After the shocking twist in the last episode, where do we go from here? Well, we go forward, slowly, and painfully.
What They Say:
“A Brother’s Pulse”
Kakeru has finally awoken and is recovering well. He is stronger, faster, and more energetic than before. He has come to terms with the loss of his older brother, but his friends and family seem to be keeping a secret from him.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
So, after an action montage, we go back and forth from the harrowing present to the happy past, as we see Suguru, Kakeru and Nana when they first met as young kids, and we learn that it was Kakeru who gave Nana her nickname of “Seven.” These scenes from the past provide a pleasant contrast to the present, where we learn from the emergency room doctor that Suguru is brain dead while Kakeru is on life support. Things do not look good at all for the brothers.
The sad mood comes to the flashbacks as well when we see again the scene where Nana tells everyone that she’s leaving with her family. Kakeru takes it very hard, being the sensitive boy he is. Before she left, however, she gave Suguru a pair of keepsakes for him and Kakeru, to remember their promise that one day they’d all wear the Japanese national uniform. As the flashback ends, Kakeru wakes up. It’s not a happy present that he wakes up to, as the doctor tells him about the death of his brother. And to complicate matters, Kakeru’s chest injury was extremely serious, enough to require a heart transplant. As it happens, Suguru was an organ donor…
Two months pass, and Kakeru is back at school. His recovery went well and he even feels more energetic than before. While science will tell us (rightly) that only the brain contains feelings and memories, Kakeru seems somewhat transformed now that he is being kept alive by his brother’s heart. And at moments other people feel like they are in the presence of Suguru, as Kakeru takes on some of his older brother’s aspects. Last episode, we were told that Kakeru lacked heart. Now that he literally has his brother’s heart, will he become a great player? That may take some time yet.
I’m not sure how to react to the path the writers have taken here (and by writers, I include the original creator of the manga that is being adapted here). Is it somewhat corny that Kakeru, lacking “heart,” will gain that intangible quality from his brother’s heart which now beats within him? It seems that way to me. The first two episodes seemed fairly well grounded in the real world (well, other than Japan tying Brazil in the World Cup), but this element takes the show into the realm of magical realism. I’m not sure that that is necessarily a good step, but it remains to be seen how it plays out. If Kakeru suddenly becomes a better player and a fierce presence on the field of play because of the heart transplanted within him, that is, frankly, kind of a weak ploy. It might have been much more powerful if Kakeru got there on his own, in response to the tragedy, which could have awoken a burning desire deep down inside of him. But, that is not the path taken here. Still, so long as it doesn’t go too far into the realm of the fantastical, the show may yet build upon the good foundation laid in the first two episodes.
In Summary:
After the tragic death of his brother, Kakeru Aizawa must come to grips with life without his older brother Suguru to worship. After returning to school, however, Kakeru follows up on his original plan of quitting the soccer club and trying to leave the past behind. But it seems destined that he will return to the pitch as a striker, possibly because of a secret that lies inside of him.
Grade: B
Readers Rating: [ratings]
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment: Apple iMac with 4GB RAM, Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard