Iwa Kakeru! Sport Climbing Girls - Episode 4 - Konomi Starry-Eyed

Konomi feels like she can hit all kinds of sending combos with her new climbing shoes.

Coming in straight from the training montage last week, Konomi seeks her revenge at the Anti-Monkey Rock six weeks later. It's anime time, so just go with it. On the train ride over, with everyone this time instead of arriving separately and early, she had a strange dream about muscles starring all her climbing friends. The important thing is that she felt she had developed strong thighs and arms to conquer the rock face.

Juzo and Kiku just happened to be at the rock at the same time. Coincidentally, not like he's their official coach or anything. Tsun~ Konomi trusted her strength and respected her fear of falling as she successfully became not a monkey. The view from the top of the rock gave her a glimpse of what the view from the top of the climbing world might be.

Kiku wanted to hear from Konomi whether she wanted to pursue free climbing with her. Konomi said she wanted to climb along the path of competitive with her friends, but wants to remain friends with Kiku. She wanted Kiku to come and cheer her on at the Kanto Bouldering Championships. Kiku initially demurred, but her Gaming Master insisted. Kiku couldn't refuse her Master.

Before the big tournament, the Hanamiya girls needed equipment upgrades. Nonoka explained it in terms Konomi could understand. Instead of grinding levels (training and drills), they needed to visit the weapons and armor shops to replace gear before meeting the Big Boss (buying equipment). Asuka, a pro climber, usually helped the Hanamiya girls choose the proper gear and Konomi found out just how hands-on her methods were. Asuka's cheeks never lie and Konomi immediately felt the improvement in her foot grips and holds. She was ready for the championships.

Transitioning from the climbing goods store through similar shoes, we got a sneak peak at one of the powerhouse schools and its ace Masumi the Black Panther. Pretty weird to call a silver-haired prince type wearing a white uniform "black," but there you go. Meanwhile, Juzo got ready to go out in public and was so damn good looking, he dumbstruck his own daughter. At the venue with other hot spandex wearing girls, Juzo the DILF showed up and only Sayo was able to maintain her composure. Kiku continued to press Konomi into becoming her stepmom.

We met some old and new rivals as the teams checked in. Iwamine continues to freak Akane out. We learned who the Three Climbing Dames were, which was no surprise since they had to show all three before their proper titles were shown in context. I'm rooting for Masumi and Sayo because I like how Masumi wears those stripes and I want to see more of Sayo in action. Meanwhile, a mean girl on Masumi's team recognized Konomi from her ballet days and claimed she was the new star of climbing compared to Konomi's skills. It's an obvious setup for disappointment, but it should still be satisfying to see Konomi sit her down.