Tsubaki does so well on her practice exam that she feels like queen of the classroom.
Kaori finds new motivation, even in the face of her sickness.
Takeshi, Emi, and Kousei share his egg sandwich. All of them are finding new motivation. They are rivals but it forces them to improve every time they compete. We get a few Takeshi flashbacks that help shine some light on his piano playing motivation in general.
This episode definitely made me smile a lot.
From the Deck of the Matcha Latte 