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Four random comments about episode 36:
1) I am under the impression these anime-original episodes are not just filler but are conscious decisions from the anime staff to make the anime more female-friendly. The manga runs in a shônen publication so the majority of its readership is boys. the TV show's audience is probably much better balanced. From the dialogue in this episode, I got the impression the scriptwriters wanted to persuade their audience (male and female) that female sports is not a lesser form of sport and should be encouraged. Besides the national team subplot itself, good examples are Ichiyo's answer to Momiji and Kojima mentioning she is inspired by Aoba and wishes to continue playing at university. I almost got a vibe of activism from this episode.
Another sign is that, as we discussed previously, most of the changes in the anime give more attention and depth to Aoba. Furthermore, almost all the original characters are girls. Even Nakanishi's girlfriend is much more used than in the manga (and in a clever way).
2) I was wondering about how much the female national team subplot would change the course of the original story, but one interesting twist is that this episode's cliffhanger will force Aoba out of the national team selection. After all, they say the next phase of the selection is "next week". Whatever happens to Aoba in ep37, there is no way she will participate in that match.
This is a pretty clever way to put Aoba back into the main storyline without forcing her to drop out of the selection process. Furthermore, it gives even more importance to what happens at the end of this episode. I thought that deserved praise.
3) Another nice anime addition is how much they extend the "Aoba's thank you curse" running gag.
4) Finally, I am quite amused by one small detail: it is mentioned that the jersey numbers are given according to the player's age. If you pay close attention, Aoba is clearly one of the youngest talents, with jersey 18. All the other good players have way higher numbers.
When the coach mentions who is selected at the end of the day, he goes: "Numbers 4, 15, 18, 22... <volume fading down>"
This is obviously for dramatic effect and I guess they did not really pay attention to the implication of this dialogue line, but who the hell are the two other genius First years (even younger than Aoba!) who passed along with the monsters we just saw?
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