The series turned into a shounen sports show this week. Also, I actually fear for Hiromi’s mental health.
(Spoilers in this review)
As expected, the Cycling Club has to try to catch up to Mr. Bear while making sure the Swimming Club Senpai doesn’t overtake them. Their freshmen allies had dropped out by now, you see. But then Fuyune’s leg ends up cramping, so she pulls away. Tomoe is astounded that being the leader of a train is lonely and eventually pulls away, too. Nagisa’s shoulder injury starts to really hurt, so she also pulls away.
So in the end, the battle for first place involves Hiromi, Swimming Club Senpai, and Mr. Bear! Hiromi wins because she imagines her friends are giving her advice and are giving her a push forward (which is probably an artsy way to say that her teammates really supported her and allowed Hiromi to save her energy for the last part of the race). I get what the show is trying to say that the Cycling Club won because they worked as a team, but it feels a little uninspired, I suppose.
The following day has Hiromi daydreaming and thinking that she won a bike frame that’s actually some sort of sentient flying unicorn while she’s chilling in the pool with Fuyune and Tomoe. Meanwhile, Nagisa not only gets her shoulder checked out by Hiromi’s mom but she also bumps into Fuyune’s onee-san, Rei. The two girls then spend a few minutes talking about Fuyune.
Fuyune, Tomoe, and Hiromi finds out that the Cosplay Club, who had to deal with a 3 month suspension for wearing revealing clothes to school, is now allowed to resume activities because Mr. Bear was a BEAST and was in the lead for most of the race.
The episode ends with the Manager deciding to make a proper bike for Hiromi using the frame of the bike she rode for the race. After all, Hiromi rode a bike that had a bunch of spare parts randomly slapped together to the race. It was just loan, to top it off. But now, after the series is over halway done, Hiromi will have a competitive road bike of her very own!
After the episode ends, two idols (and an old man) teach us about bike postures. Stiff arms are not good for long-distance rides! Bend those elbows! And it seems like Mr. Bear is going to challenge the Cycling Club next week. Now, who could it be…? (◔_◔)
Thoughts on this episode:
- Is this suddenly Family Day? Nagisa is gettin’ it on with her clubmate’s family members, wahoo! At any rate, I’m pretty happy that the best girl, Fuyune’s onee-san, made another appearance.
- The Headmaster was right to suspend the Cosplay Club’s activities. Going to school dressed like that is a bit…
- I really liked the image of Fuyune standing by her lonesome shown at the very end of the episode. Heck, I wouldn’t mind if Fuyune stole Hiromi’s spot and became the main character. I’m a little tired of the ditzy main character since they seem so common…
- The show continues with its slow pacing. Nothing new here. I actually hoped that we would get introduced to Mr. Bear (who just has to be the blonde girl in the OP, right?) this episode, but I guess we’re only going to get 4 episodes of her. This popular trend of bringing in new characters when a series is nearly over is a bit annoying.
The Lily Garden 
Ah sports anime’s POWER OF TEAMWORK never gets old. I’m watching Kuroko no Basuke now and drowning in teamspirit.
Wow they came to class like that…those chest pieces don’t even cover anything much. Poor old teachers must have been traumatized.
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It’s a classic. It will never die. Like polka (ymmv).
Oh I enjoyed reading that. The ships kept me drowning from TEAM SPIRIT.
Right? No wonder their club got punished.
It’s funny you should mention that. I feel like older ladies seem to kind of …regress when it comes to sexuality as they age? I mean, c’mon. They probably did unspeakable things when they were younger. They were young and excited and curious at one point, too. So why do they assume this holier-than-thou stance??? Probably has to do with decorum…
That being said, the Cosplay Club had no reason to go to school dressed like that.
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But the ships also seem to be drowning in teamspirit! I’m only on s1 and the ho yay is louder than a trumpet but the group bonding is like thunder.
You make a damn good point. Especially when I have serious doubts that these 30-40 somethings are all that virtuous. They’re probably still doing unspeakable things. It’s not like sex drive dies with age when you get past your twenties.
Decorum might be it. Or some misguided sense about young girls needing to be pure and protected.
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Mmm you’re right. Truly a show about males who get along with each other really well. Both on the court and off.
Mmm. I guess we will never know. Until we get older, at least.
Gaaah one of my favorite manga arcs had the male main character invoke that, but he was like 6 or something and he was trying to defend his childhood friend from a wild monster. Still misguided and annoying to see though. Especially in real life!
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Well enough that they spend half the time staring into each others eyes with tender smiles. So subtle.
Let’s hope we’re more fun when old. C’mon, who wants to be a grouchy old goat?
Ughhhhh spare me. Children do tend to do that since that’s what they grow up seeing. It’s not like the ‘feminity is weak’ thing is something ingrained; you pick it up from adults, media etc
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All while touching balls and sweating up a storm. Very subtle.
I hope so, too. Better to be an old fuck than an old goat.
Mmm. It’s poison.
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I was considering adding a balls innuendo somewhere on my future review but then you went and beat me to it. I approve so much.
Exactly!
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