This week was all about Himesaka and their performance of Three Paraphrase! We got the chance to see how Himesaka responded to their loss against Hakuto. For 10 years, Himesaka served as representatives to nationals, but once that record was broken, their instructor recognized it was about time they change the way they do things. In order to maximize their chances of protecting their legacy, it had been decided members will undergo an audition process. Twenty-four members were be chosen, judged by abilities, and twelve were cut from the lineup. But for once, Himesaka wasn’t striving for the win because of their legacy, but because they understood that if they made it to Nationals, it would give members like Hozumi, the only second-year student to have not made the line-up another chance to participate.
And how could anyone not feel bad for Hozumi? She worked extremely hard to the points her fingers were horribly swollen, and yet she was the one among the second years to not make it. I hardly know her character, but I can relate to her so much because I have been in that position many times in the past, something that would take me years before my efforts finally paid off. I also I understood how she felt when she wanted to serve as a supporting member regardless of not making the cut. It isn’t easy to volunteer to do that, especially when you are feeling down in the dumps of your failure. So power to you Hozumi!
But on the flip-side of things, Hozumi’s failure to make the lineup also served as a morale boost for everyone to practice harder than they have ever before. It is important to recognize that their piece, Three Paraphrases is actually insane in terms of difficulty, especially taking into consideration they have to make sure all twenty-four of them are playing in sync with each other. In the matter of fact, while performance gave me the chills, I have to be super real with you guys, I also thought it was extremely stressful to watch/listen to. That doesn’t make it bad, in fact it was amazing, but it also fair to say it was intense to say the least! Hahahaha! Even Chika acknowledge is was a good performance, considering the ones he hasn’t enjoyed the ones he heard them play in the past.
Then there was the long awaited character development from Kazusa has finally been delivered to us. Himesaka’s loss to Hakuto served as a much-needed reality-check to knock her off her high-horse. She recognized her mistake of having missed their performance to throw a tantrum at Chika, and was absolutely ashamed of herself— and it’s about time too! We saw the fruition of this development when she chose not to greet Satowa as she previously had, and remain focus on the competition. It was also great to see her in a different light, of the supporting Hozumi and is whole-heartedly dedicated to practicing over-time as well.
Overall, it was a solid episode with an great performance! Though I have to admit, I am a bit surprised that one of the groups who we see perform in the manga were cut out, but after watching this episode I can understand why they decided to do so basically it was a group who has terrible teamwork and don’t really care for playing, so their performance was awful. Basically Chika had given a girl who has terrible self-esteem a bit of courage, but her team were quick to quash it again, but she was able to pull through and finish the performance despite the mess it turned out to be. In short, this little side event virtually has no impact on the story or main characters, and it is highly unlikely we will probably see them again. So no, it was not needed for the adaption, and it’s not really worth the resources to put on a poor performance where every second counts.
The spotlight was also briefly cast onto Yamamoto, Hakuto’s advisor. This guy is an absolute cinnamon-roll! The bond he and Mio shares is quite endearing, especially when we get to see Mio show us one of his more affectionate smiles.
It was also so cute how excited Yamamoto was when he got the chance to Takinami. Both of them are math teachers, and yet they both compose music. When Takinami praised their piece and asked about their composer, it was absolutely hilarious how Yamamoto was so overwhelmed by his response, he pretty much gave away the fact he is in-fact the one who has been composing their pieces. I do wonder if I wonder if Yamamoto knew about Takinami’s background at all, because getting a praise like that from an incredibly talented composer like him is certainly an incredible honor!
Last but not least, who else died over the adorable interactions between Hiro and Takezou and Satowa and Chika. God damn it, these ships are going to be the end of me! THEY ARE SO WHOLESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! Hiro pinching Takezou’s cheek while her hand is shaking trying to loosen him up, and him affectionately smiling about it afterwards! I SEE YOUR FEELINGS GROWING TAKEZOU! AND THEN CHIKA WRITING SATOWA’S NAME ON HIS CHARM BECAUSE SHE DIDN’T MAKE HER OWN!!!! [HEART EXPLODES] Satowa’s reaction to it was also so freaking precious, and Chika thinking about how her smile as a good sign. Ever since that lip-brush incident he has been super careful about not making her uncomfortable again, it just goes to show how much he cares about her, it’s so incredibly sweet!!!
Ahhh~ I really hope this show will have more seasons in the future, but I think it might be a while before we do considering the anime has caught up quite a bit to the manga.
Next week, Hakuto’s turn! I am really looking forward to hearing it! 😀
