English Dub Review: Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie “Wind and Clouds, Ball Sports Tournament!”

Overview

It’s the day of the school’s ball sports tournament. Izumi-kun is playing soccer with the boys, and Shikimori is participating in the girls’ volleyball match. Izumi knows he can’t contribute much, but he plays his hardest anyway. Shikimori worries about him, given his natural unluckiness… and sure enough, he gets hit in the face by a soccer ball and blacks out. He ends up in the nurse’s office while Shikimori looks after him, meaning the two of them are alone. Then Shikimori says she’s going to stay with him instead of heading back to play in the volleyball match…

Our Take

It’s the inter-class ball sports tournament, and both boys’ soccer and girls’ volleyball overlap so Izumi and Shikimori can’t support each other as much as they want to this time around. Predictably, Izumi’s bad luck will run awry, and physical comedy ensues when the ball knocks him face-first which has to be one hell of a bad first impression, so it’s rest time in the nurse’s infirmary while Shikimori nurses him to health physically and romantically as well (that was too strong of an affection). Shikimori might be acting cool that entire time but it looks like she was just doing her best at trying to keep herself calm.

Yui also had it hard in the basketball round, and both Kyou and Shikimori must renew that in the volleyball round against the ace Kamiya. One heartfelt encouragement from Izumi, and Shikimori feels the spirit to go all-out to give them their sole class win.

Overall, I’m left wondering what the hell Izumi did to make the world hate him so much. The show can be way too predictable and Izumi at some point needs to grow a spine. I sure hope the cliche events don’t continue, or else this is going to be a very bland anime. Even without Shikimori in the proceedings, Izumi was under so much fire it’s insane he hasn’t gotten seriously injured yet at the very least, I like how wholesome their relationship continues to be on a consistent level…