Episode 32 of Ahiru no Sora was an emotional ride. The episode was not very thrilling and my all interest was diverted from court to other conversations that took place outside the court including the end scene. Although the event occurred in court were full of suspense and but things happened other than game were more interesting than the game itself.
Right when we saw Momoharu taking free throws, we knew that even with 2 minutes left, game is going to get more intense. It was funny how Chiaki and Mokichi had already made their mind for the miss and it’s understandable everyone knows about his aim. But honestly, I was hoping for his distance shot for once. At least he tried. After that when Mokichi stepped in for rebound, his monologue felt a little a topsy-turvy. It was meant to brush off the important things that happened in the last few episodes to motivate him for the sake of game but it was very impactful. It seemed more like a regret saying “If I didn’t quit we could have won”. Perhaps it’s not how I think about it and it may make an impact in the future.
I liked to know the views of Madoka senpai. He summed up everything showed in the match: that every player has their own source of motivation to keep up with the game. Sora is not only one who has the motive of winning the Inter-High for his mother but all have their own motives. Not al have big motivation but no matter how small the reason is, it is good enough to push them to play the game. According to her it’s nearly impossible to Kuzu High to win the game. Although we don’t want them to lose but it makes sense as they all have been working hard for only a month. There are some players whose dedication is beyond expectation but compared to Shinjo the team in general is not as experienced. She also admitted that it would be sad to lose from them and she is right. We also got the glimpse of girl’s match in the beginning. Things seemed to be in their control but this time around the opposing team is in the lead. As they have been in the lead they can’t afford any loss and on the other hand the opposing team is trying to get shot. Win or loss can happen in just the matter of seconds
I’m glad that Takahashi decided to put Kojima in the match and it was the right decision. It was discussed in few episodes back that Kojima is capable of fueling up the match. His presence is enough to gear it up. It would have been nice if Kuzu had took notice of his presence on the court but I like watching Nao saying in the flashback about her decisions incase she was the incharge. I like how her plan was shown. Despite of the fact that the outcome of the plan or the result of the match is not revealed, I’m still satisfied. If the outcome would have been revealed then we didn’t get to see the enhancement of Yuka’s segment.
Coming to the Sora’s mom, it’s quite obvious tings would not have been normal for him mom when things ended up in hospital. Watching grandmother crying made me think that Yuka died. things happened quickly and it was quite confusing. I like how they portrayed Madoka “work backwards” to sort things out. The situation of Madoka is intriguing with regards to Yuka – the nurse who is sister knows everything about Yuka and since Madoka and Sora are just friends so there is no need for Yuka to bother and make her worried. It’s understandable why she put on the mask of being happy and content. But things started to become emotional when the girl queried about the actress. Being a viewer, I can understand why Madoka reacted that way as we have been watching her joyously observing the game and while leaving she claimed to discover something that want in life. It was quite surprising even though we know she is not happy. I like how this anime portrays many things that are not directly shown but are hinted the way we eventually come to know about.
The ending title cards left us with the cliffhanger and now we are eagerly waiting for the next episode.
