Chasing the Coming Past

"Pursued By the Past" (Japanese: 追いかけてくる過去) is the eighth episode of Farewell, My Dear Cramer, written and illustrated by Naoshi Arakawa. The series is published in Kodansha's *Monthly Shōnen Magazine* since May 2016. The episode premiered on May 23, 2021 on Tokyo MX.

Note: "Pursued By the Past" is the official translated name.

## Overview

The day after their second group game, the girls play softball in PE class. Onda ends up injuring her foot when she kicked the ball instead of swinging the bat. The next day, the Warabis face off against Kotesashi Seirin. Onda's injured foot gave her trouble but she is determined to win. The girls meet Goro's junior Kazuo Takahagi on the way to the soccer field. Goro's past is revealed.

## Plot

The episode begins with the girls playing softball in PE class. Shiratori is surprisingly good at softball as she is winning against Nozomi's team. She gloats in Onda's face, calling herself the top scorer and the reason why the team won over Misato Girls' while Onda was benched during the game. Onda replies that it turned out that way because Shiratori scored off of the team's mistakes. When Shiratori throws the ball, Onda kicks it instead of swinging the bat. This results in an injury to her foot.

The next day, the Warabis face off against Kotesashi Seirin. The score is 4-4. Onda is keeping her foot injury a secret from Naoko and Goro. Soshizaki, Suo, and Shiratori walks up to her and tells her to get off the field since her foot will slow her down. She refuses and bring up Franz Beckenbauer as an inspiration to continue playing. The three girls are not convinced by this and walks away. Goro calls Onda over and tells her that he knows that her foot is injured. She denies it. Goro is not convinced. However, he gives her a chance to prove herself. Onda kicks the ball to Shiratori, who in turn scores for the team, winning the game. The win allows the girls to move onto the next stage in the preliminaries, the knockout stage.

   Outside Warabi Seinan High School, a man wearing black sunglasses and white shirt with long sleeves is standing nearby. He notices Onda, Soshizaki, Echizen, and Suo walking by and follows them. The girls begin to notice him and believes him to be a stalker. With the belief that they would get a reward if they capture him, they create a plan. The girls catch him by using bolas and handcuffs. Goro is riding his red moped and notices the girls and the captured man. When the man's sunglasses slide down his face, Goro recognizes him as Kazuo Takahagi. At the practice field, Kazuo is coaching the girls while they play.
After hearing Naoko's outburst, Kazuo introduces himself. Midori explains that he is a former football player who played in Japan, Spain, and Portugal. Later on, Goro and Kazuo are watching the girls play. Goro tells Kazuo that the third-years left the team again. Kazuo replies that this time it is his fault and that if he lacks motivation for soccer, he should stop. He also says that Goro should stay away from them if he isn't going to bother coaching them. Goro calls himself a pest and walks away.

While walking home with the the girls, Kazuo tells them how he met Goro. He reveals that Goro was an inspiring football player but he injured his leg during the U-23 training camp. He wasn't able to regain his top form so he quit soccer and became a coach. Unfortunately, the JFL team he coached didn't like his coaching.The team eventually fell apart which began his negative view on soccer.

When Kazuo suggests the idea that Goro lost passion for soccer, Onda disagrees and says that he likes it. It is why he is still coaching the Warabis. Kazuo and the Warabis part ways after saying their goodbyes. The ending reveals that the girls of Urawa Hosei High School is participating in the Saitama Preliminaries as well and they will play against the Warabis.

## Trivia

* Goro likes reading the horse magazines because he likes their big, round eyes. He doesn't gamble.