KANAME YOU FOOL, WHY WOULD YOU MAKE TEA IN A CHEMISTRY LAB?? I haven’t been in a science class in years and even I know that you really shouldn’t be ingesting things while in a lab and especially not using the equipment to prepare and drink from. I don’t know what’s been in there. And he’s the ace of the chemistry club? Kid’s… don’t try this at home (or school). that much and he’s the ace of the chemistry club? With all those chemicals…. kids don’t do this at home.
But aside from bad lab practice, I really enjoyed this episode! I felt that we got to see a lot of good things and ultimately, I’m once again excited to see the team come together and win the inter-high! After taking Kaname out with a ball to the face, the episode starts out with Kite and Sora having a game of Shogi musing over their, or rather Sora’s disappointment, in Kaname being unable to join the team. And if anyone’s aware of being unable to play a sport they love due to physical limitations it’s Sora. He’s seen what this sort of thing has done to his mom. Plus, after getting the feeling that Kaname actually really enjoys the game and wants to play hearing a rejection really hits deep. Kite, in typical Kite fashion, isn’t too heartbroken about the whole thing. I mean, at the end of the day, Kite believes he’s the only person the team actually needs, so his response wasn’t all that surprising to me. Honestly, it was more surprising to see him an Sora playing Shogi together more than anything.
But after that heart to heart conversation, Kite gets stuck doing extra lessons, which means it’s an important time to let us know that midterms are coming up (and we’ll probably get a “get it in gear guys! you need to pass” episode) and it’s a great time to revisit their adviser in the classroom to reiterate why Kite is still in the school to begin with. “Don’t get into any fights” he says, lol if that’s not about to foreshadow something, I don’t know what is. And almost immediately he is ready to pick a fight with Kaname. Understandably, Kite’s upset about hearing that Kaname just didn’t say no, but he has a good heart, getting angry on behalf of Sora. But it’s a good thing that Kaname covered up the ensuing fight or else Kite might have been doomed.
So why did Kaname lie? Quite simply, it’s the pressure and expectation that comes with his height. I mean, one look at him and everyone’s like “wow! he should be on the volleyball team or basketball team” and don’t really consider how much pressure is put on him. It doesn’t matter if he towers over the rest if he can’t keep up with the game. You can’t just rely on him to stop everything all the time! And, in another anime, I think his story might have hit harder, but here the basketball team is full of misfits and Chiaki and Momoharu are the ones who have to give the pick-me up. But I think that’s exactly what Kaname needed because he would be going to a team where no one expects anything out of him. (I mean, probably they’re going to expect more out of him, but then Nao will probably swoop in and tell them that everyone has strengths and weaknesses and then it will sort itself out). But he went so far away to not be on a Basketball team! Heck he even picked his school to make sure there wasn’t one. Well jokes on you Kaname! There was a very persistent freshman that made that happen!
I really liked how they handled Kite telling the team that Kaname was lying. It makes sense that everyone was like “Jeez, why would he do that” and was generally displeased, but then Chiaki came in and basically said that expectations can do a lot to a person. And, it sounded like he was speaking from experience. Plus, having it be followed up with Momoharu saying “if he doesn’t want to play, there’s nothing we can do” which is pretty significant because I think everyone on the team at one point experience a time when they had a passion for the sport, but something along the way deterred them, being skill or other people’s intervention. I’m glad there wasn’t one big gang up to get him to join the team, but instead them understanding his decision and not forcing it. 
Which is why the Kyouko interaction seemed a lot more impactful. I loved her!! Their whole interaction seemed really good and it makes me kind of bummed that they introduced her boyfriend at the end of it. I hope that the two of them get to interact more in the future because she was fun and I want him to get another chance with her. But regardless! It seems like the conversation between the two of them really sparked his desire to play the game again so I hope he’ll become an official member very soon! (I do hope that after these few episodes, his anemia won’t become his entire personality… I hope that he doesn’t become the butt of every joke of “haha look he fell over again”)
I really excited for next week’s episode! I think there were a lot of good things that happened this week so let’s keep that momentum going!
