Oh… Nao, with an ending line like that, I can’t help but be stressed for next week! But on that note, I don’t think that was the best way to end the episode. For this anime in particular, I’m not a fan of a spoilerish ending like that. I mean, based on the previous matches and the fact that we’re still early in the match, I could probably predict that they’re going to run into some troubles… but to have it told to us, makes it feel, less exciting. But, in a more positive spin I interested to see what those disasters turn out to be.
I enjoyed seeing Kite on the court again! I appreciated that they didn’t pull a “I’ve learned and completely changed my way” with his story, instead he was making small changes on the court. The response of his teammates actively telling him not to do certain things really cemented how much of a lone wolf play style he had. Before he was focused on getting all the points himself and even now he’s still pretty on using his skills to get a lot of points, but he changes and slowly gives room to other players to show their dependability. Most notably he gave that opportunity to Momoharu by missing that second free throw. Yeah, it looks like Kite is playing a one man’s game, but the subtle changes that he’s made have made a significant impact on the team’s morale. It still seems like Kite is shouldering all the responsibility to help the team make it to the top, but at least now he’s recognized that he wants to make it to the top with them 🙂 .
Kite really brought out new elements for the match. In addition to providing opportunity for dependability. He also manages to get Hyou excited for the game again. Personally, I feel a little iffy about Hyou getting excited based off everything that Kite has provided for the match, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. I think it has to do with the fact that Hyou was just so uninterested in Kite and this game last week, but now he’s changed his tune. But at the same time, it’s interesting to see the difference between him and those who are giving 110% from the moment they step on the court. Aside from Hyou, it was it was nice to hear a little bit more from Yasu in this episode, especially after Kite called him out. What he said seemed pretty mean, but I liked that it came across as “You aren’t going to be able to succeed against this guy…. but that’s okay we still need you here.” So yeah, he still hasn’t made a shot or scored his team any points, but he’s a valuable player to the team.
The second part of the episode focused on Mokichi’s entrance into the game showing us what was the “Best Line-up” for Kuzu High. And now that Chiba mentioned it, could you imagine what the first match up of the series would look like now? Ahhhh, that would actually be such a fun match to watch. But back to Mokichi. He doesn’t get very much screen time off the court, and he certainly isn’t as big of a focus as the Hanazonos, Sora, and Kite, but I do really appreciate his personality when he’s on the court. He has a confidence that seems so unexpected. He doesn’t seem like the type to flaunt his height and skill, but when it does come out, even just to shake up the other team, it’s fun to watch.
All around, it was an enjoyable episode! I’m excited to see everything fall into place, and I’m even more interested to see how things end up going wrong for Kuzu and how the try to fix it in the coming episodes!
Hello there! During all the week leading to that episode, I was telling myself “please, anime staff, be smart, do NOT do what I am afraid that you will do”. And of course, they did it! What I am talking about? Well, as I told you last week, there is a lot of narration in “Ahiru no Sora”, in particular during games. And when I saw them in episode 42 make Sakamaki explain the issue with Fuwa, I was afraid that a “smart” person would make Nao narrate (what she does NOT in the manga). And of course, that gave that odd illogical end. I mean, it does not change the message because at the end of the day, it is present in the manga, but they have been obliged to modify the tense and some words. And so, now it looks as if Nao knows and does not care, which is not actually the case. I was expecting them to at least put these words into Sakami’s mouth, but anyway, we will see that next week. But I warn you, you will need to pay attention to basketball details…XD.
Actually, I had noticed that ending that episode there troubled many people and I had not understood at the beginning. But now, I can get the frustration for an anime-only (which I did not have when reading it as all that episode is just the beginning of a new volume so I got to know immediately what was coming next).
Btw, I noticed that like Sora, you totally overlook the poor Tetsuya (the new talkative point guard). Is it because he’s short? XD. Well, I will just say that you may not want to underestimate him too much…A funny story is that they modified a bit his entry. Indeed, in the manga, this is not a traveling violation that he makes but a “5 seconds violation” (in FIBA “= International” basket-ball, a player cannot stay 5 seconds without dribbling or passing while having a defender close to him. And to make life simple, in NBA, that rule…does not exist! Lol). I wonder if they change it in the anime in order to make it easier for people… And yeah, poor Yasuhara, every time you think that this is his moment and…well no.
Anyway, I will be miraculously short this time. Just saying that I have been waiting patiently for next week episode, in particular because I am curious about where they will stop. I am afraid that they will maybe rush/skip again but I hope that I am wrong. Intense moments are coming…
Nao’s narration felt really out of place. Perhaps if it had happened a few times in earlier episodes, it wouldn’t have felt out place. It definitely worked with Sakamaki in the previous episode because it was phrased as his own justification. But still, I guess we’ll just have to roll with the decision that the anime staff made. I’ll make sure to focus on the Basketball details in the episode this week!
XD I wasn’t too sure what to say about Tetsuya in this episode. He certainly made a dynamic entry and has a lot of spunk with his personality. But with everything else going on, I was more focused on other characters than him. But he definitely drew my attention when he was on screen! And Lol! I thought the travelling joke might have been a mistranslation of what had happened. Personally, I thought it would have had something to do with the shot clock rather than him taking a step back (but I’m not a sports expert so I would be convinced if they told me fouled for being too loud).
I can’t wait to see what next week will bring!