Previous episode was indeed the most emotional one, atleast that’s what I thought until I watched the extreme level of tear jerker moments in this week’s episode. At first I thought that I would be able to hold back my tears but I failed keep myself from crying even before reaching the halfway. We had anticipated this but I just didn’t want to happen. Even if we I had expected this I could never have imagined that the execution will be this good.
As I mentioned last week that it seemed like there was something not good about Sora’s mom visiting the Basketball match, as we discovered that she did good job in keeping her sufferings to herself. And while I wished that the outcome will not be as bad, she did that again when Sora chatted with her. At first it was just a normal conversation while they laugh with some relaxation so it was good that they didn’t start off or soon started talking about that tragic stuff. Bu things started to get emotional with Sora’s lies and hesitation. It left a great impact on that very moment but the importance of that moment was realized after watching the episode. At that time when he lied we were not aware about how long she would live. It’s sad that he may have realized that he might not get more time enough to win to not lie so he decided to lie instead to see her smiling. The emotional ride was just started and heated up when she apologized on which Sora said that he is satisfied with his life and his physique. It was well written. I loved how he made her happy and calm her down when she was blaming herself and that sadly that was the last conversation held between these two.
Despite of dedicating last 7 episodes on a match, I honestly didn’t feel bad for not giving much focus to the results of Shinjo game. Yes it was the most interesting game in which the team got closer and more enthusiastic but I’m that it the game was sidelined as the situation of Sora with losing his mother was more important than that match. After spending so much stamina and time on this game it would be unfair to say that I don’t care about the team and their emotions as it can be seen it affected all of them at great level. But there is nothing more painful and significant than death of some one closer especially a mother. So it’s fine if the result of the game was not given mush focus and shown in the flashback. Moreover, it’s god that the team is suffering and actually feeling the pain of defeat and they even mentioned it that the team members have never cared much about the defeat. It’s understandable as it is the first big defeat that they have faced so far. I’m glad that Mokichi’s family admitted that the game was a turning point for him. After the defeat and his mistakes, will he able to not quit ?
Talking about not quitting, The last conversation between Kite and his coach was nice. Kite can be an idiot but the good thing about him that he stays. I honestly never thought that Kite would quit but it was good to be reminded that how skilled he is and stands out from other players because of his different techniques. Regardless of the situation in the game, Kite’s motive is to get the hands on the ball and make points. Going after that chance can be good in the long-run but I like him saying if there s even 1% chance, he would bet on that. It’s was very encouraging.
Watching everyone reacting differently on everything was kind of interesting. But the most unforgettable reaction we got was when Sora’s mother died. Madoka seemed devastated even though it had been hardly a month since she came to know her and Sora but her reaction made sense. Momoharu and the others were shocked and dealt with it as a bummer. Momoharu was seemed more angry which also made sense with the situation he was in. He was angry that how come inter-high could have so much importance in Sora’s life, he had no idea about Sora’s mother. And he must be very guilty and ashamed after realizing about the fact his mother was so sick. While everyone expressed the emotions and reacted differently, Sora who is affected the most hold back his feelings. I think he is also somewhat guilty for hesitating while lying about the victory before who all, the chance.
What bothers me the most is that there is still so many characters who are still not aware about this extremely tragic situation. Kite, Nao, Mokichi and Chiaki have no idea about the death of Sora’a mother as they were not in the hospital or even when it was announced. None of the member in the team is aware bout the fact that Kite was taken in to be the part of other team. Although that can not be taken as a tragedy but it could lead to the disbanding of the team. And so far it looks like Mokichi, Sora, Nao and Kite have no idea about the situation in the school that occurred in the end of the episode. I don’t what to expect in the next episode as this episode was really heavy on emotions and a lot of things occurred this week. Will they decide to disband the team after what happened? Or will they leave it behind and move forward?
This episode was the rollercoaster ride of emotions and it was well executed as I’m surprised to see how they managed to throw so much at the audience in just one episode without making it look disorganized. I must say this episode was epic!
