Grow Up Show: Sunflower Circus

I cannot stop thinking about Rin breaking down next to that hospital bed. She carried the villain act the whole time because Nanami offered to save Maria's life and she knew the circus was killing her. That quiet sob wrecked me more than any big dramatic scene this season

The missing OP was such a smart call. Jumping straight into Rin at that phone booth set the whole episode in prestige drama mode. And the Maria age reveal? That bicycle saddle thing finally makes sense. They really hid that one in plain sight

Nanami's reaction when the deal got canceled hurt. Yeah she wanted to force Maria out of the circus but that's because she's watching her sister slowly kill herself for a dream. Two sisters who both think they're saving each other and neither one can understand the other. That's tragedy

So Maria is 29 and she's been hiding a terminal condition from everyone this whole time. The smile is a shield. The cheerful ringmaster act was her way of keeping eleven people from collapsing under their own debt. Feels weird calling a show this cutesy emotionally devastating but here we are

Mizuka finally smiling on that trapeze after looking down at the crowd was everything. I really was not expecting Maria collapsed at the bottom of those stairs with a locket right after such a sweet party scene though

Mizuka smiling on the trapeze after all that trembling backstage hit me so hard and seeing her finally fall in love with performing made my week

I like that Mizuka is getting her character development and that is continuing from last week. I do find the conflict with the Sumeragi group a little bit forced, but I feel like that might be because of little screen time for them.

Black Lotus quitting just because he got older and ruining Mizuka's whole world makes my blood boil She was just a kid who wanted to perform with her family

Mizuka screaming about Micchan's mustache before running off in tears had me dying of laughter That girl has way too much stubborn pride

Yamada pulling up in full performance gear and casually dropping a top tier trapeze routine was not something anyone saw coming

Learning about why Lotus Circus broke up actually explains so much about Mizuka's fake smile during practice, but having Blue Rose setup right next door is brutal. Ouka grabbing her hand on the bus shows how much Himawari needs to stick together if they want to survive this venue competition without going completely broke

Mitcher offering to pay off all of Mizuka's debt just to see if she would actually walk away was cold, but she needed to hear it. You can tell she uses that bitterness as a shield because she actually cares about the troupe. Watching her stand there unable to answer him was so heavy

Fuuka getting to do the Lotus Blossom trapeze move with Mitcher had me smiling so big. Her dream coming true like that felt unreal

Finding out Svetlana was a whole Soviet circus prodigy at ten years old was crazy. She was just sitting there acting like a normal girl this whole time

Mitscher's appearance to challenge Mizuka is the much needed development we needed for the mc. Junichi Suwabe's voice is also splendid and works really well with the role.

Mizuka being unhinged always makes my day. Also the fact that no one is worried about Mizuka being missing is hilarious.

Kinda thought provoking episode too bc this kind of business is in some ways unstable too, especially if you're with a lesser known troupe :') hope they can pick themselves back up in the next ones

Backstory well done, as well as character development. Wish they explore the other characters more 🥹 waiting for the twins and if ever we'll get an in-depth one for Svetlana too? 🤞

I’m a sucker for magic HAHA! Love this ep 🤩 Imari and Isuzu’s backstory is so cute too and unexpectedly deep. The entire dialogue here is gold as always

The way Shizuku called Svietlana her honey was the highlight of the beach trip even if they are still totally broke and stranded