder if he’s drunk or sober. But after some head pats, Yoshiaki seems to conclude that this is his mom.
Grandpa and Grandma then go back to the place where they frequently met when they were younger, and the two try to recreate the moment when the confession occurred, to see if that sparks some memories in Grandma. However, this ends up being more awkward than anything…and that didn’t appear to spark any memories in Grandma.
There’s then a flashback of Grandma when she was younger with her sister, and then we cut to the present, where Grandpa and Grandma are visiting that sister, as it turns out that she’s alive, though only remembers her mother. As Grandma has no other source of comfort, she ends up grabbing the back of Grandpa’s shirt…which ends up not being the best idea, as now he can’t get up to go to the bathroom.
During the visit, we see Grandma’s sister sit in front of a piano, and Grandma joins her, playing it, as the two played it together when they were younger. It was Grandma alone at first, but her sister joins in and says that Grandma’s good at piano, even if she doesn’t remember her. The two end up playing for over an hour…for better or for worse.
Weeks later, Grandpa ends up leaving Grandma in the house, as the latter eats curry, noticing that it isn’t as good as before. She then realizes that without him nearby, she feels anxious…even in regards to stuff that she shouldn’t feel anxious over. This seems to be the thing that causes the broken part of the hourglass to repair, remembering her time with Grandpa, and Grandma to go back to the younger state we expect, happily greeting Grandpa at the door when he returns.
There’s also a cute after-credits scene that has the two hanging out at the shrine they commonly met at when they were younger, with Grandma purposely touching Grandpa’s hand. In the preview, there’s also a speech bubble that denotes that next week’s episode is part of an arc, which I believe hasn’t been in any of the previous previews so far. I don’t know how long I should expect this arc to be, but that designation makes it feel like it won’t be the last time that we see arcs pop up in this show.
This episode was wholesome…and emotional. Definitely felt more emotional than wholesome. Regardless, I felt this was a very solid episode, and I hope we get more episodes that spark up because of stuff occurring with the hourglass. Although we’ve had two episodes that placed a heavy focus on that, it feels like there’s more fun to be had with them. I can’t wait to see what happens next week, and how long the arc we’re entering ends up being!
Additional posts about Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again:
Sara Talks Anime 
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