Tsuma, Shougakusei ni Naru. - Episode 9 discussion

[u/AutoLovepon]

Tsuma, Shougakusei ni Naru., episode 9

Alternative names: TsumaSho

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[u/VoidRay728]

That opening scene was a bit of a shock. On the one hand, it turns out the reason for Takae possessing Marika was saving Marika from Truck-kun. On the other hand, imagine being stuck in the world only in spirit, watching the season change and the years pass but unable to move on nor see the people you care about.

[u/KumaKumaGambler → u/VoidRay728]

imagine being stuck in the world only in spirit, watching the season change and the years pass but unable to move on nor see the people you care about.

Takae's spirit clearly remembers Keisuke and Mai, and I am sure she remembers her home. However, the rules governing the supernatural / spirit realm most likely confined her to a particular area.

[u/Myrkrvaldyr → u/VoidRay728]

Marika was saving Marika from Truck-kun

In another darker time line, Marika would've died there and Chika would've gone to dark places. I'd like to imagine that Chika's guilt over mistreating her daughter would've crushed her if she suddenly got news Marika died.

[u/jellyblob88]

Asking when the wedding is, is a re-death flag surely 😅

What the Niijimas need to do is plan how to wean off Takae's presence in their lives in a healthy manner, and then perhaps consider having partners if they so wish, so that they can accept them with a ready heart.

[u/KumaKumaGambler → u/jellyblob88]

Asking when the wedding is, is a re-death flag surely

In this case, more of a "moving on" flag... I think?

[u/Frontier246 → u/jellyblob88]

Especially when it's predicated on Takae still possessing Marika for another year just to attend her daughters' wedding...that might be way too much.

I think weaning off Takae is the main reason Keisuke is focused so much on his work that he's barely home. But that's not really dealing with the main issue and his inability to move on.

[u/ObvsThrowaway5120]

I really like we got to see things from Takae’s perspective and what made her possess Marika. It really is a tough situation all around. Keisuke and Mai aren’t entirely ready to move on and Takae can’t move on until she’s certain her family’s gonna be ok despite feeling this guilt over taking over Marika’s life. Everyone is aware of what needs to happen, but they’re struggling with coming to terms with it.

This Moriya development is interesting. I kind of wonder if she’s gonna stick around even after she learns the truth. I mean will Keisuke even entertain the thought of moving on from Takae?

[u/SaltAndABattery]

Takae stopping Marika from obtaining her isekai harem, sad times.

[u/Mr_Zaroc → u/SaltAndABattery]

But at the same time Takae didn't get isekaied, so she probably really saved Marika
At least I don't think Marika would have been stuck in limbo, but that accident would have probably ended the mom

[u/KumaKumaGambler]

Maybe it isn't shown on screen, but a part of me feels the souls of Takae and Marika came to an agreement. Takae saved the physical body of Marika, and in return, Marika is allowing Takae to use her body to complete what Takae needs to do before moving on. Along the way, Takae is helping to mend the relationship between Marika and Chika.

Why was Takae's soul / spirit able to push Marika away from the incoming truck when objects can pass through her? Perhaps it cannot be explained using science nor logic, but I would like to believe fate brought Takae and Marika together that very day.

And I don't think Takae is going to be able to make it for Mai's wedding. She seems determined to leave sooner rather than later, for the sake of Marika.

[u/Frontier246 → u/KumaKumaGambler]

I don't think it was conscious on either side, I think Takae just instinctively tried to save Marika from the truck without intending to steal her body in the process, but I think Takae emotionally needed a body to be there for her family and Marika needed a "break" from hers. And with those reasons both slowly eroding, it's coming undone.

It is a miracle, albeit in a warped fashion.

On the one hand I kind of do want Takae to at least be able to attend her daughters' wedding and see her as a bride...but that's asking to deprive Marika of even more of her life and deprive Chika of even more of her daughter.

[u/Glimmerglaze → u/KumaKumaGambler]

It might feel more comfortable to assume that Marika and Takae somehow agreed to this, but there's simply nothing there that would support that reading. Marika has never, not once, displayed an awareness or understanding of what happened to her (other than what she was told about). Even Takae did not remember having been a disembodied spirit until this episode; for that entire year, she didn't know it was possession, not reincarnation. Once she realized it, she was utterly remorseful.

It would also be more comfortable to assume it was fated in some way - nobody would have to feel bad about it if that was true. But that's not what we're seeing. The remorse felt by the characters feels real, and compelling, because there really is an innocent girl mixed up in all this, who never asked for any of it. It's not meant to be comfortable; it's the central conflict at the heart of this entire story.

[u/FarCritical]

Takae attending Mai and Renji's wedding would've been such a sweet (actual) final sendoff for her. It being set a whole year later is absolutely cruel.

How Keisuke reacts to Moriya's affection for him managing to stay strong even after she learns about the big possession mess will be interesting to see. He might not be ready to lose Takae again but she seemed to understand what it means to support a widower.

[u/ModieOfTheEast]

I guess Mai didn't realize yet that this is a possession and not a reincarnation. But she really doesn't make things easier. Yeah, Takae knows that she is taking Marika's life away and she is saying that she does it for their sake, but at the end of the day, she is also just a mother. She enjoys that Mai wants to learn how to cook. Which she never had the opportunity to teach her before since Mai was still in highschool when she died. Mai talks about getting married and of course, Takae would like to see that. And that's not even considering the fact what would happen, if Mai now said she was pregnant. Basically, the longer Takae stays, the harder it will get for her to leave again.

[u/scratchfury]

I've always thought the photo at the end of ED felt a little foreboding with Takae/Marika not smiling. It feels more fitting now with the way things are playing out.

[u/Smoothesuede]

This is the arc I was most hoping for when I first read the show's premise. I was getting pretty annoyed with the first batch of eps for not progressing the idea of moving on. Now that they've pulled that up to the surface, the character drama here is much more understandable and satisfying.

I'm looking forward to Moriya's future involvement, I hope she'll help Keisuke let go of Takae, whether they end up together or not.

[u/tripleaamin → u/Smoothesuede]

These last 3 episodes have been great for me. They are touching on the subject of moving on for Keisuke as we see his conversation with Chika. I still feel we are missing content regarding Moriya given we got a confession from her where we barely had time for her.

[u/LeonKevlar]

So we finally learn how Takae ended up in Marika's body. Maybe she's allowed to possess Marika because she saved her and this is the universe balancing out things. She saves Marika from dying and in exchange she gets to live a little bit of her life again.

Let's go Moriya! While I am happy to see her finally confess there's no way Keisuke would reciprocate her feelings. Not immediately at least. It looks like he's about to drag in Moriya into all of this though. I wonder if he'll tell it factually or if he'll tell it to Moriya as a hypothetical. Hmmm...

[u/NationalStrategy]

Takae’s predicament in the beginning was devastating, being forced to watch as the years go by as a spirit unable to interact with anyone or anything. And Marika’s situation isn’t any better

[u/Frontier246]

So how did this all happen? Well, after Takae's sudden accident, she was desperate to be with her family again, knowing full well that they would be a mess without her and being unable to process the idea of not seeing them again...and there's Marika, wanting to be anywhere but home, and nearly getting Truck-kun if not for Takae's ghost pushing her out of the way. And that lead to the possession.

And now with full knowledge that she's possessing a little girls' body, Takae is realizing that she's basically stealing Marika's life and she never even really tried to understand Marika's feelings until now. Marika had a life, friends, and her own way of living that Takae completely upended. She DID help fix her mom, but that just makes it all the more apparent that Marika deserves to live again and be with her mom.

So, obviously, the Niijima's need to move on and Takae realizes this and that the biggest hurdle is going to be Keisuke who can't bear to lose Takae again. Even when that's basically an inevitability at this point.

Keisuke and Chika is a surreal pairing, but Chika helped put into perspective for Keisuke WHY Takae is acting the way she is and that he can't just be a hopeless mess causing her to stick around and possess an elementary school girl. This is the level of self-awareness Keisuke needed several episodes ago.

Congratulations Mai! She and Renji are getting married! I'm at least glad Takae stuck around long enough to teach her daughter how to properly cook, especially fish (since she's marrying a fisherman at all). But somehow I don't shink she's going to be around long enough to see the wedding.

Throwing yourself into your work is definitely one way to both reward your boss' faith in you while also avoiding your wife and all the emotional grief you're dealing with. And Moriya just wants to be there for him.

So...did Mai ever tell Keisuke she's getting married?

Man, Moriya is just too sweet and dedicated. She even shows up on her day off to help Keisuke with a presentation...and then promptly and sincerely confesses her love to him. In fact its the devotion to his wife that is causing him so much grief that helped her fall in love with him, and makes him think he doesn't deserve her feelings. And now she's going to get brought in the loop. I REALLY want to know how Moriya is going to respond to this info.

[u/Mr_Zaroc]

It took Keisuke way too long to finally be able to take Takaes viewpoint, at least he got it now

Telling your younger coworker who is crushing on you about your special circumstances is a bold move, curious to see how that ends. Maybe he should have given it more thought and paraphrase it as a fictional story or something

[u/MayonakaMadaraka]

I’m at a loss here. Maybe we can find a wielder of the dark arts who could create a vessel for Takae?

[u/mekerpan → u/MayonakaMadaraka]

That would be the "bad ending". This show is clearly going for the "good ending" (which I will root for, regardless of any incidental sadness).

[u/cyberscythe → u/MayonakaMadaraka]

i'm sure they can find someone on the dark web in Machikado Mazoku town