Finally, finally… we get to see some goddamn coaching.
Ao Ashi S2 Ep. 4
The game speed is currently a little too fast for Aoi. He’s making the right reads, but he can’t keep up physically. Instead of helping him, Akutsu acts like the team has to win in spite of Aoi. Clearly, he’s the leader of the defense, so it’s up to him to organize everyone when the other team gets this far upfield. But he despises the kid, so he doesn’t bother telling Aoi anything. Instead, he’s zipping over to spots that Aoi should have covered, and doing it all himself. That’s not proper teamwork. Like I said last week, we’re not here to win. That’s just a nice bonus. We’re here to nurture talent first and foremost.
So when Fukuda calls for a timeout, everyone thinks Esperion is finally going to sub Aoi out. But instead, Fukuda reams Akutsu. Dude, it shouldn’t have taken this long for an adult to step in! But at least we’re getting somewhere. When Akutsu still resists, Fukuda then reveals the truth: Akutsu actually knows Aoi can get the job done, which is why he refuses to help coach the kid up. Ooof, now that’s low.
Ultimately, the threat of being sent down to the B-team keeps Akutsu in check. He thinks to himself that he’ll just have to use Aoi as his pawn. Fine. You can think whatever you want. Even if you don’t like the guy, you gotta prove you can be professional enough to look past your personal preferences. There are so many super talented athletes who still never make it on the pro level because they’re complete head cases. Akutsu needs to check himself before he ends up like one of them. Either that or play a sport that doesn’t require teamwork. Then hey, you can keep things as personal as you want!
Then Fukuda finally subs Kuribayashi, who then dances around the other team and sets his team up for a sure goal. One of the other players tells Aoi to just pass to Kuribayashi. That’s why Fukuda doesn’t really want to use Kuribayashi. Sure, there’s teamwork, but a singular star player becomes a crutch that instills bad habits.
Judging by the preview for the next episode, the match still isn’t over. Damn, how many episodes is this going to take up?
The Prince of Tennis II – U-17 World Cup Final Member Selection Match Ep. 4
Do you see how high they can jump in this anime? We even see one of these bad boys hop across rooftops like he’s some kind of superhero. Makes you wonder why they’re playing tennis instead of basketball. Maybe the basketball in this universe is even crazier, like baskets floating 40 feet up in the air or whatever.
Did anything important happen in this week’s episode? Sorry, I haven’t got a clue.
Ace of the Diamond act II -Second Season- Ep. 3
It’s still scoreless after four innings, so I guess it’s technically a pitcher’s duel. Thing is, it would be terribly boring as a piece of fiction if someone wasn’t always threatening to score, so clean innings are hard to come by. The show makes a big deal out of how well both pitchers are throwing, but it feels like there’s always someone on base. Maybe they get one clean inning each, but every hit might finally put some numbers on the scoreboard. I dunno, I think it’s kinda silly. Usually in a proper pitcher’s duel, both offenses will struggle to even get a hit.