IGPX Episode 8: I Like You, I Like You, I Love You!

Original Japanese title: I Like You, I Like You, I Love You!

Team Satomi's next race pits them against Team Skylark. However, it is not popularly known that Takeshi and Fantine have feelings for each other. Will those feelings hinder each other's performance in the race? And will the outcome of the race affect their relationship? Meanwhile, Miss Satomi gets a little too curious and finds out that Mark may be hiding something about him. Will she be pleased with the truth behind his past? This episode features the first race against Team Skylark.

Spoilers Below

Don't scroll down any further if you want to avoid spoilers! The action reports (and music credits) contain some spoilers from the episode!

Report #1

Fantine Valjean and Takeshi Jin as Lovers??

Takeshi demonstrates his "Best Performance", even off of the course!

The highly anticipated event of each IGPX season, the IGPX All-Star Festival, has just finished. However, nobody could have imagined that there would be a couple spending time together secretly by themselves, not so out of sight. The couple is Fantine Valjean of Team Skylark, better known as "The Princess of the IGPX" and Takeshi Jin of Team Satomi, who has been recently showing the world remarkable strength in the IG-1. After the festival finished, according to the photographer of IG-XX Magazine who took the condemning photo of the two in a VIP room that wasn't being used for the day's events, Fantine and Takeshi were together for about an hour, as the fireworks at the end of the festival were going off. According to official reports from both teams, the teams admit that the two know each other outside of the races as acquaintances but deny that their relationship is romantic. Both teams also said that their encounter in the VIP room was completely coincidental. Perhaps they are just friends, or maybe there is something more going on.

The last race of the qualifying races for the IG-1 Regular Season is Team Skylark vs. Team Satomi. Fans will likely see whether or not there is anything between them based on how the race turns out.

Report #2

Team Satomi Moves Up to the #2 Spot in the IG-1!!

The grand battle ending rumors about the couple

The last qualifying match of the 2048 IGPX season has come and gone! What is striking is that the only thing that should have been worth noting going into this race (Team Satomi VS Team Skylark) was that Team Sledgemamma had already qualified for a slot in the semi finals match. But, audiences who purely wanted to enjoy the 'racing' aspect of this IGPX race may not have been able to concentrate fully on that with the recent scoop on Fantine and Takeshi's relationship that is brewing. The focus shifted more towards that at first. Even so, the person to crush any of those worries was none other than The Princess of the IGPX, Fantine Valjean.

In the first part of the second lap (near the Spiral), Fantine had a plan for Takeshi both are Forwards for their respective teams. Fantine unleashed several punches, taking off Takeshi's mech's left arm. This rainlike barrage seemed to take many by surprise. After that, Takeshi was tossed around by Fantine's Inner Edge, and many people would have probably assumed a landslide victory for Team Skylark at that rate. But then we enter the second half of the second lap. When Liz and Elissa, both Defenders, retired the race by crashing each other, Fantine missed her chance to properly time her change into Speed Mode, and couldn't narrow the gap between her and Takeshi. Amy swooped around them, changing into Speed Mode. Without being touched by another pilot after that, Amy was able to cross the finish line. The battle that was continuing from the first half of the race to the end of the race between Takeshi and Fantine overloaded the power capacitors on both mechs and caused them to overheat. While not fully operable, both pilots arrived at the finish line at the same time. Jessica, Midfielder for Skylark, finished in 4th place. It was later determined that Fantine crossed the finish line before Takeshi and was awarded 2nd place. Putting up a good fight, Team Satomi finished with two pilots in 1st and 3rd, and have moved one step closer to potentially winning the IG-1 this year.