(L) Ballroom e Youkoso (Welcome to the Ballroom)

[Dextro]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

I don't care Tatara's romantic future, but I still say Shizuku's much prettier than New Girl.

Agreed on the prettiness of Shizuku (and even Mako) being larger than new girl and first impressions of her aren't particularly glowing (that "lame" remark was predictable but the way she looked at Tatara at the ending felt like knives where coming out of her eyes ).

On the other hand I care a bit about Tatara's romantic future. A little bit of Romance added to the show would actually be welcomed in my view so long as it doesn't become central to the plot.

[ArrowSmith]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

The persistent objectification of the women still bothers me about this show.

Don't women in real professional ballroom dance wear skimpy outfits?

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by ArrowSmith

Don't women in real professional ballroom dance wear skimpy outfits?

Not nearly as big a problem as persistently speaking as if the performance of the couple depended entirely on Sengoku. He's the one getting all the praise and all the criticism. I've been wondering why for a while. If this was tennis, they wouldn't be describing a doubles - they'd be talking about a player and his racket.

[SeijiSensei]

As Anh Minh says, it has nothing to do with their costumes, and everything to do with the way the women are portrayed. Everything I've read about competitive ballroom dancing stresses the partnership between the two members of the couple. Welcome to the Ballroom portrays the sport as one where men make all the decisions, and women are simply ornamental. Those women are just as much athletes as the men. You wouldn't know that from watching this program.

[ArrowSmith]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

As Anh Minh says, it has nothing to do with their costumes, and everything to do with the way the women are portrayed. Everything I've read about competitive ballroom dancing stresses the partnership between the two members of the couple. Welcome to the Ballroom portrays the sport as one where men make all the decisions, and women are simply ornamental. Those women are just as much athletes as the men. You wouldn't know that from watching this program.

That's a very Western attitude that shouldn't be applied on Japanese sensibilities. I like anime because it helps to reinforce traditional gender roles.

[Westlo]

I love the new OP and ED.... (liked the door in the ED) but holy shit it's like they think everyone watching is a manga reader lol... poor anime only viewers...

It's like...

2:11 - What's the deal with this girl?
*OP starts*
2:29 - Ah!

Anyway whatever, Chinatsu best girl and Chizuru is awesome.

[Kanon]

Yeah, I think they should have skipped the OP and ED for this ep at least. Ruined the surprise at the end of the episode.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Kanon

Yeah, I think they should have skipped the OP and ED for this ep at least. Ruined the surprise at the end of the episode.

It wasn't much of a surprise. We've known since the preview of the previous ep she'd be an actual character and not a background extra. Heck, her character design screams that.

The only question - which the OP helps answer but the ep itself doesn't - is if she's a beginner or an experienced dancer pretending to find dancing lame.

[chaos_alfa]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

It wasn't much of a surprise. We've known since the preview of the previous ep she'd be an actual character and not a background extra. Heck, her character design screams that.

The only question - which the OP helps answer but the ep itself doesn't - is if she's a beginner or an experienced dancer pretending to find dancing lame.

The OP doesn't really answer your last point. It could still be that she is new to ballroom dancing, but because she has talent, she will get proficient very quickly.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by chaos_alfa

The OP doesn't really answer your last point. It could still be that she is new to ballroom dancing, but because she has talent, she will get proficient very quickly.

Actually, my guess is that she's new. But you're right, I'm not sure where I got that from, but not the OP. Maybe the preview. Or maybe the thought that he's been through enough of being the newbie of the couple, and the story's ready for a new angle. But anyway I came away with the impression that she isn't a dancer yet.

[ars89]

I don't think she would be a newbie since she was one of the many people trying to get a glimpse of Sengoko and Hongo up close. Tatara is a newbie and didn't realize how great a dancer his coach was.

[Cloudedmind]

Chizuru, best girl! I swear that fight scene gets me everytime.

[DragoonKain3]

Huh, an anime that doesn't introduce the real LI until the second cour. Who would've thought?

Seriously, the new girl is stamped with "End Game" written all over her. OP and ED are all about her and the MC, and it looks like she has a more assertive personality compared to our MC's more timid behaviour. She looks to be more experienced judging by her going to the competition alone, but maybe some sort of trauma has made her stop ballroom dancing, and that's why she's single. She was afterall not in the audience, and Gaju made a comment about how if you have danced before you can't be watching 'upstairs'. Really wondering what's her back story, but I guess that's why we have a second cour.


Technically speaking, I appreciate that we see more dancing animation. Seriously, first half was as bad as some Shaft production being more like a powerpoint presentation, and seeing Sengoku in all his glory was a nice change of pace. Hopefully they saved all the budget till now.

[Bordix]

The amount of Chii-chan in the OP & ED is amazing. Still surreal watching this arc getting animated.

[Kanon]

Chizuru looks so hot with her hair down. It turns out Chinatsu isn't a newbie at all and is in fact very experienced. For some reason, Tatara is having trouble leading her. It seems like he never actually understood what leading implied.

[SeijiSensei]

What a welcome change of tone from the first half! Tatara suddenly realized he had no idea about the partnership involved in ballroom dancing. I look forward to seeing them in their customary roles, too. We'll see how much he has learned. Pretty likely they'll score in a novice event and get to take part in the Grand Prix. I wonder how Chinatsu will react to Tatara's facial expressions while in competition. She's already tired of his goofy faces in just a few hours together!

This pair has a certain similarity to Chihaya and Taichi. Both girls are more advanced in their sport. Will Tatara struggle to catch up like Taichi? I hope he can advance using his supposed innate talents, and they will go on to make each other shine.

I was as shocked as Tatara when Chinatsu made her request of Hongou-san. In retrospect, the dancer's reaction reminded me of her doggie act with Tatara last week. I do find her stereotypical hitting of Sengoku tiresome at this point. It detracts from her character for no good reason except to make a stupid and unfunny joke.

I was surprised that Tatara had never practiced being the partner before. It seems like bad coaching on Sengoku's part. Wouldn't it make sense for both partners to have experienced the other's role at some point in their early training just to understand the dynamics?

Mako looked stunning in the preview. It sounds like she's in charge of the Gaju/Mako pair now. Good for her, and probably good for Gaju, too.

[Guardian Enzo]

"It seems like bad coaching" and "Sengoku" is pretty much redundant...

[ArrowSmith]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

"It seems like bad coaching" and "Sengoku" is pretty much redundant...

Doh. Worst dancing coach ever, setting Tatara up for humiliation after humiliation.

[Anh_Minh]

But he's got two other teachers.

[Cloudedmind]

I'm a bit sad that they cut the scene introducing Banba's "twin", but at least we got a glimpse of him.