“Flat-Out Run At Lake Yamanaka”
「山中湖でのランフラットアウト」
Everyone’s dropping one after the other, like Midosuji predicted, but a sports anime isn’t a sports anime without its fair share of melodrama and boys being dudes and fighting all the way to the end before heroically sacrificing themselves. It actually is as amusing as it sounds, but one can’t help but want to keep watching, just to see how it all turns out.
SO. We’re at the midway point, complete with a new OP and ED. Yay! We need a little variety at this point. There’s only so much action one can receive while cycling. And if the OP tells us anything it’s that I do think I know what’s going to happen at the end, so, spoilers!
Anyways, Shinkai is constantly pulling ahead of Sohoku in the spring to the mountain, and so the third-years of Sohoku step it up and begin to rotate the lead in order to try and gain ground. Unfortunately, that’s not the most economical way of doing things at this point, as it’s only going to tire everyone out even faster, leaving no more energy for the big climb. So, eventually, Jin takes the lead and tells them that it’s going to be his final sprint, much to Naruko’s dismay. He manages to pull Sohoku up so they’re neck and neck with Hakone, but that burst of energy really cost him and he eventually falls behind, leaving the rest to get there to the end. He’s not alone, as Shinkai falls back soon after, having done all he can to help his teammates.
The thing about Yowapeda is that it’s very good at making it feel like some big battle between Hakone and Sohoku without actually telling you what Midosuji and his remaining teammates are doing, so we’re constantly waiting for him to show up in true creepy Midosuji fashion and totally ruin everyone’s hard work. In fact, I’m pretty much betting on it and as a climber, I think his role’s coming pretty soon.
In the meantime, though, Sohoku is always just one step behind Hakone, and it looks like Kinjou is going to have his own battle next, when his knee starts to act up right at the end. It’s an uphill battle from here on out, but I think everyone’s going to have their fifteen minutes of fame in the final half of this season.
☆ koekara ☆ 