I don’t usually do this, since if you read a post you should expect spoilers, but this one will impact how you interpret the first 9 episodes, so the rest of the post is after the jump.
Yamato reaches Suzuka’s posh mansion, only to learn that all the Asahina girls dislike him. However, the sister takes pity on him and leads him to Suzuka. As Yamato tells his tale of woe, the sister only marvels that Suzuka agreed to go on a date. Pretty soon we find out why, as we see Suzuka praying in front of Tsuda Kazuki’s grave. It turns out that 2 years ago, “Rocket Starter Kazuki” was involved in an accident; a truck crashed into him while he was at the national tournament.
Yamato is pretty devastated to find out that he is a total Kazuki clone. He’s bummed out and skips track practice, even though the tournament is coming up. Meanwhile, Suzuka remembers her time with Kazuki. He really is just like a confident version of Yamato, and Kazuki has no problem teasing “Suzukaze” relentlessly. They bicker all the time, but of course they secretly grow to like each other. Kazuki realizes that Suzuka tends to choke under pressure, but later tells her that even he gets nervous before a race. At the last practice, Kazuki confesses to Suzuka, but she is unsure how to respond. Kazuki gallantly agrees to wait until he returns as Number 1 in the country to hear her answer. Unfortunately, when Suzuka finally realizes she loves him, it’s too late to tell him…
Everything comes to a head when Miki can’t talk sense into Yamato. Suzuka finally visits his room for a confrontation. She thinks she can keep using her usual cruel taunts on him, but Yamato has clearly been stewing for a long time, and won’t take anymore crap from her. He’s hurt and so he lashes out about being just a replacement for Kazuki. Suzuka is shocked, but quickly lets him have it. I guess that’s not how Yamato pictured the situation going down.
If this episode weren’t so heavy, the Gundam Seed Destiny and KimiNozo jokes would just be flying now, but even I have to admit that this was an excellent episode (and the best one so far in the series). The mood, music, and flashbacks were handled just right, and so much was subtly explained (like that weird reaction Suzuka had when she was splashed by the truck). The buildup to the final confrontation was perfect, and my interest in the series has been restored. As much as the truth hurts, sometimes it’s necessary for everyone to move forward.
I guess I was wrong about Kazuki… although I did consider it a possibility, I really figured he’d just be crippled or unconscious. Honoka better move in before Miki tries anything. Yatsunobu’s life sucks.
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This post was written by...
Kabitzin – who has written 1940 posts on Sea Slugs! Anime Blog.
One of the founders of Sea Slugs, I handle most of the blog admin tasks while wearing my I AM BOSS shirt. I like my action series well choreographed, and my romance series extra trashy. I also have a soft spot for puns.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
This episode is probably the best episode which even beats out episode 6. I forgotten about the truck splash incident back in episode 4. It’s quite frightening that Yamato and Kazuki are so much alike.
wow, Suzu’s family turned out to be nothing but inflexible bean-poles just like her after all. (i owe my friend a coke now)
look forward to watching this one later.
Inflexible bean-poles? I thought that Suzune was quite flexible alright – trying to help Yamato making progress with Suzuka.
I’d hold off on that coke, too. Even though they both get that same expression when they’re getting pissy, Suzuka’s sister was actually pretty cool and open with Yamato. Did you catch her dropping the hint about Fantasyland? Plus, don’t forget that Yamato doesn’t really come across that well when you first meet him T__T.
One thing I just realized: that was kinda messed up what Miyamoto said to Suzuka about Yamato being her type. Yamato needs a dorky mask more than ever now.
I’m always surprised when I see people developing hate towards an anime character. People also tend to hate the characters I actually like or find at least interesting. The other girls like Miki have nice tits and all but that’s not particularly interesting nor does it make a good story. Maybe such characters are just too complex for some (possibly very young) viewers?
Yamato did not deserve that slap but still, I think that he should stop his pathetic desire for Suzuka and move on. That girl isn’t worth it. If only Honoka had Suzuka or Miki’s guts ^_^;;
Yamato really deserved to be slap for that comment he made. The comment was completely disrespectful to Kazuki and Suzuka. How you would feel if someone made a similar comment about a person who loved very deeply?
I agree it was out of line, but I understand why Yamato did it. Everyone’s been treating him like another person, and he’s been stewing all day. Suzuka always knows how to push Yamato’s buttons, and he just wants to lash out with the most powerful thing he can say.
Just when I thought Yamato was going to get payback for all the cruelty that Suzuka puts him through, he goes and messes it all up. I was hoping he would tell her to leave him alone and then slam the door on her but he had to go out of line. Looks like he comes crawling back next episode too…
Yamato was Suzuka’s comfort cushion all this time. I think what Yamato said was true. She only went along with him for the past few weeks because he reminded her of Kazuki and she was willing to continue like that as long as Yamato did not try to replace Kazuki. She opened her heart to him, they argued like they were old friends, she embraced him during the truck splash scene, they held hands in the amusement park and then she rejected him. What Yamato said may be harsh but it’s the truth and she just wants to deny it.
Well, The Title of this Anime is Suzuka…
I doubt Yamato will be ditching her soon. -_-
Not that she didn’t deserve it or nothing.
The author has been very slow in getting Suzuka to wake up.
So as long as she doensn’t, Yamato will still get pound.
I’m still trying to find a harder match up than these two, shesh! 8 volumes? Man, Suzuka sure is hard to court, eh?
WHAT? Him and Suzuka are meant to be! That’s not even right. So what is you know she slaps him from time to time, heck I even hate her. BUT! They have the same relationship that Suzuka and Kazaki had. Don’t you think that has to go for something?