DAYS

Episode 13

I like episodes of DAYS that don't feature soccer games better than the ones that do. When the technical complications of soccer are taken out of the picture, character development takes center stage. This episode is the perfect example. I'm finally learning about more of the people in Tsukushi's life besides his captain, Mizuki, and fellow first-year, Kazama, which makes the world of DAYS grow three sizes. After all, it's a lot easier to care about the outcome of each soccer play when I've come to care about the players themselves.

The episode is split into an A and B part that each tell a different story about Tsukushi's experiences with the Seiseki soccer team that only briefly rely on the previous storyline. The first half is told mainly from Tsukushi's childhood friend Sayuri's perspective. After Seiseki's recent loss, she wants to cheer her friend up with a festival visit. She plies him with stories about embarrassing stuff he did as a kid (embellishing one—she says he got lost when really it was her) before Tsukushi's soccer pals whisk him away. Sayuri cries that the awkward kid she always had to take care of is now popular and doesn't need her anymore, but her tears are bittersweet. From Sayuri's perspective, Tsukushi has changed a lot, but after leaving Sayuri, Tsukushi is forced by Kimishita to cook yakisoba for the first time and gets scolded for how badly he does. Tsukushi may have friends now, but he's still a pushover who gets roped into doing whatever for whomever.

This pattern is rectified in the episode's B part, as Tsukushi and the team study for finals so they can spend summer playing soccer instead of attending summer school. But when Tsukushi and Usui retreat to the kitchen to make curry, they have a heart to heart about how Tsukushi's giving nature might not be as helpful as Tsukushi thinks. To paraphrase, Usui asks if Tsukushi is really in a position to be helping the team. He suggests that Tsukushi should work on himself instead—and Tsukushi immediately takes this advice in stride, going out for a spontaneous jog. This tells us lots about how Tsukishi's motivation truly comes from helping others, but more about Usui and Mizuki, who turn out to have been working together. The storyline, helped by Tsukushi's verbal blunder, sets up Usui as the Team Mom and Mizuki as the Team Dad. All around them are these squabbling kids, trying to study unsuccessfully while Ooshiba's sister silently lurks (in a throwaway joke that pays off). DAYS may be a show about soccer, but who cares about (confusingly described, poorly animated) soccer when I don't even know the characters' names? This episode went a long way toward fixing that, showing the team's chemistry of both quiet and larger-than-life personalities.

DAYS took a one-week break before launching into its second cour, and that extra time shows. We have a new introduction (albeit one that mostly just replays previous scenes) and a charming new ending animation that's stylized like a storybook and depicts the characters literally hanging the sun. This increased quality spills into the episode too, with an A part full of light and color. Tsukushi dashes through painterly backdrops where you can practically feel the warmth of early morning sunshine. That evening, he and Sayuri amble through a vibrant summer festival. It's not until the B part that things settle back to the usual quality, with single-color backdrops, flat unshaded faces, sloppy line art, and graceless running animations identical for each character. That said, this is a banner episode for DAYS, more vibrant than usual—both in terms of visuals and personality.

Rating: B+

DAYS is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Lauren writes about geek careers at Otaku Journalist