HANEBADO! Episode 2: Big Issues

I briefly talked about the premiere episode with the newest Yuri Council member and she thought the show so far was like “Scorching Ping Pong Girls meets Hibike! Euphonium.” She’s right.

Nagisa vs Ayano rematch.

We joined Nagisa and Ayano going all-out in their rematch. Although Nagisa was faring better than in the Nationals she still couldn’t break through Ayano’s defenses.

The shadow of Ayano’s mom. Guess she wasn’t her older sister as I initially thought.

That was until Nagisa tried going for a drop shot. This brought back bad memories for Ayano and she lost focus, allowing Nagisa to get her fourth point. Ayano called the match off, irritating Nagisa.

Elena the new team manager.

Before Ayano could run off Elena appointed herself the new team manager, foiling her escape plan.

Riko playing.

After getting beat up again for channeling his inner Trainer Guy, Coach Criminal wanted to test the club members’ skills and assigned them to singles matches. Nagisa took on Riko and barely beat her. Coach Criminal noticed something about Nagisa’s play style.

Nagisa bumping into Ayano.

The next day Coach Criminal had Nagisa and Ayano team up for a doubles match. Nagisa was so focused on keeping up with Ayano she bumped into her a couple of times. When Coach Criminal called her out on it she accused him of showing favoritism toward Ayano.

Chalkboard flashback.

We got a Nagisa flashback in chalk form. Basically she’s the third anime female protagonist of 2018 who has/had to deal with height issues. In Nagisa’s case it was being accused of having a n unfair advantage due to her being taller than every other player in her class instead of them acknowledging her hard work. Also this is another case of a skinny girl becoming a gorgeous woman.

Booty Girl scolding Nagisa.

Later that evening Nagisa noticed that Riko was going easy on her the day prior. Afterward the cheerful member of the club tried cheering Nagisa up but when she unintentionally complimented her skills based on her height she lashed out at her. Booty Girl saw this and scolded her. She told her to quit whining and get back to being the girl she envied for loving the sport of badminton. The reason for this was Booty Girl didn’t have a passion for anything yet.

So beautiful.

Nagisa got her smile back.

The next day Coach Criminal challenged Nagisa to a match. During the match he intentionally provoked her to confirm what he suspected, that Nagisa’s play style was heavily based around setting up situations for her to score points with smashes. He also had a feeling it was because Nagisa was unfairly judged for her height when in reality big players have an initial speed disadvantage. Point being she’s been letting critics get to her this entire time. Coach Criminal acknowledged her being a good player because she worked hard to get where she was. I’m guessing he’s the first person to do so in a while. He told her to remember her love of the game and play for that reason. Nagisa got her groove back after that and she apologized to the team, rallying them to go for broke. You know, the cliche “This is our last year before we graduate” scenario.

I’m guessing this girl is an ojou-sama and also the one from the flashback Ayano had besides her mom.

The drama and great badminton are still there so for now I’ll going. Just waiting for some more solid ships to pop up. Currently there’s Nagisa X Riko…unless she’s the one who becomes fixated on Coach Criminal. I have a feeling at least one of the girls will…because of course.