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[REVIEW] One Pound Gospel - Round Seven
I'm nearly done with 1PG reviews now, and that makes me very sad. I shall miss my crazy, cracky, Kame-filled drama!
One Pound Gospel - Round Seven
Plot: More food than even Kousaku can cram into his mouth at one time shows up at the Mukoda Boxing Club, along with some alcohol that Seiko only refuses for show, courtesy of Ueda's father, who has come to drag not-so-young Masashi home on the grounds that he promised that if he wasn't a champion by the age of thirty, he'd come home and take over the family fishing business. Family relations with the Uedas run just as smoothly as those of the Mukodas, only with added violence and name-calling.
In fact, the father-son fighting is so bad that it's enough to tear Kousaku away from staring hungrily at the fish - he thinks it's a crime not to eat them when they're all fresh and, you know, *there*. No one wants Ueda to have to give up his dreams and leave, least of all Ueda, so he does something very stupid (but completely understandable). He tells his father that he'll have a title fight soon, and when (if) he wins, he'll be a champion. There are only two people in the gym who believe this. Ueda's old man, because he's desperate for it to be true, and Kousaku, who's too dense to notice that Ueda is obviously lying. Kousaku's cheerful enthusiasm convinces Ueda-papa, who runs off joyfully to prepare even more fish as a thank-you to Seiko.
Out on the streets, the nuns are cleaning up. Rubbish, that is. Sister Angela, ever the innocent, is tricked into going to a bar when the sleazy guy who approaches her tells her that they're having difficulties. Little does Angela realise that she's descending in to a host club, and not a nice, sparkly one run by a lovable twit named Tamaki, either. This place is 'Rings Host Club' (appropriate for a boxing drama, but it makes me think of rings of power and long-lost kings lounging around unshaven and in armour), and the number one host is...kind of weird, actually.
Meanwhile, the celebration for Ueda's impending title match has moved to a restaurant, where Kousaku keeps ordering more food (Ishizaka keeps trying to leave and insisting he doesn't want any, but as Kousaku only calls out for five portions he's obviously not including him anyway!). Everyone bar Kousaku thinks Ueda should tell his dad the truth, but Ueda's not in any hurry to cut his career short.
So, the strange-looking number one host turns out to be a guy named Kurenai Ryuusei, a smooth-talking con artist with interesting taste in eye make-up and a face that sometimes looks disagreeable and sometimes pitiable. It's hard for me to tell what to make of him. At various points in the episode, like here when he tells the Sister why he became a host, he talks about working to pay off a debt that's always in the millions. There's only one occasion where I feel inclined to believe him, and that's in the next episode so I won't talk about it now.
Kurenai's plight touches Sister Angela, and before she knows it, she's run up a bill of 400,000 yen and getting ushered out into the snowy night...just in time to be spotted by Kousaku on his way to yet another restaurant. Despite the inclement weather and the lateness of the hour, Kousaku's Nun-Vision is excellent and he has no trouble spotting his beloved leaving a host club. He just can't believe it. I wouldn't, either. Given the choice between a lovable lunatic like Kousaku, with an enormous heart that he wears on his sleeve, and a bunch of slick-suited sycophants getting paid to make me happy, I know who I'd choose and it wouldn't be the guys with the expensive wardrobes.
Kousaku goes to ask Sister Angela about it, hiding himself (badly) by the convent gate so he can ambush her when she's sweeping. He throws a tantrum worthy of a three-year old, jumping up and down (in a desperate attempt to be taller than his girlfriend), but being a kind, simple soul, he believes her when she denies it - after all, why would a nun go to a host club? Sadly, Kousaku's 1000% happiness is ruined when Kurenai shows up to present a corrected invoice for 500,000 yen, and he's heartbroken to think that Sister Angela might like Kurenai better than him.
But Sister Angela doesn't like him, and neither does Sister Millie when she catches a glimpse of the flashy car. She makes a politely-worded threat, as befitting a nun, that if Kousaku causes any more trouble... Shame, when he's helping out with the sweeping too. Aww. The binge-eating boxer and his beloved wonder what they should do.
Back at the Mukoda Boxing Club, Ueda-papa is telling everyone he can think of about his son's upcoming title fight. Ishizaka is all in favour of telling him the truth, but Ueda reckons his dad will go home eventually so it's better to play along for now. Ueda-papa wants to see his son victorious, leading to a painful sparring bout with Ishizaka, the sacrificial lamb. It's not until this point that they realise that Kousaku never came back from his morning run.
This is because he and Sister Angela have gone to the fountain to ponder the situation. Kousaku generously offers her all the money he has on him - looks to be about 237 yen - and offers to help with her dizzying debt of 500,000, which she rejects. He has quite a smart moment, though, and points out that if that number one host comes back to the convent, the other nuns will find out. I appreciate Kousaku's honesty here when he says that it's actually better for him if Sister Angela gets kicked out from the convent...but he doesn't want to see her worried face. He's grown a lot since the first episode, thinking about what's best for her rather than himself. As she rides off, he determines to do something about the debt himself.
Kousaku's plan, such as it is, involves his other major talent in life - eating, not boxing - and he begins devouring jumbo bowls of ramen (and delicious-looking desserts) to win money. On a side note, the sight of Kame scarfing food like there's no tomorrow and ending up with cream on his nose entertains me greatly. The cuteness of this series is slaying me, I swear.
Unfortunately for Kousaku, he makes the mistake of going to Kurenai to make the first payment and declaring that he will be the one to pay Sister Angela's debt. Kurenai, amazed that anyone would do such a thing simply because they like someone, suggests, from his much greater height, that Kousaku could pay off the debt quicker...with his body. You can imagine where my mind went.
But no, Kurenai was merely suggesting that Kousaku try his hand at being a host, complete with oddly-styled hair, painted nails, and a ton of rings. Kousaku ends up failing horribly at domestic duties and stumbling home next morning with enough alcohol inside him to sink a battleship - not a good idea for a boxer.
Meanwhile, Sister Angela plucks up the courage to ask Mother Superior for 500,000 yen. She receives 500 yen. Sure, it's a start...
En route to school, Katsumi witnesses Kousaku's less-than-steady return home, babbling about money. Seiko vows to beat him up for skipping training to drink, but Mitaka steps in to save poor Kousaku, who looks like he needs to lie down in a dark room somewhere.
Once he sobers up, he and Sister Angela (separately) attempt to get money, she through a loan, he through an advance at work. Both fail miserably, and Sister Angela is taking notes on a job available at Mos Burger when Katsumi sees her and comments how everyone's talking about money - including Kousaku.
Back at the boxing club, Ueda's championship banners are piling up and his dad wants him to point out the champion he's going to beat. Coincidentally, he happens to pick out the Japanese champion: Kurenai Ryuusei.
Sister Angela tells a curious Seiko about the host club, and confesses that she's worried about Kousaku getting involved. Seiko puts two and two together, figures out why Kousaku was out drinking, and the two women take off for Rings Host Club. Kousaku's appetite and youthful enthusiasm has made him a hit with some of the women, who enjoy feeding him and watching his adorable reactions, but just as he's about to gorge himself, Seiko catches him. She drags him off by his scarf, but...
Kousaku has no clue who Kurenai is, as a boxer, but Seiko does. Kurenai is amazed to find out that Kousaku is a boxer, that his gym has a female chairman, and that Kousaku doesn't know who the Japanese champion is. Kousaku's surprised to learn Kurenai's identity - and even more surprised when Kurenai says that he might be better off as a host than a boxer. Kousaku is unreasonably happy about this, figuring he can pay the debt off sooner, but Sister Angela angrily points out that his dream is to be a champion - not a host! - and he shouldn't talk like that.
Next morning, a lacklustre Kousaku is confronted during practice by Kurenai, who's dressed...like Jin, actually. I'm sure I've seen pics of him in that outfit. It's never good news when Kurenai shows up, and this time he's got an invoice for Kousaku - the debt's gone back up to 500,000 as a penalty for his leaving early the previous night.
And it's not just Kousaku for whom Kurenai spells disaster, as he catches sight of the Ueda vs. Kurenai banners all over the place, none of which are flattering. The game is up, as Kurenai takes great pleasure in revealing to Ueda-papa that his son lied. He does his best to rile up Seiko, earning himself a sort-of threat from Mitaka, and even though Kurenai's much taller than Seiko and a champion to boot, he turns away first when they get into a staring match. Being a short woman myself, I always enjoy watching them intimidate tall men.
Kurenai sweeps out of the gym, leaving Ueda to make a heartfelt apology to his father and sum up his less-than-glorious boxing career. Not unexpectedly, he gets decked for it, and his father takes off with a broken heart. I feel so sorry for Ueda. He's a great guy, and he tries to do his best for everyone, but when he gets undermined like that he doesn't even have confidence in his friends. It's very sad.
The guys at the gym think so too, and they all gather in Ueda + Kousaku's room, even Katsumi and Mitaka, to drink and talk. Mitaka says what we're all thinking, that the champion really annoys him, and tells Ueda to take back what he'd said in front of Kurenai, that he wasn't endeared to the others at the gym. He points out that it must be false, or they wouldn't have indulged him in his lie for so long - all except Kousaku, who cheerfully admits that he hadn't noticed he was being lied to.
I have to say that these last few episodes paint Ueda and Ishizaka as being much better friends than I'd realised - not demonstrative, because Ishizaka favours the 'lurking in corners, making sly comments and looking away' approach and Ueda's the total opposite, but it's quite clear that Ishizaka likes Ueda a lot more than he likes anyone else there, and that he tries to support him in his own way.
Mitaka tells the tale of how he started boxing (he'd had enough of Seiko beating up his bullies for him). He was an ordinary guy, with no special talents, and even once he took up boxing, he proved to be no great shakes. But he kept going because he felt that one day, something big would happen. Ueda understands this, and even Katsumi gets caught up in the excitement as the guys talk about big events. For Kousaku, of course, it's Sister Angela, which is a lot better than Ishizaka getting dumped by a woman!
Brief interlude by the ring, during which Katsumi tries to be a good son and Seiko tries to be a good mother, and neither really succeeds. Mitaka wouldn't say what the big thing that happened to him was, but it's pretty clear it's Seiko. I'm really curious what happened with her husband, and how she and Mitaka, two childhood friends, ended up working together. Does Katsumi ever see his father?
Kousaku, now in possession of the knowledge that his host club enemy is also a boxer, does the only thing left to him and goes to challenge Kurenai to a fight - not because he wants to defeat the champion, but because he wants Kurenai to waive the debt when Kousaku wins. Kurenai is now firmly convinced that Kousaku is an idiot, going so far for a woman he can't even date, and Kousaku admits that yes, he's an idiot. But nonetheless, he is sincere - so sincere that it makes Kurenai feel ill. Nobody's that nice in *his* world. Interestingly, just after we see Sister Angela praying to her personal agony uncle for a solution, we get a short scene with Kurenai and his trainer...and Kurenai mentions his debt again, but when there's no one around to con. Does he really have a debt? Something bigger than a credit card bill? Is anything he says true? Who knows.
Kurenai shows up at the Mukoda Boxing Club again - to relieve his stress, he says - and Kousaku challenges him to a sparring match. Ueda asks that he be allowed to do it - and Mukoda Seiko, a proud woman, bows her head to a man who doesn't deserve it to grant Ueda his wish. It's a touching moment, and even Kurenai can't say no after that.
Everyone in the gym watches the match, calling out advice to Ueda, but none of it helps. He's badly overmatched, tiring himself out without ever landing a punch, and he goes down several times. One thing prevents it from being a total disaster, however. Ueda catches sight of one of his banners, and tells himself that *this* is his title match. Right now. He has to pull himself up and keep going...and bless him, he does actually manage to connect, hitting Kurenai right in the face. Of course, this has the unfortunate effect of making Kurenai take the fight seriously, and it's a loss for Ueda.
Kurenai fumes in the corner while everyone else gathers round the fallen Ueda, and Katsumi, in particular, hastens to assure Ueda that he did well. Ueda Masashi will never be a champion...but he can land a punch on one, and that's a big thing for him. Kurenai's so annoyed that he agrees to Kousaku's request for a title match, but there's a catch. If Kousaku wins, he'll cancel Sister Angela's debt...but if Kousaku loses, he'll owe Kurenai double the amount, a full million yen. Kousaku mulls it over for all of five seconds before agreeing. He can't allow himself to think about the possibility of losing, not when the Sister's happiness is on the line.
Obligatory Kame commentary: I can't say I was mad about the hairstyle but Kame did make an entertaining host, all glammed up and cutely clutzy. It was an amusing look at what happens if you throw Kousaku into a completely different world and make him associate with non-boxing types, and I love that he didn't become all suave and smooth like the others. I'd like to see Kame be a host in a skit or something, sometime, and just be himself, because he's absolutely adorable.
Best scene: Oh, lots of good candidates. There's Ueda's punch landing on Kurenai's face, the touching moment with Katsumi trying to console Ueda, or Kousaku's lovely expression when he admitted he had no idea Ueda was lying...but actually, I'm going to go with Kousaku sweeping the front of the convent when Sister Millie accosts them. Sister Angela had been sweeping previously, of course, and to me it looks like a sign of togetherness that he then does it so casually. (But then, what do I know? I'm an Akame fangirl. My fandom thinks facial hair might be a sign of everlasting love.)
Conclusion: I saw episode 8 raw while in Japan but hadn't seen 7 beforehand, so it was nice to finally know why Sister Angela was in debt for half a million and what was going on with Ueda! This is very much a 'final arc' first episode, setting us up for the end, which makes me tear up a little because I've loved watching the series so much. We've got our villain, some very high financial stakes, and a lot of heartbreaks and burdens to bear, so it's almost difficult to watch, knowing that the characters are in for a rough time.
For all that he can throw a jealous tantrum like a three year-old (been taking lessons from Jin?) Kousaku's grown up a lot since the first episode, taking on greater responsibility for Sister Angela's happiness. Faced with a 500,000 yen debt (and then the possibility of a million), a lot of men would simply walk away, leave the girl to deal with her own mess. But Kousaku never considers doing that. It's not an option for him - they will simply have to find a way to deal with it, so that she can be happy. That's love, right there, and it's not very practical.
But if someone like Ishizaka, a realist who always points out the negatives, can choose a career as unstable as boxing over a safe, well-ordered life as a salaryman with a woman he cares about, we can't expect Kousaku to do any less. He'll do what makes him happy - and what makes Kousaku happy is to see Sister Angela's smiling face.
One Pound Gospel - Round Seven
Plot: More food than even Kousaku can cram into his mouth at one time shows up at the Mukoda Boxing Club, along with some alcohol that Seiko only refuses for show, courtesy of Ueda's father, who has come to drag not-so-young Masashi home on the grounds that he promised that if he wasn't a champion by the age of thirty, he'd come home and take over the family fishing business. Family relations with the Uedas run just as smoothly as those of the Mukodas, only with added violence and name-calling.
In fact, the father-son fighting is so bad that it's enough to tear Kousaku away from staring hungrily at the fish - he thinks it's a crime not to eat them when they're all fresh and, you know, *there*. No one wants Ueda to have to give up his dreams and leave, least of all Ueda, so he does something very stupid (but completely understandable). He tells his father that he'll have a title fight soon, and when (if) he wins, he'll be a champion. There are only two people in the gym who believe this. Ueda's old man, because he's desperate for it to be true, and Kousaku, who's too dense to notice that Ueda is obviously lying. Kousaku's cheerful enthusiasm convinces Ueda-papa, who runs off joyfully to prepare even more fish as a thank-you to Seiko.
Out on the streets, the nuns are cleaning up. Rubbish, that is. Sister Angela, ever the innocent, is tricked into going to a bar when the sleazy guy who approaches her tells her that they're having difficulties. Little does Angela realise that she's descending in to a host club, and not a nice, sparkly one run by a lovable twit named Tamaki, either. This place is 'Rings Host Club' (appropriate for a boxing drama, but it makes me think of rings of power and long-lost kings lounging around unshaven and in armour), and the number one host is...kind of weird, actually.
Meanwhile, the celebration for Ueda's impending title match has moved to a restaurant, where Kousaku keeps ordering more food (Ishizaka keeps trying to leave and insisting he doesn't want any, but as Kousaku only calls out for five portions he's obviously not including him anyway!). Everyone bar Kousaku thinks Ueda should tell his dad the truth, but Ueda's not in any hurry to cut his career short.
So, the strange-looking number one host turns out to be a guy named Kurenai Ryuusei, a smooth-talking con artist with interesting taste in eye make-up and a face that sometimes looks disagreeable and sometimes pitiable. It's hard for me to tell what to make of him. At various points in the episode, like here when he tells the Sister why he became a host, he talks about working to pay off a debt that's always in the millions. There's only one occasion where I feel inclined to believe him, and that's in the next episode so I won't talk about it now.
Kurenai's plight touches Sister Angela, and before she knows it, she's run up a bill of 400,000 yen and getting ushered out into the snowy night...just in time to be spotted by Kousaku on his way to yet another restaurant. Despite the inclement weather and the lateness of the hour, Kousaku's Nun-Vision is excellent and he has no trouble spotting his beloved leaving a host club. He just can't believe it. I wouldn't, either. Given the choice between a lovable lunatic like Kousaku, with an enormous heart that he wears on his sleeve, and a bunch of slick-suited sycophants getting paid to make me happy, I know who I'd choose and it wouldn't be the guys with the expensive wardrobes.
Kousaku goes to ask Sister Angela about it, hiding himself (badly) by the convent gate so he can ambush her when she's sweeping. He throws a tantrum worthy of a three-year old, jumping up and down (in a desperate attempt to be taller than his girlfriend), but being a kind, simple soul, he believes her when she denies it - after all, why would a nun go to a host club? Sadly, Kousaku's 1000% happiness is ruined when Kurenai shows up to present a corrected invoice for 500,000 yen, and he's heartbroken to think that Sister Angela might like Kurenai better than him.
But Sister Angela doesn't like him, and neither does Sister Millie when she catches a glimpse of the flashy car. She makes a politely-worded threat, as befitting a nun, that if Kousaku causes any more trouble... Shame, when he's helping out with the sweeping too. Aww. The binge-eating boxer and his beloved wonder what they should do.
Back at the Mukoda Boxing Club, Ueda-papa is telling everyone he can think of about his son's upcoming title fight. Ishizaka is all in favour of telling him the truth, but Ueda reckons his dad will go home eventually so it's better to play along for now. Ueda-papa wants to see his son victorious, leading to a painful sparring bout with Ishizaka, the sacrificial lamb. It's not until this point that they realise that Kousaku never came back from his morning run.
This is because he and Sister Angela have gone to the fountain to ponder the situation. Kousaku generously offers her all the money he has on him - looks to be about 237 yen - and offers to help with her dizzying debt of 500,000, which she rejects. He has quite a smart moment, though, and points out that if that number one host comes back to the convent, the other nuns will find out. I appreciate Kousaku's honesty here when he says that it's actually better for him if Sister Angela gets kicked out from the convent...but he doesn't want to see her worried face. He's grown a lot since the first episode, thinking about what's best for her rather than himself. As she rides off, he determines to do something about the debt himself.
Kousaku's plan, such as it is, involves his other major talent in life - eating, not boxing - and he begins devouring jumbo bowls of ramen (and delicious-looking desserts) to win money. On a side note, the sight of Kame scarfing food like there's no tomorrow and ending up with cream on his nose entertains me greatly. The cuteness of this series is slaying me, I swear.
Unfortunately for Kousaku, he makes the mistake of going to Kurenai to make the first payment and declaring that he will be the one to pay Sister Angela's debt. Kurenai, amazed that anyone would do such a thing simply because they like someone, suggests, from his much greater height, that Kousaku could pay off the debt quicker...with his body. You can imagine where my mind went.
But no, Kurenai was merely suggesting that Kousaku try his hand at being a host, complete with oddly-styled hair, painted nails, and a ton of rings. Kousaku ends up failing horribly at domestic duties and stumbling home next morning with enough alcohol inside him to sink a battleship - not a good idea for a boxer.
Meanwhile, Sister Angela plucks up the courage to ask Mother Superior for 500,000 yen. She receives 500 yen. Sure, it's a start...
En route to school, Katsumi witnesses Kousaku's less-than-steady return home, babbling about money. Seiko vows to beat him up for skipping training to drink, but Mitaka steps in to save poor Kousaku, who looks like he needs to lie down in a dark room somewhere.
Once he sobers up, he and Sister Angela (separately) attempt to get money, she through a loan, he through an advance at work. Both fail miserably, and Sister Angela is taking notes on a job available at Mos Burger when Katsumi sees her and comments how everyone's talking about money - including Kousaku.
Back at the boxing club, Ueda's championship banners are piling up and his dad wants him to point out the champion he's going to beat. Coincidentally, he happens to pick out the Japanese champion: Kurenai Ryuusei.
Sister Angela tells a curious Seiko about the host club, and confesses that she's worried about Kousaku getting involved. Seiko puts two and two together, figures out why Kousaku was out drinking, and the two women take off for Rings Host Club. Kousaku's appetite and youthful enthusiasm has made him a hit with some of the women, who enjoy feeding him and watching his adorable reactions, but just as he's about to gorge himself, Seiko catches him. She drags him off by his scarf, but...
Kousaku has no clue who Kurenai is, as a boxer, but Seiko does. Kurenai is amazed to find out that Kousaku is a boxer, that his gym has a female chairman, and that Kousaku doesn't know who the Japanese champion is. Kousaku's surprised to learn Kurenai's identity - and even more surprised when Kurenai says that he might be better off as a host than a boxer. Kousaku is unreasonably happy about this, figuring he can pay the debt off sooner, but Sister Angela angrily points out that his dream is to be a champion - not a host! - and he shouldn't talk like that.
Next morning, a lacklustre Kousaku is confronted during practice by Kurenai, who's dressed...like Jin, actually. I'm sure I've seen pics of him in that outfit. It's never good news when Kurenai shows up, and this time he's got an invoice for Kousaku - the debt's gone back up to 500,000 as a penalty for his leaving early the previous night.
And it's not just Kousaku for whom Kurenai spells disaster, as he catches sight of the Ueda vs. Kurenai banners all over the place, none of which are flattering. The game is up, as Kurenai takes great pleasure in revealing to Ueda-papa that his son lied. He does his best to rile up Seiko, earning himself a sort-of threat from Mitaka, and even though Kurenai's much taller than Seiko and a champion to boot, he turns away first when they get into a staring match. Being a short woman myself, I always enjoy watching them intimidate tall men.
Kurenai sweeps out of the gym, leaving Ueda to make a heartfelt apology to his father and sum up his less-than-glorious boxing career. Not unexpectedly, he gets decked for it, and his father takes off with a broken heart. I feel so sorry for Ueda. He's a great guy, and he tries to do his best for everyone, but when he gets undermined like that he doesn't even have confidence in his friends. It's very sad.
The guys at the gym think so too, and they all gather in Ueda + Kousaku's room, even Katsumi and Mitaka, to drink and talk. Mitaka says what we're all thinking, that the champion really annoys him, and tells Ueda to take back what he'd said in front of Kurenai, that he wasn't endeared to the others at the gym. He points out that it must be false, or they wouldn't have indulged him in his lie for so long - all except Kousaku, who cheerfully admits that he hadn't noticed he was being lied to.
I have to say that these last few episodes paint Ueda and Ishizaka as being much better friends than I'd realised - not demonstrative, because Ishizaka favours the 'lurking in corners, making sly comments and looking away' approach and Ueda's the total opposite, but it's quite clear that Ishizaka likes Ueda a lot more than he likes anyone else there, and that he tries to support him in his own way.
Mitaka tells the tale of how he started boxing (he'd had enough of Seiko beating up his bullies for him). He was an ordinary guy, with no special talents, and even once he took up boxing, he proved to be no great shakes. But he kept going because he felt that one day, something big would happen. Ueda understands this, and even Katsumi gets caught up in the excitement as the guys talk about big events. For Kousaku, of course, it's Sister Angela, which is a lot better than Ishizaka getting dumped by a woman!
Brief interlude by the ring, during which Katsumi tries to be a good son and Seiko tries to be a good mother, and neither really succeeds. Mitaka wouldn't say what the big thing that happened to him was, but it's pretty clear it's Seiko. I'm really curious what happened with her husband, and how she and Mitaka, two childhood friends, ended up working together. Does Katsumi ever see his father?
Kousaku, now in possession of the knowledge that his host club enemy is also a boxer, does the only thing left to him and goes to challenge Kurenai to a fight - not because he wants to defeat the champion, but because he wants Kurenai to waive the debt when Kousaku wins. Kurenai is now firmly convinced that Kousaku is an idiot, going so far for a woman he can't even date, and Kousaku admits that yes, he's an idiot. But nonetheless, he is sincere - so sincere that it makes Kurenai feel ill. Nobody's that nice in *his* world. Interestingly, just after we see Sister Angela praying to her personal agony uncle for a solution, we get a short scene with Kurenai and his trainer...and Kurenai mentions his debt again, but when there's no one around to con. Does he really have a debt? Something bigger than a credit card bill? Is anything he says true? Who knows.
Kurenai shows up at the Mukoda Boxing Club again - to relieve his stress, he says - and Kousaku challenges him to a sparring match. Ueda asks that he be allowed to do it - and Mukoda Seiko, a proud woman, bows her head to a man who doesn't deserve it to grant Ueda his wish. It's a touching moment, and even Kurenai can't say no after that.
Everyone in the gym watches the match, calling out advice to Ueda, but none of it helps. He's badly overmatched, tiring himself out without ever landing a punch, and he goes down several times. One thing prevents it from being a total disaster, however. Ueda catches sight of one of his banners, and tells himself that *this* is his title match. Right now. He has to pull himself up and keep going...and bless him, he does actually manage to connect, hitting Kurenai right in the face. Of course, this has the unfortunate effect of making Kurenai take the fight seriously, and it's a loss for Ueda.
Kurenai fumes in the corner while everyone else gathers round the fallen Ueda, and Katsumi, in particular, hastens to assure Ueda that he did well. Ueda Masashi will never be a champion...but he can land a punch on one, and that's a big thing for him. Kurenai's so annoyed that he agrees to Kousaku's request for a title match, but there's a catch. If Kousaku wins, he'll cancel Sister Angela's debt...but if Kousaku loses, he'll owe Kurenai double the amount, a full million yen. Kousaku mulls it over for all of five seconds before agreeing. He can't allow himself to think about the possibility of losing, not when the Sister's happiness is on the line.
Obligatory Kame commentary: I can't say I was mad about the hairstyle but Kame did make an entertaining host, all glammed up and cutely clutzy. It was an amusing look at what happens if you throw Kousaku into a completely different world and make him associate with non-boxing types, and I love that he didn't become all suave and smooth like the others. I'd like to see Kame be a host in a skit or something, sometime, and just be himself, because he's absolutely adorable.
Best scene: Oh, lots of good candidates. There's Ueda's punch landing on Kurenai's face, the touching moment with Katsumi trying to console Ueda, or Kousaku's lovely expression when he admitted he had no idea Ueda was lying...but actually, I'm going to go with Kousaku sweeping the front of the convent when Sister Millie accosts them. Sister Angela had been sweeping previously, of course, and to me it looks like a sign of togetherness that he then does it so casually. (But then, what do I know? I'm an Akame fangirl. My fandom thinks facial hair might be a sign of everlasting love.)
Conclusion: I saw episode 8 raw while in Japan but hadn't seen 7 beforehand, so it was nice to finally know why Sister Angela was in debt for half a million and what was going on with Ueda! This is very much a 'final arc' first episode, setting us up for the end, which makes me tear up a little because I've loved watching the series so much. We've got our villain, some very high financial stakes, and a lot of heartbreaks and burdens to bear, so it's almost difficult to watch, knowing that the characters are in for a rough time.
For all that he can throw a jealous tantrum like a three year-old (been taking lessons from Jin?) Kousaku's grown up a lot since the first episode, taking on greater responsibility for Sister Angela's happiness. Faced with a 500,000 yen debt (and then the possibility of a million), a lot of men would simply walk away, leave the girl to deal with her own mess. But Kousaku never considers doing that. It's not an option for him - they will simply have to find a way to deal with it, so that she can be happy. That's love, right there, and it's not very practical.
But if someone like Ishizaka, a realist who always points out the negatives, can choose a career as unstable as boxing over a safe, well-ordered life as a salaryman with a woman he cares about, we can't expect Kousaku to do any less. He'll do what makes him happy - and what makes Kousaku happy is to see Sister Angela's smiling face.