Impression:
Awww… Nishida had brought up benching Komano to test his desire to play and became very upset that he wasn’t fighting for his spot. A small misunderstanding happening on his end, but thankfully because Komano had gave him a shout out about what his opponent is like, he was able to realize that these notes Komano had taken were extremely valuable and helped cool him down.
One of Nishida’s greatest weakness is when he starts overthinking, or feeling conflicted with himself. When he loses both his focus and his cool, it can throw him off and ultimately mess up. :\
Lets face it, after seeing that sweet moment, Nishida and Komano became a BROTP! I mean, I was laughing to myself saying, “HOW COULD ONE NOT SHIP BROTP WITH THESE TWO AFTER THAT?!” Goodness, I can tell you I wasn’t expecting that at all.
It was great to see Chihaya take control of the situation when Taichi was at loss what to due after the argument between Nishida and Komano. She took Dr. Harada’s advice and announced that they will save Komano for a later match since he needs to rest first (after all it is EXHAUSTING to take notes- especially running around and about do so).
Komano is a pro when it comes to obtaining data about their opponents. I applaud him for having the courage to confront the teams that lost against their upcoming rivals for information. His notes are incredibly accurate, helpful- and can be considered as one hell of a strategic trump card. His ability to collect all this information, makes him a dangerous opponent without having to be on the field. If the opponents were to catch on with the fact that because of Komano’s notes, they end up being an open-book- they would be considerably vary of this guy.
When came down to anticipating the results, I found Komano’s reaction to the prediction being correction to be fairly interesting. He wasn’t exactly happy or relieved that it went according to plan, but in fact he felt disappointed (as if there was a part of him he wanted to be proven wrong) because it’s either, First Akashi Girl’s do not acknowledge them as a strong opponent (almost as if they are underestimating them) or, they have an incredible amount of faith in their ace player (Ousaka) to win (which is most likely the case).
I am going to be honest here. My reaction, was exactly the same as Chihaya’s. I completely forgot about who Ousaka. I didn’t even recognize her. So I was just as shocked as she was. Of course poor Chihaya really wanted to play against her, but Komano recommended that they match her up with a B Class player which she agreed on without a fuss. However Taichi, who was the one to write up the order changed it so that Chihaya would compete against Ousaka. While we did see him conflicted at first about the decision when he was about to write down the order, Retro-kun showed up and told him that they must repeat the Tokyo Regional Finals, Taichi remembered what Retro-kun had said to his team during that match: It is worth more to play competitively than to play safe. So now we are definitely in for an intense match- and goodness the match hasn’t even started yet and tension level is already INSANE!
Arata will not able to watch them play any of their matches since that is punishment for breaking the rules along with writing a formal apology. It’s too bad, but on the brighter note- even though Chihaya is aware that Arata is in the building, it’s not like he is breaking a promise since he initially meant to surprise them.
Speaking of Chihaya, was I the only one who felt red flags go up for trouble brewing? I think Chihaya is going to have a rough start, and could potentially lose this match if she isn’t able to bring on her A Game.
She really needs to stay focused and I can already feel her slipping from that.It might be because of the amount of pressure that is suddenly on her shoulders.
Hokuo is under a lot of pressure too since they are going to be eaten ALIVEEEE if they lose! But hey, Sudo is a great presence for them. He brings out the best of the abilities because THEY DO NOT WANT- OR RATHER, CAN’T AFFORD TO DISAPPOINT HIM. Retro-kun has no problem with his presense- as usual! 😀 Or he’d screaming internally in horror or joy because of the fluffy banner. Speaking of which I lost it when Sudo help up the other end of that fluffy banner. I almost fell off my chair laughing. IT WAS GLORIOUS!!!! IT IS SO PINK! WITH HEARTS! I CAN’T!!!!! /DEAD
It’s a good thing that Nishida told Chihaya in advance to not be “nice” about it and MAKE SURE TO NOT GIVE UP THE CHALLENGED CARDS REGARDLESS WHETHER YOU LOST IT OR NOT.
Overall the episode for most part, much like last week was considerably laid back. However we are most certainly in for an intense, nailbiter match next week since the tension levels is already soaring through the roof. There is a lot at stake here since they aren’t going with the dodging the aces strategy. They have made it much further than last year as they are now taking part of the Semi-Finals. They are close, but will they be able to defeat the First Akashi Girl’s? Or rather, the bigger question is: Will Chihaya be able to beat Ousaka, who was the West representative in last year’s Queen match against Yumin.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST: KANADE YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS.
