A few knocks to the head doesn’t take Sawa down, though she does feel down as the world stands in the way of her dreams. Is there a path forward for her?
What They Say:
Episode 8: “Worrying and Racing Ahead”
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
So, Sawa was injured by her fall, though hopefully the MRI will show nothing seriously wrong. She’s not seriously injured, if a bit malnourished, but she will have to avoid strenuous activities and has been asked to withdraw from the mounted archery competition. As I expected, the avoiding eating was related to her need to get below a certain weight for the equestrian school, but she is far too big to ever make it. Her father again tells her to give up, which only provokes an angry response from Sawa.
At school, Sawa’s anger and frustration boil over at the arrogant Choir Club members who prevent Konatsu’s group from using their regular practice room to prepare for the culture festival. So, instead they all head off to Wien’s house, since he has a piano and room for five people to sing around it. The piano isn’t tuned, however, but instead of practicing, a small fight breaks out when Konatsu’s misunderstanding about Sawa’s feelings is revealed and Sawa comes clean about the whole truth. While everyone is understanding, Wakana makes the mistake of trying to give reasonable advice, telling Sawa to step back and think about the situation some more. That’s too much like Sawa’s father, and it sets her off.
In the end, we come to crunch time. The Vice Principal tries to reject Konatsu and her group again, saying they are not serious about music, but Konatsu’s passion, combined with Wakana’s newfound interest make her think again, but only to the point where she is willing to see how serious they truly are. They will have to audition for the main stage. The problem is that Sawa is nowhere to be found and she is not answering her phone. They need her or they will be deep in the hole. Wakana, who knows something about depression and wanting to be alone, tells Konatsu what they really need to do for Sawa. They need to show her that they are on her side.
And, of course, as one might expect, they are not the only ones. Sawa, walking around her house, overhears her father yelling on the phone. He is speaking with the equestrian school and arguing his daughter’s case, very forcefully (threatening, as a monk, to send people to hell is very forceful). It should really come as no surprise, as we saw him at the beginning of the episode running as if his life depended on it in the hospital to find his daughter. When Sawa returns to her room, she hears a phone message, as the members of the club sing a song to show her their support. Sawa gets the message in more ways than one. Now, she just needs to get there in time for the audition. Through some creative use of a cell phone, they manage to waylay the Vice Principal long enough for Sawa to come riding to the rescue (literally, on Sabure’s back).
This was a nice way to wrap up the Sawa’s future arc, though it was largely predictable. We should have known all along that her father was not being mean to her simply because he’s a mean adult. We already knew that somehow the Vice Principal would try to stand in the way of Konatsu’s club, but that in the end something tied to her memory of Mahiru Sakai would make her give in slightly. And there would be a mad rush for a missing member of the group to reach an audition in time, making this something of a replay of the end of Konatsu’s arc, though in that case, the missing members did not arrive in time. Konatsu’s little misunderstanding causes another misunderstanding. All of these things are fairly predictable. That is perhaps the major shortcoming of this show. The execution is quite good. The character development and plot progression has been handled deftly enough. The problem is that there is neither enough surprise nor enough charm to the proceedings to raise it above a B-level. Without one of those elements, it cannot help but be merely “good,” not outstanding.
In Summary:
We get to the end of Sawa’s story, and it ends predictably enough. While her future is still a matter for some debate, she has worked out her anger against her father and her friends. Konatsu’s Choir Club gets their chance to audition to use the main stage for the Culture Festival, though we will have to wait for next time to see how they did.
Grade: B
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Apple iMac with 4GB RAM, Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard
