Iwakakeru!: Sport Climbing Girls (Episode 11) - The 15 Second Wall

After seeing one climber fly up the wall, Konomi asks her for some advice on how she approaches it. Luckily for Konomi, she’s willing to help and reveals it’s like a dance game to her. It’s all about rhythm.

What happened?

The idea of treating the speed wall like a dance game absolutely falls into Konomi’s strengths. If she can play the wall like a game then she should be able to conquer it. After spending a little time with Jun working out her rhythm, Konomi is able to put all the pieces together, including what she learnt from the other girls. For her final climb of the training camp, Konomi manages to do it in under fifteen seconds. Jun manages to get her time down too.

They return back to school and catch up with Sayo and Nonoka. Kikuko has asked to help out too, much to Konomi’s delight. Everyone gets the chance to show off what they’ve been working on and it’s hard for Sayo to watch, as she’s still recovering from injury. The next day, Sayo attacks the speed wall but then gets pulled aside by Nonoka who is furious that Sayo would risk her future for one tournament. Sayo is also upset as she wants to climb with them as a team but concedes to Nonoka’s demands that she sits it out.

There are so many climbers in the tournament that the competitors are split into two groups. Konomi, Jun, and Nonoka are in group B and will take on the bouldering first. After the first round, they find themselves in first place. Kurusu and her team take the lead in group A at the speed climbing wall. Konomi does her best to get close to their times, but with a new personal best under fourteen seconds, she’s still way off.

Iwakakeru Sport Climbing Girls Episode 11 Nonoka welcomes back Konomi and Jun

What did you think?

This was a return to the show that I loved earlier in the season. There were no more repeated dramatics and lazy storylines. We were back to what this show does best – climbing. Now, I’m grateful for the development of the characters, but it really didn’t need to be as over the top as it was. There’s also just one episode left which means it’s going to be non-stop climbing from here on unless they decide to not show us it like they did back in episode 8. Please don’t do that again!

For me, the climbing has been the best part and I’m looking forward to lots of montages in the final episode. I also love the way they’ve used gaming and solving puzzles as a way to show Konomi’s growth in the sport. I get the sense that there’s going to be something more in the finals, especially as she’ll need to find a way to defeat Anne Kurusu and her annoying catchphrase…

Iwakakeru Sport Climbing Girls Episode 11 Nonoka has rediscovered her love of climbing

What have you learnt?

There’s a lot to be said about playing to your strengths. Several studies have shown that focusing on something that you are naturally talented at will reap the greatest increases. You can absolutely make your weaknesses stronger, but the growth will not be as significant if you look at improving your strengths. So, what has this got to do with this episode or writing, for that matter? Well, we saw how much better this show is when it does what it does best. The same goes for writing. If you’re good at writing dialogue or action, focus on that. Make it better and your stories will shine. If you’re not so good at writing romance, don’t try to write a romance. At least, don’t make it the main focus. Play to your strengths and make them even stronger.