Ikoku Nikki, episode 4

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Alternative Names

Diary of a Strange Land, Different Country Diary, Foreign Country Diary

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  • Endmaker@ani.socialEnglish
    4·
    1 day ago

    It appears that Makio is starting to realise that sister didn’t actually look down on her aspirations. The cut to that look on her face during that scene is just chef’s kiss.

    • Unboxious@ani.socialEnglish
      5·
      24 hours ago

      It’s also possible her sister did look down on her aspirations, and then grew up later.

      • Endmaker@ani.socialEnglish
        3·
        16 hours ago

        While the sister-grew-up approach is possible, IMO the alternative makes for a more compelling plot as it offers growth for the current Makio.

        Also, this kind of development is a common scenario. In a previous episode, Daigo left a note for Makio (or is it the other way round? can’t recall) and didn’t think much of it, but it meant so much to the receiver. Makio’s situation with her sister may be essentially the same thing, but in a negative way.

        What Makio’s sister said sounded like a quip that siblings usually say. It’s an off-hand remark with the intent of teasing Makio, but Makio ended up taking it to heart.

        • _‌_反いじめ戦隊@ani.socialEnglish
          2·
          10 hours ago

          It depends. Makio has been repeatedly been shown to space out and even hallucinate Minori’s provocations. I am aware Makio suffered trauma and PTSD from continued abuse by Minori. And given how superficial were the furenal goers, I have to lean in that Minori had a severe case of NPD. I am not sure how Minori was abused to the extent she lashed out to Makio, but signs of NPD abuse even Asa recollected in this episode, esp. when she recalled the scenarios her mother would do to ignore her emotional needs.

          • Endmaker@ani.socialEnglish
            2·
            9 hours ago

            I appreciate the discussion but

            Minori had a severe case of NPD

            is a huge stretch ngl. Reality is usually not so extreme, and this anime has been very realistic thus far.

            Regardless, we should be seeing Makio’s sister / Asa’s mother (Minori is her name huh?) fleshed out over the rest of the episodes. Would be interesting to find out what she is like beyond Makio’s perspective.

            • _‌_反いじめ戦隊@ani.socialEnglish
              1·
              9 hours ago

              I recommend you rewatch all 4 episodes from Asa’s perspective. Child neglect, and the loneliness she feels, were contributing factors of Minori’s lack of sympathy NPDs are unable to exhibit.

              This last episode, Asa clearly recollected her mother emotionally neglected her feelings. Unlike Makio who consoled her at the end. Makio acknowledged her feelings of wanting to standout, even if both mean different things to them: Makio here means as an artist, not Asa’s need to socially connect with peers.

  • Rottcodd@ani.socialEnglish
    9·
    2 days ago

    I’m extremely introverted, and realized somewhere along the way that while I got the concept of loneliness, I couldn’t even quite imagine what it actually felt like.

    I only very rarely try to explain that to people, and I’ve never before seen it explained, or even really mentioned, by anyone else. Until Makio.

    And I love that Asa understood and appreciated that Makio didn’t really understand her loneliness, but broadly sympathized anyway.

    Part of what we have here is two extremely sensitive people who both live behind similarly strong but otherwise very different walls.

    It amazes me how good this is.

  • Crank@ani.socialEnglish
    8·
    2 days ago

    Another great episode. I wish we had more stories like this, where you can see that the author respects his viewers intelligence, where characters feel real, and there’s no cheap drama that tries to coerce you to feel emotional while forsaking any subtlety. This is like a breath of fresh air

  • wietach@ani.socialEnglish
    9·
    2 days ago

    The portrayal of frustration and irritability from noise overstimulation was too real. I feel for Makio. New living conditions are hard for both Makio and Asa, though in completely different ways.

    What’s wonderful about Makio is that she recognizes Asa is a child, who needs support, and actually tries to be considerate of her. She isn’t perfect for the job, and she knows it, but not any adult would’ve been able to handle similar situation in such a mature way.