In a bit of a bridge episode stocked with miscellany, Rei is chosen to challenge Souya in a commemoration match between present and future meijin to do the brass “a solid”, and is then surprised at school by the Shogi Science club with a party celebrating his Newcomer King title, with all food and drink being crafted by the club with on-campus resources.
As such, this is all an opportunity for Rei to realize that he is, at this moment, actually quite happy. So happy, in fact, he has to run to the bathroom so no one sees his tears of joy. Will this happiness last forever? Perhaps, nay, probably not; and he’s right that it could be snatched as suddenly as it was dispensed.
But he aims to never forget these days, his Springtime of life, even acquiring a diary to capture those days in detail for future reminiscence. Indeed, his narration throughout the show thus far is likely from the pages of that diary!
An example of someone suffering a tremendous defeat but coming back as strong as ever is Shimada, who is not the brass’ pick to be the challenger in the Kishou Championship, owing to his lack of charisma. Their pick is Gakuto Sakurai, who has a tendency to take his shogi rivals into the mountains, put them in a spot, then show them kindness, endearing them to him and making them eternal fanboys of him.
Shimada, however grew up climbing mountains to forage, and as such is immune to Gakuto’s particular charms and beats him, showing that Gotou was right; Shimada, if left alone, was always going to come back and win. All it took was time.
Gaining, losing, then gaining things are “an unavoidable part of life”, and both disappointment and loneliness necessary emotions. Such emotions cause people to muster courage and expand their small worlds. These are the words of Noguchi, who not only looks like a sage adult, but talks like one too.
Since he’s a third year, he’ll be leaving the club to focus on college entrance, which means the one place at school Rei felt he “belonged” will be irrevocably changed. However, it won’t be taken away; not as long as Rei perseveres in securing members for the Shogi Club (the Science part, being Noguchi’s purview, goes away).
Fortunately for Rei, he has powerful proponents of a Shogi Club in the principal and vice-principal. While they’re not students, they will help ensure his club (which Rei is worried might be more of a “class” with him as the teacher) will endure. You have to hand it to 3GL; it always, always makes the simple matter of Rei interacting with his actual peers seem like an utter impossibility, because he’s such a highly-specialized, nerdy, shogi-obsessed weirdo.
And yet, considering how easily he’s able to interact with the Kawamotos, I believe Rei continues to sell himself short in the “ability to make friends at school” department. Surely there’s a happy medium between the nerds of the Science Club and the “popular crowd” in which he can find friends, and use his shogi to facilitate that friend-making? Perhaps, but for now, the average age of his new “school” club is 24.
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