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Tribe Nine
Episode 11

by Mercedez Clewis,

How would you rate episode 11 of
Tribe Nine ?
Community score: 3.5

Episode 11, “Chiyoda Tribe Showdown” brings the heat: but first, let's listen to shy sadboy Haru say something important. That's… certainly a way to start off the penultimate episode, ain't it?

Anyway, back to the episode at hand: our lord and savior Lord Ojiro is ready to make an appearance after definitely doing a murder, but first, it Minato Tribe must be deemed worthy enough to face off against our bemasked liege. So naturally, superior secretary Kamiki Yui has gathered a team of elites. Pop off, Queen! Time to go to bat and see how things shake out.

But like I said: first, let's have a message by sadboy Haru, which comes after the Minato Tribe gets a taste of the opposition's greatest hits… literally. What does our batter boy have to say? Oh, just a confession to team manager Saori. That's it: I'm not joking, that's seriously it. It nearly made me yeet my laptop, but I didn't because tech is expensive, and in this pandemic, hard to come by. Plus, my computer is nice, which is something this episode tries to be, but has to grow into.

Thankfully, after that completely underwhelming tidbit and some goofy diagetic music (as well as the brutal realization that Saori is one of two central women in this series) episode 11 and the usually bangin' soundtrack gets it together for a battle of epic baseballertude, Minato Tribe style. And I wish I could say it was engaging, but honestly, the jar of mediocre Sour Patch Watermelon jellybeans on my desk kept me more entertained than the front half of Tribe Nine ever could. I swear, my relationship with this anime is horrendous: I'm like a tragic love interest in a romance novel. I keep thinking, “Maybe, Tribe Nine will finally love me.” I keep muttering, “Maybe, it'll be good again like it was in the first arc.”

And yet…

That said, things did get good when I started to cheer for the bad guys, which I don't think was the intent. Oh, and it got good when the Adachi Tribe crew showed up, thereby jossing my idea that they'd all absolutely died. (I think I posited that at some point: I am steadily losing touch with what ideas I've made up in my head and what ideas I've actually put into a review.)

Let make return to cheering for the bag guys because… that definitely comes back when Yui (that is, discount Junko Enoshima) actually gets in the mix, which is the saving grace of this episode. Bonus for the fact that she A) kicks the baseball instead of pitching and B) wears a futuristic catsuit. Feminist though I may be, I dig on a villainess in a catsuit. Gotta destroy dreams while lookin' good, you know? (Also C) she Naruto runs and that's always a bonus in my books.)

If episode 10 was intended to up the ante, then episode 11 is an adequate follow-up that… got better the longer I watched. It's ample enough to make you somewhat excited for this series to both end and resolve, with diegetic BGM that's flavorful enough to season this bland series up a bit. It's still giving me whiplash, but I also still find myself thankful for Funimation giving me the runaround with this series. I suppose that's as good of a compliment I can generate for a series that resolved in a way that's giving me Final Fantasy: Advent Children climax vibes. I… genuinely kind of hope it'll play out with the same ridiculous energy when all the tribes naturally ban against the Chiyoda Tribe and put the “fun” back in extreme baseball because… why not?

Rating: , with the extra three-fourths of a star for Sonoda Fucho's thirst over Yui because… same.

Tribe Nine is currently streaming on Funimation.

Mercedez is a JP-EN translation and localization light novel editor & proofreader/QA, pop culture critic, and a journalist who, when not writing for ANN, writes for Anime Feminist, where they're a staff editor. They're also a frequent cohost on the Anime Feminist Podcast, Chatty AF. This season, they're reflecting on their youth with Akebi's Sailor Uniform. When they're not writing and reviewing, you can find them on their Twitter or on their Instagram where she's always up to something.


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