OGRESS (episode)

OGRESS is the 36th episode of the Sket Dance anime.

Summary
Himeko breaks her Cyclone while helping a client who was being assaulted for some cash from a bully. Because of that, she has to buy a new field hockey stick. As she bought one, she's reminded of her past before she met Bossun and Switch. As a result, Hime goes to a high school named Kaimei Academy where she meets Captain and Bossun.

Plot
It starts off with a flashback of Himeko watching her favorite hero on the television, Poppman. Back in the present, the Sket Dan catches a wallet snatcher after a request from a Kaimei High School student. After the brawl, Switch notices that Himeko's Cyclone is broken, possibly due to the fight with the snatcher.

The next day, Himeko and the Sket Dan goes out to find a new hockey stick by visiting a sporting goods store where Himeko first bought Cyclone. Once inside, they meet the manager who was closing a utility locker. Himeko asks for the old manager, but the new one says that he replaced the old one just the other day. She then requests for a Blast-branded stick with some specifications. However, the new manager cannot comply due to his inexperience. While browsing, Himeko finds a good-looking stick and asks the manager if she could swing it to test it. The manager allows her, and she starts swinging with professionalism. The manager commends her excellent stickwork. Suspicious at the manager's words, Bossun informs the manager that Himeko did not use the stick in the proper way for the sport. Bossun then opens the utility locker and finds a tied-up man inside who Himeko states is the real manager. The robber quickly runs out of the store. Himeko picks up a random hockey stick and chases the robber. She catches the robber and sends him flying with her hockey stick.



After the robber is arrested, the real manager thanks the trio by letting Himeko have the Flagrance stick for free. Switch asks Himeko if she is going to name her new stick and Himeko thinks of a name. Mistaking the word Flagrance for "fragrance", she decides the name of the stick to be Kunpuumaru. Switch then corrects her misconception of Flagrance, stating that the word has an L, not an R. He then tells her that flagrance means vicious or having a notorious background. Himeko gets shocked by the meaning of the name but Switch tells her that it is the perfect weapon for Onihime. They then go to a nearby playground. Himeko states that it is where she broke her first stick. She is then reminded of her past and jumps back three years ago.

After moving from Osaka due to her father's work, she remembers receiving a farewell gift, a red Poppman hat, from her old friends while boarding the train to Tokyo. Later, she enters a new school and introduces herself to the whole class. She explains the meaning behind her name (Hime, meaning devoted love) did not fit her because of her tomboyish attitude. Afterwards, she begins to feel lonely until she meets meets a girl during field hockey club, Arisa Kanō. It turns out she has the same hockey stick as Himeko. Afterwards, she teaches A-chan everything she knows about field hockey which attracts other classmates who asks Himeko to help them as well. Not long after, Hime becomes friends with them, and her loneliness disappears.

One night, while on her way home after doing some errands, Hime sees A-chan with a group of bullies from her school. After that, she carefully watches A-chan's actions, stating that sometimes she just "disappears". Days later, two of A-chan's friends approaches Hime to tell her that a group of bullies led by a girl named Nanba Kyoko was targeting A-chan. They also state that Kyoko is the worst bully in school and that A-chan's wealth maybe one reason why they are targeting her. Moments later, Hime interrogates A-chan about Nanba Kyoko. A-chan tells her that she is hanging out with Nanba, but not because of money. Hime asks if it is bullying, and tells A-chan to take a stand, because other people might think she is weak. She also tells her that she'll protect her and help fight against Nanba. A-chan tells her that Nanba called her out that night to bring money. Hime tells her that she'll go with her.



That night, Hime and A-chan goes to Nanba and her gang's turf, only resulting in Hime being beaten and A-chan being caught. Nanba tells her to give up, but Hime replies that she will take all the pain, but tells them to not hurt A-chan because she is weak. She prepares herself for a punch from Nanba, while grasping the Popman hat in her pocket, and telling A-chan that she'll protect her. Just then, A-chan laughs menacingly. Nanba asks "Arisa" (A-chan's first name) if she can beat Hime up, and Arisa agrees. While beating up Hime, Nanba explains that Arisa is their boss, who pays them to be her bodyguards. Hime asks why, and Arisa tells her that she needs to blend in and avoid trouble,  and the only way to do this is to be behind the strongest person in school. She used her money to make Nanba her ally. She then tells Hime that she feels angry about Hime looking down on her.



Angry about Arisa's betrayal, Hime flares up and beats Nanba and her gang, leaving Arisa the only one left. Frightened, Arisa is brought to tears and shouts at Hime, calling her a demon (oni).

Gallery
Check out the episode's image gallery!

Cast & Credits

 * Hiroyuki Yoshino: Yūsuke Fujisaki (Bossun)
 * Ryōko Shiraishi: Hime Onizuka (Himeko)
 * Tomokazu Sugita: Kazuyoshi Usui (Switch)
 * Haruka Tomatsu: Arisa Kanō
 * Ayahi Takagaki: Kyōko Nanba

Manga and Anime Differences

 * Different Intros: In the manga, Hime beats up a bully on the way to school. Whereas in the anime, Hime narrates about her old school and life on the train.
 * Manga Only: Hime's parents make a full appearance with their faces and speech bubbles.
 * Altercations: In the manga, the thug had a knife. However, in the anime, the thug had no knife. This is perhaps a censorship for younger audiences.
 * In the manga, Nanba observes Hime and Arisa from the fence.
 * Encounter between Hime and Nanba: In the manga, Hime bumps into Nanba who yells at her. Compared to the anime, Hime and Nanba never bump into each other. Hime sees Nanba for the first time in a mall and with Arisa and other delinquents.
 * Arisa's Altercations: In the manga, Arisa is not held hostage. Compared to the anime, she is tied up and held hostage.
 * Hime's Altercations: In the manga, Hime grabs her hockey stick during Arisa's speech. Whereas in the anime, Hime grabs her hockey stick when Nanba is pummeling her.