English Dub Review: HANEBADO! “I’ll Mop The Floor With Her”

The only rule in badminton is ‘might makes right’.

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The girls are progressing through the Inter-Preliminaries, and the time has come for Ayano’s third match. She’s going up against the pink-haired menace from middle school: Kaoruko Serigaya. Ayano may be a talented player with a professional Mama, but can she hold her own against her archenemy?

Yes, she can. It turns out, Ayano has taken on a new mindset that’s not unlike that of Kaoruko herself. The match is a close, exciting battle, but in the end, Ayano triumphs, leaving Kaoruko crying in the locker room.

Our Take:

The seventh episode of HANEBADO! opens with the closing moments of Ayano’s second match in the preliminaries. She’s locked in a dead heat but pulls out a win. This sets the stage for her next matchup: a heated battle against Kaoruko. Last time these two met, it was an intense match for the ages, and this time is no different. From the moment they see each other in the hallway while passing, it’s clear the beef is serious. Kaoruko passes on a comment about mopping the floor with Ayano, then tops this by tossing her a handkerchief to dry her tears after losing. Yowza! Ayano comes back by admitting she’s been training all these years just to pummel her opponent into the dirt. Yup, we’ve got a match on our hands!

Kaoruko is as cocky as always… until the match begins. As soon as the two girls hit the court, it’s obvious that something has changed in Ayano’s playing style. Rather than always staying on the defensive, as she usually does, she’s actually reversing roles and taking the more offensive tactic, throwing Kaoruko off her game and easily winning the first match. Ayano’s new competitive side has everyone surprised, but Kaoruko isn’t someone to just give up when things aren’t going her way. Vowing to regain control in the second match, she realizes that Ayano’s phycology is her weak point. She formulates a new strategy to draw out their volleys in order to stop Ayano’s attacks and momentum. It works long enough for her to catch up, but she still can’t manage to come away with the victory. Ayano sends a shot straight to the heart that hits like a bullet. She may have won the game, but Ayano seems to have lost a little bit of herself in the process.

The dub this week was fairly solid as usual. There were some lines that came close to being overly dramatic, but really, that’s just who Kaoruko is. Her line: “Engaging overkill mode!” was just peak pink-hair. A funny line that probably shouldn’t have been coming from Riko watching from the sideline: “Impressive – Kaoruko strategizes while she’s playing.” I mean, I hope she does? That’s how you play sports?

I’ll Mop The Floor With Her marks the second episode in a row that’s been pretty good. Maybe HANEBADO! is at it’s best when the characters are playing matches. The show still is doing some very nice work in terms of the visuals. The game between Ayano and Kaoruko was competently directed, with lots of tension building up to the final point. We get a look at another, previously-unseen side of Ayano that values winning above all else. I’m excited – and a little scared – to see what next week will hold for the badminton club and Ayano.