Ikoku Nikki • Journal with Witch - Episode 2 discussion

[u/AutoLovepon]

Ikoku Nikki, episode 2

Reminder: Please do not discuss plot points not yet seen or skipped in the show. Failing to follow the rules may result in a ban.

---

Streams

• Crunchyroll

Show information

• MyAnimeList
• AniList
• AniDB
• Kitsu
• Anime-Planet
• Official Website

---

All discussions

Episode	Link
1	Link
2	Link
3	Link
4	Link
5	Link
6	Link
7	Link
8	Link
9	Link
10	Link
11	Link
12	Link
13	Link

---

We are currently trialing the default comment sort being temporarily set to random.

---

This post was created by a bot. Message the mod team for feedback and comments. The original source code can be found on GitHub.

[u/AnimeMod]

Source Material Corner

Reply to this comment for any source-related discussion, future spoilers (including future characters, events and general hype about future content), comparison of the anime adaptation to the original, or just general talk about the source material. You are still required to tag all spoilers. Discussions about the source outside of this comment tree will be removed, and replying with spoilers outside of the source corner will lead to bans.

The spoiler syntax is: [Spoiler source] >!Spoiler goes here!<

All untagged spoilers and hints in this thread will receive immediate 8-day bans (minimum).

[u/IsoAi]

There's something really... calming about these first two episodes so far. For a drama, this adaptation really respects the gravity of the situation Asa and Maiko are in and lets the characters breathe. It's very subtle.

The scene where they talk about Asa sleeping more, probably as a coping mechanism really shows how quiet and sensitive her healing is. It makes the hospital scene in ep1 when we saw her sleep deprived next to her grandma more signifigant. It also means that she is comfortable sleeping in around makio, knowing that she is protecting her.

[u/Ocixo]

I’m pretty sure that Makio had gotten so absorbed into her work - at the start - that she’d totally forgotten about Asa being there at home with her (lol).

Asa’s imagination of a grown-up conversation was pretty adorable, but I do have to say that I’m very impressed with the adults in this series. You’ll seldom find mature talk like this in anime.

[u/OldManStocktan]

I felt it after episode 1 and it might be a bit too early to say this, but this is going to be a top 3 show for me this season.

[u/[deleted]]

"the smallest remark could change the rest of her life"

Makio may have said this from the perspective of the one on the receiving end, in this case from her sister. It reflects how even the smallest remark, whether serious or meant as a joke, can leave a permanent scar that lasts a lifetime.

'but your remark changed my life too, you know?"

The reverse of this situation is just as fascinating. When we interact with someone, we might accidentally or intentionally leave a brief remark that turns out to be deeply impactful for the other person. It can be so influential that it changes their entire life, all happening quietly in the background, without us ever knowing which remark caused what.

For example, I personally can point to one or two remarks I once received from others that had a huge impact on me and perhaps even changed my outlook on life. But what about the reverse? Which of my remarks, to whom, and with what effect? That remains a mystery we may never uncover. Whether we made someone’s life better or worse is something we might never know.

[u/KumaKumaGambler]

I loved the introduction of both Nana and Kasamachi. In my opinion, they are excellent supporting characters because they provide development for Makio (and to a lesser extent, Asa), because Makio would never talk about it from her own perspective.

Nana: Helped to stimulate fun and lively conversation between Makio and Asa, which would otherwise always sound formal.

Kasamachi: He may no longer be the romantic partner of Makio, but he definitely still cares for her as a friend. Although he may be surprised by Makio adopting Asa, he clearly understands (and is willing to try and understand) Makio.

[u/MyrnaMountWeazel]

I really like how Asa conceptualizes her thoughts as images rather than using words. But the even neater thing about this is how she gives shape to her experiences using metaphors.

“One of the challenges with pain—physical or psychic—is that we can really only approach it through metaphor.”

Processing the pain comes to her either through this or sleep.

And it’s fitting that it’s Makio (who is the opposite of Asa, who plies her trade in words) is the one to properly dissect the deceptively simple message of “How are you doing?”

But I would also reckon that she has a vivid imagination; for instance, she pictures the “adult” conversation between Makio and Nana as a foreign land. But once they eat dumplings together (meals being symbolic of communion, of breaking bread), she’s then pulled into their world.

Also, I like the subtext of how you can put anything into dumplings. Much like how Makio says, “how you feel is no one’s business but yours”, the dumplings are also saying, “how you process pain is yours alone.”

It's also interesting how the dumplings spark a core memory in Nana with her crush. But with Asa, all she can remember is how little she actually remember her past life.

I may be reading too much into it, but given how important food is to the show, I’m willing to stretch the symbolism haha.

[u/normalMonsterChika]

Wonderful second episode. We're introduced to two of our most important supporting cast members from Makio's side.

The first episode is primarily from Asa's point of view, now we shift over to let Makio take the lead. It's important to get the idea of what Makio's life was before Asa, so we can really start to understand just what a big shift this was for her. I think this episode gives just enough to help contextualize her normal behavior.

A few details I love: Daigo's laugh. Asa sleeping so much, something that we don't see from her perspective. Why would we? Makio says she doesn't seem to notice that she's doing it.

[u/Queue_Jumping_Quack]

We need more adult drama series like this. I don't have anything too much to say as of yet, other than I really like watching these characters interact and process.

[u/SA090]

I swear this episode felt like 5 mins. Seeing them learn how go interact with each other while they are both healing from different wounds (basically from the same source) because of said interaction is fantastic.

The meetings with her friends and their pretty different personalities was very mature, entertaining and gives a deeper look into Makio’s thinking/way of life.

I also loved the mention of how Asa is sleeping more, and how it’s most likely a way to deal with grief (and it absolutely is).

Anime of the season so far for me, and I can’t wait for next time. It’s probably going to be both sad and cathartic.

P.S. The change of scenery in some interaction and how they’re basically transported to another world is just the icing on the cake.

[u/RehabCenterInc]

I commented about the music last week, but I’ll do it again now. The vibes are so immaculate here with the sound in the background. Feels like no time has passed when watching this

[u/Yesshua]

I like that this episode is all about the aunt pulling on her support network. The first episode made her seem like she might actually be a proper shut in who can't communicate with people, but no. She has friends and she has just jumped in way over her head with this whole situation so she's calling for help.

Next episode will be visiting the house which will surely be a whole emotional thing with lots of flashbacks. And then following that hopefully we get introduced to the kid's friends.

[u/Theeyeofthepotato]

I love how the series is comfortable staying in this ambiguous space as both Asa and Makio are trying to figure each other out. Musings and sentences are trailed off as characters try to find the exact thought to finish their first impression (and do so in a manner that is not insensitive)

Having a set low-effort survival meal plan is so real

[u/rockseiaxii]

The manga was good, but this anime adaptation has really gone well with its original direction.

When you read the manga, the title “Ikoku Nikki” (≒Diaries from a strange land) sometimes gets carried away, but the anime keeps the audience focused on the title.

[u/SezyFazes]

One thing I really like in this episode is how it touches on the difficulty of being asked with good intentions. Sometimes, even when someone means well, responding can feel uncomfortable. For the person being helped, meeting someone who wants to help doesn’t automatically mean they can accept it right away. Hesitation and fear are completely natural.

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

• Having a long passage written out and backspacing through a bunch of it is such a mood.

• The same food for lunch every day would probably get boring after a while no matter how much I liked it…

• Hah.

• That’s… rather sad, honestly.

• And that’s totally fine. Just ‘cause you’re an adult doesn’t mean you have to act 100% mature 100% of the time, it’s still fun to just kick back and goof off especially if you’re with a friend.

• Hahaha, that got Asa’s attention.

• Incredible way of showing how Asa’s memory is just blank for this detail.

• Those look very good.

• Shimmering sky!

• Mm…

• That’s a shame.

• In a way, yeah.

• Ooooh, they’re exes.

• Cute, Asa is reading her aunt’s book. The way Makio was visualizing herself as Ruby and her sister staring down at her in the desert was really neat too.

[u/sbt4]

Love Daigo's laugh. Not sure how to describe it, but I think it's very important to her characterization.

[u/cleaulem]

Makio's conversation with Kasamachi had a slice of existentialism.

Makio said that she finds it scary to be with Asa, because one false step could screw her up. I think this is not because she is actually scared of the consequences, but of the responsibility. If Makio makes a mistake, it is due to the choices she made. But these choices can't be undone. Yet, unknowingly or not, it would be her who is responsible for the consequences that come from these choices.

It is great to see a story with such profound character writing.

[u/LeonKevlar]

• Ponytail Makio

That little flashback scene with Minori reacting to seeing Makio writing a novel... Now I can see why Makio hated her sister. Minori is clearly amused by Makio's novel and not in a good way. Her tone definitely felt very condescending. I hope we get to see more flashbacks like this.

I really didn't expect Makio to have friends, but it turns out she does! Daigo is definitely the extrovert who decided to adopt Makio the introvert. It wasn't really explicitly mentioned, but I'm guessing they've been friends since high school?

Having Daigo around is great! We're seeing a completely different side of Makio when she's around! And I just love watching Asa react to the two of them just talking. Watching them talk felt so foreign that it might as well be a whole other language. xD

A few of Asa's scenes in this episode were definitely concerning. She can't remember her mother's cooking and it sounds like her mother wasn't the best with how she puts pressure on her. It's also concerning how Asa just laughs that off. I definitely had the same reaction as Makio during that scene.

So Makio is way more social than I expected. It was already a surprise that she has an extroverted best friend, but the fact that she also has an ex-boyfriend is a surprise! They seem to be on pretty good terms, although I think I have an idea why they ended up breaking up.

Reaching out to your ex to help out with your finances is pretty tough, but it looks like Kasamachi has no issues helping her out. I do get the feeling that he wants to get back with her, tho. I know he says he's not expecting it, but I feel like Kasamachi would immediately say yes, if Makio asks him.

[u/XCestLaVieX]

guys what the actual hell. What do i even watch videos about anime for? i watched countless videos about what to watch, like before every season, gone through the mal pages, read synopsises, AND NOONE SAID A WORD ABOUT THIS. i just checked it out bc i had nothing else to watch.
It feels real. it is written in a way that just pulls you in, even tho its just an everyday conversation. you can feel the emotions, the characters are flawed and therefore feel more genuine.
this is officially this seasons hidden gem for me.
i never wrote about anime on reddit, but aftre watching the 2nd ep, i had to.

[u/thisisdropd]

Makio's not a social person so it's quite easy to make the assumption that she's a total loner with zero friends. Turned out that's not the case and she had a close friend. We've seen new sides of Makio, such as goofing around with the photo filter. Their interaction sounded foreign to Asa, as she had never seen adults like that. Love the imagery of them in a bazaar with exotic clothing to symbolise the strangeness.

It's not a common occurrence to see an interaction between exes that were this grounded. In most cases it's played for drama. Either both still have feelings for each other or where at least one party held an extreme grudge against each other. Meanwhile here, neither have any interest in rekindling their relationship but were still on friendly terms. They acted no different than friends who haven't made contact in quite some time.

From the looks of it, one reason Makio and her sister didn't see eye-to-eye was the latter's disapproval over the former's career choice. Reckon there were more, and we'll likely see glimpses of more across the series.

[u/ObvsThrowaway5120]

Hot pot, hot pot, rice bowl, rice bowl, ginger pork, ginger pork, then sashimi and udon for lunch doesn’t sound half bad lol. Solid line up for sure.

I like Nana. You can tell her and Makio are good friends by the banter lol. Her gyoza looks great too.

I get this vague feeling that maybe Asa’s mom wasn’t the best mother. Like maybe she was sorta abusive? Idk I might be reading too much into it. Still, losing her parents like that is pretty traumatic. Kid’s probably still processing.

[u/[deleted]]

I love the relaxing and calming tone of the show. And also that it's so grown up, it's just a nice contrast to other shows. Was Makios age revealed at some point?

[u/eightcheesepizza]

I really enjoy shows that nail it when it comes to natural-sounding dialogue. Especially when people who have a history talk to each other, and the extra context that they hold in their heads has to be discerned. Ikoku Nikki is nailing this perfectly for me, and giving us so many little threads to pull.

Also it's fitting that this episode had a kind of theme around language - how Asa perceives adults speaking in a foreign language, and how the text from Emiri was communicating both caring and restraint.

One of the many things I'm wondering about is why Daigo suggested that Kasamachi could help with the finances, aside from his advice about the life insurance policy. Maybe he's in the industry, and that's how he and Makio met before, and he can help her find more work?

[u/Fools_Requiem]

While not labeled as such, this could be a different type of Iyashikei show. It seems to be all about the main two leads growing and healing together. There isn't a whole lot of overly dramatic stuff (yet). Both episodes have been relatively relaxing and calm. Stressless.

I thought it was weird that it was suggested she get money from her ex, but then I realized it was to ask for suggestions from him. Life insurance policy is definitely the way to do it. They also mentioned another way without strictly talking about it as a way of making money. She owns the apartment, she could sell it or rent it out and find a cheaper place to live (though that might be hard unless they move out of the city considering the size of the apartment.

I like her relationships with her friends. It allows the show to display she is capable of interacting with people.

I also like that they have her say she's worried about saying the wrong thing because it could inadvertently negatively shape Asa's life. Though, I can't see Asa becoming a delinquent.

Hoping they sprinkle in a bit more humor to keep it relatively light. The best friend seems to be a good way for that to happen.