[Sphire]

Spoiler for Ep 8 spoiler thoughts:

Hmm, there's a lot to like in the latest episode, but somehow I do feel it was a bit lackluster. I think it's because all the side bits were awesome: simple jokes, Sawa verbal pwning the other choir (she so totally should've not been stopped!), Wakana & Konatsu pwning VP, Wien being Wien, and the group doing things together (cheering Sawa and so on).

The main parts felt lacking though. Sawa got thrown off a horse. While I can take she only suffered minor injuries, for those injuries to then go away (so that no one at school could see it) was stretching an already thin string further (even if you wanna play the make-up card). I thought the build up between Sawa's issues was great, but when her dad suddenly turns around and starts backing her dreams, that just felt so random. It may paint her dad in a great light, but at least show why he changed, don't just make us assume he read something in the Riding School book to convince him. His initial points are all still valid. I felt a bit cheated by that event.

Best part though was Wakana. How she turned around Sawa's point was brilliant, yet so true. It's how I felt after her whole arc (because I personally felt Wakana's arc was more about learning the truth about her mom rather than her mom's death itself), so it's great to see her put her mom before music. One of the best moments for me. Wakana easily stretches her lead as the best character in this show.

I still don't think Sawa's issues are resolved, like the episode's outcome, I think it's just been put off. Taken a step back. Hopefully we get more later.