In essence, what this preparation seems to involve (particularly in the Kiyosumi team's case) is lots of frolicking at a swimming pool in bikinis to ensure the maximum possible level of fan service, complete with references to water melons, blobs of fat and other such wonders - No need to write answers on a postcard for whom such phrases may be discussing there.
If the first half of the episode focuses on the "ooooh", then the second half if all about the "ahhhhh", giving us some of Koromo's cuteness to be enjoyed via the trip to Japan she had with the Ryyuumonbuchi high school girls the last time they qualified for the team tournament. There is just one last little feather to this episode's cap, in the form of some brief appearances which bookend this instalment of an ace Mahjong player who has (although she denies it) a younger sister...
Although there are a few important little snippets littered through this episode, it would be hard to define this instalment of Saki as anything other than both filler and gratuitous fan service... I suppose they had to find a way to write a beach/swimming pool episode into this series somehow. Perhaps the brief break from all that tense and exciting mahjong action was much needed, but at least it appears that we'll be moving on to the individual tournament from this point forth - It'll be interesting to see how (and perhaps even if) they can squeeze it into the final six episodes of the series.
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