Ao Ashi isn’t messing around this season. But then, it never really did. It’s a series that focuses on the entire soccer experience, and does so in a way that seems to avoid fits and starts in favor of steady progression. Ultimately that means the games themselves are front and center, even if the human side of the story never gets shortchanged. And it means that the spotlight usually falls on Ashito, even as the rest of cast – teammates and opponents – are fully fleshed out. It’s a straightforward and confident formula that just works.

One area that gets a fair bit of attention in Ao Ashi is the contrast between club teams and high school teams. The kids are the same age, but there’s something fundamentally different between them. Esperion is a soccer organization, top down. Their job is to develop players into professionals, or weed them out if they can’t cut it. High school soccer is serious in Japan, but that singular focus doesn’t exist. There’s no similar dichotomy with baseball – there are club teams, but once players get to the high school level they all play their main ball for high school teams and dream of Koushien.

It’s in the U-18 Premier League – the Prince Takamado Trophy – where these worlds collide (there’s a U-15 version, too). Kashiwa Business Academy is a serious high school team. Their manager Sugiura-san has won two inter-high and two U-18 PL titles. They provide the opponent for Ashito’s first A-Team match, and he’s immediately struck by their intensity even in warmups. It’s common belief that the top high school sides come into games with powerhouse club teams with a chip on their shoulder, and it’s easy to see why they would.

Ashito is just as struck by the pace of play, which dwarfs the B-Team games in a way he can’t understand until he’s watching it from the pitch. Kuribayashi isn’t starting, and some of the Kashiwa kids are as disappointed by this as the press who came to watch. But Sugiura is a no-nonsense dude and doesn’t truck with such distractions. Kashiwa seems to have have the better of play in the first half, and indeed do have the bulk of possession. But Esperion never seems rattled and their goal is never seriously threatened. They’re just biding their time and trying to hit the opponent on the counter.

The key moment is the injury to Taira-kun, the left back (naturally). He soldiers on for the last several minutes of the first half but it’s clear a change is going to have to be made at the break. Fukuda-san is disinclined to turn to his two fullback reserves, who he deems too defensive for the dynamic of the match. His assistants argue that Kuribayashi is the only choice, even if that would mean inserting him as an attacking midfielder and switching to a back three. Aoi isn’t ready, they argue, and he has no hard evidence to counter them. But he doesn’t want to throw Kuribayashi in at halftime after not participating in practice, given the message that sends to the squad. “This is youth soccer, nurturing must take priority over winning”.

It’s an argument Fukuda seems resigned to accepting. He walks into the locker room expecting to announce it. But when he does so, his tunnel vision only shows him Ashito, even if the room is full of players. Fukuda is a coach who relies heavily on instinct, clearly, and a natural gambler. Without any doubt, using Ashito here is a big gamble. There’s no reason to think he’ll be ready for the pace of the game, or that the moment won’t be too big for him this soon after arriving. But again, instinct and risk – that’s Fukuda’s game. And things are about to get incredibly tense.

Esperion seem to have things well in-hand, and apart from Akutsu – who’s just a general dickhead – the regulars gruffly encourage Ashito to basically “keep it simple, stupid”. But that’s not why Fukuda likes him, and it’s not how Ashito instinctually approaches the game – there’s definitely a clash here. Esperion nab a goal to take the lead but Sugiura-san, being the veteran he is, has obviously spotted the weakness his boys can exploit. Fukuda won’t be too angered by errors of commission by Ashito here – that’s how he’s wired. But given the psychological repercussions this experience might have for Ashito, it would be nice if he could somehow manage to rise to the occasion.