Tatara's second round was a real laugh!
After the Tango it got even worse.
Yeah...
In the Quickstep, they were arguing while dancing.
That's somethin' you could lose a mark for and get a warning too.
If the judges hate you, you're out.
But they shouldn't drop out in the prelims.
Looking at their basics alone,
they're decent in comparison to other competitors today.
Well, it is still the prelims!
Hey, that's my shirt!
So, Hyodo.
If the match continues at Tatara's decent level without them synchronizing,
how far do ya think they'd get?!
At that rate... the finals would be impossible.
Yes! We passed!
Aww, we dropped out...
Go look at the results...
No...
HEAT 19- RIVAL
SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND RESULTS
FULL SCORE
A full score.
Oh, Fujita-kun has a full score. You're doing really good.
Yes, thanks to you!
Thanks to you?!
Hey, hey, don't separate you two. You both won't fit in the screen.
Aw, crap! It's blurred.
We only passed the second round, so stop your grinning.
Kugimiya-san's gonna get mad if we don't.
It seems you're forgetting something important, so I'm gonna remind you.
Today, we're gonna crush him too.
Here ya go.
Thank you so much.
Aki's couple was No. 20 I think...
She's practically dead, so you don't need to have her in your sight now, Tatara-kun!
They're at the level of losing a mark only in the second round!
It's sayonara for them!
W-We weren't in top form earlier!
Plus, today's just a tune-up for the Grand Prix in Sen--
Sorry Aki, I don't have time to pay attention to your dancing.
My rival right now is Tatara.
Huh? What? Hey...
After entering the second round, Tatara's dance began to change.
From the gaps of his stiff basics, sometimes hesitantly...
he started to show himself.
You've got no time to be paying attention to me?
What's up with that? You always act as if I'm not even there.
Aki, you don't need to work that hard.
Don't worry, I'll work for the two of us.
I always hated Chinatsu's insensitive and arrogant side.
Gosh, I'm sorry. I went to explain to my wife, but I couldn't find her.
Your count didn't match the tempo of the song!
Chi-chan too, you messed up in the first measure!
Hey, which competitors would you move up to the semifinals?
Huh? You want me to judge them?
Right now there's 24 pairs. There'll only be half left in the semifinals.
If it were you, who would you leave?
If it were me, I'd choose Kugimiya-san, No. 32 and No. 41...
Don't just choose by glancing at them.
Well, you can tell who's good by just looking at their appearance.
Their hair and tailcoats look sharp too.
Well, yeah.
Class is reflected by a dancer's attire.
Kugimiya-san even has a London made brand-name shirt on.
That's sure Kugimiya-san. He has style.
If you compare with the next couple, his silhouette is much sharper and cooler.
No. 8 has picked a ready-made that doesn't fit him. He seems amateurish.
Ready-made?
Remember the stores at the entrance?
Those places you can only semi-custom order.
If you're a top-class dancer, full custom's a must.
Just shaping it to your body could change the results of one whole round.
That much?!
A good tailcoat would cost 350,000 yen or more for a set though.
Maybe because Sengoku-san's old tailcoat has a nice shape, it's been saving me...
Anyway, competitors who have a negative factor like No. 8 are out.
It's different than the first two rounds from here on.
After the first half's appearance test...
it's the comparison of actual skill.
The detail of the movements, the position of the hands and feet...
Any small flaws or misses will lead to instant zero marks.
Look, their choreography layout's overlapped.
Oh! The Kugimiya pair and the Mine pair have the same exact routines.
Even the same directions...
A fallaway reverse and slip pivot...
into an Open Telemark and Telespin.
It's like they're showing them an example...
of a beautiful throwaway oversway.
Their ability to create sway is fundamentally different.
It's like a vase versus a barrel.
They're getting ripped apart thanks to that comparison.
You can actually tell a competitor's level at a glance.
With all the good dancers around me helping me to notice,
I should have somewhat of a judging eye now.
This sport requires too many techniques for aesthetics.
In order to create a dynamic dance, the body's rotation, inclination,
extension, and distortion to shape is what's important.
Think of how each move works anatomically.
How do I connect that to aesthetics?
Chinatsu-chan, rotate your body more!
That's right!
Have your bodies cross to make the space between you two wider!
Make it overflow!
More than Idogawa-san, Chi-chan's space is...
Let beauty...
overflow from the vase!
It connects...!
And I just clearly understood.
Let's go, Tatara.
Probably more than anyone in this stadium,
Chi-chan's the most beautiful.
THE 66TH TOKYO METROPOLITAN DANCESPORT TOURNAMENT
Yes...
Yes, I understand.
What did Coach Marisa say?
Hmm, she said not to give any advice.
But it's a little worrisome.
Because Tatara-san's dancing's becoming more rough.
Right?
Their recklessness keeps heating up!
They both must be under a lot of stress right now.
If my own couple became like that, I would break down.
If I were a guy, I'd want to pair up with Chinatsu-chan once.
Aren't you intrigued?
How she can't be controlled by any guy out there?
She has a solid sense of dance...
I feel like I could grow more if I could tap into that too.
I wonder if it's because he's paired with Chinatsu-san.
Tatara-san seems like a different person than when he was paired with me.
There's no other couple that has more of a fuzzy power balance than those two.
While giving into the other's awkwardness, they dance all out doing as they please.
It's not something a normal couple could do.
What is this? But your couple isn't going well...
How can you have such fiery eyes like that?!
The Tango, 2nd Heat.
Akira!!
Go, Daddy!
Mine-san's Tango looks steady and nice.
It may just look that way, because they're thick.
The quality of their dance itself has dropped more than the Waltz.
Mine-san's counts are off!
Those two will probably drop out in the third round.
Please get it together, Mine-san!
It's been difficult since the 2nd round!
I-I'm sorry.
There's so many people we know watching, so I got nervous.
I made an older man apologize to me...
Come to think of it, we've always held back and never argued like this before.
What is this difference...?
All I wanted to do was pair up before Chinatsu in the first place...
So you're still blaming the leader for everything.
Oh, excuse us.
Chinatsu, you complain to Tatara-kun too!
Our arguments are at a different level.
Huh? What do you mean level? That's funny.
Your skills are totally different. And how many months have you been paired?
Three and a half months,
but Tatara faces me head on.
Unlike you, Aki.
You always did say that you didn't like dance.
The Slow Foxtrot, 1st Heat.
Chinatsu, you would never understand, since you only care about dancing.
That's right, I don't really like dance...
What I really like is...
Oh no, I bumped into Fatty!
Her fat's contagious!
Cut it out, you guys!
Akira-chan's not exactly fat!
That's it, I don't wanna go to school anymore!!
Don't cry!
The boys just want to tease you, because you're so cute!
That's right. There's a lot of men who like chubby women!
You idiot!
CHINATSU HIYAMA
Uh, I'd like to introduce a new student.
What pretty hair...
One, two, three, four...
The summer of first grade, Chinatsu had a tan.
She looked more grown-up because she was tall.
She had a very boyish laugh...
And she had a cool look to her...
She always made my heart pound...
Hiyama's so ugly!
How tall is that girl, jeez!
She's skeleton skinny!
It's obvious you guys like her.
Look! Skeleton and Fatty are walking together!
They're a drumstick!
You guys...
Don't worry!
I'm... used to it.
Chinatsu-chan!
Akira-chan gets bullied, so you shouldn't hang out with her.
Hm...
Someone stop them!
Stop fighting!
Stop!!
I'll call the teacher!
Don't call a girl fat!
Shut up! You shouldn't be growing your hair out, ugly!
It doesn't even look good!
Her hair...
Stupid! I hate you!
I'm sorry, Hiyama!
Poor Chinatsu-chan...
This is all Akira-chan's fault...
-Morning! -Morning!
Morning!
Morning... Chinatsu-chan...
Morning...
Mom, I made a friend.
Hey, can I call you Aki? You can just call me Chinatsu.
Okay!
Aki, I wanna pick up a hobby with you.
I don't care what as long as it's with you.
Umm, then...
SAKAE DANCE SCHOOL
Let's clap our hands to the rhythm as we move in a circle.
I've heard about this, but there really are only girls here.
Then we have no worries.
My daughter's really shy though...
Don't worry, dance will fix it all.
I heard there are recitals at large competitions too.
This outfit's so pretty!
Isn't it exciting?!
No, I don't wanna wear this skirt!
Chinatsu, you look cute!
Chinatsu!
Akira!
Our teacher at the dance school always said...
"It's not about dancing with a smile.
I want your smile to come naturally as you dance,
because dance is something you enjoy from the heart.
It's something that'll brighten up your life."
In those days...
we only saw dance as something to enjoy.
Until we met the world of competitive dance.
Chizuru-san!
She's so cool!
Jeez, Chizuru this and Chizuru that...
Hey, Aki!
Let's enter a lot of tournaments too!
SAKAE DANCE SCHOOL
Chinatsu-chan's so hardworking.
She can dance all the boy's steps too.
It seems girls like Chinatsu-chan take on the boy's role at tournaments.
Wow, how impressive.
That twist of the back and the nape of that neck make me feel a bit uneasy...
It makes me feel embarrassed...
Dance is kinda special...
Okay, smile!
Congratulations!
-Hey, pair up with me next! -Sure!
Akira-chan's gotten very good too.
If it's the girl's role, she may be even better than Chinatsu-chan.
Hey, give me the girl's role sometimes too!
I don't know the boy's steps, so that's not possible!
Chinatsu probably never noticed.
Every time our hands touched,
my heart was always pounding like anyone else's would.
Whenever the topic of Chinatsu's matchmaking came up,
I had an unexplainable feeling stir within me.
Chinatsu-chan's always being favored by the teacher.
Everyone became jealous as time passed.
The more Chinatsu became isolated,
the more I couldn't keep my eyes off of her.
The Junior Standard Final Round.
Look at that really poor partner! What's that doing in the finals?
No fair! They can enter a lot of comps just 'cause they're paired with a boy!
Not fair? You're just jealous.
Aki.
The Hyodo pair's both really good.
I wonder how much they practice every day.
This match... if I were out there, you think I could stand up to them?
I wanna enter...
Chinatsu was always devoted and arrogant when it came to dance.
What? You're gonna quit dance?
And uninterested in people who gave up.
Yay! Now I'll never have anyone take Chinatsu!
I'll be her only partner!
Chinatsu, let's both work hard!
I'll pair up with you any time!
Aki, you don't need to work that hard.
Don't worry, I'll work for the two of us.
Sorry I keep getting all serious when this is just some hobby.
Why won't you say, "Let's work together?"
Not interested?
You expect nothing from me?
So if it's Tatara-kun, you're gonna face him seriously?
Stop your damn flirting!
Next episode- "Friends"