Tai-Ari deshita. Ojousama wa Kakutou Game nante Shinai Ep.08 - Everyone's battle. Gekido?!

Episode 8 of Tai-Ari deshita: Ojousama wa Kakutou Game nante Shinai focuses the entire episode on the matches the four girls are facing, and it's clear at this point that Japan Evo will be the final arc of the adaptation because of the pace of developments so far.

The matchups are all hype because we have Gekido vs. Aya, Cafè Ore vs. Mio, Yuu vs. Arisa, and Tamaki testing her skills against her sister, Hana. Aya and Mio managed to win the first round with some surprising moves, but this is clearly a way to build hype toward a more competitive second half.

Yuu intends to teach Arisa a lesson, but is she going to be able to do that? The skill difference is huge considering Arisa won against Gekido so...

I can see why people say 'oh she doesn't look like she plays fighting games'. Mio is just way too pretty and docile looking.

Ideally, you'd see both advancing to have a final match against each other, but that might be too fast development-wise. Wouldn't they want to remain motivated to continue improving? Beating both Gekido and Cafè Ore would remove that angle, wouldn't it?

Yuu vs. Arisa is also an interesting matchup because of the enmity that was generated in last week's episode. Yuu is not the kind of person who would actually act emotionally, but Arisa is definitely that type. I wonder if that distraction will be enough to cause her to lose a few rounds. In the end, I don't think Yuu can win, but it would be nice if Arisa is "corrected" regarding her attitude.

The practice match between Tamaki and her sister Hana was interesting because it shows that Tamaki's main goal is simply bonding with her sister. I guess they want to show what happens when she realizes that she just likes playing. Will she get a power-up in skills?

Among the four girls, I continue to be more interested in Tamaki than the other three, both for her relationship with her sister and the yuri undertones with Yuu. I feel like part of the reason is that I don't really understand all the fighting game terminology used, and the other girls are really focused on that aspect.

Tension before the big moments hit everyone, even Mio and Aya. I can imagine, lots of people watching, facing a powerful opponent...

Tamaki continues to be the emotional anchor of the series because she's not really a player per se. She's still more like a normal ojou-sama

The main cast for this Japan Evo is finalized, though; the next episode will likely complete the first round of matches and show us what the lineup for the finals will be. My bet is on Mio advancing to the finals; she needs to be there so that her mom sees her on TV and can scold her once she gets back home!