Oh, this episode was really charming! We finally got to spend some time with Himekawa and Noa’s teams and honestly, I think I would have been happy regardless of the outcome. Honestly, I’m just a fan of this episode because they gave both of the teams a fighting chance an made them both look really good. I found myself jumping back and forth between who I wanted to win depending on which team they gave their focus to! And in the end, I’m proud of Himekawa for taking his team to the Grand Prix.
I think Noa and Mi*Leon deserve quite a bit of credit in this episode. While we really didn’t know anything about the idol group other than they are an idol group I’m really glad that they were all able to work well with each other. Noa is a very vibrant character and I can totally understand why people might be put off by him. But I really do admire his goals to make the sport more exciting and draw more people towards it. At the end of the day, even if they didn’t win the competition, I do think they were able to accomplish their goals, so it was a happy ending for them. And I’m just glad that we got to see their performance! We’ve only seen a handful of them so far, but it was a lot of fun! Sure, it was a little unconventional and definitely much more idolish, but that’s just who they are so I have to applaud them for showing everyone another side of Skate-Leading. It’s a little bit of a bummer that this is the end of the road for the team in this season, but they certainly went out with a bang. And we’ll at least see Noa again as a commentator.
Now for Himekawa’s team, I don’t feel like they did as much in this episode, but I’m really proud of everything that happened with them off the competition rink. I love that they addressed Himekawa as their one and only ace and how he feels a responsibility for leading his team. I also really appreciate that they were able to show a pleasant team dynamic! I was worried with his demeanor he would face some challenges meshing with his new team, but it seems they created a connection much stronger than when he was skating at Iondai. I’m sad that we didn’t get to see winning performance, but that just means it will be a treat for the upcoming episodes! Good luck Himekawa I hope you and your team are able to make it all the way to the end.
I really appreciated how much time each of these two teams got in this episode and liked the structure of it all. One moment they would give Noa his chance in the spotlight which made me excited to see what his team could do! Then then next moment it would switch over to Himekawa with a completely different mood, but it still made me want to see them give their all! I hope future episodes follow a similar structure. I know every single one of the remaining teams are incredibly skilled, but I want to see their drive to win! I want to see just how hard they are fighting so I know that regardless of their standing they were truly able to give it their all.
This episode is certainly one of my tops for the series. This is just due to the fact that both teams fought as hard as they could, or at least gave us the impression that they were going to go all the way. It’s nice to see the personalities of the other teams rather than just seeing them strictly through the Iondai lens, so I do hope the Grand Prix stands out in the same way. And at the end of the day, Noa’s performance was fun and I’m always down for that. So, hopefully next week’s episode will be just as exciting!
