This episode is funny and entertaining because of the events that unfold for each character when they are not out training for baseball. In addition to the funny moments, we are also introduced to conflicting romances between the characters. This adds to the slice of life and romance aspects of Cross Game.

There are a lot of funny moments in this episode, but among my favorites are when Mizuki’s digital camera runs out of battery when he is about to take a picture of the beautiful sunset in the mountains (owned), and when the Tsukishima family is heading off to the shrine. Ichiyo and Junpei first take their leave, where Momiji and Imai soon follow thereafter. Finally when Aoba and her father Seiji are left, Seiji quickly bolts off before Aoba can remark, saying “I’m going drinking with Kitamura-san!” Senda’s side story of his horrible mistiming during the break also got me laughing.

We also see some possible romantic pairings. In addition to Ichiyo and Junpei, Momiji reveals Imai as a boyfriend candidate. Further, Kou “helps” Akane with her soba delivery duties while Aoba teases him about it. Kou seems to be denying it, however the viewers don’t know Akane’s true feelings yet (if you haven’t read the manga), so the situation is getting complicated and exciting indeed. If that was not enough, Yuhei seems to be very encouraging to Aoba, telling her to go for her Koshein instead of staying with Seishu. He also said that she was one of the only few girls that could give him trouble with just a fast ball. On top of that, it starts to snow to create that romantic setting in that scene.

Is this harmless flirting or is Azuma  just coolly and calmly speaking the truth? The next episode preview definitely suggests the former, but you can never be too careful with the previews as sometimes they can be misleading to what actually happens. All in all this was an excellent slice of life/romance development episode.

Episode Rating: *** (Great)

I am interested to hear about others’ favorite pairing so feel free to vote on this couples poll. Thanks!