Subculture Anime Blog

Starry eyes.

Summary:

There is a reason that Satori cannot practice kendo. While she was a child, her father practiced kendo vividly. However, he endangered lives with his ability. Satori could not follow his path, and thus threw away her sword. Of course, this is only a story made up by Sayako. A group of kendo members practice half heartedly, until they are warned that their instructor is coming. They quickly get into form, and practice starts from the beginning when the instructor gets to the room. Passing students hear how intense it is from the outside, as the instructor trains a struggling member. Two first year students realize that many have left because of the strict training, and a girl named Nozomi worries that her friend Mei will leave as well. Kirino and Sayako finally find Satori after school, excitedly dragging her to the clubroom. They imply how good she would be in their club, but Ishida shows up to stop them. The girls find that Satori is not suppose to continue kendo in high school, but Kirino drags her off in hope anyways.

When Satori finds that Kirino and Sayako will not let her leave until she beats them, she finally agrees to participate once. With a complete change of atmosphere, the rest of the kendo club arrives to find Satori easily beating the two girls. Satori prepares to go home after sharing a few words with Ishida, but Yuuji requests that she stay a bit longer. Satori has a bit of distraction while facing Yuuji, causing her to be defeated. This angers her a bit, causing her to leave. On the way out, she passes by Tamaki. Ishida explains to the group why he has given up on trying to recruit Satori despite his desires. She has been doing extremely poorly in her grades in school, and it would be bad to force her into the club. Yuuji thinks otherwise, however, expressing his realization that Satori has an inner love for kendo. Satori arrives home exhausted, but she starts to recall her fights from the day. Quickly worrying about this, she gets to her studies.

When Mei tries to contact her friend Nozomi on the day of a match, she finds that she has quit. Meanwhile, Satori makes her way to the event after some constant nagging from the other girls. She almost turns around to leave, but Ishida convinces her to enter. Reimi spots Yuuji in town, so she sticks close to him in order to get back at Miyako. Reimi soon finds that Miyako and Danjuro are a couple, however, causing her to quickly leave Yuuji’s side. Kirino and Sayako playfully force Satori into a bogu, while Ishida has a talk with the other instructor. Mei worries about what she should do, as she only joined the kendo club because of her friends. Her worries are slightly lessened though, when she finds that the cheerful Tamaki is her opponent.

Preview: Megane….megane…..!

Impression:

The “what a waste” ghost is gonna get you! Haha!!! Wow, with the season half way through (or ending for some shows), it seems like everything is ramping up. Just when I thought we would never get to her, Satori finally joins the group (Well, not officially). I knew the dramatic intro was gonna be a fluke from the start, but I couldn’t help but think that it was awesome. The fierce atmosphere probably isn’t far off though, if the hints in this episode were any indicator. It’s pretty convenient that Tamaki was the only one who didn’t see her. Satori’s bad grades are such a typical thing, and I think a few people will probably be able to relate. There might have been hints of interest towards Yuuji too!

Kirino and Sayako are growing on me so much. I remember some of you mentioning how every girl becomes likable equally, and now I can totally see that. If this wasn’t enough, they’re throwing even more greatness at us with Reimi and Mei. Reimi is absolutely hilarious after they finally revealed her true intentions, and I feel like Mei is gonna give us some awesome “don’t give up” vibes (Yea, maybe not a great way of putting it, but you’ve probably seen enough anime to know what I’m talking about). Looking at the preview, I have a feeling that Reimi actually admires Miyako. Oh, and I finally noticed the sensei fanservice. What’s up with the lisp? Looks like we’re in for more awesome kendo action next time. Maybe Satori will show us her kendo soul!