English Dub Review: Sakamoto Days “Exam, Stage Three”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Stage Three of the JCC exams begins as a trio of special applicants joins the fray.  Toramaru, a devoted Sakamoto fan, immediately clashes with Shin.

Our Take:
The stage involving a plane ride through hell was just a taste of what’s to come for the show’s JCC exam arc.  With several contestants remaining due to Kanaguri’s actions, this week’s episode now treats us to a game of “tail tag” as part of the exam’s third stage.  The rules seem simple enough, as several teams have to steal as many tails from their opposing teams as possible.  However, since this is the JCC after all, it’s not without some conditions that raise the stakes for Sakamoto and everybody else.  One significant indication is that the contestants are now joined by the three new applicants for the competition, with one of them secretly being one of Slur’s recruits.  The other being that Sakamoto and Shin have been put into different teams, which doesn’t help their strive to survive together.  Even worse is that Shin would have to face a quirky yet deadly Sakamoto follower, Toramaru, further testing Shin’s determination to fight his own battles without Sakamoto.
In addition to this deadly game of “tail tag”, the episode also expanded further on Akira’s mysterious background and capabilities, with one of them being her swift combat skills.  Given that she’s training to be an assassin, this came as no surprise compared to her sewing techniques in the previous episode.  However, the real shocker is that Akira is related to one of Sakamoto’s classmates, Akao, indicating that assassins do run in the family.  It also highlighted Akira’s determination to become an assassin like Akao as a means to protect her loved ones despite her supposed apprehension of harming others getting in her way.  With this revelation, the bond between Sakamoto and Akira would probably be altered as the exam nears its conclusion.  The question now is whether that alteration would be good or bad, depending on Sakamoto’s history with Akao.