And so, the time has finally come for Kou and Azuma to take on the most challenging team of the preliminaries, including the player whose name Azuma could remember. The question is of course going to be whether the next episode, which is going to focus on the real meat of the match, is going to be able to deliver. The build-up in this episode was very fine, but the baseball matches in this series have always left a strange bad taste after their end. Let’s hope that this time the creators can avert this.
By far the biggest surprise in this episode was Aoba. I guess that finally the team has to face a formidable opponent, and as the result she was fangirling like crazy in the audience. This episode showed a totally different side of her usual composed and calm personality.
Oh, and the creators have finally scrapped the cat drawing game at the beginning of each episode. Instead, we now have a quiz. Seriously, Momiji asks who the pitcher of the baseball team is and gives three options to choose from. I mean seriously, even kids aren’t that stupid. And seriously, what the heck is up with all that live action in anime this week? First we had that horror of Shugo Chara Party, then Yumeiro Patissiere pulled a few minutes of cheesy live-action at its end, and now Cross Game does it too. Why!?
OP: Some scenes were changed for the OP this time, most notably Wakaba having grown up. Gives a strange effect: what would this series look like if she were still alive?
ED: Hmm, I liked the first better. The vocalist seems to want to try too hard while he doesn’t have the voice for it. Again, grown-up Wakaba gives off a strange nostalgic feeling.
Rating: * (Good)
I have not seen this episode until now, but i am quite sure that this is not Wakaba in the OP 😉
i usually just skip those things at the beginnning, they’re mostly their because Cross Game is a morning cartoon show which means alot of kids watch it. Also, can’t wait until after the game. I’ve been waiting for that part for a loong time! 😀
BTW, I am positive from the ED that that is not a grown-up Wakaba, but someone who looks like her, explaning the different uniform and she drawing in the ED. Shan’t spoil it any further since it is manga material…
Sigh @ the images in the OP/ED… couldn’t they wait…
Well, the drama begins. OP/ED gave a nice tease for those not reading the manga. It’s going to be a nice surprise.
Shows aimed at kids seem to just have more live action in them,even denno coil had 2 “special” episodes that had live action right?
And i thought someone mentioned that cross game has (or had?) a live action part about girls’ baseball every week and that it’s just the raw cappers who don’t include it.
That’s not Wakaba, but one Takigawa Akane. Believe it or not, she’s been in the OP since the first episode. (You’ll have to watch for her really carefully.)
Yeah, there’s been a live action blip about girls’ baseball almost every week after the ED. Guess it depends on where you got the episode from.