English Dub Review: Kageki Shojo!!”Kaoru’s Summer”

Overview

Kaoru looks back on her last summer before attending the Kouka school, where she struggled with misplaced assumptions about her on her fourth and final try at auditioning for the illustrious school…





Our Take

Shifting gears away from Sarasa’s crisis, the focus has once again shifted to another character outside the two leads. In particular, but this anime occasionally shines when they focus and spend an episode on one of the side girls. And this time around we explore the backstory of Kaoru who underwent a significant change on her hair to be an aspiring otoko-yaku, and her backstory tells it all of her high upholding standards. Like any other student with a somewhat horrid past, Kaoru’s family is like Sarasa’s but worse with her ailing grandmother who’s paved the Kouka way and expectations…

One interesting part that also ended up being the heart of this episode, is Kaoru’s connection to a boy she met in her younger days named Tsuji who also had personal ambitions and family comparison issues of his own, which also became the primary focus within those very same flashbacks. Over the course of Their relationship, their comparisons slowly eat away at their individual souls while maintaining the facade that everything’s alright, It wasn’t abusive, but it wasn’t healthy for their well-being either. The festival could’ve been a segway for Kaoru to live a different life with Tsuji, but the fact that they’re just backgrounded characters not assigned for even minor roles just hurts so badly. “Never say die” is Kaoru’s spirit, and no matter how much she fails, she’ll never give up, and that’s where their relationship while ending on a bitter-sweet note, still somehow has small hope for their futures…


Overall, Kaoru’s backstory was done very well handled, with aspects of her past explaining the actions and characteristics she’s shown in previous episodes. It sucks how sometimes we easily compare certain people to other individuals more successful than them or get compared ourselves, and that happens without ever considering anyone’s feelings, even if it stems from good intentions. The romantic and yet slightly melancholy ending with the Kaoru’s theme song playing at the end was also great way to end it too. Hopefully, the pacing of the show will pick up again soon after these two breather episodes. as we get to see if Sarasa and Ai progress any further in their craft as well.