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Prince of Stride: Alternative
Episode 6

by Lauren Orsini,

How would you rate episode 6 of
Prince of Stride: Alternative ?
Community score: 3.7

What kind of sport is Stride, anyway? Since it's completely fictional, it's open to interpretation, which is exactly what happens in this episode. This week, Honan and their opposition posit dueling ideas of what truly makes up Stride. Still, the real message of the episode has a cheesy, gooey center—that only the friendliest people are winners because friendship is awesome.

The Stride club has reunited with Kuga-senpai! But their merry reunion is interrupted when the opposing Relationer, Dozono, comes over and insults everyone to their faces. Since their team is already rumored to be violent, Honan just has to take it. When it's time to meet the rest of the team, it's pretty obvious that Honan is going to win because this is a repeat of episode three, when they competed against a team whose bond of friendship simply wasn't as strong. It's the biggest giveaway of this show, which is why I'm only tense when the other team actually seems nice. Here, the only memorable opponent is Himemiya, a formidable pigtailed athlete who has certainly outrun the gender binary at least, and he isn't going to put up with his Relationer's crap.

It's satisfying to see that this isn't even a close race, because the rival Relationer is, as Heath remarks, “just the right amount of annoying.” Dozono is patronizing to Nana because she is a girl at some points, and at other times he's cruel and condescending, calling her creepy for thinking that Stride is about connecting feelings. This reads like an insult to the entire audience—you can privately think a fujoshi is creepy for always thinking about boys and their emotions, but you can't just say something like that out loud, Dozono! Ichijyoukan's team strategy involves attempting to mentally break down and outsmart their opponents with crafty moves like hinting that Riku will never be as good as his brother. It's a technique that I knew wasn't going to work, because this isn't my first time at the sports anime rodeo. Midousuji already tried that and failed in Yowamushi Pedal. By the end, Dozono is as pathetic as he accuses Nana of being, having a tantrum over the com as he insults his runners.

Overall, this episode isn't a tense race. It's a celebration. It's a depiction of the Honan Stride club's triumph at being reunited, and it reads like a slideshow of all their strengths—Hozumi's gimmicks, Takeru's speed, Ayumu's loyalty, and Sakurai as the glue that holds them all together. Their devotion to a singular goal beats the other team's cynicism, because in case you haven't forgotten, this show is about how friendship conquers everything else. It's also a little like a music video, because there's a power ballad that plays for the duration of the race. It's a satisfying story, but way too predictable to be supremely entertaining.

Prince of Stride: Alternative's popularity must be far stronger than its average critical reception, since Funimation just announced their English dub for it today. So far, I've found the series to be a bit shallow, resisting the urge to delve into more intense characterization of our core team and opting to introduce endless, barely personalized new athletes instead. But I haven't lost hope, because the next episode looks like it's going to be a training camp, which are always highlights of sports anime for the way they encourage character growth and relationship development. Prince of Stride: Alternative is at its best when talking about friendships, so I'm ready to start being wowed anytime.

Rating: C+

Prince of Stride: Alternative is currently streaming on Funimation.

Lauren writes about anime and journalism at Otaku Journalist.


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