Round 9

**Round 9** is the episode of the Hi Score Girl (anime).

## Netflix Synopsis

*With high school exams entrance exams coming up next year, Haruo fears his time playing fighting games at the arcade with Akira will soon come to an end.*

## Summary

At the Yaguchi household, Haruo's mother and Haruo enjoy breakfast together. Haruo's mother wants to see a movie with Haruo, but he flatly rejects the offer, which causes her to snap.

Afterward, Haruo finds Akira and her chauffeur Jīya at the arcade center. Haruo claims he'll take care of Akira while Jīya can play some pachinko which elates the man. Akira then plays some Virtua Fighter as Akira, a character with difficult combo settings. So, Haruo plays some matches against Akira using Kage, and loses the first couple of matches, but wins the last one due to a ring out. Surprisingly, Akira doesn't hit or walk away, but tacitly stays by his side until the arcade closes.

That night in his room, Haruo thinks about how Akira will handle High School and if she'll be able to make any friends. The following day, Haruo reads a magazine featuring the Playstation and Sega Saturn game systems to Akira at the tiny arcade section at a candy shop. He mentions that if he ever gets a hold of either system, Akira can play video games over his house. Eventually, the two walk home while enjoying some icy pops and Haruo thinks about games and his future.

The following day, Haruo takes Akira to a mall where the new Dark Stalkers game is at. When it's Haruo's turn to play the game, he struggles at it, but when Akira plays she excels at it. She later plays an assortment of other arcade games and they enjoy lunch at a ramen shop. At the shop, Haruo mentions the upcoming fighting games, game systems, and high school entrance exams. Late that night, at his house, Haruo sees Akira off, but before she goes asks if she enjoys being with him. Akira gives no response, but simply smiles and is driven off by Jīya. In response to his resolve to stay with Akira, Haruo diligently studies for the upcoming entrance exam.

November of that year, Haruo reveals to Koharu and Kōtarō that he's going to apply for Joran High, a super sophisticated school. A flashback of Haruo's parent-teacher meeting, reveals that Haruo's teacher Reiko although the odds are against him for making the highschool of his choice. It's still a worthy endeavor. Back to the present, Koharu and Kōtarō are astounded by the results of Haruo's student-teacher meeting. Furthermore, how Haruo is abandoning his desire for acquiring either a PlayStation or Sega Saturn. Once Kōtarō figures out that Haruo is trying to attend the same school as Akira, he offers to tutor him. Following the various advice from his peers, Haruo diligently studies, while Akira is notably in a slump.

Time passes by and when Haruo goes to buy the new Sega Saturn for himself. As Haruo heads off to do this, he's picked up by Jīya who confesses to him that he's a bridge that makes Akira happy. Inside the car with Akira, Haruo confesses about how he feels about the time he's spent with her. This leads to Akira to hold his hand.

On the day of the Joran Entrance Exam, Akira manages to pass it, however, Haruo does not.

## Characters

* Yaguchi Haruo
* Yaguchi Namie
* Ōno Akira
* Hidaka Koharu
* Miyao Kōtarō
* Jīya
* Tōno Reiko