REVIEW: ‘The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting,’ Episode 8 – “It’s Been a While”

The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting is a slice-of-life anime produced by Gaina and feel. With creeping threats lingering in the background, the members of the Sakuragi family get to indulge in the pleasant distraction of welcoming one of their own back into their home after a long absence in The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting Episode 8.

Back when Kirishima accompanied Yaeka and The Boss to the hospital, he had a run-in with a former family member named Aoi. Making good on a promise to visit, this episode sees Aoi and his son arrive at the Sakuragi home to pay their respects to his former family.

This episode focuses on Aoi’s history with the family and highlights how much some things have changed within the group, while others have stayed the same. It’s a nice, feel-good narrative that continues to flesh out the show’s cast and its history. While Aoi and The Boss get reacquainted, we are given an in-depth look at Aoi’s final days with the family and what caused him to say goodbye, despite how much the group clearly means to him.

The reasons given for Aoi’s departure are artfully delivered, with a couple of scenes that are truly moving. The story delves into just how much stress and anxiety can build up in a person, as well as the toll these things can take on us.

While this approach brings lots of feeling to The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting Episode 8, there isn’t really anything else going on in this core story. The couple of background plot lines that have been hinted at get no mention, and nothing is changed or introduced for the family from the visit which occupies the bulk of the episode. It just kind of is. The only place where The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting Episode 8 does push forward some continuing story is in a secondary plot that centers on Yaeka.

With school starting, we see the reserved young girl navigating through her growing world of friends and social interactions. How this episode looks at friendship and being friends with people who have varying interests is thorough despite being brief. How it utilizes Yaeka’s previously established friend Sarah while also expanding her circle is both fun and sweet. We also get to see a bit of the series intro play out in a slightly different way during this exploration which left a smile on my face.

The visuals do a great job of bringing both the sweet and the painful in this episode to the viewer. Along with augmenting the emotional delivery, the art also does a great job of delivering the younger versions of its cast. With just a few simple design tweaks, the visuals are able to bring the perfect amount of change to make the character feel younger, but not excessively so.

When all is said and done, The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting Episode 8 brings another sweet episode to the series. Its heartfelt emotion continues to leave a warm feeling in the heart as the credits roll.

The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting Episode 8 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.