[hyperborealis]

The title poem this week is #26. In the U. Virginia translation, it reads as follows:

If the maple leaves
On Ogura mountain
Could only have hearts,
They would longingly await
The emperor's pilgrimage.

"Wait for the Emperor's return," the Crunchyroll translation tells us; "Wait till next week," in other words. But manga readers will recognize also a hint to how the match with Fujisaki will play out.

I'm a little surprised at the general dismissal of the episode. We learn from the selection of scenes for recapitulation just what the show's writers think are the key elements of the previous episodes. Paraphrase is interpretation, after all, and what is more interesting than the writers' own views on what the show is about?

That said, there really isn't any surprise: the recap confirms that the show is about Mizusawa becoming the best team in Japan, and not about romance or even Chihaya's aspirations to become queen. The lack of focus on any one character, Chihaya in particular, tells us that the main character throughout has been team, in which every member at various moments plays a key part in the team's overall success.

The jokes were fun--I liked the lit professor hoping there's be more romance in the second season. Such a pity Nishida shouted down Shinobu--what does everyone already know she would say? And the Fujisaki captain is simply awful--squeezing the Charmin during Sakaurazawa-sensei's speech, I ask you?

I'm waiting for the Emperor to return...