Performances in any sphere of life are influenced by one’s state of mind. More than talent or hard work, the mentality with which a situation is approached ends up making all the difference—and this is the key motif of the second season of golf-centered anime, Rising Impact. In the previous season, golf prodigy duo Gawain Nanaumi and Lancelot Norman joined the prestigious junior golf institution, the Japan division of Camelot Academy, and with a selected team of talented young golfers, traveled to the UK to participate in the ultimate junior level competition of the golfing world, the Camelot Cup. The second season focuses mostly on the esteemed tournament, as the USA and UK divisions of Camelot Academy, the dominant champions of previous iterations of the tournament, pose serious challenges to the Japan division, putting Gawain and Lancelot through the toughest challenge of their sporting careers in the process.
Spoilers Ahead
Gawain’s Mental Block
The first season ended with Quester Phoenix, a player from the American division of Camelot Academy, voicing his disdain for Gawain, as he not only considers the Japan division to be unfit for participation but also considers that selecting Gawain, a kid, as one of their participants is really a new low for them as well. Gawain gets all flustered and challenges Quester toa driving contest. Quester gets shocked to see Gawain being able to use Rising Impact and hit the ball quite a distance—but decides to humiliate the kid by using a 3 iron instead of a driver to surpass Gawain’s distance. Already hurt and agitated by Quester’s remarks, the little kid takes the insult to heart and returns to his teammates sobbing. This incident deals a major blow to Gawain’s self-confidence, as even a day before the beginning of the competition, he finds himself unable to even cross 40 yards of the golf course. Aria sensei remarks that the issue is psychological and that Gawain has to take care of this on his own. Lancelot advises his young friend to focus on his game instead of trying to outdo others, which is exactly what Gawain has been trying to do ever since the contest with Quester. Eventually, Gawain manages to break free from his mental shackles by remembering why Kiria’s words motivated him to start playing golf in the first place—he simply wanted to hit as far as he could. This basic realization allows Gawain to get his swing back after practicing for hours, and Aria sensei notices that Gawain has gotten even more proficient in driving. It should be mentioned that Quester is able to tap into a special form of Rising Impact as well, which perturbed Gawain the most.
Platalissa’s family troubles
In the previous season, it was hinted that Platalissa had family ties in the UK, something that she didn’t want to face previously, and in the second season, it is revealed that her elder sister, Sfida, who lives in the UK, is a part of the UK division of Camelot Academy and has a terse relationship with her younger sister. Since her childhood, Platalissa had blindly followed and imitated her elder sister, even taking up her passion for golf as well, despite not being as perfect as her. However, Platalissa became the favorite child of her parents, much to Sfida’s dismay, and she started despising her sister. Even while meeting with her before the upcoming competition, Sfida crushes her morale by spewing her hatred. As a result, Platalissa becomes too dejected to compete in the team-up rounds of the tournament, and Aria makes the top six of team-up rounds, excluding her anyway.
Which Team Leads The Team-Up Rounds In The Camelot Cup?
Dividing the top six participants of each division into three teams, each of the participating teams prepares for the first round of the Camelot Cup. Gawain and Lancelot are paired up, and they face the best pair of the USA division, Quester and Bilford, and the strong partnership of Ice and Sfida of the UK team. Despite facing initial hurdles, Gawain and Lancelot outshine their opponents, especially Gawain’s enhanced form of Rising Impact, which causes Quester’s skills to fade in comparison, crushing his arrogance and morale in the process. However, Gawain eventually manages to motivate Quester back to his former self. Ice and Sfida gear up a bit late and quickly catch up to their competitors; however, Gawain’s Rising Impact combined with Lancelot’s Shining Road skill is too much for their opponents to handle, and as the dark horse duo of the tournament, they win their round.
On the other hand, Yumiko and Wanglian’s team manages to tie with their USA and UK counterparts, but surprisingly enough, theoretically the strongest team of the Japan division, Todoin and Liebel, fail to score a single point against the best team of the UK, consisting of the junior golf genius Tristan and his partner, Percival. As a result, Team UK gets the top spot after the first round, followed by Japan and the USA, respectively. Todoin and Liebel eventually get their resolve strengthened for the final round—an individual tournament, where Tristan has reigned supreme for the last couple of years.
Who Won the 11th Camelot Cup?
Through flashback sequences, Tristan’s tragic past is revealed. During the initial days of his golfing career, Tristan was bullied by his peers due to him failing from a working-class family, while his father, Meliodas Liones (“Seven Deadly Sins” reference, also created by mangaka Nakaba Suzuki), worked multiple shifts to see his son become a pro golfer. However, the day Tristan was selected for Camelot Academy, to his horror, he found his ailing father had passed away. Since then, Tristan has been fixated on his goal of becoming the absolute king of the golfing world, and winning consecutive Camelot Cups all by himself has just proven how much talent and determination the 15-year-old teenager possesses.
Like Lancelot and Gawain, Tristan has a unique skill as well, known as Fallingstars, which allows him to hit an absolute perfect approach shot, resulting in perfect chip-ins from anywhere within 120 yards of the hole. In individual rounds, Tristan is paired with Lancelot, and his dominance over the game temporarily shakes Lancelot’s composed demeanor. Having won every major golf competition throughout his life, the fact that someone better than him is actually beating him doesn’t sit well with Lancelot, and he starts dropping points rapidly. The worst part is he even fails to spot the Shining Road any longer as his confidence hits rock bottom.
On the other hand, paired up with Percival, another jolly little kid like him, Gawain goes on his way to simultaneously rack up and fumble points, until he accidentally suffers a bad blow to his head, which unlocks a totally contrasting side to his otherwise bumbling, chirpy demeanor. This version of Gawain starts dominating different courses quite fiercely, which shocks even Tristan himself. In his unusual state, Gawain encourages Lancelot to pull himself together and remember what he had taught Gawain about golfing—that more than winning or scoring, a golfer needs to make every shot count. Lancelot manages to calm his nerves, and once again the Shining Road becomes visible to him.
Lancelot quickly catches up to Tristan, and in his altered state, Gawain aces the courses in one shot, and their unbelievable skills get under the skin of Tristan. Even though he manages to get on top of his form rather quickly, proving his mental fortitude, the former champion realizes after his final shot that he has been outmatched. Gawain narrowly misses his last shot due to his bleeding wound, almost sinking the ball to a five-par hole with one single swing. Succumbing to his pain, Gawain gets knocked out, which results in his disqualification, although he was just a single point behind Tristan. As the 11th Camelot Cup concludes, Tristan is crowned the champion for the third time and earns one of the Ring of Twelve Clubs as a reward. However, he considers himself to be unworthy of the position, and as Gawain leaves the UK with the Japan division, he goes to hand it over to him. However, Gawain assures him that Tristan has beaten him fair and square and fully deserves the reward.
Did Gawain join Arthur Phoenix’s team?
Parallel to the tournament narrative, Gawain’s unknown parentage was treated as a subplot, and it is hinted that Quester’s father, the mysterious golfing legend, Arthur Phoenix, might be Gawain’s long-lost father as well. Throughout the Camelot Cup, Arthur had secretively watched over Gawain’s performance, and after learning about his birthplace and mother’s identity, it seemed Arthur became sanguine about Gawain’s parentage. After the end of the tournament, as Gawain recuperates at the hospital, Arthur meets with him and offers for him to join his exclusive team of golfers, with whom he wants to create a kingdom of sorts by beating every golfing academy and team out there.
However, Gawain refuses this proposal as he wants to beat Lancelot and Tristan and learn much more about golf before playing on someone else’s terms. As Team USA leaves the UK, Quester is surprised to see his father has already found three major players for his team: Wanglian and his sister Guanglin, and Quester’s girlfriend, Bridget. Arthur’s motivations and his past will be of prime focus in the third season of Rising Impact, which will highlight the arena of pro golfers as the teenage protagonists step up to the big leagues.
