In an attempt to clear Kite’s name, we get to experience the anime in all it’s glory as they try to have very sentimental moments only to be overshadowed by comedy. And don’t get me wrong, it cracks me up to watch a very serious moment only to have something in the background, or the very next scene reveal something silly, but sometimes it completely overshadows the sentiments that came before it! Like in this episode, in a few weeks I probably won’t remember how much effort Sora went through to overturn Kite’s expulsion, but you better believe I’ll remember that the school’s principal was in the stall next door listening in when he made his decision. Don’t get me wrong, it was a hilarious case of just being in the right place at the right time, but in terms of impact, maybe choose a different place :p
But let’s talk about the real MVP in giving Kite a second chance: Yasu. I don’t think I ended up talking about it last week but Yasu has been a bit of an unsung hero ever since their match with Maru High. I mean, he has by no means pulled off an amazing stunt and saved the team from certain failure, but he has been incredibly observant with Kite and has really been the only who actually took action. By that, everyone recognized that Kite has the skill and talent to play Basketball and the rest of the team did want to recruit him because of his skill, but the only character that actually did anything about it was Yasu (and then technically Sora when only after Yasu actually told them what was up). Yasu was the one who made the first interaction with Kite, the first to defend Kite, and was the only person who actually picked up on the importance of the beat up leather basketball. And personally! I have a feeling that as more characters get introduced that he and the other two og delinquents are going to fade into the background. I kind of hope that’s not the case, but they’ve all been written as support characters that I don’t think they’ll be any more than extras going forwards and that kinda bums me out.
Overall, we got to see a completely different side of Kite in this episode as he’s much more reflective after his interactions with the adviser and Chiaki after Yasu came to try to bail him out. And I think a perfect line was exchanged that perfectly captured all the member’s of the club: “He’s not just a punk, just a dumbass who loves playing Basketball”. Yeah! That perfectly describes him and everyone else! They all do dumb things, but at the end of the day they really care about Basketball and with that they start forming a community! I really love content like that!! And so watching Kite take a beating from all the guys he had taken out in the previous episode had a pretty solid impact. It really showed how much he managed to change in just a short period of time and it was his way of showing his new dedication to the team and his passion for the sport of Basketball. He’s had a rough start, but now he’s found his reason to give it his all and a group of people who will continue to support him along the way. I’m really excited to see him in action!
And despite all these really good moments throughout the episode, I think I was most excited for Momoharu with glasses. Going back on my previous entries I think it’s pretty safe to say that Momoharu has been awarded the spot of my favorite character in this anime. (But, we do still have 41 more episodes to go so that definitely has the possibility of changing). Plus, I’m a real sucker for characters with glasses so when I went back to look at my notes it genuinely just says “Glasses Momoharu! Glasses Momoharu! GLASSESMOMOHARU!”
But it’s all for a good reason because we get to see our team in their casual clothes as they go to watch a Basketball tournament (well, the end of it anyways because the Hanazono twins were 4 hours late) and see some familiar faces. That’s right! Maru High makes a grand reappearance and Tokiwa is as cool as always and Chiba was able to portray his skill in such a short period of time and this whole sequence made me happy because it means that Maru High is going to keep coming back and we get to see those characters again. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if our team goes up against him for the Inter-High Championship!
All around this was a really enjoyable episode from start to finish and it feels like we covered a lot of ground in such a short about of time. And the ending put a silly smile on my face as the team gets on the wrong train and has to run home. Ahh, the classic leader with a bad sense of direction, you can probably never go wrong with that. And so, our introduction to Kite has come to a close and it seems the team will be trying to pick up a manager in the next episode. I look forward to meeting them too!
