Originally Posted by
shinta|hikari
When was it stated that the mom knew that much? I remember her saying she knew it was his first final, not his first comp. If she knew it was his first actual competition, she should've said that, not specifically state "final." The Hyodo switching event isn't really a proper contest so it doesn't count.
About the other judges, that was my entire point. Everyone knew Tatara sucked from the start, but none of them were the wiser that he was that much of a noob, even to the very end. They eventually realized he was even more amateurish than they thought, but they would probably wet themselves if they knew he hasn't been dancing a year and that it was his very first contest (and that so much was at stake for that matter).
Heck, none of them even realized it was Tatara's frame that led to Mako winning the partner award. Only Sengoku and Hyodo, the two who orchestrated it, knew it was Tatara's intentional achievement.