In my review of Bamboo Blade Part 1 I said that unless it got better in the second half that I'd be giving it a pass. Well, just like Kaze no Stigma (which I also watched recently), I find myself enjoying the second half a bit more than the first. Yes, the show still uses many of the familiar sports tropes. Despite this, I found myself caring about what happened to everyone, so even amidst the well-worn territory, it held my interest.
 One of my criticisms of the first half was that the soft-spoken, stoic (yet masterful at kendo) Tamaki was practically invincible. That is thankfully addressed in the second half, in more ways than one. Her first major trial comes when friends of a rival school's teammate lock Tamaki in a storage shed so she can't compete in the match (and thus win enough points for the team). She escapes, but is tricked by the person she's about to fight into hurting her ankle, and that's the first real match with genuine tension as to how she'll fare.
Later, Tamaki is invited to a convention devoted to one of her favorite superhero TV shows, where she meets a fan, Rin Suzuki, who is just as devoted as her, if not more. The two form a friendship/rivalry, and this is explored even more in another venue, as it's revealed that Rin also practices kendo, and the two are set to face off in a future tournament. It's through this trial that Tamaki matures not only as a kendoist, but also as a person. There is also a plot thread where her father worries that she's not enjoying kendo like she should, and suggests she can quit if she wants. As Tamaki was my favorite character in the first half despite the relative lack of tension in her kendo matches, this is welcome indeed.
Alas, not everything new in part 2 is enjoyable. I wasn't a fan of a character added late in the series to serve as a rival to Miyako, the dual personality, purple-haired girl. That character, Carrie Nishikawa, is the typical "loud, belligerent, rude American" stereotype, who wields two bamboo sticks instead of one. Not likable, not multi-faceted, not well-written. Also, her character design is one of the few unappealing ones in the series. I like how her victory against Miyako prompted feelings of inadequacy in Miyako (even going so far as to avoid the dojo), but that's about it.
Oh yes, and what sports show would be complete without the danger of the team being disbanded. It's fairly effective here, though, especially since the reason isn't typical (not budget cuts, or the students' lack of interest, or the coach wanting to quit), but is instead due to a couple of bad seeds and their association with the kendo team, even though they haven't come to practice in months. And what makes it even better is how Kirino (the team captain) not the coach, is the one who has to make the decision on what to tell the principal, and her integrity makes it difficult to lie about the goons never officially being on the kendo team.
 So as you can see, Bamboo Blade does have its typical sports moments, even if they're done fairly well. But one area that it deviates from the norm is in fanservice. It's virtually absent in this show, which is a rarity for anime. In fact, in one episode where the girls briefly visit a bath house, I was sure they would show the exploits inside, complete with near and/or partial nudity. But nope, they do a time dissolve and cut to them after they are done and fully dressed. I was quite surprised, to say the least. Good for the director to know when fanservice would feel unnecessary and opted out of it.
As with part 1, the only special features are textless songs and trailers. And also consistent with part 1, I quite enjoyed the dub. The only voice I wasn't crazy about was Jamie Marchi as Carrie. It's not that the delivery of her lines was bad, but why does Jamie seem to play these kinds of valley girl-style parts all the time? I really don't want her to get typecast.
The critical part of my brain says that I should blast Bamboo Blade for its liberal use of sports tropes. But you know what? The emotional part of my brain really connected with the team and how they overcame struggle after struggle. The ending of the show, taking place one year later, is also pretty satisfying. And the overall theme, that winning isn't everything and to just have fun with people you love, was executed well, as this team grew close over the year, becoming like a close-knit family. What can I say? Bamboo Blade won me over in the end, even though I acknowledge that parts of it aren't the most original in the world.
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