Warning: This installment will contain quite a bit of ranting.
There is a long author's note justifying the outcome of the round hitting Miho. The author insists that simunitions would work this way, and somewhat condescendingly suggests that most people don't understand the physics involved, and even says that the StuG round lodging itself in the Panzer IV is proof of his argument, and using the "bullet going through the helmet but missing the head" analogy as proof o it being simunition, as opposed to being proof of how improbable Miho staying in the game was. He thus concludes that it's most likely an airsoft round.
I'm no expert in physics, but as far as I know, the rounds don't work that way.
The chapter begins with Miho in the hospital, pondering her injuries and the various protective measures of tankery. Her ribs are bruised, but not broken, and there are scratches all over, so she's being kept overnight as a precaution. She realizes that safety equipment can't make tankery safe, as tankery gear could shoot out eyes or chip teeth (which sounds exceedingly minor), and that some safety gear is rejected for interfering with their work, such as eye goggles. The author also spends two paragraphs explaining the modified velocities of the shells and how Miho had to get Hana to adjust her aim. It clearly seems as though, like in Chapter 4, the early pat of the chapter justifies what the author's note says. Long author's notes can be annoying, but there are times when information is best conveyed through them, especially if it can't be easily shown in the story.
Maho comes in, and warmly greets Miho, letting down her facade and even shedding tears over Miho's state. Maho also says that Miho's alive because of Akio's intervention, and because she stood up (when Miho says she got hit because she went out to take a look), causing the round to hit her in the chest, rather than the face.
As Maho moves in to hug Miho, Kay bursts in and says that it was a great match, clearly unable to read the mood- usually people only do this to romantic couples. Maho resumes her stoic facade, while Kay sets down some bottles of coke and Alisa comes in, oddly nervous about seeing Miho in the hospital gown, even though she wasn't all that close to Miho. Naomi is never mentioned. Kay arrived on a Piper J-3 airplane that Miho can't afford, not when she has to replace the Type 89 first.
Alisa nervously adds that other schools will be arriving to visit Miho, surprising her.
Maho asks if there will be an investigation. Kay replies that the Semovente's gunner won't be held responsible unless she aimed for Miho, and while Akio broke safety rules to save Miho, he deserves a medal. Maho notes that Miho did something similar, and knows that those she saved would believe she deserves a medal, while her mother would obviously disagree. This is in character for Maho, but it doesn't sound like part of her stoic facade. Miho tears up at this, prompting Kay and Alisa to look away, "as if to preserve her modesty" while Maho comforts her.
Anglerfish Team arrives, with Saori rushing to Miho's side, almost in tears, Hana bringing flowers and Yukari exchanges a furtive grin with Kay. Mako then arrives, and the narration points out that "her rather cold and almost uncaring look" can't hold up. Mako may not be the most emotionally expressive individual, but that's overly harsh.
Mako, the primary one responsible for almost running over Miho, offers her apology, and Miho, disappointed in but not angry with Mako, reminds her that as a result of Mako's mistake, Miho would have died if not for Akio's intervention. It seems more like Miho to leave the scolding to someone like Akio, while accepting Mako's apology and resolution to improve.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the major event that happens to Miho in this chapter is one she endures for Mako's sake. She may be a close friend, perhaps closer than the author gives her credit for, but of all Miho's four friends on Anglerfish Team, she isn't very close to Mako. Considering how little time she spends with her friends in this fic, it seemed like a wasted opportunity to show how close they are or have them get closer, rather than have Miho keep Mako around because she seems remorseful and she can't be replaced.
Miho then turns to Akio and asks for his help getting to class, ignoring that she has two other friends in that class, who have supported her since Day 1 at Oarai.
Akio then pulls Maho aside, into the hallway. After a somewhat curt introduction, he wastes little time in laying into her, saying "If I had a sister, I’d be there for her all the time. Not just when she’s in the hospital," before leaving, apparently uninterested in hearing what she has to say in response, leaving as three girls in the "red uniforms" of St. Gloriana (apparently the tankery uniforms; the school uniform has a blue slipover sweater, light blue skirt white dress shirt, and black necktie, with the girls also wearing black pantyhose and black shoes).
I could forgive the rest of Anglerfish team for having a negative first impression of Maho, although they were surprisingly polite about it if they ever did think ill of her- the most they say about her is Hana saying to Miho that “We’ll show your sister” that her style of tankery is not wrong, which is what Maho wants. Even the brutally honest Emi in Little Army started to question her first impression of Maho after the practice match between Miho and Maho’s teams, the first time she actually spoke with her without walking off (and Miho is infuriated that Emi would declare that she hated Maho without ever talking to her).
But here, Akio has just met Maho for the first time, showing up at her sister's hospital room. Perhaps to him, it's the bare minimum, but Maho has just demonstrated an ability to be there for Miho when she's in pain. And Akio surely knows what kind of person Shiho is, and the kind of expectations she puts on her own daughters. Wouldn't he have at least a little sympathy for Maho, if only for growing up under Shiho's thumb? If he does, he never expresses it.
And unfortunately, Maho just stands there and takes all of it, with the narrative not allowing her a proper rebuttal. The author later clarified that Maho knows she has done as much as she can but wishes she could do more, but unfavorably comparing herself to some of Miho's rivals doesn't help matters, as it seems to give us the impression that we're meant to agree with Akio.
RYSS Evaluation 2
- Akio vs. Maho
- Final Grade: F
- Instructor Comments: Student shows a lack of knowledge of Maho’s true motives and is overly judgmental; he admits that he does not have a sister, but does not know what it would be like to grow up inside the Nishizumi household? To be entrusted with inheriting his family's school? It seems the answers are no, and to lambast Maho so ignorantly when she is emotionally distressed is almost unforgivable. Supplementary lessons regarding Maho with Instructor Kikuyo are recommended for this student.
This may seem like a minor point, but the real Saburo Sakai apparently had two grandchildren, so I have to wonder whether Akio has a cousin, if he doesn't have a sibling.
As for Maho, she's paralyzed with guilt. While Maho is unlikely to be completely happy with her decisions, she's walked the path of being Nishizumi heiress for long enough to be certain of why she has to do it, and she should have enough determination and confidence to not be shaken by Akio's idiotic and self-righteous remarks.
Maho notices the three girls from St. Gloriana, and for some reason, the author claims that Darjeeling, Orange Pekoe and Assam are sisters. Maho even goes so far as to conclude that Kay and Darjeeling had been there for Miho more than she had been. While Kay and Darjeeling are fairly nice to Miho, it's quite a overstatement to say that they're there for Miho more, considering that in canon, Miho only sees them three times- before and after their respective matches, and before the finals. Maho, of course, wishes she could have been there for Miho more, but knows that she has to be Nishizumi heiress for Miho's sake, even if her mother is never happy.
Maho returns to Miho's room, where Miho's sipping some tea, with her and the others mostly oblivious to what's going on in Maho's head. Darjeeling, however, comforts Maho, since she understands what it's like to have a sister in the hospital, showing a degree of empathy and intelligence that Akio lacks.
The narration points out that the tankery team commanders know each other from the exhibition season, and are planning to join the JSDF's "Tank School" after graduating (Technically, it's called the Fuji School Brigade Tank Trainng Unit). Maho's secretly friends with all of them, and understands why they like Miho, since she's "approachable and rather easy going," if a bit timid and quiet as a result of her upbringing. She also secretly watches Miho, glad that she's starting to enjoy tankery again, but unable to express it, and understands why Akio lashes out at her. The author says that Akio helps her understand what her relationship with Miho looks like to those outside the family, but Maho is intelligent and self-aware to understand that without his "help", especially after upsetting Miho in Little Army.
Maho remembers that Akio is a Sakai, and realizes that his grandfather is one of the last remaining apanese aces from WWII, an authority in the SAAB, and Shiho's Arch-Enemy. She's troubled by what might come of this, and fears that her mother will make her drive a wedge between Miho and Akio. I'm not sure how Shiho expects Akio to do that (and, of course, Maho refuses to do so), but it seems simpler for Shiho to put pressure on Miho to break up with Akio, or, failing that, cast her out of the family so that she's no longer their problem.
Shiho comes in, wearing a business suit and carrying a "rather small" bouquet of flowers, as if the narration is trying to tell us that, on top of everything else, her sympathies are halfhearted at best. Shiho says that it's good that Miho is awake and that Maho is there with her, which doesn't please either of them, as they're dreading what's coming next. While it's somewhat cold compared to Maho's emotional remarks, it's the nicest thing we've seen Shiho do, and perhaps her daughters, who know this better than anyone, could be a little touched. Shiho then tells the others to vacate the room while she talks with Miho. It's an understandable desire for privacy, and that there are now 14 people in the room (Miho, Maho, Kay, Alisa, Akio, the rest of Anglerfish Team, Darjeeling, Assam, Orange Pekoe and Shiho, who's the last person Miho wants to see).
Once everyone else is gone, Shiho wastes no time in asking whether Miho will get rid of her driver. Miho says no, because she can’t afford to replace Mako. Even considering the circumstances, this sounds unusually harsh and pragmatic for Miho to say that she’s only keeping Mako around because she can’t afford to replace her, unless she’s only saying something that Shiho would understand. Miho's portrayal tends to vary based on the scene, going from a timid, nervous wreck in some scenes to moderately confident and decisive in others.
Of course, Shiho doesn’t exactly like Miho’s reasoning, expressing a disbelief that she couldn’t afford to replace Mako with all the boys on her team (of whom there are 16; only enough to fill the new tanks and the vacant slots in the under-crewed ones), and coldly says that Miho has been "corrupted" by her stay at Oarai. Shiho then gets right to the point- she’s disowning Miho.
Maho protests, but Shiho tells her that the disowning has been coming for a long time, because Miho is not a true Nishizumi and is a disgrace to the family name. Again, Shiho's overly temperamental here, where in canon, as Maho was about to say something about Miho in Episode 8, Shiho simply coldly tells her to forget about Miho.
Akio then comes into the room, and tells Shiho that she's the disgrace, pointing out that Miho defeated Maho when the odds were stacked against her. Shiho, unusually hot tempered, insists that this is not what tankery is about, but he insists that she leave if she's not claiming Miho as her daughter. Shiho protests, but Maho chimes in and tells her "Mother, leave."
First, I'll evaluate the content of Akio's "The Reason You Suck" Speech against Shiho.
RYSS Evaluation 3
- Akio vs. Shiho
- Final Grade: C-
- Instructor comments: Student relies on traditional clichés of The Power of Friendship and underdogs prevailing despite the odds. Like with taking down the Maus, only a strong and well-aimed attack will be enough to pierce the armor of Shiho’s arrogance.
Now, I'll move on to another question- while Shiho clearly deserves a good calling out, why does Akio get to be the one who calls her out?
Miho, being the victim of Shiho's brand of parenting, is obviously the one who deserves to call out Shiho most of all. However, given the kind of person Miho is, she doesn't necessarily have the assertiveness to do so; in Chapter 7 of "Little Army", she was unable to say anything in response to Shiho's response that Maho was supposed to shoot the enemy flag tank despite it saving one of her teammates, and in the Episode 7 flashback, she doesn't manage anything more than a "But Mother-".
Maho is the next choice, since she's been forced to live up to Shiho's expectations as well, and is clearly unhappy about what Shiho has done to Miho. It was nice to hear her vocally protest and tell Shiho, "Mother, leave", but she should have taken the lead in this scene. Perhaps she holds back in front of Shiho, but now that Miho's facing being disowed, she knows that if she doesn't say anything now, she'll never get another chance.
There are several other candidates for calling Shiho out- Miho's friends on Anglerfish team, her maid and Parental Substitute Sakuyo, and, if they were there, Emi and the crew of the tank Miho saved.
The author explains his reasons for having Akio and Miho together- she needs someone to build up her self-worth, and while her friends in the team help, none of them can stand up to their parents in the same way as he can.
This reasoning does not sit well with me for several reasons. First, it blatantly contradicts canon, in which Hana and Saori not only forgo tankery in order to be with Miho, whom they met and befriended the previous day, but accompany her to the student council office and defend her decision while risking expulsion. Hana also stands by her decision to do tankery in front of her mother, even when it gets her disowned.
I also dislike how it seems to underestimate the importance of everything the canon characters have done so far. Miho has led her underdog team to winning a tournament; while she is clearly at a low point in her life, surely she has started to realize how much she can do by herself? Miho's friends have stood by her and supported her at important points, even when others have opposed her decisions; is the support they can give to Miho that much inferior to the support Akio can give? Maho has sacrificed much to allow Miho to live as she wishes; while Miho's decisions are ultimately hers to make, does the fact that Maho's goal is to allow Miho to make her own choices not imply a great deal of faith in Miho?
On a side note, it also somewhat bugs me that Shiho is portrayed relatively one-dimensionally, with her negative aspects played up. She's not a very good parent, but, at least in my view, she does what she does out of a belief that it's not only good for the Nishizumi school, but good for her daughters. The author suggests that disowning Miho was a difficult choice motivated both by necessity for the Nishizumi school and by a desire to allow Miho to do what she wishes with the support of her friends, but I didn't see much of that in this chapter.
After Shiho leaves, Miho bursts into tears, and Akio points out that Shiho "doesn't deserve" Miho. Maho worries about what repercussions what she just said will have, but Akio points out that "She can't disown you both." It's hard to say whether he's trying to reassure Maho, or suggesting that she didn't risk anything by saying what she did. Miho hugs Akio, although at this point, she should still be much closer to her sister.
Miho asks Maho what will happen now, and Maho says that it's up to Miho, but that Maho loves her no matter what Shiho thinks. Maho notes that Shiho still blames Miho for the match, and Miho appears to have internalized her mother's opinions, saying they lost because of her. Maho not only supports her sister's decision to save the crew of the tank, but even goes so far as to say that they already lost, with the Maus de-tracked (although why they would bring the colossus into field warfare in such a rocky area when their comparatively small heavy tanks had trouble in the final match against Oarai is beyond me), and that Maho might have gotten in trouble if Miho hadn't acted, thereby becoming a scapegoat for Shiho. That's an interesting admission from Maho, although I personally believe that there was at least some chance of Black Forest winning, possibly even after Miho abandoned the flag tank.
Maho then tells Miho that what happens next is up to her, and she loves Miho and will continue to see her, no matter what her mother says. She asks Akio to look after Miho, and stays with her as she cries.
Saburo talks with some of Miho's visitors. Apparently, Shiho's colleagues on the SF and SAAB (apparently, Lady Grey is Darjeeling's mother) are not happy. Saburo then goes into Miho's room, where Akio is holding her once again, and if he needed any proof that Shiho actually disowned Miho, he has it.
Maho says she didn't agree with her mother's decision, and Saburo notes that the others on the board will make their displeasure known. Saburo says Shiho won't want Maho to see Miho again (an unusually cruel mandate that Shiho never enforces), but Maho refuses to comply with it, saying that Shiho can't do anything to her as her only remaining heiress, and wishes she could have been there or Miho more. Saburo offers to help support Miho's team, and Miho says that a replacement for the Type 89 would be nice.
Oddly enough, none of Miho's friends apart from Akio come back in after Shiho's departure, and Miho's friends from Anglerfish Team barely seemed present at all before this point. Granted, there's a lot of characters in this chapter, but it's completely unlike Miho's four crewmates and close friends to disappear at such a painful time for Miho.
Miho is discharged from the hospital the next day, and gets home without any major problems, save for Akio's fear of flying. She has a wheelchair and a set of crutches, and I heard from one reviewer that she should mainly be using the former.
By now, if you've read the chapter, you’ve probably noticed one person who should have come to the hospital by this point but did not- Miho’s father. At least one reviewer notes that this entire chapter reflects very poorly on him; not only does he not try to oppose Shiho's disowning Miho, but he doesn't even come to visit her in the hospital.
Akio helps Miho get settled into her apartment. The trip there takes a lot out of her, so he contacts his friend Yakota (who had previously been called "Yakuma") on the disciplinary committee to let him know that the two of them will be absent.
Akio learns that Miho has not had any breakfast. Despite Miho's claims otherwise, Akio knows that she's not up to going to the store or even cooking for herself yet and goes to get some food for her from the "konbini" (I know it's vaguely an English loanword, but couldn't the author have said "convenience store?"). The moment Akio's out the door, Miho starts crying again. Miho's attempting to keep up a strong facade and failing to this degree is quite depressing and almost funny.
On the walk over to the convenience store, Akio thinks about what happened, and still can't understand Shiho's reasoning, considering that his mother would have welcomed him back even if he'd done something wrong.
Akio wonders whether Miho has ever had a good relationship with her mother. By contrast, Akio's mother and grandmother were supportive of him not flying, his mother worked hard to support the family and he had nothing but good memories of his father.
Akio thinks about tankery, and how he hadn't been interested in tankery or any martial art-based sport, even before his father's death, until Masaru had introduced him to hohei-do. As Masaru's spotter, Akio was able to understand the joy of working together, and sees that as even more present in teamwork.
All that is interesting, but for two things- it would have been nice to see more of Akio's friendship with Masaru, and nice to see Anglerfish as a closer-knit group.
Akio buys some "konbini" for Miho, making it sound like he's buying the store, rather than its product, and notes that he's been living on it since he got to Japan, making me wonder why he doesn't leave things to Saori, who can actually cook quite well. Per Miho's request, he buys two miso-flavored onigiri, and pays for it with two 500 yen coins.
Akio goes home to find Miho still visibly upset, and Akio notes that no matter how much of "a bitch" Shiho is, it still hurts to be rejected. She seems oddly resigned toward her disinheritance, saying that she "went against the expectations of being a Nishizumi daughter." This is highly unlike her, as Miho, for all her meekness, has no desire to be the daughter her mother wants her to be. The author contends that until she met the Sakais, no one showed her that the way she was treated was at all unusual, but this contradicts what Miho has experienced. The Akiyamas are nothing like the Nishizumis, Mako and Hisako care for each other in spite of their bickering, and even Yuri came to recant disowning Hana while also coming to accept her doing tankery, which essentially means that Hana was portrayed more sympathetically the whole time, and ultimately won. Clearly, this seems to be another case of the OCs being built up at the expense of Miho's canon friends, as the author points out on the forums that until now, no one showed Miho that Shiho's treatment of her was at all wrong. That was proven back in Little Army, when Chihiro compared Shiho to her own "strict" mother, and Emi said that the Nishizumis were strict even in comparison to othr tankery families.
His reassurance, while something Miho needs at the moment, reads like a somewhat more anti-Nishizumi version of Yukari's speech that Miho did the right thing in saving the flag tank, and seems to be bashing the Nishizumis as much as comforting Miho. Yukari did better by mentioning the fact that the girls Miho saved were grateful- and being proven right three episodes later. Miho hardly says anything in response, save for the fact that the onigiri is good, so it's possible that Akio's statement didn't really help.
Akio and Miho spend some time bonding, sharing ideas about the club, watching matches, looking at kits for tanks, and talking their friends and crews, as well as Maho, which I hope enables Akio to stop being so judgmental toward her. In any case, it might have been nice to see some of the other discussions, which would help show more about the rest of the cast.
Elsewhere, Rebecca has a Skype talk with Saburo. The accident in the Anzio match is on her mind, and while she's all too familiar with accidents, she wonders how much effort the Japanese SF is making to ensure safety. Rebecca says that while Oarai has financial problems, she doesn't want "the Shiho" and her supporters to complain about the Sakais sponsoring Oarai. Saburo says they can use the inclusion of boys as an excuse, and tankery is still fairly expensive. Rebecca then puts forward some ideas for a four-person tank that they can use, one that costs roughly $250,000, and helps her father-in-law order it online.
Back at Oarai, Miho, sleeping against Akio for a few hours, wakes up to a knock on her door. She's still in pain, although she tries to suppress her whimpers, so Akio answers the door. Masaru and Miho's friends come in, and as Miho's friends talk with her, Masaru teases Akio about his relationship with Miho. He's annoyed, but has to admit that he doesn't dislike the arrangement. The chapter ends with Yukari cooking for Miho; it's unfortunate that most of Anglerfish's interactions with Miho are glossed over or offscreen.
Sorry for the ranting; this chapter is a large portion of the reason I started this liveblog, and I had to get a lot of this out of my system.
What I liked
- Returning to the plotline of Shiho disowning Miho.
- Maho openly showing how much she cares for Miho, and vocally protesting against Shiho.
What I didn't like
- Akio calling out Maho.
- Akio getting to be the one who calls out Shiho.
- Akio and his family being designated as Miho's primary emotional support.
My impression of Akio thus far: His taking a judgmental stance on Maho despite freely admitting not having any siblings, and not knowing why she’s doing what she’s doing infuriates me. And he stands at risk of making Miho dependent on him, for everyday tasks (which is understandable given that she’s been seriously injured), for commanding and for emotional support(I buy the argument that she needs emotional support now- I just don’t think that he has to be the one to give it). This is the point at which I, to be blunt, started considering Akio a Gary Stu.
Check back soon for a new update, in which I compare Akio and Miho's Litmus Test results.
