Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts
Shuffle! Episode 20 – Quick Summary
In Shuffle! Episode 20, “Indelible Sin,” Asa remained hospitalized. Rin remained by her side. Meanwhile, Kaede wrestled with the cruel words she hurled at Asa the night before. She’s so inconsolable that even Primula can’t help her. Will Asa recover? Can Kaede come to terms with how things are? And how much longer will Rin refuse to act? Doesn’t he see how his indecision affects Kaede?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from Shuffle! Episode 20
Even confined to a hospital bed, Asa maintained her sense of humor. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Remember when Rin visited Asa in her hospital room? Ama had brought in food for them, and she was obviously encouraging the two of them to get along. That was particularly interesting given how she just came out and asked earlier if Rin loved Asa.
Moms can do that and get away with it.
Anyway, Rin questioned if they should be eating anything except hospital food. For some reason, he seemed to think hospital food was part of the healing process. Both Ama and Asa argued that no, this kind of food would give her more strength so she could get out of the hospital.
“Besides,” she said (09:55). “If I stay in the hospital, someone will use it as an excuse to skip school.”
“What?” Rin tried to ask innocently.
“You’re already in a dicey situation as is anyway. If you flunk, it’ll put another year between us!”
And yet again, the banter between Rin and Asa was my favorite quote. They get along so well that it’s a treat to see!
Favorite Moment from Shuffle! Episode 20
I’m going to file this under “better late than never.” Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Setup: Kaede’s Halting Descent
This episode amped up the drama, didn’t it? The foundation laid in the previous episode gave us a good starting point. Seeing Kaede degrade throughout the entire episode, right up to the point where she snapped after hearing Rin say he was moving out, hit hard.
Harem shows too seldom deal with realistic implications of their situation. Sure, some shows take place in fictional worlds where polygamy is normal. Sia even said as much. But Kaede? That sort of thing isn’t part of her world. Nor is it really part of Rin’s.
Kaede’s life hasn’t prepared her for the idea of a harem. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
My favorite moment in this episode is when Rin has to come to grips with that. He was trying to get to sleep, though the situation with Asa and Kaede weighed heavily on him. That’s when a naked Kaede showed up and slipped into bed with him.
Dramatically, I appreciated how Rin panicked. He’s a decent young man. He doesn’t want to hurt any of the young women around him. Sure, he felt flattered by all the attention. It probably affected his judgement. But he’s at heart a good person. Having Kaede try to seduce him when she’s clearly not in her right mind had to freak him out.
Delivery: Rin’s Lack of Resolve, Addressed
As a man, though, I would have liked to have seen him not flee. I would rather have seen him summon the courage to help Kaede get a grip. Though, in all honesty I have to ask myself if Rin was the right person to do that.
Maybe he’d only make things worse.
But flee he did. As he ran, he thought back on how Kaede said she just wanted to take care of him. He recalled how Itsuki had called him to task for not deciding who he wanted to pursue. He even remembered Asa saying that everyone was frozen so long as he didn’t decide.
Kaede clearly wasn’t in the best frames of mind. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
He got to the park. Stopping in front of a lamp post, he said (18:03), “What the heck have I been doing all this time?!” Then he punched the post, because that’s what we men folk do when we are close to losing containment. It actually helps, assuming a) what we hit is inanimate and b) what we hit doesn’t break. Because then there’re liability issues.
He lamented his half-assed attempts to help Kaede, Asa, Rin, Nerine, and even Primula.
“I was hoping that everyone could be happy,” he said miserably (18:28). “That’s just… who were you kidding? You idiot!”
Through the first nineteen episodes, the show foreshadowed this moment. They all crashed together to deliver real anguish in Rin. It was a refreshingly honest moment in a harem anime – one that deepened my appreciation of it as an art form. Though I did feel terrible for Kaede. She’s been through quite a lot, hasn’t she?
What did you think of Primula trying to help Kaede? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
Shuffle! Episode 20: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- My Anime List (must be logged in to view): Shuffle! Episode 20 Discussion
- Random Curiosity: SHUFFLE! – 20
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- Shuffle! Episode 01: The Man Who Could Become a God or a Demon!
- Shuffle! Episode 02: I Wanted to See You!
- Shuffle! Episode 03: Do You Remember?
- Shuffle! Episode 04: Egg Omelet of Happiness
- Shuffle! Episode 05: Where I Belong
- Shuffle! Episode 06: Smile!
- Shuffle! Episode 07: Romantic Scramble
- Shuffle! Episode 08: Panty Date
- Shuffle! Episode 09: Survival Swimming at the Beach
- Shuffle! Episode 10: Moonlit Confession
- Shuffle! Episode 11: Girls of Summer
- Shuffle! Episode 12: Frozen Summer
- Shuffle! Episode 13: House of Twilight
- Shuffle! Episode 14: Lycoris
- Shuffle! Episode 15: What Was Regained
- Shuffle! Episode 16: Kikyou
- Shuffle! Episode 17: Honest Feelings
- Shuffle! Episode 18: The One Rin Loves
- Shuffle! Episode 19: Unforgettable Sentiments
- Shuffle! Episode 20: Indelible Sin
- Shuffle! Episode 21: Where Feelings Go
- Shuffle! Episode 22: Towards a New Tomorrow
- Shuffle! Episode 23: The True Revealed
- Shuffle! Episode 24: And… What Is Important
