With Mami moving away, Manaka and her friends continue as another year of school begins. They finally give the answer that Yoko is looking for.
It’s finally spring and yes, Manaka, Kaoruko, Riko and Nao are going to the same high school. Sadly, they left Ayaka behind since she has only one more year left of middle school. At least she is now the embroidery club president and managed to recruit 8 of her friends. That is more than what Manaka could achieve.
Despite the practice match not going well as hoped, they decide to take the next step. After all, the trial classes can’t keep going on forever. It’s obvious that Yoko will ask them to try out for the team. Of course, they say yes and of course, Yoko teared up. It’s obvious that her idol girls’ ice hockey team dream is becoming one step closer to a reality.
Of course, the girls can’t just join. They need to pass a written and skills test. Yes, this is a struggle for Manaka since she is bad at remembering facts. She just wants to play ice hockey. I find it funny when Ayaka asks Manaka the hard questions, she couldn’t answer, but has no problem with easy questions.
Meanwhile, Ayaka with the 100-lap speed skating that she can’t keep up with her friends. Eventually, her friends notices that Ayaka feels down. Ayaka eventually admits that she doesn’t feel that she will pass the test because of her inability to keep up. Still, I have my doubts since Manaka has issues answering the questions correctly on the written test. Thankfully, they meet the actual team members of the Dream Monkeys team.
Sure, Manaka receives the obvious answer, she must study harder. For Ayaka, she receives some helpful advice. One of the girls tell her not to worry about it since it’s not a race but learning to skate efficiently. This gives Ayaka some confidence. Not only that, Ayaka’s friends tell her that if they can’t play together, they won’t do it at all. In other words, they aren’t going to leave Ayaka behind.
In the end, it seems that Manaka and her friends past both the written and skills test. I guess Yoko really wanted them to pass so she made the written test easy. Of course, Manaka, Kaoruko, Riko, and Nao waited for Ayaka to finish her 99th lap so they can cross the finish line together. It’s obvious that Ayaka is happy she didn’t give up. Still, this is such a good moment.
Aside from that, we learn more about Yu and why she quit. Apparently, Snow White, the team Yu is on won the match. However, she didn’t like how her teammates played as it’s not good enough for the world stage. Eventually, she quits the team as she had enough of ice hockey and players she perceives as incompetent.
As expected, Yoko is trying to recruit her as she knows the manager of Snow White and knows where her whereabouts. It’s obvious she knows that Yu is the ace she needs to bring Dream Monkeys out of their unlucky streak. I find it funny how Yu ignores her calls. Yes, she called 30 times that Yoko personally visited her house. She is that determined to recruit Yu. Can she make this a reality? We must wait and see.
Rooted for Ayaka to do her best and keep up with everyone.
Yu will learn the true power of teamwork eventually after joining the Dream Monkeys.
It’s good that Ayaka’s friend won’t leave her behind. Still, I wonder how Yu will fit in the team. We’ll see soon enough.