WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 8 of Ikebukuro West Gate Park, "Senkawa Fall Out Mother" now streaming on Funimation.
One of the strengths of Ikebukuro West Gate Park has been its storytelling, especially in episodes that feature the real-life issues that are often overlooked in media and the real world. Even when the episode features taboo subjects such as the sex industry, there's no hint of judgment in the way the characters interact with the issue. The anime takes sensitivity and sincerity in focusing on a new character's story while shedding light on the main characters'.
Hovering Over a Precipice
In a rare switch, Takashi isn't seeking out Makoto's help -- Kyouichi and Isogai find Makoto at his mother's fruit shop and ask him to keep an eye on a woman called Yui, a single mother who is struggling to make ends meet. After she had left her house to watch Kyouichi dance in the park, her son fell off the balcony. Fortunately, he was relatively unscathed, having landed in the bushes, but the online comments and vitriol that followed condemned Yui for being a terrible mother.
Makoto's mother insists that he check on the mother and son, shoving some fruit at him to take to Yui and her son and giving some to Kyouichi and Isogai. Later, Makoto and Isogai visit Yui and learn that after Kazushi's father ran away, she has been working hours nonstop for very little pay. "I'm standing on the edge of a cliff," Yui confesses, exhaustion settles into her face.
Yui's Fall
One day, Yui visits Makoto and his mother, dressed in luxury clothes, looking considerably happier despite Kazushi looking the opposite. Makoto's mother deduces that she must have a new man. The truth is much worse than that: Yoshioka, a police officer, says the man is a sex industry scout who targets vulnerable women like Yui and forces them into the sex industry in order to pay off debts for their "gifts." Makoto says there's nothing shameful about the sex industry as it's still a business, but his mother reprimands him.
Makoto tracks down the scout and gets angry as he hears the scout describe his exploits with great gusto. He records the scout's boasts and gets him arrested. Makoto, his mother, Yui and Kazushi head to the park where he notices that there are some bruises on Kazushi's arm that happened sometime after Yui met the scout.
Yui breaks down, sobbing: No matter what she does, it's never enough. Even if she works herself to the bone, or if she tries to take a little time to herself, it's never right. If she had never had Kazushi, she would be able to live the life she wanted. Seeing his mother upset, Kazushi runs to her. As she watches the mother and son, Makoto's mother bluntly says that she'll kill Kazushi if she keeps going like this. She needs to give up Kazushi -- like how she once did with Makoto.
From Mother to Mother
Shocked, Makoto listens as his mother describes how after his father died, she put Makoto in someone else's care for two years so she could get her life back on track. Only when things stabilized did she feel ready to get Makoto. And he grew up to be a fine young man: a troubleshooter, who runs around helping others--making him a little embarrassed. Hearing that strengthened Yui's resolve and she puts Kazushi in a temporary home while she devotes herself to working until she is ready to take care of Kazushi again.
When people see children like Kazushi and only look at the bruises, they often assume that they're neglected and unloved. When they look at mothers like Yui, often the first response is to blame them for their situation. This episode takes a good hard look at the stigma and shame surrounding single mothers and works to dismantle it.
