English Dub Review: Ahiru no Sora; “Versus,” “Now…,” “Higher Than Anyone,” “Last Play”

 

 

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)

The practice match between Kuzu and Kitasumi kicks into full gear, filled with tension and uncertainty. 

Our Take

This batch of episodes goes all out and includes all but the entirety of the rest of the practice match against Kitasumi.

Kitasumi’s plan to have Taro wear down Sora’s stamina is put into effect, but to little avail at first, as we see via more flashbacks with young Sora and his mother that endurance is something he learned to train for long ago. Quite the opposite occurs, as Sora not only picks up what Taro puts down in stride but also uses Taro’s own surprise attacks against him. This is even represented visually in the same manner as it was for Taro, with Sora leaving behind a trail of blue outlines as he blurs past the defense. Every time Taro goes to kick it up a notch, Sora keeps up without missing a beat. 

The plot then advances into the middle of the third quarter with Kuzu managing to keep their lead above Kitasumi. This is a considerable advance in time, skipping through the end of the first quarter and entirely past the second. We’re thrust straight into the third quarter to keep the tension consistent and heighten it further by placing it closer to the end. Here we find that Kitasumi has also been keeping up with their strategy of wearing out Sora, which bears fruit as Nao subs him out for Chucky. The tides then begin to turn in Kitasumi’s favor. 

As one might expect, the team takes a beatdown, but fortunately, this doesn’t last for very long. Kuzu calls a time out to gather their thoughts and we see Chucky’s confidence begin to falter after being subjected to marking Taro. But, like almost every teammate before him, Chucky sees Sora’s persistent determination and finds new strength within him. Though this is less rediscovering lost motivation and more like his dumb ego won’t let him admit defeat. Nabe is also subbed into the game, and he and Chucky pull out an appropriately uncalled-for two-man screen on Taro.  

Tobi fills in all of the holes in the defense created by Chucky and Nabe, and Kitasumi smartly responds by putting players on him to pressure him as they did with Sora. This results in Kuzu eventually losing the lead, which also seems to result in the animation losing some of its budget for some reason. They start heavily condensing and even cutting out plays, and it starts to look a little bit more like an elaborate slideshow. I guess if you had to pick one moment to drop the ball like this, this is probably one of the better ones, but it’s still lazy. 

It picks up a bit in the last minute of the quarter when Sora is subbed back in and it becomes a race to score the final basket and take the momentum into the last quarter. The speed and the quality of the animation also pick up a bit, with lots of rapid cuts that create a frenetic energy. A good handful of these shots are superfluous and land flat, but even then, the tension remains high.  

During the break between quarters, there’s a short scene where the boys convince Nao to convince the faculty advisor to take them out for a barbecue if they win. The specific content of this interlude doesn’t matter all that much. This scene is here to serve as a way to break up some of the tension, grant a moment to mentally rest, and reset the atmosphere before the finale. It does this successfully, while also managing to be funny. 

The fourth quarter starts a bit off-tempo as Momoharu gets suddenly placed under the narrative microscope. He and Konishi have some flashbacks that flesh out their pasts and explain the spat they’ve been having on the court. In light of this, Momoharu admirably feels guilty and his confidence and performance start to slip. And then, for the millionth time in this show and like the second or third time for him specifically, he looks to Sora and finds his motivation. Perhaps the only thing that’s clumsier than the rote resolution is the fact that this process of Momoharu confronting and processing his guilt takes place right in the middle of the fourth quarter, where the action is supposed to climb higher than ever before. This feels a bit disruptive and would’ve done much better if it had been located in an earlier quarter. 

Another “dramatic” subplot that takes place parallel to the fourth quarter is one regarding Sora’s mother, Yuka. She wants to go out and visit Sora’s school and is only able to because her nurse happens to be Madoka’s older sister. They call Madoka out of her referee duties near the end of the game to meet them outside. They have their moment where they realize everything, but then Yuka admits that she doesn’t actually want to go inside and see Sora or watch the game. This abruptly cuts out some potential emotional catharsis that the scene had been building up, but it is ultimately done so that Sora and Yuka can uphold their promise. 

If we give the conceit to this promise, though, it still leaves us wondering why they had to call Madoka out in the first place. Yuka just wanted to look around outside the school a little on a day when nobody was even there. This might’ve been a more quiet, subtle, and effective scene if we just saw Yuka sit there content amidst the noise of the basketball game, with the bare minimum of dialogue. 

They do manage to squeeze in a purpose for bringing Madoka out, though. Yuka gives Madoka a bracelet to give to Sora, but Yuka doesn’t want Sora to know it’s from her. Not only does this kind of wear away at the conceit we gave to this lofty promise of theirs, but Yuka also suggests that Madoka say the bracelet is from her, which exasperates the burgeoning love triangle in the background. This is what you’d call forced drama forcing more forced drama. 

Back in the fourth quarter of the game, a bunch of things have happened by now. Tobi got subbed out for a leg cramp, Yasu had to come back in on thin ice, Chiaki made Sora the point guard to make up for it and go score points, and then Tobi came back in. These are things that probably deserved a larger ratio of the screen time over all of the other drama. 

Either way, both teams mount their most intense offense yet and Kuzu starts reaching their total limit. The game comes right down to one last shot where Kuzu can only win if Sora takes a risk and makes a three-pointer. The result of this shot is cut off at the last second, leaving us on a large cliffhanger. 

Regardless of the outcome, this was a very heated practice match that was fun to watch. There were a few missteps; some were expected and simple, while others were a bit more elaborate and obtrusive. The visuals rarely stood out and even lacked at times. But most of the energy in this match was ultimately good, and that always lends well to an enjoyable viewing experience.