OverDrive Episode 3 – Cross the Rubicon.

Shinozaki decides to join the cycling club, and Fukazawa tells her brother Yosuke that she was able to recruit a new member. She asks for her reward in return, but Yosuke was too busy looking for something to eat and didn’t pay attention to her, making Fukazawa give him a good kicking. Aside from trying out cycling, Shinozaki also decides to make himself more “fashionable” (or so he thinks) for Fukazawa’s sake. He borrows his dad’s pomade for fixing up his hair, his mom’s perfume, and his sister’s fashion magazine, much to their astonishment because this is the first time they’ve seen him care about his looks.

The next day, Fukazawa who comes to class late as usual, was just as surprised to see him in his “new look”, but in a negative way since he looked really weird in the way he looked She hits him to put some sense into his mind, and asks him just what came into him that he decided to change his looks “that” way. Shinozaki could simply murmur that he did it for Fukazawa’s sake… and the entire class were surprised by how friendly they are with each other.

Fukazawa’s friends [vaguely] recognize Shinozaki as the one they saw in the “bike incident” the other day, and teases her about getting along well with him. Shinozaki was on his way to go back to the classroom when he bumps into this girl with glasses (the one in the opening), whose personality (in terms of shyness and aloofness) is much like him. Shinozaki somewhat gets smitten by her, but shakes his head off as he tells himself that Fukazawa is the only girl she likes. As Shinozaki enters the classroom, he doesn’t notice the presence of Fukazawa and her friends, and fixes up his hair with a weird (and “shining”) look on his face, making them have “goosebumps”

After class, Shinozaki gets a little depressed as Fukazawa didn’t seem to remember about introducing him to her brother to become a member of his club. But Fukazawa didn’t forget it, she came back after some gimmick with her friends, and hurries off to the cycling club’s place. Shinozaki hesitates to open the door of the cycling club room, thinking that the moment he opens this door, it’ll also mean he’s opening the door to Fukazawa’s heart (or something like that). Fukazawa gets him back to reality and tells him to just open it. He finds himself in a dark room, and thinks if the path that he’s taken would also be “dark”… Just then, Yosuke calls out “Caught you, Yuki” then grabs Fukazawa’s chest from behind. Shinozaki witness this scene, and was surprised to find out that this guy was no other than her brother (and was also surprised by the “scene” itself).

Yosuke doesn’t make things easy for Shinozaki, and gives him a test before he becomes accepted to the club – to hold his breath for 3 minutes under water. He gives him until the following day to be able to accomplish this, and despite the impossibility of this task (and Fukazawa telling him that perhaps his brother didn’t have any intention of letting him join because of this outrageous test), Shinozaki tries his best to do it anyway. He doesn’t stop practicing until the school’s closing time, but was still unable to succeed in what Yosuke asked him to do. He was on his way home when he sees Fukazawa and gets his spirit uplifted, especially after Fukazawa invites him to go cycling together on a tandem bike. At the downhill, Shinozaki was first scared out of his wits, but after seeing the great view of the city from the mountain top, he was able to calm down and appreciate the view.

Fukazawa however breaks the brake lever, and they land on the nearby river instead. Contrary to what was expected, Shinozaki who didn’t know how to swim ends up saving Fukazawa because of his determination (to do what he can to enter the cycling club, in the hopes of being able to move not only the bicycle but also Fukazawa’s heart) Right at that moment when he is trying to save her, Fukazawa says that he can’t help but think that Shinozaki’s cool when he acts that way – when he gives his best to do something. Through this experience, he learned just what he needs to succeed in the task given him – to have complete determination to do what he must, even on the brink of death.

With this, Shinozaki was able to succeed in the test Yosuke gave, and even surpassed his expectations as he was able to hold his breath for 4 minutes. Yosuke himself couldn’t believe how he was able to do that, and was even more surprised when Shinozaki tells them that he chose to use soda instead of water because it’s more difficult to drink (according to Shinozaki).

Thoughts
Still an enjoyable episode, and despite Shinozaki’s discreet ecchiness, I still find him such a cute character, despite his wierdness at times We’ve seen how violent Fukazawa can get (especially in terms of dealing with her stupid brother), but it’s not surprising ^^” Looks like Fukazawa is starting to have feelings for him, but utterly denies it from her friends. The way she blushes and becomes speechless at Shinozaki’s “cheesy / sweet words” is some visible sign of this

About the black-haired girl with glasses… I spoiled myself and skimmed through the manga, only to find that she’s not introduced till much later (in Volume 5) o_o So, this must be some “foreshadowing” in the part of the anime, or they plan to let us see some glimpse of her even before the anime reaches until volume 5 of the manga… and for some more about this girl, here are some spoilers (click the link to show it)
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As for the next episode, expect to see Shinozaki “in action” (together with Yosuke and Koichi), as they would most likely proceed with the training (if it goes the same as the manga)

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