Back to the track field, Miyamoto-senpai tells Akitsuki that the curve on his running chart is almost identical to that of Arima’s, except for the difference in the time, but he says that’s only because he is just in practice. Akitsuki gets really excited about this and tells Asahina but she just shoots him down, saying that even though he is doing well in practice, things might not go as smoothly in the meet. And boy is she right. Akitsuki finishes dead last in his race, disabling him from moving further in the competition. But Miyamoto-senpai says it is his fault, because he knew Akitsuki’s time wasn’t improving. Akitsuki says that it was his own fault because his mind went blank and after the first few people started passing him he panicked and that just slowed him down more. Akitsuki skips dinner that night and Asahina knows that he is feeling down because he lost his race, so she goes to his room and cooks him dinner, well boiled eggs, but that’s all she knows how to make. He gets cheered up and then stupidly confesses his feelings to her….again. But everything he says is similar to what Tsuda-kun, Asahina’s first crush, said when Tsuda confessesd his feelings to her. Tsuda died in a car crash a day or two after he told Asahina that he liked her so Asahina hasn’t been able to get over his death. When Akitsuki starts saying similar things to her she can’t handle it because Tsuda’s memory is fresh in her head so she runs out of his room yelling “Stop it!’
Miho informs Akitsuki that Asahina wasn’t in her room so he goes out to look for her. Asahina ends up at Honoka’s family’s shrine and Honoka runs into her on the way to the convenience store. Honoka can tell that something is wrong so she stops and talks to her. they start disagreeing on things because Honoka doesn’t know what it is like to lose someone she loves, and Honoka says that Asahina doesn’t know what it’s like to have someone you love stolen from you. This shuts Asahina up real quick and she takes off running again. Will Akitsuki find Asahina and make up with her? Or will he be hopelessly in love with her forever?
The Presentation- Normal Goodness
The drawings in this anime aren’t Si-fi or anything, they are just normal everyday outfits and buildings and landscapes, something that is becoming hard to find in anime’s these days. The characters’ complexities don’t come from their chlothes, as is in some cases, but from their personalities themselves. We re-visit four popular scenes in almost every episode: The track field, the apartment complex, the school, and the shrine. All of these are detailed and realistic to things you may see in Japan.
Extras- Average Entertainment
The extras include the usual Aoba High School Yearbook, including 15 still frames of your favorite characters. Also in the extras section are textless songs and tailors for other Funimation products including One Piece, School Pumble, Tsubasa, Negima, Origin, InstantStar, Degrassi: The Next Generation, and Z-Store. All of the above are shows (not all anime’s) except the Z-store, which is an online store carrying tons of your favorite anime products!
Overall- An Amazing End to an Awesome Show
This series has made me laugh and cry more than any other that I’ve seen. That has to count for something right? The plot twists and turns as Akitsuki try’s time and time again to get Asahina to like him, to no success of course, until, well, you’ll see. But we get to meet extraordinary characters that help (and sometimes hinder) Akitsuki. Watch as our runner competes for love with a ghost. And yes, it is that interesting!
Overall: 9.5