As one door closes, another one opens when Mikoto gets fired Mitsuhoshi Bank Badminton Team. Frankly it’s probably better that he is out of there just because it seemed like an unpleasant place to be, with at least one piece of shit that had the nerve to call him a loser on his way out. Seriously, what the hell man. I don’t know how I feel about the whole gifting him flowers in commemoration of his farewell– I mean, who wants to receive flowers after being fired? It’s not like he wanted to leave the team.
Anyhow, almost imeaditely after he was let go, he received an offer from Sunlight Beverage’s corporate team. They may have made the qualifications for S/J league the year before, but they were still in dead-last, and unlike his former team, the whole environment is very different. Practice starts at 4:30pm and the facility they use is an Elementary School gymnasium. Of course coming from a reputable team, Mikoto was not impressed whatsoever with the arrangement.
However, it turned out there was catch to this offer that the coach didn’t tell Mikoto about: He wanted him to play in doubles, not singles. Coach Tasuomi recognizes Mikoto’s talent, but he knows his skill of being able to foresee how his opponents may move can be properly capitalized on if he played in pairs where a partner can cover for him when his opponent suddenly throw a curve-ball by switching up their patterns.
His partner is of course none other than Miyazumi Tatsuru, the hungover salary-man who had fallen asleep in a hippo’s mouth at the park and trolled him with fixing his messy tie into clownish bow-tie. However despite his horrible first impression, Tatsuru is actually Sunlight Beverage’s top salesman, and is also a very strong badminton player with heavy hits. He gave Mikoto a run for his money when the deal been struck that if Mikoto were to win, then he would be allowed to play in singles, but if he loses, then he joins the doubles as Tatsuru’s partner.
Mikoto is a talented player, one that was even once called a child prodigy, but he is being held back by a traumatic event back when he played in pairs with a childhood partner. At some point, seemingly during inter-high based on what Touya had said, Mikoto’s partner suffered from a terrible injury, and it’s one that keeps haunting him to this day. It seems it was triggered when the birdie is flying above his head and he needs to counter it. Perhaps he may have been responsible for his former partner’s injury, given the racket had a horrible in-dent, which may indicate a possible collision with one another due to potentially miscommunication. Either way, whatever happened there probably spelt the end of their partnership, and Mikoto refused to play in doubles ever since.
What was interesting however was that when Mikoto and Tatsuru were going against each other in the singles, the idea of him actually being his teammates was enticing enough to actually cross his mind. It was something that caught him off-guard, but it does go to show that he recognizes a potential partner when he sees one.
But as fate would have it, the post-credits revealed that Mikoto and Tatsuru have actually met once before, and shockingly, it was actually Tatsuru of all people who introduced him to Badminton. Actually what’s kind of hilarious, is that Tatsuru has been shouting about Badaryman (a play with words of Badminton and Salaryman), likening himself to a super hero of a sorts. However it seems Mikoto has no memory of him, though you’d think his proclamation of Badaryman would jog the memory, because just how many people actually say such a thing? Well either way, it’s not his fault for forgetting, it’s been a while after-all.
Although Mikoto is pretty rough around the edges right now, I am looking forward to seeing how he’ll soften up and remove that hard shell he put around his heart. His new team seems to be a nice bunch, one of them (Touya) even being someone he knows back from high school. I’m also interested in learning more about Tatsuru too, as he seems to be a passionate guy who puts it all into the game. And with their unexpected connection from the past, I’m certainly curious to see how their relationship will unfold as partners.
With that said, I’m definitely interested in seeing where this show will go. I’m going to try and give it another episode or two to see if I want to pick it up since Delicious Party Precure only starts next weekend and that’s the other show I’ve had my eye on this season. As all these shows (including Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru) all air on Saturdays, I’m going to see how it works out schedule wise and whether I can handle three back-to-back at the moment. So for the mean time, I’ll be back for more next week!
Possibility of Blogging: Moderate – Giving up to three episodes to see if it can fit my schedule!
Possibility of Watching: Guaranteed
Random Note of the Week: Darn it, looking at all their drinks makes me thirsty. Now I want soda, and I’m not even big about that kind of drink.
