As is often the case with really dense and deep series, I had to take some time after this episode to sort out my feelings about it.  With this sort of writing you often find that your initial reactions are inaccurate – or at best, incomplete.  If you give yourself a chance to consider what you’ve seen, other interpretations present themselves.  The correct one isn’t always obvious, but that’s just a reflection of the high degree of realism – that’s exactly how life is.  It may seem even more urgent in adolescence, but rarely in life is the right course of action so obvious that you can’t possibly miss it.

I can say this much – Dance Dance Danseur captures what it’s like to be 14 so adroitly that it can uncomfortable at times.  Every day seems to peppered with “the most important thing ever” moments.  Possibilities are constantly presenting themselves, and you alternate between excitement and terror (and boredom of course – can’t forget that one).  I referred to Junpei as a pinball earlier and that description still seems pretty fitting to me.  He’s at that age anyway, but at the moment things in every aspect of his life are changing so quickly that he can’t keep up.

A whole lot went down in this episode, though it essentially boiled down to one question which I’ll get to in a moment.  For starters, Luou was obviously pretty enraged at Junpei over the Miyako situation – so much so that he tried to break his spine, in effect.  On that front, pretty much all the theoretical motives I ascribed to Misaki last week were on the mark.  He wanted to give Luou a reason to run away from the Oikawa, he wanted to drive a wedge between Luou and Junpei, and he pretty much got everything he wanted.

Misaki always has an agenda, that’s for sure.  He’s in the end more pathetic than anything – he’s the sort of 14 year-old that’s desperate to get what he wants and has no scruples in trying to do so.  And once he perceives that the threat has shifted from Luou to Junpei (which Ayako makes pretty clear) he turns his machinations in that direction.  Now the attack is to try and use guilt – guilt over “stealing” Miyako from Luou, and now guilt over stealing the SS scholarship from him.  Which, of course, was never his to begin with which makes the whole premise moot (though perhaps not ineffective).

Ah yes, the scholarship – it all comes down to that.  When Ayako asks Nakamura-sensei his opinion on Junpei, the first thing he mentions is his face.  And this ties into Ayako’s thinking, which is that Junpei has star power.  Maybe she’s right about it being “impossible” for Luou to be a pro, maybe not.  Maybe she doesn’t even believe it herself.  But Luou is already a technical genius, with little she can teach him.  Junpei is raw and fiercely talented, and already formidable in the acting side of the role.  He’s clay to be molded, not a finished statue.  In him she sees the potential face of Japanese ballet – the means to achieve her goal of elevating it to the levels of the European powers.

Now that one question to rule them all – should Junpei accept it?  He’s torn, obviously.  He feels loyalty and affection towards Chizuru-san, who took a chance on him when no one else would.  She’s the mom of the girl he’s in love with.  She even admits she enjoyed his Swan Lake for how “fun” it was, which thrills him.  But instinctually he realizes that staying at the Goudai is the path of least resistance, and that the road less travelled has its advantages.  Ayako will force him to change in ways which, while uncomfortable, might be best for his future.  And her connections would be invaluable in his eventual pursuit of a ballet career.

This is the sort of decision that would be difficult for anybody, much less a 14 year-old boy.  Chizuru’s reaction is complicated, like the rest of this is.  She bursts his bubble about staying at both schools – he has to make a choice.  She seems to be pushing him away angrily, but I sense she’s doing it because she thinks he ought to accept the scholarship.  And to be honest, I pretty much agree.  In his shoes I might not – the heart is telling him to stay close to those he cares about.  But an opportunity like this is priceless in the brutally difficult world he’s chosen to live in.  The problem is he can’t do so without hurting people he loves, and  that’s not something that’s part of Junpei’s essential nature.

I confess, the preview has me a bit worried about where all this is headed.  I don’t think Junpei should step aside for Luou’s benefit where he and Miyako are concerned – their feelings for each other are genuine, and she doesn’t owe Luou her romantic affections.  If he’s too wounded to accept her loving someone else, that’s not her responsibility – it’s his.  She and Junpei can work to be supportive but it’s really on Luou to accept them and get on with his own life.  As for the scholarship my gut it telling me Junpei accepts in the end – for the reasons I’ve already discussed, and because it makes sense for Dance Dance Danseur as a story.