Leonardo Silva, the world class Brazilian player is convinced that Suguru, his old rival, may still be alive inside of Kakeru. And he wants to confirm it. So, it’s off to the park.
What They Say:
“Leonardo Silva”
Suguru is alive within Kakeru is what a few people think. Mine his therapist believes it’s the answer to new found wants and skills. Leonardo Silva believes it’s true, so his rivalry against Suguru can continue.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Sadly, it looks like they had to go back to the rather stupid “he has his brother’s heart, and that means he has inherited his brother’s abilities” idea that had been floated near the beginning of the show. Le sigh. We get it again with a counseling session between Dr. Mine and Kakeru. But this time, the conversation is overheard by Coach Iwaki, who later confronts Dr. Mine. The only person with any real regard for Kakeru seems to be Iwaki, who questions the reason for telling Kakeru the wild theory that his brother is still alive inside of him. This is what I like about Iwaki, he’s level-headed and reasonable.
Anyway, it’s not just Dr. Mine who believes that Suguru still lives inside of Kakeru. Leonardo Silva, the world-class player who befriended Suguru years ago in an international tournament for junior players and kept in some contact over the years, is also convinced that Suguru is still somewhere in there. There was a friendly rivalry between Silva and Suguru as well, a rivalry that had never fully settled the score because of lack of opportunity and later, of course, Suguru’s death. But now he thinks that Kakeru can give him the closure he seeks, perhaps one day. So, Silva talks to Nana and even borrows her mask so that he can turn up at the park where Kakeru practices at night. The two have an intense one-on-one session where Silva pushes Kakeru until Suguru emerges. Though it’s only for a brief moment, as Nana suddenly shows up and brings Kakeru back.
Eh, whatever. The whole supernatural “Suguru is still alive” thing is rather boring in my opinion. Why couldn’t Kakeru just get better and improve on his own? Yes, he is doing so slowly, with his development of the “Mythical Feint,” but there’s still too much being put into the whole Suguru thread. If the only reason to bring on Silva is to push the whole Suguru subplot, then I think I’m going to be weary every time the next episode preview shows him. Fortunately, next week we’re going to get away, I hope, from the Suguru’s alive line and back to something that has been dormant now for many episodes: The Nana Mishima Show, though there it appears that the tired cliche of the arrogant rival is going to be introduced, with a slippery blonde girl who will obviously cause problems for Nana.
In Summary:
So, we’re stuck with it. The whole supernatural angle from the beginning that would have been best if it had just gone away is back with a vengeance for this episode. Everyone seems to think that Suguru’s essence is still alive inside of Kakeru. The only reasonable person is Coach Iwaki, who questions bombarding Kakeru with this, since, after all, what does this do for Kakeru’s own sense of self? But no, why should we worry about Kakeru? Everyone seems more interested in Suguru, since he was the genius. Apparently Kakeru is just chopped liver. Or is he? Well, we’ll find out down the road.
Grade: B-
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Apple iMac with 4GB RAM, Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard
