I'm fighting the urge to review this episode by screencap. PoT2 crack is already like PoT crack on steroids. So much for character development or any semblance of realism in the gameplay. By my dictionary, PoT2 is not a sports anime; it is fantasy.
Of course, this does not mean it is not entertaining.
I wanted to start the post with a screencap of Fuji to fulfill my role as a squealing fangirl, but this just can not be overlooked. Momoshiro is the first middle schooler up and his opponent is the 5th court's Oni. I would just like to point out that Oni actually has a mouth full of canines. I bet you he special ordered sets of dentures made with only canines and that he eats little misbehaving little children as they sleep. If you think his teeth are eccentric, check out his racquet. This boy (Yes, boy; Despite his demonic man-ish looks, Oni is but a high schooler.) is made of so much arrogance that he is a power player with a two-stringed racquet. His arrogance is probably so viscous and tenacious that it makes up for the massive holes in his poorly stung racquet. Either that, or the two strings are made of some very dull, very tough material to be able to sustain his power playing style but keep from slicing the ball as he power smashes it around powerfully.
To be clear, one metric ton is 1000 kg or 2,205 lbs. Not impossible but not all that commonplace either. In addition, Oni is also very fast and agile. He seems to be the ideal athlete - strong, fast, agile. If he had a better manager, he'd probably not be in this U-17 world. One thing that doesn't make sense to me is his title. He is the Gatekeeper of Hell, explained as the person who uses his inhuman power to stop anyone from rising past him. By this definition, hell is implicitly defined as courts 1 - 4. But later, Oni himself tells Momoshiro to know his place and go back to hell. This implies that hell is court 16, or in that neighbourhood. I prefer the first definition, partially because I find it amusing to imagine Oni chewing up these little middle schoolers (and he does literally dwarf them) with his many canines and spitting them back towards the lowbie courts. It's true, I'm a sadist.
Momo struggles and Echizen is surprised. The first hints of bromance/BL/whatever your flavour is. Of course, it's difficult to fight back against a power player that is twice your size and returns your ace move easily with a demonized version of your ace move. Yes, that's right... one of Oni's moves is a Black Jack Knife. The rhymes make me smile. The fact that Oni can make the tennis ball glow a black-red by smashing it with a two-stringed racquet makes me smile more.
Despite injuring his wrists trying to return the Black Jack Knife, Momo perseveres. All of Seigaku, minus Tezuka of course, call for Momo to stop his obstinate foolhardyness. Unfortunately, Momo is a bad boy who does not really listen to his mentors. (I think he should be punished like the bad, bad boy he is.)
In the end, although Momo loses, he impresses Oni by breaking his racquet. I do insist that breaking Oni's racquet is not a magnificent feat since the few strings he has must receive more wear-and-tear than the many strings on normal racquets. But apparently, this is abnormal for Oni. He grumbles some words of macho recognition and encouragement and walks off. The machismo of this series is off the charts.
The latter part of the episode is spent building "suspense" for the double cliffhanger that punctuates it. The middle schoolers are told to pair up for a mental training exercise and Kaidoh asks Tezuka out on a date while Fuji rekindles his flame with Yuuta. Inui draws the short straw that is Mizuki nfu. In the meanwhile Echizen and Kansai Echizen begin a doubles match against a pair of high schoolers in their quest for Tokugawa. We shall soon get a glimpse of the oppressive aura of court 1. But before that, I can't wait to see which way the crack balls bounce in the next episode.
/envy
