The second episode of Grow Up Show – Himawari no Circus-dan wastes no time reminding us that this tiny troupe can’t catch a break. The opening minutes are pure chaos: Mizuka shouting about joining the circus, a morning announcement in a shopping arcade, and then the rug pull. The venue they booked has been snatched by a Sumeragi troupe. It’s a small, sharp gut punch that sets the tone. This isn’t a story about a scrappy circus climbing the ranks through pluck alone. It’s about a group of girls who keep getting stepped on, and the episode uses that frustration to push them somewhere more intimate.
A Venue Stolen, a Home Found
The Sumeragi Group’s third-ranked troupe, Shiny Lavender, has already pitched their tent on the performance grounds. Maria’s negotiation fell through because she hadn’t paid the fee yet, and Sumeragi swooped in first. Rin’s quiet “I’m sorry” and Isuzu’s muttered hope that the “paramecium” gets what he deserves (Mizuka’s father, still a phantom presence) land with the weight of a troupe used to losing. The show doesn’t linger on despair, though. Ouka makes a phone call, and suddenly the circus has a new venue: Kalmia House, the children’s home where she grew up.
This shift changes the entire emotional register. Instead of a public square, the Himawari Circus performs for a small crowd of kids who know Ouka personally. The home’s director, Shino-sensei, welcomes them with warmth and barley tea. There’s a lovely, lived-in feeling to the place: shiso growing by the path, kids shouting “Onee-chan!” the moment Ouka steps through the gate. The episode doesn’t over-explain Ouka’s past, but you can feel it in the way she softens around these children. She’s home, and that makes the circus’s predicament feel less like a failure and more like a detour to somewhere that matters.
Kasumi Brings Out Something New
The heart of the episode is Shirahama Kasumi, a girl from Kalmia House who dreams of becoming a circus performer. She’s introduced with a burst of energy, chasing after Mizuka in a game of tag that turns into an impromptu display of acrobatics. Kasumi keeps up with Mizuka’s movements, scaling walls and leaping with a raw, untrained power that catches everyone off guard. Shino-sensei notes that Kasumi reminds her of a certain someone from years ago, and the implication is clear: Ouka was once this same kind of hungry, talented kid.
Kasumi’s attachment to Mizuka is immediate and intense. She clings to her during meals, calls her “Mizuka-san” with starry eyes, and begs to be taught aerial arts. Mizuka, predictably, is having none of it. She insists she’s not a performer, that she won’t fly. But the children’s excitement and Maria’s promise of a special show for them corner her. When Maria asks Mizuka to choose a partner for the flying trapeze, she picks Kasumi over Ouka, and the reason is pure Mizuka: “Because Ouka-chan’s face is scary.” It’s a deadpan deflection that masks something more complicated. Mizuka isn’t ready to fly with Ouka yet, not in a real performance. Choosing the eager amateur is safer, less emotionally loaded.
Ouka Steps In as Teacher
The practice sequence is where the episode finds its rhythm. Mizuka’s teaching style is, to put it mildly, unhelpful. She tells Kasumi to do two rotations, then one, then just jump, and her only advice is “Build up momentum with a bam, then float through the turn.” Kasumi, understandably, has no idea what that means. She fails repeatedly, and Mizuka’s frustration mounts. It’s a funny, slightly painful reminder that Mizuka’s own skills were beaten into her by a father who never explained anything. She doesn’t know how to teach because no one ever taught her gently.
Then Ouka steps in. She takes Kasumi’s hands, shows her the calluses, and shares a quiet piece of wisdom: “In aerial arts, once you’re in the air, breathing is more important than trying to follow your movements with your eyes.” She tells Kasumi not to overthink, to just fly while imagining how fun it will be. It’s the exact opposite of Mizuka’s approach, and it works. Kasumi makes the catch, and the moment is genuinely sweet. Ouka isn’t just helping a kid; she’s passing on something she learned the hard way, and she’s doing it with a patience that Mizuka can’t muster yet.
This scene also deepens the rivalry-turned-partnership between Ouka and Mizuka. Ouka admits she wants to perform the legendary Lotus Blossom at the Circus Collection, the same act only Black Lotus could do. She saw it once as a child and decided she would make everyone smile the same way. Kasumi shares that dream, and Ouka sees herself in the girl. But Ouka also knows that Mizuka is the key to reaching that height. She tells Kasumi, “I want to aim for the top with Mizuka.” It’s a quiet declaration, not shouted from a rooftop, and it lands because the episode has spent so much time showing Ouka’s restraint. She’s not possessive or jealous when Mizuka chooses Kasumi. She helps her rival because she understands what it means to want something that badly.
The Smile That Isn’t a Smile
Mizuka’s forced grin makes a brief but memorable appearance. When she’s introduced as the star of the flying trapeze, the kids immediately call her face “weird” and “scary.” The troupe chimes in with “Pavlov’s smile,” a callback to the first episode’s revelation that her father conditioned her to smile on command. It’s a gag that’s also deeply uncomfortable, and the show knows it. The children’s honest reaction cuts through any pretense. Mizuka’s smile isn’t charming; it’s a scar. The episode doesn’t dwell on it, but the moment lingers, a reminder that Mizuka’s relationship with performance is still tangled in pain.
Mizuka’s Choice
The episode ends with a Sumeragi scout offering Mizuka a transfer. It’s a tempting proposition: more resources, a bigger stage, a chance to “shine even brighter.” Mizuka turns it down flat. Her reason is simple: “There’s someone I want to partner with.” She doesn’t name Ouka, but the previous scenes make it obvious. This is the first time Mizuka has actively chosen something for herself since being sold to the Himawari Circus. She’s not staying out of debt or obligation. She’s staying because she sees a future with Ouka, even if she’d never say it out loud.
The final image of the episode is a photograph from the performance: Mizuka’s eyes are closed, and everyone laughs at her funny face. It’s a small, warm moment that contrasts sharply with the forced smile from earlier. She’s not performing here. She’s just a girl who got caught mid-blink, surrounded by people who are starting to feel like something other than captors.
Closing Thoughts
This episode does a lot of quiet work. It introduces a rival circus, a new aspiring performer, and a home that recontextualizes Ouka’s backstory, all while moving Mizuka a tiny step closer to accepting her place in the troupe. The Sumeragi conflict is a classic underdog setup, but the show smartly pivots away from a direct confrontation. Instead, it focuses on what the Himawari Circus can offer that a corporate giant can’t: personal history, genuine connection, and a space where a traumatized former star can start to heal on her own terms.
Kasumi is a welcome addition, not just as a cute kid but as a mirror for both Ouka and Mizuka. She reflects Ouka’s past ambition and Mizuka’s current inability to nurture. Watching Ouka teach Kasumi with the gentleness Mizuka never received is quietly moving, and it plants a seed for how these two might eventually work together. The episode’s humor lands without undercutting the emotional beats: Mizuka’s deadpan “scary face” comment, the kids’ brutal honesty about her smile, and the running joke that she keeps insisting she’s not a performer while everyone ignores her.
If the first episode was about establishing Mizuka’s trauma and the troupe’s dynamic, this one is about finding a place where that trauma can be acknowledged without defining everything. Kalmia House isn’t a solution, but it’s a step. And Mizuka’s refusal of Sumeragi’s offer, however grumpy, feels like the first real decision she’s made since waking up in that debt contract. I’m genuinely curious where this partnership with Ouka goes, and whether Mizuka will ever admit she wants it.
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