What They Say:
“Chapter 37 Torrent / Chapter 38 Passing Time”
The Lion King Tournament is underway, although things are not looking good for the challenger. Still, he will not give up, and is determined to press forward.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
I think this episode confirms what I was talking about last week. About the only person who truly believes no progress has been made in this past year is definitely Rei. Even when it comes to the series itself, we’re spending less and less time all wrapped up inside Rei’s head and much more time seeing things from an outside perspective. This is also due to the gradual shift happening around him, who without even noticing, has begun to let more and more people into his life.
The workshop scene was entertaining as always, what with all the back and forth between Nikaidou and Shigeta. Those two are always fun, although Shimada may disagree with me. It’s not all fun and games, though, there’s some great character development here. With the third match in the tournament drawing close, Shimada has been getting nervous, so he decides to revisit his defeat of last year to figure out what went wrong. This is what sparks the debate between Nikaidou and Shigeta, they’re both trying to figure out how to proceed in front of such a difficult board. The interesting part came when Shimada asks Rei to intervene with his own opinion, and because he’s not used to working with others, he’s unable to properly verbalize how he feels. There are a few laughs to be had here, but Shimada sees something more and invites him to visit again the next day, this time alone.
I loved the game between them, both of them trying to get some kind of silent answer from the other, Rei absolutely overwhelmed by the level at which Shimada was playing, but not willing to concede either. I think it shows how much respect Shimada has for Rei, he doesn’t feel the need to hold back and I absolutely love how this quiet, nice man becomes a force to be reckoned with when faced with a real match. I’m not sure I understand his motivation, though, I get he wants to go back to his hometown but is this some attempt at getting recognition? Does he love or hate his town? The way he spoke about it felt a bit sad, a bit nostalgic, but also kind of bitter. I guess time will tell, maybe.
On other news, Rei managed to pass his grade, just barely but it still counts. What really matters here is we get another scene with Hayashida sensei and really, everybody should have a teacher like Hayashida. He goes to congratulate Rei and when his student starts with the usual “nothing has changed” speech, Hayashida stops him cold. He proceeds to compare Rei to himself when he was seventeen years old. He was a typical teenager, not worrying about the future, having fun with his friends, watching TV, reading manga, thinking he was going to do something of himself one day after he graduated. Instead, Rei has been working, living on his own, taking care of his own meals, laundry, etc…, all the while keeping up with both school and his career in Shogi. How can he even say he’s done nothing? The more Hayashida praises him the more it hurts Rei. I believe it’s because he doesn’t feel worthy, no matter what his teacher says. Thankfully, Hayashida is not someone who’s going to stop until he’s gotten his message through, going so far as to practically force Rei to celebrate his success by going to eat oden with him. Of course, he first threatens Rei with taking him to Mouseland. Get it? Mouseland….
The sisters also make an appearance this week, with Hina and Momo going to visit Rei with the excuse of getting the bento boxes back. What they’re really after is information on Kyouko and Rei’s relationship. He tells them the basic truth, they’re siblings and siblings sometimes fight. Of course, we all know there is so much more to it than this, and it seems Akari has also noticed. I almost feel bad because I immediately thought “Mothers always know”, but she really is like a mother, isn’t she?
In Summary:
Another solid episode and it seems March has finally found its perfect balance. It’s still an uphill battle but the progress is definitely noticeable in Rei and his world seems so much more colorful. He doesn’t get knocked down as easily anymore either as proven by his Shogi battle with Shimada. He was exhausted afterward but at least he didn’t go home feeling like a loser. And speaking of the rest of the cast, I can’t find one single throwaway character. Everyone is interesting and loveable in their own way, even if I do have my favorites. It’s getting to the point where I feel genuinely sad whenever one of them loses.
Grade: A+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll, Daisuki
