One thing a few people noticed about Anna during Kawaei Rina’s graduation concert: she wasn’t wearing anything on her hand! A small detail, but people noticed.

For those not in the know, Iriyama Anna and Kawaei Rina were victims of an attack by a saw-wielding man, during a handshake event in Sendai which took place in mid 2014. They suffered injuries to their hands, and its widely suspected that the incident is part of the reason that Kawaei Rina is graduating.

Following the incident, Iriyama Anna underwent treatment for injuries to her injured hand. Most notably, she started wearing a glove on her right hand, even after she stopped wearing a hand brace / cast. Some photos with her cast on:

And she was even part of a gravure photo shoot while still healing:

Afterwards, when she appears in theaters and TV appearances, the cast comes off, but she starts wearing a glove on her right hand, presumably to cover signs of treatment and / or potentially healing scars:

Most recently however, she was seen performing at Kawaei Rina’s, but this time without her signature glove:

Reactions online are both thankful and emotional:

• “I’m so glad! (T-T)”
• “She probably took it off because it’s Kawaei’s graduation. As if to say, everything’s okay! Even if things aren’t really okay…”
• “Yeah, that’s might be right. This is probably going to be on DVD, so Annin probably took it off to not leave memories of that incident behind.”
• “Seriously, I’m crying right now”
• “Finally, she doesn’t need it. Great.”
• “It’s been a while since we’ve had good news”
• “Oooh! Finally!”
• “I wonder how tomorrow night’s theater will be. I’m attending, so I’m prepared to cry”
• “This groups one beauty, Annin! She’s finally had a change of heart. This is great”
• “Annin, congratulations”
• “Yeah, every noticed it at the venue, and said it was a great thing.”
• “Do your best Annin!”
• “She’s so beautiful, like usual!”