REVIEW: ‘Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games’ Episode 3 — “Late-Night Locals”

Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games Episode 3 is another immensely entertaining episode, mostly thanks to the introduction of two new characters. The episode excellently highlights their zany personalities and delivers many comedic moments.

Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games Episode 3 begins with Mio and Aya lamenting over the strict rules the academy has over lights-out time at the dorms and how they’ve been unable to play together because of them. Luckily, Mio finds an empty room with a faulty door on the fourth floor, and the two decide to meet there late at night. However, upon arriving, they are instantly caught by two hall monitors, Yu Inui and Tamaki Ichinose. The former is a carefree girl who also happens to love fighting games; she recognizes what the girls are doing instantly, but, despite it being against the rules, she doesn’t care.

On the other hand, Tamaki is a cold, serious, by-the-book girl. She catches the three in the act in Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games Episode 3, and Yu throws Mio and Aya under the bus so she doesn’t get caught as well. Tamaki then threatens to report the girls and even threatens suspension. However, Aya and Mio accurately point out that Tamaki knowing what they were up to and knowing what a fighting stick is suggests she’s also into fighting games.

The entire scene in Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games Episode 3 involving the four girls is hilarious.

Tamaki tries to hide this with more threats using her intimidating aura, but she’s exposed by Yu, who finds the whole scenario hilarious. Tamaki is then challenged by Mio, who makes a bet with her, but if she loses, Aya and Mio will be expelled.

The entire scene involving the four girls in Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games Episode 3 is hilarious, with constant mood shifts as each girl enters the room. It also features expressive faces that highlight their personalities. Their expressions, growing wackier as their conversation goes on, strip away the intensity and make it goofier, leading to a lot of laughs.

Mio and Tamaki face off in the game, and Mio easily beats Tamaki without breaking a sweat. The girls then set up a little tent and a local group play session where Aya trounces Tamaki as well. Aya then reveals that Tamaki, despite being a Juri player, is too careful and is bad at merging attacks into combos.

The anime and characters are well-versed in the specifics and mechanics of fighting games.

Specifically, she’s too scared to wake up super, or SA3, which is basically the ultimate attack you execute with a full meter. Tamaki explains why she’s so cautious after being farmed on ranked matches, and Aya forces her to train her combos. Tamaki tries to argue with her, but Aya tells her that trash players have no say, that she’s forgotten how to use her skills to enrage and punish others online, and that she must relearn.

The exchange between Tamaki and Aya shows just how knowledgeable Aya and the anime are about fighting games and specifically Street Fighter 6. Many of the technical terms and mechanics mentioned are accurate and what hardcore players actually use and discuss when trying to get better at the game. Additionally, their dialogue excellently showcases Aya’s hilarious toxic-gamer personality and the healthy competitive fighting-game toxicity between the characters, especially between Aya and Tamaki, who insults Tamaki for being the worst player among the four, which is incredibly entertaining.

The gaming night continues in Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games Episode 3, and Mio and Aya face off again, with Aya narrowly losing. Her reaction to losing, like in previous episodes, shows off her rage and obsession with trying to be better than Mio. The four meet up every day for a week, and the competitiveness between the two only gets more intense. So much so that they forget everything else around them, including rumors that they’re both dating. However, Yu notices that the two have gone too far, as they are so absorbed in their rivalry that they’ve completely forgotten about Tamaki, who’s only been practicing a very specific combo and has not been playing with them.

Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games Episode 3 highlights the fun parts of being a fighting game player.

Yu calls them out for their behavior and insists that they all play together and have fun. During this conversation, Tamaki reveals that she’s practiced a very specific combo a hundred times and has mastered it. But instead of being upset, she’s actually proud of herself and claims she’s having fun. Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games Episode 3 ends with the four happily continuing their session.

The final scene does a subtle but excellent job of revealing the type of characters the two new girls are. Yu is the most casual fighting game fan among the others. She’s cheerful, carefree, and clearly loves playing for fun with friends. On the other hand, Tamaki is similar to Mio and Aya, obsessed with getting better at the game, isn’t afraid to grind in many ways to improve, and loves the challenge that comes with the hardships of fighting games. They’re both very opposite personality-wise, but love fighting games in equal but different ways.

However, Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games Episode 3 doesn’t reveal much about their personalities, lives, or backgrounds beyond their love for fighting games, which is a shame. Hopefully, this will change in future episodes.

Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games Episode 3 is a funny and engaging episode that excellently highlights the fun parts of being a fighting game player, especially running locals with your friends. It also serves as an excellent introduction to the two new characters who are sure to make the anime more entertaining.

Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games Episode 3 is streaming on Crunchyroll.

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