This was a great episode for both Oguri and Belno. For Oguri, she essentially hits a wall, and for the first time we see a lack of confidence from her. Both Tama and Obey hit a stride, and Oguri figuratively hit a wall. The term the zone is used, and it essentially sounds like a runner hitting their stride.
Roppei did a good job at bringing everyone from Kasamatsu. For Oguri, that brings it back to a time when all she did was run for the love of it. Just seeing everyone supporting her was great, and the smile on her face. Also good to see Jou isn’t too down about failing the exam, but hopefully he does pass next year.
It does feel like Belno is really pushing her way to step up. After all, Oguri is just going to deal with more challenges. I still love that Roppei pushes her to join her friends. She might be acting as an assistant to him, but she also shouldn’t deprive herself of the joy of racing. As a love of racing has meaning for the trainer as well.
