Subculture Anime Blog

Anime for the soul!

Summary:

In the aftermath of her match, Tamaki is very displeased in the fact that she has been disqualified. The reason is her injury, even though Konishi is in a lot more trouble. Tamaki attempts to convince Ishida that she would have still been able to go on, but he insists that she is not herself. Tamaki is finally calmed by Kirino’s words, realizing that she is not thinking clearly as she loses her strength. As the rest of the club rushes to Tamaki’s aid, Ishida realizes that Kirino is the heart that holds their team together. Since the scores between the two teams are the same, another match takes place to decide the winner. Kirino is sent out as an obvious choice, as she is put up against Aoki from the other team. As the team notices Kirino’s amazing concentration, they realize that her little brother Ta-kun has come to cheer her on. As Ta-kun reveals the positive results of their mother’s examination, Ishida notices a change in Kirino’s aura. Kirino loses her match because of this, but the team remains as cheerful as ever in the afternoon.

Tamaki apologizes to everyone, but she is finally able to smile after everyone’s reactions. Danjuro approaches Ishida with his realization that the team has been acting a bit strange during this competition, making Ishida think about his usual role and how their team still has a way to go. Konishi remains troubled in the meantime, as her horrifying past flashes by her while she is in a bathroom stall. Konishi’s juniors arrive to alert her of their team’s leaving, but she tells them not to follow her anymore as she walks past them. Noticing Ishida’s team on the way out, she wonders how they can be so cheerful despite losing.

Later, Tamaki is interrupted by her father while she is watching TV. He asks Tamaki about her well being, just before getting to the point about her actions in the kendo match. Thought he is not really angry at her, Tamaki’s father warns his daughter not to use the tsuki move because of its danger. Before leaving, he also expresses his gladness that Tamaki has changed a bit. Kirino helps cook dinner for her family at home, and realizes that their team is just getting started when she retires to her room. Sayako gets a message from Kirino about their need for a theme song, so Sayako excitedly starts doing her best to produce one.

Sayako arrives at school the next day, sleep driven from working on her song all night. She believes that she should reveal it when Kirino mentions their theme song, but she despairs when she finds that Kirino has already found one. Sayako’s composition flies out of her hands in her shock, forcing her to chase after them. The rest of the team reports that Sayako has fallen into a fountain later, as Ishida begins practice. He notices that Tamaki has come despite her injury, however, so he allows her to teach for the day. Remembering the days he spent in his school, Ishida decides that he would like some things on the dojo’s walls. Danjuro suggests that Yuji can do calligraphy, but one of Tamaki’s certificates is brought up as well. When Tamaki’s father sees that Tamaki will be brining her certificate to school the next day, he tries to hide the intentions he had for it. Yuji and Danjuro bring works to the dojo the next day, but Ishida finds that Tamaki was unable to bring her certificate. At home, Tamaki’s father is surprised and touched to find the certificate in the frame he was holding the previous night.

Preview: We’re going to anime original!

Impression:

This was one of the best episodes yet! I dunno how many people would agree with me, but I found myself smiling and laughing at this episode more than I have in awhile. Saying that this anime has no slice of life elements would be crazy, and it seems like I’m not the only one who has come to that realization. I remember being tricked by the show’s appearance before its season started awhile back, but I had to take a second look after some feedback from you lovely readers who are better informed than myself. I was really hooked to a lot of the themes in this episode, from Konishi’s revealed past to the wonderful gift Tamaki gave to her father. They finally showed us more of Kirino’s family as well, which really made me appreciate how well the characters are developed. Growing up in different atmospheres really creates a person’s personality, and the representations of Kirino and Tamaki’s families mirror that.

Of course, after tying up the events from the last episode, this episode was as hilarious as ever. I liked Danjuro’s hidden talents and Miyako’s usual reaction quite a bit, and I laughed pretty hard at Tamaki’s anime watching and Blaver poster. She’s definitely not the only one who’s been interrupted in the middle of a show like that! Now that we’re going into anime original material, I can’t help but wonder what kind of direction will be taken. The kendo matches were becoming as episodic as the swimming competitions in Umisho, but I think it’s really just the characters that make the show for us. As long as they can keep the pace they’ve had up to this point, I’ll be satisfied. Besides, everyone knows that it’s a total turn off when an anime goes past 26 episodes.