Well, the first ten minutes of this episode were basically a write-off because it’s not like anyone was paying attention for the Nishikigaoka match. I mean we all know they’re getting destroyed. 6-0 as well, ouch. These guys were given no respect whatsoever. But then again, they don’t even have enough respect for the audience to have a Gimmick Boy on their team, so why should they get any themselves?
They’re really shoving Tsubasa’s injured leg in our face. Almost as if it’s… going to be a problem. The foreshadowing in this show might be the least subtle I’ve ever seen in my life.
But anyway, the main event of the episode is Hanawa (I’m dumb sorry Skylab Hurricane is a Tachibana Twins move not at Matsuyama move like I said last time, how could I forget). Which I also don’t really care about, but I think the Tachibana Twins are reasonably fun and the match has some pretty good moments. I laughed out loud at Ishizaki nipping A Tachibana (I cannot tell them apart I am sorry)’s goalpost bullshit in the bud by stomping the other side.
Skylab Hurricane looks sick too, I can’t believe I forgot what it looked like. In fact, the visuals towards the end of this episode in general are something else.
Art or media player display error: you decide.
Another mildly cool thing about this episode was that both of Nankatsu’s goals so far have been scored by characters who aren’t Tsubasa. They’re not terribly exciting goals, but it’s still nice to see someone else have a go at winning for a change. The Tachibanas’ goal was great though, a perfect note to end on. At its core, though, this will essentially be yet another 2-part match where the opponents scare us into thinking they might win in the first episode and then promptly job in the next episode. Which is pretty boring. But if you’re here for a plot that keeps you guessing, you’re in the wrong place.
On a final note, I am finding the side scenes with the journalists losing their shit over Hyuga not having played in the tournament yet absolutely hilarious. The implications of their presence get weirder and weirder the more I think about it. Like when one reporter asks another if he made up his story about Hyuga’s wall-smashing Tiger Shot from last time. Does that mean there is an actual thriving youth football fake news industry? What demographic is this serving? Shit, they must have had a field day when Roberto ran off from Tsubasa. I have a desperate need to know more about this. If we could just have one episode that was a day in the life of the journalists, I would be very happy. But it looks like we’re getting the end of the Hanawa match next time instead. Which I suppose is fine too.
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