Thursday 17 December 2009

Kimi ni Todoke - Episode 11

With the end game for Kurumi's behaviour becoming very much apparent come the end of the last episode, it seemed as though she had quite possibly gained the upper hand in her rivalry with Sawako over Kazehaya - Surely Kuronuma is simply going to accede to Kurumi's request to help her?

Well, that's what I thought would happen, but the reality was rather more surprising than that, with Sawako actually flat out refusing to help complete with an instinctive reaction to Kurumi's confession that was easily my favourite moment of the episode, while even going as far as to explain her own feelings towards Kazehaya to some degree (although I still don't think she's quite got a handle on those feelings herself). Needless to say Kurumi is left furious at this, although Sawako's naivety means that a lot of that anger doesn't really permeate her senses as they might with anyone else. Sawako most certainly wins this round then.


Of course, all of this talk of love and romance has to be put on hold for more important matters - Football! Yes, that's right, this episode also allows us to see the girls in action taking part in the "soccer" segment of the school sports competition, complete with some route one football from Sawako that Sam Allardyce would be proud of. I have to confess, I did cheer at Sawako's display of footballing prowess, and needless to say it only goes further to established her as an integral and appreciated member of her class.

With the football game over, it's time for the guys (Kazehaya included) to try their hand at softball, in a match which both Kurumi and Sawako end up going to watch together. This actually makes life rather difficult for Kurumi as she tries to balance her frustration and anger with Sawako without letting the halo that everyone else around her sees slip, but even that doesn't stop her from hatching another plan to try and draw Sawako's interest away from Kazehaya so she can have him for herself. Good luck with that though...

As is pretty much par for the course with Kimi ni Todoke throughout, there were some great moments here, with this episode managing to blend the serious side of the story (Kurumi's anger and frustration in particular) with the comical (Sawako's nonplussed and confused responses). That aside, any actual plot progression was actually pretty subtle this time around, with any major movement pretty much bookending the chance to make the most of the sports festival and have some fun with the characters. This prevents episode eleven of Kimi ni Todoke from being a classic, but it doesn't stop me from continuing to enjoy and appreciate the series as it draws towards the half-way mark.

2 comments:

DoctorG said...

Another very enjoyable episode, more positive than last time, and with more forward movement – although if you are watching this anime to see the plot advance, you’re in for severe disappointment. Like Hanners says, it’s the journey, not the destination.

Yay for football! Sawako proves to be a bit of a one trick pony with her soccer skills, but by a stroke of luck it’s just the ticket thanks to Chizu’s deadly finishing. Maybe this underestimates Sawako, who not only gets the ball to the right spot, but gets the shoe to the right spot as well.

Poor Kurumi! It’s possible to have a bit of sympathy for her this time – she makes all the right moves to totally destroy your average girl rival, but Sawako totally evades all the blows by being somewhere else altogether – well, in her own little world, to be precise. It’s very cute the way she doesn’t get all huffy when it is clear (eventually, even to her) that Kurumi might just be, you know, having a bit of a go – no, she’s curious as to what is making the girl tick, and treats it completely objectively. The fascination of this series is watching the circuits being slowly assembled as Sawako tries to get to grips with this social interaction business, starting more or less from scratch.

Finally, once again, Ryuu was Mr. Cool this week with his “nice catch” (and the “remembering the name” routine). But, really, is anyone seriously expecting Sawako to transfer her regard to him in preference to Mr. Too-Good-To-Be-True Kazehaya? That strategy looks a bit desperate, Kurumi!

Unknown said...

I love the subtleness of this series... I know it seems kinda repetative with one obsitcale appearing one after another, but can see now they are building more here... I think that Ume-Chan (haha, i love when she gets called that...) will be around for a while.

Good ep, a nice easy anime to just sit back and enjoye..