Two main thoughts here, as I crank out another Tsurune post that will go largely unnoticed.  I may not love (or even like) everything Kyoto Animation does, but they’re a goddam force of nature.  No other studio can consistently make me feel so deeply just with the art and animation.  Also, Tsurune is by no means a great show.  Frankly, it can be relatively pedestrian a good chunk of the time in terms of writing.  But it almost always nails the big moments, which is a good quality to have.  And it sure as hell nailed this one.

That’s the tweet, really.  This was a gorgeous episode in every way, not just visually – which you’d expect.  There are times when Tsurune manages to get it all together and achieve a sort of elegiac quality, when all its melancholy navel-gazing on the fragility of youth stops being heavy-handed and becomes poetic.  It’s nothing but a shooting contest, really – there are bits and pieces of external drama (like Tsujimine sticking around and Shuu’s Dad showing up), but basically it’s ten boys with bows shooting at targets.  But these are the sorts of moments when Tsurune always seems to shine brightest.

Fujiwara-papa isn’t the only unexpected guest, Saionji-sensei shows up too.  Funnily enough she asks Masa-san who he’s rooting for (does she not know he coaches Kazemai?).  And when he replies as you’d expect, she says “even though you’ll probably be competing against them someday?”  That’s an interesting moment to muse on, though the action remains firmly on the range.   You could just show the kyuudou and let the drama of the moment take care of itself, but this is KyoAni.  Not only is everything beautifully drawn and gorgeously animated, the stylistic flourishes add so much to the emotion of the moment.  I can’t really describe it – these charms are to be seen, not read about.

Over the course of this season I haven’t been hugely invested in the competition side, but in the moment this really became incredibly tense.  In the first season I kind of rebelled against the idea of Kazemai beating Kirisaki – it seemed unrealistic.  But here I was living and breathing every shot.  The pressure on these kids is so intense it almost broke me.  They performed well, to be sure – both teams 12-15 in regulation, then perfect in the first sudden death round.  Neither Shuu or Minato miss a single shot.  But the fight must go on, and yet another extra round is called for.  And finally, it’s Minato who blinks first and Kirisaki has their revenge.

All in all, though, this is a good result for Kazemai.  They proved indisputably that their victory was no fluke – they came within a whisper of repeating it.  And Seiya, who I’ve given my share of criticism, proves himself a serious clutch hitter here.  It’s tough on sweet, innocent Ryouhei, the least experienced archer on either side – he falters a couple of times under the strain.  But as Minato – not at all downcast about what’s happened, because he knows what real heartbreak is like – reminds him, that just means he has the opportunity to get better.

You can really see the appeal of kyuudou when it’s depicted as beautifully as it is here.  As Saionji says, it’s a sport which doesn’t discriminate.  The young have their strengths, and so do the experienced.  Males and females both can compete at the highest level.  It’s an individual sport that requires a sense of teamwork and unity.  I would have said I was pretty ambivalent about a potential third season of Tsurune (even with it being KyoAni I frankly never expected a second), but after an episode like this one I find myself rather hoping it happens (whatever next week’s finale has in store).