Volume 33: Tezuka Kunimitsu in Kyūshū

Chapters 283-292
Airplanes: 2

Chapter Events: extended flashback to Tezuka’s time in Kyūshū; Tezuka defeats Kabaji; Ōishi and Kikumaru begin their match against Ōtori and Shishido

--------1----Kelfin----1--------

Miyuki’s adorable. How much younger do you think she is than Tezuka? *matchmaking* Aha! She’s a fourth-grader! …Too much younger to matchmake with. Oh well.

Kids, do not play tennis with suckers in your mouths; you will choke and die.

Oh, of course! Bullies. Obviously, we couldn’t go too long before bullies showed up. You can tell they’re bullies because they’ve got duck faces, but wait… I think they’re a team… Shishigaku? I’m confused. Are they a team, or are they bullies?

Miyuki firmly believes that Shishigaku doesn’t have a chance of beating her brother’s team—she’s definitely the kind of character we’re supposed to like. Oh, that’s right. She has the “yips”! It’s just stage fright, Miyuki. Stop thinking about yourself and start thinking about the Tennis, and you’ll be fine.

Poor Miyuki! *indignant* If people notice her problem, they should help her, not laugh at her! Well, Tezuka’s going to help her out. At least he acknowledges what’s going on with her, and tries to give her advice.

He basically just says she needs to practice more… Not very helpful…

So apparently, Tezuka is having the same problem—he’s afraid to use his shoulder, but there’s nothing wrong with it. I guess that’s supposed to be parallelism, but… it’s not really that exciting as a literary device. I’m really uninspired by this entire story arc. Nice art, though.

Oh, it becomes clearer. They are bullies. Taking little girls hostage definitely counts as bullies.

LOL irony.
Daimaru:  It’s an honor to be playing against the nationally ranked Tezuka Kunimitsu.
We worry about Tezuka, because his shoulder isn’t working right yet, but we have no doubt that he will never lose to someone who mocks people and is mean to elementary schoolers.

…Oh my god, I was WRONG. Tezuka lost the game. BUT WHAT ABOUT MORALS AND STUFF?! Something bad has to happen to Daimaru now, or I will be appalled.

What, seriously?! They’re all going to play Tezuka, one after another? Like a gang rape?! (Is that too offensive of a comparison? *guilty look*)

Miyuki’s awesome—she’ll beat him herself. Good for her! (Sucks to Tezuka, though.) Miyuki will kick their asses for him. Fuck, I don’t even care if Miyuki loses. She’s still a billion times better than these assholes. Miyuki is seriously my hero. And Tezuka’s, too, I hope. Now he’ll decide to try harder, maybe? I hope?

“Die you little brat”? Really? How can there be any enjoyment in mocking little kids? Come on…

…Wait wait wait. All Tezuka had to do was watch Miyuki bravely face some big bad boys, and his shoulder is miraculously healed? Seriously?! First of all, it’s annoying that a girl has to get saved by a guy yet again (although Miyuki is more cool than all of the other girls, at least), and secondly… I was so excited that maybe something unexpected was going to happen, and Tezuka was going to lose, and it was going to be all depressing… but no. Out of thin air, he’s going to be awesome. *sigh* Is that splash page of Tezuka unzipping his jersey supposed to show us how serious he is?

Let’s talk about Tezuka for a minute, you guys… What is going on with this character? I know I’ve said that I hate him before, but I don’t hate him; I just hate how the story uses him. Taylo says that he feels like he’s a crossover character from another manga—like his story doesn’t actually belong as part of The Prince of Tennis, and I think I agree. He’s not fundamentally uninteresting, but his thoughts, emotions, and motivations are mostly ignored by the story. It’s confusing, because we’re told over and over how amazing he is, but we repeatedly see him lose. The few times that we do see him win, it’s underwhelming. For example, this current match with Kabaji seems too rushed, too focused on the actual events that happen without paying enough attention to why they happen. Even though there’s a long flashback, it doesn’t really help us get involved with Tezuka’s emotions. We can’t align ourselves with him because we don’t know what he deeply desires; we don’t care if he loses because we can’t see that he cares. Possibly, Tezuka is kept deliberately distant from us because we’re supposed to see him the way Echizen does: as a godlike figure who is a symbol, a personification, of how much more he must improve in order to be truly good. But it’s too bad, because in doing so, the story sucks all of the interestingness right out of Tezuka. In the flashback, Miyuki is a much more compelling character, even though the story is really supposed to be about Tezuka. I suppose in such a long story, at least one character is going to fall through the cracks, but The Prince of Tennis usually has such good characterization, it’s confusing.

Yeah, I think “confusing” is the best way to describe how I feel about Tezuka.

Yay, Miyuki won her championship match! But alas, Tezuka is gone. :( I hope she got his phone number or something. Oh well, Chitose can always carry the message. Ah, now I feel all nostalgic. Chitose dresses a lot like I did at his age. I was in my hippie phase around then and listened to nothing but music from the 1960s and read lots of Russian novels.

MEANWHILE BACK AT THE GAME WITH KABAJI

…I forgot this was even happening. LOL

Oh god, Ōishi, you’re such a fanboy. Gross.

Crap, I don’t even remember what hyakuren jitoku no kiwami is. Something that involves tennis magic, clearly. Either that or Tezuka’s left arm is on fire.

I feel bad for Kabaji. He always gets used when we’re supposed to be seeing someone being challenged by himself. He’s almost as fake a character as Tezuka is.

Inui: That Kabaji couldn’t believe that someone would return his shots exactly the way he hits them.
Fuji: This must be a new experience for him.
SMUG BITCHES SHUT YOUR MOUTHS

Tezuka is amazing; everyone is amazed. Everyone goggles at Tezuka for a while~

Sigh. Tezuka, when do we actually get to hear your story and find out what goes on in your head? Surely there is more to it than you saw Miyuki play tennis and that made you awesome again, right? …Right? D:

It’s cute how Kabji keeps saying, “The winner will be Hyōtei!!” He’s like a sad, slightly not-all-right, “special” kid that we should all be Really Nice to.

You mean... according to the rules of tennis? *blink blink*

I can’t tell if that’s actual lightning (accompanying the rain), or if it is tennis magic.

*headdesk* Ōishi, what are you--?
Ōishi: That’s enough, Tezuka!! Just give up this match!!
FAIL. YOU WILL SUFFER FROM A TENNIS CURSE FOREVER UNLESS YOU REDEEM YOURSELF WITH TRUE FAITH. I mean, come on. COME ON. You did NOT seriously just say that. You did NOT.

Ryūzaki: Ōishi… You should know that our captain never runs away. Even if it means that he will injure his arm again.
You are a terrible coach, Ryūzaki. Don’t let the kid deliberately hurt himself like that. …But thank you for telling Ōishi off.  :3

I’m trying to ignore the fact that Ryōma’s face keeps popping up everywhere, including the middle of other people’s conversations, but… I just can’t anymore. Why is he there? He doesn’t have any expression, either—it’s kinda creepy. Either he has a serious mancrush on Tezuka or… Actually, there’s no other explanation.

Ōishi, I really doubt that Tezuka was planning on having it rain and solve all his problems.
Fuji: Mmm, we don’t know that for certain…
Fuji, you are so full of shit.

Of course Tezuka wins, but just barely. Everyone else is impressed, but I’m not really. We didn’t really see Tezuka struggle with anything. We didn’t see him have to make an important decision or overcome anything powerful. He just sorta played a match, and not even against a character who really challenged him. It was supposedly against himself, but it wasn't epic enough to make us feel involved.

Crowd: As expected, Captain Tezuka is invincible!!
I hate you, Crowd. Oh wait, it’s actually the ichinensei, isn’t it? Well… I hate you guys then.

Fuji, for god’s sake, stop saying, “mmm” at the beginning of every single thing you say!!! It makes you seem like a really really creepy pervert.

...Wow, Ōtori looks badass. Bad. Ass.

Poor Silver Pair. If that’s really lightning, their hopes and dreams are gonna get crushed. Wait, WAIT! …Damn. I just had an entire match of wet!Ōtori dangled in front of me and then snatched away. DDDD:

Well, I guess it had to rain so that Ōishi could have some time to get his head screwed back on straight. He’s been such a dumbass lately. Thank God he is at least angsting about the fact that he is a loser with NO FAITH who completely FAILS at BELIEVING in people. *annoyed* …I’m glad Eiji is being nice and practicing with him anyway. :3 Ōishi will probably get over it soon.

*eyes narrow* He’d better.

Tezuka and Ryūzaki’s conversations creep me out. It really seems like they are having an affair. It’s not so much that they are saying anything particularly intimate, but the way they’re just sitting there… alone… and stuff…

~*~

OKAY THE BEST MATCH OF EVERNESS: GOLDEN PAIR VS. ŌTORI-SHISHIDO

Wait, we start at 3-3? So sad. On the other hand… how many splash pages of this match are actually necessary? Eh, I think we can do without them.

I am so happy that Shishido is all excited to play against Ōishi. Oh, that’s right, they are friends from way back at training camp. It’s adorable how they root for each other… dorks. They totally also ship each other's love affairs.  You know they do.  :P

Wait, “Even Eiji-senpai is getting fired up!!”? What is that supposed to mean?! You guys think he is not motivated?! *offended*

This match is so full of (not really very) secret doubles pair love. *glee* Australian formation… The glances Ōtori and Shishido are giving each other… The “it looks like they’re having buttsex” formation…  Speaking of which...
Ōishi: They’re trying to mess up our strategy with some clever tactics of their own.
Apparently, it’s called “inducement” formation…
Ceolwyn: That’s not helping. That’s the opposite of helping. Inducement…? Like, inducing orgasm or something? :/
Kelfin: *dies laughing*

Actually though, this is halfway serious stuff. I don’t think I need to devote an entire post to it, the way I did with makoto, but listen.

Arguably, this is the most important doubles match in the series, since it is the match that is about what it means to play doubles, and since it involves our two best examples of doubles pairs. (Obviously, there are other important ones—for example, the final match against Rikkai, but we’re not there yet.) Most of the vital supportive information for these points will probably come in the next volume, but it’s not too early to start paying attention. How do we know we’re supposed to respect these people? Which team deserves to win more? What is it that they’re doing that makes them so successful?

To begin with, watch how they’re communicating. Ōtori and Shishido seem to talk to each other more (they even have strategy discussions), but both pairs have lots of physical contact—simple stuff, like a hand on a partner’s shoulder, or letting fingers brush together when they hand stuff to each other. Maybe these seem routine, but it’s significant that we’re being specifically shown these things—it’s not like video; if you’re drawing something, you have to make very careful choices about what is and is not necessary to show. So we know that the mangaka thinks this is important.

Another thing to notice are the signs of… hmm. I don’t want to call it “possessiveness”, because that doesn’t quite mean what I want to say. Maybe “belongingness” would be a better way to describe it. There is a sense that one and one’s partner share an identity and that attacks to one’s partner are the same as attacks to oneself. For example, watch Shishido when people talk about Ōtori. Or see what Ōishi does when Eiji (yet again) loses focus and double faults on his serve.

We should also pay attention to anything that is explicitly said about doubles tennis. There’s not a whole lot of it, at least not so far, but Eiji does start to talk about finding “the infinite possibilities of doubles”. It’s a bit sentimental, but the point, I think, is that we shouldn’t really be focused on winning the match. We should be thinking about exploring possibilities, deepening knowledge, an increase in mutual understanding.

So you know what? No matter what happens, it’s going to be okay. Because they trust each other.

♥

Volume 32: Tricky Fellows

Chapters 274-282
Airplanes: 1

Chapter Events: the matches against Hyōtei begin; Oshitari defeats Momoshiro; Inui and Kaidō defeat Mukahi and Hiyoshi; Tezuka and Kabaji begin their match

--------1----Kelfin----1--------

Wow, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and happy whatever holidays you guys celebrate, and happy whatever other holidays I missed during the last month while I was busy doing important things like going to my sister’s wedding and going to job interviews and playing Kichiku Megane. I did just find out yesterday that I got a new job—and it pays more, and I don’t have to work weekends, and it’s a lot more like what I want to do for my “real” career—so I am quite pleased. My husband found out last night that he’s getting a big promotion, too, so our house is full of gleeful uproar. Otto posted it on Facebook, and now people keep calling my cell phone and asking me tons of questions about it. :/

To be honest, I took notes on this volume like three weeks ago, so I may or may not stop at some point in utter confusion about what’s going on… For one thing, I know I planned to tell you all about Caravaggio, a 17th-century Italian artist who murdered a guy named Tomassoni after Tomassoni pimped out his girl and then beat him at tennis, but now I have no idea why this was relevant, except that it involved tennis.

Let’s begin!

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Hyōtei~~~!
‘Kay, that's taken care of for this post.

Sakaki is much too good-looking to be a middle school teacher. He probably has to drive out of town to go to bars, just in case any of his students see him. I bet he has tons of thirteen-year-old girls with mad crushes on him, and they’re constantly trying to set him up with the female teachers. I know he’s not married because he’s not wearing a wedding ring~~~ Also, who wears a diamond band on his pinky? That’s just ostentatious.  (Unless he's wearing his wedding ring on his pinky.  Hmm...)

Hmm, Momo vs. Oshitari. This should be interesting.

Momo begins by demonstrating to us that his uncanny new ability to predict the weather also extends to microcosms by correctly predicting where the breeze is going to blow his towel. Uh, okay, Voiceover Narration, I wouldn’t really call Momo “Seigaku’s sneaky guy”… Momo is pretty much the opposite of sneaky, the way I see it.

Momo: It’s been a while since we last played each other. I’m trembling with excitement…
That’s fucking creepy, Momoshiro. One imagines Jeffrey Dahmer might have said much the same thing to one of his victims.

Oh, and now Momo can magically sense the location of pebbles on the court. Mmmmkay.

Momo’s using 70% of his power in order to place more focus on his control—that’s smart. He’s really grown lately, and I wish we could have seen how that happened. What was going on while Momo was practicing and getting better? Oh… Like, Kintarō or something, wasn’t it? (I knew there was a reason that kid annoyed me.)

Oshitari’s playing conservatively, counting on the fact that Momo’s kinda trigger-happy when it comes to chasing the ball. That’s also smart. Momo has TrueFaith, though, so it’s cool. The wind will save him! (I’m  saying this to myself, but... it sounds stupid, even to me. :/)

Why does Horio suddenly have all kinds of screen time? Am I supposed to think there’s something going on between Momo and Horio? We are clearly supposed to draw some kind of connection between them, or they wouldn’t keep being interposed…
Horio: Momo-chan-senpai, you’re my idol!!
…Ew.

At any rate, Momo has improved. The Hyōtei fans/team are dismayed. As Atobe informs us, Momo has sharpened his “insight”—this is about being hyperaware of details. Okay, Oshitari, you’d better start playing better.

The way this is going, Oshitari is definitely going to win. That is, based on the principle that people who start off losing always win in the end.

Oh, when the ball flies into the sun, it is hard to see where it is. Oshitari’s using its shadow to find it is a good idea. WTF, Momoshiro, will you block even that?! Well, I suppose I can’t be that angry… he’s playing well.

All right now, here we go. Oshitari has put on his time-to-play-seriously face. …Which means he’s unreadable.

~Inter-chapter pause~

I am truly baffled by how Echizen Ryōma won first place in this popularity poll. Who are the 13,578 people who claim to like him more than any other character?! I mean, even ignoring the fact that I think he’s annoying and looking at him in an as-much-as-possibly unbiased way, there’s no way he’s even close to being the most interesting, or the most likable, or the most good-looking, or the most easy-to-identify with—

Oh my god. People identify with him, don’t they? There is an army of middle schoolers out there, all of whom desperately dream of being awesome at something and wish they were brave enough to be mouth off to their parents and teachers. *sigh*

~Back to Tennis~

The spirit of pure tennis manifests itself.
Oshitari: That’s how it should be.
Momo: Yup! Otherwise, it wouldn’t be interesting!

Oh, omg, Oshitari, no! Do not give your moves names like “F and D” or “FAS” or “SSAS”. First of all, it’s lame. Secondly, they are incredibly long and awkward to say in Japanese. Thirdly… you know you’re just being a showoff.

Well, now that Oshitari’s winning, Momo might come back and win. Probably. Somehow.

Oshitari’s tennis playing has knocked Momo onto his face, and he’s bleeding. D: Oh, for god’s sake, is it even legal for Echizen to be on the court like that? Also, is it legal to play while blood is getting all over the equipment and the court? What if someone has a horrible blood-borne disease, like hepatitis or something?!

Aww, Echizen’s little speech is legitimately inspiring. ♥

Number one way to look out for your senpai?  Don't let them play while bleeding.  :/

I appreciate Oshitari’s determination to throw everything he has at Momo—because he’s right; you never know what Seigaku will do next. I mean, shit, look at the crazy stuff they’ve already unexpectedly done. (Like their not-nonplussing-enough ability to warp the laws of physics. :/ ) It’s just smart not to hold back.

Ahahahaha, Oshitari has also only been using 70% of his power. I love it. :3 Okay, that can count as sneaky.

It turns out that Oshitari has been gunning for Momoshiro since the last time they played each other, but you know, that feels like an excuse for why this match is happening. I still feel that this match is kind of a pairing of the two leftover people on each team. I’m perplexed by the rationale behind this line-up. Oshitari and Gakuto, despite their obvious mutual affection, were never a very good doubles pair, but Gakuto and Hiyoshi seems like an even worse one. Did they just need someone cool to play against Momoshiro, or what?

I feel bad for Hyōtei, because they have set aside their pride, carelessness, and past glory… and they’re still going to lose. D:

Tezuka once again shows us that he is uncommonly verbose when closeted with Ryūzaki-sensei.

Right now, I’m debating with myself whether Atobe actually believes he has the power to communicate telepathically with Oshitari, or if issuing orders in his head is really just a kind of cheering.

Well, now Oshitari’s getting into the game. This is theoretically bad for his tennis, but ultimately it’s good for his morality, so we don’t mind. :3 But Momo keeps getting more powerful, so there’s “suspense”. And then… Oh, Oshitari wins. Now I feel bad for Momo. BUT—
Narration: Only those who have gone through an all-out battle can understand it. A feeling of no regrets!!
So there you go. We can’t really feel bad for either of them, because they played all-out. Awww. ;)

Momo: By the way… Contrary to your appearance, you’re quite a passionate guy.

♥

Okay guys… if Momo needed hospitalization—which a cut like that from his head probably does require—you should have sent him immediately!!!

Next match—yay! Inui and Kaidō! (LUV)

OMG SO CUTE.
Hiyoshi: Oshitari was surprisingly naïve.
Gakuto [snaps]: Shut up. Don’t say bad things about my friend.
They bicker all the way onto the court—and not the flirty kind of bickering, either. Unless they have a major change of heart, they are destined to lose. I mean, come on. It’s like they’re not even trying to be a decent doubles pair. (You can tell Gakuto’d rather be out there with Oshitari, to begin with…)

Man, Gakuto’s always bitchy, but this seems worse than usual. Probably he’s pissed at having to play with Hiyoshi. But apparently there is a certain amount of camaraderie to be found in evil humor. XD
Gakuto: Hey, Inui! Want me to tell you the probability of you guys losing? It’s 100%! [then, to Hiyoshi] See, they’re all scared.
Hiyoshi: Oh no, you’ve gone and said it again.
As we might expect, this pisses Kaidō off a lot more than it does Inui.

I just read a bunch of books about comics and graphic novels this week… seriously like eleven or twelve of them, so now I’m noticing new stuff that I’ve never noticed before. There are an awful lot of splash pages in this manga, aren’t there? And also a LOT of speed lines (though that’s typical of shōnen).

At this point, Otto and I have a long discussion about Moonsault and why it doesn’t make sense. And also how it’s stupid that when Gakuto turns upside down, his shorts don’t fall up his legs…

Gakuto: What’s the matter, Inui? Are you scared?!
…Really, Gakuto? Well, I think Inui blew that out of the water. *smug*

(Wait, “Shiba Saori’s Interview Assault on Both School’s Captains”? I imagine that’s a very accurate description of what happened. :/ )

Oh god, is this really how they come up with names for their moves?
Crowd: W-what an incredible serve! It’s as if they were swallowed by a waterfall…
Inui: Waterfall, eh?
THAT MAKES NO SENSE HOW WAS IT AT ALL LIKE A WATERFALL

Kaidō doesn’t seem as excited by the new name as Inui is… Of course that could just be because Kaidō’s philosophically opposed to getting excited about things. XD

Taki measures Inui’s serve at 212 kph, and Ōtori and Shishido have a stilted conversation about it. I think it’s probably only that awkward because of the translation, though… at least I hope so. (Seriously, who would say, “I fear that it may be even faster than my scud serve”? Is this a fin de siècle novel?)

Inui’s just set a new tournament record. I bet he HAS, considering this is a tournament for MIDDLE SCHOOLERS.

Everyone does some tennis moves and they yell at each other a lot. Hiyoshi and Gakuto are getting all the points. Because  Hiyoshi and Gakuto aren’t dumb, they’re trying to win fast. I mean, yeah, you would have to be a major idiot to want to play a long game against freaking Kaidō (or Inui, too, actually). So perhaps it is a good idea to put the two of them together, at least in theory—they’re both good at short games. Still… they don’t seem to have any real interdependence. They’re completely doomed. They have good team spirit/motivation, but that’s not enough in doubles :3. That might make you a worthy opponent in singles, but…

Inui’s trying to stay calm and not let himself be rushed, trying to figure out what the smartest thing to do is. It’s not working. Gakuto’s getting increasingly smug, and so is Hiyoshi—the difference is that Hiyoshi acts smug with this dismal, quiet voice, while Gakuto gloats. However, eventually, it seems Inui and Kaidō have held out long enough… Hiyoshi and Gakuto look pretty exhausted.

Reverse Snake, Tornado Snake… how many of these are there?! Kaidō, get a new move.

Yeah, Inui and Kaidō win. Not because of anything we saw during the match, but because of what we saw of them when they were preparing. And also because Gakuto and Hiyoshi don’t care about each other. ♥

Hot.  Kelfin:  *is slain*

Singles 2 is…Tezuka. Actually, that’s smart. It’s the third match, and Seigaku would really like to advance to the next round, so of course they would put their best player in this position. (Also that means that Ryōma can play Atobe later, which works well for story drama purposes SIGH)

And Kabaji! Oh good, I love Kabaji. :3 *gets popcorn* Atobe’s dismay LOL. Poor guy probably thought he would get to play Tezuka.

Horio, stfu. You obviously fail at judging character.

Everyone is confused about why Tezuka hasn’t beaten the pants of Kabaji yet. For Pete’s sake, you guys. Give the guy some credit. Okay, I will say that it is lame and totally improbable that you’d be able to copy someone’s technique after only seeing it once. I guess it matches Kabaji’s “simple” character design?

Ōishi: Tezuka Zone… Only Tezuka can perform such a godly technique.
It is hardly THAT awesome.

Especially since Kabaji can do it. :3

Oh yeah, here we go. It is because he’s “very simple-minded”. I don’t think Atobe is being insulting here—he’s not calling him stupid, although perhaps it ends up meaning that he is actually just kind of stupid, but ultimately… he’s saying he’s pure of heart. ♥

I’m totally being smug right now because Kabaji is so much better than people expected. You all are bitches.

Okay, flashback to Tezuka at the airport… Where is this going…?

Oh, I like how this is done. There are no words, but it’s very emotional. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Tezuka have this kind of raw emotion. D: Seriously, Chapter 282. It’s good. Go look at it.

Poor Tezuka. Babe, I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to be taking a break from tennis. I’m watching him gaze longingly at this tennis ball… He’s tempted…

Aww, apparently the ball belongs to an adorable girl child… who is very tomboyish. (That’s how we know she’s worthy of respect. *sigh*) And then she assaults him (LOL)—and ends up flat on her back. Poor kiddo, she was just trying to help… Next time maybe she won’t manhandle strangers.

…Miyuki’s so cute :3

Volume 31: A Clever Scheme!? Kikumaru’s Singles Match

Chapters 265-273

Plot Events: Kikumaru defeats Kai, sending Seigaku to the quarterfinals

--------1----Kelfin----1--------

Okaaaaaaaaay, since I was bad last week and played Gakuen Heaven instead of ‘blogging, I’m going to do a third volume! Plus this one has lots of Eiji in it, and as you know, he is my favorite! (Yeah, I know, there are like five characters who are my favorite, but that’s okay, right?)

Kikumaru’s opponent is Kai. Remember him? The one who hit Ojii in the face and then defeated Saeki? He must be pretty good if he defeated Saeki, so we should be intimidated.

Ooooh, Kikumaru has on his srsface. Don’t EVEN start with him, Kai. Whether or not he’s a doubles specialist… It is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. Oh… Eiji is too srsface even to react to that kind of needling. D: This is a big deal. (Kite, of course, thinks that this is some kind of tricksy ploy.)

Kai tries to upset Eiji by making fun of Rokkaku, but it doesn’t work—serious serious serious. Eiji just plays, and he plays well. And guess what, children? He is actually good at playing tennis, thank you very much. And he can play singles, and he can play all around the court, and a giant fuck you to all of you. He’s learned from Saeki’s match, even, and is playing so as to avoid shukuchihō.

Kai’s not bad, either. But he isn’t expecting the self-multiplication. (Who would be, though? Considering how ridiculous of a trick it is. Still, Higa is suffering from its lack of a datawhore. …Starting today, I’m totally using “datawhore” to refer to… well, you know the type of character I mean.)

Kai: Dude, are you really a doubles player? You’ve got some pretty good stuff!
Ouch D:

Eiji: I’m never playing doubles again!
Yeah, he is honestly angry.

Awesome, flashback! I love GP flashbacks, you know I do… ♥ Of course, Eiji is wondering why Ōishi decided to pointlessly, stupidly sacrifice himself instead of Momo. It is a valid question. *sigh* But I’ve ranted about that already.

Stupid Seigaku Non-Regulars: Kikumaru-senpai can play singles as well!!
I want to make an angry face here, but because of the html, I can’t use the less than/greater than signs. So imagine my angry face right here: _______________________

Ōishi don’t even say his name, you huge traitor.

Eiji: If it’s not with Ōishi, then I don’t want to play doubles!
Omfg BL games have poisoned my brain, but… I’m pretty sure I’ve heard every uke use that exact line to justify the fact that he is about to have sex. :/  Well, obviously not the part about "playing doubles", but...

Stupid Ōishi didn’t even try to DEFEND himself when Eiji yelled at him, did he? Of course he didn’t—how could he? Dumbass. He should have explained. He should have told Eiji ahead of time, he should have—okay, I need to relax.

So far, Eiji is wiping the court with Kai’s face. Meanwhile, Kai’s strategy is to make Eiji run around until he gets tired. This has worked in the past against Eiji, so it’s a smart bet. But Eiji has been practicing to combat this exact weakness.
Eiji: Now I won’t be dragging you down anymore.
*arrow to heart*  He actually said this to Ōishi beforehand, and Ōishi didn’t tell him what he planned. I am appalled. How could he stand there and plan to betray Eiji while Eiji was going on and on, all excited about how hard he’d worked to support Ōishi better?! I can’t beli—

*deep breath* Okay, going to relax now… ^__________________^ (Zen face)

Well, here we go, Kai’s about to pull something magical out of his hat. It’d be too boring and not worthy of Eiji’s new skillz if the win was too easy… So, what’s the big reveal? Kai’s a “backward lefty”. (What does that even mean?)

LOL I remember this move. VIKING HORN! Crap, now that annoying song from the myū is playing repeatedly in my brain. Dammit, I’ll never get that song out of my head! XD

Right so, because his grip is backward, he waits until the last minute to hit the ball, so that gives him more time to read which way Eiji is going to run. This makes Kai much more impressive. Suddenly they’re tied, 4-4.

Oh Eiji. How long have you been planning to make this quip? :3333
Eiji: Looks like I’m no good for singles after all.
And now there are two of him. *pretending this makes sense* It’s so hard to turn off my bullshit alarm, but I love Eiji the best, and this is really important for him, character-development-wise, so I am trying.

Narration: No one at the stadium can believe their eyes.
I WONDER WHY. Okay, there is no way to explain the fact that he is doing Australian formation with himself. Sigh… Apparently, the bullshit alarm does not have an off button. :/

Okay, you guys, since I went searching for “Viking Horn”, I have been distracted by Dream Live 1st… You don’t even know how much I love this Ōishi (Tsuchiya). He is just capable and amazing and not sucky, and I don’t want to stuff his face with high-calorie foods… *happy sigh* Also this Inui… (Aoyama) and this Momo (Moriyama)… Why did first cast go away??? *weeps* Holy shit, I’m impressed by Eiji’s (Nagayama’s) splits! …WTF, Kelfin. Getting back to the manga now…

I actually like Serious-Mode!Eiji. He feels more honest. But even when he decides he’s going to lighten up his act a little bit, he’s still thinking seriously.
Eiji: Even I can’t believe that I could go so far… I can still move! And I still have not found the infinite possibilities in doubles! I still haven’t found it yet!! And until I find it… I…
He’ll never find it—it’s infinite. When you try to imagine that, it kinda makes your brain bleed, doesn’t it? ^________^

There is dramatic tennis playing in here… omg… the ball hits the net… it goes over… EIJI WON!!!! Yay!!!!!!!

Crowd: You’re totally good for singles after all!!
OUCH.

Eiji: Nyah, it’s no good… I know now that I was much happier when I was playing doubles. Singles is kinda lonely.
GIANT HEART OF LOVE.

OMG and he forgives Ōishi, and he tells him that he still wants to be part of Golden Pair, and he tells him to heal soon so they can play together in this tournament, and he calls him PARTNER, and I lovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvve them. I can’t even EXPRESS it. THEY SHARE A FIST SALUTE.

Right, so… Seigaku moves on to the quarterfinals. Wait, why are they still playing tennis? Are they playing all five matches—oh wait. I knew that already. WTF, Kelfin?!

Inui defeats Shiranui even though, according to Kite, he is “the person on our team who held out the longest during the underwater stamina exercises”. Clearly Higa is just gonna get swept away because they are bastards. I feel bad for Kite; he seems like he’s actually smart and stuff. He needs a team that isn’t made completely of punks.

Oh, wait, this is a doubles match, so it’s not just Inui and Shiranui; Kaidō and someone else (as yet unseen) have got to be there, too. Oh, Kaidō and Inui… Every time I see them together, my eyes go all soft and wibbly.

Higa’s coach is embarrassing. (I have contact embarrassment just from reading about him.) He’s making this all about him! I hope his kids deck him. He quits; his freshmen freak out; he gets hit in the stomach with a tennis ball, thanks to Kite. Well, at least you gotta have some respect for Kite.
Inui: All his team members have a deep trust in him.
Well, there’s that. Still, I can’t believe the refs don’t do anything about the fact that he just assaulted his own coach.

An increase in Kite’s face time is good, though, since we’re segueing into his match with Tezuka. After all, we don’t know that much about him yet. We do find out that his nickname is “the hitman”, which doesn’t lead me to expect him to be particularly honorable.

Why is Rikkai discussing him in the middle of their match with Murigaoka? I guess because Murigaoka is freaking bad at tennis and boring to play.
Sanada: Hey! Cut the small talk!
ILU Sanada. But, oh god, has Yagyū popped his collar? How does he manage to look so hot anyway? D:  Rikkai also advances to the quarterfinals, obviously. Oh… Yukimura is here! And he’s going to bitch them out.
Yukimura: Everyone, your movements were terrible!
Sanada: *bellowing* That’s right! It’s exactly as Yukimura said.
Sanada… You’re so obvious. ♥

Sanada is thinking about Kite, though… Possibly because it makes a good transition, but also possibly because he genuinely would like to play Kite. He has been lusting to defeat him since Volume 29, after all. I guess seeing Sanada respect Kite makes us respect Kite more. Since he’s about to play Tezuka, that’s important. I mean, it would be bad if someone unworthy got to play against Tezuka.

Of course, Kite doesn’t disappoint. He is, to use a favorite term from this manga, “Tezuka class”. He can use shukuchihō to move from side to side rather than just forward and back, which is impressive, given that Kai couldn’t. It seems he has achieved “the ultimate sense of balance”. Kite wins one game and tries to trash-talk Tezuka; Tezuka lectures him about not using the racket to hurt others. This is apparently a hobbyhorse of Tezuka’s.

Tezuka muga no kyōchis up; Kite is unimpressed. He still has more to try out—including all of his teammates’ moves; apparently he is the one who taught them everything they know. Can you imagine? A captain who actually teaches his team things. Hmm. *pointed look at Tezuka* Anyway, Tezuka can copy everything he does, so they just keep going back and forth.

I wish there would be some character development… something to write about… something besides, “They are both good at tennis”…

Not surprisingly, Seigaku is impressed. Rikkai is full of scorn, thinking about how dumb Seigaku is for not knowing their captain’s skill. For example, next Tezuka uses Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami. Sanada’s going to explain this because no one on Seigaku is at the level to understand it. Honestly, this doesn’t make sense as an explanation… he puts muga no kyōchi in his arm and then uses Tezuka Zone? Whatever, like it even matters. The key thing is that we have some technobabble that makes us feel like this makes sense to somebody.

WTF? Unexpectedly the scene cuts to Hyōtei. Here’s a shrieking girl with an uninvited bento for Atobe…
Atobe: That meddlesome minx! Come, let’s go, Kabaji...!
That comes off as a lot less bastardly than in the anime. Also, “meddlesome minx” is the best phrase ever. Alliteration FTW.

Awww, Hyōtei is getting all excited to play Seigaku. Gakuto and Oshitari are cute… And now we’re also looking at Shitenhōji…  What, how did Tezuka suddenly win while we were looking at other teams? We don’t even get to see that? Oh, fine, whatever. It’d just be more of Tezuka and Kite being amazing at each other, anyway.

Afterwards, Ryōma pulls Tezuka aside to talk about that one time when he told him to be Seigaku’s pillar of support.
Ryōma *with a flirty little glance*: Welcome back… Captain!

And after that flirty glance, this line seems oddly suggestive...

OMG REVERSE PANDA!?

Oh, St. Icarus… the team where everyone is a foreigner somehow, right? They are playing Yamabuki… Yamabuki wins, but… “Unfortunately, the void left by the absence of the wild youth Akutsu proved to be too great…” (Sengoku thinks mournfully of Akutsu for a few minutes.) They lose in the second round to Nagoya Seitoku. It will shock you to hear it, but Dan gets all teary-eyed and inspired. :/

Fudōmine cleared the first round, and in the second round, they play Makinofuji (last year’s runner-up). Shinji is very pretty, and he beats that Super Tennis guy. (He really wouldn’t have lasted 15 minutes with Tezuka, would he?)

Shinji: And what’s with that over-exaggerated collapse? Are you trying to get some sympathy points or something… *mumble mumble*
I’m totally going to get Shinji to help me ‘blog.

So the quarterfinalists are: Shitenhōji, Fudōmine, Seigaku, Hyōtei, Nagoya Seitoku, Kuroshio, Kabuto, and Rikkai. Seigaku is up against Hyōtei next. I wish it were Shitenhōji; they’re less interesting to me, so I’d rather get them out of the way first, but I understand why it can’t be that way from a storytelling perspective. And I understand why Rikkai is last.

Hyōtei still has its legions of screaming fanboys.
Momo: It’s as if we’re playing on their home court.
Awww Rokkaku has come to cheer for Seigaku in return.

You know, I bet they’re getting tired. How many matches have they played today? Like billions! By which I mean three. Well, only two for Seigaku. But three for Hyōtei!

Anyway, I’m excited to keep reading, because Hyōtei is coming up! :D

And also… it’s my birthday tomorrow! ♥

Volume 30: I Hate Gōya

Chapters 256-264

Plot Events: Echizen defeats Kei; Fuji and Kawamura defeat Chinen and Hirakoba

--------1----Kelfin----1--------

Chinen/Skeletor is such a freak. He looks like a sad emo drag queen with anorexia. I feel sorry for Kite, having a team full of weirdos and assholes. Of course, maybe he deserves it; we don’t know yet.

Thank goodness, this match has been elided. Now it’s 6-6. Time for a tiebreak. Ryōma hasn’t figured out a way to beat the serve yet… or so it seems. *cue dramatic music*  Oh good. Kite, at least, does not have his head not up his ass. He realizes that nobody could play 40 minutes and still be fresh, so obviously Ryōma’s leading Kei on. Kite does warn Kei, but he doesn’t listen.

It’s kind of stupid for Ryōma to fake it… Why didn’t he just defeat the serve and win earlier? Oh well, I guess it’s easier to win with two shots in the tiebreak than to try to win by a whole game or two. Anyway, he uses Cool Drive and wins in the tiebreak.

I think Kei has won some of Ryōma’s respect. However:
Kei: Don’t get cocky just because you beat me. The true terror of Higa Chū is just about to start.

The true terror of Higa Chū = wendigos.

Seigaku, appropriately, is now all excited and fired up because their opponent, the “Dark Horse” of the tournament, is actually good at tennis. But oh right, these guys also calmly hit balls at the elderly. That’s not very nice. Let’s not respect them too much, okay?  Higa are even mean to each other (calling Kei a “fatass”, geez). That’s not a good strategy if you want to win. Team loyalty and interdependence are important! Especially in doubles matches, which is what this is. Yeah, having demonstrated their total lack of team spirit, Higa’s definitely going to lose.

Kite threatens Hirakoba with gōya again. I guess he really hates gōya? Whatever.

Oooooooh, Fuji and Taka-san! :D I OTP them, but sadly, they do not get enough screen time together.  But, um, who is Hirakoba’s partner? Don’t we even get to see?

Kite is giving Hirakoba Signals—possibly more coach-smashing is in store. Nevertheless, Fuji and Kawamura are cool. I mean hot. I mean… Fuji, obviously, butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, and Kawamura is… Well, he’s on fire. XD

Yup, now Hirakoba is aiming at Ryūzaki-sensei. I’m not worried. I’m pretty sure she can make the ball fall to the ground just by giving it the evil eye. Oh, she looks worried, though.  But it’s okay! Taka-san saves her! ♥ SEE SEIGAKU IS NICE TO THE ELDERLY

Also Taka-san is totally a white knight.
Kawamura: I don’t want there to be any more I don’t want there to be any more victims. […] I want to finish this match with no regrets… My final tennis…
Taka-san! *namida*

Fuji: So this is your style of tennis? If that is the case, then there is definitely no way we will lose to you!
DAMN STRAIGHT. Morally objectionable people will inevitably be punished by the shōnen gods! I feel so much more secure about this manga now that I know how to determine ahead of time who will win.

Hirakoba is delightfully pretty, kind of like one of those psychopathic children on cop shows: you know, the ones who burn their neighbors’ cats alive in dumpsters and then smile sweetly at the lawyers until they give them candy.

What, Higa actually has a coach? (Saotome Harumi… He’s 41, in case anyone cares.) He is encouraging this kind of nonsense? Haha, Ryūzaki chews him out. :D … And then Momo and Ryōma hit threatening tennis balls at him. Because obviously he wouldn’t be intimidated by a mature woman, but he will totally back off when threatened by 13-year-old boys :/ Ryūzaki tells Saotome he shouldn’t be a coach if he’s afraid of the ball; now he has a grudge.

OH—we finally see that Hirakoba’s partner is Chinen.

Eeeeeee, Taka-san looks so manly and cool~~~ (Wtf, why am I crushing on a seme? That is just… not normal for me. Oh well, obviously Taka-san is special. It’s ‘cause he’s all bashful and outmatched)

But wait! Seigaku will not win easily! Fuji and Kawamura have had their awesome effecty moves defeated by Hirakoba’s Habu (basically, the ball curves around weirdly). Now they’re going to have abandon their fancy tricks and just play tennis well or something.

Kite completely dismisses Kawamura; he says they only need to worry about Fuji. I love that Momo’s getting all pissed off for Kawamura, because I am too! (Momo is always the one to say what we’re actually thinking… but he’s not annoying about it. This is one of the best things about this manga.)

Flashback!Taka-san: I’m just trying my best to become the number one power player at the Nationals. Because other than that, I’m pretty much good for nothing… Haha…
*gasp* Taka-san! You’re not good for nothing! You’re amazing and inspiring and kind to other people and… and… like… totally the hottest guy on Seigaku!!!! DD: DDDDDD: DDDDDDDDDDDDDD:

Holy crap, what is that angle? Chinen is like a shark or a wendigo or something! Come on, think about it. It explains everything! I mean, wendigos are supposed to be emaciated and have gray complexions and sunken eyes… It is pretty much official—he’s a wendigo.

Regardless of the wendigo, Fuji and Kawamura have not lost yet. They’re staging a comeback! ♥♥♥ (Also shut up. Their love is pure, you know it is, don’t even.) This makes Chinen and Hirakoba perk up and start getting into it, too. Hirakoba even yells at his coach.
Hirakoba: Don’t you dare interfere! We’re just getting to the good part!
Aha, now that we have all learned a lesson about how tennis is more fun if you don’t cheat and aren’t an asshole, Higa can lose and we can move on, yes? Yes.

Actually… dammit, Higa might win now. If Hirakoba’s gonna be all noble and stuff… I suppose that would be okay, morally speaking… I will cry and be sad if Taka-san loses, though.

Fuji: Taka-san, stick with me until the very end.
OMG MY SHIP

Fuji uses Hakugei… Hirakoba gives him some respect… and then… Giant Habu!

Taka-san, get it! Please! DDD: …Or demonstrate your trust and reliance on Fuji, that’s cool too. ^___________^*

*Kelfin’s Fuji Shūsuke impression

The fourth counter:  Kagerō zutsumi! (FET calls it dragonfly illusion instead of mayfly illusion because they think it sounds cooler, and they give an interesting discussion of dragonflies’ use of motion camouflage, which is basically what this shot does: it looks like it’s stationary, but it actually darts at your face and eats you. O_______________O)

Sudden flashback to Higa’s training. What will we learn? Oh, just that they went through unreasonable Spartan training so they could represent Okinawa at the Nationals. Well, maybe they should have spent some time examining their hearts. Did you ever think of that, Higa? HUH? DID YOU?

“Fuji-senpai really is the genius of geniuses!!” Really, spectators? You probably think this is a compliment, don’t you? *sigh* Actually, I remember when I was about—well, yes, I was exactly Fuji Shūsuke’s age. My teacher was choosing people for some kind of math team, and everyone in my class started saying, “Well, Kelfin’s definitely going to be on it. Duh, she’s a genius~”, and it was really kind of embarrassing, because as much as I liked getting good attention, it felt more like pressure than compliments. The worst was after we took tests; everyone would crowd around my desk to see what my score was, and if someone scored higher than I did, he or she would squeal excitedly and dance around. :/ My teacher gave my whole class the evil eye, and then she said, “Kelfin, doesn’t it bother you when they do that?” I mumbled something about “um, kind of…”, but it did bother me. When people act that way, it makes you feel not only afraid to make mistakes, but also isolated. It feels like everyone is rooting for you to fail.

In this case, however, Fuji does not fail. He manages to tennis-magick Habu into something that Taka-san can return, and Seigaku wins. YAY. (I imagine that there is lots of self-conscious flirting post-match. ♥)

Taka-san is so cute when he forgets to be confident. 3333: Look at Fuji handing him his racket—I think I have to go outside for a minute and squeal. And OMFG ADORABLE Hirakoba is inspired by watching them to go and give his own partner a pat on the back. (LOVE LOVE LOVE)

♥

Volume 29: Curtains Rise for the Nationals

Chapters 247-255

Plot Events:  the National Tournament begins; Higa defeat Rokkaku; Seigaku vs. Higa matches begin

--------1----Kelfin----1--------

Wow… Has it really been nearly a month since last I posted? D:

The first week I skipped, I had a legitimate excuse—there was a huge performance of medieval music that I was preparing for, and Taylo came up, and we played together; people loved hearing us, and it was a lot of fun! (And I’ve fallen in love with “Palästinalied”.) But after that I just got distracted by BL… I’ve been playing Gakuen Heaven like constantly for two weeks, you guys. D: Okay, not constantly… Some of that time was spent simultaneously reading Descendants of Darkness (I finally own all the volumes!), angsting (it was epic), and trying to get drunk on champagne (with minimal success).

Speaking of manga that I now own, my husband and I went to a used bookstore this week, and as of Wednesday, I have my very own copies of The Prince of Tennis, volumes 2-6, 10-12, 14-15, and 17. (You get limited selection when you are at used bookstores…) So yay for me! I feel all responsible, actually purchasing things instead of downloading them illegally off the internet! :D

My other Prince of Tennis news is that recently I’ve been put in charge of writing posts for the official releases for Gekidasa, Inc. We’re getting ready to release our 11th scanlation, and we have done a damn fine job on all of them, if I may say so humbly. I think it is about time we made ourselves a fancier website where we can self-promote, and the downloads will be permanently there. Hmm…

Anyway, to make up for slacking, I’ll do three volumes today.  You'll just have to be patient a little longer.  ♥

~*~

Right, so… where were we? Ah, of course, with Kintarō and “Pei-chan”. The volume opens with them skinny-dipping at night under a bridge. Brilliant, kids. I suppose this is what happens when you let children wander halfway across the damn nation by themselves. It’s a wonder they don’t die of exposure or get kidnapped by crazy serial murderers or something.

Kintarō is single-mindedly slavering over visions of “Koshimae” (Echizen). I told you he was the most in-your-face example of makoto, didn’t I? Junpei teases him a bit about it. He’s a nice guy—all big brothery and stuff. It’s so cute how he helps him get on the bus when they get to Tokyo~~~

Of course, since I’ve been playing BL games, I’ve gotten in the habit of distrusting the big brother types. Just because they’re not kiss-rapists doesn’t mean they’re not still trying to seduce you.

OMG, I finally realized who it is that Kintarō keeps reminding me of!

You know, we’ve gone a long time without seeing Ry—oh hi, Ryōma!

Kintarō, because he is a “retard” as the scanlators so candidly say, misses the bus and then has to chase it across the city. You know, in my town, if they see you chasing the bus, they’ll stop for you and let you get on. We have pretty nice bus drivers here.

Meanwhile, Ryōma visits the stadium as per Momo’s orders, and… wait. That’s the whole chapter? Basically nothing happened! I mean, the art was nice, but if I had to wait a whole month between chapters, and then that was what I finally got, I’d be annoyed.

Anyway, moving on to Chapter 248, the rest of Shitenhōji shows up at the same time that Ryōma and Kintarō do. Never mind that the chances of that happening naturally are pretty low. Shitenhōji seem really buddy-buddy, but perhaps it’s because they’re all in a strange city together and have to go around in a big group, like on a field trip. That makes sense to me… although it doesn’t really match the laissez-faire way they’re letting Kintarō prance around the countryside… So far, the team’s characteristics seem to be: group-oriented, a bit weird and uncomfortable-making, and strangely over-excited about Ryōma. Chitose has his chin permanently tilted up; I wonder if he’s supposed to seem like a lofty-thinker or something. And… how do those two WALK with their arms entwined like that?! You know the two I mean. Koharu and… the other one. Shame on me for not remembering his name. I’ll go look it up. ……….Yūji. Koharu and Yūji. How do they WALK like that?!?!

Right, so, the drawing for who’s going to play whom is being held at Rikkai. Wait, why is it a drawing? Don’t sports teams usually get ranked or something? Oh well, I suppose this way is fair, too.  Anyway, everyone who is anyone is there.

I really hate Rikkai’s ties; they all look like old men. :/

Oh, hey, Higa! You've arrived in this manga just in time to make fun of Sanada’s srsface, I see.
Kite: Stop it, Kai-kun. Or I’ll make you eat gōya.
BECAUSE THEY’RE FROM OKINAWA, GET IT??? GET IT?!?!?!?!?!?!!

Lame. I’m already offended on their behalf. (If you’re wondering what gōya is, I did not know, either, so I looked it up. Check out this episode of Cooking with Dog, which, based on this one video, is now my favorite cooking show of all time. With the possible exception of that one with Kimeru.)

Anyway, Higa is basically made up entirely of assholes.  ...Yeah, Sanada has a hard-on for Kite already.

Ōishi, you putz. ♥

Ōishi’s putziness is completely overshadowed by the most dramatic entrance ever. It’s Tezuka… I’m starting to think he is more of a drama queen than meets the eye. Omg, the wind is blowing his hair. Indoors. All the captains of all the teams have swivel-neck as he walks into the room. Well, not Sanada and Atobe—they just glance at him out of the corners of their eyes, but that’s because they’re so obsessed with him that they don’t dare look straight at him. If he made eye contact with them, they’d probably implode.

Okay, who is this guy? *Pause while I look up Kadowaki on FET*  He’s from Makinofuji… and he thinks he can best Tezuka with his “super tennis”, which, frankly, is laughable. Atobe tells him so.

Meanwhile, in the mountains, Momoshiro is “training”. Apparently “training” means camping or something. Evidently if you do it long enough, you get magical weather-foretelling powers, which could be pretty useful, so I recommend it.

Why is Inui sitting under a bridge? He might be spying on Pei-chan and Kintarō skinny-dipping, but I’m willing to wager that he’s stalking Kaidō again. I get bonus points if Kaidō is shirtless.

Ahaha! He is stalking Kaidō, and Kaidō is shirtless! I WIN ALL THE POINTS!!!

I guess we’re just seeing everyone have his own training montage/powerup. Here’s Eiji working out with low oxygen or something like that… And here’s Fuji…
Bystander: Please stop already!! It’s too dangerous! This time you’re doing three at once?!
He’s only talking about tennis balls. Not what you were thinking. ♥

I’m not really sure how that is dangerous, though; tennis balls are made out of felt or something, I’m pretty sure, and I don’t think they can actually hurt you, although they could theoretically bruise you, I guess, especially if they are really going at 200 kph or whatever ridiculous speeds they supposedly go at in this manga. They probably don't go that fast IRL. I’m looking it up.  …Well, I’ll be damned. They do go that fast. At least, if you are a professional.

Fuji: If there is a higher level… I must reach it!!
He’s become so much more compelling since he decided to see what it’s like to try.

Wow, Tezuka is giving the team an actual pep talk/speech! Apparently being away has improved more than his arm! :DD

Ōishi, when I said you were a putz, I didn’t mean that you should… *sigh*.  I have a bad feeling about this. I mean… ch', sure, I know exactly what’s going to happen, but that doesn’t change the fact that even if I didn’t know what was going to happen, I would have a bad feeling about this. Yeah, it does totally suck for Momo that he doesn’t get to play because Tezuka is back… and Momo is being a dear about it, but…. D:
Ōishi: The reason is that I won’t allow anyone whose injuries have not yet completely healed to be recognized as a regular on this team!
LIKE WE DON’T KNOW YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT YOURSELF

I have no idea what his thought process could possibly be here. I think he is just being a martyr. If he really wanted to do what was best for the team, he’d let them just do their regular ranking matches so that the top 8 would get spots on the team for Nationals. I’m gonna say that this is all because he is feeling guilty and full of self-hatred or something, and he wants an excuse to make himself suffer. At least that would make sense.

Everyone thinks Tezuka will win, but Echizen puts his money on Ōishi, which actually does accomplish its intended story purpose in making me pause and think, wait a minute, could he really— ?

Every time opponents make the narrow-eyed grin-stare at each other, I feel like a sitcom character who’s hiding under the bed for some reason, and then two other characters come in and start making out :/ …Awkward.

Echizen has been practicing hitting tree leaves. He has such a crush.

Ōishi shouldn’t taunt Tezuka… he really really really wants to lose here, doesn’t he? (Not that that means he isn’t playing his best, of course; he’s a decent person, after all.) Oh god, that picture of his wrist snapping made me actually flinch. DDD:

~ZOMG Tezuka/Ōishi Love Collage of Doom~

Ōishi: Sorry, Tezuka. This was the only way to…
Tezuka: …I understand.
And what does Tezuka understand? That Ōishi thinks that Momoshiro is better to have on the team than himself. But hey… at least all this makes way more sense than what happened in the anime did.

The National Championship begins! Dates: August 17 (Sunday) to August 20 (Wednesday). Let’s see if that matches the real dates for 2008… yup, it does. :D

This scene of the opening of the tournament is really nice. The art is well done and very detailed, and it does a good job of telling a story with just images. I like seeing the banners and the people cheering for the teams we don’t know; it adds to the feeling of epicness, and it reminds us that there are other people whom we don’t know about but who are having just as important an experience as are our protagonists.

Awww, Momo went and got  Ryōma up so he didn’t oversleep. ♥

Seigaku has a bye, so the first match we get to see is Rokkaku vs. Higa. (In other words, an introduction to Higa so that we already have strong feelings about them by the time Seigaku plays them.) WTF Higa… It seems that The Prince of Tennis now has so many characters that Konomi-sensei was forced to start making people look like freaks in order to visually distinguish them from one another. I swear, it’s like these guys came directly from their night jobs at the haunted house. Chinen especially—he looks like Skeletor. (And, strangely enough, like Cher.) Also, he’s a jerk. I mean, Aoi annoys me, but you don’t have to be evil to him.

WHAT. They are all martial artists? Bullshit! Oh, of course, it’s because they are from Okinawa! Duh!
Yanagi: That’s why these guys can reach the net from the service line in just one step.
This is shukuchihō, and it is BULLSHIT, which is lame.

OMG, did Kai just hit Ojii on purpose? Well, Ojii did just explain the secrets of his best move…

Psh, Kai, like Saeki is going to leave in the middle of the match! He has his honor, after all! The others can take Ojii to the hospital. It’s fine. Even though they have now won—wait. Wait, five straight wins? Are they playing all five—? They must be… Oh yeah, I guess I remember…they said that already. XD.

I’m baffled by Higa’s spectators being actually indignant about Seigaku cheering for Rokkaku. Is it that weird to cheer for someone who’s not on your team? Is there a team spirit award that Higa thinks they might lose? Because they have probably already lost it at this point…

Kai is wearing some kind of ring on a chain around his neck. I keep looking at it and wondering what it means. Is it a class ring? You know, like how people used to wear  their boyfriends’ or girlfriends’ class rings. Now I have that song from Bye Bye Birdie in my head.

Well, we’re not even going to wonder if Higa will beat Seigaku. Clearly, they are mean and don’t care about the pure spirit of tennis or anything, so they’ll definitely lose.

*sigh* Konomi-sensei… What did I say earlier about being racist about Okinawans? Fans are writing him letters scolding him for making Okinawa look so bad (and in such an inaccurate way, too!), and he defends himself by saying, “I’m actually a big fan of Okinawa!” Right, so I can call black people “boy” because I’m friends with Amaya. That totally logics.

Onto Seigaku’s first match in the tournament—it’s against Higa. (I wonder why they had a bye? I suppose it would have been tedious to add yet another team to this story, wouldn’t it?)

Obviously, we begin with Singles 3. Ryōma is being a bitch to Kei, calling him fat, but then… the guy did call him a shrimp first, so maybe fair’s fair.  WTF, did he just pick Ryōma up by the face?!
Ref: Stop that at once!!
ALSO YOU’RE KICKED OUT OF THE TOURNAMENT FOR THAT SORT OF THING… right? Right? D:

Momo, do NOT drag Kaidō into your antisocial brawling.

Rawr, if I were doing this scanlation, I would have translated all the SFX… Granted, there are lots of them, but, I mean, it’s part of doing a quality job. Well, I guess they do have a note at the end of the chapter saying that since they’re trying to keep up with the releases, they’re doing a slapdash translation.

Oooh, let’s get out the new manga I own and see if they translated the SFX in the English translation published by Shōnen Jump…  Yes. They did. It looks goo—Wait, WTF?! Are they seriously using everyone’s given name instead of surname? DDDD: Why????? This is like when they changed the rice balls in Sailor Moon to doughnuts or whatever… because Americans will self-destruct if they see rice balls. Or, apparently, hear boys call each other by their surnames. Somehow surnames are supposed to be confusing? So much for learning about other cultures! WTF America. WHAT. THE FUCK.

Blah blah Ryōma is mouthing off again. I can’t be morally outraged, since Kei is a dickface, but I am bored. Also boring—yet another discovery that Echizen is a lefty. How does Higa not know this already? Don’t they have a datawhore? Well, that’s what happens when you recruit all your members for their martial arts ability instead of trying to have a balanced team.

Kei serves Big Bang at Ryōma, which leaves him flat on his back with an aching hand. Ryōma tries to adapt to the situation, but… WILL HE?!?!!?

Psh, of course he will. T______________________T

Momo always tells it like it is.  :D

Volume 28: Hyōtei Rhapsody

Chapters 238-246
Trains: 8
Lame Puns from Dabide: 1
Fanta: 1

Plot Events:  people prepare in various ways for the National Tournament

--------1----Kelfin----1--------

Scene 1: Beach Volleyball (*ENORMOUS sigh*)

Uhhh… I don’t even remember this “Shudō-kun” who has drunk the Iwashi water. Apparently he is someone on Rokkaku. *mystified*

You guys, I was really confused for a minute because their volleyball looks a lot like a watermelon.

Yuck, Aoi. First of all, there are no girls on this beach. AND ALSO girls do not go for guys just because they are good at sports. They go for guys who are good at sports and who do not look like demented chimpanzees. I know we’ve had this discussion before.

Are you serious, Eiji?! The rules aren’t what you thought they were, so you’re being a baby?! I thought better of you.

And then there is this part.
Ryūzaki: What are you looking at, Kaidō? Stop undressing me with your eyes!
Kaidō: WTF!?
Amen. Also, does anyone else find it oddly telling that the only female character in this manga who has any authority whatsoever is completely desexualized to the point where even the idea of her sexuality is a gross joke? Hmmm…

Poor Kisarazu; that is a cheap trick on Inui’s part, and—never mind, he just depantsed Inui, so I guess that makes up for it.

Things I Do Not Need to See
Inui with no pants
Zombies

~*~

Scene 2: ABC Tournament

Oh hey, kids watching sports on TV! That seems so nice and normal. But oooooh, Kaidō has an actual ticket. :D

Okay, seriously, at this huge professional tennis event, everyone is laughing uproariously about Rikkai’s upset? Really? I hope it is middle schoolers having this conversation, otherwise that’s just pathetic. Oh, now they’ve gone and insulted Yukimura—they’re doomed. Of course we knew they were doomed from the beginning because they are ugly and have thick lips. Oh, I take it back, the other one is kinda cute, though obviously it’s less cute that he is wishing illness on someone he doesn’t know for absolutely no reason at all… and then laughing about it as though it’s funny. I hope that these are terribly clever puns or something in Japanese, because otherwise I have no idea why they’re laughing at all… WTF?! o__________O

A typical yet unnecessary picture of butt/crotch.

Kaidō punches one of them in the face. Probably in real life he should have like, talked to them first or something, but as it is, I support him. And now they’re insulting Kaidō, too. Classy, guys. You’d think these people would have something better to do. And where’s security? Oh good, someone’s here to put a stop to it!

…It’s Yagyū. XD

Ah, thank you Yagyū. Explanation: these are Murigaoka, the champions from the Toukai District. They are middle schoolers.

I’m super-impressed that Yagyū isn’t playing around with these guys—he just explains to them that this person is Kaidō, and that kids who start fights can get in trouble.

We all know what the solution to this fight is, don’t we? Obviously, “Let’s just settle this with a tennis match”. Come on, you expect us to believe that these guys actually left the tournament to play a match of their own? I hope those tickets weren’t expensive…

Obviously our heroes will win: Yagyū’s the sexiest person in this manga, and you guys know how much I love Kaidō.

Okay, I am not dumb. They’re Switching, aren’t they? That’s Yagyū pretending to be Kaidō. I suppose this involves some kind of strategy of lulling the opponents into thinking that they’re weaker than they are? I really hope there’s a strategy, because if they’re just doing it for fun… Ohhhh, I bet it’s because they’re hiding their best moves… it’d be bad if the other guys saw them ahead of time. Now the other team will think their moves are slower than they are.

Yeah, the bad guys were taping the match.
Yagyū: They are a very annoying school who—
Kelfin: YES.

So I was totally right about the Switching. I’m confused about why Yagyū is explaining things to Kaidō afterwards, though. Why did Kaidō do it in the first place if he didn’t know why he was doing it? How much of a pushover is he?! Well, it’s Kaidō, so I guess… the biggest pushover ever.

…And then they get naked.
I'm not making that up.

~*~

Scene 3: Girls

Oh hey, we haven’t seen Tomo-chan and Sakuno in a while… LOL, there is a comment in the margin to that effect, too! ♥

Whoa, who is this? *sits up* Cute uniform~~~

Apparently “this” is here to see Ryōma. She calls Tomoka and Sakuno cute, then proceeds to fall down dead with smoke pouring out of her head, offer Ryōma cookies, and then engage his attention with conversation about tennis. Obviously, this is unacceptable, and Tomoka is not going to put up with it.
Tomoka: I won’t forgive her for being alone with Ryōma-sama without my permission!!
LOL! She’s so unreasonable. Tomoka should really learn to mind her own business… but I’m kind of charmed that she doesn’t. XD

I do wish Kotoha-chan would stop moving her head and neck in that weird, swan-like way. It makes her seem a lot less intelligent than she must be. I can tell she’s smart by the way she talks and the way she’s acting… Why is she doing that stupid thing with her leg?! Is this what passes for femininity in this manga?!?!?!

Ryōma has the sense not to involve himself. I’m baffled by why girls are attracted to him in the first place—it’s just because he’s the main character, isn’t it? Or… Oh god… it’s like Aoi keeps saying! Girls in Prince of Tennis world actually do like boys just because they are good at sports! DDDD: *HORRIFIED*

OMG, poor Sakuno. (If I were on a sports team where I was forced to chant enthusiastically while I ran laps, I would quit.) Sakuno is all concerned that Ryōma’s form has changed… poor thing. Probably he was just doing it to throw off Kotoha.

Wait… isn’t it kind of a waste of practice time to be hiding your moves from spies instead of, you know, practicing? Why do you even have practice if you’re just going to do things like that?

~*~

Scene 4: MEANWHILE AT HYŌTEI…

…pretentiousness ensues.

I appreciate that Sakaki has a nice, shiny piano, but… why does he wear such dreadful shirts? D: Regardless, I am way too excited to see Hyōtei (aka MY FAVORITE TENNIS TEAM). Hi, Shishido! ♥♥♥

LOL Atobe is at the “Atobe Sports Gym”? (As opposed to what other kind of gym?) He’s weightlifting. I appreciate seeing someone actually do sports training—it’s nice. I love Atobe. I love that he’s actually good at what he does and isn’t just full of bravado. And I love that he works hard to get better, even if it’s not in front of other people. He’s just a really interesting character. And he looks all manly while he’s doing it… Why do people think he’s a flaming pansy? *so confused* Well, perhaps because he does stuff like what he’s doing right now: daydreaming about Sanada. I’m sure it’s for totally nonsexual reasons...

This is followed by a gratuitous scene of Atobe showering. I mean, getting mad at pictures of Sanada in magazines that happen to be lying open on the locker room vani—wait. There’s a vanity in that locker room? I take back everything I said about pansies.

Seriously, other than “it looks hot on Atobe”, what is the point of a sleeveless hoodie?

Anyway, Atobe has to be told about the fact that they are being allowed to play at Nationals even though they have not technically earned it. Oshitari and I are having the same thought.
Oshitari: With Atobe’s high level of pride, I’m worried if he’ll be okay with it.
Of course, it is pretty insulting to be invited like this… but on the other hand, it’d be crass to say no. (Like Rikkai did with the 2nd place trophy… That was just embarrassing…) It seems strange to me that it’s up to Atobe instead of Sakaki, but I’m sure he’ll say yes. Atobe’s team has a good reason to go: they want to play tennis! And they want to play it at their very best level. (Makoto! ♥) Also Shishido and Ōtori want more chances to make sheep’s eyes at each other in public play doubles together.

Well, now that the entire school is in on it, they can hardly refuse the invitation. It’s so cute how they’re all cheering. *wibble* Wait, is it just me, or do the nameless freshmen look the same at every school? I’m too lazy to go back and check, but I could swear I’ve seen that wide-mouthed kid before.

…You guys don’t even know how much I want the power to make multitudes do my bidding merely by snapping my fingers.

~*~

Scene 5: At the Tachibanas’

Awww, look, a bulldog! His name is Gokutora, and he’s so cute! The Tachibanas have a bulldog and a deck and a really cute house… and no parents in sight.

Fuji’s come to visit them—or rather, to ascertain whether Tachibana has recovered and summarily drag him off to play tennis.

Oh, Kamio... He’s way too involved in this family.
Kamio: Ah, An-chan! I’ve got tickets to this live concert coming up… two of them.
An: Ah, Kamio-kun!! There’s something… more important than that… My brother and Fuji just…
And Kamio’s out the door like a shot. Poor kid. Maybe if he stops Tachibana from playing tennis with Fuji, An-chan will go on a date with him.

So, why are they playing tennis? Tachibana has a theory, but Fuji is reticent. Whatever, Tachibana doesn’t mind playing, either way. Even when Fuji dramatically reveals that he knows about Tachibana’s sordid past, Tachibana is unfazed.

Kamio (echoing my thoughts): Why do we have to stop them? They’re just playing a game, right?
The reason is that Fuji is somehow using him as a substitute Akaya… I’m sure this makes sense somehow. Anyway, An is afraid that he will revert to evil!Tachibana, the one who hurt Chitose. But I’m not worried—Tachibana is superawesome. He caused an injury, so he “took responsibility” and shaved his head “as a sign of penitence”, thus providing himself with not only visible proof of his integrity but also an angsty backstory! This is Kelfin-approved! Anyway, it kind of seems like Tachibana deserved to get hurt by Akaya. Maybe he’s paid back what he owes the universe now. Perhaps that’s why he bleached his hair.

An: My brother was never able to abandon tennis... because… tennis was his reason for living…
Okay, in real life that would be really pathetic and sad, and I would recommend counseling, but in Fiction World, it sounds awesome! :D

Kamio swears to stop them, so An won’t cry. Omfg they are the cutest couple ever.

I appreciate that Tachibana doesn’t let Fuji think he’s fooling him. He’s smart enough to know what Fuji’s doing, and he doesn’t mind doing it, so Fuji needn’t dance around, trying to be tricksy.

Ridiculous statements FTW
Fuji: He has the aura of a wild beast. I feel as if I’m being completely swallowed by it.

Fuji manages to hold his own, though. In the end, they are both proven capable and have a mutal increase of respect. (Couldn’t see that one coming, could ya? ^_________^)

Kamio, I don’t think anyone cares about Tachibana’s hair but you. Relax about it, okay? Obviously he has a thing where he does weird shit to it if he loses.

~*~

Scene 6: In which we meet Kintarō at last

I can tell that I’m supposed to find Kintarō irrepressibly cute, but mostly I’m baffled and annoyed. He’s like that preschooler you end up babysitting who’s always sticking his hands in mud and things. I’d much rather play over here with the bossy girl who has rewritten all of the picture books to include princesses.

Okay, Horio Junpei, you’re not a wuss if you give money to someone with a knife… that’s just smart.

Bully: Check out this brat trying to look all grown up with his leopard print tank tops!
Japan… you and I really have a different idea of what ‘looking grown up’ means.

Awww, I do feel sorry for him now that he’s getting picked on—oh wait, never mind. If he can defend himself, I’m indifferent.

Doesn’t he have luggage? Oh well, maybe his teammates are bringing it. More importantly, doesn’t he have parents?! Aren’t they worried that he hasn’t reached his destination? Why didn’t they send him with a chaperon? He’s only like twelve! DDD:

Okay, to be fair, I know that Japanese kids go around without their parents at an age that seems shockingly early to people where I’m from, and it’s not because the parents are negligent so much as because that’s what’s expected in Japan. I remember when we were reading Чук и Гек in Russian class, we were equally horrified to think about little six- and seven-year-olds running about unsupervised, but then our teacher explained what would happen to a child molester in the Soviet Union in the 1930s if he got caught. D: Scary!

I suppose it has to do with the perceived safety of the place you live. Still, my informal survey (sample consisting of: me and Tracy-senpai) says that the average age we’d want our kid to be before we packed him off to Tokyo on his own would be exactly 18.

Oshitari Kenya is unfortunately bland-looking. I just know I’m going to forget what he looks like as soon as his face goes away…

Okay, so Junpei and Kintarō are almost hit by a car, which destroys their “treasures” (Junpei’s bike/Kintarō’s racket). Kintarō decides the best way to handle this is by tracking down the car. The car belongs to Kichijōji Rei, “the number one golfer at Joushū University” blah blah blah blah blah. He’s obviously a jerk who deserves to be destroyed. Likely with tennis. ...Oh, I was wrong. With golf. “Pay back what you receive” is Kintarō’s motto. That sounds great except that he vandalized someone’s car.

Of course the guy is a douche, so Kintarō wins and makes him pay for ruining Junpei’s bike.

Meanwhile, Junpei is trying to get back Kintarō’s racket… that’s kind of adorable. 3: And then Kintarō saves him from plummeting to his death.

…“Pei-chan”?!?! DDDDD:

OMFG UNWILLINGLY SEEING THE SLASH CANNOT UNSEE

Volume 27: The Captain’s Decision

Chapters 230-237
Trains: 3
Lame Puns from Dabide: 1? (It’s kinda hard to tell from the scanlation... Dabide spoke, though, so it was probably a pun XD)
Fanta: 1 (wished for)

Plot Events:  Echizen defeats Sanada, sending Seigaku to the National Tournament

--------1----Kelfin----1--------

Yay! I’ve been really energetic and busy this week! I won all the endings on Hiyoku wa Azami no Kanata e ~Renri no Yume~, came to peaceful conclusions with many of my life issues, and figured out how to use AGTH with Gakuen Heaven! I also fought a food war with my cat (we disagree on how long food has to go untouched before it is rightfully his) and translated an entire BL manga into English! (From Russian. There was a Russian fan translation but not an English one. Do you guys have any idea how much easier it is to translate from Russian than from Japanese? Whew! Anyway, I am pleased with how I did and surprised by how well I remember my Russian! :D)

Anyway, we were in the middle of the match between Echizen and Sanada. The gist of this match is that they are both good at tennis, engendering mutual respect. I’m really embarrassed for Sanada as I watch—never, never, never, never, ever get smug until after you win! You will only be forced to eat your words later! It just makes it worse that all of his schoolmates refuse to believe that he could possibly fail…

Ryōma returns all of Sanada’s cool moves with Muga no Kyōchi. DON’T DO IT SANADA! Don’t show him your last two moves! He will only use them against you!  …Through some kind of plot device, Sanada is forced to use them. Sigh. At least Sanada has now realized that he’s not dealing with the usual riffraff and has shut his mouth.

Fuck, now he’s hallucinating a guy in hakama with a katana. We must be to the part where Prince of Tennis smacks us in the face with a giant sign that says ECHIZEN = SAMURAI. The only comfort I have is the fact that it’s Sanada who notices it. Whatever, he decides to ignore the fact that he’s obviously having a vision and just defeat Ryōma already. That’s pretty much the only thing a man with integrity can do at this point.

It’s the perfect time for a flashback to The Match between Echizen and Tezuka, during which Tezuka apparently also saw Echizen turn into a magical hallucinatory samurai. The flashback effectively links the two matches for us, as does Tezuka’s request that Ryūzaki have Echizen play this match against Sanada. That’s a little highhanded of you, Tezuka, don’t you think?

All I can say is, thank god Tezuka kicked Ryōma’s ass, because if he went through the whole series undefeated, he’d be unbearable.  Though I’m not sure I personally would have gone about said ass-kicking by hitting tennis balls at his face and screaming “Evolve!”

To be honest, I’m not really sure how the logic behind this match works. Echizen’s only playing tennis in order to defeat his father, ergo Tezuka must defeat Echizen, because defeat will clearly make him want to play more tennis…?! Is it because he needs to broaden his experience? If it is, I wish they would say so clearly. (I am constantly wishing manga would say things more clearly.)

Anyway, Tezuka insists that Ryōma must face Sanada in order to improve. *thinks* …You know, he’s right. Okay, I’ll stop rooting for Sanada now.

Ryūzaki: Tezuka, why do you go so far for Echizen?
Kelfin: Good question.
Tezuka: Because I am his captain.
Sure. That explains exactly nothing. I don’t see you having midnight telephone calls in which you angst about Arai.

~*~

Thought-Provoking Thought: I’m really unimpressed by Ryōma’s English, yet when Yagyū speaks French, it’s hot. Hmmmmmm…

~*~

Speaking of hot: Muga no Kyōchi apparently provokes really amazingly cool reactions in those it possesses.
Ryōma: My heart has become empty. It is empty because there is nothing.
HOT. Also hot? Sanada. Of course he can do it, too. ♥

Oooooooooooooooh, will Ryōma’s energy explosion indeed prove to be his downfall???  The DRAMA in all these frames, it’s crazy! It’s really well drawn… I like what he’s doing with all these lines…

Okay! Ryōma won! At least we can all feel like it was a good match, honorably won. Unfortunately Seigaku are being reckless (and lame), tossing Ryōma so high that he’s probably going to fall and die, or throw up or something. It makes me feel much better about him that he is not so sure about this, either. OMG, is Ōishi actually crying?! (Yes... and talking in his head to Tezuka, too. Seriously.)

For his part, Sanada figures out how Cool Drive works. He is not going to lose again to this kind of bullshit. He actually admires Ryōma, which I like to see—mutual respect is refreshing. Then it’s dramatic speech time for Sanada and his team, and… you know… he’s good at this. It’s an encouraging speech instead of a shaming one, which I did not expect. On the other hand, I suppose it is difficult to scold other people for doing what you just did right in front of them (i.e., losing).

WTF, this is ominous: “But no one could have predicted the new troubles that this one victory would bring.” *TENTERHOOKS*

This is why Google is your friend.

Okay, okay, Fudōmine vs. Rokkaku—obviously I’m rooting for Fudōmine; they’re less of a freak show. Speaking of freak shows:  Hi, Chitose! Nice geta. Chitose is annoyed that the match sucked, but we can tell it’s just because he is all hung up on Tachibana. (Who is totally hung up on him, too, naturally.)

Tournament awards recap!

Fudōmine gets 3rd place. They’re headed to Nationals; however, Kamio is dripping puddles of shame all over the court because Tachibana has supposedly gotten weaker, and obviously it’s because he and their other team members are not good enough to give Tachibana a challenge. DDDD: ♥ He’s going to use it as motivation to get better, so it’s cute.

Rikkai gets 2nd place, but… Yeah. Refusing the trophy is bitchy and unsportsmanlike. “Everything else is worthless”, Sanada? Really? How do you think that makes Fudōmine FEEL?

And 1st place is Seigaku, obviously.

Wait, what? “Seigaku’s Summer Vacation”? This can’t be good… Oh right, they’re at the beach. With Rokkaku. Because Fanservice. This is making me die on the inside.

I wonder what it is about Aoi that makes me want to punch him in the face literally every time I so much as see him.

...Oh god, whose idea was it to put Fuji and Saeki on the same team?