Ignoring the gaping hole where I left off back in episode 8 purely because the series started to become all shakey which really affected my enjoyment of the it, it is good to see that this is the real episode since a long time where the series makes a strong comeback and proceeds to move forward at full steam (episode 13 also did this but I wasn’t sure until watching this episode). So with a fresh new OP/ED theme and things getting back on track, I shall continue with my selective review of the series. Bring on the Basquash!
Hell yea! We are back in business!
Thoughts: Well basically this episode was all about the death match team Basquash has with team KOK (kind of like King of Fighters but it is actually an acronym for King of Kings headed by Falcon, pretty neat no?). However, while the whole episode was about Dan and the other fighting the odds, rain and all, against their rivals, in the background there are a lot of movements that followed and some shocking revelations for Sela and Iceman. In fact you could say that while the previous episode was for Dan’s personal growth, this episode is definitely for Sela and Iceman to reach a turning point in their lives.
For Sela, while it still wasn’t stated what reason she has to go against her father but inevitably has something to do with the death of her mother, fought this match with pride on the line to prove to her father that she can do it. I am guessing that since Sela abandoned her father after the tragedy she became independent and to personally show to her father that she can survive without him, this match was one she had to win to keep that pride.
As for Iceman it was even more of a shock to see his vivid nightmare like that. Now what does a sharp blade, blood and Iceman’s arm concerns have in common? Well the only thing I can thing of was that he lost his left arm and boy do I hate when I’m right (suddenly, this became my catchphrase of the day). Through some unknown past it seems like Iceman had managed to get his arm cut off which was replaced with some mecha arm. The stress of this match finally put his robo arm out of commission when he put in every effort to pass the winning ball to Dan who then surprised us ALL when he passed that ball to Sela when he realised that he wouldn’t make the goal. So instead of being selfish as usual, Dan actually is growing up and learning that teamwork is needed in this game. Well HELL YEA! to that. Not to forget when the new ED kicked in, I was jumping and cheering like I did back in episode 7 because at this point I knew…the Basquash which I came to love is finally BACK!
But that said there will also be tears come next episode when Sela finds out what happened to her father. In actual fact, some son of a gun had assassinated Sela’s father when the match ended leaving the viewers either silent due to the shock or screaming “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” out loud in a high pitched voice…unfortunately I am the latter type of viewer and I screamed like a girl.
Seriously, what makes this series unique from the rest of the bunch is that ALL of the characters here have some kind of tragic story to tell but the extremely good thing is that rather than them going all angst and emo as if the whole world is against them to the point were their cursing becomes so painful that you just wonder why the heck they haven’t died yet, they are all able to move forward and towards the future with astonishingly strong wills and a burning desire. Sure Sela will probably breakdown when she finds out that her father (who she is tsundere for) has died but that is nothing that couldn’t be sort out within an episode when she has frank friends like Dan. He will get her back onto her feet within an episode and they shall all go riding off to the moon again to blaze some Basquash into the face of the enemies.
Like I say though, the episode was done extremely well. The mood was there, the atmosphere was there and who couldn’t get hyped up when the hilarious commentator says something like “Ohaiyo! Sekai no yaro domo!” (it definitely gets anyone in a mood for a fist fight). The action was there, the hype was there but most importantly of all the story was there. It was a real cliffhanger to see how team Basquash was going to make a comeback after being 42-12 down after half way point but trust Haruka to bring in the big guns with a fresh batch of non-stick trainers straight from Nike (but poor Ganz for having to feel her wrath haha). To see things move forward again brings a tear to my eye and once again this series has reclaimed an eagerly awaited spot on my list.
On a final note I think that the new OP theme cannot compare to the first one at all in bringing out the nature of the series whereas the ED is pretty much on par with the first one in terms of awesomeness. Love Eclipse to bits and this series wouldn’t be the same without their songs.
Screen caps and comments:
Praying for luck but I just lol at how Sela’s pet copies her master ^^’
A nightmare for Iceman which was indeed quite freaky to see and gosh imagine the pain >.<
Of course though at this point we had no idea about his condition
You can’t actually see here but his left arm was shaking whilst holding the cup
Haruka noticed his condition pretty early on and it was given the death flag right after she noted that it was hot
Team KOK VS…
Team Basquash! minus 2 people (LOL)
Sela’s father visiting the grave of his wife. Whatever he did in the past I am sure that he regrets it too
Meanwhile Ganz is slacking on his delivery (oh he is so going to get it soon)
Showdown! and it is the usual flashy stuff that we’ve seen before
But things changed as it started to rain and Haruka gives a swift call to Ganz to hurry it up
Meanwhile, Ganz is happily eating breakfast blisfully unaware that his teammates are losing
The thing is, with the floor being wet from the rain Dan and the others can no longer play well but this didn’t affect KOK as they can fly…cheeky buggers
One of many painful falls for Dan
The scoreboard doesn’t look very good at all…
Finally Ganz arrives with the delivery but Haruka isn’t impressed at all
HEAVENLY PUNISHMENT!
And thus Ganz didn’t wake up ever again
Well the important shipment from Ganz were actually new sneakers
“Ready to rock!”
Clash of the Titans!
Iceman fought hard and used his remaining strength…
to face plant Falcon to the ground!
But his left arm is trashed and this was where it became clear that it wasn’t his original arm…ouch
The final destroy pass
Which Dan catches with flying colours but is unable to get past Falcon’s defense
Surprisingly Dan passes to Sela who wins the match for them
However, while the cheer and hype was going one someone swiftly kills off her father (whaaaa tragic incomming)
So what more does the “antagonists” of the series have planned for Dan and the others
This scene after the ED theme (which I forgot to mention) was impressive as Slash shows that Dan is still far from reaching his level
Dan got outclassed in every way in their little duel but I am sure Slash cheated with a GN drive…
Slash then goes to boast that Dan couldn’t even touch him/her
But if that was true then what are those scratch marks on your shoulders?
Maybe Dan is still improving afterall as he smoothly leaves the match instead of screaming his head off like usual
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