Boy, it’s seriously going to suck when this season of Mix comes to an end.  Not only are we going to stop right in the middle of the story, but there’s probably not going to be enough manga for an anime continuation for at least a year.  Adachi’s longer series are always extremely serial, too – he has arcs, but in truth the entire story tends to be one giant arc.  I’m still glad this adaptation came along when it did, but that wait is going to feel like forever.  Cross Game really spoiled me.

Of course, Japan is currently in the grips of Koushien mania, as it is every August – just as it’s in the grips of brutal summer heat.  Those two things go hand in hand, as the Japanese concept of “gaman” (endure) goes hand in hand with Koushien.  As much as I love this country there is an element of doing things “because that’s the way they’ve always been done” that really riles me.  Making schoolboys suffer in terrible heat for every game when almost all stadiums have lights is one of those gaman elements of Koushien I hate.  A recent rule change to allow the boys water breaks during games – a seemingly bare-minimum concession to common sense – was met with howls of outrage from “traditionalists” who cried that it took away from the mystique of the event.

Gaman as expressed in this manner will, as is ever the case in Japan, only change with agonizing slowness (just like working salarymen to death and never letting them see their kids, and using paper memos and fax machines instead of email).  Another element of Koushien that’s slow to change is the abuse of pitchers, and while this is a problem in high school ball elsewhere too, the monumental popularity of the sport here makes is a much bigger one.  The mania for Koushien Adachi depicts is not exaggerated in any way, and these players are (effectively) brainwashed to believe any sacrifice they make for their school is an honor.  That any player should wreck a shoulder or elbow is a tragedy, but when it’s a kid who has a chance at a pro career, the pure pointlessness of it is really inescapable.

We did hear a brief mention of this issue earlier in a conversation between Haruka and her father, but nothing since.  And as Meisei advances in the tournament, this becomes an ever-growing concern for Touma.  We haven’t seen another Meisei player so much as warm up in the bullpen, and as a careful viewer will have noticed the games are now only about two days apart.  Ooyama-san seems oddly determined not to give Touma any credit for the miraculous role his team is on, but it can’t be ignored that it’s been largely on the shoulder of one player.

The problem, as you can see, is that Meisei mania is in full flower.  Adachi’s slyly self-references this (of course), with Souichirou noting that not just West Tokyo but “the whole country” was caught up in Meisei’s miracle Koushien run in 1986.  Who’s going to be the lonely voice urging caution for a 10th-grader’s future – certainly not the player himself.  His father?  Well, Tachibana-san is certainly caught up in this new fervor, skipping out on work in (lame) disguise.  He seems more invested as an alumnus and a fan than as a dad, though.  Dad is in the stands as Meisei plows its way through a couple of zaku, inching ever-closer to a potential semi-final matchup with Toushu.

Touma allows himself to dream big – his brother fixates on one step at a time.  Meanwhile Arai Minor confides to Natsuno that beating him in a batting challenge has given him “confidence” at baseball – which Natsunu-kun reacts to with alarm.  He also lets it be known that he’s part of a stepbrother relationship too – though these brothers are nowhere near as close as Tou and Sou.  As for Akai Major, he and Arisa are out getting coffee together – which Otomi notices on her way back from shopping.  However, she decides “since there’s not enough time left in the episode, I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything” (Adachi, you truly have no shame).

My favorite bit of self-referential humor this week, though, comes when Otomi says to Koma-kun (who’s skipping out on practice, which is now a madhouse of spectators) that things are going too well.  Koma notes that “developments like this are good reason to be cautious” – at which point a certain chibi mangaka on a bike is almost his by a truck.  It’s not as though one could ever forget for long that Mix is an Adachi series or Touch sequel, but he’s the sort of writer who’s going to make damn sure you remember what he wants you to remember.