There’s a kind of catch-22 with less than captivating characters, especially this far into a series. The only way they can level up is by getting substantial development, which means substantial screen time. Yet the episodes that give it to them run the risk of being dragged down to their level. There’s something of that to this week’s Shakunetsu Kabaddi, which focuses on Date and especially Misumi. Neither have risen above the level of background characters for eight weeks, so I can’t fault the decision to give it a shot here. The only alternative is to write off developing them further. That said, I really don’t think it worked.
We do get some of their blank slates filled in, if nothing else. Misumi was a middle school brawler spotted by Kei for his abilities in a scrap. Date was a pitcher who hurt his elbow and was unable to return to the mound. Initially they pissed each other off to the point where they eventually came to blows, but the shared bugbear than the captain provided eventually gave them something to bond over. I still don’t see either one as especially good at kabaddi or even essential (to either the team or the show) but at least they do have the capacity to learn.
Eventually Ojou realizes that a limit has been reached regarding the usefullness of his training as a lone raider against all opponents. There are other types of raiders in the world, and it’s time for the scrubs to get a taste of that. The ever-resourceful Kei arranges for an opponent – Saitama Kouyou High School, where the ace, Sakura (nice to see Hanae Natsuki finally getting some work) is their former kouhai from the national team. Something interrupted the initial plan, which was for Sakura to follow Ojou to high school and be his Sancho Panza, but neither of them seems to hold a grudge over it.
Kouyou is very good, apparently – they placed 6th at the prefectural tournament despite their entire squad being first-years – so they’ll provide an interesting test for the three newbies. Sakura is a particular test for Tatsuya, as he’s basically Tatsuya’s predecessor as the captain’s disciple. Generally speaking the more the focus stays on Tatsuya, with his interesting and abrasive sporting mentality, the better Burning Kabaddi seems to work.
