English Dub Review: The Gymnastics Samurai “Training Camp Samurai”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Aragaki attends the training camp, getting to observe many of his peers in the sport, but also receiving ire from some of them because of his persistence in not retiring yet, so he decides to add to his signature move. Meanwhile, we learn that Leo is actually on the run from an apparently stressful life as a ballet dancer.

OUR TAKE

Hard to believe that we’re over half way through the series already, with only four episodes left. This is partially because having only eleven episodes is kind of an odd number (pun intended) to have, but it’s also because despite being close to done with the series, there doesn’t seem to be much of a sense of urgency or getting close to any sort of climax. There doesn’t seem to be any big goal or competition that Aragaki is headed towards, nor has there been any major sign of development for him since his decision to not retire. We do get a better sense of Leo’s past and priorities, though there are still quite a few blanks left to be filled in on that. Why did he run away from being a dancer? Who is this old lady who sent goons (goons who are apparently big fans) after him? And why is there this insistence on making Leo stay in this career when he clearly isn’t interested? Also, why the ninja stuff?

There were some interesting character moments at the training camp, though. In particular, Rei seems to make friends with one of the Chinese gymnasts who apparently was a big fan of her late mother, who was an actress. Though the two that stand out for me are the scenes between Leo and Minamino and then Aragaki and Liu, which seem to both be about Aragaki. Both Minamino and Liu seem to view Aragaki with a bit of disdain for re-entering the sport for reasons other than trying to be the best, as they are in their primes and are hoping to reach the top while Aragaki is just delaying his inevitable retirement. But Aragaki insists that he’s still in this because he feels he can truly accomplish something, even if his best years are behind him in the sport. It’s a pretty inspiring scene and adds quite a bit to Aragaki as a character and what he represents within the show, though I have to say it’s still kind of a weak justification for things going on. Maybe things will become more apparent thematically closer to the end, but we’re coming up on that pretty friggin quickly. As I’ve said, this hasn’t exactly been the most compelling series to follow, but I’m still keeping my eyes open for some surprises even with the small handful of episodes remaining.