Episode 3:
Yuna fell in love with skating when she fell in love with Coach Sonidori's skating. He was her idol, and that she not only got to meet him but become his pupil, that she got to impress him with her skating, meant everything to her. She was so good she even became the #2 skater in Meikoh after Riina! Aaaaaand then Hikaru showed up and bumped her to #3. Yikes.
But it's nice of her to try to make Yotsuha feel better after she didn't place, even if Yotsuha trying to bring up how this is Yuna's chance to make it to the top and prove herself against Hikaru was maybe a little less reassuring...even if it's understandable why she'd say it.
That moment when you realize you've been hanging out with someone there to support the same skater you are! That's right Skate Grandpa Sekoma, the Kago's are there for Inori too! And you can educate them on the skating score system while handing them a banner to cheer Inori on!
Yuna is confident and composed...at least until she gets into a bathroom stall and it's clear that she channels all her anxiety into her emotional hand puppets of herself and Coach Sonidori, that she also uses to gush about her love for said Coach. So of course Inori overhears her and gets sworn to absolute secrecy.
What's more liable to give Tsukasa heartburn? Inori's performance or Coach Sonidori getting into his face to SERIOUSLY congratulate him for his work on Rioh and in general?
My condolences' Setsuna. It must be really rough to have been the champion last year and to fumble and under-perform this year. She's obviously taking it hard.
No surprise Rioh immediately rushes to see Tsukasa...or that he and Inori still get along like oil and water (especially over Tsukasa).
Yuna is like a medieval knight on the ice, all she has to do is stay on program and nail all her moves...but her obsession with proving herself against Hikaru gets the better of her and she can't help but do a Triple Lutz and a Triple Loop. It throws off her program, it throws off her focus, and she tumbles...but she won't give up!
Yuna isn't a monstrous prodigy like Hikaru, she's the #3 of Meikoh Wind, but she's still going to put everything she has into her skating. She's not going to let Inori take being a gold medalist lightly, not when she can show the sheer amount of effort and determination it takes to be on top! And that's why she sticks the landing and ends up #1! She totally earned that standing ovation! She's not Hikaru, but she's definitely a prodigy in her own right!
Yuna thinks she disappointed Coach Sonidori, but all he sees is the great effort she put in and congratulates her. That's how you know he really is a stellar coach!
And now Inori is finally on the ice...what is the secret weapon Tsukasa discovered for her? Can she pull it off and hold her own against all these ace skaters? Either way, after her usual hoodie pull and Tsukasa trying to motivate her...Inori delivers her most steely confident face and that's when you know she's locked in! Cue fist bump!
Episode 4:
It's finally time for Inori to take to the ice! Finally time to show all her fellow Novice-A skaters what she's got! And she's in it to win it!
And thus begins her skate performance...as if she's a eubullient fairy, dancing upon the ice, pulling off triple jumps and skating as beautifully and perfectly impossible, so her family, her coaches, her rivals and their coaches, can all see how far she has come in such a short time. And it's when they see how perfect her performance is, that the coaches start to realize they're in trouble!
But Inori is not done! Most skaters put in the complicated jumps at the beginning, but to close out Inori's perfect run she ends on a TRIPLE SALCHOW and a spectacular finish! Something no one could have expected! And she does it like a complete natural! This is how far our little Inori has come! You're cheering as loud as Tsukasa and crying like Skate Worm Grandpa right now!
It's a surreal moment for Inori, to finally be on the Kiss and Cry (and Hitomi is making Tsukasa be there with her whether he's comfortable or not) and to feel like a real skater, not just something she prayed and dreamed about. And this is only the beginning...but what a beginning! SHE ENDED UP IN FIRST PLACE! SHE'S A TRUE GOLD MEDALIST NOW!!!
Of course not every girl can place as well as Inori did... a lot of girls have to live with the fact that they won't make it to All Japans, that they didn't rank highly, or that they missed jumps they wish they hadn't missed. Heck, Inori bumped off a girl and now she has to live with losing that position.
Manaka is enjoying her medal for all it's worth, but Yuna was really aiming for #1. Yotsuha is taking it even harder because, as much as she's thought about quitting, believing that Yuna could make it to the top was what was keeping her going. But Coach Sonidori still believes in his skaters and he'll do all that he can so that they succeed.
This is just the start! Next it's All Japan! Then it's the Olympics! Then it's the world! And now Inori gets to celebrate with her family, including her big sis, and her dad who is crying more waterworks than I even thought possible! You earned this Inori!
On a day of surreal moments for Tsukasa, getting recruited as the winner's coach to hang out with the other coaches is probably high up there...Rintaro! Atsushi! Shoya! Even throw in Coach Sonidori to make Tsukasa even more uncomfortable than he already was.
Hikaru is the girl to beat, unstoppable as she seemingly is, but the Chubu Block is still determined to put one of their girls on the podium at All Japan...even if it's open to even more ace skaters than were at this competition.
Why did Tsukasa risk so much by pushing Inori to do such complicated maneuvers later in her performance? Because he discovered her trump card: her success rate that lets her pull off those kinds of moves even later in the game! And if it means competing with Hikaru/Jun, Tsukasa will push Inori to do her absolute.
It must be a really complicated situation for Coach Sonidori. He's Hikaru's coach on paper, meant to hide that Jun is her REAL coach, and yet he does everything he can for Hikaru like a real coach. And it seems like he wants to let Tsukasa more in on the situation.
Episode 5
Oh hey it's...I'm going to guess Coach Sonidori's wife/Rioh's mom? Eva Rodriguez? She looks exactly like Rioh from the face to the hair, so no surprise where he got those (great) genes from. Also judging by the name, I guess that means Rioh is half-Hispanic? Total MILF though!
Coach Sonidori isn't Hikaru's coach, but he IS the one who sees to her daily needs and necessities off the rink, and he does so happily for both her AND Jun's sake. And speaking of the great Jun Yodaka, guess who is creeping behind Tsukasa like a classic anime villain.
Jun Yodaka...the man who inspired Tsukasa to skate, the man he emulated, the man who he tried to reach even when no one else was there to help him or praise his skating. The man he faces now as two fellow coaches of female skaters who are each others' skate rivals/gal pals.
It's nice of Coach Sonidori to try and act like this is just a friendly get together when Jun is acting like an emotionally broken retiree who the world chewed out and Tsukasa's main priority is getting as far away from there as possible...so of course they should all just head out for some private rink time with the boys!
Jun maybe retired but he hasn't missed a step, in fact he might be even better than he was when he was competing, and though Tsukasa isn't used to normal ice skates and freaking out at being in the same rink as two living legends, he still tries to match Jun and his moves if only for Inori's sake! And Jun notices!
I wonder how often Jun has to ask somebody to loan out their phone after he broke his?
Oh, now we're having a backflip competition are we? Tsukasa isn't going to give up!
Jun sees that Tsukasa still has talent and the capability to be in ice shows, and it's impressive how talented he is despite his skate upbringing and how long he did it professionally...but Jun can't fully acknowledge someone who gave up at the prime of their career when he spent his career competing against people who always put their all and everything they had into competing. Though it might also be that Jun himself is still stinging from his own retirement and having no idea what to do with himself when he's not on the ice.
That's why he's training Hikaru to be, effectively, the second coming of Jun Yodaka and validate that his decisions and methodology that won him gold after gold after gold was correct. And why he thinks Inori doesn't stand a chance, even with Tsukasa's coaching. It's all going to come down to All Japan, and the gauntlet has been thrown down! Tsukasa isn't going to just let Inori lose no matter what they have to face!
Congrats on winning the lottery for private rink time, Inori! Where you can listen to Tsukasa try to make up for losing an opportunity to praise you for your gold medal and skate with all your fellow Top 5 skate girls! Even Rioh and Sota are there, with their Switches, because there are so few boy skaters they were always liable to end up there. And Rioh and Inori get into yet another fight over their shared coach, Tsukasa.
Iruka doesn't like kids, she doesn't mince words, and apparently she's got enough behavior problems to miss practice after fighting with her mom. But she looks amazing in a tight black outfit, has abs to die for (sorry Rioh), and can show all the younger girls how it's done and how much they're going to have to level up their games if they want to be competitive in Juniors. She dances and skates like a K-Pop idol, and it's no wonder she's competing in Italy!
But there's also Hikaru, streaking through the ice, and finally she and Inori are reunited!