DAYS

Episode 8

We took two steps forward and one step back on DAYS this week. On the positive side, this episode didn't fit into the mold of previous ones; it stuck to one narrative for the entire half hour and didn't rely on antagonism to make Tsukushi look good (quite the opposite, people supported him instead). But on the other hand, it's easy not to fall into the same storytelling tropes of previous episodes when nothing really happens at all this time. This week's episode follows Tsukushi's daily life as he prepares for the upcoming game, allowing the inherent tension for the imminent finals as the only source of plot propulsion.

The day before the final game, Seiseki isn't practicing. Instead, they're resting their muscles and watching a video of their opponent, Sakuragi. In a parallel to Tsukushi himself, the biggest threat Seiseki needs to watch out for is the diminutive top goal scorer, Narukami Shuuji. (Last week, I mistakenly thought this pipsqueak was Indou's little brother!) Without any actual practice, Tsukushi breaks his routine and visits the woman in the wheelchair we've seen only in the show's introduction, who turns out to be his equally pink-cheeked, adorable mother. As we see her working with preschoolers and fixing up Tsukushi's uniform, Mom comes across as an especially maternal character. But a well-intended misunderstanding leads to Mrs. Tsukamoto learning that she's only one of the people devoted to protecting Tsukushi's smile. As usual, Tsukushi is DAYS's gooey center around which everyone rallies. Just as Mom stitches up his uniform, Kimishita patches up his cleats. Just as Mom cheers him on, so does Chikako. The introduction of Mom and her protective attitude, so similar to everyone else's, really just shows us how many moms (and dads) Tsukushi now has on the team.

However, apart from the introduction of Mom, it's hard to say much else happens this episode. Everyone is just going through the motions and forcing themselves forward until they can get to the real action of next episode's final game. There's some clunky exposition about the show's previous events—complete with unnecessary visual flashbacks. Since this review of past misadventures doesn't lead to any new insights, it feels useless and brings the episode's pacing to a halt. Speaking of stagnation, check out the number of completely still images in this episode, animated only by white “motion lines” overlaid on top. This is a small nitpick, but it bothered me that one of Mizuki's pupils was always larger than the other when he was depicted. It's possible the animators ran out of time.

There are a lot of rough edges, so what makes this episode OK? Anticipation for next week. Kazama is acting strangely with an uncontrollable, beatific smile whenever he thinks about facing Sakuragi, and that makes me curious. There's a bit of brief but colorful character development in every player's pre-game routines—from Mizuki's chat with his deceased grandfather, to Kisaragi putting up with needling from his sister Sayurin, to a gem of a moment between Coach and that incorrigible tsundere, Kimishita. On game day, Tsukushi is cutely terrified, even telling his rival Shuuji “I'll be cheering for you!” in one flustered moment. The game isn't here yet, but it's going to be a pivotal one, because the audience's cheers for Sakuragi indicate that Tsukushi isn't the only hopeless underdog—in many people's eyes, all of Seiseki is an underdog too. It'll be exciting to see if the team can prove the naysayers wrong, but that excitement isn't here yet.

Rating: C

DAYS is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Lauren writes about geek careers at Otaku Journalist