Amachan

I Caught a Sea Urchin (1x22)

: 25, 2013

A small girl who is said to be a fan of Aki comes and meets the teen Ama. Aki does not have the heart to lie to her and so she tells her the truth: that it was Anbe who caught the uni she had fed her. The Ama-sans later are upset about that. She could have compromised Anbe's position as an Ama considering "she will be retiring soon." Aki is surprised. "Why are you leaving?" She learns that Anbe will be promoting and selling Mamebu soup to the rest of the country. And that her last day will be the last day of the Ama season. On that day, they will hold the "Honki Dori* " a day for free uni harvesting spree off the coast of Sodegahama. It's when an Ama is allowed to catch any number of uni, not for tourists, but for herself and sell it if she wants. Aki is not allowed to participate since it will take place in even deeper waters which she could not possibly handle yet. Later, Yui tells her not to worry about not being able to catch any uni for the customers. "It's because you are cute, that's why they are coming." Aki is pleased with that and thinks how cool of Yui to be so determined on becoming an idol. She goes to the cafe and asks her Mom, "When you were young, did you long to be an idol?" Haruko looks puzzled and uncomfortable at the question. Then, when Aki insists on seeing a picture of Haruko when she was young, Haruko for some reason explodes. Haruko seems to misunderstand that Aki wants to become an idol. "Just because you've been receiving a little adulation, you think you can go all hoity-toity!" Aki is shocked at her mother's tirade. "I didn't say I want to become an idol!" she tries to defend herself. "Right!" Haruko shouts back (looking like she is not aware of what she's saying) but her next words hurt Aki: "An ugly one like you can't become an idol!" Aki leaves the cafe, crying. Later, she goes to Haruko's former classmate, Anbe and asks to show her pictures of her mother when they were younger. Anbe shows her their middle school yearbook. There,