Harukana Receive

I'm pretty sure that Kanata's using pokeys despite it not working to tire the girl that's blocking her out for the next round. If I'm right then it'll lose them this round but make next round easier for them.

Huh. Didn't think we'd be getting to the tournament this soon.

Well, it's good that they face a pair just like theirs. I'm guessing the whole thing with Mai being a Libero is going to come back up in the form of Kanata varying her style a bit more. She could definitely use some variety. There were even moments in the match where she wasn't blocked at all and could have just straight-up spiked. And then she just keeps getting surprised her pokeys fail... I get the feeling she's winding them up for a surprise later, but it's still aggravating.

I'm not very enthused on the cliffhanger, to be honest. It's not like they're not going to win. The show would be very weird if the main characters just dropped in the first round of the tournament.

A decent episode, although a bit less nice than the other ones. Even the animation was a bit off, with some shots over the course of the match being repeated. Can't get all the episodes right, I suppose.

Surprised how long the episode was...

Yeah, I imagine that is Kanata's plan. But even in-universe, 'Haruka and Kanata's match stretches on forever because every point plays out exactly the same way while Emily and Claire sweep' makes the former match seem really boring.

Almost too slow, in fact.

Oh yeah, that also makes me laugh at how dramatic the title of this episode is. It's like, yes, this first match in a junior regional tournament against two upper-middle-of-the-low-bracket players, one of whom is Kanata's height, is going to break their spirit. Certainly.

Which would go completely contrary to the "good sportsmanship" vibes anime of this sort usually want front and center. Personally, I'd like to see Mai get taken down a few notches and learn sportsmanship in the process, since this is what I signed up for when I picked up Harukana Receive.

Her saying that phrase was quite weird...like suddenly so serious.

It also just... doesn't make sense? Like, okay, Haruka's tall and she's (very slightly) arrogant, just in the sense that she doesn't seem cowed by much and is generally confident in a cheery newbie way. But Ai is taller than Haruka, and the only thing Harukana has specifically done to Aimai is ask if they could have the swimsuits, so it just makes Mai come off as super overreacting and rude.

Edited by RedSavant on Aug 6th 2018 at 3:51:01 PM

I don't see the rude part...

But she's definitely overachieving...maybe if she said it differently.

I mean, if your reaction to losing half a set's worth of points in the first game of a junior tournament is to proclaim that you're going to break your opponents' spirit, you might be getting a little too into it.

I mean, she is a kid. I can absolutely see that this is just her getting way too much into it and going a little overboard. I don't think she actually, literally wants to break anyone's spirit.

Yay, we finally get another match... it's a bit awkward tho, like if neither team was particularly good. Which I guess makes some sense.

It's really weird how Kanata insists on trying those poke shots, when Haruka could just score much easier. I know she has some plan, but still.

Also, Harukla should really get the timing by now - just jump like, a whole second earlier, because you're nowhere high enough when you have to be.

Man, Mai is so annoying. Can't wait for her face when she loses.

Ooooh... that was just a weekend tournament thing. I was thinking it was the big tournament already. Anyhow, the girls win the match, obviously, and by exhausting the other team, which was also obvious. And Haruka learns how to properly block, which is indeed useful when you're playing a sport that involves blocking.

The Ai Mai part of this solved itself as well, although it was a bit too weak for my tastes. Neither Ai nor Mai notice that height wasn't the issue at all, what with Harukana being about the same height, and that they lost because the adversary was tactically superior and took advantage of their weaknesses, and both ended up just wanting to play more together. Oh well. I guess they're not too important anyways. In the end, both reaffirm their will to continue playing, and both pairs continue to look like couples.

Meanwhile, Eclair win the tournament, of course, and Harukana lose after their first round, which is a nice little shakeup to the formula and makes sense, realistically speaking. We then set up what will most likely be the main story: the Valkyrie tournament, and the twins' mother dropping by to teach Haruka and Kanata. Maybe Kanata will finally have to add some variety to her repertoire. Haruka will also be getting another Demon Coach.

Other than that, animation was better than last time. Didn't repeat as much, at least. Comedy was on point as well, particularly at the end. I'd like to know what all of those gestures are, though.

Oh, and apparently Narumi mellowed out these last few weeks. Good for her, I guess.

Edited by TheLovecraftian on Aug 11th 2018 at 8:57:54 AM

Agreed, Lovecraftian, on all points. I did think it was weird to introduce another pair with more or less the same issues as Harukana, but your analysis makes it pretty clear that despite the two talking the same talk, their problem isn't Mai's height. Despite their reaffirmed desire to play, I imagine they'll keep having issues - not that it's particularly important. It was good to see everyone shake hands and smile, though.

Really, I just want more Thomases, which may not happen if they end up being the end bosses. But I expect they'll be around a lot anyway.

Also, a complete failure on the show's part to explain who sneaky girl is.

While Eclair will most likely be the final bosses for the tournament, I get the feeling the actual final bosses for the anime will be a rematch with Narumi and Ayasa, to end things like they started.

The mystery girl is the only person in the poster to be alone... I wonder if she's a coach of some kind. I'm totally on board with naming her Sneaky Girl if the show continues to drag this out, though.

Edited by TheLovecraftian on Aug 11th 2018 at 11:30:12 AM

She's also implied to be separate by the opening, with the yellow bands - four for Eclair and Harukana, and one for her.

I wouldn't be surprised if she's a retired player or something who lost her partner or whatnot.

I don't even expect the Valkyrie Tournament to come up since it takes place in a year. Sure there could be timeskips but I expect that to be a season two type of thing and I doubt we're getting that...

Yeah, that feels weird. Even if we get a big training montage next episode, skipping most of an year is a weird move.

What was Claire's gesture suppose to mean?

Only Claire knows. I'm with Emily on this one, Claire's not as good at non-verbal communication as she thinks she is.

I thought she was doing gangsta peace out...but she didn't do the peace sign afterward.

Seemed like some variation on 'you got this, believe in yourself, and spike it in'.

So in response to Mai telling her she'll break her, Kanata responded with methodically targeting her weakness until she crushed her completely. That's pretty hardcore and normally the kind of tactic we'd see from a bad guy in a sport series, but I think we can all agree that it was well deserved.

So, did no one explain to Haruka that she must put some force behind her blocks? Seems like an important thing to mention.

Claire is the best at communication.

So the big tournament is in a year. That's plenty of time for the girls to get better.

I wonder, if Eclair are the second place team, will we see the actual champs eventually?

Uh, so they have a stalker.