It’s onto the 2nd round of the District Tournaments and the match that will decide the fate of the Predator’s coach. Although the first 10 episodes has setup this game in such a way that it’s obvious that the Predators are going to win, the episode still had the capacity to get me excited and itching for more. Review The fact that this episode moves straight into the second round of the tournament is one of the many reasons why I enjoy watching this show. All the recent series have trained me in such a way that I had expected there to be some sort of filler before we finally move onto the match (which might start somewhere towards the end of the episode). But instead, the show kicks starts off with the first half of the match and ends as the Predators are finally coming back with a counter. It’s definitely a thumbs up from me for the no-nonsense attitude. So here’s a few issues that I’ve got with the episode. It was really frustrating to see Shou act like a fool with the memory span of a goldfish. He has this ability to forget how to play soccer and is unable to come to terms with what his main role is. I didn’t expect Shou to be the focus/problem of this match, but the writer obviously decided otherwise. It felt a bit redundant for them to have placed such a focus on the team discovering themselves in the first round when Shou so conveniently forgets what he’s good at by the second round – shouting and barking orders and his wide field of view. This next point of mine is more of a undecided factor rather than an issue. Perhaps it’s a stroke of genius at play or perhaps the background music is plain corny, but I can’t help but sing along with the “woah woah woah woah” theme that happens during a buildup. The song is simple and honestly corny, but hey, if the song is engaging me and thus bringing me closer to the series, perhaps it might not have been a mistake at all? What do you guys think of this song? Speaking of background songs, I had also liked the piano piece that had played at the prelude to the start of the second half. It had a nice and calming effect and was definitely good for the soul after such a frustrating start. Another thing that I had enjoyed was the way in which Reika has started to build on her confidence. The gradual changes are nice to note and everytime I see Reika with Kota, I kinda want to cheer them on. =P They would make a cute couple don’t you agree? =D One of the main points of this episode was the concept of ‘Guts‘ being converted into a form of ‘Power’. This is a good example of the series’ use of cliche themes. But unlike some of the other sports...
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