01x06 - Contest

[bunniefuu]

G-Glad our parts came together in time.

Yeah! On seemed to like

what we came up with too.

[stammering] About the other day…

I want to be a dancer like MJ.

What did you mean by, "Like MJ?"

[gasps]

[stammering] Well…

You know, like, one of a kind.

[grunts]

[whispering]

Or like the best in the world.

It's our little secret, okay?

WANDANCE

[Kabo] Everyone here looks really skilled.

[instructor] Face the same direction!

-How do you expect to win like this?

-Everyone here belongs to a dance club.

[gasps]

That's legit.

Wish I could move away from

the basics and simple steps,

and learn a technique like that.

[dancer] Wow. Who is that?

-[dancer 2] Think she can dance?

-[dancer 3] She's so small.

-[dancer 4] She's on another level.

-[dancer 5] She's cute.

-[dancer 6] So pretty.

-[dancer 7] Wow.

[Kabo] Wanda… She's got such presence.

Wanda, we're over here! Join us!

-Shake.

-Woof, woof.

You are totes adorable!

Can I keep you as my pet?

[Kabo] The practice itself can

get rigorous, but our club is so chill.

Can we really win like this?

I don't exactly know what Wanda meant by

"the best in the world."

But I think she wants to win

every contest we enter from here on out.

[dancer] Hey, Kabo.

The students from the other schools

couldn't help but stare at you.

[student 1] He's so tall.

[student 2] Is he Iori Itsukushima?

[student 3] Look at how he stands out!

He must be so talented.

[Kabo gasps] To me,

-it's everyone else who looks talented.

-[both chattering]

But I guess that's how they see me.

[dancer 1] Good morning.

-[judge] Morning.

-[dancer 2] Good morning.

-Isn't that Assay?

-Good morning.

-[dancer 3] Good morning.

-[dancer 4] No way!

-[Assay] Hey, morning.

-Good morning.

-It's Mr. Assay.

-[Assay] Heya, morning.

He's an influential dancer with

over two decades on the scene.

He's one of the judges today.

Hey, morning.

[Assay] To be honest,

I can feel out a dancer

from the way they walk,

the way they hold themselves,

and the look on their face.

I can tell a decent amount

without ever seeing them dance.

Today, it looks like

I can expect a show from…

Good morning.

[Assay] Tenno High School's Mora Kuroe.

Morning.

Sakaya High School's Usen Takumi.

Good morning.

Ichirin High School's On Miyao.

Good morning.

Hey, mor…

I'll keep her in mind.

-[Kabo stammers]

-Hmm?

M-M-M…

[Assay] Hmm?

M-M-M… M…

[sighs]

You have to give him

a proper greeting, Kabo.

It might be one of the judging criteria.

[Kabo groans]

[Ren] Mr. Assay seemed a bit upset,

didn't he?

Kabo, wanted to greet him,

but he just couldn't get his words out.

It's fine. Mr. Assay is a dancer.

He'll judge based on your performance.

[both] Huh?

Anyway, I want to go over our duet.

Let's run through the routine over there.

Ta-tan tan tan…

We won't have a mirror to reference

on stage.

We need to get comfortable dancing

without being able to see ourselves.

-Ta-ta-ta, Ta-ta-ta, hup.

-[Kabo] Smart thinking.

Wanda…

We are performing in front of

a real audience for the first time today.

We have to look impressive.

-[Usen laughs] That's so lame!

-[exclaims]

Watch your mouth, Usen.

-You're…

-[Kabo] Was he talking about us?

[Usen] But you're so loud.

[Kabo] Well, this part is ours.

Wanda and I came up with it. Not On.

Do we look lame?

Worse yet, Wanda must be hurt.

[sighs] And then,

the pause here is really important.

Gotta look sexy before hitting…

Kabo, are you listening to me?

-Uh…

-Mmm…

Now, for this part… Let's see…

I have a good recording of it

from two days ago.

[gasps] Right around here.

[Kabo gasps] Dang. She's recording tons.

Hey, don't look at it so much!

-Oh, go ahead.

-[Kabo] Which is it?

[Wanda] Yura suggested that I record

everything, and I thought, "She's right."

[Kabo] She's been practicing so much

on her own

outside of our club and evening practice.

[host] We will now begin!

The High School Dance Convention!

[audience cheers]

We'll kick off with

our annual Judges' Showcase.

Let's see the pros at work!

[Kabo] Judges' Showcase?

We get to see the judges perform.

[MC] He is a legendary hip-hop dancer

who has won multiple championships,

including Japan Dance Delight.

From the dance team PTSG.

Give it up for Assay!

[hip-hop music playing]

[Kabo gasps] He's the man from earlier.

["Flame on Higher" playing]

He's something else.

His shoulders and chest move independently

as if they're separate living things.

His sticky, wavelike movements

perfectly match the weight of the music.

Even though I know this song…

it sounds so much cooler

because of his dance.

[whispering] You're impressive for

picking up that his dance is impressive.

[audience cheers]

-[Iori] Hey, Kabo.

-[gasps]

Yo.

[breathes heavily]

H-H-Hello!

[grunts]

Why are you always like "H-H-H?"

Calm down.

[chuckles]

[panting]

It's hard for Kabo to get

his words out sometimes!

[huffing]

Huh?

[sighs]

[groans]

Just now,

a lot of stuff clicked in my head.

Hey, Iori.

Didn't know you like this sort of event.

Heya.

I thought you quit

since you haven't come in a while.

I wish you'd do contests again, Iori.

Nah. I'm not exactly contest material.

What? You say that, but you won

the personal award last year.

[Iori] Did I?

[Kabo] What?

I just happened to get lucky last year.

We've got some strong contenders

this year.

There's Tenno High School.

They won last year's contest.

The president this year, Mora,

has a sick Jazz vibe.

[Iori] Ah, true. They're good.

Then, there's Sakaya High School.

They do hip-hop,

and their president's dance

is insanely good.

Wait, who is it?

You know, that burly guy with the fade?

Oh, you mean Usen.

[Kabo] Oh, that guy.

Their team composition is similar to ours.

It might be a good learning opportunity

for you, Kabo.

We'll destroy them.

Whoa. That's quite bold.

Usen seems like he really gets dance.

-[gasps]

-[both chuckling]

We're counting on you, Kabo.

Yeah, let's bring home the win this year!

Let's win and leave a good track record.

Then, we can ask the school

for better equipment.

[Kabo] E-Equipment?

Let's do our best, Kabo.

[dancer] Yeah, that's the spirit!

Unlike me,

you'll get along with everyone just fine.

[MC] Entry number one, Kiyohisa High

School. We're about to see some locking!

Kiyohisa High School went

all the way to the nationals

in a different contest last year.

They got an instructor

from outside the school, and since then,

they've been getting even better.

Gotta keep an eye out for them.

[MC] Entry number seven,

Tenno High School.

[crowd] Mora!

They were totally in sync.

And so sharp.

[Yura] I'm overwhelmed.

[judge 1 grunts]

They're perfectly synchronized

down to their fingertips.

What a powerful performance.

They're polite too.

We may have this year's winner here.

[judge 2] Their composition is top-notch,

and they have excellent coordination.

The routine was surprisingly intense

for high school girls. My goodness.

[MC] Entry number 13. Sakaya High School.

[judge 1] They are all over the place

and sluggish. Are they even trying?

They don't look like

high schoolers either.

[judge 2] Tough stuff.

They're trying to pull off something

most high schoolers wouldn't dare try.

Every performance looks incredible.

Can we really win?

Unbelievable, they didn't even

greet the audience from the stage.

Their clothes are baggy

and look sloppy too.

Yes, I agree. I'm with you.

[judge 2] Where were they looking?

Mr. Assay,

which element matters the most to you?

[sighs]

I'd have to say…

passion.

-[dancer 1] I'm getting butterflies.

-[dancer 2] Let's do our best.

[dancer 1] Right?

[Kabo] Man, my nerves are

really starting to get to me.

The soles of my feet feel numb.

My shoulders feel stiff

from being so anxious.

[Kabo] This dance club is the first place

I ever made my own friends.

They're all good people.

No, there's more to it.

If it weren't for Wanda,

I wouldn't still be in the dance club.

I need to thank her.

Slap, slap, slap, slap…

[Kabo] Wha… Wanda… What are you doing?

[chuckles] The soles of my feet feel

a bit floaty, so…

[Kabo] Wanda may look confident,

but she feels the same way I do.

Mmm?

[stammering]

You and I, we can do this.

I think your choreography is really cool,

and you've set your sights on

becoming the best in the world, right?

[Hikari breathes heavily]

Thank you, Kabo.

[Kabo gasps]

But this may not be the best place…

[gasps]

-[Iori] Is this seat taken?

-Huh? No.

Who's he? An audience member?

Oh, he's Iori.

You know, the one who never comes.

Iori, why didn't you enter the contest?

We would have a better shot at winning

if you were on the team.

Don't worry.

So far, only Tenno and Sakaya

have a winning chance.

And we are on their level. So don't worry.

What do you mean?

[Iori] To start, most schools are

too careless about their sound quality.

The effort you put into the sound

affects the dance.

Tenno and Sakaya were thorough,

and so were we.

That's our On! She knows her stuff!

[Iori] Though,

I prepared the music on her behalf.

Also, the speed of sound is

about 340 meters per second, right?

With an auditorium this large,

there's bound to be some sound delay.

Even a slight rushing on stage appears

really early from the back of the hall.

Tenno and Sakaya

factored this into their performance.

But we've got that covered too.

Your performance lived up to

my expectations.

You guys looked like troops up there.

That supposed to be a compliment?

[chuckles]

You guys are the ones who've prepared

a routine only pros can appreciate.

Do you even want to win?

We're good.

Even if we lose the contest,

we win in dance itself.

Sheesh, is that what's important to you?

I'm keeping my eye out

for Ichirin High School.

On Miyao is leading their club this year.

It certainly won't be

an ordinary performance.

Everyone, can you run your parts

from muscle memory?

Of course! We practiced them

at least two million times.

Hold on though, danger lurks in comfort.

Huh?

When you get too used to doing one thing,

you kind of go on autopilot.

Ideally, the parts come naturally,

and at the same time,

you can dance as if you're freestyling to

a song you hear for the first time.

There's no passion that's greater than

the thrill of discovery.

But what if I do that,

and end up skipping some parts?

-[On] It's fine if you do.

-[both] What?

If you miss a part, then go "boom",

and give it your best solo act!

If we convince the judges that

we planned it all along, then we win.

Though, it'd be too funny if we all

broke into solo act from the get-go.

[MC] Entry number 25.

Ichirin High School!

[hip-hop music playing]

[both] On!

Yaffle feat. Sahnya KUJIRA

-Whoa!

-[judge 2] The hook is good.

[Assay] A dancer's comprehension

of the basics

is revealed as they move around the stage.

The inexperienced ones

lose the beat immediately.

They all must have…

practiced hard.

But what I want to see

is passion.

The passion for dance itself.

[both gasp]

That's not Iori.

But his moves hit heavy.

[gasps]

Kabo is k*lling it.

[Iori] His intensity…

That's right, Kabo. That's your weapon.

Hit 'em hard with the sound, Kabo.

[Assay] He's mastered the basics,

and he's got good feeling.

Only thing left is…

[both gasp]

This time, you're flowing with the music.

[gasps]

The two of them are so…

Yes.

They've got the looks of dancers.

[Assay] Calm down… I have to…

I have to remain impartial as a judge.

But…