Kimi Ga Oshietekureta Koto (From the Heart/Things You Taught Me) Episode Two --Review

The second episode of Kimi ga Oshietekureta Koto picks up from where episode one left off, and then moves to sometime later as everyone deals with the revelations of the night before. Mayuko is doing research about autism, and wants to learn how to relate/interact with people. Mayuko's mother and Jun both have the idea that Shinichi would be a great teacher for her, but Shinichi does not want to be Mayuko's psychiatrist. Meanwhile, the politician Mizushima, who accidentally set Mayuko off in the previous episode, is apologetic, and Rina is trying to find the connection between the politician and his interest in Mayuko.

As an aside, I'm not sure if this is a deliberate theme of the series or if this is standard to Japanese drama series--but it's interesting that so many people have a connection to each other of some kind within the story. Rina the reporter has a connection to both the politician and Shinichi, and acquires one with Mayuko later in the episode. The politician is connected both to Mayuko's father and to the reporter, and has some sort of sympathy for Mayuko. Jun is connected to Shinichi, and indirectly to Mayuko's doctor who is friends with Shinichi.

The important thing to remember about autism is that it makes social connection difficult, responses are off or "incorrect" because an autistic person has mostly learned "social noise" by rote and therefore cannot improvise very well (though some are better at improvising in a social context than others are.) Another problem is they might have difficulty with euphemisms or patterns of speech because they interpret a turn of phrase literally, instead of immediately grasping the turn of phrase from context. This idea of dis/connection is then attached to Shinichi and his avoidance of his previous career and anything connected to his relationship, and Mayuko's autism, which makes it difficult for her to form social connections. If it is deliberate, it works as a concept, and if it is an accident--it's still pretty awesome.

The politician as a form of apology arranges for Mayuko to have a job interview, which is initially very exciting to the mother, who wants Mayuko to have a chance at having a normal life. The father is largely ambivalent but hopeful, and Mayuko doesn't quite know how to react to being told about the possible job. Once she's a bit more settled she's very positive about the idea, so she begins to prepare for her interview, practically memorizing several books on getting a job and then acting out interviews with her brother Jun. We see many examples of some of the difficulties an autistic person faces when on the hunt for a job throughout both the rehearsal and the later "live" interview.

Jun and then Mayuko's mother try to get Shinichi to start seeing Mayuko as a psychiatrist. Shinichi is extremely reluctant however, noting that the reason he was able calm her down was because they had a similarity, not because they related on a patient/doctor level. Mayuko's mother is a bit puzzled/worried by this, but doesn't say anything. Shinichi encounters Mayuko socially later, and they are able to talk--mostly about feelings, communication, and being lonely. Shinichi also opens up a little more on a social level with his friend, and the conversation drifts into how social/communication behaviors are learned. There is also some teasing concerning Shinichi's avoidant behavior, which is compared to Mayuko's more extreme tactics.

A great scene that calls to attention the kind of communication problem a autistic person can face is presented during a brief argument between Mayuko and Shinichi. At one point, he raises his voice, and Mayuko asks him "are you angry? You raised your voice." Shinichi interprets the question as a critique of his behavior and apologizes, which confuses the heck out of Mayuko, because for her, a question is primarily informative, not an implied critique. Therefore, the question, "are you angry?" should be answered with "yes, I am," or "yes, but not at you," not "I'm sorry (I shouted)."

Rina meanwhile is not happy about Shinichi's contact with Mayuko, and his avoidance of the family memorial for his deceased girlfriend. Curious (and possibly a little annoyed) she tries to find out more about Mayuko and any connections she might have with the politician. Mizushima is not happy with this, but this does not stop Rina from prying. She also seems to think she is in a shojo romance manga a little later in the episode, during her encounter with Mayuko. (I felt a very strong need to reach through the monitor and slap her on several occasions.)

Mayuko's interview does not go very well. Despite having rehearsed and studied, she misses a tiny but crucial part of the interview process (signing in, and finding out where applicants are supposed to wait). From there, she ends up in a panel interview and the rote-memorized responses aren't working very well. She leaves the interview, but it's not certain whether she got to the end of the interview or just walked out (the latter is pretty likely, it was a very stressful looking situation). She runs into Rina, who decides to play shojo romance villainess and tries to warn her off Shinichi. After this, Mayuko has a very bad reaction and goes blank, wandering off and getting lost.

This results in a great deal of panic for all parties concerned, because Mayuko doesn't come home. Shinichi hearing about it from Jun goes into a panic that sets off his PTSD of the car accident that killed his girlfriend. He starts looking for Mayuko, but isn't able to find her. Instead, the politician finds Mayuko. He is able to calm her down and take her back home. A family argument occurs, mostly instigated by the father who is angry at another disappointing turn of events (Mayuko's failed interview.) He's also angry because honestly doesn't understand his daughter, and resentful that there isn't a "cure" for Mayuko's condition. Mayuko, stressed by the argument makes a request that they stop arguing about her, and goes to her room, sending an e-mail to Shinichi.

The next day when they meet, Mayuko is extremely stressed and avoidant, possibly due to both Rina's bombshell and the failed interview. Shinichi does not quite understand the situation and they talk--it eventually comes out that Rina had spoken to Mayuko, and Shinichi had been the subject of the conversation. She asks him if she's difficult to be around, and then if he'd be willing to teach her how to act/communicate. There's some discussion about emotions, and Shinichi admits that he's sometimes confused and upset by his own emotions. He agrees to help her, but as a friend, not a psychiatrist.