Now you,,, Who are you?
If you think this girl can win against Hikaru,
you're saying you could win against me,
Not so fast!
I don't care who I'm up against! You hear me?
I will be the greatest coach in the world!
Good morning,
KAGO
S-Sorry, Did I wake you?
Yeah,
LEVEL ONE BADGE TEST
Our next meet will be the West Japan Championship
for elementary schoolers,
Unlike the Meikoh Cup,
you'll be up against athletes from all over Western Japan,
Kyoto, where this event is held,
is turning out some of the best athletes in the game right now,
Who knows what we'll see there,
INORI YUITSUKA PRELIM MEIKOH CUP 12,64
To win, you'll need to score about eight points higher than you did at Meikoh,
That'll put you squarely in the 20s,
Twenty points,
Yep, We'll need to update your program with two different types of double jumps,
And she's got the Badge Test to practice for too,
I know she's been struggling with doubles, She must be worried,
The heck is that face about?
I thought about keeping this a secret for a little bit, but I can't!
You wanna know what I did on Sunday?
A double jump,
Wait, for real? Is that true?
I sure did!
She learned a broken leg sit spin on her own and now a double jump too?
Incredible, She's barreling on ahead
- before I even get a chance to coach her, - Ha! Got it!
- Go, go, go, go,,, - So?
- Huh? - You wanna see me do one right now?
You know I do!
Whoa, are you okay?
I-I'm okay, but,,,
That was great!
Your form's improved immensely since the competition!
If you've already come this far on your own,
you're gonna master it by the next one,
I promise I wasn't lying to you! I really did it last time,
I know, It's okay! I believe you!
And check it out, I borrowed a tablet today,
Now we can double-check your form and stuff
while you're still feeling it all in your muscles,
You wanna go again?
But I did it, I had it,,,
It's okay, don't beat yourself up,
- Okay, I got it! - Huh,
We're gonna be looking at your head, torso and legs,
We wanna get everything spinning at the same time,
So let's check to see where you're not in sync,
and we can adjust accordingly from there,
- Sound good? - Yeah,
Ah, your head and shoulders are rotating at the same time,
but your legs are lagging behind, See?
Can I try again right now?
Wait, hang on,
Oof, She's falling apart out there,
I'll tell you what,
let's switch gears and practice for the Badge Test for a while,
No, I want to keep trying,
I don't want to stop till I can land it,
It's no problem for everyone else my age,
She's in a hurry,
Her desire to improve gives her a lot of strength,
but it also means she's extra hard on herself,
- Inori, - What?
Don't worry that you're not on the same level as the other girls yet,
That's not gonna change overnight, but don't panic,
You're building yourself up little by little,
It's okay if you can't do everything,
You don't need to rush,
Plus, the time you spend working through challenges now
is gonna make you that much better at facing them in the future,
It'll help in the future,
Yep,
Wow, you always know exactly what to say to make me feel better, Coach Tsukasa!
Oh, so it's working? Good,
But I gotta stay ahead of the 8 ball,
Inori moves fast and I need to start anticipating that,
or I might miss teaching something crucial for her at this level,
So, how,,,
- That goes for me too! - What does?
Nothing! Don't worry about it,
I talked a big game about "No need to rush,"
but I'm freaking out too,
Everything I just said to her, I need to be telling myself double,
How lucky am I that talking with her helps me recognize my own blind spots,
We're raising each other up,
And to keep it that way, I need to focus on the now,
- Hey, Inori, - Yeah?
Mark my words! I'm not gonna lose to you!
Huh?
DAY OF THE BADGE TEST ICE SKATING RINK
EXAMINEE REGISTRATION
Just wear another layer, You'll catch a cold,
Hey, level one starts at eight o'clock, right?
Yeah, they put level seven in the early slot,
Where are you, Ema?
Oh, my gosh! I am so sorry!
Sorry for being so adorable, that is,
Wha,,,
Wait, You're Suzu Kamoto, aren't you?
Second place in Novice B last year?
Yep, that's me, Nice to meet ya,
Second place?
- You're a Kyoto girl, right? - The best athlete after Hikaru Kamisaki,
My coach did,
- Hey! Pardon me, - Huh?
Sorry, but I lost track of one of my elementary school-age kiddos,
You ain't seen her, have you?
Uh,,,
Yeah, There's my buddies,
Nothing like a squirmy little wormy to help calm me down,
I wish I could get Coach to appreciate you like I do, though,
Huh?
Pigeons,
Is she some kind of pigeon goddess?
She's so cool,
I kinda can't believe she's not scared with all those birds on top of her,
Help is on the way!
- There she is, - Inori?
DEFEATED
Thanks for helping me track her down,
I appreciate it,
Nah, it's all good, Seriously, Happy to lend a hand,
Well, thanks anyway, I'm Yudai Jakuzure, by the way,
Rengecha FSC,
This is Ema Yamato,
She's here for her level one test,
Level one? So am I!
Thank you kindly for your help, Inori, You were so valiant out there,
V-Valiant?
Not like you to go runnin' off,
I'd expect that from Suzu,
That's not very nice to say!
Now let me go already!
Coach, you're so rude!
I know I'm a cutie patootie and all, but really!
If you don't stop carrying me around like some kinda rag doll,,,
- Coach Jakki, - Hmm?
You're supposed to say "Then what?"
Oh, all right, Then what?
You wanna know?
I'll get all cute-mad and you won't hear the end of it!
Ooh, boy, [chuckles] We can't have that!
Now, let's get you girls registered,
Hey! You didn't listen to a word I said, did ya?
He seems so used to wrangling grade-schoolers,
Respect,
All right, let's get your level one test started,
First up, we'll be looking for a single Salchow,
Go ahead and line up for me,
Ema! You got this!
Inori is so calm, Talk about growth!
Okay, Next,
She did that so easily it looked like she was in slow motion,
It was just a single, but, it reminds me of watching Hikaru,
Wow, she looks like she eats singles for breakfast,
LEVEL ONE PASS
I passed level one!
I can't believe I get to start competing in meets at this level,
Well, I can't wait to compete in the level seven free skatin',
But did you see the way everyone was watching me during the exam, like, gosh!
They were all like, "Wow, what a cutie-pie,
I hope she doesn't have to go back to Kyoto so soon!"
I don't think that's true,
Well, pretty successful day,
Heya, Are you gonna head straight back to Kyoto?
Nah, I figured we may as well skate here this afternoon
and at the Minato rink tomorrow,
As long as we're not gettin' in anybody's way,
In that case, if it's all right with you,
I'd like to pick your brain a little bit tomorrow,
Oh?
I really want you to show me your technique for teaching jumps,
No, no, no, no, no, no!
Whoa,
What are you doing? Don't bother other coaches!
Rengecha is the strongest FSC in Japan right now!
You can't just go asking them for help!
What? That's why I'm asking,
Lower your voice!
Those stronger clubs put in the work and time and research
to refine their training methods,
They take it so seriously!
They're not just gonna share that stuff with any bozo who asks!
I'll try anything to improve myself, but it's not just for me,
Because when you're an athlete, you only get one shot,
Uh,,,
Sure thing, bud!
Sure thing?
Good Morning,
Morning,
Inori!
Aren't you lucky you get to see me again so soon,
Uh, yes?
Yeah, I know,
Thanks again for your time, man,
Sure thing, I genuinely think this is a great idea,
If you ask me, we ought to be sharing info more often,
Cheese,
On top of which, I know exactly how you feel, Coach,
The West Japan Championship next month?
I was getting Ema prepped and ready to sign up at level one,
but she came down with a fever
and couldn't take the earlier Badge Test in Kyoto,
That's why you came to Nagoya,
Ema's my first student who's this green,
I've been working with her since way before Prelims,
But she's got talent, I want folks to see that,
Yeah! Heck, yeah, Coach!
I so get it! I know exactly how you feel!
Let's both put in that there elbow grease!
All right, cool it with the accent or I'm gonna think your makin' fun of me!
Wow,
What do you think?
Mmm, let's see,
It's hard to find areas of improvement for kiddos I'm not coachin',
Frankly, I'm really impressed with her,
How long has she been skatin'?
It's been about four months now,
Four months?
Dang, And she's this stable,
Y'all been workin' hard,
Great job,
That really was some beautiful skatin' there, girlie,
Your landings are real strong,
and when you nail a move just right, you got the cutest lil smile,
Wow, thank you very much,
It's a great smile that proves you're having fun,
Ain't it? Back me up, Coach!
Yes, he's exactly right, but,,,
I still think that compliment is inadequate,
- Perhaps he just doesn't understand yet,,, - What's with the face?
Say something, man, You're freaking me out,
Oh,
Nothing, Sorry,
Well, you wanted to talk jumps, right?
Are there any problem areas in particular, or,,,
Oh, yeah, It's her doubles,
Her legs are lagging behind the rest of her pretty bad,
Oh, I gotcha,
She's got more than enough speed,
but she's getting destabilized by her own centrifugal force,
So I think her spin is off
'cause she's subconsciously slowing down right before she jumps,
I think if she digs in with her edge a little more on her very last step,
she'll be in a better position to use that momentum for her rotations,
Oh,,, What?
- 'Kay, so, why not go with that? - Huh?
You just said pretty much everything I had to say on the matter,
so you should run with it,
Anything else?
Or are we just gonna call it there?
Well, can you stay a little longer?
If you already knew all that, I don't know what you need my input for, but, sure,
Huh? Is there,,, is there not like a special pedagogy for singles skating?
Hell, if there is, I'd like to know!
I just worry, I don't have competitive singles training,
I was only really taught ice dancing,
And even then, I only started at 20,
At 20?
So, you know,,, I get so anxious about coaching correctly!
Seriously, I have no idea what I'm doing!
Gettin' all fired up about your lack of confidence
ought to prove to you that you know what you're talkin' about!
So chill out!
B-But,,,
You got nothing to be anxious about whatsoever,
Really?
Maybe it's because you were an ice dancer,
but you got a real good eye on ya there, Coach,
Oh,,,
Ema, give me a double Salchow real quick!
Mmm,
Her double is as pretty as her single,,,
Now why don't ya tell me what you saw with my kiddo, huh?
Might help a rookie coach get a little more self-confidence,
you know what I'm sayin'?
Oh, You think?
Yeah, go ahead! What'd ya see? Hmm?
Hmm,
Well, uh, she flies and lands beautifully,
But on her approach, she's not really tapping into the full momentum
I think she should have,
If she can keep her head steady through the cross,
that might give her a little more oomph,
The full momentum she should have? Meaning?
Huh? Oh, let me think,
I try to consider what a trajectory should look like from point A to point B,
and I think there's a discrepancy in her posture,
In the cross before her windup,
she tilts her head down to look where she's going,
If she can keep her head up, she can push off the ice more firmly,
- Wow, - Wow?
That's the kinda thing I do too: Fix the stuff that seems wrong to me,
but I can't diagnose anything to that extent with just one look,
I'm willing to bet your ice dance background
is what makes you so good at that,
Gotta know where your partner is at all times,
But still, ain't everyone got those chops, Coach,
You think so?
Not that you asked me, but you wanna know what I think?
I think your biggest issue is believing in yourself,
You know what I mean?
Tsukasa,
The only thing you don't have enough of is time,
And your biggest problem is believing in yourself,
Yeah, you're probably right,
But hey,
- we all got our own stuff to worry about, - Huh?
We just gotta keep calm and skate on, and it'll all work out,
Yeah! Skate on!
Now that's a man who's ready to go in guns a-blazin',,,
Forgive me, Inori,
I must go,
I wish I could stay,
but the poor citizens of Kyoto are weeping in my absence!
All right, See y'all around!
Hey, don't leave without me!
I'm gonna catch up to you in level seven one day, Suzu!
I'm gonna work hard to be your rival too, not just Hikaru's!
Bring it! We'll have a skating battle of the belles!
'Kay,,,
Don't you just be focusin' on lil ol' Suzu, now,
'Cause by the time you make it up to level seven,
Ema's gonna be there too,
West Japan's around the bend,
but that's only the first time y'all are gonna be pitted against each other,
And we're going for the gold, honey,
Better bring your A-game, then!
Nah,
We don't need our A-game to win,
Winning in high-stakes situations is easier if you don't psych yourself out,
But I think we're a pretty tough opponent regardless,
and I'm lookin' forward to fightin' y'all for a spot on that podium,
That sound good to you, Coach?
Yeah! Bring it on, dude!
I can't believe I didn't realize it until he said it,
No one else can give me confidence,
LUCKY DAY
I have to trust myself, over and over again,
I need to believe that anything and everything can be a strength,
a weapon, and use that as fuel for victory,
Trust your abilities, use them to their fullest,
and never stop looking for what you can improve,
I hate admitting when I can't do something,
I just want to erase those parts of myself,
But that can be an asset,
I just need to take that feeling,,,
Keep my head up,,,
,,,and look!
She landed a double loop!
UJI, KYOTO ICE ARENA
- Well, we're here,,, - Yep,
Let's go in, I guess,,,
Hey, Coach Tsukasa! Inori!
Huh?
It's a pleasure to see you folks again so soon!
Nice suit,
Man! Should I be wearing one too?
You're fine, This is just my style,
I don't want you to go feeling like you're underdressed or something,
Let's go inside,
Come on!
Hey! Stop pulling!
There's so many people here,
That's amazing! They've got two whole rinks in this place,
You could practice as much as you want in here and it would never get crowded,
Boo!
Hey, What level are you?
Oh, me?
Um, level one,
Really? Yay! I found another level one!
This is my first time ever competing at this level,
But that doesn't matter 'cause I'm gonna win!
Seira Shishido,
O-Oh, that's your name,
Mmm, Well, I'm aiming to win today too! So let's both do our best out there!
Oh, you won't win, Sorry!
There's always next year, though! See ya!
Watch where you're going,
It's too crowded in here to be running around,
You're right, My bad, You're not hurt, are you?
- I'm fine, - Oh,
But who would have guessed that someone so horrid and ill-mannered
would even be allowed to figure skate here in the first place,
How times have changed,
She's mad,
Whatever, I bet you suck anyway,
I skate better than you!
You think? Well, we're just gonna have to see about th--
Stop it, idiot!
Quit making our club look bad, it's embarrassing me,
I can't take it!
- Oh, - Oh,
It's Rengecha FSC,
The Nedefuji triplets and Suzu Kamoto in the back,
If I wanna compete at the All-Japans at the senior level,
I'm gonna have to beat all of these athletes, huh?
- I really wanna win today, - Oh,
Except for Ema,
all of their level one skaters are kindergarteners,
That club must be really strong, I wonder if I can beat 'em,
Don't worry about them, Relax,
Hi, Coach,
We got a while before we start, Let's go stretch and warm up,
We even have time to go through your program a couple of times too,
Go put your skates on and grab your yoga mat, 'kay?
Yes!
Okay, uh, got my yoga mat and my skates,,,
Oh, that's right, they're in my suitcase,
Uh,,,
Huh,
Where'd I put it? Oh, man,
What if someone thought it was theirs and took it by accident?
Um, I got to the arena,
and they said this is where I was supposed to leave my stuff,
So I came and put my yoga mat and my backpack down by the wall,,,
Oh, no, I didn't have it then either,
My skates, I don't have my skates!