Warning: this review contains spoilers up to the end of this episode.
This episode review is punctuated by comments from my artist Hemlock-chan. Since she has to watch the show anyway to come up with art, I thought I’d get her Gen Z perspective on it as well. Also, my writing tends to be excessively wordy so having someone else’s cut through it should help keep me in check. I remember co-written reviews had great feedback when I was writing them with the sweetest Violet. Good times.
I’ll add Hemlock’s art as soon as it’s completed. She’s new, so it might take a while. In the meantime, he’s the review.
FYI: I write a summary of each scene then comment on it. Feel free to skip the summary paragraphs and just read paragraphs that start with dashes (-).
Prologue
This episode starts where the last ended, with the sun rising and Haiji repeating his goal to Kakeru: “I’m going to run in the Hakone Ekiden. Starting today I’m going to win over all the guys. That includes you, Sendai Josei High School Graduate, Kurahara Kakeru.”
KK is agitated that Haiji knows where he came from. He asks Haiji “Just who are you?”
Instead of answering Haiji rubs Nira’s fur before telling KK that he must be hungry and that it’s time for breakfast. He leaves first with the dog and we see Kakeru fisting his palms. The opening credits begin.
-Kakeru’s query here will have viewers questioning not only who Haiji is, but who KK is as well. What is it that he is hiding? Also, we’re starting to see a behavioral pattern. He fists his hands tightly when he’s worked up, which seems to happen frequently.
After the opening theme we go back in time to the previous night, the welcoming party, when KK said that it was impossible for them to run the Hakone Ekiden. Haiji says that no one can know that for sure but KK is adamant. Top track teams practice daily for years trying to get in and still only a few even qualify.
Haiji assures him that “Dreams do come true if you try,” and presents his argument:
“Nico-chan Senpai has track and field experience.”
-At this statement, Yuki looks at the cigarette addict with widened eyes. It’s news to him and he’s surprised by that. It’s a hint that he thought he knew the oldest resident quite well. Meanwhile, Nico lowers his head as if this was something he had intentionally kept hidden.
Haiji then states that Yuki had made it to the prefectural tournament with his Kendo team.
-Kendo is the art of sword fighting. A fair amount of stamina is needed for that and I think running is incorporated in the training, sometimes.
Haiji goes on to say that both the twins and King played soccer in high school.
-Since soccer is based on running after and scoring with a ball, this means these three might actually do well as runners.
He then mentions that Shindo used to walk ten kilometers to and from school through the mountainous regions of his hometown.
-Wow. I wonder how early he used to get up for that. Talk about dedication to education. No wonder his nickname is genius. King says “that’s not a sport” but I beg to differ.
Then Haiji states that “Musa has a hidden talent,” to which the transfer student nervously replies “It’s prejudiced to think black people are fast runners,” spilling a bit of his drink.
-Best quote of the episode goes to Musa.
Haiji assures him with “I confirmed in the bath that you’ve got good muscles.”
-Viewers can confirm this too. Now we understand that Musa being naked the first time we saw him wasn’t fan-service. It was a creative decision to display his strong physique.
Musa is shocked at Haiji’s words. “That’s why you’re always staring at me?”
-This isn’t just funny; it gives insight to the character. He has awareness, knew Haiji was looking, but didn’t do anything about it. Maybe he wanted to avoid an awkward conversation, maybe he was just too shy. Or it could be because, even though he was staring, Haiji wasn’t being creepy about it. I think this is true, or Musa would have been more concerned when he walked in on him in the bath’s changing room in the first episode.
Haij then ends it with his comment on the main character: “Then there’s Kurahara. I want you guys to see how he runs.
-Note, Haiji here addresses KK using his last name. From what understand of Japanese culture, as an upperclassman, Haiji can use KK’s first name without honorifics if he wanted to. I think he’s intentionally being distant out of consideration for KK’s proverbial walls.
Akane (Prince) quietly interjects while reading his comic, that since he wasn’t included in Haiji’s list, it means he doesn’t have to run.
-The reason the bookworm wasn’t included is probably because he never did anything athletic in his life.
Haiji interrupts him to say “We finally have ten!”
Yuki points out that apparently, Prince is included as well. He finally pulls his nose from his comic to grimace in discontent.
-Haiji ignoring Prince’s comment here hints that he likely just wants Prince because his presence helps them fulfill the member limit.
Kakeru suddenly stands up. The others watch as he silently heads towards the door. Before he opens it, he tells the guys he’s not going to be running with them, then walks out of the room.
-This scene is the worst moment in the entire show. I detest it so much, probably all the more because the rest of the series is so well done. Notwithstanding the need for a dramatic exit, the dumb looks on most of the characters faces (their gaping mouths) was inexcusable. And it was such a long moment. Directors, editors, please don’t ever do this. It was almost enough to turn me off the show. Way too much drama, way too much redundancy of facial expressions, just over watching someone walk out of a room. Ugh. The only two characters whose expressions were good here were Prince and Haiji. The rest were ruined. It was painful to watch and totally took me out of enjoying the scene.
Speaking of Haiji, he remains quietly seated face expressionless after Kakeru’s declaration. We now have more context as to why KK felt a bit awkward when he ran into him in the park.
We’re then shown the episode’s title: The Ogre’s Arrival
– I found the translation intriguing. I usually associate the Japanese word used here (oni) with “demon”, not “ogre”, although I’ve heard it used for both.
Act One
After the title, we’re taken to the next morning where the dormmates are sitting eating quietly together in the kitchen. The air seems heavy with tension, everyone is focusing on their food.
Kakeru is the last to join them. He stands at the doorway until Haiji smiles at him and tells him “there’s an empty seat there.” He means a short table where King and the twins are currently sitting on the floor, eating. Indeed, there’s an empty space with a serving of salmon, rice, and what looks to be miso soup already plated. A large plate of salad, I think, is in the middle of the table. Shindo explains that because the large dining table only has space for six, late-comers sit on the smaller one on the floor.
Hemlock: KK had refused to run with them, then comes back the next day for breakfast. It’s such an awkward scene but when Haiji welcomes him it shows he is polite and has good social skills.
-Very true. That aside, in a culture where age gaps are considered and highly observed, the rules in this apartment building seem more based on convenience. First come, first serve.
Haiji tells KK to have as many servings as he’d like. When Musa finishes King immediately takes the vacated space at the larger table saying “That chair’s mine.”
-It’s interesting to me that King bothered changing seats. I hate sitting on the floor, but that’s mostly due to my aching bones. But even I don’t think I’d bother getting up after I’d already started eating.
Musa looks at a schedule posted on the wall, reaches his name (presumably) and says he’s going to clean the toilet. Everyone thanks him in advance.
-I love this insight on how the apartment building is being run. Haiji must be keeping a tight ship.
Haiji also leaves, saying he’s going to feed the dog. As soon as the others hear the door of the house open and close Yuki brings up the elephant in the room: “No one’s going along with Haiji’s plan, right?” Nico is the first to respond with a mild “Yeah, right” while King adamantly says “Absolutely not.” The twins are relieved, Jouta says “I was going to run away if you guys said you’d do it.” Shindo is less forceful but states “It’s too sudden.” Yuki reiterates that it’s a scam while Nico asks Shindo what Musa thinks.
-Writers, this is a good instance of showing not telling. Nico assuming that Shindo and Musa have talked about the matter shows that not only are the two good friends, but that the others know it too. Or it could be that, as a foreigner, the other others have a harder time communicating with Musa? Shindo’s placidity might make him the exception. But there’s little evidence for this. He’s attending University in Japan so of course he must be fluent.
Shindo tells them that Musa doesn’t want to do it because he’s busy with his studies and part time job. King then declares that everyone’s against it, and looks at KK to make sure he’s on the same page. “Got it, newbie?” KK nods in agreement.
-Not that there was ever a suspicion of him wanting to run in the first place, not after his hard denial the night before.
Prince, who had been quiet this whole time speaks up in his low voice to tell the others “I doubt he’d just back down. These are the most luxurious dishes we’ve had all month.” Everyone stops eating to look at their meal.
-Viewers can now see that, in addition to the salmon, the miso soup has clams in it. The green beans have what look like Enoki mushrooms and there’s simmered eggplant as well. A feast, indeed.
Yuki states “He’s domesticated us, hasn’t he?” The chopsticks stop moving as they all consider this.
-I could be wrong but somehow, I think Prince pointing out Haiji’s cooking was actually him reminding the others what the man has been doing for them all this time. Unlike the others, Prince hasn’t explicitly said that he wouldn’t run, even though it’s clear he doesn’t want to.
The cheerful twins interrupt the silence and ask if KK wants to join them at the university. They want to check it out ahead of the opening ceremony.
What none of them know is that Haiji is standing right outside the kitchen doorway with Nira’s food bowl is in his hand, still full. This means he never left, rather pretended to by walking away, opening and shutting the building’s door so the others would feel it was safe to talk, then sneaked back inside to listen in on their conversation.
-I cannot condone this behavior, but it does tell us how serious he is about convincing the others to run, and what he’s willing to do to achieve that goal.
We next see Kakeru and the twins walking around their campus where all the university clubs are busily trying to recruit new members. The brothers discuss which amongst the numerous soccer clubs they’d like to join. Kakeru asks if they’ll continue the sport in university as well. They’re not sure, saying the fact that Haiji wants them to run makes it difficult. When KK encourages them do whatever they want, they reveal that their true goal is wanting to come into contact with girls, specifically girl managers of athletic teams seeing as they never had any in high school. Their fellow first year is not impressed.
We then see Prince standing at the table of his manga (comic book) club, calling out hoping to recruit new students. When he thinks a prospective student has come, he raises his head, but it is actually Haiji, his figure uncharacteristically imposing.
Prince asks Haiji if he can move, I assume because he’s blocking their table from being seen by others. Haiji comments that he seems energetic then states “It won’t be easy for you to pack, so I though I’d tell you first.”
He pauses long enough for Prince to ask in confusion “Pack?” Haiji then tells him with fake sorrow that he can’t stay in the building if he’s not a member of the track and field team. The manga lover quickly grasps his situation and accuses Haiji of kicking him out. Haiji skirts the issue, before admitting “I guess you could say that.” He then goes on to point out that it’ll cost Prince a fortune to move all his stuff but he won’t have to if he agrees to run.
-Poor Prince is absolutely horrified. I’d feel sorry for him if his misery wasn’t so entertaining.
Hemlock: F in the chat for Otaku boy.
…Okay? I have no idea what that means, but then I don’t speak Gen Z. Apparently, I’m what’s called a “Millennial” which seems to mean I’m too old to understand modern internet jargon. Moving alone…
Haiji continues his offensive with a great catchy tune in the background (track number 15 on CD1 of the OST. It’s title is, appropriately, Tactics until Haiji).
We next see King in the placement office, applying for jobs when Haiji sneaks up behind him, surprising him so much he bumps his head. He asks what kind of job King wants. The latter snaps “Why should I tell you?” to which Haiji replies “Mass-media, right?” expressing the intel he has on his peer. He says King could talk about the Ekiden at his interviews. He then gets into King’s personal space and whispers in his ear that Ekiden is a unique experience not everyone gets to live, and that it’ll help him in his job search.
-The phrase “whispers of the devil” comes to mind here. I’m sure King must have felt the same way judging from his terrified look.
The scene switches to the library where Shindo is diligently studying, when he hears Haiji say, “There wasn’t a mountain God this year. Well, they can’t name one every year. It’ll reduce its value” while flipping through “University Ekiden Final Summary” magazine.
Shindo jumps in surprise. We see that Haiji is sitting a few chairs away so he hadn’t known he’d joined him. He looks around nervously and asks Haiji to keep it down, since they’re in the library.
-This is continuity to Shindo’s considerate personality. From what I could gather, Mountain God is a title given to the runner that does best in the mountainous section of the Ekiden race.
Haiji, ignoring Shindo’s request, raises his voice and asks which is worse, the mountains of Shindo’s hometown or Ekiden? The younger man answers that he never compared them. Haiji mentions that Shindo hasn’t visited his family in a while, and asks if he ever calls them, before ending with the last blow: “I’m sure your family would be delighted if they saw the son they rarely see energetically running on TV,” while looking slyly at Shindo.
Hemlock: Haiji is brainwashing and indoctrinating everyone. He’s annoying as hell and is a terrifying kind of guy, the absolute worst to be around socially because he won’t leave you alone or give you any options.
-True. On the other hand, he’d be a fantastic parent. The different tactics he uses for each child (er, student) displays an innate knowledge of their personalities. Here, his guilt tripping suggests that Shindo is actually quite close to his family.
Shindo is caught in Haiji’s hypnotic stare but manages to break loose by looking at his (non-existent) watch and excusing himself.
At the Aotake apartment building, we see Yuki leave his room, headphones on, when he suddenly stops and sniffs the air. The hallway is smoke-free. He approaches room 104, takes his headphones off, and knocks the door, calling out for Nico-chan’s senpai.
-When Yuki removes the headphones, we can hear a faint sound of music coming from the speakers. Details like this show how much care the production has put into this show.
There’s no answer from the room. Yuki opens the door slowly and peaks inside. We see a half made up futon, cigarette ads hung on the wall, a large computer with stick it notes on the screen, an empty convenience store bento tray next to the keyboard, a stack of instant cup noodle containers on the floor and an ashtray on the desk. Yuk’s eyes widen when he sees that the ashtray is clean.
Off screen, Nico’s voice is then heard saying “You robbing me?” in his usual neutral tone. Startled, Yuki slams the door shut in embarrassment at his unintended snooping. By way of apology he explains that he couldn’t smell Nico’s cigarettes. Nico hold up a new pack saying he’d run out before taking one and putting it in his mouth. Yuki excuses himself and Nico teases him, asking if he’s going clubbing again, and that lawyers sure have it easy. Yuki replies that senpai should hurry up and graduate.
-The banter here shows that, despite Yuki’s complaining, these two actually get along well, and that Yuki, as a diligent students who has essentially finished his coursework, might actually be concerned for Nico study record, since he failed twice.
At the shoe cubbies, Yuki notices something. A white pair of shoes is visible through the slit (for mail?) of the Nico’s cubby. We know it’s Nico’s cause the number (104) is stuck on it. Yuki opens it and is surprised to see that there are running shoes inside.
Meanwhile, Nico has thrown himself onto his futon and spits out his unsmoked cigarette. He stretches, then tells himself “No way.”
-Here we realize that not only is Nico trying to stop smoking, but that he is also running, which means he is not as averse to Haiji’s idea as he is pretending to be. I do wonder why he’s keeping this from the other residents, especially Yuki. He’d also kept the fact that he was on the track and field from them as well. It seems like the only one who knew about it was Haiji. Maybe he’s just a private person which would fit into his mature character. Living in such close quarters to other people must be hard and setting boundaries probably helps.
Back at the University, Kakeru sits on a bench watching while the twins flirt with some girls who are trying to recruit them for their soccer club. He is approached from behind by Haiji who asks him if he thinks he’ll enjoy his life on campus. Haiji then tries to recruit him to a “special-event club”, meaning track and field where he would run at Hakone. KK doesn’t bother answering and just walks away. Haiji asks “You sure? You could run. No one will criticize you.”
-This must have hit a nerve because KK then stops. We get a flashback of him watching, with a disturbed look on his face, as an older man in glasses yells at a student who is kneeling in a dogeza. There are other students present, but everyone is looking on in silence at this spectacle. All present are wearing the same green track suits.
Trivia: Dogeza in Japanese culture is a position of prostration and consists of having one’s knees, hands, and face on the floor. It is very similar to the position of sujood in Islamic prayer which, in Islam, should only ever be done for God. In Japanese culture (as I understand it) it is done as a sign of extreme reverence for someone of higher rank (i.e emperor) or to beg forgiveness, or to ask for a favor.
-This was a painful scene to watch, especially considering the student on the floor has a bandaged knee. The bright green track suits worn by everyone in the memory are the same shade as the uniform of the runners in the OP.
Hemlock: Kakeru just got a PTSD flashback. Of course, there’s trauma connected to it, it’s anime.
Back to reality, KK tells Haiji “If I want to run, I’ll run alone.”
The latter watches him walk away and we are taken to my kids’ favorite segment of the show: the halfway break and Nira. This time the dog rolls around from one end of the screen to the other before barking. Freaking adorable.
Act 2
We come back from the break to see Yuki reaming into a pitiful Musa demanding to know why he agreed to run.
Musa, standing straight with his hands by his side apologizes, and explains that Haiji visited him where he works part time at the Butcher’s. We are shown how the scene played out. Haiji has just bought a whole bagful of meat and various goods and is chatting with Musa’s employer like an old friend.
-Haiji is acting the role of “good little boy”. He even changes the way he refers to himself from the masculine “Ore” to the boyishly polite “boku”. It’s so funny, as is Musa’s worried and suspicious look, watching the two talk.
The proprietress tells him, “Musa always works so hard, and you’re a regular. We really appreciate you.” Haiji replies, “I’m nothing special. Anyway, I’m glad I introduced him to you,” turning to look at his dormmate. “Good for you, Musa, she’s complimenting you.”
Musa, who looks like he’s been stabbed, stammers out a “thanks”. Meanwhile, his employer unknowingly shoves Haiji’s knife in even deeper when she says “You’ve got a great friend. You should be grateful you met him. That’s a friend for life.”
Haiji, with Medusa eyes, repeats this, “Hear that Musa, we’re friends for life.” The sound of his name on Haiji’s lips echoes in the petrified exchange student’s ears as we are taken back to the present, where Musa states that when Haiji asked him if had plans the next morning, he said he didn’t. The poor man actually has tears in his eyes.
Yuki is frustrated at how Haiji swayed Musa, knowing that the loyal Tanzanian wouldn’t be able to refuse him out of a feeling of obligation.
Hemlock: Haiji is the most manipulative and psychotic when it comes to running. He really forced pressured Musa into joining by getting him a job and then guilt tripping him into joining.
To be fair, we don’t know if that was the original intention of helping out Musa. But it did end up working in his favor.
King remarks that Haiji’s attacking all their weaknesses.
Yuki then turns to confront him and Shindo, asking what their excuses are. Both are on their knees on the floor, like naughty children being made to sit in the corner. King says running would help him get a job, while Shindo says it’s good for health “like weight loss?”
-King’s reason here is the one Haiji used to convince him, but I found it interesting Shindo gave a different one, and a completely bogus reason at that, because Shindo is already very skinny. as expected of such a straight arrow, he’s such a bad liar. Maybe he does feel guilty over not visiting his folks and doesn’t want to talk about it? Or is worried Yuki would make fun of his reason and gave another?
Either way, Yuki unsurprisingly unconvinced and demands to know what “deals” the two made with Haij. The two assure him they hadn’t. “I shouldn’t have let you go off on your own.” He then says that at least they’re not as bad as the twins.
Said twins have been wrapped and tied up in individual futons like a pair of Ehomaki rolls. They complain that Yuki’s accusation isn’t fair, and that they only agreed because Haiji told them everyone else was running. Upon further questioning (and a second-hand beating through the beds) the real reason is revealed: Haiji told them girls love guys who run the Ekiden.
Hemlock: Lawyer guy is the one braincell of the group.
-It does make sense to have Yuki in in charge of the resistance here. Seeing him exasperatedly beat the mites out of the twins (er, futons) you’re also reminded that he was a member of the Kendo club. He’s used to handling wooden weapons.
Yuki exasperatingly yells at the twins that only the top finishing runners of the Ekiden get famous enough to attract girls. “There’s no way we’ll even qualify!” Here the twins are confused, they thought all they had to do was sign up for the race. Yuki is too tired to explain.
-This was actually informative to us viewers as well. We now know that you have to somehow qualify to be able to race.
Musa wonders “Are the others ok?” while Shindo asks in fear “Who’s not here?” King answers: “Nico-chan, the newbie, and Prince.”
-The conversation here is not unlike one in a horror movie, where the characters get offed one after the other and the remaining wonder about who is left. I found it very amusing.
The group knocks on KK’s room wanting to see if he’d been turned as well. He’s not in and at that moment they hear a shriek. It’s Prince, whom we see naked and shivering, huddled on the bathroom floor. “It’s a miracle my heart didn’t stop.” He almost froze when he entered the bath only to find the water cold.
Hemlock: F in the chat for otaku boy (again). Oof.
The landlord can’t believe his bath broke at this time and tells the boys that they can use the public bath house until his bathroom is fixed. The boys are not happy.
Meanwhile Kakeru is sitting on a park bench with his sports bag next to him. He remembers Haiji’s words “You sure? You can run. No one will criticize you” as he simultaneously sees same flashback of his (presumably) high school coach berating his injured teammate.
He then crushes an empty water bottle with his shoe.
Hemlock: Squashed bottle symbolic for squashed dreams.
Yup. It seems like he made up his mind not to run.
He stands up from the bench to leave. At the same time the sound of a toilet flushing can be heard and he shortly sees Nico emerge from the park bathroom, about to smoke a cigarette. The two catch sight of one another.
We then see them walk together as Nico tells KK “It’s just for a change of pace. Don’t tell the guy’s at Aotake.” He then looks at the sports bag Kakeru is carrying and comments, “doesn’t look like you’re going back, though.
-As Yuki suspected earlier in the episode: Nico has started running, but he doesn’t want anyone to find out. Conversely, not only is KK not running, he’s actually leaving. I wouldn’t have guessed that the sports bag held all of his belongings if Nico hadn’t pointed it out. He must have only brought the bare minimum with him to college. If we didn’t know that he gets an allowance I would have guessed that he ran away from home, considering how little he brought with him.
Kakeru asks Nico “Do you actually want to run,?” The older man berates him for thinking that, repeats that he’s just doing it for a change of page, before adding “They’re pitch black. There’s no way.”
-I’m guessing he means his lungs. From the smoking.
He then adds, “Besides, I’m not cut out for it.” He then stops walking to ask Kakeru, since he knows a lot about running, if he ever saw a runner “as rough around the edges” as Nico.
-Hmm. So Nico does want to run, but doesn’t think he’s any good at it, and that’s why he doesn’t want anyone to know? I don’t know what he means by what he said, that he’s not cut out for it. Maybe health-wise. He always wears sweats so I can’t really tell if he’s overweight. He’s definitely bigger than the other tenants though.
Before KK answers, the other boys see them in the street and tell them that the bath is broken. Nico tells Kakeru that, before he leaves, he’ll take him somewhere fun.
That somewhere is the Tsuru-no-yu bathhouse, the same one Haiji used in the first episode. The next scene starts with the twins jumping out of the bath, screaming “impossible!” and latching their naked bodies to the coolest surface they can find after being burnt by the boiling bath water.
-Apparently this is the twin’s first time there as well.
Standing in front of said bath, Prince explains to Kakeru that they call this place “hell on earth”. He gulps in trepidation.
-Now I know why King and Shindo looked upset when they found out the bath was broken. They didn’t want to come here.
At the showering area Yuki remarks to Nico “You don’t often hang out with the newbie.”
-Something felt off with this statement. I think there’s a mistake in the translation here. You can only say an occurrence is rare if it goes against the status quo. KK is new, he and Nico wouldn’t have had much of an opportunity to hang out. So I think what was really meant here is that Nico doesn’t often hang out with any of the new tenants.
We then see someone close a wooden cubby with a green article of clothing inside.
-We guess it’s Haiji since that looks like his green kimono jacket.
The door to the bath opens but instead of a human, we see an ogre carrying a basket of bones. He looks at the boys, who, except for Kakeru, all have terrified expressions on their faces. The setting has also suddenly turned to hell with the bath being a pool of lava.
The ogre in a demonic voice says “Oh, you’re all here?” Prince says “An ogre has arrived in hell!”. The demonic setting then returns to real life and the ogre is actually Haiji carrying a small tub of his bath supplies.
In exaggerated surprise he exclaims “What? The landlord’s bath broke?”
Having put two and two together, Musa is actually trembling while Shindo starts wondering “Surely Haiji didn’t,” before King interrupts him, asking him to not say what they are all thinking, that Haiji intentionally broke the bath at the land owners place. Aha. Maybe that’s why they were upset when the bath broke. Not because the public bath is hot, maybe they’d suspected sabotage all along.
-Considering how upset Haiji was over the damage the twins did to the apartment in the first episode, and his telling them to hide it from the landlord, I don’t think the bath is actually broken. Haiji probably just turned off the hot water supply. Not only that, the landlord might even be in on it, or he would have been be more upset, I think. I do wonder why Haiji did it. A collective punishment until they all agree to run? Or did he just want to gather them all together in one place, the better to convince them all at once?
Haiji asks KK him how he likes the bath, before adding that the others think it’s too hot. Before the newbie answers, the Regular whom we saw Haiji talking with in the first episode chimes in that Haiji finds it too hot as well, since he never stays in more than a minute. After greeting him, Haiji introduces the Aotake residents. Appraising them, the older man comments that Haiji finally got his ten. Kakeru instantly refutes this. “I’m not a resident.”
-The other residents’ reactions here are interesting. The twins and Shindo look on placidly, as if they’re not sure why they’re being sized up by this stranger. Musa looks worried, King angry, Yuki looks away like he doesn’t want anything to so with this conversation, while Prince and Nico look resigned. At Kakeru’s hard denial, the others all look at him silently.
Haiji explains to his old friend that he met Kakeru after he left the bath night before.
“So, he’s new,” the older man surmises.
KK is about to reiterate that he’s not a member when Haji challenges him to a contest to see who can withstand the bath’s heat longer. Whoever wins does what the other says. The defense for the anti-running league, Yuki, tells Kakeru that he doesn’t have to agree. Haiji concurs but nonetheless riles up KK by telling him “if you refuse, I’ll assume you’re running away. If you want to run, run. I won’t keep chasing you. After all you’re fast, when you’re running away.”
-Ouch! Talk about hitting below the belt. The others won’t get it, but Haiji’s play of words here is referring to when Kakeru was running away after he stole a piece of bread. Haiji had uttered the above with an infuriating (pardon my language) shit eating grin.
The newbie is understandably enraged and we next see the two soaking in the boiling water (50 degrees Cecius) with sweat streaming down both their faces. The others keep track of how long they’re there. After three minutes Haiji’s acquaintance tells them not to push themselves so hard. Each tries to get the other to give up but no dice.
Yuki remarks how amazing Haiji’s tenacity is. Nico replies that it’s no wonder, since it’s his last year. Yuki asks why Nico is acting sentimental, before asking “You’re not going to run with him, are you?” Instead of answering, Nico challenges Yuki to a contest of their own: betting on who wins. Winner does whatever the loser wants.
-It’s official. Nico not only wants to run, but actually wants to help Haiji. It’s obvious that if he wins ,he’s going to get Yuki to run.
Yuki bets on KK. Nico asks: “Do you actually want to win?” Meaning he’s certain Haiji will win this challenge. After about five minutes we see the two steaming and sweating more and more until Shindo runs out of the bath frantically asking for water (for drinking, I assume). The twins have a hold each of Haiji and Kakeru and are pulling them out of the bath room as well, away from the steam and heat, lamenting their stubbornness. Yuki asks Nico what the result of their bet is, in the case of a draw. We then see the sweating challengers, red as boiled lobsters, completely passed out on the floor of the changing room.
Hemlock: Haiji really tortured himself to get Kurahara to join. They both died. These dumbasses are too stubborn.
-Well, at least Kakeru seems to have earned the respect of the others. King says “Not bad, newbie.”
In a new scene we see Kakeru wake up. There is a bag of ice on his head and Nico is sitting by his side.
“That was disgraceful,” Nico says.
-I’m not sure what he’s referring to. Perhaps the fact that Haiji couldn’t outlast Kakeru.
-He then goes on to say, “He’s been waiting a long time to get all ten guys. I think he’s reckless, but I’ve been watching him for four years. He always follows through when he says he’ll do something.”
This tells us that, perhaps from the very beginning, Nico knew exactly what Haiji had in mind. It puts his “Wait, Haij!” when Haiji first brought up the Ekiden into perspective. He didn’t want Haiji to say it, because once he does there’s no going back.
But after Kakeru asks him, “Can I make him give up?” Nico goes back to being his flippant self and says “I don’t know what happened, but go ahead. It’ll make things easier for me.”
Meaning, he won’t have to run. And just as I’m wondering where this conversation is taking place, we (and the two men) hear a voice shouting from above.
“Wait! I’ve still got time, right?”
They look up and we are shown that this frantic question was asked by Prince, who is in his room above Kakeru’s. Haiji has just brought him a bunch of carboard boxes, telling him with a huge smile “Sure, but it’s better to start packing early ” reminding him that he’ll have to move if he doesn’t run. The boxes have a picture of an ogre printed on them.
-Hee! That ogre actually looks cute. Also, while the contest may have ended with a draw, Haiji recovery is much faster than Kakeru’s. He’s already back on the offense.
Poor Prince recoils, spreading out his arms to his sides to protect his beloved comics.
“Someone help,” he calls no one in particular, “an ogre is here!”
The episode ends.
Best Scene: Yuki’s interrogation of Musa, Shindo, King, and the twins. The twin’s, when they were relaying their conversation with Haiji, were adorable. Yuki’s anger, and the fear on King and Shindo’s faces at his violence was also hilarious. Also, the fact that the twins were feeling the blows despite the heavy barrier of the futon, shows just how strong he is, and how much potential he actually has.
Grade: 7/10.
This episode strongest point was the comedy. It had several laugh out loud moments. But as funny as it was it also had several weaknesses:
-Kakeru’s exaggerated walk out of the twins’ room at the beginning. Ugh. That was enough to get two points knocked off.
-Haiji’s exaggerated reaction when he learns that the bath broke took the third point off. I mean, I get why it was done, so viewers can figure out he was the culprit, but there was just a bit too much tension from Haiji’s voice actor.
-If Kakeru was passed out the whole time, how’d the others get him back to the apartment building? It’s a small detail but things like this bother me.
– It’s not clear what Nico meant when he told Kakeru “I don’t know what happened, but go ahead” after KK asks him if he can try to get Haiji to quit. What does he mean “what happened”? What happened to make KK want to move out? To make him decide to stay? To make him hate running? It’s too ambiguous for me. Actually, that’s true of most of Nico’s dialogue. As much as I like that I am not spoon-fed information on this show, I would have preferred a little more clarity here. Another example: when KK sees Nico in the park, it would have been nice if he saw Nico in the actual act of running. Him coming out of the public toilet doesn’t really say much. Neither does the rest of his conversation: “They’re black” (his lungs?) and “rough around the edges” when referring to himself as a runner. Unless….it could be that this lack of clarity is intentional, to establish Nico’s manner of speaking as being ambiguous. That does fit into this character. He doesn’t say much and when he does speak he’s rarely forthright about anything. It’s only the second episode though, so it’s early to make this judgement. But because it’s a strong possibility I didn’t take away any points.
-While none of the nudity felt sexualized, there was still a bit too much skin in this episode for my liking. It’s too bad, as otherwise, this would be such a great family friendly show.
– The scene where the twins are rolled up, while hilarious, was a bit unrealistic. I kept wondering how Yuki managed to ambush/catch the twins and tie them up. It would have been two against one. Unless he enlisted (forced) the others to help him. In that case, then the Ogre in the episode’s title could have been referring to Yuki just as much as it was referring to Haiji.
Nice Touches
I love how Yuki is taking charge of the resistance. As the lawyer it makes sense. It’s hilarious when he asks the others what “deals” they made. Writers, his dialogue is an example of how to differentiate between the different “voices” of the characters.
Conclusion:
When the ending theme starts, once again showing Haiji running alone, I felt the scene and music were somehow more melancholic than in the first episode. It might be the effect of Nico’s insight and tone when he was talking to Kakeru about Haiji. Despite how careless he pretends to be, the oldest resident actually cares about him. We know Nico moved into the place before Haiji so it’s safe to say he’s known him the longest. He also has this fatherly aura and that fact that he’s hardly ever candid gives his words when he finally does speak seriously more weight. His understanding makes us want to be more sympathetic as well. He confirms what we suspected from the very first episode. This isn’t something Haiji decided on a whim. He’s been planning this for years. How can anyone not respect such dedication? And before people start questioning his tactics, let us not forget that this building was originally a dorm room for club members. Technically, Haiji isn’t doing anything wrong. Finally, despite how angry/sad/upset the members were in this episode, I don’t think anyone particularly hates Haiji. Which means that they know, deep down, and despite everything, that he’s a decent person. We’ll see how long that lasts, however…
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