Taiso Samurai – 08

「特訓ザムライ」 (Tokkun Zamurai)
“Intensive Training Samurai”

From last episode, I really misjudged Kitty Zhang. When she paid particular attention to Jotaro at the Gymnastics meet, I thought that Kitty would secretly have some hots for him and was using Rei as a pretext to close the distance. Create some kind of opportunity to make her move on this widowed man, especially when she moved so much stuff into the Aragaki household for a mere summer stay. Turns out she really was just a huge fan of his deceased wife, Tomoyo. If I was famous, I wouldn’t necessarily seek out the children of my deceased childhood heroes. That idea seems really bizarre to me. But at this point, having seen and heard about it all through tabloid gossip, the whims and fancies of rich and famous people no longer surprise me anymore. Not to mention that while she had ulterior motives, Kitty’s intentions were entirely pure and wholesome.

Though I’m not familiar with how social etiquette with emails would have worked out back in 2002, I could imagine this is how it would go down, and it was heartwarming to see Kitty and Rei just having a normal day out enjoying their time together – shopping for clothes, playing at the arcade, singing at Grandma Aragaki’s karaoke place. That was really great, and reminded me of times before COVID where I could go and hang out with my friends. To be honest, I really miss those days. And don’t we all.

So, what is Kitty’s role here. Merely a good friend? Surrogate sister figure? Surrogate mother figure? It’s hard to say. Maybe it’s a combination of all those things. But despite being so level-headed and mature, we can agree that Rei is still really young and has her emotional needs. So I’m sure she appreciates an awesome female role model figure who can help give her an idea of what she wants from life – which is not to follow in her mother’s footsteps in becoming an actress, but becoming an actress because she simply loves acting things out.

Additionally, I’m pleased that Taiso Samurai’s given clear thought towards Leo’s role in the grand scheme of things. I particularly enjoy how he’s growing to be way more than just a ninja wannabe weirdo. Last episode, we found out he’s a talented ballet dancer. This episode, more details are padded on – with Kitty revealing that he danced for The Royal Ballet, which is about as prestigious as it gets. At present, his disappearance is being passed off as an illness. But as viewers, we know that he’s struggling with pressure and indecision – something he will eventually have to come to terms with. As for now, his ballet instincts concerning aerial momentum and rotations help guide Jotaro towards the answer he seeks out when it comes to innovating quad flips. It’s early days. But I’m excited to see how this sudden epiphany can help Jotaro make his comeback in the world of competitive gymnastics.

Anyway, that’s about everything I wanted to discuss. As always, thanks for reading this post and see you all next week!