Princess Nine - episodes 17 to 21

The potential cliffhanger of episode 16 was realised in episode 17, with all the hardhitting emotion that one could hope for. Izumi through this reveals herself to be the self-denying girl that we all knew she was, but later on her mother helped her to realise that she should be more open and perhaps less arrogant. The romantic advances that she makes aren't subtle at all and the responses that she gets are adamantly in the negative; in fact, the advice that she gets makes little sense and her hatred seems only to be fuelled by it. The internal dilemmas of Izumi make her one of the more interesting characters. Then, as it turns out, one of the most despicable.
Even the dreams were handled well: metaphorically and whatnot, also containing the series' only panty shot so far, simply because it was unavoidable. Ryo probably didn't come to her conclusion in her sleep, but it was a nice way of showing it.

In fact, this set of four was all about honesty, or about revelation of true feelings. Then there was the fifth episode, in which Ryo decides just to blatantly lie so as not to hurt ... who, exactly? The only one who can benefit from such an action is the only one who deserves not to.
All of the other characters are becoming better and more open, particularly Yoko - everyone comes to understand what is most important to them.

The romance episode arrives at last. Ryo realises that her feelings are actually there, Hikaru gets to feel feelings of her own (which means that the nerdy best friend character won't miss out!). The problem, then, with this romance is how it affects Izumi. Up until then she had just been rude and blunt, while being unable to voice her feelings in a tactful manner. Now she has become cruel, manipulative, petty and vindictive. Ryo needs to grow a backbone when it comes to Izumi. She shouldn't allow herself to be steamrolled!
Romance took a while to arrive, but it came in a truly acidic form.
Also, Kido, the notoriously drunk coach who isn't happy unless he comes to work with a hangover, tries to give up alcohol for love (without being asked). The feeling is palpable.

However, it's at around this camp point that you realise there are only five episodes left and they haven't actually played an official game yet. It's possible that the season will be played as a whirlwind montage, contrary to the generally detailed episodes that have been seen so far. It seems more likely that the team will fall short of Koshien; which, while it was a nice dream, even Chairman Himuro only expected the team to get there within three years. I can't really imagine a series like Princess Nine disappointing at the last, so what conclusion there will be is something to really anticipate.