The development was really in the short side-scenes more than anything. First, Sumire's seemingly useless notes were praised by Deskmoto. He seemed to be able to glean quite a bit of information from Sumire's personality-only notes. Of course, that backfired on her a bit once she said that she didn't really care about playing, and didn't feel she had the fighting spirit to compete (implying Deskmoto does). That seemed to hit him in a raw spot. It appears that is what Nikuman was getting at during the end sequence/cliffhanger. Deskmoto isn't really improving, he's already plateaued. But what he excels at is strategizing and guidance, but he falls flat at the implementation of those strategies, because either his heart isn't in the actual play, or his skill level just isn't there.

That's a sad state of affairs if it is indeed the case, because this series has always hit on the fact that someone can always get better, and there are dozens of ways to play competitively and at least get to A-rank. I guess I just can't see how Kana can usually be within ten cards of winning routinely with her unconventional, emotional-connection playstyle, while Deskmoto's intellectual style fails. He's like an even more strategic, but slower version of Taichi. How can than not be productive in the long run?

The other small but important part of the episode was of course, Shinobu's role and Arata's ban. The officials really want to find an excuse to let him play with just a slap of the wrist, but he's so damn hardheaded that the Queen herself was forced to intervene.

Shinobu has really grown as a chararacter as they've slowly peeled away her aloof, robotic personality, and gave her a real personality. She's still a weirdo, but so is Chihaya. They're basically a perfect match for each other. Plus, I find her accent irresistible the more lines they give her. She hasn't really changed, but she's blossoming with each quirk they introduce.

It's hilarious she treats Arata like a little brother or an ex-boyfriend.

Personally, I expect that Arata and Shinobu play in the final match in the individual tournament, but I hope that they get paired right away, with Arata getting taken down. Then they could have Shinobu facing off against Chihaya again, with Chihaya closing the gap substantially this time. It's not hard to see that Shinobu only has eyes for two other people, Arata and the current Master. Playing match that didn't result in her overwhelming victory would make Shinobu pay attention to Chihaya twice over. Once for having a connection to Arata, and another for giving her an actual rival in a few years. I want Chihaya and Shinobu to be friend-rivals. Shinobu needs a female friend, and they share a lot of interests.