The multi part story continues, unfortunately.
What They Say:
The second game of the Bibage Battle is a real show between Shinzou and Tsubaki, coming to a truly cinematic finish! Then the curtain rises on a sharp-shooting (or is it, sharp-tongued) battle between Switch and Daisey!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
While there were amusing parts to the episode last week with the Bibage Battle that was underway that the gang got suckered into, it isn’t something that really warranted being carried over to more than one episode. That they skipped a lot of stuff just to get to the end round of battles was definitely appreciated since Sket Dance isn’t exactly a series that can pull off, say, a thirty episode run of tournament episodes, but I wouldn’t put it past them if they thought they could get a couple more seasons of renewal by doing it. With the matches coming down to being just between the Sket club and the student council, it’s pretty personal and highly competitive, mostly because of the intensity of just a few of the members on each side.
Surprisingly, a good chunk of the episode focuses on the battle between Shinzou and Tsubaki, with an affirmation of the friendship between the Sket club and Shinzou himself which has cropped up a few times over the course of the show. They have some nice call backs to when he first appeared and how he handled his club issue back then with the Friske, and this does bring it full circle. Shinzou’s not exactly a fascinating character or anything but he’s an amusing addition to events here but not one that can support this much time in the forefront. Having him go against Tsubaki for his match is fun though, especially when Tsubaki starts whaling on him and they have the paint splatter boxing gloves going to town on his chest, and both characters have a decent moment. It could have been about half the time though.
Switch’s match is pretty fun as he goes up against Daisey in a game where they have to hunt each other down. It has a bit of a classic feel to it with gangster style and old fashioned weapons in a rundown building and the style works pretty well as they go at it. It’s essentially an updated version of Lazer Tag but Switch manages to look good in this form and Daisey makes you want to see more of her. Unfortunately, this is a short match when it could be one that could justify a longer one. It has a nice sense of style about it and works up the tension nicely, well, as nicely as you can in a show like this, and the banter and interplay between the two of them has some fun to it. Switch comes up with a neat little trick that works for the match and Daisey becomes a character you want to see more of in the school.
In Summary:
While the whole battle thing felt overplayed in the first episode where it was introduced and terribly out of place in the series, bringing it to multiple episodes really drives it home that it’s not exactly a good fit for the show. This is taking the idea of SKET too far, especially since the person requesting the favor to get the special prize has flown the coop and run off to do something else, leaving the Sket club to deal with everything themselves. All that keeps them here is the competition with the student council, but with the over the top competitions, the base silliness of it, it’s all just too much. Considering the show has largely played things in a real world sense, comically of course, this whole thing takes it into another area. And there’s still more to come? Not the best way to get close to finishing out the series and doesn’t exactly entice me to come back. All that saved this episode was the second half because of Switch and Daisey.
Grade: B-
Simulcast By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
