The big day is here! The day of the tournament! But the show still gives us some sweet moments before the insanity starts. But ahhh that bait! I thought Akira was going to say something but she ended up biting Haruo instead. I like that the episode started off right where it left off because I thought they were just going to brush it off and start with the tournament. But it was another sweet little scene where the two of them got close and held hands, sharing another little romantic moment before things got silly. But because of that, they didn’t sleep that well. Silly kids.
But the Street Fighter II tournament is here again with that shiny trophy and…the same bath set again. Surprisingly there’s one guy that wants it really bad for some reason. I mean…dude, you can buy a bath set literally anywhere else.
Anyway, we get quite the shocker when Haruo finds out that Akira was eliminated in her first match. While Haruo took down his opponents with ease, Akira failed. And with me not being too knowledgable on tournaments, I totally forgot that there are always loser brackets and she still had a chance. But the damage was done to herself and she felt pretty miserable that she would lose so quickly. She was looking forward to taking on Haruo in the finals like they promised she would, but here she already lost and her confidence was pretty low. But with the help of Zangief and others, and being reminded of her win against Hidaka, Akira stood up with a fire of determination this time. She can’t just let everything she fought for go to waste, just like that. So if she wants to face Haruo, she needs to put everything she has into it. Zangief is there for her!
And that’s exactly what she does. Haruo is upset, but once he sees Akira heading to her matches and taking out the other losers one by one, he notices how different she is. She had the same determination and fire she used to have, or as Haruo describes it, when she used to look at him like filth. Except this time she’s using this “I’ll tear you to shreds like it’s nothing” attitude with her other opponents. And not going to lie, I was really cheering for her. But a big Uh oh! was uttered when Haruo said that he’d have to face Akira in the semifinals, and not the finals. Though really, the second they started their match against each other it felt like the finals anyways.
Akira isn’t going easy on him obviously, but it’s crazy that she was able to beat him in the first round in just seconds. But Haruo isn’t going down without fighting back, because the flames of love are too strong!! And the second the episode ended I buried my face in my hands because now I’m agonizing having to wait for the finale. I’m so excited! A lot is riding on this match, and then there’s still the aftermath of her family’s decision and how she’s going to tell Haruo, and how he’ll even react to it. And all of that in the finale?
I’m getting the feeling that we’re going to get another few OVA episodes afterwards like the first season did. That’s fine I guess, but I’d much prefer if we just got the whole complete thing. But as long as they decide to finish the story, then I’ll happily have to wait for it. But for now, I’m looking forward to next week’s finale~
