Konomi takes speed climbing advice from a friendly rival. Hanamiya makes final preparations for the Combined Cup.
Wall 11 – “The 15 Second Wall”
Hmm.
Iwakakeru! dealt me great disappointment with only one episode left in the season. The show took Sayo off the walls! We won’t see Sayo’s beauty in tight spandex after this episode. Not in a competitive sports action sequence at any rate. At least we saw Sayo dressed up as a hot teacher, which Iwakakeru! offered as a small consolation prize. Okay, okay. I accept the show’s compensation.
The last episode introduced very quickly a new girl who captured Konomi’s attention. Iwakakeru! delighted me that this new girl, Mimu, revved up Konomi’s game engine by relating speed climbing to a rhythm game. Was Konomi good at those? Was finding the proper sequence and timing of moves like solving a puzzle to Konomi? I’d like to think so. Her rattling off nonsense to Jun (ta-ta-tan!) certainly suggests it.
So far during Iwakakeru! we’ve seen Konomi relate her gamer sense to popular genres of mobile games. Bouldering was the same as a jewel bashing game and Speed Climbing is a rhythm game. I have an inkling, a surmisal, and a suspicion that since Sayo, the Princess of Lead, isn’t at the Combined Cup, a certain someone will be the superstar of lead climbing. A certain, short, and flexible redhead just might be the Vice-Princess of Lead.
I’d like to see that happen. I’d also like to see that Sayo taught her other sport climbing girls to be the secret superstars of lead climbing. If all that works out in a satisfying manner, I need to know what kind of game Konomi will make of lead climbing. It’s about the only way Hanamiya can approach Anne and Mimu’s team because of their amazing advantage in speed climbing. Show it to me, Iwakakeru!.
Heh.
Konomi went right up to the new blonde girl and asked her questions. Konomi doesn’t follow the squishy shy girl anime rules. The new girl in Iwakakeru! is friendly! And nice! She likes Konomi’s gold puzzle piece hairpin. She likes compliments. Mimu Takahashi will tell Konomi her speed climbing secrets. Fun! She treats it like a rhythm game! Now she’s talking Konomi’s language. It’s the puzzle piece Konomi was missing. How can she connect the speed wall sprinting to her gaming perspective? It’s a rhythm game! The bigger question is what music will Konomi have in the background? I know at least two songs will be on repeat. The opening and closing theme songs for Iwakakeru! are out.
Konomi did the thing we expect from Iwakakeru!. She meshed others’ techniques with her style and rhythm. Ta, ta-tan! Now is the time to measure progress. Against Kurea! She’s so smug, but not in a mean way. We know her better now. Konomi matches Kurea’s speed. Who won? So close! Aw. Kurea edged out Konomi, but… But! Konomi beat 15 seconds! She’s made it possible for Hanamiya to win the Combined Cup. She’s so happy! Akane and Satou sweat. Now they need to catch up to Konomi. Kurea feels something familiar from this scene. Jun broke into the twelve-second zone, so she’s back into the climbing groove already.
Nakata breaks down from the power and beauty of sport climbing girls. Not creepy! Just emotional. Mimu is a nice girl, but now comes the extra drama in Iwakakeru!. Konomi learned she’s from the same high school as Anne Kurusu. And that demon girl is faster than Mimu. Anne’s a pro climber, so that’s not surprising. It’s just news that Hanamiya has a tall wall to climb named Kokureikan High School.
Nonoka’s so happy to see Konomi and Jun again. Konomi and Jun had a good training camp. Nonoka did not have an enjoyable time with Sayo. Un-possible! Hot teacher Sayo looks very enjoyable to be with. Please, Iwakakeru!, give us more hot-for-teacher Sayo-chin scenes! Oh. Kiku-chan is here too. She’s observing the climbing team before the Combined Cup starts. That’s a heck of a commute from the Anti-Monkey Rock’s town, isn’t it?
Sport climbing montage. Jun is fast again. Nonoka’s hell training taught her when and how to use her flexibility. Spandex crotch watch is back on Iwakakeru!, baby! Sayo looks sad. Nonoka noticed that. Sayo does well on the speed climbing wall, but something about it made Nonoka angry. Eh? Sayo was going to skip the Combined Cup because her finger still hadn’t healed? What the heck? Six months is too long for a sprained finger to heal. If she has tendonitis, that could happen. This is just a dramatic plot injection.
Anyway, everything else Nonoka says is correct. Iwakakeru!’s Princess of Lead needs to think of her future professional career. There is no treatment for tendonitis besides time and complete rest. There’s only pain and inflammation management with cortisone shots, but a high school girl should not be getting those. Sayo just wanted to help her teammates because they inspired her so much. She’ll have to trust the other girls to win for her. Big drippy tears for everyone.
Sayo broke the news. Sayo has confidence in the other three! She’ll help Kiku with all the prep too. Can we get some more hot teacher cosplay? Please? Nice spandex crotch training montage. Kiki still plays her mobile game. We’re at the day before the Combined Cup already. Time flies in Iwakakeru!.
The Combined Japan High School Cup. Oh ho. Icky boys are here too. A whole season of Iwakakeru! led to this and we never saw Sayo do her famous event of Lead Climbing. Oh well. Those icky boys look Konomi up and down. Icky! Akane seems confident. Ooh. Anne’s team is here, but before she can make a dig at Konomi, Mimu got there first. Yay! Cute friendly rival girls are why I watch cute girl sports anime. The other Kanto powerhouses are here too.
Asuka joined the announcing crew. No foot-to-face action here. Konomi starts off with one-shots. Nakata hates “Murder Observation,” because Konomi is beautiful. Icky man! Whoa. Hanamiya got the highest team score in the B-Group prelims for bouldering. One goal cleared. Woof. Anne’s school swept the top spots for the speed wall in the A-Group. Iwakakeru! sets up a big showdown in the semifinals. Konomi made a personal best on the speed wall, but it’s still two seconds slower than Anne and Mimu. Will she make a breakthrough in the season finale?
Iwakakeru! Sport Climbing Girls streams on Crunchyroll.
