Let's start with the anime. Shima Tamahiko's right arm was crippled in the car accident that also took the life of his mother. His incredibly cruel father (seriously, he's the WORST father) sends him off to Chiba to live in an isolated house and declares him "dead". The one good thing he does, though honestly he's so awful that there must have been some rigid societal expectations for this to happen, is to buy a girl to act as Tamahiko's servant until she's old enough to marry him. She's 14 when she arrives and marrying age is apparently 15. Tamahiko, I think, is 17 at the start of the story.
That girl is Yuzuki or Yuzu and she is a spring storm of positivity, loyalty, and just a general ray of sunshine. She breaks through Tamahiko's brittle and depressed exterior and brings love to his life. I don't actually want to go into a play-by-play of this 12 episode anime, but I'll just say the development of their relationship is really lovely. Tamahiko is also a nice guy and she sees his earnestness and awkwardness for what it is.
She's also able to break through the hostile armour of his younger sister Tamako when she visits, turning the siblings into actual siblings instead of warring chess pieces.
There are some other important characters -- Ryo, an older girl who initially tries to take advantage of Tamahiko and cause trouble for him, but slowly changes her ways. I can't say I loved her, though I get why she did what she did...though she really doesn't apologise for it until the very end. I wonder if that's a change from the manga too? And there's Kotori (a famous singer) and her twin brother Harkaru, who also become friends.
There's a great Uncle figure who throws a lifeline to both Tamahiko and his sister Tamako (taking her in when she decides she wants to be a doctor). From the summary I read, there's actually a lot more to his story and position in the family than what you see in the anime.
The pivotal event in the anime is the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, which Yuzu is caught up in, as she had gone to Tokyo to visit her pregnant friend Midori. This is the point where Tamahiko really steps up -- he (and Ryo, worried about her brother) walks to Tokyo (about 50 km/31 miles) and actually manages to find her. This is where it drives home to him how much he loves and needs her because he can't imagine a life without her in it.
The story essentially ends there in the anime--they're not married yet, but they have properly declared their feelings, and there's a sense of the changes in the characters, who have all grown stronger (other than the dad and oldest sister, who are both just freaking evil).
The manga, apparently, has a whole other thing and I kind of wish they'd done two seasons of the show because it would've been satisfying. Apparently, the oldest brother (the heir) dies as a result of complications from being caught in the earthquake. There's a hint of this in the anime, as the dad only shows up to try and demand Dr. Uncle go treat him. After the oldest brother dies, he turns to Tamahiko again BUT it sounds like he kidnaps Yuzu, intending to instead make her marry another younger brother, while Tamahiko would have to marry someone else. Tamahiko says NOPE, rescues Yuzu, disowns his family, and when they do marry, he takes her last name. I gather that the younger sister Tamako and the younger brother Tamao (?, who we never really see in the anime) are on his side. Tamako winds up marrying Hikaru after some time. Tamahiko has a few kids with Yuzu and becomes a teacher. Evil older sister has some kind of bizarre subplot with a bunch of other characters, one of which turns her into the police? Though I guess she becomes her father's hair (no one else left who claims him), she dies of TB while awaiting trial?
Anyway, can't really comment on all of that as I've just only read the summary, but what sweet justice for Tamahiko to refuse his father's name. I really did enjoy this one, though it would have been nice to see them married. I wonder if they didn't wrap it up that way because they were debating a second season? They left it open enough that they could have. I hadn't heard of it before, so maybe they were hoping it would be bigger than it was? I dunno. It's really lovely, so it totally deserves more viewers/readers.
So, yes, I'm glad I watched it. Would I watch it again? Hmmm, maybe some day. It's very sweet. If they did do a second season, I would definitely watch it. Yuzu is a ray of sunshine.
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