Area no Kishi - Episode 9

Plenty of Nana in this episode.

When the Japanese attempt to speak Engrish in anime, it never ceases to amuse me. This time was no different. Portraying Americans (or other foreigners for that matter) as ugly seems to be a recurring pattern in anime. Whether it's their facial features or physical appearance that's distorted, it's always interesting to see how the Japanese view others. It's slightly egotistical, if you ask me. The switch between using Engrish and Japanese during the game really bothered me. I doubt there's any group of people, or anyone for that matter, in the world that uses two different languages during everyday conversation. I personally would've preferred having just the Engrish since it's amusing for me to listen to and emphasizes that the players are indeed American.

Although Nana's spectacular performance was entertaining to watch, I found it slightly strange how one player, let alone a seemingly unknown player, was able to easily outplay the entire opposing side like they were amateurs. Sure, Nana may be good, but I expected her opponents to at least give her a bit of a challenge. It's unfortunate how, despite her success, the question of where she wants to be still follows her around. While playing with Nadeshiko Japan would mean she gets to play soccer competitively, being the manager of Enoshima's soccer club would allow her to continue strengthening her bonds with the players, especially Kakeru. This dilemma is evidently stressing her out, as seen a few times throughout the episode.

Nana's match next week should theoretically be more interesting than this week's given that she's up against a player that has a name. Yes, there was no one on the American side this week who was worth mentioning, apparently. The stereotypical blonde-hair, blue-eyed German by the name of Mina Meier actually looks like she'll be a threat since she doesn't look "ugly". What I'm wondering is if this match will help Nana make her decision regarding the future. With Kakeru looking on, the game looks to be an important one and may take up the whole episode. Good luck, Nana~