Subculture Anime Blog

Foleva.

Summary:

Still having memories of Rin in her mind, Tamaki practices early in the house dojo. Tamaki’s father greets her, finding that she has finally healed all the way and is doing well. With this, the two practice together. At the kendo club’s dojo later, everyone practices vigorously. Yoshikawa-sensei eventually enters to learn about the upcoming tournament from Ishida, as Ishida again thinks about his chance to regain his position. The group is amazed when Miyako is able to lay a swift blow to Satori, but they continue on quickly after. Tamaki learns from Sakaguchi that her father has expressed his gladness in her entering of the kendo club, while Yuuji notices something a bit further away. While walking home with her, Yuuji expresses his slight worries about the upcoming tournament. Tamaki assures him that he will be fine, however, as he is strong. At her home that night, Kirino works hard on dolls for the whole team.

In the morning, Yuuji and Danjuro see the delinquents Toyama and Iwasa again. Yuuji tells them about the upcoming tournament, but they remind him that they have quit. Danjuro wonders why Yuuji would do something like that, but Yuuji wonders himself. Once everyone reaches the dojo, Ishida does his best to prep the team. Kirino takes over, however, presenting the mascot characters she made to everyone. With this, everyone is ready for the competitions. Once the group reaches the tournament site, they run into Kenzaburo’s team which is doing as well as ever. The two teachers wish each other luck, but Kenzaburo is unable to avoid Tamaki’s glance when he looks her way. During the opening commencements, Tamki wonders if Rin is there with them. She certainly is, cheering along with everyone else further away from her.

As fate would have it, Miyako runs into Carrie as well. The two send words of challenge to each other, but the rest of the team wonders what Carrie plans on doing about her style. Satori does well to defeat her opponent as the fights start, while Reimi meanwhile appears to capture Miyako on film during her turn. Miyako does her best with encouragement from Satori and the others, but she still has difficulty with Carrie. Miyako is unfortunately unable to beat Carrie for a second time, but Danjuro supports her as usual. Ishida still has his hopes on Tamaki and the rest of his team afterwards, but Kenzaburo reminds him that not everything will always go as planned. Tamaki meets Rin during the break, finding that she will be up against her next as they are both leaders. Rin reminds Tamaki of the conversation they had earlier, and expresses that she will teach Tamaki the reason why Braver would not be able to beat Schneider.

Meanwhile in the arcades, Toyama and Iwasa get into a conflict with other trouble makers. The kendo team wishes Kirino luck as she plays her match, while Ishida continues to lay his hopes on Tamaki next. Yuuji worries about this, while Kirino successfully wins her match in the meantime. When Tamaki is set up for her next match, Rin puts up a jodan stance. Like before, Tamaki freezes because of memories of her mother. Kirino and the others makes her snap out of this, but Tamaki still struggles against Rin. Worrying only about winning, Tamaki uses the same move she used previously against her worst opponents. This results in a loss, however, as Tamaki walks back in shame.

Preview: There’s some pink stuff coming out of your face there, Reimi.

Impression:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! We all saw it coming, but it’s devastating either way. It’s like that episode of Initial D or Dragonball Z where the main character loses so that the writers don’t get blamed for making things predictable and stuff. There were a lot of conflicts in this episode, and it really sets up for some interesting developments till the end. I can’t believe Miyako lost AGAIN. That’s so unfair. I also wonder what is being set up with Toyama and Iwase, because I refuse to believe the only reason they were in this episode was to create a parallel with the continues in the game they were playing. With four episodes left, it looks like there will be one more major arc until the series is over. It’s sure to be a ride. Besides the disappointments in losses and drama, there were still a lot of funny parts in this episode. I loved the dolls Kirino made, and it’s always nice to see Reimi again. The next episode looks pretty emo, but I hope it doesn’t all go downhill for Tamaki and the others.