Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari Episode 03: The Red Lighthouse

Hello everyone! Did you have a good week? I hope you did! The weather is getting colder and colder, so take care of yourself and don’t catch a cold!

The third episode of Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari has already aired, and it is a pretty sweet one; just like the previous two episodes were. I don’t know about you, but when I am watching this anime I feel detached from the world and completely engulfed in the world of Poko-chan. It has this cosy feel to it that helps me relax after a long and tiring day. I hope that’s also the case with you!

The third episode wasn’t very different from the first two in its pace and style. It centered on Souta’s feelings, memories, and experiences and his regrets about the past. I think that with every episode Souta will get to open up more to himself and to the people around him. I am pretty sure that this change of attitude is caused by being near to Poco all the time. At the end of the day, Souta will learn to accept his own emotions. I am so looking forward to that.

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Plot

This episode starts with Nakajima, Souta’s high school friend barging into Souta’s house at 3 a.m. in the morning, telling him to go fishing with him. Of course, this might sound like a ridiculous idea to you, just like it did to Souta. Nakajima finds out about Poco, and at first doesn’t buy the story that Souta is taking care of a friend’s child. Of course he makes a joke about this, but you’ll have to find out what it was by watching the episode!

In the end Nakajima forces Souta and Poco to go fishing. They stay out all night and start reminishing the past. Even though Poco gets bored, he seems to enjoy himself by running around and chasing wildlife.

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Episode Highlights

Souta remembers the last time he came fishing to the same place with Nakajima. Souta starts talking about his sister’s idea of selling the house, remembers how he had a tiny fight with his dad when Souta refused to take over the udon shop. Souta also remembers how he told both his dad and then Nakajima that he is leaving for Tokyo to start studying over there.

But I can feel that the thought of taking over the udon shop is starting to linger in his thoughts. Every second, every day that Souta spends in Kagawa makes him remember a lot of things he had forgotten, most importantly feelings that he had sealed away. If he learns to accept his feelings, Souta will definitely be able to overcome the emptiness that fills his heart right now. Poco is there to help him with that!

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Themes and Trivia

The theme of this episode wasn’t very different from the ones I’ve already mentioned before. But while the first episode was centred on Souta and his family and the second on his first love, this one told us more about his friendship with Nakajima. You can pretty much guess that these two have been best friends since forever, and had spent a lot of time together in high school. They have a lot of things in common, especially the fact that both of them aren’t married and nowhere close to even having a girlfriend. We get to see them having a friendly fight and make up right afterwards. I mean this is what real friendship is after all: Telling each other right on the face whatever it is you’re thinking, and getting annoyed with the poor life choices your friends make.

Another theme that I could feel lingering in the air was the regret Souta is feeling for leaving his house, living in Tokyo for ten years, not succeeding his father in the udon shop, and more importantly hating udon because some kids used to bully him for always smelling of udon. I hope he will be able to overcome this feeling and that eventually he won’t sell his father’s house and shop, that one place where Souta passed his childhood, that place which is filled with memories of his family and the childhood that won’t ever come back. Hopefully, he will decide to live in that house forever.

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I hope you enjoyed the episode and got to relax a bit in case you had a tiring day! We here on Manga.Tokyo will be waiting to hear from you so do tell us what you think about Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari! Your opinion matters to us! 🙂

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