The time has come.
Muroe High’s Kendo Team vs. Machido High’s Kendo Team. There’s only one problem: Kojiro only has 4
team members. But Kojiro’s not about to
let that imped his quest for a years worth of sushi. And he has the ultimate weapon, Tamaki
Kawazowe. It’s time for the ultimate
test of skill and cunning. And Machido’s
team is no quintet of pushovers. In fact
they’re more of an oddball bunch than Muroe’s team. It’s the match up everyone’s been waiting
for…with a few surprises in store too.
Well, I wasn’t expecting this match up so soon. Especially since we have yet to see member #5
of this little Kendo team. Still, that
didn’t stop the first official practice match of the series from being a very
fun continuation. There was a ton of
good humor and some intense matches (all in good fun).
Is it wrong we’re only a few episodes in and already I
want a spin off series, or at least some episodes, dedicated to the Machido
High Kendo Team? They were an awesome
set of weirdos who repeatedly stole the set this week. Not that I have anything against our home
team of Muroe, but there was something so instantly likeable about each of these
girls: Yokoo the gruff leader; Asekawa, whose mood in battle is dependant on
the status of her relationship with her boyfriend; the level headed Harada, who
seems the most normal of the five; monstrous in size but nervous in combat
Nishiyama; and cheerful sadist Ando…well ok some aspects make them not so
likeable. Together however, along with
Ishibashi’s attempts to keep them all in line and focused made for great
entertainment.
What was left over from the screen by Machido was clearly
taken up by Tama, who had the worst predicament of anyone this week. She had to lie and pretend to be two people
to make up for the fact that Muroe was down one team member. How Ishibashi was able to just overlook this
was a surprise. But I guess Karma hit
Kojiro pretty hard when he found out his sushi dream was just a dream
overall. Still, seeing Tama sneak out of
the window, Perfect 10 style, and sacrifice match time so she could eat were
both great moments.
Possibly my favorite bit from this weeks set was
Ishibashi’s showdown with Tama and his analysis of her style. “She has to learn to lose,” he tells Kojiro
at dinner. Now that might not be something
anyone would want to hear, star student or teacher, but I can see his
point. Winning is important but it’s not
everything. Build yourself up as
invincible or untouchable a bit too much and it could come crashing down on
your confidence big time. Tama did get a
little riled up in her duel with Ishibashi, a change from the normally silent
powerhouse of confidence. I wonder, if
Tama loses, would she just stop practicing Kendo all together? I’d hate to think of Tama as Domon Kasshu
from G Gundam, aka he loses a match and sulks about it for 5 episodes before
getting his confidence back. But I wouldn’t
be shocked if the show took that route, hopefully in a way that matches the
light hearted tone.
So with matches fought and lessons learned, what’s next
for the team? Well they need a fifth
team member and…and then I guess more matches with schools? It’s tough to get a read on what route this
series is heading in terms of a final endgame.
But so long as we can keep following this loveable cast of Kendo
fighters a bit longer, they can just chill and talk Kendo and life and I’ll be
alright with that.
See ya next week for more Bamboo Blade. And stick around for the rest of the week as
I kick off my Easter Special-The Dragon Ball Z: ROCK THE DRAGON Movie
Marathon.
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