E8 - There are some problems a bottom-tier character can't fix alone

Source: Crunchyroll
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(Please feel free to edit the speaker names if incomplete or inaccurate. Names are handled on a best-effort basis depending on the info on the source file. Dialogue is left as is.)
[00:00] ---
    "Saitama Prefectural Tournament"
[00:20] ---
    "Asahara" "Kusunoki"
[00:31] ---
    Aw, man. We lost.
[00:33] ---
    But I'm glad we made it so far again this year!
[00:36] ---
    Great work out there!
[00:37] ---
    Shake it off!
[01:16] ---
    "Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki"
[02:35] ---
    Nanami! Are you listening?
[02:35] ---
    "Lv. 8: There are some problems
    a bottom-tier character can't fix alone"
[02:38] ---
    Whoa! Um, sorry about that!
[02:40] ---
    I wasn't sleeping--I just
    blacked out for a sec.
[02:44] ---
    But I wasn't sleeping!
[02:46] ---
    Yeah, okay, okay.
[02:48] ---
    Now, this depiction here...
[02:51] ---
    This was a common way to portray
    their beliefs or principles at that time.
[02:59] ---
    Nanami's been like that
    since the election, hasn't she?
[03:04] ---
    Uh-huh. That might have set her off.
[03:07] ---
    Nanami's trying to compete with Hinami, right?
[03:12] ---
    Yeah, but... where'd you hear that?
[03:16] ---
    I didn't. I can imagine it.
[03:19] ---
    Imagine it?
[03:20] ---
    Like how?
[03:22] ---
    Like, why would this person
    do something like that,
[03:26] ---
    or how might that person be feeling.
[03:30] ---
    Because, um, my novel...
[03:32] ---
    Oh. It helps you write.
[03:38] ---
    I just sort of imagine all
    kinds of people's feelings.
[03:43] ---
    I mean, it's mostly idle daydreaming.
[03:46] ---
    What kind of person is Hinami?
[03:50] ---
    Huh?
[03:51] ---
    I don't really understand her.
[03:54] ---
    Her motivation,
    the reasons driving her actions...
[03:59] ---
    I try to imagine it, but I draw a blank.
[04:02] ---
    It must be awfully tough to compete with someone
[04:05] ---
    whose motivations you don't understand.
[04:09] ---
    You can't see the goal.
[04:11] ---
    A goal you can't see, huh?
[04:24] ---
    Minmi's overdoing it. Again.
[04:44] ---
    What should I even do when she's like this?
[04:51] ---
    Should I get her to stop?
[04:54] ---
    Or let her keep going?
[04:57] ---
    Yeah. I wonder.
[05:12] ---
    Ah, it's so nice and cool at this time of night!
[05:16] ---
    Um... Hey.
[05:18] ---
    Hmm?
[05:19] ---
    As a friend who fought Hinami
    beside you, craving that win...
[05:29] ---
    Are you overworking yourself now
    because you still want to beat her?
[05:36] ---
    How can I put this?
[05:38] ---
    I'm saying this because
    I think you'll understand:
[05:42] ---
    It sucks so much that I want
    to quit right here and now.
[05:45] ---
    But it'll probably suck even more if I do.
[05:50] ---
    I get how rough it is to stop making
    an effort halfway through and lose.
[05:55] ---
    So I want to respect Mimimi,
[05:58] ---
    sore loser of a gamer that I am.
[06:01] ---
    In that case... go get 'em, Mimimi.
[06:16] ---
    Oh, Aoi. Morning!
[06:20] ---
    Good morning, Mimimi.
[06:22] ---
    Early again, huh?
[06:24] ---
    Yeah, I guess!
[06:34] ---
    "Asahara" "Kusunoki"
[06:38] ---
    Aw, man. We lost.
[06:40] ---
    But I'm glad we made it so far again this year!
[06:43] ---
    Great work out there!
[06:44] ---
    Shake it off!
[06:46] ---
    How can you smile--and laugh?
[06:49] ---
    That girl who beat us out there
    just now put in a ton of effort.
[06:54] ---
    We've only made it to the prefectural
    tournament! That's nothing!
[06:59] ---
    It's not good... not good at all!
[07:02] ---
    We know you worked hard, Minami...
[07:05] ---
    But the prefectural tournament? That's huge!
[07:07] ---
    And you're the one who got us this far.
[07:10] ---
    We did fine--really!
[07:15] ---
    Yeah. I guess... I guess you're right.
[07:20] ---
    I'm glad.
[07:25] ---
    Mimimi!
[07:30] ---
    Yikes. That was a close one!
[07:32] ---
    I nearly took a tumble! Tee-hee!
[07:38] ---
    "Sewing Room 2"
[07:40] ---
    If this keeps up, she'll soon
    reach her breaking point.
[07:44] ---
    She's probably practicing at home, too--
[07:46] ---
    and likely not sleeping much at all.
[07:50] ---
    I'd like to talk some sense
    into her before she collapses,
[07:53] ---
    but it's bound to backfire,
    coming from me.
[07:56] ---
    Hey, why is Mimimi so obsessed with you?
[08:03] ---
    It was a prefectural basketball
    tournament in middle school.
[08:06] ---
    I'm the one who made her school lose.
[08:11] ---
    But that's not my story to tell.
[08:20] ---
    Here I am, Tomozaki!
[08:23] ---
    What did you want to talk about?
[08:24] ---
    Oh, uh...
[08:26] ---
    I wanted to ask you about middle-school Mimimi.
[08:31] ---
    Mimimi was a starter from year one.
    She was really good.
[08:36] ---
    I guess you could say it was a one-woman team.
[08:38] ---
    But she felt a little out of place, too.
[08:41] ---
    We faced Hinami's team in the last
    tournament of our third and final year,
[08:45] ---
    it was basically a showdown between two aces,
[08:48] ---
    and we wound up taking the L.
[08:51] ---
    The others were like, "I'm just glad
    we made it to the prefectural tournament,"
[08:55] ---
    but I think Mimimi was really and truly crushed.
[09:09] ---
    It's raining.
[09:10] ---
    Yeah.
[09:12] ---
    Maybe that's a good thing.
[09:14] ---
    The clubs won't meet in this weather,
    and Hinami can't practice.
[09:20] ---
    Mimimi can take the day off, too.
[09:22] ---
    Right? She did leave really
    quickly after homeroom--
[09:29] ---
    Hey. Is that...?
[09:33] ---
    Oh, no way.
[09:36] ---
    We have to stop her!
[09:43] ---
    Aoi?
[09:44] ---
    Yeah.
[09:46] ---
    And Minmi...
[09:48] ---
    She must have... gone home.
[09:51] ---
    Probably.
[10:06] ---
    Minmi? Hey, Minmi!
[10:09] ---
    Oh, sorry! What's up, Tama?
[10:13] ---
    Did you take the day off yesterday?
[10:15] ---
    Sure did! I'm all rested up and feeling great!
[10:18] ---
    I'm heading to practice. What about you?
[10:21] ---
    Yep! I'll be there in a sec.
[10:23] ---
    Oh...
[10:49] ---
    Oof, those clouds... Looks like rain again.
[10:52] ---
    Hmm?
[10:54] ---
    Mimimi?
[11:20] ---
    Tomozaki?
[11:27] ---
    Mimimi, what about today's practice?
[11:30] ---
    Ah, well, you know.
[11:32] ---
    Um... Yamashita--she told me.
[11:37] ---
    About your middle-school basketball team.
[11:40] ---
    Aw, nuts! My cover's been blown!
[11:43] ---
    Curse you for ratting out your senior,
    Yumi, you scoundrel!
[11:48] ---
    Is that when it started?
[11:50] ---
    This whole not wanting to lose to Hinami?
[11:55] ---
    It's because I don't shine.
[11:58] ---
    Huh?
[11:59] ---
    After I lost to Aoi,
[12:01] ---
    I went alone to see her play
    in the national tournament.
[12:01] ---
    "The 47th National Middle-School
    Basketball Tournament"
[12:06] ---
    Aoi's school wound up finishing in second place.
[12:11] ---
    All her team members were smiling
    and congratulating one another,
[12:16] ---
    but Aoi looked disappointed,
    biting her lip and glaring at the emcee.
[12:21] ---
    "Kusunoki"
[12:22] ---
    The moment they announced: "First place
    goes to Such-and-So Middle School,"
[12:27] ---
    Aoi started crying,
    the tears welling up and falling.
[12:32] ---
    She didn't cry when her team came in second.
[12:35] ---
    She only cried when she heard
    another team came in first.
[12:39] ---
    Like, is being number one all this girl sees?
[12:42] ---
    That's... wow.
[12:45] ---
    Right?
[12:47] ---
    But at the same time, I was ashamed of myself,
    because I couldn't be like Aoi.
[12:52] ---
    I'd changed my behavior to match the mood.
[12:56] ---
    I realized that I was just an ordinary person.
[13:00] ---
    All the more reason for me
    to want to be special, like Aoi.
[13:04] ---
    I was surprised to spot Aoi at our
    high-school entrance ceremony.
[13:09] ---
    Especially when she came up
    to me afterward and said:
[13:12] ---
    "Didn't we play each other in round two
    of the prefectural tournament?
[13:15] ---
    I've been thinking about you
    ever since that game."
[13:20] ---
    And that's not all.
[13:22] ---
    She said, "You must have practiced like crazy.
    I could tell, playing you."
[13:27] ---
    And then: "I wish I could have
    played on the same team as you."
[13:33] ---
    That really saved me, you know?
[13:38] ---
    So Aoi is someone I'm grateful for,
    someone I look up to the most--
[13:44] ---
    and the person I least want to lose to.
[13:48] ---
    We became friends after that,
    joining the track-and-field club together.
[13:52] ---
    But... around the second term
    of first year, was it?
[13:55] ---
    Even though Aoi's specialty was the sprint,
[13:57] ---
    she took first place on our team
    in my event, the high jump.
[14:00] ---
    Her beating me made me realize once again:
[14:04] ---
    I really can't be someone special after all.
[14:08] ---
    If you want to shine,
    you've got to come in first.
[14:12] ---
    But I felt like even that was impossible.
[14:16] ---
    Mimimi...
[14:17] ---
    That's pretty much it!
    Sorry to be such a downer.
[14:21] ---
    No, not at all.
[14:23] ---
    Thanks. I feel better having talked about it!
[14:25] ---
    But... but you don't have to come in first.
[14:29] ---
    The way I see it,
    you shine pretty brightly already.
[14:34] ---
    Thanks!
[14:37] ---
    Sorry, Tomozaki--looks like I forgot something.
    Head on home without me.
[14:42] ---
    Later!
[14:42] ---
    Hey, Mimimi--
[14:46] ---
    My words hadn't gotten through to her.
[14:49] ---
    It was painfully clear,
    even to a bottom-tier scrub like me.
[14:56] ---
    She didn't show up.
[14:57] ---
    Not to Saturday's practice,
    not to today's morning session.
[15:01] ---
    Oh.
[15:02] ---
    Even though coming in first isn't everything...
[15:05] ---
    That's something I never expected.
[15:08] ---
    Huh?
[15:09] ---
    I mean, you're just like me, aren't you?
[15:12] ---
    The Tackfam-mastering nanashi?
[15:16] ---
    What do you mean, I'm just like you?
[15:16] ---
    "Teachers' Lounge"
[15:19] ---
    Of course I want to win in a one-on-one battle.
[15:19] ---
    "Club Resignation Notice"
[15:21] ---
    But if only first place matters,
[15:23] ---
    that would make pretty much
    the whole world useless.
[15:27] ---
    In fact, I'd say it's more like I
    don't want to lose to me.
[15:32] ---
    Is that how you really feel?
[15:33] ---
    Yeah.
[15:34] ---
    Tackfam's a battle against myself.
[15:38] ---
    I see.
[15:41] ---
    Minmi, you're quitting the club?!
[15:44] ---
    Yeah. Thought about it over the weekend.
[15:46] ---
    Is it true?
[15:50] ---
    Sorry, Aoi!
[15:51] ---
    I gave it a lot of thought and, well,
    my body just can't take any more.
[15:55] ---
    I wanted to keep running track with you, Mimimi.
[15:59] ---
    I'm sorry, Aoi.
[16:01] ---
    No, it's not that! No need to apologize!
[16:06] ---
    I wonder what happened?
[16:08] ---
    Hmm... a misunderstanding, maybe.
[16:12] ---
    And yet... no one did anything wrong.
[16:17] ---
    Sorry, Tama--I'm heading home, okay?
[16:20] ---
    Eh?
[16:21] ---
    Bye, Tama! See you tomorrow!
[16:23] ---
    Mimimi!
[16:26] ---
    Want to... go home together?
[16:28] ---
    Huh?
[16:31] ---
    Come on. With Tama, too. The three of us.
[16:37] ---
    I'll skip practice!
[16:42] ---
    Apologies!
[16:43] ---
    Out of consideration for Tomozaki's courage,
    I'll be leaving with those two.
[16:50] ---
    Wow, it sure is muggy. That's summer for you!
[16:53] ---
    And this is totally a textbook Japanese summer!
[16:57] ---
    Hey, Minmi?
[16:59] ---
    Hmm?
[17:00] ---
    Do you hate Aoi now?
[17:04] ---
    You did quit track and all.
[17:07] ---
    O-Of course I don't!
[17:10] ---
    Really?
[17:11] ---
    I mean, Aoi's a really great girl.
    She can do anything.
[17:14] ---
    She's respectable, dependable.
[17:18] ---
    She really gets me.
[17:21] ---
    And she shines... and she's special...
[17:24] ---
    Then why are you quitting?
[17:27] ---
    You know I could never... hate Aoi.
[17:32] ---
    Uh-huh.
[17:34] ---
    And even though...
[17:36] ---
    Even though I could never...
    I could never hate her...
[17:40] ---
    Aoi's just...
[17:42] ---
    She's such a great girl. Always working so hard.
[17:45] ---
    But never bragging about it.
[17:48] ---
    Always looking out for me.
[17:51] ---
    Understanding exactly how I feel.
[17:55] ---
    So really, I love Aoi.
[17:59] ---
    Uh-huh.
[18:02] ---
    I mean, I should love her,
[18:04] ---
    but she beats me in schoolwork,
    beats me in sports...
[18:08] ---
    And then, all of a sudden,
[18:10] ---
    I'm jealous of her.
[18:12] ---
    Like, she bugs me, or she's in my way...
[18:15] ---
    ...or I want her g-gone!
[18:18] ---
    And here I am,
    thinking these things, and I... I...
[18:24] ---
    And it's awful! It's just the worst!
[18:27] ---
    If a sore loser like me stayed in that club,
[18:32] ---
    I'd wind up thinking that way again.
[18:34] ---
    And I'd hate myself for it.
[18:37] ---
    So much that I couldn't stand it.
[18:41] ---
    Even when we practiced together, I'd think,
[18:44] ---
    "Why doesn't she stop practicing?"
[18:47] ---
    "If she really cared about me,
    she'd quit right away."
[18:52] ---
    "How clueless can you get?"
[18:54] ---
    I actually thought that!
[18:56] ---
    And I...
[18:58] ---
    I don't want to think
    that way about Aoi anymore.
[19:02] ---
    Sure.
[19:08] ---
    That's why I quit.
[19:11] ---
    How can she work so hard, I wonder?
[19:19] ---
    T-Tama?!
[19:21] ---
    Hey! Stop tha-- It tickles!
[19:24] ---
    You want to be number one, no matter what?
[19:28] ---
    I-It's just...
[19:30] ---
    I'm nothing.
[19:33] ---
    But Minmi...
[19:35] ---
    You're my hero.
[19:38] ---
    Huh?
[19:39] ---
    Always smiling and saying you're fine,
    then working yourself too hard.
[19:44] ---
    But you keep that to yourself
    as you help me out.
[19:48] ---
    I like Aoi a lot, too,
[19:52] ---
    but you're my one and only hero, Minmi.
[19:56] ---
    But...
[19:58] ---
    And if you still wanna be number one...
[20:03] ---
    To me, you're the world's number-one idiot!
[20:05] ---
    So make do with that!
[20:12] ---
    Wh-What's the big idea?!
[20:14] ---
    Just doing what an idiot does!
[20:17] ---
    Tama!
[20:18] ---
    H-Hey, now!
[20:20] ---
    Who's an idiot, hmm? Say it again!
[20:21] ---
    C'mon, Minmi!
[20:23] ---
    Mmm, your neck smells amazing!
[20:26] ---
    Quit sniffing me, idiot! Back off already!
[20:33] ---
    And so,
[20:34] ---
    after Mimimi apologized to the club,
[20:38] ---
    she was approved to rejoin--
    the day after she'd resigned.
[20:43] ---
    Her feelings for Hinami--a mix
    of gratitude, respect, and envy--
[20:47] ---
    seem to have mellowed quite a bit,
    thanks to Tama.
[20:51] ---
    Though Mimimi's sexual harassment
    seems to have increased threefold.
[20:56] ---
    And I'm preparing to face my biggest challenge
[21:00] ---
    before summer vacation starts tomorrow.
[21:03] ---
    Shuji, um... Here. A birthday present.
[21:07] ---
    Oh, hey. Thanks.
[21:11] ---
    Your task for today:
SIGN    "Today's Task Give Nakamura his present and talk to him for 3+ minutes"
[21:13] ---
    Give Nakamura his birthday present
    and talk to him for at least three minutes.
[21:17] ---
    "PitCam"
[21:22] ---
    Na-Nakamura!
[21:23] ---
    Yeah? What is it, Tomozaki?
[21:25] ---
    Um... this is... a birthday present.
[21:28] ---
    Huh?
[21:32] ---
    A controller?
[21:33] ---
    See, um, the controller is key,
    uh... especially in versus play.
[21:38] ---
    I-I can get behind someone who
    works hard and hates to lose...
[21:43] ---
    And as a gamer and huge Tackfam fan, I, um...
[21:47] ---
    I'll take it.
[21:53] ---
    What?! That wasn't three minutes?
[21:56] ---
    N-Now what?
[21:58] ---
    Uh, hey!
[21:59] ---
    What?
[22:00] ---
    Well, um... er...
[22:06] ---
    S-So is it true that Hinami
    and Mizusawa are dating?
[22:10] ---
    "Cafe Restaurant Gesto"
[22:13] ---
    "S-So is it true that Hinami
    and Mizusawa are dating?"
[22:22] ---
    C'mon, Minmi, cut that out.
[22:26] ---
    I-I'm so sorry, Tomozaki!
[22:28] ---
    Jeez, give it a rest.
[22:29] ---
    And? Is there any truth
    to the rumors, Miss Hinami?
[22:35] ---
    The truth is... we're dating.
[22:38] ---
    What?!
[22:38] ---
    What if I actually said that?
[22:40] ---
    Huh? Jeez!
[22:44] ---
    Of course we're not dating.
[22:49] ---
    Well, now that everything's out in the open...
[22:54] ---
    I'm really sorry for everything, gang!
[22:57] ---
    This sure is out of the blue, Minmi.
[23:00] ---
    By way of apologizing for causing such a fuss...
[23:05] ---
    ...please accept these!
[23:08] ---
    And these are...?
[23:10] ---
    Apology gifts! Also known as
    proof of our friendship!
[23:14] ---
    Just like mine, but in different colors!
[23:17] ---
    Aren't they the cutest?
[23:19] ---
    I don't know, Mimimi...
    any way you look at it--
[23:22] ---
    They're adorable.
[23:23] ---
    Huh?!
[23:24] ---
    They're so cute!
[23:27] ---
    Oh, this is fantastic!
[23:28] ---
    Yeah! Are you sure we can have these?
[23:31] ---
    Of course! Abso-fruit-ly!
[23:36] ---
    You call this...
[23:38] ---
    ...cute?