Manga Chapter 23

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[edit] Synopsis

The final race of the 1st College Coed Golden Hammer race. It's all come down to this. Aoshima has gone to great lengths to ensure victory. As we saw last chapter, he's even brought in two pros from the L.A.I.T., but as if the originator of "Operation: Use Dirty Tricks To Ensure Victory" was gonna stop there, think again. He locks Belldandy in the dressing trailer, she can't get out and the race starts in 5 minutes! She has to use her power to move through her medium (a mirror) and enter the truck's cab (Mazda T2000 Offroad Special). Since they barely qualified, they'll have to play catch up. K and Bell arrive at checkpoint 1 with no problem, and receive no deductions. Just answer a simple little question and you can be on your merry way. Too bad it's a 400-level college chemistry course type of question, but thank the Almighty for Bell. Solved that sucker in 2 minutes flat. As they move into the second Special Stage (S.S.), Bell isn't looking to good. Maybe using all that power to move through the mirror and navigate is taking a toll? K must stand alone on the second challenge anyway, the curried rice speed eating competition. Blah. Just as we enter the third and final S.S., Bell loses her fight with the Sleep Demon and nods off. Urd to the rescue! This time though, no nitro and flashing. Urd shows K how to channel the energy of nature through him to Bell in one of the most awkward ways I've ever seen. Bell is revitalized, and they're able to continue. K is able to utilize his knowledge of the remainder of the course and take full advantage of the three wheeled Mazda and achieve victory for the Auto Club! The budget is saved, YAH! Well, it would have been saved if those pigs in the pit hadn't drank and ate away all the prize money during the race.

[edit] Notes

• This arc was the first and last time Americans were used. You couldn't miss the xenophobia if you even tried. As if the last chapter wasn't bad enough (read my notes), the way we act and talk isn't portrayed in the best light either.

• If you look closely, you can see Megumi in two cells early in this chapter near Urd.

• Once again, forced imprisonment, bribery, etc. etc. etc...how is Aoshima not in jail?

[edit] Analysis

I had a hard time picking out what I wanted to analyze for this chapter, and this arc overall. Then, after dwelling on the fact that this was Bell and K's first race as a team, not to mention Bell's first and K's second overall, and this is chapter 23 and as I write this, we'll be up to chapter 206 in the US in less than a couple of weeks, it put things into perspective. We just don't see K or Bell race anymore, competitively, aside from Sora Unchained and K racing his dad. Racing and competition bring out a fire and a passion, and I guess it's just as well as they don't anymore for the sake of the maturity process of their characters. At this point in their lives (I mean now, working at Whirlwind), earning respect for the Auto Club is about priority number #1, 632. Think back to your college years; you can go back (to visit), but you can't go back (as a older teen/20 something student). Like I said in the Trials of Morisato, it's all "ichigoichie"...each moment, only once.

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