#i think i rambled bout it in tags before but its how i justify jo not really sounding like a kid in his flashback

[todayisafridaynight]

NOT QUITE DEAD YET IS SO CUTE ISN'T IT... Definitely agree it was a missed opportunity to not have her pursue her music though, it feels like that was set up better as a conclusion 😔 BUT HER MOM OH MY GOD... queen... such a solid movie overall, 8/10 makes me miss my dad too...

Speaking of Moms. And Dads. I've been ruminating on some older asks... I feel like it's not too far-fetched for Jo to recognize Ikumi in Masato's features? Because that particular style of flashback appears to represent the character's own memory rather than an "objective" viewpoint.

Hence Ichiban's memory of Akane is extremely indistinct and uses a generic NPC model; Ikumi has more screentime, but for the purposes of the story, she didn't really need to be any different. So if I were to read into that difference, Ichi is "filling in the blanks" with women he's seen before, while Jo isn't. Anecdotally I guess, I still remember what the people I was close to at that age looked like even if I've forgotten their names; so, if Jo remembers what Jiro and Arakawa looked like, I would guess he must remember what Ikumi looked like.

I guess it's kind of muddled because the story is being told to both the audience and to Ichi, by both RGGS and Jo, but that's how I'd look at it. On the flip side, if Ikumi's still out there somewhere in Japan... she has to have seen Aoki's face, right? And his date of birth is publicized as 1/1. I wonder if she's ever seen that and thought he'd be exactly the same age now... what became of her son?

Allegedly™️ the brain never forgets a face, never mind That just being a whole event enough to warrant remembering everyone involved from how significant it was. SO. In review... it definitely wouldn't hurt to say he could be reminded of Ikumi when he looks at Masato, even if it's subconsciously/he can't place exactly why. Certainly a concept I've ping-ponged in my dome for a while..