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「真昼の月 / 冒険者たち」 (Mahiru no Tsuki / Boukensha-tachi)
“Chapter 60 Midday Moon / Chapter 61 Adventurers”
Helping Hina
A sign of Rei’s growth is how he came to consult Hayashida on further courses of action, after realising he had hit a dead end. It’s all well and good, wanting to help people you care about. But I’m so glad Rei figured out, that chucking a load of money at the problem won’t exactly solve it. Not to mention, the Kawamoto family would likely never accept that sort of ‘charity’. He manages to receive a lot of good advice, and it’s another example of how he has come out of his shell in relying upon others.
You have to be doing a downright terrible job, when a teacher from another school is so furious, that they almost take action themselves. Hayashida’s anger towards Hina’s teacher validates most of our negative feelings, regarding her inadequacy. However, it would hardly have been practical for a complete stranger to intrude upon such a delicate situation. As Hayashida says, their best shot at resolving the situation is probably to get a more competent teacher involved. Preferably one strong enough to take Akari’s side, and who would not allow themselves to get trampled by a parent of the bully. However, since it doesn’t seem like this kind of teacher exists yet, I think it would be unwise to dismiss a scenario where parents are called in. While I don’t doubt that gramps or Misaki cannot hold their own, one must always prepare for the worst case scenario, especially if an extenuating circumstance were to force Akari to take their place.
Incidentally, the conspicuous absence of a father is finally brought up, and it seems clear that the sisters avoid talking about him for a good reason. For now, I’ll keep quiet, but the implication is certainly damning. Where was this man when his daughters needed him, and how come we haven’t seen him so far in the series?
Nikaidou’s Adventure
We finally delve into Nikaidou’s background, and despite having read the manga, I was unprepared to be hit by so much emotion. In that regard, Shaft managed to arguably elevate these scenes from the original manga, where sadness has become genuine heartbreak. I suppose there had always been implications of Nikaidou’s condition. But a lack of exploration and his primary usage as comic relief really makes you forget about the evident symptoms.
Upon realising he had misjudged Nikaidou for being a spoiled and rich kid, Shimada’s expression of shame honestly reflected my own personal feelings. Originally, I was also put off by Nikaidou’s overbearing personality, and seemingly smug attitude. Though he may be brash and loud, he’s still a wonderful person who wants to live life to the fullest, by becoming the hero of his own story. To that end, he would willingly abandon the prospect of having an easygoing childhood, even if he could never have a conventional one in the first place. But the way I see it, shogi has become his happiness, which more than compensates for any perceived losses.
It is unfortunate that he fell before he could face off Kiriyama in the finals. Nonetheless, I’m proud to know that he fought till the very last breath, even with his debilitating illness holding him back. Nikaidou really possesses the drive to go far, and has hopefully managed to prove his doubters wrong. There is a place in Valhalla, for people with that kind of enduring spirit.
Concluding Thoughts
Behind the confident demeanour he projects, it is apparent that Nikaidou has his own worries, especially losing a rival who treats him as an equal. I’m not sure I would agree with him, specifically where he thinks Rei will weaken, by taking sympathy and holding back in future shogi games. In fact, I think his assumption actually discredits Kiriyama’s growth.
Perhaps this might have been true of the Kiriyama from before, who broke down crying at the prospect of having ruined a man and his daughter’s happiness, through attaining victory. But I don’t think this would be true as of now, considering the experiences which Kiriyama has gone through. There now stands a man, who carries a burning conviction to win, for the sake of those that he cares about. Rather than taking pity, I think Rei holds more admiration for his dear friend, and will surely be roused by a desire to exact revenge in the finals. With much more determination going forwards, it’s hard to imagine how Kiriyama won’t be stronger than ever.
End Card
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First, I would like to say that I definitely felt the pain in my own heart when Akari talked about her father. I always assumed that he would be dead as well or “missing” or just not important in this show. Which was actually kind of foolish of me to believe since so far there are tons of characters who play an important part (regardless if they’re family and non-family members) and my guess is that there is more to that story than Akari might want to tell for now.
Maybe they have already met? or somehow she knows the woman he is with? I know you are following the Manga Zaiden, so sorry again if you can’t really answer these things without spoiling it for me.
Second, I may have felt another stroke in my heart when the secret about Nikaidou was beeing revealed. I have to say it again: He’s still my favourite and everytime he is on screen it’s either legendary and epic or just plain funny and good for a laugh, yet the flashbacks und how Shimada was the person who told Rei all about it and did the narrator job in this scene overall was really on a different level seeing Nikaidou already suffering as a young child and spending so much time alone.
Which reminds me that I find it interesting that while Shogi is somehow a “life saving boat” for Rei and Nikaidu it’s completely different in meaning and metaphorically for the both of them. As for Nikaidou, this episode made it clear that Shogi is pretty much the only way for him he can expierence adventures, fun and fitting somewhere with other people and places he never could otherwise. While Rei had always a dark and saddened mindset about it because of everything that happened in the past.
I just hope that he will stay the “rival” and that in the future those two will have another superb match.
can’t help myself seeing this just makes me want to yell… kaw–aii!
sorry not sorry.Also, can we note that in the first few minutes, I believe, that Hayashida Sensei is one of the most underrated character in this whole show. The fact that he puts so much effort not only in his own Student but also tries so hard to help a middle school girl he never met for Rei is really great. I hope he will meet all the Kawamoto’s on a nice Dinner at their home. Would be a really nice touch if they exchange a few words. He probably got a lot of advice for them.
As for the next week the tension and the feels are really building up.
I’m not sure if you are still reading it or not but sorry for my late and kinda short comment on the last two episodes, I still wanted to respond though to a few things you said, I hope it’s okay doing it here so I don’t have to switch back and forth:
What I meant here is that Takahashi is my MVP only at the school and for that episode, in comparison to Hina’s classmates, or previous friends. Of course he could never compare to her family and Rei in terms of support but to me he act’s really mature and knows how to deal with specific things in his own way. How he talked about Chiho and the fact that she is not forgotten must have been a big help for Hina.
Yeah that is true. I just wish we would get a little more insight what is really going on in her mind besides that she feels so helpless right now and not knowing what do to and how to “fix” it proberly. She is already amazing and everything she is willing to is basically no reason for her to feel that much insecure.
Thats all I wanted to say, very nice post and thanks for reading Zaiden!
Hey Kana-chan! Just to clear up some things:
There are no characters who will play important roles in unexpected ways. I suppose for Umino Chica, that sort of drama might cheapen the moral of the story she’s seeking to convey. As a result, I’m heavily invested in all the relevant characters that appear, and I wish the same could be said about another show which I ended up covering this season >.>
I don’t know when I started crying, but two moments that particularly stood out included Nikaidou’s grief when Shimada held back, and Kiriyama being moved to tears when he saw the match record. But rather than being a despair event horizon, what we get is truly inspirational. Nikaidou is awesome, and is very possibly Rei’s only true friend (If we count others as being familial, mentors or acquaintances). For all the times that Kiriyama seems annoyed, his chubby pal is precisely the person who always helps to spur him on. I mean, wasn’t it Nikaidou who persuaded Kiriyama to join the Shogi Tutorial Group? In my opinion, that marked the start of his turning fortunes.
Unfortunately, Nikaidou’s character is based off a real life shogi player who died at a young age, whose close friend subsequently went on to become Meijin. I sincerely hope that 3-gatsu doesn’t follow this trajectory, but if it chooses to, I’ll be so heartbroken (in a good way). It would also provide Rei a significant boost in conviction, when pushing for the Meijin title.
You betcha, and for me, the title of underrated is a tossup between Shimada and Hayashida. But if you think about the way that Hayashida phrases things, he seems to put particular emphasis on helping the older Kawamoto sister, who he imagines to have it rough. Perhaps he might not be as altruistic as we might think? Unfortunately, I doubt he would meet up with the Kawamoto family over dinner, even if it relates to their present crisis. He is still a complete stranger that they’ve never met before, and I’m sure that gramps would have a thing or two to say. Maybe in the future, if they end up meeting through Rei, and become well-connected.
Don’t worry about late replies. Comments on any post I’ve ever published pop up on my notification feed. I read them all, and bother replying if they’re good (like yours).
Thanks for commenting as always, and look forwards to seeing your reply 🙂
Thanks for your kind words. If you think my comments are good enough I’m honored, english isn’t my native language so I’m always a little worried something could be misunderstood or it’s just written in a “wrong” way (it probably is but that’s okay). I can’t really imagine how much work that is to write so much to every episode. So I think I can at least always find enough time to leave a few comments since I enjoy this series so much and I’m glad you’re blogging it.
I’m sorry to hear that, my guess is you meant “Kujira no Kora wa Sajou ni Utau”? I’m really not watching much this season because university is pretty much packed with a lot of work for me during the fall/winter months which means I’ll probably start watching a few more shows after Christmas. But I guess that’s a show I won’t bother watching then.
Yeah. I’m so glad he is able to do that and has such a great and positive influence. His personality is also so wunderful to enjoy on screen.
No way! I had no idea, where was this mentioned? an interview maybe? or as a little extra in the manga to fill the blank pages? once the Anime is over and season 3 probably won’t get announced I really start continuing reading the manga for more interesting information like these about the Characters and a little more insight how Umino Chica is creating this wonderful series.
I must say these two were the biggest surprise for me of what the characters had to offer regarding their depth and role in this show. I would have never expected that a Teacher and a professional Shogi player would be so likeable. I love that so many characters of all ages are coming together and both “adults, youngster/ kids” are all important. I can’t really imagine someone saying the variety wouldn’t offer at least one character you could not releate to at least a bit!
I feel this bullying arc is dragging on far too long, especially considering they are adding things like this weeks events on top of it.
I’ll stick with this series since I’m so invested in it now, but I’m really not enjoying this season much at all.