What They Say: 
The Storm Will Soon Carry Me
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
This is one of my favorite episodes of this season. The four people competing in the finals are deeply fleshed out in this episode. Everyone is having to deal with some sort of weakness but it still isn’t a factor that the characters let themselves be defined by. This is even the first episode that has given Suo more depth and ties in some small hints that the series has been hinting about. All of the characters come with a revelation that comes with a heavy punch that is either a positive or negative aspect in their stories. Their backstories had been slowly revealed in this series and this episode is where it all comes together and pays off in dividends.
It was a bit funny seeing Shinobu’s grandma struggle to watch Shinobu’s Karuta match on television. This gag is kept up throughout the episode and it was sad no one bothers to inform her the match is only available to stream online. She wasn’t the only one who struggled with viewing the match as it also impacted Suo’s family who weren’t able to watch the first matches.
In Summary:
This episode manages to combine Karuta with the lives of each of the competitors to make for a grand episode. Each character has their unique motivations for wanting to win this tournament and that is something that this episode manages to depict beautifully. No character is depicted as an antagonist but simply a human who is carrying the weight of their world on their shoulders. This episode makes me want to root for all of them to win but only one can win their respective title.
Grade: A+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
