The Triple Illusion gets off to a bad start as Mia is late on the timing, and Layla has to cover for the trio. I guess news that her grandmother’s operation went well wasn’t enough to boost her powers. Meanwhile, it seems that Sora’s father has come to LA to convince Sora to come back to Japan. To complicate matters even further, it turns out that he is not her biological father; Sora’s real parents died in a car accident and Sora was taken in by her real father’s close cousin (and the cousin’s wife). The fact that they were such caring foster parents makes it even harder for Sora to say that she doesn’t want to go back to Japan. As if this wasn’t bad enough, her step-father lays it on extra thick by having a heart attack to cause Sora to have a major guilt trip. Well, ok he didn’t do it on purpose or anything. Sora goes so far as to quit Kaleido Stage and arrive at the airport with her step-father before finally confessing how she feels. Fortunately, her step-father had already seen how much she loved Kaleido Stage and returns to Japan by himself. With that out of the way, Sora, Anna, and Mia finally get the Triple Illusion right.
This was a really emotional episode as Sora show some deep complex emotions. She’s clearly torn between her dream and her love of her step-parents, and in the end she even chooses to give up what she loves to try to be a good daughter. Luckily, her step-parents are good people and are willing to let Sora live her own life (although they’re still there for her when she needs them). In spite of all the drama, there is still some humor sprinkled in. I was pretty amused at Ken’s attempt to ingratiate himself with Sora’s step-father; he’s still no match for policeman-san, though. I think the idea that policeman-san could be dating Sora must have pushed Sora’s step-father over the edge.
