What They Say:
“Chapter 28 Blinding Darkness / Chapter 29 Just a Little Water”
Shimada and Rei’s battle continues as Rei begins to drown in his embarrassment. Watch as their battle finally comes to a close.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
As it turns out, my feelings of annoyance over Rei’s attitude in the past episode were not entirely personal; we were supposed to feel that way. I love it when a series does such a good job at provoking a specific reaction from the audience without having to spell it out, something March sometimes struggles with. It was perfect this time, though. In fact, the whole episode was fantastic.
In the first place, it managed to surprise me. I thought I knew what was going to happen but I got thrown a curve ball and I loved it. Just as Rei begins to figure out he’s been too distracted by his own objectives to actually be in the game, so to speak, he starts to panic. He finally understands what it is he’s been doing; completely underestimating his opponent and behaving arrogantly. Shimada is, after all, an A rank player, but Rei has been treating him, in his own words, like a side character, focused as he was on his own personal little drama. The match against Gotou may be the most important thing in the world to Rei but the world doesn’t revolve about what Rei wants. It reminds me of a quote from Kino’s journey about how we suffer because we see ourselves as the protagonists but the rest of the world doesn’t recognize us as such. Rei tries to come back but it’s too late, he panics and in an unexpected but very realistic twist, he loses. It’s not even a close call, it’s complete and utter defeat. He’s forced to recognize Shimada didn’t get there by sheer luck, he’s been working at it all his life, nobody handed him his A rank. There’s a bit of a theme here too, reminiscent of Umino’s other work Honey and Clover; that of sheer genius versus pure hard work and how one isn’t necessarily superior to the other.
Rei’s loss was necessary for his growth as a player, as Nikaidou probably foresaw (Nikaido is becoming my favorite character, more and more with each episode), and even Shimada and Smith comment on how his arrogance is typical of his inexperience. After all, they’ve both done stupid things they’d rather not remember. I do wonder if we’re going to see Shimada’s match with Gotou, I certainly hope so. Gotou’s imposing style of play and Shimada’s calm strength should make for a very entertaining battle. Rei, of course, responds to this loss as he’s bound to, by succumbing to his depression and giving himself up to a spiral of darkness and sleep. But it’s impossible to sleep forever, and so he eventually has to get up, dehydrated as he is. I have to admit, when he was looking at job listings and complaining about how they all required a high school diploma, I was mostly marveling at the fact they all said “no experience necessary”.
Rei was being a little extreme there, but at least it makes him go back to school and that’s always a blessing to me because I love his teacher. The guy always brings a smile to my face and he’s also full of good advice. This time it’s no different. He finds Rei crying over a job listings magazine and while his reaction is hilarious, he’s also the first one to understand what his student really needs even if he himself is reluctant to admit it. No matter how hard Rei tries to be an adult, the fact is, he isn´t and there’s nothing wrong with that, just like losing wasn’t the end of the world. Maybe he should just admit he’s way in over his head and go back to his adoptive father’s house. At least, he’s trying to figure out who he is and what he wants, but we all need a little help or a lot of help, and sometimes it takes you an entire lifetime. Losing may seem like a bad thing in the short term, but I think he really needed this, to see he isn´t infallible, the world doesn’t revolve around him and it is possible to fall down and get up again.
Oh, and Smith loves his cat, a lot and that’s a good thing too.
In Summary:
I loved this episode. I don’t know if this is the best episode in the series so far but it is the one I’ve enjoyed the most, probably because it wasn´t predictable at all and for once the direction allowed the images and characters to drive the mood instead of relying too much on voice-over. I also see so much potential for growth in Rei and I love Nikaidou and Shimada’s less direct approach of letting him realize things by himself. It’s like they say: You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.
Grade: A+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll, Daisuki
