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Hanebado! – 04 [I’m Lost Right Now, Too]

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Hanebado goes full drama this week, in fact it’s so dramatic that it sucks out all the fun of it. Hanebado just doesn’t know how to handle over-the-top character, resulted in them riding the plot in a contrived fashion. Last week we had Kaoruko who is basically a sore thumb, this week Conny serves basically the same purpose – a destined rival to Ayano. The show doesn’t reveal it yet, but it’s quite clear she’s the girl that Ayano’s mother trained, and judging from the way she was looking for a match against Ayano, I can say that there’s some jealousy issue here (most likely: “you’re a prodigy, Conny, but your sister’s Ayano was more of a natural talent” kind of stuff). In any case, Conny wants to showcase how much she wants to take down our girl that she effectively goes against the spirits of double match and even the spirits of sport itself. In a double, teamwork is one of the most important factors. Playing solo not only shows how short-sighted you are, but also inform us that you don’t respect the sport. Damn, I might sound harsh here but it’s irritating to see a character tries to make her point by stop playing altogether. You leave a bad taste to my mouth, Conny.

The pacing of this episode, likewise, is way too slow. It takes a while until the match begins and they even cut the first Nagisa’s match. Everything feels forced from the get-go, start with the club finds out about the other school’s team, to getting Ayano to supermarket so that she can meet Conny, to the dramatic way Connie acts (dropping the coins, really? It’s so cliché now). There are two more potential conflicts rising. One of them is about Isehara, the younger sister of the team, who seems to have a beef with Ayano. I’m guessing for now it’s because everyone regards the lefty as talent that it annoys her, not from jealousy but more about recognition issues. Second, Ayano is trying hard to harmonize with the team. Both of these plot threads don’t particularly excite me to be honest. Hanebado works the best when it can integrate personal drama into the sport. Last week’s Elena feeling left out, for example, sheds another angle to her relationship with Ayano. Using bold characters who force her way into the story just ain’t gonna make it. To make it worse, the match animation doesn’t wow you like it did in the first few episodes.

I swear it’s the curse of the 4th episode in effect (usually when the show is at its lowest point), but I’m a bit worried that this going to be the direction Hanebado will take for the rest of the season. Nagisa this week is relegated to one-note character, Ayano has a compelling backstory but her bland personality can’t carry the show, and all the subtlety in characterization the show did so well in first few episodes is replaced by contrived Drama (with a capital D – also stand for Dumb Danish Damsel or Do Double Deferently!!!). I hope it can turn around because this episode becomes something that I fear the most: a generic high school sport anime.

The post Hanebado! – 04 [I’m Lost Right Now, Too] appeared first on Star Crossed Anime Blog.


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