Quote:
Originally Posted by Sol Falling
I wonder about that "Tsutomu-senpai is so cool!" moment, portrayed from an external perspective. He said: "You have the passion and the talent". From Tsukaba's view, that might have seemed like confident encouragement from someone stronger than him. But I wonder about what Tsutomu himself was thinking; implicit to the early conflict in this episode was that, as the weakest regular player, Tsutomu might get replaced by Tsukaba-kun. For Tsutomu himself to admit "you'll become strong soon; you've got the passion and talent for it" might seem like an unspoken resignition that he will be overtaken some day.
If Tsutomu really is thinking that, then was it really "cool" for him to tell Tsukaba "you'll become strong" with a straight face and serious expression? How "strong" will Tsukaba really become--comparable to Mizusawa's "Ace" players: Chihaya, Nishida, and Taichi? If Tsukaba does not reach that level, then was he really "strong", or was he just stronger than Tsutomu? The interesting question to me now as far as he and Tsukaba are concerned is whether Tsutomu will find the "talent" and "passion" within himself to not lose to Tsukaba, his junior a year younger than him.
I guess one of the things these two new characters have brought to the story are new contexts of development for Tsutomu and Kanade especially. As the weakest players in terms of skill in Mizusawa, they might have been in danger of getting lost in the story in the midst of the rest of the club's passionate determination to go pro, to play the Meijin/Queen, to reach A class (or to meet Arata). By throwing in a couple new protagonists who are closer to their "level", this gives them a more immediate background to stay relevant to the story.
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My impression of when Tsutomu told Tsukaba "you will get stronger" Tsutomu was thinking of himself actually. Tsutomu got stronger over time and so will Tsukaba.
As for Tsutomu's own strength I think he will continue to get stronger even if he is never on the Chihaya/Taichi/Nishida level. Sometimes it doesn't matter to be the "strongest", sometimes it is just important to keep improving yourself.
Anyways as Tsutomu has shown he has his own special skill, he is great at analysis and brings something into the team that no one else can.
I don't know how much stronger Tsukaba will get but again I don't think it matters in comparison to the team's strongest players. As Tsutomu said, Tsukaba
will get stronger. And in the end the second years will eventually graduate. It is up to Tsukaba and Sumire (and the members who hopefully join in the 3rd year) to continue the club. They need to get stronger for that too because they are not going to always have the strongest members to rely on.
Now what class will Tsukaba reach, well we will see. There is no limit to Class A players after all.