Bamboo Blade-Part 7 Episodes 21-23

Muroe High couldn’t be in a better position in their time together.  Miyako’s training with Azuma is going great.  Kirino’s making strides to boosts morale even higher.  And Tama’s made a new friend in Rin Suzuki, an avid fan of Red Braver’s rival Shinaider.  But everythings going to change with the Kanto Tournament.  Here, Muroe will face it’s greatest challenge…and everyones got a bad feeling.  And when Rin and Tama cross swords and the outcome doesn’t go in Tama’s favor, will Muroe, and Tama be able to recover?

So yeah…that happened.  We’ve finally come to the start of the final chapter for Muroe High’s Kendo Team.  And what a way to kick things off. 

Things had been going so good for the team that it was only a matter of time before the rug got pulled out from under their feet.  That also meant that the inevitable was about to happen too.  And man, when Tama lost a match, things went pretty much the way I expected.  She’s not sulking right away but it’s clear Tama’s lost the desire to continue Kendo.  If she cant win, what’s the point?  I talked about this possibly happening way back when Ishibashi first told Kojiro, “She has to learn to lose.”  For Tama to go so far as to quit the club outright felt like a gut punch.  This show got serious quick.

Worse yet, Tama lost to the same new friend she just made.  Rin is basically Tama’s clone with a few alterations: taller, longer hair and a love for Red Braver’s rival Shinaider.  And she could even go toe to toe with Tama, as we saw not just in the match but in their impromptu duel during the filming of the Blade Braver movie.  The fact that Tama couldn’t win with a single blow as per most of the matches was proof enough, Rin had become the big one to beat.  And Rin’s not evil either, I never got that from any time we saw her on screen.  She’s just a bit more mature and wiser than Tama, particularly when it comes to winners and losers.  I kind of wish we had seen Rin a lot sooner than now.

Tama wasn’t the only one taking the brunt of the negative this week.  Miyako lost to Carrie.  Kojiro’s disillusioned by Tama’s loss.  And Kirino and Saya have to deal with Iawasa and Toyama screwing everything up in an arcade fight.  It’s hard not to side with Saya’s wishes to see them thrown under the bus to save the Kendo team.  Those two are bullies and just mean hearted people.  Kirino, however, is a bit more conflicted.  She’s always seen the Kendo team as more than just a team.  She’s seen it as an extension of her family and, good or tempered nature, she’d always welcome anyone in with open arms.  I admire Kirino for thinking beyond just simply lying about their involvement with the team to save the others.  Still, I get the feeling any outcome wont be an easy decision.   Kirino also had the most heartbreaking reaction when she saw Tama’s resignation letter on the bench, like the world was spiraling.  If anyone needed a hug, it was Kirino.  This is one of the few instances where I have to say I did not like Tama at all.

As they say though, the darkest always comes before the dawn.  Can Muroe recover from all this sadness and despair?  You’ll know soon enough.  I’ll be posting my review of the final episodes on Wednesday.  See ya then.