Warning: this review contains spoilers up to the end of this episode.
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Note: This hasn’t been proofread yet. Please let me know in comments if you find any errors. I’ll also add links to relevant episodes later.
Prologue
We get a replay of the beginning of the previous episode. It includes the start of the race and Haiji giving his team instructions.
Act One
We start with a continuation of the replay up to when Haiji was about to run into a runner who had fallen in front of him after bumping into a table at the watering station. Haiji is in mid-air, looking in fright at the obstacle in his way.
He lands on his left foot, then immediately jumps to the right to avoid tripping. But he ends up putting all his weight on his bad right knee. We see him grunt and grimace in pain before he continues on his way without wasting a single second.
A volunteer asks the fallen runner if he’s okay, if he wants to drop out. He doesn’t answer, struggles to pick himself up and continues running. Meanwhile, Hanako’s father and Haiji’s bath house buddy catch up to her just in time to see the twins and Musa finishing their second lap around the airstrip and taxiway.
We then get the episode title, Dreams and Reality. The title and it’s timing after the accident builds a sense of suspense. We then hear what can only be a TV announcer (based on his tone) talk about the qualifier before we see him in a tent set up for their use.
“581 runners from 49 schools are participating in this year’s race. Placing is determined by the total time of a school’s top ten finishers. Of the 49 schools, the top ten will compete at the New Year’s Hakone Ekiden race.”
He and his fellow announcer comment that “as usual” the exchange students are the ones leading the race and that they hope their speed doesn’t throw off the other runners.
-This is basically the same advice that Haiji gave his team, to maintain their own pace.
Screen Writing tip: Once again this show handles exposition in a way that is never boring. As they speak, we are shown the race taking place. The commentary not only keeps exposition interesting; it also gives a sense of realism to the series.
We see the exchange students first, followed by Kakeru as the announcers say “the lead pack seems to have settled in,” letting us know his position, followed by the twins and Musa, then Shindo and Yuki, Nico and King, followed by Prince. They all seem to have gotten off to a good start.
The announcers comment that while they expect to see great individual performances, “in the qualifier it’s all about the depth of a team’s roster.”
-This is a restatement of what Hanako said the previous episode. It serves to remind viewers that Kansei is at a disadvantage because they only have ten runners. Other teams get to choose out of their 12 fastest members. Not only that, we now also have Haiji to fret about as well since he wasn’t shown in the above montage.
A top view map shows us the course of the race and where the lead pack has reached now: the 7km mark.
The bath house regular tells Hanako “It’s no use. I can’t tell where Haiji is.” The fact that he has an ear pod on probably means he was listening in on the channel airing the race as well, seeing as how he, Hanako, and her dad are on the move, relocating back to their place in the field.
Just as he tells Hanako that Haiji’s probably also in the lead pack, they overhear some panicked supporting members of a participating team, talking about how one of their members dropped out. They’re wearing the same teal green as the runner who fell in front of Haiji.
Screenwriting tip: The teal team’s frenzy is meant to infect the viewers as well, considering Haiji’s whereabouts are unknown. It’s small things like this that serve to successfully build up tension in a script.
We see Kakeru running. He looks up to see the monorail above him and remembers Haij’s guiding words: “We’ll head out onto the road, pass the station, and cross under the monorail bridge. That’s about ten kilometres.”
Now that he’s almost reached the halfway point, Kakeru eyes the pack of exchange students in front of him.
Meanwhile Hanako, her dad, and bath buddy reach the Kansei fan club’s station. There, Hana asks Komori-san (proprietress of the butchery) if she saw the members, pass by, specifically Haiji. She hasn’t. Worried, she asks if something happened to “Haiji-kun”.
-Can I just say, it’s really heartwarming to see how emotionally invested the shopping center vendors are in Haiji’s well being. It’s continuity to how close he is to these adults. He’s obviously a very social person and gets along with everyone who knows him, but I wonder if he’s the type who finds it easier to converse to people older than himself than with those closer to his age. It’s pretty normal for mature types like Kiyose. Remember Hanako’s father and his bath house buddy knew about his Hakone dream before his roommates ever did.
Just then, Hanako’s father points to the large television screen set up in the park and says that he sees Haiji, in the lead pack behind Kakeru. A shot of the screen shows us his field of vision before we switch to Kiyose.
Just behind him is a runner wearing the TSU uniform. I assume he’s their captain as he’s the fastest of their runners. He, and another runner on Haiji’s other side, start increasing their speed. Haiji remarks to himself “they’re moving”.
A sign shows that the leading runners have reach the 10 km mark. Exchange students “Oka’s Kipsuge’s” (pink uniform) is in the lead, followed by Yakuo’s Muskus (green uniform), and Saikyo’s Jomo (white and blue uniform). Lagging behind are Kofu Academy’s Iwanki (blue uniform) and Gaien’s Ectoba.”
Haiji once again moves to the right of the pack so that he’s visible to the Kansei members behind him. He instructs them using hand signals that after they reach ten kilometers, they should follow their own judgment. And gives them a thumbs up, meaning “good luck”.
The tall Musa relays the message to Yuki and Shindo behind him.
Yuki and Shindo look behind them to make sure King and Nico can see them. Yuki then passes the message along.
Nico does the same to Prince, whom at this point none of them can see. Yuki, Nico, and King, collectively think “Are you wataching? Prince!”
-My heart. I love how concerned they all are for Prince, the only member running by himself. Based on how he’s in their thoughts, he truly he isn’t alone. We then switch to Prince who’s just passing the runner who had tripped earlier.
He’s crying, off to the side, on the floor. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” confirming that he has dropped out. He utters a gut wrenching cry of frustration. Prince takes this in then continues on his way.
-This was important to stress to Prince (and viewers) how bad it would be if he somehow didn’t make it.
-I think this scene could also explain how Prince might have missed Nico’s signal.
The announcer tells us that “Tokyo Sport fourth-year Takasugi” (the one I guessed was their captain) and Kikui third year Gunazawa are sprinting ahead”. These are the runners that had been next to Haiji. We now see that they have passed him, and Kakeru as well. The announcers add that these athletes belong to the two schools who lost their seeds the previous year.
-Basically, they are the strongest two schools in this qualifier. No wonder Sakaki is so stuck up. He managed to get into a powerful running University despite not participating in any meets his third year (due to Kakeru’s incident). To be fair, it’s not a small achievement. Though you’d think it would be enough for him to at least let go of some of his resentment.
The announcers then says that another runner has reached the two as well. In shock repeats the name “Kansei University” adding that not only did Kurahara Kakeru catch up to them but is pulling ahead and takes the lead of their pack just before the turnaround point.
Writing tip: The announcers disbelief reminds us of the difference between first timer participant Kansei Universty and the more notable schools.
Just before the turnaround point, Kakeru psyches himself into going even faster.
He’s got the exchange students in his sights.
After he takes the turnaround he passes Haiji running in the opposite direction.
Unbeknownst to Kakeru, he looks like a meteor or a shooting star to Haiji. The stunning galaxy like animation helps to portray the image.
After recovering from this thrilling vision, Haiji smiles. The power of Kakeru’s form drives him to put in his own burst and he reaches the Kikui and TSU runners that Kakeru had just overtaken.
The surprise on their faces is clear at having a second runner (and one from the same unknown school) reach them.
Meanwhile, Kakeru zips past the other Kansei runners (Musa and twins) as well. Their exhausted faces break into grins at his otherworldly pace and it seems to lift their spirits as well.
Act Two
The announcer tells us that Kakeru passed Gaien’s Ectoba and that he’s in a dead heat race with Iwanki (blue uniform) the monster of Hakone’s section two.
We also learn that he might be able to catch the runners in second and third place, Muskus (green uniform) and Jomo (white and blue uniform). 42 minutes have passed since the beginning of the race, and Hana once again relocates, this time to the finish line.
Iwanki and Kakeru continue their burst of speed when Iwanki pulls ahead of him close to the finish line, surprising Kakeru.
Meanwhile the exchange students Kipsuge and Muskus and cross the finish line. With the former pink attired runner earning first place.
Hana mentions that she’s seen him in a previous track meet.
-I appreciated this reminder or I never would have realized it. I went back and checked. At the time he had raced against Kakeru and lost. But in this race, he’s the winner.
-I liked this development. It shows us that Kakeru isn’t the only one improving.
Kipsuge and second-place winner Muskus exchange hugs. I assume that, even though they aren’t in the same team, they are nonetheless friends. It was a lovely display of sportsmanship. Prince would have been pleased. They finished in 58 minutes.
Next Kakeru and Iwanki rush towards the finish line, to Hanako’s amazement.
It’s anyone’s guess who will win until both cross the finish line at the same time. The subsequent silence is deafening. It is only after the screen reads Kakeru’s time (58.16 minutes) that the audience roars in excitement at this outstanding achievement.
He has tied Iwanki for third place. Meanwhile we see Jomo cross the finish line for fourth. Kakeru turns to look up at the banner above him. No doubt he’s feeling all sorts of emotions that he finished the race, when someone puts a hand on his shoulder. It’s Iwanki, who is acknowledging him before he walks away.
Kakeru’s eyes and mouth are both open, floored at the gesture, when one of the organizers leads him off the race track, telling him “Runners are coming in. Don’t stop moving.” Here, Kakeru seems to come to his senses. He looks back at the track as if he’s desperately looking for something. The track is empty. What is it? Or rather, who is it that he’s looking for?
We don’t have to wait long to find out. At the sidelines Hanako cries out her excitement at Kakeru’s time, then looks towards the incoming runners. It’s Haiji and the top runners from TSU and Kikui.
They race towards the finish line, each wanting to take the lead. At the final turn, Haiji feels a stab of pain in his knee.
He gasps but nonetheless speeds ahead leaving plenty of seconds between himself and the other two, securing fifth place for his team.
Not that we see it. The scene was animated in such a way that Haiji is running right at us viewers. The closer he is gets, the less we see of him until the scene abruptly fades to black.
-This was done extremely well. Having Haiji come closer and closer, yet having us see less and less of him was brilliant.
– I felt it was an apt metaphor for the character as well: the closer we think we’ve come to know him, the more we realize we hardly know him at all.
– Three makes a pattern and this is the third time we were cheated out of seeing Haiji finish a race. At this point we realize this is an intentional (albeit annoying) decision made by the director/production team. We’ll discuss this more in future reviews to avoid mentioning spoilers here.
The scene then switches to a certain runner’s legs as he come to a stop. Is it another one of our Kansei boys? Nope. It’s Sakaki, who, like Kakeru, turns to look behind him as he crosses the finish line.
-I loved this surprising and interesting choice. Seeing as how Sakaki is the main antagonist of this show, it would be of interest to viewers to see how well he does. More than that, him looking behind him shows how similar he and Kakeru are: they’re both concerned to see how their team members did. In fact, almost the entire Kansei team does this in the following beautifully edited montage, with the aptly named “Reliance” track playing in the background.
Not only do we see how the team members rely on each other, but also how hard-working the organizers at the race are.
We see volunteers and medics helping the runners off the track, carrying them in some cases, giving them first aid, and the whole time this is interspersed with our brave, courageous boys.
First, the twins then Musa cross the finish line. They hold onto each other for support as they gasp for air.
We then see Yuki running fiercely towards the finish as Shindo collapses into the arms of an older organizer, panting for breath, looking for his friends behind him.
– If we go by order, then Yuki arrived before Shindo.
Still in the race, Nico makes a frantic final spurt, eyes wild and unfocused in exhaustion as he heads towards the finish line. Finally, King, his mouth wide open desperately trying to breathe as he ugly runs towards the end, shows just how tenacious he is.
As the epic music slows down, and our hearts race in anticipation of the injured Haiji, the screen pans out to give us a shot of the field.
We see Komori-san, her husband and the bath time regular, all looking down with concerned expressions. The scene then cuts to Kakeru, looking down as well.
At Haiji, based on the tuft of brown hair at the bottom of the image. But before we see him, we get a shot of his leg, stretched out, with a bag of ice on his no-doubt sore knee. We get a brief shot of his face, but before we can make out his expression, and attempt to gauge his level of pain, we hear Musa off-screen saying that “King is finished”. The shot barely lasted a second before Haiji’s (whose primary concern is always the team) lifts his head in interest.
Musa’s on the phone, so he’s relaying information from someone, possibly Hana. The twins say that King’s position is probably around the 150’s. Haiji tells Nico, whom the twins are supporting on their shoulders, to drink some water.
Kakeru, who at this point is basically Haiji’s second in command asks about Prince. No one knows anything about him. Concern is etched on all of their faces.
Next we see Akane’s red shoes (somehow, they’ve started to seem like a symbol of his courage, to me) desperately running, though at a speed much slower than the other participants. Random people are encouraging him “You can do it!” “The finish line is just there!” “Your teammates are waiting!”
Always the smart mouth, even when no can hear him, Akane responds “You don’t know that…”
The poor boy is then hit with a sudden wave of nausea which he attempts to swallow down, only to have it burst against his will in a shiny shower of bile, to the horror of a female onlooker.
The pale faced otaku wipes his mouth and tells himself “Sports aren’t necessarily beautiful”, no doubt comparing “real life” with the comics he reads. He then continues running, although he’s almost staggering at this point.
-Seriously, can we love him anymore? I love how he talks to himself, giving himself encouragement.
Next we see him being carried by two medics into a tent. Hanako, bless her, has been waiting for him, and tells him, “Prince! You’re in the 100’s! you beat the 200’s!” We also see her father on his phone behind her. So he’s the one on the phone with Musa, undoubtedly telling the team that Prince has successfully completed the race.
What a hero.
Back at the field, Yuki is reeming into the boys for not recording their own times.
Even when Nico points out that they’re being filmed, he just glances at the camera man before he continues: “It’s all information warfare these days! The race is more or less decided before they announce the results!”
– Seriously, Yuki. Everyone was dead on their feet by the time they reached the finish line. Give them a break. Also, from a writer’s perspective, there’d be no suspense if they had.
King points out, “You couldn’t care less six months ago.”
-This was a nice reminder how Yuki had repeatedly said he didn’t think they can make it to Hakone. But after he started taking it seriously he’s unsurprisingly diligent. Fits his A type personality. What a difference time makes.
Haiji tells everyone that based on what they know of their’ times they’re probably in the mid-80’s, that is, where they stand. And that that’s borderline of making it. The other teams, who know that they have good times, start celebrating.
Meanwhile, King reverts to his nervous habit of pulling up grass. Shindo seems to be praying while everyone else just looks gloomy and nervous. Their few but incredibly loyal fans are worried as well.
The twins show up, this time supporting Prince.
-Again, these two are wonderful. The fact that they just support the members with less stamina without a hint of annoyance or complaint is really admirable.
-I’m reminded of a particular scene in episode four, when Haiji was encouraging Prince to run the first week of practice: “Look, your friends are waiting for you! The heroes of Aotake! They’re waiting of the warrior named Prince to return!”
Now we know it had been foreshadowing. How great is that 🙂
Haiji, who had been sitting down icing his knee ever since he finished the race, stands up for the first time and walks over to greet Prince. He tells him simply, “You ran well.”
The faces of all the team members show that they think the same. Prince offers a weak smile, and says, “From far away, you’re the only ones who look like you’re having a picnic.”
Haiji chuckles, and Nico remarks, “You’ve always got something to say”.
The next scene is the nerve wracking announcement of the teams who made it into the Hakone race. In first place is the TSU team. They jump and yell with joy, with their fastest runner Takasugi holding Sakaki in an affectionate choke-hold, not unlike the one Haiji once gave Kakeru.
-We know that their fastest members are slower than both Kakeru and Haiji, but their placement shows that the overall level of the team is pretty high.
s first genuine smile.
-Seeing their Captain be affectionate with Sakaki shows that he’s a significant member of their team, but more than that, it also served to showcase that, despite everything, the TSU team shares some similarities with the Kansei team. Some
The TSU team’s time is 10: 09:12. Haiji remarks that it was a fast race. Next is Kofu academy “Iwanki’s team.
King complains that the announcer is intentionally stopping between the place and the name of the school, to keep up the suspense. Prince similarly comments in his deadpan voice, “We already know the results. They should hurry it up.”
-My dear Prince, if you already knew the results, you wouldn’t be so anxious.
Nico comments, “Whining as soon as you’ve recovered? You’ve got a lot of energy.”
-Like I said, coping mechanism.
Fourth place is Kikui University. The Kansei boys are getting more nervous by the second. Shindo attempts to reassure them that until then all the announced teams are regulars at Hakone. When Fifth place is announced, and it isn’t Kansei, suspenseful music starts and the team members all start panicking. The twins pray, with their hands together, “please, please”. Hana does as well. Sixth place is announced, and it’s not Kansei either. Here, Yuki seems to lose hope, “We didn’t make it,” he mutters.
The twins who had been clinging to Nico, are now hugging him for dear life. He also has his arms tight around them now.
Yuki stares down the podium. Shindo hugs himself in distress while Musa has his hands clasped together, like he’s praying. King puts his fingers in his ears, afraid of listening anymore.
Prince stands with his hands at his sides, his face hidden in his hair, a drop of sweat running down his face.
-You just know that if the team doesn’t make it he’ll end up blaming himself, and for his sake, as much as the team, you want them to have gone through.
Meanwhile, Kakeru’s right hand is clenching tightly at jacket, where his heart is, as if attempting to calm it down. Haiji’s face….it’s set in a terrifyingly unreadable yet somehow grim expression.
Even the cameraman is caught up in the tense atmosphere, his face twitching nervously with sweat dripping down his face. The fan-club likewise is desperate to hear the name “Kansei University” uttered.
Finally, in tenth place, it is. The entire team gasps (except for King who didn’t hear the announcement).
Kakeru and Haiji’s eyes bug out as they instantly turn to look at each other.
The entire team shouts, except for Prince who finally raises his head in blank amazement. Best friends Musa and Shindo embrace each other in joy.
Nico and Yuki high five each other with wide, equally satisfied grins.
The twins slap Kakeru’s back, hard, in happiness, to his dismay.
And Haiji….
…he’a completely overcome. He raises both fists in the air. We see tears gather at the corners of his eyes, and hear them in the back of his throat.
We then see the world from his view, blurry from his tears , as Hanako and the twins suddenly invade his vision.
They attack him with bear hugs, causing him to fall backwards, flat on his back.
Then Musa, King (in a rare unreserved moment!) and Shindo, to Kakeru’s shock.
-I think KK here is a bit concerned about Haiji. I know I was, a bit. But the joy at seeing the team celebrate their achievement, celebrate Haiji by (literally) burying him in affection outweighs everything. It’s incredibly satisfying and heartwarming to see.
Yuki then pushes “slow at many things but running” (upgraded from “slow at everything”) Kakeru on top of the pile and jumps in after him. Nico finally completes the Kansei team hotcake stack and jumps in as well.
Prince looks at them, sitting a few meters away. His eyes are once again hidden in his hair, but we can see a smile.
– Had he joined them, he would have been the red strawberry on top, but seeing as how he’d been standing when the announcement was made, but is now sitting, I can only guess that his legs gave out in his relief.
The camera-man wipes away his own joyful tears.
– It’s nice to see that in a couple of weeks he became just as invested in these boys as we are.
The team gazes at the announcement board in disbelief.
“It’s not a mistake, is it?” Shindo asks in happiness. Musa concurs, “It says tenth right there.”
Yuki adds, “It’s like a TV show.”
-Hee! Breaking the fourth wall.
Nico then says his catchphrase, “This is reality.”
-Indeed. And it’s the first time he said in a positive tone.
Kakeru also gazes at it, pride clear on his face.
We then see through the camera man’s lens as he interviews Haiji who furrows his eyebrows a bit as he thinks of what to say…
…before his face settles in his usual confident expression, “Well, we proved that Hakone wasn’t just a dream.” Most of the team members giggle.
-No doubt they are abashed, remembering how they had never believed him that they would get here.
Haji continues, “All that’s left is to train and train until we reach the top. We’ll do nothing but practice again starting tomorrow.”
His teammates are horrified into silence. You can hear the sound of a breeze blowing past them.
Haiji’s peers (and senpai) then grab his clothes and shake him in anger.
Nico: “Can’t we have tomorrow off?”
Yuki: “Let us rest!”
King: “What more can we do?”
Haiji chuckles, unconcerned at their protests.
Musa looks on with a smile at his senpai’s endearing shenanigans. Prince’s slight grin is more rueful while Kakeru has a bemused look on his face.
-I doubt any other team in Japan has teammates who get away with abusing their captain like this. Except maybe Seido’s team in Ace of Diamond. (Watch that next folks! It’s just as perfect as this show.)
The camera man must have though as much. He puts down his gadget, and with an awkward grin says “I can’t use this footage.”
-Well, maybe not for a politically correct TV program but it sure as heck would make for a great team video.
Only the cheerful twins are strangely absent. They’re looking at the board, but unlike the happy disbelief that was on their mates faces, they have trepidation etched on their visages.
Later, the team is walking back home with the shopping district fan club members. King wants to predict what sections they’ll run, in Hakone. Nico tells him he’s getting ahead of himself. Prince reads a manga as he walks. When Shindo comments his surprise that he can, Prince says he’s rewarding himself.
-As he should.
Haiji stops to turn around and tell the team that their supporters are treating them to meat as a celebration. Everyone is excited at the prospect of a barbecue expect the twins who are looking at what looks to be some sort of pamphlet or program in their hands. They call out to Kakeru, who doesn’t hear them until Hana calls out to him as well.
–Language note: Here, Hana calls KK “Kakeru-san”. This is an upgrade from the previous “Kurahara-san” she used to call him. While the -san honorific keeps their relationship formal, the use of his fist name hints that the relationship is nonetheless not as formal as it used to be. I credit KK’s softer demeanor for permitting this change.
Anyway, the twins recall to Kakeru that Haiji had told them they’d reach the top. Kakeru asks, “Just now?” meaning, in the interview. The two acknowledge this, but add that he said it when he first recruited them to run. And how he says it all the time. “Each time, I’ve thought, “yeah!” Jota adds.
“And?” Kakeru asks.
“When he says top, do you think he means winning the race?” Jouji asks, revealing what’s been worrying them. Kakeru’s eyes widen. No doubt, he’s remembering what the twins stated in their interview before the race, “this is our first stop towards winning Hakone.”
-Nice continuity. I’d thought KK’s reaction would be revisited when he heard them.
Jouta goes on to say that their time was , 10:16:43, and how TSU’s time was more than seven minutes faster. But they’re just the top team in the qualifier. “Just how fast are the teams that win the Ekiden? Can we reach that level through practice?”
It seems that the twins have just realized that they most likely can’t win. They ask Kakeru:
It seems like, to them, not being able to win means that they have no reason to run, based on the question they posed immediately after.
A wide eyed Kakeru has no answer to give. And while the rain has stopped for for a while now, a wind blows, ruffling his hair.
Conclusion
This is both symbolism and foreshadowing that while the team made it to qualifiers, it’s not all going to be smooth sailing until Hakone. I loved this episode so much. The music was phenomenal. The editing, direction, the suspense at hearing the results, the slight humor at the end, the trepidation giving us a bit of unease to keep us worried. It was just so wonderful and I don’t think could have been better. Even the results, having Kakeru tie an exchange student for third place was very realistic. Him being a first year, he still has a lot of room for growth. Meanwhile, seeing Haiji beat out the top Japanese students, despite his bum leg and a mishap in the first half of the race, causing him pain, was inspiring. Similarly the fact that Prince came in the top 100’s out of over 500 runners, when less than a year ago he had never done anything athletic, is phenomenal. Finally the themes revisited here were: dream vs reality, the meaning of running, friendship, distance, sportsmanship.
Grade: 10/10
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