Looks like we're finally getting into the story of the missing father/senpai. Regardless of his reasons, dude really deserves a good punch to the face when he shows up again.

The dude looked very depressed but that's not a reason to abandon his only child. I expect Nagomu will give him a big scolding when they meet.

His wife left him for work, he plays some mini concert in that place looks like it's not going so well and is taking care his child alone so he abandoned itsuka

That's why you don't acquire kids , till you have stable income. There are so many wonna-be-parents like this.

They do have stable income (thanks to her mother work). It's just that her mother work made her mama busy as hell. Spoiler alert from here.
Her father has been thinking that because both of them so busy and his relationship with his wife is cracking, he was forced to drop Itsuka in his best friend parent care. He will take her again once he can make enough income for both of them as he saw that his wife relationship might won't last very long. Heck, he still in same city (Kyoto) all this time because he wanted to pick up Itsuka again someday.

I'm going to assume that he couldn't afford her or her happiness since he isn't making decent money with the small-time gig performances. We saw a scene earlier where he was probably negotiating with the person hosting (owner/manager) said performances, but it could have been not enough. We were also given a scene where Nagomu reminisce about the past with his senpai (Aya-chan's father). I believe any father would want their kids to be happy or find happiness. He dropped Aya-chan to a place he trusts.

I don't think every father is like that tho. Even without the circumstances of itsuka's father

Thanks for reminding me that her name is Itsuka. I was thinking of Aya for some reason ...

From the bits and pieces of the flashbacks, I'm guessing he might have no choice... Initially, I really thought he was the classic trash who really abandon his daughter because he thought she was a burden. But now, I think it might be because he was having trouble earning money or other troubles, and he might have been thinking that instead of his daughter suffering together with him, it's better if he entrusts his daughter to Nagomu's parents (who will be able to take better care of her as compared to him as a single father who's income isn't stable)
I still think he should at least get punched for making Itsuka feel sad, lonely and abandoned, but if it's really because of the reasons above, it's actually understandable... After all, as a parent, you will want to make sure your child live a happy life, no matter what you will have to do... (Also because Nagomu's parents seems really reliable and as proven, will really treat her as part of their family. Like at least, he had the decency to leave her with such kind and loving people, instead of some other people who might have just abandoned her at a orphanage, or even just left her on the streets...)
FYI, I'm not supporting the guy for abandoning his daughter, just saying that people have their reasons for doing things that seems cruel, due to unfortunate circumstances etc...

Should've put that spoiler tag

Did it bro ,thanks for reminding, it been a long time since i posted a spoiler so i forgot to put spoiler tag

Spoiler TAG PLEASE

Kids will only slow you down lol

That was the last time Itsuka saw her dad going to that sweet store and never coming back with a letter what a not nice guy

A good reason not to have seggs

He went to buy that milk xD

Although at this rate Nagomu has more feelings for his senpai than the two girls chasing after him

RIGHT I came to comments specifically because all the blushing... and glances... was all more romantic than anything we've had until now. Not that I'm complaining

what if they become a thing and then nagomu becomes her real "dad" hahahaha, uh oh i'm way too deep in the hole

Finally some backstory of itsuka's father. He was the one who thought nagomu how to play the guitar in exchange for showing that sweets and the anime is about to end and we still don't know what he's doing he didn't even came back for itsuka

at the end of the episode, we see him though, so i think he's coming soon and he will reveal his reasons or whatever, then it will be like the situation between itsuka and her mother again. it will be awkward for a while, but then it'll work out ok?

Yeah I'm curious as to what happened because he seemed like a good father and then suddenly abandons Itsuka, what happened within that time to cause such a change?

Life just happens. His wife split and left him to take care of Itsuka on his own. He's trying to support them both with apparently no real job and just playing some gigs and having to drag her around to different venues. At some point he just couldn't deal. Not to make excuses for him but at some point some people just can't deal anymore. It could be worse, some people actually wind up harming their kids because they get so drowned in a feeling of hopelessness.

i'm surprised nagomu is kinda dense, i would've already realized at that point that itsuka was senpai's kid. guitar, a father who knows a lot about sweets, etc.

Dense in terms of the girls' feelings maybe, but regarding Itsuka's father, it can't be helped, because as the audience, we can actually see the similarities of the appearance and voice of her father, but Nagomu himself only knows that her father plays the guitar and knows about sweets, there's not much else that can tie her father to his senpai, so it's natural that he didn't realise... Also might be because he doesn't think that the senpai he admired will be someone who will abandon his own daughter...

Tho, Nagomu's parents definitely knows, since they actually met him when he brought his daughter to them. But I'm assuming that they didn't tell Nagomu for some reason...

At least her mother tried popping back in her life yk

I wonder what made him leave like this, more than anything. Seems to have some huge childhood trauma going on.

Finally we get confirmation that Nagomu's senpai was Itsuka's dad. Not sure if that line where he told Itsuka that "Children are nuisances" was just her trauma or actually from his mouth.
We still don't know his reason why he abandon Itsuka, there must be a deeper reason why he did that.

i hope it's just childhood memory loss, sometimes we fill in the gaps/holes in our memory with stuff that didn't actually happen. sometimes it's slightly altered or beautified, or completely altered. for example, by the time i was in second grade i already forgot my kindergarten self to some extent. for some reason i couldn't remember myself doing some things my teacher said i did (speaking only chinese)

It's either because those words were too big a shock that she only remembers a part of the real situation at the time (as often seen in other series, where because of the shock, the person forgot about the circumstances leading to the situation or the things that happened after the situation, resulting in a misunderstanding)
Or he did say that, but I'm guessing was because he didn't want his daughter to follow him and suffer through life together with him. Because he wanted her to stay with Nagomu's parents who have the ability and leeway to take better care of her.

Probably to dissuade her from seeking him out. It's a common tactic to put distance between you and others, especially in situations where a hard decision is being made.

🎵 Itsuka wanna build a snowman 🎵 lol

Love Nagomu and Itsuka bonding moments xD

Nagomu was shocked that he got a chocolate from Itsuka in valentine's day, because he thought Itsuka wouldn't give him some chocolate that is so nice

The faces itsuka makes when Nagomu and her get named together makes me agree with Nagomu's surprised face xD

🎵Come on let’s go and play 🎵 lol

Yes, bonding moment but in a lewd way.

Dibaca teliti bang, dia blng *segini saja sudah cukup* itu dia ngasih semua harta yg dikeluarkan, mahkota itu 500 jt, berarti dia bayar lelang utk 1 papan catur itu bisa dianggap sekitar 1 Triliun

Love that dead stare when Kanako teased Itsuka about giving Nagomu Valentine's present lol

Finally, we are back to the story about Itsuka and her father. That morning snow scene really gave me a lonely vibe but Nagomu managed to liven it up with his positive attitude. This guy deserves all the love he should have.

And I found the scene where Nagomu's mom wiping Itsuka's hair very adorable. She really looked like a child for once.

Loved Nagomu’s reaction when Itsuka gave him the gift lol

One more gift than all of us weebs would've gotten on Valentine's Day. XD

Ouch, that hurts

Plz stop hurting me xD

"What is love? Baby don't hurt me,...."

Nagomu said the same words that the father of Itsuka was saying. Itsuka thought it was her dad but it was just nagomu it's so much better

Itsuka's reaction to Kanoko's question is like the show is emphasizing the fact that "we ain't going Usagi Drop here," lol

If you understand, you understand. If you don't, don't ask.

Wait? I don’t understand plz explain.....heh lol

Shhh...xD

As an anime-only it's still hard to believe how it went into that direction, I don't plan to find out though lol.

That's a good choice. Let's just pretend the manga doesn't exist. ^^;