"Smile's waiting for me."
I truly appreciate the scene with Sanada and the trainer, in which the former expresses his displeasure with Kazama's perceived lack of interest (well, actual lack of interest, actually).
It's the kind of situation where we have enough information from earlier (the episode where Yurie talks with her dad about Kazama) to understand him having to manage knowing the circumstances of Kazama's crappy life and upbringing and having to balance that with the team's discontent with it's top player's attitude. Like, nothing is written nor said, but the situation itself is set up such that it gives the trainer more depth as a character. It's excellent.
Tayou Matsumoto must be a hell of a writer, like damn dude. Taking Sanada and managing to add emotional stakes to his game against Tsukimoto is quality shiit. Sanada is too lost in his one-sided pseudo-rivalry against Kazama and I think that's misguided in a relatively high level competition such as this one. He was going to lose anyway but the reason for his playing was the wrong one. A theme in the series.
Seeing Smile in robot mode is straight up hype every single time. Ota having come around to appreciate Smile in his own mini arc is also great to see.
Kazama's voice actor is amazing. The weight on his voice really sells you on the crushing pressure he feels. It's understated but it's there. That monotone, that heavy feeling that he's supporting enough pressure that he could break if his will (fuelled by trauma) wasn't so strong. Sublime.
And here we are, almost at the end. After building (well, we still haven't properly gotten to Kazama, but we're almost done with him) a great cast of characters, be it main or surrounding, with depth, their own motivations, pasts and well defined personalities, we get to the core of the story: Peco and Smile's friendship. What a ride, every time I watch this.
@Lordhippos Yeah, his father (Nori, I think) got the family business into deep shiit, as per the trainer's description earlier in the series and killed himself either out of shame or desperation. The quick cuts of him losing it in front of the pc sell the idea (I think there's even a bottle of alcohol in there), but I never actually questioned the outcome of that scene until you mentioned it.
Looking at it, you're right that there could be some doubt as to what happens, but yeah, this happening is what makes Kazama (the grandpa) step in to salvage the situation and in turn create a lifetime of trauma for the Dragon. As I mentioned earlier, his father's suicide, the shame his family made him and his mother feel mixed with the feeling of debt towards his grandfather is at the core of what drives him.
My read on Kazama and Akuma's conversation is that it served to show us that Akuma stepping back from ping pong allows him to better understand the pressure Kazama feels; it allows Akuma to probe into the real reason why Kazama plays ping pong (an hornets nest Yurie had poked in one of the previous episodes) which is important, for Kazama to mull the question in his head (there will be payoff to this particular point later). He lies here and lies again to Sanada. I think he tells Akuma what he'd like the reason to be and later tells Sanada what he wants the team to think of him. Neither are true at this point. Peco will help him sort that out
It also shows us a deep cut that I don't think Kazama had the tact to realize he had just uttered: that victory is all about effort. Those words were particularly painful to hear for Akuma, considering he gave it his absolute best and put in more effort than most but thanks to his circumstances, never could make it as far as he'd like (and deserve, really).
I think the main purpose is to reinforce that Kazama isn't in a good place mentally. And it adds more depth to Akuma. Him wanting to cry after having an honest conversation with someone he used to idolize but didn't really understand is an understated moment of emotional release for his character.
**** me, this series man. Holy crap.