Kandagawa Jet Girls, Episode 9: The 180 Jetter

The Kandagawa Jet Girls befriend and face a new Jet Racing pair in the Kandagawa Cup racing series.

#9 – “The 180 Jetter”

Hmm.

With the full introduction of the last Kandagawa Jet Girls pair, we’re finally back to some racing action. It also means we’ve officially entered the battle tournament narrative phase of sports anime. I expect there to be racing scenes, with more attention paid to the final boss race, allowing some shocking revelations on Rin and Misa’s backstories, some sitting around talking about other people, and lighthearted downtime moments to give the audience that much needed fanservice.

There will also be talking about the tournament rules, such as how tied racers get some kind of points like World Cup soccer. My slight annoyance with a tie still happening when you have a photo finish is that these cameras usually make a composite image from many pictures of 1 cm wide slit of the actual finish line taken at 100 frames per second. It’s just so rare for there to be a tie in an officially sanctioned race. Well, this is a high school race, so maybe they don’t have that equipment here.

Leaving the narrative structure of the Kandagawa‘s season aside, I absolutely loved how Fuka of the final pair made her debut. She and Inori had the most yuri of introductions in the first of episode (complete with lily flower framing), so I always expected them to be the most blatant in showing how the best yuri makes the best team. However, it was great to see Kandagawa Jet Girls twist those expectations. They appeared to get along so well together and have utter trust in each other.

The problem is that Fuka has a polar opposite personality when she’s competing on the Jet Racer. That’s good storytelling and comedy, but it also let the audience know that Misa and Rin aren’t the only ones with teamwork and relationship issues. Every other pair we’ve seen appears to have worked out their issues well enough so they don’t cause problems during a race, but we’ve also seen how they’re not all perfect. Well, except Emily and Jennifer. I have seen no cracks at all in those California girls.

Heh.

Lots of nice shots of these vintage Jet Racers.

Look at Rin’s sad eyes when she hears she won’t face DRESS (Kaguya and Kuromaru) or Hell’s Kitchen until the final rounds. Fumika reminds everyone about the real reason this club exists: revenge!

Misa knows why she didn’t quit Jet Racing. Love! Of her partner! That blue dolphin loves poking breasts. Ha! Rin is still watching Hell’s Kitchen’s shows. That bungee jumping episode will be important.

Rin always has her eye out for cute girls. No! Don’t jump! Big fish? Or Nyu-Nyu? Nice. This girl is getting good feel front and back. Oh. She was just preoccupied and looked at that big fish. It WAS the Great Nyu-Nyu! No, it wasn’t, Rin.

Well, she’s not going to kill herself, but she is dramatic. Nice leg. She just wanted to feel Misa and Rin’s hands again. Here comes the very long metaphor of a yuri relationship and a Jet Racing partnership. Rin always has yuri on her mind, but Misa should have picked up on the Jet Racing references. Like “Partner,” “on the Tamagawa,” and “technique.” Rin has been influencing Misa too much. I like the old-fashioned guitar playing the Kandagawa theme song. And she wanted to jump in the water again!

Just be in tune with your partner’s feelings! Easier said than done, right Misa?

Oh yay! Manatsu takes her turn in the eye catch. Yuzu will be next week then.

Emily and Jennifer go to that Idol Café to get fired up for the preliminary races. Manatsu and Yuzu get conveyor belt sushi. Kuromaru works hard for the food, but she’ll have to work a little harder. Fun transition. Kuromaru’s tear drops became Kiriko’s sweat drops. Fuka and Inori appear to have made up. I’m still worried about that “technique” that scandalized Misa.

Rin will just never fit into her suit. Those ridiculous things did NOT get bigger and they’re NOT ridiculous, either! Yeah! Misa has no problem feeling up Rin now. Ha! Hahaha! Inori and Fuka’s yuri goggles work overtime! Oh, Rin recognized them. They were “hugging, or something” back when they first met. Or something!

Nice. They helped their first opponents, but it’s just more fun this way.

Now, let’s race! Inori and Fuka’s team is called Sea Serpents (looks more like Water Dragon Association to me). Misa still hasn’t let Rin put her friendship logo on the Orcano. And there’s the episode title reference! Fuka “suddenly changes” into the opposite of a refined, polite young lady. Also, all the topics in her sad yuri love story actually referred to racing situations. Rin would have done better to concentrate on driving instead of translating yuri to pilot language.

Here’s some more game specific information about the Sea Serpent’s jet racer, Messy the Hunter. Misa will have to come up with a strategy to beat it. The thing is built like a tank, but I was still shocked to see Inori pull out a Gatling Gun.

Of course. Yuzu drinks boba tea in the most comfortable way for her.

So, how long does a power cut last? Because the Sea Serpent girls got their boost going pretty soon after. There’s that same choice about jumping over or going through the obstacle field. Photo finish! Draw! Can they do that? I guess it’s like World Cup soccer where a draw gets a point too. This is just a nice way to make sure our six designated pairs make the final rounds.

Aw. Inori has to pull Fuka out of race mode back to her prim and proper self. Misa has complicated feelings at seeing their affectionate display. She’s annoyed that every little thing Fuka said on the bridge described a race situation. It’s still sweet, says the yuri whisperer Rin.

Next time, it’s the beach episode!