Score: B+

I don’t mind the show settling in to focus on Sora just being a hero. The story has gone away from that for a while with the need to set up Cure Majesty. But now that she’s there and part of the story, they could spend an episode just letting Sora be a good person. I won’t say she went through any crazy arc here. But it was a good chance to confirm the journey she’s been on and how her definition of being a hero has evolved as the show has gone on.

Good for them

And really it was a simple little story here. Just had Sora helping the baseball team that was in a pinch with their ace having injured her elbow. Honestly even if you took the Precure fight out of it this would have still been a solid sports episode. Once Sora was informed on how this sport functioned, she was right and ready to go. And it was good for her to have a chance to impart some of the lessons she’s learned. There’s nothing wrong with working hard and trying to be that rock for those around you. But taking on more than you can handle and refusing to let others share your burdens can be a problem. Tamaki is her team’s best player, but she’s not their only player.

Maybe the only stretch was the idea of her team winning the tournament (which they implied) while not having their best player. I’m good with them winning a game or two, but there probably should be a limit to how far they could get having to move their catcher back to being their pitcher when she probably hasn’t pitched all that much since forming that battery with Tamaki. But we are talking about sports and it technically isn’t impossible. Sometimes sports miracles play out. So, while I wouldn’t have minded the team only winning a game or two with Tamaki out, I guess it’s fine.

That’s a tough break

They did give the whole sports injury thing enough weight. I like the idea that the team was already down before they even sought out Sora in the first place. It does show how Takami took her position as Ace seriously. The girl knew everyone was worried and tried to use the superstar Sora to get them thinking it would be fine. If they trained hard while she was resting, then they’d be ready to hit the tournament. And Sora had proven that she’s talented so maybe they’d gain something from the training.

What did completely blindside her and the team was that her injury wasn’t a “just rest it a bit” kind of thing. I get her wanting to immediately dodge the surgery and play through the tournament first. The timing was brutal. Though full respect to Kaname for immediately saying no. She didn’t hesitate on the question, but quickly told her to get the surgery. There’s no way that girl could graduate happily knowing her friend’s arm might be messed up long term. That was just a non-option. Not even worth discussing. I do get Tamaki hating the idea of not being there. Since she would both miss the last tournament for her senpai and potentially have that tournament end on a losing note. But there was no question about the right choice here.

Admittedly I’ve forgotten who half these characters are…

This episode did remind me of the fact that this school…has barely been in the show! Most of the show has taken place during vacations and breaks. I guess the main reason is that most of the main cast don’t go to school. Wing isn’t going. Butterfly has graduated and is working. And Ellee is a baby. So in a sense only two of the main cast even attend school so there’s little opportunity to pull it into the story. I just find it funny how there was some drama about Sora wanting to go to school with Mashiro, but it ended up not mattering.

Baseball Kyoborg wasn’t bad

One regret for the action part of this episode is that Skearhead has really started taking it easy. I liked his tactical sense to ambush Sky and target her alone. But I didn’t love that he just summoned his baseball monster and sat back. This guy was strong enough to force Majesty to both appear and get serious. If he attacked at the same time then there’s no way Sky would stand a chance. That would be even more true with her having to protect Tamaki at the same time. Obviously, he couldn’t do that since he’d win and she wouldn’t have time to give a little speech to Tamaki. But it would have been interesting if he had gone for it.

Lot of carrying this episode…

This was a nice episode. Sora wanting to be a hero was something that drew me in when the show first started. And this episode just let her focus on that. She was having fun helping the baseball team and then worked hard to help Tamaki from succumbing to her regrets and fears. It really shows how far Sora has come. She really is someone people can look to as a hero. Sora is just my favourite part of the show so anytime the show wants to really focus on her character I’m all for it. Even if this didn’t advance the main story forward, I don’t mind if the episodes are good.