The game is on and boy am I stressed! But I don’t know who I am more stressed for, I mean Fukuho isn’t down a player, but they are down Ochi who provides support to their ace, but Seiin is down their ace and while the rest of the team make up for his shortcomings in other ways, they just don’t have a person with as much power as Kuroba. Plus, Seiin is down bad and Fukuho certainly isn’t going to make it easy for them to take the next two sets. And if Ochi comes back? It’s pretty much the end for them.
I think I have mixed feelings for this episode. I am really excited for this final showdown to really get started, but I think I’m kind of disappointed that there was a lot of montaging going on. It really just was one team making a cool shot after the other one, but there wasn’t a whole lot of drama build up from a rally. There’s still potential for a strong rally if Kuroba makes it back out to the court, so I’m going to hope that one is still one the way. Well… actually aside from his power, Kuroba is still one of the weaker players on the court. He kind of fumbles around the court until he gets a chance to spike. Oh well, you can’t expect him to be good at everything, especially since he is still pretty new to volleyball. I mean, he played volleyball previously with Haijima, but most of the others were on middle school teams and had coaches. Heck, up till Haijima transferred to his middle school, Kuroba wasn’t even attending a regular practice. He was just chilling with Yori (speaking of which, I wonder what he’s up to. Is he okay after getting into that fight so many episodes ago?).
I really wish they would have touched upon Haijima and his actions in this episode a lot more. I understand his focus on Subaru, but I kind of wish there were more of an impact when he started to take everything in his own hands. He has grown in the fact that he is much more of a team player, but dang. We should let Kanno speak his mind a little bit more without someone else coming in to back Haijima up. I don’t think it’s fair that Haijima is just the trick up their sleeves whenever the game gets a little rough. But I suppose I’m alright with Aoki stopping the tension between the team. It was definitely the mature thing to do rather than just be angry at him. On the other hand, there were some consequences that Haijima faced by telling Kuroba to go for his shot. A solid smack in the face for Kuroba and an immediate loss of a player. That’s really going to be hard to recover from, but hey! It does show how much he cares about the team’s ace and how valuable he is for the team. A bummer for Kuroba though, having to be escorted off the court for a bloody nose.
I’m getting really anxious that Subaru is not going to play in at least one of the remaining sets. His knees are going to give out and that’s going to be a really sad loss. Alternatively, perhaps he can be someone that earns even more respect from Seiin. He’s been this powerhouse for so long, but he’s done so with damaged knees. I’m just conflicted! I want Subaru and Fukuho to win! But at the same time, I think the big upset by having Seiin take the lead could also provide more drama! But again, perhaps it would make for a better story if they don’t overcome Fukuho this year and they work together with the second years to really build up the team! It would give Haijima a chance to connect and bond with his team on a deeper level. It really seems like Aoki and Oda buy into his power, but the second years are still apprehensive. So, having some time to build up those relationships with Kanno and the others might make for a more compelling win. Gah, so much is still up in the air and I’m impatient! I want to know who will win, and if they’re going to give us something dramatic, it better be over the top!!
