English Dub Review: HANEBADO! “It’s Our Last Summer, You Know!”

Wearing the right fashion, there’s nothing the Kitakomachi Badminton Club can’t do!

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The Kitakomachi badminton club is training hard for the upcoming preliminaries. Riko is revved up to play in her last tournament, but when she receives her bracket, she goes from elated to despondent. She’s slated to go up against her former middle school classmate in the first round – and the odds aren’t in favor of a win.

Our Take:

About halfway through the season, HANEBADO! has produced one of it’s best episodes yet, filled with nail-biting tension, relatable character growth, and, of course, plenty of exciting badminton battles. Coming off a few weaker episodes, It’s Our Last Summer, You Know marks a return to form of sorts for the series. I’m hopeful that this will herald a streak of solid episodes to finish out the season.

Riko gets the focus this time around, and that’s wonderful. She’s been a staple side character up until now, and we’ve gotten to know her in brief flashes, but with this sixth episode, HANEBADO! shows us why Riko is so amazing. She may not have the mad strength of Nagisa or the raw agility of Ayano, but she still gives it her all out on the court. Her matchup with her top-ranked middle-school acquaintance was incredibly fun to watch. Right from the start, it presented a welcome break from the melodramatic villainous matchups played against Ayano the last few weeks. Riko and her opponent share a more realistic relationship of mild friendship off the court and determined competition on the court. It’s Riko’s last summer, and she was ready to go all in to advance in the tournament. Even after faltering with self-doubt, she’s encouraged by Nagisa to not leave anything out on the battlefield. Nagisa’s shout from her own match during the first round gave me chills, and was a spectacular moment for both of them. Nagisa’s a great team leader, and Riko was strong enough to get back on her feet and try for the win.

Despite finishing off the match with a loss, it didn’t feel like one. As Riko tells her coach, she tried her absolute best and that’s what matters. Being able to proclaim that badminton is still the greatest sport after her match is a win in itself. But then I liked how the show portrayed that her positive attitude didn’t last forever, as Nagisa found her crying on the steps, admitting how badly she’d wanted to win.

The series animation started off excellently, but of course, faded with time. This week’s episode felt like the premiere, though, with lots of interesting camera angles and character movement during the match. And the character designs of all Riko’s tiny cheering fans were adorable!

Some very funny lines happened this week in the dub, like this one referring to the club assistant supervisor napping: “What do you expect? The poor baby pulled an all-nighter.” Classic Yu! Also, one of the male members questioning Riko’s strategy made me laugh: “She’s not doing homework… right, guys?”

This episode of HANEBADO! was one of the best in recent weeks, with tons of exhilarating sports action and dramatic uncertainty. Focusing on Riko was a good decision, and I feel like we’ve watched her progress tremendously just in this short time. Fingers crossed that the show can keep us this level of quality, and maybe give us a Yu-centered episode soon! Next week, it looks like we’re in for a mommy/daughter reunion as the world has never seen before.