Yukino (Akie Yoshizawa) takes part in a chess tournament held at a
skiing resort, and she has brought along Saki (Yoko Minamino) and
Okyo (Haruko
Sagara) as her cheerleaders. But of course, Saki wouldn't be Saki without
suspecting the evil organisation Seiroukai having their hands in the
event. But at first everything seems on the level, with Saki even being
allowed to make the acquaintance of young Hiroshi, one of the contestants
in the tournament, and the two get on very well, even though he pushes
Yukino out of the tournament. But of course Saki's hunch is right, and
Seiroukai thugs are on the premises, one making a desparate and failed
attempt to kill her even. What she doesn't know is that Hiroshi's
wheelchair-bound sister is a member of Seiroukai, and she pretty much
forces Hiroshi to lure Saki into a trap on a remote ski slope. He has a
change of heart only to late and tries to save her, but ultimately she
saves him, is shot at, rolls down a slope and is left to die - but of
course, Yukino and Okyo find her and get her back to the hotel. At the
tournament meanwhile, Hiroshi intentionally loses the final game, which in
turn prompt the Seiroukai to shoot his sister, and before they can kill
Hiroshi as well, Saki, Yukino and Okyo arrive on the scene, and not even
guns and villains on snow mobiles stand a chance against girl power and
Saki's weaponized yoyo of course ... Now the plot of this
episode feels a bit forced, really as if the writers just randomly picked
the elements chess tournament and skiing resort and then tried to fit a
story around it - which really is part of the charm of the episode, as its
weird incoherence makes it somewhat endearing. And while the action isn't
super-exciting, it's still fun to see the girls fight in the snow for a
chance and ride snow mobiles. Not really a must-see episode mind you, but
enjoyable while one watches at least.
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