The Yuzuki Family’s Four Sons – Season 1 Episode 2 Recap & Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4ocnOZiwIA

Minato and Mikoto

Episode 2 of The Yuzuki Family’s Four Sons begins with Nikaido asking him why he doesn’t call Mikoto his big brother. Minato says he shouldn’t need to despite Mikoto being born 11 months prior to him. Uta asks Minato if he’d like to eat lunch with her, but Minato realizes he forgot his lunch. Mikoto enters the classroom and gives Minato his lunch. Nikaido asks Mikoto if he’d like to eat lunch with them and Mikoto accepts. 

While Minato and Uta play soccer, Nikaido asks Mikoto why he’s so kind to Minato despite Minato not sending similar kindness his way. Mikoto ponders this question, confirming he didn’t like Minato this much in the beginning. We peer into their toddler years as Mikoto reflects on how life started revolving around Minato after he was born. Mikoto states how Minato got sick often, possibly due to his size, meaning more attention was given to Minato instead of Mikoto. 

Hayato notices Mikoto holding his kindergarten hiragana printout and praises him for the full marks he received from his teacher. Although Hayato was busy with school-related activities, Mikoto notes that Hayato meant a lot to him during this time. The following day, Mikoto and Minato’s teacher praises Mikoto for his beautiful handwriting, upsetting Minato. Before Mikoto can show their mother his progress, he notices someone scribbling over his work. 

He learns Minato did it out of jealousy and they get into a fight. Their mother enters the room and yells at Mikoto for hurting his younger brother. She leaves to take Minato somewhere, leaving Mikoto to ponder his “older brother” status. Hayato comforts Mikoto and realizes he got injured in the skirmish. As he asks Mikoto why he didn’t bring this up with their mother, Mikoto wonders if life would’ve been better if Minato was born later and he’d been as experienced in his “older brother” role as Hayato is. 

Hayato gives Mikoto a toy and says it’s just for him. Minato notices Mikoto hiding something from him the next day, but Mikoto pays him no mind. Minato leaves to hang out with their mother as Minato hides the toy in one of his drawers. Later, Mikoto sees Minato touching the toy and tells him to put it back. They get into a small debacle, resulting in Minato breaking the toy. Mikoto cries out to his mother to tell her what Minato did. However, he holds his complaints back because he feels she wouldn’t care. 

Mikoto yells at Minato for taking away everything that was precious to him. He wishes Minato was never born and flees to the park. Their mother asks Minato what happened to Mikoto as Hayato stumbles upon Mikoto in the park. Mikoto opens up about his problems to Hayato and tells him he can’t be Minato’s older brother. Hayato says Mikoto’s like a grandson to him and that it’s possible Minato’s irritated with Mikoto for his skills and status. 

Hayato assumes Minato admires Mikoto and is trying his hardest to be like him. He says this could be the reason why Minato acts the way he does toward him. Mikoto returns home with Hayato and apologizes to Mikoto for what he said. Minato apologizes for breaking the toy. He shows Mikoto the toy and Mikoto’s shocked that Minato tried fixing it. This kickstarts Mikoto’s desire to act more like Hayato toward Minato and he receives praise from their mother for helping Minato get great marks on his assignment. 

In the present, Mikoto tells Nikaido he’s kind toward Minato because he’s his little brother. He says Minato’s prickly attitude toward him is just Minato’s way of showing his respect toward him. The episode closes with the two lost in thought. 

The Episode Review

While the previous chapter did a decent job of establishing our characters and their goals, this one examines the connection between Minato and Mikoto. It does it to superb effect, providing viewers with solid drama and insight that’ll make them think differently about this anime moving forward. Many viewers who happen to be older siblings will relate to Mikoto’s issues presented in this chapter. 

No one likes being ignored or forgotten by those who used to shower them with attention. Many will find their mother’s parenting tactics a bit disheartening and unfavorable. Compared to Hayato, she doesn’t come off as a caregiver one should idealize or seek solace from. Nonetheless, it was touching seeing her praise Mikoto for helping Minato with his hiragana assignment. 

It makes Mikoto’s arc in this episode feel rewarding to sit through. Moreover, this episode included some fascinating imagery that greatly depicted the different emotions Mikoto endured throughout the chapter. If viewers happened to watch this year’s Oshi No Ko or last year’s Bocchi The Rock, they’ll get a similar sensation for the amount of fun Studio Shuka’s having with this manga’s anime adaptation. Overall, this was a fabulous episode and I’m thrilled to see what else lies ahead for these brothers.