English Dub Review: Ahiru no Sora Episodes 34~36

Overview:

When the locker room catches fire, the boys have to take responsibility.

Our Take:

While we don’t actually know what started the fire, Momoharu did light up the cigarette, so he takes the blame for the incident. However, they weren’t supposed to be smoking to begin with– so that earns him a suspension, and also the entire basketball team is disbanded. He says he will take responsibility, and he does in the sense of owing up to the incident, but he mostly ends up sulking. It doesn’t hit him until later that responsibility isn’t just confessing, but also owing up to the punishment, and he doesn’t really do that. He ends up wallowing in self-pity, and that doesn’t really help anyone. This isn’t an easy lesson to take in, so it’s no surprise that he has a hard time with it.

A few of the other members, Mokichi especially, aren’t comfortable with giving up. They have to accept the school’s ruling of course, but it doesn’t mean they feel good about it. I really did like the part where Mokichi starts shifting aside things in repairs, even if he himself can’t do much, just because he doesn’t want to stop playing basketball just yet. He’s come a long way in such a short amount of time.

We also get a glimpse into their advisor’s stance on the whole thing. He used to be hesitant because well, the guys are mostly delinquents and they cobbled the team together in such a short period of time. However, that short period and their devotion to the sport really did inspire them, and he had high hopes for the boys. It makes the disaster even more a letdown, because that is dashing his hopes and beliefs. Even though this is a sports anime, it puts a lot of thought into how a ragtag group of people not devoted to something can become that devoted, and rope people into believing them too. But at the same time, people mess up, and it doesn’t shy away from those major consequences either.

Sora does come back after his mother’s funeral, and he is still in a depressed state, but to his credit, he doesn’t let that stop him. He is clearly in a fog, but in the end, he goes to play basketball again. It’s his small idea that revitalizes the idea of a team and proves that in the end, Sora is really the heart of the team. I missed him, and I’m glad he’s back.