Intensive Tennis

Volume 33: Tezuka Kunimitsu in Kyūshū

2012-01-21T02:40:00.000-06:00

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

2012-01-21T00:05:00.001-06:00

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

2011-12-19T22:48:00.000-06:00

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

2011-12-19T20:58:00.004-06:00

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

2011-12-19T17:05:00.003-06:00

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

2011-11-26T22:08:00.001-06:00

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

2011-11-26T20:42:00.001-06:00

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?

Volume 26: Finale

2011-11-16T00:40:00.001-06:00

Chapters 220-229
Birds: 2
Boats: 2
Lame Puns from Dabide: 1

Plot Events: Fuji defeats Kirihara; Echizen begins his match against Sanada

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

Okay, remember? Fuji Shūsuke has just demonstrated his ability to… I don't even know, see while he’s blind or something.
Momo: Is such a thing… even possible?
NO. IT IS NOT.

Ryūzaki: At this moment, Fuji has… surpassed even Tezuka!!
*repeatedly facepalms* Is Tezuka a standard measurement now!?

Akaya flashback. Ahh, it’s the stuff we learned in the Another Story OVA. Akaya went to Rikkai intending to be the ~~fairest~~ awesomest in all the land, but he was “crushed” by “those three demons”.
Mini-Akaya: I’m definitely, definitely going to beat you three guys!!
Yukimura/Sanada/Yanagi: …Yeah okay. XD

So he’s still on the make for those three… ergo he must defeat Fuji. I’m not sympathetic. And I find it kind of funny that he’s terrified of Ryōma. But to give him credit where credit is due, dragging your racket on the ground to make extra noise is a pretty clever way to fool a temporarily “blind” opponent.

It’s interesting how two kinds of motivation are being contrasted here: Fuji’s (“The Nationals seem like a lot of fun…”) and Akaya’s (“I don’t want to have that kind of feeling [losing] again…”). Neither is the Best reason for winning, but both are at least some kind of motivation, which is a lot more than Fuji, at least, has had before. Fuji’s motivation is the more noble of the two, ergo he will win.

Akaya is freaking out because he doesn’t want to lose again, and he’s worked so hard, and it doesn’t seem fair. Okay, I do feel sorry for him now. :(

Weird swirly clouds = tennis magic

Yeah, audience, what is going on? Why does Akaya’s play style keep changing? It’s tennis magic, isn’t it? Note the weirdass chi swirling around him… yup, definitely tennis magic. Never fear kids, Sanada will tell us what it is.

It is Muga no Kyōchi—a state of total selflessness. Not selflessness as in unselfishness, but selflessness as in unconsciousness. Muga is a Buddhist concept; it means detachment, lack of self, no thinking, just acting—it seems like a pretty samurai-ish way of doing stuff, actually… (at least from the little I’ve read by Mishima and others). I’m not surprised that Sanada is the character who both immediately recognizes it and tells us what it is. Muga no Kyōchi, in other words, is a state of pure makoto: how could you be insincere when all that’s left of you is pure action? This website has a fairly good explanation, if you’d like to read more.

In The Prince of Tennis, apparently, Muga no Kyōchi gives you the magical ability to use any technique you’ve ever seen before… or at least that’s been used against you. Oh, tennis magic. Sigh.

Sanada is excited enough about Akaya’s muga-moment that he forgets he’s supposed to be reserved and starts bellowing at him. ♥♥

Kawamura *screaming*: Fuji! Don’t get reckless!!
GIANT HEART OF LOVE
(We haven't seen Taka-san in a while, have we? ♥)

…Really translators? You need to tell me what “gut” is? Muga doesn’t get explained, but gut does?!?! (Fuji's racket's gut has just broken.) Wait, if your racket breaks, don’t you get a time out or something?! Maybe not, maybe not especially if it’s in the middle of the rally. Echizen reminds Fuji to use “the Frame”… what’s the frame? Is it something we saw before and I just forgot? *panic* OH… I’m a dumbass. He means the frame of his racket XDDDD. I fail.

Oh, Akaya drops his racket, so Fuji wins. But only by luck and the skin of his teeth—and do you know why that is, readers? Because neither of them is truly morally ready to be the winner.

Akaya: The… the match… what happened to the match!?
Sanada: You lost, Akaya!!
ROFL

Akaya: Vice-captain Sanada, please hit me…
Yanagi: A-Akaya…
Yeah, they’re in love.

Sanada doesn’t have time to mess around with backhanding little shits like Akaya. He makes him sit down, and he strides out onto the court, undoubtedly pissed because they are going to be late, and he won't be able to sit outside the door of the surgery wing and think intensely worried thoughts. Now he has to play against Echizen. And if Sanada knows anything about history, he knows he’s fucked.

I want Sanada to win. :/

Oh no, Yukimura’s surgery has begun! Obviously now, his surgery is going to be dramatically conflated with Sanada’s tennis match, and if Sanada loses at tennis, YUKIMURA WILL DIE.

Someone says, “Sanada-kun is a battle demon. The moment he steps onto the court, he is able to discard all his distractions.” Sure he is. On the surface, he may be thinking about crushing his opponent, but in his heart of hearts, he is really thinking about Yukimura and how he is GOING TO DIE.

Echizen, on the other hand, is either really nonchalant or just pretending to be… it’s hard to tell with that one.

Thank god Sanada has some sense in his head. He’s not messing around with wrist weights and shit.

*snicker* Since Echizen’s gibe about the wrist weights didn’t work, he falls back on his other favorite intimidating trick, speaking English. That doesn’t work either, and he just goes into Muga no Kyōchi. Hmm, I don't know what I think of that. *frown* He shouldn’t be able to just do it. It’s better if he has to like, have some kind of tragic personal tragedy or something… otherwise he’s just awesomer than everyone else for no reason, and I hate that.

It’s okay, Sanada can beat him anyway. :3

For a while, it’s like a parade of moves we know… It’s supercute how thrilled Momo is when Echizen uses his dunk smash. ♥

It’s true, Sanada; you have fought many battles and have defeated everyone. …Oh, military metaphors. ♥ Oooh, speaking of military metaphors: FŪRINKAZAN! I love fūrinkazan! It’s all… full of references to poetic samurai stuff! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

Sanada’s philosophy is to directly challenge his opponents. I so approve of Sanada. *approve approve*

Wait, Sanada’s arm can’t—oh, Echizen must have used Spot. That would explain Shinji’s expression on the previous page. :/ I should pay more attention to the actual plot instead of just ogling Sanada…

Arg, I hate Echizen when he’s smug. It’s annoying. Superior people shouldn’t be smug. They should be like Sanada… quietly smug.

Speaking in English only makes you MORE SMUG CUT IT OUT.

OH THANK GOD. For a moment, it looked like Sanada lost a game on purpose just to jog Akaya’s memory of playing in Muga no Kyōchi, but then Sanada flatly refuses to let us think that. Of course, he doesn’t do that kind of ridiculous nonsense.

Aha! The gods of good story-writing have blessed us. Echizen does not just get to be awesomer than everyone else for no reason. It turns out that Muga no Kyōchi has a weakness: it’s very draining. I feel so much better about it now.

Ahahahaha, now that Sanada is winning, he is being smug.
Sanada: What’s the matter? Bed time already?

Things have turned around.

Wait, what? At that exact moment, a string on Tezuka’s racket snaps… Is that supposed to mean something to me? Tezuka and Echizen have a psychic connection through which Tezuka can sense Echizen’s distress? Sanada’s determination to defeat Tezuka’s metaphorical progeny has transmitted itself across prefectural borders? Tezuka can sense the immense danger that his team is in of losing this round? WHAT DOES IT MEAN

What?! Sigh. Apparently the invisible swing “fū” is “just like how one would draw a sword in kendo”. That makes No Sense. But Inui has technobabble for us about it, so it must be true.

Bwahahahahaha Echizen is losing! Oh no, Sanada… now he’s doing his evil laugh. I mean… I just did an evil laugh, too, but… now Sanada has to lose. People who prematurely celebrate their wins always end up losing.
Sanada: You can just fall with despair!

So scary!! O______________________O

Everyone in the crowd, including his own team, is upset because Sanada is using two of his kickass moves instead of the customary one. They all seem to decide that Sanada has to show no mercy to Echizen in order to make up for the fact that Rikkai just had two losses. And, come on, he wants to get back to his dying boyfriend ASAP.

I think another fact is that, as is rather obvious by this point, Sanada enjoys humiliating people. He stayed quiet until it was clear that he was going to win, right, because if he bragged and then lost, it would have been pathetic. But now that he’s definitely going to be the winner, he's enjoying pouring it on. He’s got a lot of anger, that kid. :/

And he’s not as self-controlled as he’d like to be, which is cute. ♥

Sanada: Tezuka… you’ve disappointed me!
For once and for all, you guys… THIS IS NOT ABOUT TEZUKA.

Dan is actually crying because Ryōma is pushing himself so hard. The ichinensei beg Ryōma to give up. (And that is why you guys are not on the Regulars.) Oh for god’s sake, Kachirō is crying, too. Sengoku agrees that Echizen should forfeit. I’m not sure why he thinks so, since Sanada isn’t injuring him… is he supposed to be “crushing his spirit” so badly that he’ll never want to play again? Thank goodness the rest of the Seigaku Regulars spell it out for Sengoku: Seigaku Does Not Quit.

You know, I admire that Seigaku is not full of quitters. It justifies their winningness.

Volume 25: Memories

2011-11-16T00:40:00.000-06:00

Chapters 211-219
Plot Events: Inui defeats Yanagi; Fuji and Kirihara begin their match

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

Life Update: Based on some of the comments I’m getting, it seems like people want to know a little bit more about me and what’s going on in my life. ♥ *so flattered*

Currently my life is full of drama: I can’t find a job—though I am still applying!—and my marriage is crumbling. I accidentally stumbled into confessing my love to my best friend, and it was so awkward, and she is in love with someone else, and she thought I’d get over her faster if she was kind of blunt about it, and we had a fight, and it is sad. *woe* So I’ve been doing all kinds of internal monologues on The Meaning of Love and staring out the window at the rain. At least spending less time with her means I have more time for creative projects, like writing angsty poetry, learning to play the doumbek and the pennywhistle, and ‘blogging about The Prince of Tennis.

Speaking of you guys and your comments, I’ve been looking at our stats. Did you know we had 1600 page views last month? I am so flattered and excited! Looking just at this week—recent stats are better, right?—our biggest audience is in the United Kingdom, and we also have lots of readers in the United States and the Philippines, plus several in Thailand, Russia, Canada, Finland, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Argentina. I don’t know why anyone would want to know this, but Blogger.com tells me so I’ll tell you: the most common browser among you is Internet Explorer. The most popular operating system is Windows—that’s 86% of you (and 1% of you read us on your BlackBerries!). Blogger.com gives me all kinds of cool pie charts about it. :D

Another fascinating fact: more people have visited our site after searching for “I Formation” than for anything else… even for our name (Intensive Tennis). Why are so many people searching for “I Formation”???

Right, so, on to The Prince of Tennis!

~*~

Is the art in this volume kind of… sloppier than usual?

It’s creepy that in the translation I'm reading, everyone calls Yanagi “Master”. They’re screaming, “Master! Master!”, and it just reminds me uncomfortably of some internet erotica that I have read… or Lovecraftian horror. Also, every time Yanagi says something like, “I have seen through your tennis”, I laugh out loud. Apparently he has x-ray vision. Or transparent eyelids.

Inui… it is not “impossible” that you made a mistake. Just so you know. *grin* I love seeing Inui get taken down a peg. Not that I dislike him or think he’s basically a good kid—he is—but in a strange way, he’s also very naïve. He has an almost religious faith in statistics, and it’s cool to see him react when things that he doesn’t believe can happen actually happen. ...And now I’m imagining this Faustian scene with Yanagi as Mephistopheles. He’s certainly taunting enough…
Fuji: Yanagi-kun is trying to destroy Inui’s data tennis.
NOOooooooooOOOOOooooooOOOOOOooo! Anything but THAT!

*tilts head* Do Taki and Gakuto get their hair cut at the same place? Because those angle-cut bobs are really ridiculously similar…

Oh here we go. Yanagi’s annoyed because he taught Inui all about data tennis and now Inui is trying to use it against him and he hasn’t even SURPASSED him yet. Che.

You guys, you guys! Ryōma’s having an emotion! Well, he’s thinking “Inui-senpai…” That probably means he’s having an emotion, right? (Seriously, though, it's a clue that what's about to happen with Inui is going to be Important to the meaning of the entire manga.)

Oh thank god Inui’s come to the same conclusion that the rest of us came to last volume. (“I must forsake my data!”) Like I said, play a couple of stupid moves, see what happens. But wait! Yanagi reminds him, “There can be no victory for the one who abandons his play style.” That is kind of true, I mean obviously you have to play your own tennis, but… people “evolve” all the time, so………

Do you guys see what’s going on here? This is what I’m talking about when I talk about makoto! This is an epic battle between two makoto-type forces: the power of your own style vs. the inner purity of a mind free from thoughts. I don’t know which will win, because they are both ways to “be yourself”. *tenterhooks*

Kaidō… ♥ (He gets so into these matches.)

Inui *VISIBLE EYES*: And I shall rise above the past!
I didn’t know Inui could be so dramatic!

Everyone on Seigaku approves of the dataless Inui-tennis, but Rikkai are skeptical.
Yanagi: Do you still not understand? The moment you abandoned your play style, you destroyed your chance of victory!
Sanada: For the time being, it seems that rather than relying on your data, you have resorted to playing tennis based on your animal-like instincts. Such an absurd notion of tennis will be defeated by Rikkai Dai!
Sanada does not have a lot of makoto in his heart.

Horio keeps cracking me the fuck up.
Horio: C-calm down! Please calm down Inui-senpai!!
Ryōma: How about you calm down, Horio?
…Sometimes Ryōma’s not so bad. XD

OMG Hyōtei… cheering for Seigaku… in your own, special Hyōtei way… Well, obviously they want Seigaku to win; it’s not so bad to lose if the person who beats you is undefeated. *pause* Shit. I can’t tell the difference between these characters; is that possible? Who is speaking!? Is it me, or is the art in this volume that bad? It could just be me… I have a hard time telling people apart, unless they are wearing distinctly different clothes or have different colored hair. I am so visual-FAIL. XD In serious manga, like Ōoku, I never have any idea what’s going on, because everyone has black hair, and they change clothes. And I just watched this Inuit film, The Fast Runner, in which I literally did not realize that there were two separate timelines going on because EVERYONE HAD BLACK HAIR AND WAS WEARING A FUR COAT. DDDD: I had a huge revelation about halfway through the movie that there were two main female characters… and then I realized that there were actually three…

…Is it okay for Gakuto to sit on the fence like that? I mean, he’s Gakuto, so it’s not like he’s going to fall off and break his neck or anything, but that’s gotta be against the rules.

Ooooooooooh, in a moment of temptation, Inui reaches for his notebook. Don’t do it, Inui!
Ryūzaki: You really can’t win without your data?

Yay, flashba—omg wait no. NO. He has NOT. He has NOT BEEN DOING what I THINK HE’S BEEN DOING. Omfg he HAS. LMAO sigh. Inui has set up the whole match so it’s an exact replica of their unfinished match before—otherwise, this outcome wouldn’t count as finishing it, would it?
Inui: I believe this was where we left off.
*SNORFLE*

Of course this has all been part of Inui’s data. Well, there we go then. Playing your own tennis and playing in an “animal-like” style… ARE THE SAME THING! MAKOTO WINS!!! :D

Okay, Atobe, Sanada… Not everything is about Tezuka. It may shock you to hear this, but he doesn’t have nearly as much input (read: bossiness) as you two do in yours. It’s not like he takes his freshmen and molds them with high-handed generosity and vicious backhanding. So when there are awesome people on his team, you should be awed by them, not him.

...I still really love Hyōtei’s pants, though. :/

OMG Ryōma actually cheered! Out loud!
Eiji: O_________________o
Ichinensei: o________________O
Ōishi: O______________O

Flashback!Renji and Flashback!Sadaharu are so typical of doubles players in this manga. ♥ “Just once, I’d like to play against you until my heart is content…” “Ahh, I feel the same way.”

YAY Inui won! I knew he would, because he was so full of sincerity. :3 But really, I’m happy for him. He worked super-hard, and he showed us that he’s learned something super-important, so he deserved to win. (Besides, how else will Seigaku advance? XD) Plus, he’s been so sweet about it. Awww, Inui… *heart melts*
Inui: It was all by chance. The chances of winning were fifty-fifty… The next time we play, the winner might be you instead, Renji.

His teammates clearly do not have a fine appreciation of what just happened.
Momo: Inui-senpai, you sure showed us that you’re not just a guy who can only make strange juices!!
*facepalm*

OMG!!! Whom does Inui credit for his win?
Inui: I learned the spirit of perseverance from Kaidō.
asdf;lkjasdf;lkjasdf;lkjasdf!!!!!! I KNEW IT

Uh-oh, Yanagi’s in trouble. He hasn’t gotten smacked, but his team is standing around, saying pointed things about how worried they are about Yukimura in order to make him feel guilty for losing.

The dead-Yukimura flashback! OH MY GOD… Rikkai scarves!!!!!!!!! The Rikkai scarves are possibly as awesome as the Hyōtei pants! DDDDD: Which are more awesome? I can’t decide!

Ah yes, the Guillain-Barré diagnosis… Of course, as we all know, Konomi-sensei later reneged on this, presumably because he decided to use the disease without actually researching its effects and was later scolded by persons who actually had it. (Whoops…) Just based on the Wikipedia article, it sounds like it is a lot less pretty of a disease than whatever Yukimura has. I mean, we don’t see him having bedsores and drooling. And it sounds like it needs therapy, not surgery. But I don’t really know, because I am not a doctor. And you know who else is not a doctor? Yagyū! Which could explain why he is telling us a bunch of stuff about Guillain-Barré that is not true.

Oh, Sanada. He’s all stoic until he just can’t hold it in anymore, and then his anguish bursts out of him, and he goes screaming sacred vows down the hallway. :333 Well, that’s Sanada for you—he tries so hard to be self-controlled and passionless, but he’s actually more emotional than most people, so when he represses his emotions, they build up until eventually he loses control.

Okay, the flashback’s over, and it looks like Sanada is going to lay into Yanagi.
Sanada: This was not a match that you could not have won. You let your personal feelings get in the way.
Yanagi: I’m very sorry… I have broken the promise with Seiichi. Please hit me! You must set an example for the rest of the members.
I like to think that Yanagi is being ironic here. XD Of course, that means Sanada has to slap him now.

But wait! Akaya leaps in to protect Yanagi with his racket! Awww. Well, that explains all that Yanagi/Akaya fan fiction that utterly baffled me before… *~~wibbly wibble~~*

That was an effective way of bringing Akaya back into the spotlight, since it’s time for his match with Fuji, who is not going to play along with Akaya’s plan to beat him in thirteen minutes. Silly Akaya. Fuji’s not a terribly cruel person; if you hadn’t bragged about how fast you would win, he probably would have beaten you quickly enough for you to get to the hospital. ♥

Things look good for Fuji at first; that’s bad news.

Hahahaha Fuji is aiming for his knees! I mean… *guilty* That’s terrible.
Fuji *totally serious*: I will destroy you.
Kelfin: *TERRIFIED*

Not much to say here: they’re just playing tennis, and they’re both good at it.

You know, I don’t think it’s that smart to announce the name of your move before you do it. I mean, maybe it’s intimidating, but I think mostly it just tells people what to expect.

Aaaaaaand…. Inui’s trying to get Fuji’s “real” data, which segues nicely into… a flashback with Tezuka and Fuji—something that happened right after Fuji’s match with Echizen. It’s really pretty, with all the raindrops *sigh*. Tezuka wants to know why Fuji didn’t go all out. Fuji, of course, doesn’t answer. (Honestly? I don’t think he knows, or at least, he doesn’t want to articulate it to himself. Hint: it has to do with makoto.)
Fuji: Well, Tezuka… It seems that I… have no motivation for victory.
See? No makoto. Sooooo, the question is, will Akaya force Fuji to go all out?

Akaya kicks the net? Lame.
Fuji: Such bad manners. (“tut tut”)
The Ref actually tells him not to do that! I am stunned! Referees that are refereeing! O_______O

Continuation of flashback.
Fuji: Enjoying the thrill of drawing out an opponent’s potential to the limit… That was all I wanted. How about you? What’s your motivation?
Tezuka: Victory, no matter the cost! Right now, the only thing on my mind is winning the National Title!!
Fuji: If I become a hindrance, remove me from the team.
[later]
Fuji: Tezuka… I had thought that you and I were the same kind of person until that match… Until I saw your determination for victory. Why do you go so far—? I see… This is why. I wonder if I also can become serious…
Well, it’s clear that Fuji hasn’t really figured himself out yet. He doesn’t know “how to become serious”, and he’s counting on his natural talent to carry him along until without any real effort on his part. However, I really have to rethink Tezuka now. It seems that he’s a bit more passionate than I gave him credit for. Tezuka doesn’t seem to deserve what happens to him in this manga, so I am going to have to meditate on him to see if I can figure out why that’s happening.

Wait, WTF. Fuji just got hit by the ball or something, and now he can’t see?!?! Did I miss something?????? *scrolls back* No, no I didn’t… He just is on the ground and now he’s blind. Right. Oh, here we go, flashback to tell us what we missed. Oh, he got hit on the head.

Fuji is taking his BLINDNESS far too calmly… He’s all, okay, “it’s temporary, whatevers, I’m sure it’ll go away”. You are BLIND; doesn’t that mean anything to you?!?! I'm annoyed by this particular trope. I hated it when Rurōni Kenshin did it, too...

Ryūzaki does seem slightly annoyed because Akaya was obviously aiming for Fuji’s body on purpose… WTF, Ryūzaki knows he’s blind and she doesn’t do anything about it?! Mattaku, seriously?!?! Taka-san has to go to the hospital when he gets hurt; why don't Eiji and Fuji have to go?!

Kirihara is now hitting him repeatedly on purpose… I am skeptical of this Rikkai “honor” thing.

Don’t worry, guys, Fuji can probably still play… he’ll use his superhearing or some shit like th—*headdesk*. Apparently PoT feels like it has to get increasingly more epic with each match, and we have now crashed the realism threshold. Not just because of the hospital thing, because of this:
Fuji: I feel it. The limits that I thought I had, it turns out they don’t exist…
BULLSHIT.

The Prince of Tennis and 誠 (Makoto)

2011-11-16T00:06:00.001-06:00

I have come to a point in the manga (the match with Rikkai) from which I can go no farther until we discuss an important theme in The Prince of Tennis: makoto. It’s a pervasive theme, but the manga is at the point now where Seigaku kicks it into high gear, and things get serious. In Volumes 25 and 26, which I’ll be ‘blogging about next, we see the triumph of integrated data tennis, the first stirrings of the desire to try harder in Fuji Shūsuke’s soul, and the full appearance of Muga no Kyōchi. Any analysis of these events requires a basic understanding of makoto.

~*~

Shōnen manga storylines typically reward moral characters and punish immoral ones. While shōnen isn’t as black-and-white as a typical American superhero cartoon, its Good Guys are still Good Guys because they have, or because they acquire during the story, some kind of valuable moral trait. This trait excuses all of their “adorable” vices (back talking, sexism, pornography addictions) and justifies the fact that they kick the Bad Guys’ asses and win all the trophies.

The Prince of Tennis is definitely shōnen, but its protagonists brag, bully, and bend the rules all the way to the Nationals (to my ever-increasing dismay and irritation). You may wonder: how is this moral? What can possibly justify this kind of behavior?

Well, after a great deal of reflection, I will tell you what value I believe The Prince of Tennis takes as its moral compass: makoto. This is something you may already have noticed. Of course, makoto is not the only value espoused by The Prince of Tennis. Especially for doubles players, the most important value seems to be something like interdependence or trust. Self-sacrifice and hard work are also presented as admirable, although they are hardly ever rewarded in the way that makoto—or interdependence—is. However, among all other virtues, makoto is the most crucial to the story.

~*~

Makoto means something like “sincerity”. It has a lot of complicated cultural associations, but I wanted to give you the most correct picture of it that I could, so I did actual research on it and will refer to actual journal articles for you. (See “Works Cited” at the end.)

The word itself is an old one. It was used to mean “truthfulness”, in the sense of “not telling lies”, in early texts like the Nihon Shoki (c. 720) and the Shoku Nihongi (797) (Crowley 4).

In Japan—much as in early 20th-century Germany and probably other cultures that I can’t think of right now—the aesthetic and ethical are not considered antithetical, and makoto came to be used as a way of describing the inherent “truthiness” of a work of art: in particular, poetry. Artworks deficient in makoto were considered inferior. For example, Ki no Tsurayuki (872-945) says about the monk Henjō that he “masters style but is deficient in substance [makoto]. It is no more satisfying to read one of his poems than to fall in love with a woman in a picture” (quoted, Crowley 4). Ojio Yūshō writes about calligraphy, “It is only natural that handwriting should mirror the writer’s personality as it follows the way of his heart” (quoted, Reasoner 1).

The poet Ueshima Onitsura (1661-1738) wrote an influential text on the creation of haikai (Hitorigoto, 1718) that contains a detailed discussion of makoto. According to Cheryl Crowley at Columbia University, Onitsura’s makoto has four characteristics: it is arrived at only through constant training; it is more important to the kokoro (heart) of the poem than it is to the kotoba (words); it is the opposite of itsuwari (falsehood); and it is the quality that makes a poem timeless (5). Makoto must be effortless and natural; a poem that is full of makoto does not use an abundance of poetic devices—it focuses on content, not form (Crowley 5).

Chinese Confucian writings, which became popular in Japan during the Edo Period, use the word makoto in an ethical or religious sense. The Zhōng Yōng (Doctrine of the Mean, 5th century BC) says, “Ch’eng [makoto] is the Way of Heaven. Striving for ch’eng is the Way of human beings” (quoted, Crowley 4). It also says that makoto is “an active force that is always transforming things and completing things, and drawing man and Heaven together in the same current” (quoted, Reasoner 7). In Confucianism, makoto is more than simple avoidance of lies; it is the basis of everything that exists (Reasoner 7). Paul Reasoner (Bethel College) explains that, in this sense, makoto means the conformity between outward activity and the mind, but it also means a sincerity with oneself: to have makoto, a person must acknowledge the truth of his own feelings (6).

Makoto is a central value of bushidō, which developed from Confucianism as well as other philosophical influences. Nitobe Inazō’s Bushidō: The Soul of Japan (1900), which explicates samurai philosophy, discusses makoto among other virtues. According to Nitobe, makoto is more than just stating the literal truth; it means always being true to yourself—always doing your best (Hannon).

So makoto is inner consistency, a uniformity of thought and action, an acceptance of the truth about yourself, a passion for what you’re doing in the moment. Now, if that doesn’t sound what like The Prince of Tennis preaches, I don’t know what does.

~*~

It’s pretty obvious that makoto is highly valued in The Prince of Tennis, but let’s go over the evidence, just to make sure I’m not bullshitting you.

First of all, it seems fitting for The Prince of Tennis to uphold a samurai value like makoto, since it is bursting at the seams with references to bushidō and samurai, particularly those of the Sengoku Period (mid-1400s through the 1600s). All kinds of Sengoku-era samurai have lent their names to major characters. The most flagrant of these is Sanada Yukimura, who was defeated at the Battle of Tennoji in 1615 by the troops from Echizen. (I know, totally subtle, right?) Nanjirō is “the samurai”, and, if you think about it, Ōishi is an awful lot like Ōishi Yoshio from the Forty-seven Ronin, which is a story that is all about how being a samurai means pure action (i.e. makoto). There are bajillions more samurai references in The Prince of Tennis: tsubame gaeshi, fūrinkazan, gekokujō… I don’t need to list all of them for you to get my point.

Most convincingly, there is a consistent pattern of wins and losses in the story: characters who demonstrate high levels of makoto win, and those who don’t are punished with losses. In the details, it isn’t quite this simple; sometimes wins go to characters who don’t have high makoto yet but are being set up for a nasty, unexpected tumble (Fuji Shūsuke); in addition, there is the practical consideration that Seigaku can only win three matches against each school. Ordinarily, however, an impure heart guarantees a loss (see, for example, Akutsu or Mizuki). Characters like this aren’t thinking about the pure joy of playing tennis—or even about how badly they want to go to Nationals so they can continue playing tennis as long as possible—they have another agenda. In other words, they have two minds about what they’re doing. By contrast, the characters who start out with high makoto (Kintarō) or who eventually achieve it or get close to achieving it (Echizen, Kirihara) end up doing pretty well for themselves.

Makoto is a major factor in the final match of the story. I know, I know, it’s kind of lame that Echizen gets amnesia and then relearns to play tennis by playing against all the people he’s beaten in the past, but it serves the story well. After all, who could be more pure of heart than a person who is only now experiencing tennis in and of itself? Ultimately, he wins because he realizes that “tennis is fun” and spends the rest of the match just having fun with it. His opponent, Yukimura, is doomed the moment he says, “’Tennis is fun’, you say? Tennis is a serious battle. Defeat cannot be permitted.”

Even if we somehow managed to miss all of this completely obvious stuff, the characters are constantly telling us outright how important makoto is. How many times do people say, “Play your own tennis!” or “Don’t hold back on me!”? The best opponents are fully present, focused on the task at hand, and committed to doing their best.

~*~

If we view The Prince of Tennis through the lens of makoto, we get a much clearer picture of why things are happening the way they are happening.

We understand why one character wins and another loses (keeping in mind that other, less important factors also come into play). For example, I’m just about to ‘blog about Volume 25, in which Inui and Yanagi have a match. Yanagi, while not doing anything particularly anti-makoto that might condemn him, does belong to an anti-makoto team (Rikkai); he also plays a kind of tennis that is very cerebral and does not embrace action without thought. On the other hand, his opponent, Inui, goes through an entire arc of makoto-related character development during the match. He begins by using data tennis, which in addition to being extremely intellectual is not even his own invention, so it looks like he will lose. When he abandons this style and begins to play in a more “animal-like” way, he improves so much that he stuns his teammates. Still, Yanagi points out that Inui will never win if he’s doing that because he isn’t “playing his own tennis”. It’s clear that it’s important both to use the method that is most intrinsic to you personally and to let your thoughts step out of the way so your body can do what it already knows how to do. In the end, Inui wins the match because he does both of those things. Even though they sound like they are opposites, they aren’t. They are both makoto.

Another thing that understanding makoto helps us do is judge the relative “goodness” of characters and teams. From this viewpoint, the most morally admirable character in the story (at least before we account for character development) is probably Kintarō. Someone told me once that Kintarō was originally supposed to be the main character of the story, and I can see that in him—although, having already attained the pinnacle of sincerity, I’m not sure how he could grow throughout the story. His entire team (Shitenhōji) is full of makoto—they don’t seem to care about winning very much, so much so that, even though they are playing to the best of their ability, it really seems like they are ingesting some relaxing substances if you know what I mean. We can contrast them with Rikkai (and in particular, its vice-captain, Sanada), which is the incarnation of rules-based decision making and fear as motivation, or with Higa, who are just plain cruel sometimes—in order to be that cruel, you have to be thinking about something other than Just Plain Tennis. On the other hand, much as it pains me to say it, Nanjirō is all about makoto. That’s why The Prince of Tennis keeps acting like he’s a good person even though he is in all other respects despicable.

The preeminence of makoto also helps explain why some characters who seem really deserving aren’t that successful. The first person who comes to my mind when I say this is Kaidō. Kaidō works really hard, probably harder than anyone else in the story and certainly harder than anyone on his team. He’s also polite, respectful, self-sacrificing, thoughtful, neat, clean, supportive of traditional values, law-abiding, and helpful. He is beloved by little old ladies and their cats everywhere. Yet he never becomes a major player. Compare him to Echizen, who is rude, bratty, snarky, disobedient, disrespectful, self-centered, careless of others, and overconfident. To be fair, he has good points, too—he is respectful of the elderly, for example. Still, why should Echizen get to be the main character and win all the tennis matches against all the best players while the best Kaidō can hope for is minimal self-improvement? I will tell you why. Echizen learns an important lesson about makoto and changes because of it, and that doesn’t happen to Kaidō.

Finally, examining the treatment of makoto clarifies for us the character development of Echizen, Fuji Shūsuke, Akutsu and others. Akutsu, for example, is a Prince of Tennis tragedy: after his loss, when offered the chance to enjoy tennis simply, as it is, he chooses to quit instead. He can’t take it seriously—he can’t look into his soul and face what’s there. Everything Akutsu does is pretense or bravado; he’ll never be able to win at tennis until he can come to a unity within himself. Fuji is another interesting case, one with a happier conclusion. When he’s facing loss, he decides to take a risk and open himself up. Believe me, that’s a difficult thing for a fourteen-year-old who has always been successful to do—what if he tries and then he fails anyway? But Fuji does it, and the story rewards him for it, and we all feel good when he comes back and wins.

~*~

While the value of makoto doesn’t explain everything that happens in The Prince of Tennis, it definitely helps us understand a lot. I hope that this discussion was helpful, and I absolutely want to hear your thoughts on the topic. I am always looking for new insights. ♥

Works Cited

Crowley, Cheryl. “Putting Makoto Into Practice: Onitsura's Hitorigoto.” Monumenta Nipponica 50.1 (1995): 1-46. JSTOR. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.

Hannon, Sean. “A Critical Review of the Classic Samurai Text: Bushido: The Soul of Japan by Inazo Nitobe, Part Six: Truthfulness (Makoto).” Castle Rock Aikido and Iaido. Castle Rock Martial Arts School. Web. 13 Nov. 2011.

Reasoner, Paul. “Sincerity and Japanese Values.” Philosophy East and West 40.4 (1990): 471-88. JSTOR. Web. 11 Nov. 2011.

Volume 24: Checkmate

2011-11-09T01:05:00.004-06:00

Chapters 202-210

Fanta: 1 can,consumed prominently over several pages

Plot Events: Ōishi and Kikumaru are defeated by Niō and Yagyū; Inui and Yanagi begin their match

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

So it seems that, after I finish the manga and the myū, there will indeed be more Prince of Tennis for me to 'blog about. There's a live-action Taiwanese drama!

Also in the news, the PoT fans who strenuously believe that tennis turns you gay have been granted actual evidence that sports can do that. It's not tennis--and not in Japan--and, okay, not actually a sport but more of a sports-related accident. But still. (I can't believe this actually happened and is not a joke.)

~*~

Well, Momoshiro and Kaidō’scrushing loss accomplished one thing, at least: Sanada instructs the rest of his teammates to remove their wristweights. Niō, though—or, if you don’t mind me spoiling the ending for you, Yagyū-as-Niō—flounces around being a disobedient little bitch. Sanada’s hold over this team is tenuous atbest.

Aww, the family that Ōishi rescued has shown up with their new baby to watch his match!

He is actually not being sarcastic here. LOL.

Ōishi, Ōishi, relax, okay? It is going to be fine. (Momo and Kaidō just lost, and Seigaku has to advance, so odds are in yourfavor! ♥ (…I do know how you feel, though. How many times have I spent all night thinking, “I have to stop thinkingabout all these unnecessary things!!!” and not getting any sleep at all? Too many.)

Thematch begins. Things are starting outwell for the Golden Pair. This bodesill. Wait… speaking of boding ill… Iseem to vaguely remember what happens in this match… SHIT.

OMG BITCH NO. Niō (Yagyū)’s been blocking Eiji so he can’t see that Yagyū (Niō)has plans to hit him in the face! Evil!! OMG, he’s going to hit his head on thecourt! I hope it’s not cement! DDD: *worry worry*

No one even ran over there and caughthim?! *gasp* Well, at least Ōishi has the wherewithalto scream his name. Omg, omg! Niō (Yagyū)! How can you besuch a bitch?!

Youknow, I think Yagyū-as-Niō is way nastier than the real Niō. And Niō-as-Yagyū is a lot snarkier than Yagyū. They areobviously both working out some issues here.

Ōishi actually gets madand yells at bitch!Niō (Yagyū), though, thank God. …And Ryūzaki stops him! Goddammit! She picks now to be a coach?!

Semi-conscious Eiji is all upset because he and Ōishi made a promisethat they wouldn’t lose anymore! Will wenever get to see Golden Pair play a match together again? This is just getting excessively tragic.

Eeeeeeeee GP flashback! Mini-Eiji has the terrifyingly large eyes typical of Prince of Tennis characters in their “younger”days, but mini-Ōishi is not intimidated. Being an unusually confident little kid, he very bravely and cheerfullyacknowledges that Eiji might just be better than him and asks him to be hisdoubles partner. Yay childhoodpromises! (In the sunset, of course!)

Of course now Eiji has to fulfill his vow. Lame. I love it. Still… this bodes ill. Wait a minute, where is Ryūzaki? Shouldn’t she be putting a stop to himignoring his concussion?

Ōishi is still pissed off, as he should be, even though itis not helping. It is not very nice tohit people in the face and give them concussions on purpose.

The next step is for everyone to be amazed because GoldenPair can communicate without hand signals. DUH YOU GUYS. If you are truly inlove, you have MIND-READING POWERS; everyone knows that! All proper doubles pairs in The Prince of Tennis have mind-reading powers to a greater or lesser extent (usually commensurate with their success), though these powers can take several forms, such as:

I can predict what you’re going to say next
I would let you hit 100kph tennis balls at my face
I understand your pain more than anyone else does becausewe’re “rivals”
I know so much about you that when I pretend to be you,no one can tell it’s me
We literally have fuckingtelepathic powers

OH MY GOD Ōishihas an internal monologue about how amazing Eiji is. I think he might be about to shed a single,tiny tear of pride. It’s socute and parental. D: *wibble*

Ōishi (to himself): You’ve already become a much stronger playerthan me, Eiji.

Aww, Niō-as-Yagyū isscolding Yagyū-as-Niō for badbehavior. They are seriously messed upthat they enjoy this sort of thing, LOL. (They are getting a cheap thrill out of this, and I feel like an unwilling voyeur.) Why does Sanada let them play around like this when they’re supposed tobe focused on winning? Either he thinksthey do a better job this way (which doesn’t seem to be true), or he’s afraidthat if he tells them not to do it, they won’t listen.

asdf;lkjasdf;lkjasdf;lkjasdf;lkj Drool.

Omg, you audience people stoptalking about how Ōishi can’t do it. Don’t you have any BELIEF?!?! Of course Golden Pair will pullthrough. It is high time they had amoment where everything works smoothly. Eeeeee, even their rackets nuzzle together like—

I should shut up, or Horio will come out andstart talking again. I can feel it.

Eeeeeeeeeee! *nails scrabbling at desk* THERE IS CASUALLY INTIMATE TOUCHING YOU GUYS

And now Niō (Yagyū) whips out Laser Beam. The real one. It’s faster. XD Aaaaaaaaaand they switch back. Come on, why is everyone like, “Ooooh, Niō,he’s so tricky~~~”? Yagyūis RIGHT THERE, and he is tricky, too!

Seigaku is now verydiscouraged. Momo explains how thisdirty switch trick is “one of the tactics of tennis”, and Kaidō prepares to beat the ever-loving shit out of Horio for nothaving faith in his senpai. Everyoneelse bemoans the fact that Rikkai has seven “Tezuka-level” players on theirteam. (Really, you guys? I mean, Tezuka is a great kid, but I bet hewould rather you all not put that kind of pressure on him.) Ryūzaki gives GP some kind of pep talk about using theirsecret formation, which consists of Ōishiplaying closer to the net and Eiji going back. It is not that revolutionary, tennis-watching audience… Chill out.

Really? The entire match hinges on this one shot thatYagyūjust does, over and over? That isshameful. Shameful! Shame on all four of you!

Yagyū: This is the end. I bid you adieu~~~

THIS IS WHY HIS GENES ARE GOINGINTO MY OFFSPRING. Assuming that Frenchwords, casually dropped into conversation, are genetically bestowed uponchildren at conception.

Golden Pair lose. But they are really upbeat about it. And you know what? They deserve to be. They played well. ~There are unlimited possibilities inDoubles~

Sanada decides that he needs tocall Yukimura. I assume it’s “to fillhim in on the match so far”, by which I mean “to find out whether he is deadyet”. He’s being so sweet. Wait… Yukimura is just now telling him thathe’s undergoing surgery this afternoon?! Yukimura! Now Sanada’sgoing to be totally freaking out for his whole match. Either you should have told him a week ago,or not until after he was finished playing. Actually, though, I’m sure Yukimura means it to be sweet—I think he’sconfessing that he’s been inspired to go ahead and have the surgery because ofhow diligent Sanada and the rest of the team are being.

Yukimura: I am no longer hesitant.

♥ THEY INSPIRE EACH OTHER ♥

On the way back from making hisphone call, Sanada asks Ryōma if he reallybeat Akaya. The fact that he’s evenasking means that it’s been eating away at him. It kills him to ask. You cantell. Ryōma doesn’t remember whether he won or not; Sanada infersthat “he was playing at a subconscious level”. Really? I would have inferredthat he was on Rohypnol and that he ought tohave been taken to the hospital, like Yagyū said.

Okay, next up: Yanagi vs. Inui!

I don’t know whether it’sMarui, Niō,Yagyū,or Jackal that cuffs Akaya—perhaps all four of them, from the sound of it—but Iam with them 100%. He’s being a brat.

Speaking of annoying… Yanagi. I could not play tennis—or anything—againstsomeone who kept anticipating the ends of my sentences. I would throw my racket down and fly at hisface with my claws out.

Inui: Renji and I have been acquainted with eachother for a long time. We knoweverything about one another.

Oooooh, they used to play doubles. I knew they were acting likethey used sleep together. Kaidō looks way jealous. Taka-san looks jealous, too, but not of thesame thing. He is all wistfully sadbecause he doesn’t have any childhoodfriends about whom he knows everything. (Akutsu... is not that kind of friend. :/ )

Kaidō: Just as I thought, he teamed up with me fordoubles in order to let me perfect my Boomerang Snake. After playing together with him in doubles,there’s something that I found out… There’s no doubt about it. He’s asingles player!!

JEALOUS.

Inui and Renji play tennis byanticipating one another and trying to surprise each other and failing. I bet the best way to win would be to startdoing completely idiotic things that your opponent was not expecting. It’s like playing Rook with my dad—he getsreally mad if you make stupid plays, because he expects you to be smart, and he’sspent the whole time figuring out what cards are in your hand, and if you playstupidly, it throws off his count.

...I'm a stalker.

Flashback to mini-Yanagi andmini-Inui! In exhausted post-tennisbliss. They have cute nicknames for each other. :3 And they say thingslike, “It would be great if we could be partners forever.”

Okay, shōnen manga kids. When someone suddenly suggests that you playa one-on-one match against each other, be very afraid. Clearly that person is about to leaveyou. Don’t you know the rules of shōnen, and the importance of one-on-one matches? DDD:

God dammit Renji, stop KNOWINGeverything.

Volume 23: Kantō Tournament Finals

2011-11-08T23:35:00.000-06:00

Chapters 193-201
Lame Puns Saeki Steals from Dabide: 1

Plot Events: The Kantō Tournament begins; Momoshiro and Kaidō vs. Marui and Kuwahara

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

Life this week has been okay. I cleaned my whole house and made meatloaf, so I feel very accomplished. I also did not get the job I interviewed for, but the personnel manager called me especially to tell me that I did everything exactly right, and the only reason I didn’t get the job was that they gave it to someone with more seniority—that’s good information to have. (Even though it would be even better to have a full-time job…)

In other news, on Glee this week, there was a sad leprechaun. Now I find myself in sore need of a sad leprechaun of my very own. If someone would be my leprechaun, I would take very good care of that someone~~~ *puppy eyes*

I’ve been on tenterhooks ever since the last volume ended, waiting to see what Sanada will do next. ♥ You guys, the manga totally deviates from the anime here (or, more accurately, the anime is the deviant one), and although I skimmed these next few volumes once while working on a Rikkai-based fan project, this is basically all new stuff. I fully expect that it will all be amazing and awesome, and anyway better than the anime. (For one thing, there is no golf-tennis.) Sanada SANADA SANADAAAAAAAAAA!!!

Here’s what happens: Ryōma falls face-first into Sanada’s ~~embrace~~ arms, thus making it unnecessary for Sanada to kick his ass and, instead, forcing Sanada to extend a gesture of good will (i.e., catching him). Very sneaky, Echizen Ryōma.

Thank god my baby-daddy is there. Someone has to do the Right Thing.
Yagyū: Hurry up and take him to the hospital.

It turns out that Ryōma has only fallen asleep, so Sanada moves on to his next showdown: Akaya! He’s going to lay down the law! Bwa ha ha ha! It’s too late to apologize, Jackal! *gleeful cackle* You can’t do anything now about the fact that you didn—

Holy Shit.

O________________________O

Sanada just backhanded Jackal across the face! (Apparently this necessitates him standing with his feet like a meter apart, which is weird, but hey. Maybe it’s some kind of martial arts stance, what do I know?)
Sanada: Jackal… You were with him the whole time. Why didn’t you intervene?
Kelfin: That’s what I said!

Akaya is too busy being stunned by the fact that he lost to realize that he’s about to get smacked.

Way harsh, Sanada. Your teammates can’t even lose matches they play for fun? D:

Rikkai, Rikkai, Rikkai… How to make sense of Rikkai…? Although they are undoubtedly cool—the best tennis team in the series, hands down, even though Hyōtei is sparklier—they are also a tad unbelievable. In particular, Sanada’s Iron Fist of Law is a little bit… much. I doubt that any serious adult would let him get away with doing things like smacking people for losing; perhaps that is why, to my knowledge, we never see any coach for Rikkai. The more pressing question, though, is why do his teammates put up with it? Sanada’s reasons are fairly clear—his boyfriend is dying, he’s desperate to keep the eternal vow of victory he made with his dying boyfriend, did I mention that his boyfriend is dying?—and Akaya is so un-self-controlled and in desperate need of guidance that I understand why he’d accept Sanada as his leader. But Jackal, Marui, Yagyū, Niō, and Yanagi all seem like ~~high schoolers~~ responsible, confident young men. It seems odd that they would be okay with the obvious overkill that is going on here—the lack of balance, the high-stress atmosphere, the hitting people in the face. We can see from their reactions to what’s going on around them that they’re not under the same emotional pressure that Sanada is, so why do they go along with this? It’s not respect for their vice-captain or the system itself. (Niō in particular—or rather, Yagyū-as-Niō—is shockingly disrespectful to Sanada, actually.) Is it crowd mentality? Or the smug satisfaction that comes from knowing you’re better than everyone else? …You know, that’s probably it. Just look at Yagyū. If that’s not smugness incarnate, I don’t know what is. (Damn, he’s hot. D: )

Marui always makes me think of this Ella Fitzgerald song. (Bonus track!)

How did Ryōma get home? He doesn’t know, either, but… wow. Why is he so tired that he just fell asleep like that? Poor kid.

Hi Karupin ♥

Meanwhile… at home… in the dark… Sanada practices martial arts because he is a MAN and he does MANLY things. Like brood about Tezuka. I mean! Like threaten Tezuka’s metaphorical progeny! That is the MANLY thing to do.

Inui is sitting home with his statistics, calculating Seigaku’s chances of winning. It’s cute. He has a pic of himself and Renji as little kids, which is Even More Cuter. Did they go to Hawaii together, do you think, or does he just have a Hawaii picture frame? The frame is probably a present from Renji. *wibble* I actually care about Inui right now, and I support his earnest desire to do better. Gosh. I feel like the manga got immediately better when Rikkai showed up—everything feels reinvigorated, like suddenly what we’re doing actually matters.

The next day, Ryōma’s sleeping in class. I hope he’s okay. …And now he’s talking to himself. Out loud. He never does that. Did Akaya hit something serious?! *worries* Oh, I remember now. This is the buildup to that enormous, lame joke about everyone having red eyes, just like Akaya.

OMG Kaidō ilu.
Kaidō: OUT OF MY WAY! QUIT LOITERING IN FRONT OF THE DOOR!
Because if you yell really loud, no one will realize that you secretly like cute animals and have a girly name.

So everyone has excuses for—wait, what? Cactus got in Fuji’s eye? I mean, I remember the myū, but… seriously!? How do you get a cactus in your eye??? There’s no way that can be accidental. Listen, I was a dumb, clumsy kid who poked around in places she wasn’t supposed to, and even I didn’t get cacti in my eye! In my nose, sure (note: cacti don’t really have a nice smell, so don’t try it), but never in my eye.

You know, though, Ryōma talking aloud to himself and being a little worried makes him a much better character. He has officially moved up my likability scale from “die quietly” to “has potential”.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Ōishi can play tennis again! :D
Eiji: I’ve been waiting for you… Ōishi!
OMG they have a fist-bump! *glee*

…Wait, gross, the ichinensei are doing much the same kind of squealing that I am. And now I feel dirty. Thanks, ichinensei. :/

~*~

Okay, it’s finally time for the Kantō tournament finals! We see all the teams. Hyōtei have the cutest pants of everyone. I guess everyone is just there to watch? Oh, and probably for the award ceremony. Scouts are there—that’s appropriate; there should be scouts.

Everyone on the Seigaku team is wondering why everyone on the Rikkai team is staring at Ryōma. Don’t know why they’re wondering—it’s not like he’s the protagonist or anything.

Yanagi doesn’t look cool with his eyes closed. That look doesn’t make a lot of sense unless you’re in chibi form. Right now it just looks like he’s walking around with his eyes closed. Or, more accurately, it looks like he has his eyelids lowered demurely. It’s extremely feminizing, but he doesn’t really look feminine otherwise, so it gives me this creepy feeling—like those computer-generated people with large breasts and manly hips that they use to test how people visually assign sex traits to the people around them. Yanagi should get glasses or dramatic hair or something to distract me from his elfin androgyny.

Oh dear, Ōishi, stop it, stop—oh. I guess he has a moment here where he realizes that in order to be a good vice-captain, he has to be overconfident and kind of a jerk.

What, Rikkai has a cheer squad? O__O And they’re such a good cheer squ—GOD DAMMIT Horio just said the exact same thing!!! I have to get out from under this Horio curse.

Okay okay okay. Forgetting Horio. Doubles tennis! My favorite! (It seems like so long since I’ve read any doubles.) Momo and Kaidō… I love them both, what can I say?

*snorfle* Marui. (You know, his bragging doesn’t seem so obnoxious after what Ōishi just said.) Eee! He’s so playful and adorable, and probably it’s not nice to be this conceited, but as long as you can back it up, I don’t care because YOU ARE CUTE. MARUI I LOVE YOU. ♥ Marui not only has me and the cheerleaders rooting for him; he also has Jirō! Who loves him and (I’m sure) secretly stalks him, and who, according to the fanbooks, stole Marui’s wristband at the Newcomers' Tournament and continues to carry it around in his bag… three years later. I bet he has never washed it.

It is clear what Shishido thinks of Jirō's crush.

Momo may be worried about Marui and Jackal playing with their weighted wristbands, but I’m more worried about Marui choking on his gum. Or losing it on the court and someone else’s shoe getting stuck to it.

Who names his or her kid Jackal, by the way? Is that supposed to be a Brazilian name? Hang on, let me check Que Nome Darei ao Meu Filho? by Pandiá and Ana Pându, my Brazilian baby name book, which I purchased in São Paulo. Hmmm…. nope, Jackal is not in it. Nothing between Jabotão (“árvore de tronco reto”) and Jaci (“a mãe dos frutos, a lua”). (Both Tupi names, if, like me, you’re interested in that sort of thing.)

This is going to be a great match, because Marui and Jackal are both genuinely good players, and Momo and Kaidō are full of integrity and the real desire to improve. This fills me with happiness. Possibly, this is because Rikkai is so much better in the manga than in the anime. Do you guys remember anime!Rikkai? Remember… the cake… and the head shaving… and the golf-tennis. *shudder*

This match is too exciting to comment on. Good tennis is actually occurring. Back when it’s over kthxbai.

Wait, pause for commentary on this picture.

Kelfin: WTF?
Otto: *head tilt*
Kelfin: …Why, just… why, why do you think this is here?
Otto: You know, when I run out of space on a page, I always just add a panel of crotch. Not the ball moving past someone’s midsection, just crotch.

Ooooh, Marui’s going to let Kaidō hit Boomerang Snake! (Ha! Boomerang Snake makes me laugh every time, because I remember when... Go watch here from 19:00-19:45. It’s hilarious, because it’s the English dub, and also because they are So Easily Impressed. And because they say Boomerang Snake at least a hundred million times.)

Marui and Jackal have an adorable partnership, in which Marui sparkles and Jackal gets shit done. Jackal acts a bit put-upon, but probably he secretly likes it.

At the same time, Yukimura is sitting in the hospital, with little birds flying around his head and fawns eating from his hands—oh wait, no, he's just languishing quietly. OMG His surgery is today! How did I forget that?!

(Factoid: it says on Yukimura’s calendar that July 27 is a Sunday. That means that The Prince of Tennis takes place in 2008.)

Kaidō has been traumatized by the fact that Jackal can also do an around-the-pole shot.
Ōishi: The shock, and the humiliation—the very foundation of the tennis that he worked so hard to create for himself has been undermined just like that.
Why doesn’t someone take Kaidō aside and teach him how to do something that is not Snake?

“Momoshiro understands Kaidō’s pain the most, because they’re rivals,” the manga informs us. —The hell? Oooookay, Prince of Tennis. If that is how rivals work, I guess that is how rivals work.

Why is Kaidō always forced into the role of the damsel in distress? Now Momo is offering to save him. (“I’m going to pull you through this!! So just wait for me!”) Things like this make me glance around surreptitiously, wondering, DOES NO ONE ELSE SEE THEIR OBVIOUS FLIRTING?!?!!?! No one on Seigaku seems to notice.

In an effort to “pull Kaidō through this”, Momo is gravely wounded. (Read: He skinned his knee.) Kaidō takes off his bandanna and gives it to Momo to stop the bleeding.

Ahahaha. Yeah. They’re doing it. Especially because then they deliberately have a fight on the courts in order to inflame their spirits, after which we are told, “Momoshiro trusts in his rival! And Kaidō responds in kind!!”

I like the way this match is handled. Even though Jackal and Marui have superior skills—we’re not asked to suspend our sense of disbelief in order to imagine that Momo and Kaidō are magically better than they are—the Seigaku team does challenge them, and everyone grows and learns things during the match.

One nice touch is that Jackal has a flaw, too: pride, Yagyū tells us, that won’t let him rely on his partner when his ability has been called into question. In an interesting moment for Prince of Tennis Doubles Philosophy, Marui makes a risky decision to abandon the plan (their formation) in order to rescue his partner. Although I wanted in my heart for him to go and help Jackal, for a moment I worried that maybe he was making the wrong choice, because formations are an important part of playing doubles. But of course, it is always the right decision to support your partner. ♥

And because Marui makes that decision, he and Jackal win the match.

Volume 22: Surprise Attack

2011-10-27T23:11:00.002-05:00

Chapters 186-192 (and Chapter “000”… Sigh.)

Dramatic Shots of the Sun: 2

Plot Events: Akaya and Ryōma have an illicit tennis match; Nanjirō and Rinko's backstory

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

This week has been crazy. I had a fight with Arii, planned to leave my husband but got convincednot to, took a lot of sleeping pills, had hysterics a couple of times,plastered my walls with posters about who was and was not my friend anymore…and then calmed down. So now I’m in thateerie place where everything is fine, but I’m terrified I’ll go off the deepend again. O_O

Also this week, I got hate mail from a Tezuka fan. LOL. (I hope there are no hotblooded Nanjirō fans reading, because they are not going tolike what I have to say about him today…)

Right, so, Akaya and Ryōma. With the tennis. That they’re not supposed to be playing. (I’m not entirely sure why Ryōma’s clandestinematches against opposing teams—or Tezuka, apparently—are off-limits, but it’s finefor everyone else to play at the street courts, but whatever.)

At first I can’t decide whether Akaya is deliberately abrat or just thoughtless, but since he’s so consistent about it, I eventuallydecide it’s on purpose. He really likesto talk, it seems, since he can’t stop taunting Ryōma. And it’s gross how Akaya keeps rubbing his lip with his finger. It looks like he’s wiping away snot (which reminds me of this dōjinshi we at Gekidasa, Inc. scanlated, in which Ōtori was licking away Shishido’s snot in what wasapparently supposed to be a tender scene…).

Akaya also has weird hair, which ALSO reminds me—I saw a kid inthe library where I work! With crazyeyebrows! Okay, okay. Remember when I was complaining about howreal people don’t have blond hair and black eyebrows? Well, I was wrong. As I was putting away picture books thisweek, a little blond girl, maybe three or four, came up to me, and shehad the eyebrows.

Little Girl: Are youlooking for my mom?

Kelfin [mesmerized by the adorable child with the strangeeyebrows]: …No. Are you?

Little Girl: Yeah, where isshe?

Kelfin [still mesmerized]: I think she might have gone that way… if that’s your mom…

Little Girl: Will you readme this book?

Kelfin [sadface]: Sorry, Ican’t. I have to work right now. Maybe your mom will read it to you.

Mom: Sure, I can read it… Eventhough five minutes ago you told me you hated that book…

/end digression

Right, so, they’re taking off their power ankle weights. Seriously, I hate those things. Or more accurately, I hate that they are sucha big deal in this manga. THEY ARE NOTTHAT COOL

There is a crowd of fanboys watching—because how would we knowwhat to think of the match if there aren’t people to tell us what to think?—andalso there is babysitter!Jackal, at least I am pretty sure he is babysitting,although he seems to have no control over Akaya whatsoever. Jackal is also providing commentary, somewhatmore helpfully than the rest of the crowd. I can’t figure out why he doesn’t just tell Akaya to cut it out… I think he secretly wants to see Ryōmalose. I know Ido. XD

The most annoying thing the crowd is doing is referring to Ryōmaas “that little kid”. It’s like fetishporn. Like, I just read this gay romancenovel that Tracy-senpai lent me, and a huuuuuuuge big deal was made out of thefact that the two men were different sizes. The bigger one kept calling the smaller one “my little bunny”, which sentshivers of horror up my spine every time I read it. Shivers. Of Horror. If someone ever triedto call me “little bunny”, I would break his nose. I prefer to be the one usingthe terms of endearment. Lol.

Anyway, now we flashback to Akaya beating Tachibana, which ishelpful, because it gives us some really nice character moments for Tachibanaand An. For example, it’s sweet how Angets all Concerned when “her team” is losing. ♥ And Tachibana is so stoic as Akaya is prancing around bragging about howhe is going to beat him in 13 minutes. Iknow what’s actually going to happen, of course, but I’m still rooting forTachibana. I hope he kicks Akaya’slittle ass and rubs his face on the concrete.

I am skeptical about Akaya’s eyes getting bloodshot like that. Is it supposed to be in any way realistic? Arii tells me that the Rikkaifans claim that it is caused by allergies (although I am doubtful that thereare any allergies that react that quickly to imminent defeat) or that it is acombination of stress with some kind of something else. I’m not sure what kind of something else thatwould be, but I guess stress could do that. Although Akaya should probably get his eyes checked… The manga gives us an explanation that doesn’texplain things at all:

Jackal: WhenAkaya’s eyes become filled with blood, his pace will increase at a rapid rate.

Okay, I’m pretty sure it’s against the rules to hit someone onpurpose. OMG, hitting someone in theFACE has DEFINITELY got to be against the rules, right? Right?!?!?! …I just checked Google, and they couldn’t tell me in the first tenentries, and I’m way too lazy to go any farther. So I guess we’ll never know.

Jackal: Akayaintends to destroy that guy’s knee in order to seal off his movement. That’s terrible…

“Seal off his movement” = make him not be able to move because his knee is broken DO WE REALLY NEED A FANCY TERM FOR THAT?!?!?!?!

Also, if it is terrible, then stop him. Grrrr, I can’t stand characters who don’t take action.

Crowd: Akaya-kun is clearly aiming for his knees on purpose. If we don’t stop this match right away, thatkid…

But do they stop the match? No. Because “That kid still wants to keep playing”. BECAUSE TWELVE-YEAR-OLDS ARE TOTALLY CAPABLEOF MAKING DECISIONS LIKE THIS OMFGGGGGG

-_____________________________-

Ooooooh, Ryōma is leveling up! With a flashback of all the people he’sdefeated before! Or been defeatedby! And stuff! The leveling up process apparently makes hisirises disappear… and bathes him in clouds of smoke. Or something. It’s creepy—he has a creepy look in his eye, and there’s all thisfloating smoke-stuff around him. It’sprobably chi. Or something like that.

Ryōma also decides to speak English to intimidate Akaya,which would be annoying, except that Akaya deserves it for all the blabberingand bragging he has been doing himself. Although perhaps Ryōma ought to be a bit more accurate in his statements.

Ryōma: Nobody beats mein tennis.

Oh yeah? Whatabout Tezuka? Or your dad?

There are all kinds of random quotes about the Hyōteiteam at the bottom of these pages (Chapter 191). I have no idea what they’re doing there. Probably some kind of fan contest? I never understand those things...

Dear The Prince of Tennis,
“Southpaw” is not a cool word. Stop being so thrilled to say it. No one actually uses that word except you,and you get that creepy dog-going-for-a-car-ride look of bliss whenever you do.
Sincerely,
Reality

Meanwhile, our favorite lord/loyal retainer couple are atthe hospital, side by side, staring off into the distance. Surely their seemingly casual talk aboutsports is merely a cover for the weightier matters that stir the depths oftheir entwined souls: life and death andtrue love and stuff. ♥ Their twosomeness is engraved on thestars. (I mean, aside from the fact thatthey basically have two halves of the same freaking name, they totally alsohave a Yoshitsune and Benkei thing going on. Speaking of whom... I dare you to watch this. I couldn't keep watching after forty-six seconds.) But alas! Their rendezvous isshattered by their teammates, who have just been called about Akaya.

Sanada-in-my-imagination: WTF Srsly? Can’t Jackal keep him out of trouble for five minutes while Ihave a coded conversation with my dying boyfriend?!

And there is a cake that Marui is eating. Was that cake even there a page ago? It doesn’t look like it, though it’s hard tosee. Maybe the cake showed up withMarui, but that makes it kind of mystifying that he is suddenly eating it now.

Yukimura is enigmatic. Is he sincere when he says nice things to Sanada? Or is he being ironical? I have no idea, personally, and I kinda thinkSanada is also mystified. The knots thathe ties himself into just to please that boy have got to be really bad for hisdigestion. :/ He is a tense kid. But look at him there with his tie blowing inthe wind… so romantic! D:

…The Rikkai ties look like they got caught in a meatslicer.

The scene cuts back to Akaya, who finds it “unbelievable”that Ryōmais good at tennis. Come on, youguys. I feel like I have to point thisout in every single volume. SOMETIMESPEOPLE WHO PLAY TENNIS ARE GOOD AT PLAYING TENNIS.

The entire Rikkai team rushes in to put a stop to thisnonsense. I hope they yell at Jackal forletting these shenanigans get started. Oh… OMG… I fucking love Sanada, can I just say that? He actually DOES STUFF. He’s going to put a stop to this nonsenseright now! He’s going to—

…End of volume? *blink blink*

Was that… actually a cliffhanger that I care about?

*blink*

*blink blink*

Wow. O____________________O

~*~

Oh my god. Chapter“000”, you guys. I can’t not put that in quotation marks. :/ Chapter “000” is all about my least-favorite character Nanjirō,the only character in this story who manages to go beyond boring to downright offensive. And thischapter is even worse than usual, because it is not just about Nanjirō,it is about Nanjirō in “America”. Andno, I can’t not put that in quotation marks, either.

Holy crap, Ryūzaki-sensei used to be a babe!

I hate Nanjirō so much. From his unnecessarily bared chest to his cocky attitude to his totallack of—Oh my god. No. NO. Isthis “America”??? I… I am just… I’m just broken. Seriously. Broken. There is just so muchwrong with this. First of all,just to clue you in, the United States is actually not full of pickup trucksand Hulk Hogan and guys with cowboy hats and ginormous mustaches. At least not in the same places there arepalm trees. (Are they inCalifornia? Florida? Hawaii?) For another thing, Americans do not talk like characters in a shōnenmanga.

“American”: Don’tmake me laugh! As if a brat from Japancould become a pro here in America!”

Do you seriously think Americans think like that?! LOL OUR COUNTRY IS BIGGER THEREFORE YOU GUYSARE BAD AT SPORTS

…Because logic.

And of course the cowboy hat guy is fat. Of course he is. (And hairy, too. Of course.)

Nanjirō dumps Coca-cola on his head. OF COURSE HE DOES.

“American”: Uwaaa!! So cold!?

BECAUSE AMERICANS WOULD SAY THAT. Especially with question intonation. Sigh.

Is it badthat I mostly feel sorry for Coach Smith here? I mean, I know he’s supposed to be the bad guy, but right now, he’s justsitting at his table when some random dude pours iced soda on his head. For no apparent reason. Oh, maybe it was water… just in a sodacup. Whatever.

Takeuchi Rinko, the only redeemable person among themajor characters of this chapter, saves Nanjirō’s ass by apologizing forhim. Yay feminism. :/

Oooooooh, she’s studying to be a lawyer. (Dude, can you even practice law in Japan ifyou have a law degree from another country? Maybe that’s why the Echizens spend so much time in the US… because she onlypassed the bar in Califloridawaii.)

And Nanjirō grabs her boobs and says he’s notinterested in Japanese women. Classy. She hurls a tennis ball at him, and love is born. It seems the fact that he’s good at tennis is impressive enough to overrule the fact that he grabbed her boobsand told her he wasn’t interested in her, even though she had expressed nointerest in him in the first place and had in fact tried to help him out of a bad situation. All this prompts Rinko to consider thatmaybe she really does have small boobs and a bad figure. (Are you kidding me? She’s totally hot just the way she is! D:)

I JUST CANNOT EVEN EXPRESS HOW MUCH I OBJECT TO THIS

Okay, now we have Michael and Alisa… why is Michaelworried about Nanjirō “doing something” to Alisa? Who is Alisa?! Oh. Apparently, Alisa is the person rubbingherself all over Nanjiroh’s lap :/

LOL I really like Michael. He’s awesome. So far anyway. Even if he doesuse insults like “dirty monkey”. Is thatsupposed to be a racial slur? It kind offails. WTF, Coach Smith just firedMichael? I… This is so ridiculous, I don’t even know what to say. Michael, honey, why do you even want Alisa-chan back if she’s socavalier with men’s feelings? And where did you get Japanese-style bandagesinstead of regular ol’ Band-Aids?

You can tell Coach Smith is a bad guy because he hitstennis balls at kids. That is prettymuch the chief Prince of Tennis signal that someone isbad. It’s like kicking a dog in aHollywood film. OMG, it’s a kid withglasses, too. Of course it is.

Coach Smith: Youshould feel privileged to be able to receive tennis lessons from a former prolike me!!

Really? Becausethat seems like much more of a Japanese thing to say, actually.

Okay, so Rinko saves the kid with glasses, it’s all cool…and now she’s yelling at Coach Smith. Will she be cowed by his retort?! Yay Rinko! She stands up to him even though he calls her “woman” and isgenerally an ass. Now he’s hittingtennis balls at her. Yeah... she won’t be ableto rescue herself. Women never can. They can only protect kids. Kids with glasses. --__________________--

Listen, why does no one put a stop to CoachSmith abusing people? You guys couldreport it to the person in charge, you know. This is “America”, after all.

Right so, now Nanjirō has decided to get rid of the problem bybragging and beating Coach Smith at tennis, which will obviously solveeverything.

Enter Bundro, the #1 ranked player in the world. I don’t know anything about this guy, but he’skind of hot… and also bafflingly wearing a woolen winter hat in the middle ofCalifloridawaii.

And Rinko has now borrowed someone’s motorcycle. (Because Steve McQueen?) And Nanjirō grabs her boobs as they’redriving, because “I have nothing else to hold on to!”

And……… several years later, Nanjirō randomly quits tennis because hewants to be a father, I guess. Maybe he should get better atbeing a father, then. :/

~*~

OKAY. Heads up, Princeof Tennis. We Americans are aware that Japanhas other stuff besides samurai, geisha, and Mt. Fuji.

I am personally really offended that you would use blatant, cheapstereotypes about us in children’s media. Americans try really hard not to use racial andcultural stereotypes—and when we do them, it’s with an awareness that we arebeing daring and risqué, and we keep it away from children. (The English dub of Hetalia, if I remember correctly, is rated R!)

Sometimes, yes, we fail. Wedo, on occasion, make the mistake of assuming that foreigners are defined bywhatever associations we as Americans have with their country—but we know thatdoing that is silly and offensive, and we do our best to avoid it as much aspossible. And of course I’m not speakingfor every individual American: I’m sure you can find people who are lazy orbitter enough to judge people by stereotypes, especially if you look at movies and television from earlier in the century, such as the clip from The Great Escape that I linked to above. I’m even sure there are places on this very ‘blog where I or one of myfriends has said something unwittingly offensive. (Sometimes we are purposefully offensive,too, in order to make a point.)

But I do feel that I speak for the majority of Americans when Isay that we don’t want our children to grow up thinking that everyone in Nepalis enlightened and all Hispanic people are Mexican. And we would never assume that all Japanesepeople are like Sayuri from Memoirs of a Geisha. Or even like a real person, such as Mishima Yukio. Because we recognize that fiction is fictional,even when it is a lot more accurate than Arthur Golden’s book, and because werealize that individuals are, well, individual.

And though I know that different cultures are different, and thatno insult is intended—probably—it makes me sad and angry when othercultures don’t extend us the same courtesy. It's not fair. So, while admitting that there are things that American culture couldget better at, too, I’d like to ask you if you could please stop.

Also, FYI: Americansdon’t hang around in bikinis at restaurants. Just letting you know. K.

Volume 21: Kikumaru’s New Step

2011-10-13T15:02:00.003-05:00

Chapters 177-185
Lame Puns from Dabide: 1

Plot Events: Seigaku defeats Rokkaku in the semifinals and prepares to go up against Rikkai next

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

Wow, has it really been so long since I last posted? O____________O I’ve been much happier, lately—at least I’m no longer crying literally every day, so I'd count that as happier—but I have been distracted. By way of apology, let me introduce you to two wonderfully distracting things, so you, too, can forget the buffets of reality by immersing yourself in the fantastical colors. These are Glitch, a game that is supersupercute, and a My Little Pony ponymaker, so you can make ponies for everyone you know. Here is my pony of me:

Right, so it’s been so long since I’ve read the last volume, I’m a bit disoriented. Apparently Saeki’s there, so… they’re playing Rokkaku? Awesome, okay, I know where we are. XD …OH RIGHT. The doubles match where Saeki is leering at Eiji! Fuji’s comments to himself about how he is the real target make this extra creepy. (Clearly, I have been watching way too much Law & Order: SVU. And reading too many true crime stories… I love reading about serial killers D:)

I also love Rokkaku’s baby!cheerleaders. :3 Kids are so easily impressed LOL—I want some of my own. This is why I can never be a schoolteacher or a parent. I would be tempted to mold their little minds so that they adored me and did whatever I wanted, which is pretty much unethical. (I guess that sounds a little creepy after what I just said about serial killers. :/)

Oh hey, interlude with my favorite team~~~! Oh. Blech, it’s just them talking about how great Seigaku is—because they continue to “evolve”. Yeah, that’s dumb. I mean, I know it’s the premise of the entire manga—and basically every shōnen manga ever—but it’s kind of boring, isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be a better story if there were people who worked really hard and just never got better? Well, maybe not. Real life doesn’t always make a particularly good story, either. Well, either way, the point here is that Seigaku keeps “evolving”—by which they mean “improving”, but that doesn’t sound as cool—and are here being contrasted with Saeki, whose “potential has reached its climax”. …Oh, oh, omg, Eiji’s evolving too! Like we didn’t see that coming.

Oshitari: To be honest… I really don’t understand how those Seigaku guys do it.

I do, Oshitari. It’s called Blatant Author Interference.

(Also, I don’t believe that Dabide beat 200 guys, because whenever we actually see him playing tennis, he’s not that awesome.)

Cats can do that.

WAIT WAIT WAIT. We didn’t see THIS coming. Eiji has evolved to the point where he can clone himself?!?! NOT COOL. Just… not cool. Dude, think about it for a second. If these guys can do this kind of shit—pink tornadoes and mind powers and God knows what else—why haven’t they taken over the world with their superpowers? Shouldn’t the Self-Defense Forces be pounding down their doors? OMG, Prince of Tennis, PLEASE tell me that there are not literally two Eijis. PLEASE. I can’t believe no one calls foul on the physics of this!

Oh, thank God, Inui has some technobabble to explain this shit.

Science works like this.

So, it is while I am exclaiming over the improbability of this ridiculous idea that my husband turns to me and says:

Otto: So… he’s doing the Picard Maneuver?

Kelfin: There’s a name for it?!

Otto: Yeah. The Picard Maneuver comes from the Star Trek: The Next Generation Season One episode called “The Battle”. The ship does a quick warp, going faster than the speed of light, so it leaves an afterimage of itself, thus confusing the enemy as to its location. This was used against the Ferengi—

Kelfin: OMG IS THERE VIDEO FOOTAGE

Otto: I can’t find any, but here is a YouTube vid someone made of how it works.

Kelfin: This is gold.

Otto: Now, it should be mentioned that there is another so-called “Picard Maneuver”, which consists of Picard constantly tugging down his shirt…

Coach Ryūzaki explains to us that Eiji has evolved because he’s been ~~cheating~~ playing tennis with Fuji and Momo. It’s probably true that this is good for him, but since it doesn’t suit my strict BL morals, I’m going to be disgruntled about it.

Anyway, I feel bad for Saeki and Itsuki, even if they are secretly serial rapists, because they are actually playing good tennis. Like, with actual good ideas and stuff. No magic tricks there.Well, that match is over. :/ Wait… Is Itsuki crying?

I think these pictures of Ryōma at the beginning of each chapter are supposed to be cute, but he’s not doing it for me. I’ve been reading Temeraire books and am not in the mood to be patient with roguish types. The captions, on the other hand, are hilarious. “He’s the majestic little giant!! Bearing the word ‘Seigaku’ on his back!!” *snigger*

It’s set up so that we think the next person who will play is Ryōma; after all, he does play Singles 3 a lot. But it’s actually Kaidō, which makes me sigh: the Rokkaku match is no longer guaranteed to be over with the next match. :/ Let’s face it, you guys, Rokkaku is just not that interesting. Anyway, I hate Aoi Kentarō (wow, I am crabby today), and since I like and respect Kaidō very much, I will be doubly pleased if Aoi loses.

Oooh, consecutive snake shots! Everyone say it: CONSECUTIVE SNAKE! CONSECUTIVE SNAKE!

Alas, I know this manga far too well to think that a game count of 4-0 in Kaidō’s favor means that this will be a one-chapter match. Oh, of course, Aoi has lost four games on purpose, just to impress girls. Isn’t that cu—HE’S A DICKFACE. If I were Kaidō, I’d be pissed. (Actually, I’m already pretty pissed.) That’s probably the real reason Aoi does it. I bet he’s never even “kissed with” a girl once. Oh, I’m wrong. He’s been kissed by at least one girl… whose affection, apparently, depended on how well he played tennis. Sounds like a classy broad.

Well, Kentarō’s method of talking himself through the game is, I suppose, interesting if dishonorable. Nevertheless, Kaidō is offended. I can’t help but feel smug when Kaidō wins. *smug*

Meanwhile, Ryōma drops by the Fudōmine vs. Rikkai match. Ew, Akaya is not cute; he’s all gross with sweat. (Why does Arii like him so much?) Ryōma may be stunned by Rikkai’s overwhelming victory, but I am merely stunned by the length of their legs. They all look really freaking crabby, that’s for sure.

His info is backed up by the video footage of Rikkai’s match sent to Seigaku by Inoue, which makes me wonder, can journalists do that—send footage of teams to other teams? Isn’t that unethical? I’m pretty sure that’s reporter bias.

Following this is a bunch of pictures of Rikkai which are clearly intended to impress us with their scary skills, but mostly they just impress me with the fact that Yagyū is hot. 333:

These kids get way too worked up. You’d think they’d have discovered by now that none of the teams they get so scared about are actually soul-sucking monsters. Ryōma is supposed to be traumatized just from witnessing their “overwhelming dominance”???

Oh well. Everybody needs pep talks. ♥

Okay, isn’t it stupid that Rikkai only has seven people? Isn’t that dumb? What if one of them gets si—AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA never mind.

LOL Ōishi’s clandestine meetings with the doctor—I totally thought it was a drug deal for a minute there.

My after-school clubs always met for like six hours at a time.

Whoa, whoa, Ryōma has time in the middle of practice for a four-hour racket-fixing break?! This is just… so far from reality, idek. Plus, I’m pretty sure sending a twelve-year-old on a 23km run with ankle weights isn’t going to magically make him better for the next tourney. Haven’t you guys ever heard of stress fractures? Geez.

Oh, of course. He just happens to run into Rikkai while he’s on his errand. And he challenges them in the street. Sigh.

JUST SAY NO, RIKKAI KIDS

We all have reasons

2011-06-03T05:28:00.003-05:00

I know you guys could seriously care less about what's going on right now. I'm sure you have better things to do than listen (read?) this post because it has very little to do with PoT. For that, I am sorry. I just feel as if I owe all of you, both readers and bloggers alike, an explanation as to why I haven't been seen (written from?) in months when I said (several times) that I would start updating again. I have reasons and they are listed below.

From the beginning of March till the end of April, I was in and out of the hospital. I had to have emergency surgery since the ER doctors here in my lovely town (fellow bloggers know how sarcastic that sentence is... this place is horrible) didn't figure out what was wrong with me when I tried to tell them. I ended up waiting almost a full week and that made everything much worse than it had to be... which meant surgery. It's been almost 2 months and I'm still healing up that stupid wound.
From January till end of April I was constantly sick. Not just a cold, but uncontrollable pain and illness and horrible things sick. Couldn't be fixed, I just had to deal. Now I'm better.
I'm still studying abroad this summer. June 23 is when I'll arrive in Tokyo, Japan. I promise to take pictures of street corners to prove there aren't tennis courts everywhere. I also promise to take a picture of one if I see it... maybe they're GIANT over there and that's why these kids run everywhere and it takes forever to get from one side of the court to the other. Either way, pictures will be had.
My brother is an idiot. Enough said.
I need to finish up classes from last semester, as well as continue on with classes this summer in Japan and then the Fall Semester 1 week after I get back. Do I overwork myself? Yes, I can't help it... So you understand the scope of what I'm doing, this summer I will have 16 credit hours, this fall I will be completing 22. See what I mean?
NEVER JOIN A SORORITY. I've never had so much drama in my life as I did when I was there. Sure, made a few great friends so the drama was almost worth it. But I still can't believe girls can be so evil. (And no, we didn't pay dues since we are a local sorority. Please don't stereotype me with tv programs or horror movies. I'm not dumb enough to investigate a scary sound like typical sorority girls would.)
I got engaged. Yep, boyfriend asked me to marry him 5 days after I got out of the hospital. Bandages, gross surgery wound that they couldn't stitch up, couldn't walk or sit up by myself... all that and he still asked. I think he's crazy

So now you know. I'm sorry I'm such a lame person. I get what I can done, when I can do it. For example, it's almost 6 am and I plan on searching out the next few episodes to watch and blog later today. Why? Because I don't want to do the laundry or wash the dishes. Nor do I want to venture outside with the cicadas everywhere since I am convinced they will land in my hair and I'll die as a result.

I really do enjoy blogging. Just so you all know. I love reading comments and the posts. I love being surprised by being handed 'The Big letdown' Award. I love this blog!
Busy!Amaya desu!

This man is a god.

2011-05-22T01:23:00.004-05:00

---------Arii------------

So, as you know, best beloved, Intensive Tennis is dedicated to bringing YOU, the reader, the most entertaining aspects of animated Japanese bishie boys chasing big furry balls and gripping long hard racket-handles. However, there comes a time, once every thousand years, when the infinite scope and vast entertainment value of homoerotic symbolism is entirely eclipsed by something far, FAR MORE AWESOME. I know. I KNOW. You can't believe I'm actually saying that.

I am.

THIS.
THIS MAN.
HE IS A GOD.
HE IS THE CHUCK NORRIS OF TENNIS.
There is no cooler person alive than him. Kelfin and I both wish he was our grandfather. Aside from that, since he ISN'T my grandfather, I would make out with him, yes I would.

Commence fangirling.

Volume 20: Their Own Style of Tennis

2011-05-18T00:55:00.001-05:00

Chapters 168-176
Fanta: 2
Lame Puns from Dabide: 3

Plot Events: Kawamura and Momoshiro defeat Kurobane and Amane; Fuji and Eiji begin their match against Saeki and Itsuki

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

Not much happens in Volume 20, at least plot-wise. The first chapter or so wraps up the ends of the previous tournament. For a moment, it looks like Kamio’s getting molested by Uchimura (you know, the other guy on Fudōmine), but it turns out to just be a congratulatory backslap. Then Sengoku has a scene of soul-searching during which defeat inspires him to improve, but it is so short as to be uninspiring. So disappointing all ‘round.

There is a moment in which Tachibana manages both to appear sportsmanlike and rub the loss into Minami’s face by assuring him humbly that if Akutsu had been there, no doubt Yamabuki would have won. (Ouch!)

Tezuka sends Seigaku a text message, which they analyze like girls getting a note from their crush. You guys… stop. Just… stop. Stop being so sentimental. (And Tezuka, geez, is a simple “Congratulations on your win” too much to ask?!)

Here’s something that makes me curious. Seigaku’s practices are evidently being held during the lunch break at school, since Ryōma is skipping them for an after-lunch nap. Is this an issue of confusing translation, or do they actually have a lunch break that’s long enough for sports practice? If so, what are the other children doing during this time? And what time does school get out?! They must be there all evening! D: I hope they’re not skipping lunch to practice…

Next, the manga introduces us to Rokkaku, hinting, typically, that they are so intimidatingly powerful as to be nigh undefeatable. I know I should be impressed that Dabide defeated a hundred Hyōtei players, but they just mentioned Rikkai in the last chapter, and now Rikkai is my measuring stick. Rikkai isn’t a particular favorite of mine, but, honestly, nobody else measures up to Rikkai. I mean, their tennis makes people go fucking blind. (Amirite?! y/y)

Bane and Dabide show up, looking crabby—rival teams always look crabby when they first appear; possibly this is to make us feel that they are Good At Tennis—and rescue the pudding Momo is bringing to Ryōma “from a girl”. Bane is pretty awesome as he Lays Down the Law; the sunshine behind his head makes him look like GOD.

I’m not sure what to think of Saeki. He seems both comfortable and not-out-of-his-league with Fuji, which makes me instinctively not trust him.

Aoi really, really, really looks like Curious George.

And their coach… dude. That crazy old guy just STOLE Ryōma’s Fanta money!!! Ryōma doesn’t seem bothered by it, though, which means that maybe he is not as bad of a kid as I think. :3

The first match is Kawamura and Momoshiro (aka “Seigaku’s Heavy Artillery Combo!!” LOL) versus Bane and Dabide (aka At Least In Their Early Twenties). Oh man, do I love Kawamura. He’s so fricking adorable. Adorable… and embarrassing. *headdesk*

Rokkaku’s coach is a bit weird, but it’s kind of cute that all the neighborhood kids learned to play tennis together. ♥ (It makes me feel good almost against my will—like romantic comedies, quilting, or grandmothers.) I really like Bane a lot, too. In addition to being the coolest man alive, he is also genuinely concerned when he hits Kawamura with the ball. I definitely approve of him. As for Dabide, I’m distracted by his hair. There’s… so much of it. So, so many pictures of his hair… *mesmerized* (Also… Who else reads all the references to Dabide’s “extra-long racket” as penis euphemisms? Raise your hand. You know you do it.)

Whoa! Ryūzaki just showed up and had a coach-like thought! It was just a thought; she didn’t actually use it to coach anyone, but still. Progress!

Momo and Taka-san score a point and do an epic FIST-BUMP. (Cue Dabide and Bane looking wind-blown). Their success is explained by telling us that when they play together, they are able to exponentially multiply their power! Prince of Tennis math is confusing. Is that like how with Hadōkyū you can have 110% of something?

In general, though, this match is pretty fun to watch. (Well, “watch”, anyway.) Momo is using actual tactics, which kind of impresses me. If people could jump like this in real life, tennis would be as cool as that most overtly epic of men's sports, Olympic figure skating.

Say what you will about the flaws of this manga… Bodies in motion are not one of them.

Taka-san wins the match for them, prompting everyone to be shocked. (“Who would have thought that it would be Kawamura who hit the big shot?”) I feel so bad for him. D:

Okay, on to Doubles 1!

A racket cracks on team Rokkaku! It’s a visual metaphor!!!

WTF, Saeki, Fuji, why are you having some kind of cocktail party small talk before your match? Itsuki agrees with me THANK GOD.

This match is also fun to watch. Nothing much happens; everyone’s good at tennis, and they’re all playing well… Oh, damn. I should have known Fuji would get all dramatic. Saeki’s certainly rivaling him on the scary front. Eiji’s terrified looks are starting to make me feel kind of nervous myself.

OMG you guys! Eiji’s acrobatics are blocked HOW WILL THEY WIN AT TENNIS NOW!?!?! Never fear, kids. Fuji is magical and will not lose. …Excuse me, not magical. “A genius”.

And randomly we’re on the beach. WTF. This is a flashback… Hopefully, it will make sense and do something constructive, such as giving us important background information about the characters or making a visual metaphor more meaningful.

.
.
.

Nope, it was totally pointless.

Back to the tennis match. How do people have time to give their partners these detailed instructions in the middle of—oh wait. TENNIS IS NOT ACTUALLY THAT FAST

Volume 19: Goodbye Tennis

2011-05-17T11:58:00.002-05:00

Chapters 159-167
Airplanes: 7
Fanta: 1

Plot Events: Tezuka leaves for Kyūshū; Seigaku defeats Midoriyama at the Kantō Tournament

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

Oh, man, it’s been so long since I made fun of The Prince of Tennis. I didn’t realize how much I missed it. ♥

Seigaku is still bowling when we begin. I’m not really sure why… Probably Konomi-sensei was bored of tennis. Heaven knows I am at this point. The bowling is, of course, unnecessarily epic. (“Goodbye Tennis!! Now is the time for Bowling!!”). I didn’t think it was actually possible to twist your body the way Eiji does on page 5, so my husband (Otto) and I practiced it. He thinks it’s possible to do if you’re moving, and he almost managed it. I unwound from the pose with a boinggg like a suddenly uncoiled spring. D:

Anyway, this is clearly supposed to be humorous, probably so that things can be lighthearted before the TRAGIC DOOM OF DEATH that is Tezuka leaving for a couple of weeks, but it’s not funny. It’s more like… confusingly unfunny. Especially the zombies.

Naturally, it’s even more overdone when the bowling ends. “Starting from tomorrow, Tezuka will be…”

~PAGE BREAK~

“GOING TO KYŪSHŪ”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lame.

Apparently, Tezuka has left for Kyūshū “in a flash”, which makes me wonder if he has learned to teleport or what. Regardless of his method of travel, however, his absence has, disproportionately to its actual importance, sent confusion and ennui through the ranks. I imagine that much of the team is so overcome by tears that they cannot continue to play. “THIS HAS CAUSED A STIR AMONG THE TENNIS CLUB!!” the manga informs us earnestly, adding, “It’s possible that Tezuka may never come back……” (You can tell that they are extra serious because of the double ellipsis.)

Despite the use of the preterite, Tezuka has not yet actually departed. First, he has to play mind games with his underclassmen, who fall for them like their parachutes are broken. It’s annoying—why can’t people just be honest?—and it seems a little ridiculous that there happen to be a bunch of random tree stumps lying conveniently around. Logically, the fact that Tezuka can hit leaves with tennis balls and is now going away for a short time means, to Ryōma, that he’s a jerk. (Yeah, people who want to heal their injuries are serious assholes… I can’t believe those guys. What are they thinking?! Geez.)

Tezuka: In the end, it seems like I’ve caused everyone a lot of trouble. I’m sorry.

Ryūzaki: What are you talking about, Tezuka? No one is blaming you at all.

EXCEPT FOR THE ENTIRE TEAM.

At first, it seems nice that the entire team has gone to see Tezuka off, but then I wonder… where are Tezuka’s parents? I think if my kid was flying across the country, I’d take him to the airport myself. Maybe there are some super-awful extenuating circumstances, like his mother is stuck in traffic, crying because she won’t get to the airport in time, and his father is rushing his goldfish to the veterinarian for emergency goldfish surgery or something.

Also, in case you didn’t get it, the airplanes are a VISUAL METAPHOR for “going places”. :D

Now that Tezuka’s gone, it’s up to Ōishi to run things. I seem to have more confidence in him than the manga itself does. D:

He starts out with pop-psychology tests, which are seriously the best. XD You guys, I have loved pop psychology since I was like ten years old. I would sneak into my dad’s office (he’s a pastor and has all kinds of counseling books) and read all of the pseudo-psychological religious self-help books, especially the ones on saving your marriage, because they had stuff about sex in them.

Let’s all take Ōishi’s pop-psych personality test. What does this image look like to you?

A. It’s some guy playing on a tropical island.
B. It looks very relaxing. He must be having a fun time.
C. Is he alone? The guy could be stranded.
D. From the shape of the island, it looks like it is in the Southern Hemisphere at a latitude of 28° or so.
E. He must be eating coconuts… I bet they taste great!
F. Um… It’s hard to decide… I get it! It’s a zombie!!!! The zombie is alive!!!!
G. I have no idea what the person who drew this ugly crap was thinking about… I don’t want to know, either.
H. Boobs

If you answered… you are:
a) Eiji
b) Fuji
c) Kaidō
d) Inui
e) Momo
f) Taka-san
g) Ryōma
h) Kelfin

You know, I’ve been thinking about making a Prince of Tennis personality quiz, but now I don’t have to. XD

In addition to gaining insights from the fifty hand-drawn pictures, Ōishi has wisely decided to improve Seigaku’s tennis skills by inviting Fudōmine (the buddy school ♥) over to play. Fudōmine are shocked that Seigaku can still function now that Tezuka’s gone. That’s not very flattering…

Now it’s time to play tennis against Midoriyama! I’m excited for Midoriyama because they don’t show up in the anime, really, and so this should all be NEW STORY for me!!! (For those who are interested, Jōsei Shōnan shows up, too—on the tourney bracket as having just been defeated by Midoriyama.)

Ōishi: You guys must play your best in this match!

Every time he talks, I want to see him hold up a scolding finger.

We get a good look at Midoriyama to begin with, and it’s pretty clear who’s who.

Enter Shiba. Look at her standing ten feet away from them, like she’s afraid to approach the wild animals. She eventually gathers her courage and asks them for interviews, but she is shot down! Finally, there is some sense! No, reporters can’t just interview kids without their parents’ permission! Thank god Midoriyama knows this. I like them already.

Shiba: They aren’t cute at all!

Honestly, that’s your worst insult? They won’t talk to you, so they’re not “cute”???

Oh, dear. Midoriyama is underestimating Seigaku—now there’s not even any suspense. They will definitely lose.

How do Japanese boys squat like that? Have you ever tried it? Guaranteed, you will fall on your ass. It’s possible to squat, of course, but not like that—you have to lean forward more and spread your feet further apart… Maybe it helps if you are a real Japanese boy and not a wide-hipped American woman. :/

MIDORIYAMA CAN AIM AT LIGHT POLES!!!!!! OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do we have to panic every time our opponents know how to play tennis? You would think it’d be expected, especially as they move up toward Nationals…

The next chapter begins with the lineup, which prompts several questions.
1. Why is everyone on Midoriyama a second year? Will that be explained?
2. Is it in any way intentionally ironic that, although Ōishi’s personality tests were revealed to be mumbo-jumbo, the manga still gives everyone’s blood type?
3. What exactly is “The Secret to Midoriyama’s Strength”? Is it the fact that they can aim at light poles?

Questions 1 and 2 go unanswered, but the answer to Question 3 is revealed to be the fact that Midoriyama has a “special coaching unit”, in the form of one of the members’ dads. He is a former professional, whom Shiba and Inoue recognize immediately. I’m not sure how Shiba knows who he is, given that she can’t even recognize Pete Sampras. Maybe she is learning. In any case, this man has the creepiest creepster moustache and sunglasses ever. EVER. On the other hand, at least he coaches the team, which is more than I can say for some people.

First up is Inukai vs. a really pretty ~~girl~~ boy and ~~her~~ his own ~~boyfriend~~ megane. The pretty boy is prettier than Kaidō, so let’s see if the megane can out-megane Inui. I bet Midoriyama will win.

Awww, nope, they’re definitely going to lose, unless they have a major Change of Heart. You can tell from the very beginning—they actually dissed Inui’s attempt at sportsmanship! D: (Kaidō getting pissed about it, though, is sooooo cute. No one can get in the way of this OTP ever! Not even Momo or Yanagi.)

The girly-haired kid is kind of pretty when he’s distressed, especially when he’s being rescued by his ~~boyfriend~~ megane. And… omfg, did he just fold his arms across his chest and start pouting?! WTF! (Thank god Kaidō calls it like it is.) THEY AREN’T CUTE AT ALL!!!!

Against my will, I now dislike Midoriyama. I wanted to give them a chance, even though we’re clearly supposed to hate them. But wow, they are so insulting. And they obviously have no Respect for the Game.

Oh, dude. Don’t EVEN try to match endurance with Kaidō.

HAHA I WIN. (Through Kaidō. Vicariously.)

Suddenly, there is a break in the action to focus on the fact that Sakuno and Tomo-chan are late yet again. You know, as time goes on, I like Tomo-chan more and more. Sure, she’s annoying, but I find her brand of annoying much less annoying than Sakuno’s. At least Tomo-chan knows what she wants and goes and gets it, which isn’t a character trait you can really dislike, even if you disagree with her methods. (Also, how does Sakuno’s hair do that?!)

Ryōma’s match (against Kiraku, whose dad is the professional) is going on at the same time. He is drinking Ponta during his break, which is really stupid.

Eeeeeeek! Nanjirō just showed up. Looking like a skank, too. As usual.

Nanjirō: Let’s go see if I can find some hot chicks ~ ♥

AND HE PROCEEDS TO CHECK OUT SOME JUNIOR HIGH GIRLS o________O

Blargh, this is going to turn into a sons-of-rivals thing, isn’t it? *groan* Oh, wait, no! It’s a sempai/kohai thing. Kiraku’s (the older one’s) expression as he whirls around to find Nanjirō is priceless.

Oh, man, is this going to be another sob story about how someone’s worked really hard and he still can’t defeat Ryōma because he is naturally awesome? I hope not; that would piss me off. Wait wait wait… It’s not going like I think it will. My expectations have been subverted twice! :DDD

Kiraku complains that his kid’s interest in tennis is fading, probably because he forced him to play. (Or because he’s thirteen and he doesn’t know what he wants in life. *eye roll*)

Nanjirō: That’s fine, isn’t it? Kids are supposed to be our toys!

LOL! Momentarily forgiven.

Anyway, Midoriyama are poor sports, so Inui and Kaidō win their match, and Ryōma wins his.

ALSO INUI AND KAIDŌ ARE CUTE

Not at tennis, surely!

Okay, time for Doubles 2~~!

God, Fuji, stop knowing everything. You piss me off every time you talk.

Wait, what? Two pages? LOL okay. That whole match was literally two pages of Ōishi worrying and Fuji being a know-it-all.

You know, I’m not really sure what the Midoriyama matches added to the story. There wasn’t any character development, which is kinda the point. I guess they’ve qualified for Nationals… Anyway, I see why it was cut from the anime.

The rest of the volume is devoted to a match between Kamio and Sengoku, which will determine which of their two teams will be moving on to Nationals (along with Seigaku, Rikkai, and Rokkaku).

KAMIO GET A NEW CATCHPHRASE

Anything with the word “rhythm” in it, I’m ignoring. It’s all bullshit anyway.

Hi, An! ♥ I totally ship her and Kamio now. She’s such a good cheerer, especially when Shinji has no faith in Kamio, no faith at all. *indignant* Kamio and An are like my only het OTP… (Other sexy pairings with girls in them include: Tomo/Shiba, Hanamura/anyone, Sengoku/Akutsu’s mom.)

Speaking of Sengoku, he’s so calm. He’s never fazed or worried. I kind of dig it. We have to root for Fudōmine, though, because they work so hard and are underdogs—and besides, they are Seigaku’s buddy team!

NEVER FEAR! Tachibana comes up with a completely bullshit technobabble solution—it’s called “Motion Vision”, and he tells Kamio how it works! But BWAHAHAHAHA, it is already TOO LATE! At the last minute, Kamio finds the solution, which is… to play tennis with his eyes closed! (Obviously, that was the solution, duh.) And then… he LEVELS UP!!!

Seriously, though, Kamio’s right. Fudōmine has to win—for Tachibana’s sake. I am 100% on board with this mission. ESPECIALLY BECAUSE LOOK AT THEIR LITTLE BAND-AID-COVERED HANDS! DDDD:

Ugh, a tiebreaker. Why do I read this manga when I don’t even like the tennis in it?

Oooh, oh wait, I’m drawn back in. Kamio just dropped the ball! Is he worn out already?!?! Poor kid skids across the court… but he wins!!! Kamio’s so freaking cute. :3

(I’m ignoring the fact that he only won because he was inspired by Seigaku. SIGH)

Yay!

2011-05-04T18:12:00.001-05:00

Yay! School is over! I'll be back to 'blogging next week. See you then!

Love,
Kelfin

Because happy things make us happy

2011-02-10T19:39:00.002-06:00

I thought I would copy and paste this, word for word, for you wonderful people because I know you all will understand! (P.S. By 'word for word' I mean everything except my name, changed that for Amaya reasons desu!)'

"Dear Amaya,

Congratulations! You have been accepted through our initial screening process to participate in the Lincoln University - KCP Intensive Japanese Language and Culture Program offered in Tokyo, Japan. "

SO I'M GOING TO JAPAN! I promise I'll find a tennis court somewhere and take pictures. I'll also take pictures to prove that tennis courts are not found on every street corner on the face of the planet!

I'll be there from June 23 till August 14! I'll try to update episodes soon since I'm an awful person and go through phases of updates and lack of updates :(

LOVE!,
so excited that I can't type because I keep hitting the wrong keys and have to fix every other word at least twice before I can move on!!!Amaya desu!!!

p.s. I promise I'll try to find some PoT people... like Aiba. I'll try to find him ^.^ but in a non-creeper way

Update from Kelfin

2011-01-30T13:30:00.004-06:00

Dear Everyone,

I HATE SCHOOL.

You never thought you'd hear me say that, did you? Well, anyway, I never thought I'd hear me say that. This is a significant paradigm shift that has left me with a bit of vertigo. The ramifications are still slamming through my life, quivering nearer the center and turning everything topsy-turvy at the edges. Why have I spent so much time making people think I'm a hugenormous elitist when I'm really not? Why do people have to be jerks about anything less than 5000% "authentic"? Is it okay with me if I'm not smarter/more over-educated (= better) than everyone else?! I think it might actually be okay.

It's not that I don't like learning things, because I do. I love reading--I love reading articles and books and watching videos and taking notes and synthesizing all of the main points into giant book reports with names like "All about Kunqu" or "Everything That Has Ever Been Said about Biwahōshi".

But then my professors look at me and say, "Kelfin, this isn't a research paper. You don't have any main points of your own. All you do is quote other people."

And I think, But that's because everything has already been discovered, and there's nothing new for me to think up, and even if there was, I couldn't do it spontaneously just because I've been asked to write a research paper. And, more importantly, I don't really care. There's enough to learn in the world that's already been discovered--why look for more? But I don't actually say that, because, just as I dislike thinking critically about my sources, I dislike displeasing my teachers.

I want to go back to undergrad, where all you had to do was pay attention to what the professor thinks is important, and BAM!, there's your A. I'm good at that--at being pleasant and smooth-faced and reserved and prompt and obedient, I mean. (Arii says she can tell when I'm pretending to agree with people, but I don't think most people can.) I like authority. I like rules. I like hierarchy. I respect those things--that's how you get along with people--and it's the only way to get on in life. Apparently, however, it is not the way to get on in a doctoral program.

At least I know I'm a decent writer--well, a damn good proofreader, anyway*--and I do like the sound of my own voice, even if my technique and stylistic preferences aren't acceptable enough to the establishment for me to become a successful opera singer. And I really am very, very smart. It's just that I wanted to be the best at something, and I realize now that I never will be. Not the best in the whole world, anyway. If I want to be the biggest fish, I need to find a smaller pond--but smaller ponds don't have Asian grocery stores and 24-hour pizza delivery and live theater, so I think it's better just to learn to be content.

Living in this city has made me realize that the race to speak the most foreign languages/travel the most places/be the most open-minded/recycle shit/support protest movements/know the who's-who of the avant-garde/own nothing but genuine, authentic artwork and furniture/shop at farmer's markets/wear scarves/etc. is a race that I cannot win. I will never win it, because in order to win, you have to have money, and you have to have had parents who had money, and you have to want it really badly. I realize now that I don't want to be like that. I happen to like eating foreign food and watching documentaries and listening to experimental music, but--and this is an honest-to-God revelation--I don't have to do all the other stuff if I don't want to.

I never wanted to be a professor or a researcher, anyway. What I wanted--what I have always wanted--is to feel justified in respecting myself. This year in school has taught me that I have been going about it the wrong way. When I have children, I will tell them to place their self-worth in something that can't change, such as what they've accomplished, rather than in their identity, which will constantly run rings around them. -_____-

I suppose at this point--well, probably long before this point, actually--you are asking, "Kelfin, what does this have to do with The Prince of Tennis? Why are you delivering a long rant about your irrelevant personal crisis?" I apologize for denying you a sense of orientation for so long.

The upshot of all this is that school is very overwhelming right now, especially since I also have a part time job, and I probably won't be able to make regular posts until classes end in mid-April. This distresses me a bit, not only because I really like posting, but also because I know there are people who actually read this 'blog with some regularity and who (and I say this humbly) might look forward to new posts.

But never fear. Hope is on the horizon! School ends in mid-April, as I said, and it is highly likely that it will never begin again for me.

In the meantime, I will make posts when I can. I encourage you to go back and reread some older posts, too--my colleagues are beginning to catch up to me. As of today:

My husband (Otto) has only posted on episodes one and two. I will try and convince him to do more, since he is hilarious, and since I think his perspective is quite valuable, as he has actually once been a middle-school boy.
Taylo has finished through episode twenty-seven. Her life is hectic and her primary interests are elsewhere, but she has a dry sense of wit that I find uproariously funny, and she knows quite a bit about the technical aspects of the manga art style, which, frankly, we need--so I will encourage her to post, too, though perhaps not as strenuously as I do my husband.
Tooya has just recently gotten to a place in her life where she has time and energy to make posts again. She has completed episode seventy-nine. Because she is very visual and very practical, and because she actually knows things about sports, Tooya always manages to point out something that the rest of us failed to notice. Her laid-back style contrasts well with my intensity, Arii's silliness, and Amaya's super!hyper!bouncy!ness.
Arii stopped after episode one hundred thirty-two, but she recently confessed to me--independently, without any prompting on my part!--that she intends to continue. She also finally posted that myu that we watched together, did you see? Arii knows fandom better than any of the rest of us, so she is good at making connections.
Amaya is already on episode one hundred sixty-four! She has a knack for pointing out the obvious that I have somehow missed (honestly, I have a knack for missing the obvious...), and her writing is cheerful and fun. Go and read her posts and admire her dedication and smack-you-in-the-face humor!

(Okay, that sounded a bit like an audition for The Mutual Admiration Society, but it was meant to be an advertisement, so I suppose it's all right that it's complimentary and enthusiastic.)

I also encourage you to comment any time you agree/disagree with us, want to point out that we're wrong or we've missed something or we're being unfair, know of a fic we should read or a vid we should see, or have the urge to fangirl like a maniac. I can't promise we'll all be nice to you (SIGH), but I promise that I'll be nice to you. After all, I'm the pleasant, smooth-faced, reserved, prompt, obedient one. :) Also, I honestly, truly want to benefit from hearing your knowledge and your opinions--the free exchange of information is good for everybody. I especially love getting multiple comments from the same person; I feel like I get to know you that way. To protect against spammers, all comments must be approved by one of the six of us before they're posted, so you won't see your comment appear right away. We usually approve it within a few days.

Okay, I have now wasted two hours of homework time making this post, but do you know what? It was still less time than I would have spent reading and taking notes on a manga volume.

Love,
Kelfin

*I hope there are no unintentional spelling/grammar/punctuation/style errors in this post now. D:

~*~

ADDENDUM, 5:39 pm.

I just spent an hour and a half in the library helping an incompetent middle-aged lady that I don't even know and didn't really want to help. I was very expressive--monotone, one-word, vague answers; hesitation; hints that I'm busy; beleaguered expression--but she failed to pick up on my signals. (Unless she did pick up on them, and just decided to be mean and beg me to help her anyway...) I had to help her upload her documents to her school application, answer questions about the application process that I in know way knew the answer to, and even proofread two of her documents! *weeps*

And the thing is, I used all of the ways I knew to say that I didn't want to help; I even caught myself making an impatient face once. It's like the time I was in Moscow and got kiss-raped because I literally did not know how to say the imperative form of "stop".

All this is to say... yeah. Don't be pleasant, smooth-faced, reserved, prompt, and obedient like me. Apparently, it is not the way you get on with strange people in the library, either. LOL.

Tenimyu Twelve: Absolute King Rikkai First Service feat. Rokkaku

2011-01-20T19:11:00.004-06:00

New Cast
Kaidō Kaoru – Yanagishita Tomo
Katō Kachirō – Kawamoto Ryō
Kirihara Akaya – Ōkawa Genki
Kisarazu Ryō – Kato Ryosuke (new to this role, anyway)
Kuwahara Jackal – Yūki Jutta
Marui Bunta – Kiriyama Ren
Mizuno Katsuo – Eguchi Kōichi
Niō Masaharu – Nakagauchi Masataka
Sanada Gen'ichirō – Kanesaki Kentarō
Yagyū Hiroshi – Baba Toru
Yanagi Renji – Ono Kento
Yukimura Seiichi – Yagami Ren

Returning Cast
Amane Hikaru – Shiozaki Airu
Aoi Kentaro – Kawahara Kazuma
Echizen Ryōma – Sakurada Dōri
Fuji Shūsuke – Aiba Hiroki
Horio Satoshi – Hara Masaki
Inui Sadaharu – Nakayama Masei
Itsuki Marehiko – Ikegami Shoma
Kawamura Takashi – Watanabe Kōji
Kikumaru Eiji – Seto Kōji
Kurobane Harukaze – Shindō Gaku
Momoshiro Takeshi – Takagi Shinpei
Ōishi Shūichirō – Takiguchi Yukihiro
Saeki Kojirō – Irei Kanata
Tezuka Kunimitsu – Minami Keisuke

--------2----Arii & Kelfin----2--------

We could only find subs for the first 9 ½ minutes… :(

ACT ONE
Hey, they’re opening with Rikkai instead of Seigaku! That’s interesting.

I support this new fad. LOL so...before I go any further... I'd like to make a public apology for taking literally MONTHS (a year?) to get to this Myu... It's totally my fault that it hasn't been published until now, sooooooo... Sumimasen ne. Извините!

← This looks nothing like my real hair anymore.

1.1 Must Be Strong!

Dude, it’s not like we even need the subs, anyway. All these songs have the same lyrics. You could probably write your own right now by combining the words "win", "try", "best", and "fight" in any order and then converting a randomly selected 20% of them to English.

I shall now write a song. Ahem.

TRY BEST FIGHTO

Watashi-tachi wa WIN ga suki

BWICTORY ni iku

(Chorus) Motto motto FIGHTO

Makete nai

TRY BEST FIGHTO

sora ni RUN

kimi-tachi wa ore no tomodachi

(Chorus) Motto motto FIGHTO

Makete nai~

...*speechless*

That's like... exactly like their songs, Arii. O________O

You know, thinking back over all the Tenimyu we’ve seen so far, it’s pretty amazing how much things have improved. The dancing, singing, and acting are better… the camera, lighting, and effects have all improved… the choreography and vocal lines are more difficult… and yet the same old cheesy pseudo-pop music is playing. *facepalm* I miss Ives and Bartók and Partch!

I wish we could see the whole stage. Of course, if we could, I’d probably want zoom-ins…

Just wait until we get into the next couple Dream Lives. THEN we really start seeing how much money they have to burn.

1.2 Hijō no Tennis

[incomprehensible excited gibberish]

…Arii is way too excited about this. I can’t even tell if the Rikkai actors are good singers yet because she has memorized all of the songs and is singing along. Okay, well, they sound strong together, but individually, I’m not impressed with Kiriyama-san (Marui)… or Ono-san (Yanagi)… or Yūki-san (Jackal)… Or Kanesaki-san’s (Sanada’s) singing, although he is basically Manliness Incarnate. And Nakagauchi-san (Niō) acts and looks like a silver screen sexpot. Not my thing, but I see how it could be appealing.

OMG RIKKAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh dear. I’m going to hate Rikkai just by reflex.

DDDDDD: NOOOOOOOO. YOU CAAAAAAAN'T. WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT.

I can't help it, having been born contrary an' all...

1.3 Must Be Strong! 2

The rap version, aka the training montage. Yeah, grab Echizen and strap him down. Do it.

Wow, the dancing is really good here—I think they picked their best six dancers and wrote them a little mini-ensemble part. I approve.

*sniff* When is Rikkai coming back? D: *plaintive*

1.4 Kiken na Game and Kiken na Game 2

YAAAAAY RIKKAI IS BACK.

Ōkawa-san (Akaya) cannot sing well. Can he dance? We’ll see. Ah, he’s attractive; that’s why he has this job.

I think cocksucking may have been involved at some point as well.

...Let's not get in trouble for libel if we can possibly help it.

Aiba-san is doing a very good job here. There’s a particular note on which he goes sharp that I’d like to point out to you—I’m sure you can hear it. Watch carefully; you can see that he didn’t breathe properly before that phrase. See?

Oh, thank goodness these are following the manga instead of the anime. I mean, of course they’re following the manga, obviously. I’m just relieved. Anime!Rikkai sucks a lot.

*sad* Yeah....:(

Awww, Ōkawa-san’s evil laugh fails. So badly it’s cute. ♥

Haha, these power ankles obviously don’t have any weights in them.

1.5 Bloodshot

What, no fancy turning stage? Yūki-san and Kiriyama-san have to pick up the net and move it themselves? So cheap! Oh, aha, I know why they didn’t have money for the fancy stage. Check out Sakurada-san… that is the weirdest, coolest spotlight ever.

*rocks out*

1.6 Kyō Made… Soshite Ashita kara

TEZUKA GTFO. HATE YOU. HAAAAAAATE.

Minami-san, go home! That was just awful. I can’t even tell what those notes were supposed to be. Thank goodness, Takiguchi-san’s here to save the day. I’m sure he can’t have gotten the correct starting pitch from Minami-san, but he sounds amazing. Probably when the music comes in, we’ll have a moment where whoever is singing will be completely off-key.

Yeah. That always happens...

Okay, I’m waiting for it… Seto-san… Watanabe-san… HOLY FUCKING SHIT. They are in tune. How the fuck did that happen? If Watanabe-san is was in tune, then Seto-san must have been in tune, which means that Takiguchi-san started on the right pitch. O.O They don’t have earphones, so either he heard the starting pitch before he came onstage and remembered it all through Minami-san’s aural anathema, or else he has perfect pitch. My opinion of Takiguchi-san just went up drastically. I mean, it’s amazing. You would expect that even with moderately decent singers, four people without accompaniment would go flat somewhere. But there’s not even that normal flatness. I am flabbergasted.

I don't even know what to say. I'm just an English major, I don't understand these complicated musical jargonings.

*calling Kelfin out on being a snob* What’s the big deal?

*faceplant*

They’re good, Tracy-senpai!

Yeah. I don’t understand why you’re so amazed by that.

Tracy-senpai… You didn’t watch the first ten Tenimyu…This is like a divine miracle FROM THE GODS compared to those...

True.

Poor Tezuka. He fails at being Tezuka.

Oh, Sanada, you’re so strict and brusque. Love. ♥ But his confession scene gets interrupted! (I totally thought Niō was going to do something naughty over there with the flowers…)

1.7 Yūjō no Tennis

I like Yagami-san’s (Yukimura’s) makeup. He looks appropriately almost dead. Also, the moment when Sakurada-san collapses on Kanesaki-san is hott.

I am glad that we can agree that Kane-chan is a sexy sexy manlyman. (Kelfin, Tracy-sempai, in-joke: He's totally Soren, you guys *hearts*)

*wibble* Soren!

1.8 Hijō no Tennis 2

There is a short Rikkai song before the Seigaku craziness.

YAY.

Here is what happens:

Angsty-Ryōma is whiny and cute. In case you’re wondering what his t-shirt says, I found a translation here that is much better than my own French. The ‘blogger is also happy to see a Ryōma that sings, dances, speaks, and is cute all at the same time. Actually, you should just read her whole post because her screencaps and snark on this myu are wonderful.
Kaidō runs.
Inui does data stuff and talks to not-there!Renji.
Kaidō runs.
Momo (t-shirt: “CHUG”) watches the Lucky Puppy movie. I think Momo and I are kindred souls.
Kaidō runs.
Eiji plays video-game tennis in girl pajamas. It is adorable, especially because of the GP fanservice. (As in, his character is "Shūichirō", and he does "Moon Volley". So you see it's not particularly subtle.)
Poor Kaidō is still running. Yanagishita-san must want to just drop after this scene.
Ōishi… This is embarrassingly suggestive. Just… overwhelmingly… suggestive.
Kawamura dances with sushi rice.
Fuji—speaking of suggestive… yeah. I am speechless. I just… I have never thought of cacti as phallic symbols before.

This is just really, really homoerotic.

Do you think they know…?

YES.

You know, all this badly-camouflaged homoeroticism and phallic symbolism really makes me want to write a psychoanalytic criticism of PoT... *wistful*

Do it. I support you! I will even give you my bibliography from when I wrote that paper about homoerotic content in Japanese pop music.

This Sanada person looks like he knows what he’s doing with a sword.

He does. Trust me.

*wibble, melt*

1.9 Katsu Tameni

This is a boring Tezuka song.

Okay, red tape is maybe not the best way of indicating that their eyes are red—though I can’t think of a better one. However, that is the best eye drop advertisement I have seen in a while.

I hate boring Tezuka. *sulk*

1.10 Finalist

Oh man, I love Seto-san. (I'm totally watching him in Otomen right now, you guys, and you don't even know how completely adorable he is.) You know, I’m pleased with this cast in general. Watanabe-san looks like he’s physically strong, and the ichinensei look sharp, and—oh. Irei-san. Your pelvis… um…

Sigh. Kanesaki-san is attractive, but wasn’t there an actor anywhere in Japan who was both manly-looking and a good singer?

*wide-eyed* You don’t think he’s a good singer?

Um. No.

But… but… before, you said he… Well. I think that was when I showed him to you right after we watched the first myu, so you could see how much they improve.

Ah. Yes. That explains it. He is much better than the actors in the first myu. *shudders at the memory*

*sad* He gets BETTER....

INTERLUDE

Rokkaku are playing in the audience—they’re playful and lovable, and the audience loves them—so we can see the hall. I think I may have actually been in this hall before. It’s in Warrensburg, Missouri. Is Dabide in the balcony? Oh… okay, they're not in Warrensburg; that one doesn’t have a balcony. By the way, this is the most well behaved audience I have ever seen. Not one of them reaches out to grab one of those succulently displayed biceps. (Most succulent? Irei-san’s.)

Agreed. And it's probably because all these fangirls all realize that these boys (and/or their characters) have boyfriends and, unlike American fangirls, would not try to get in the way of True Love.

Awww, Shiozaki-san (Dabide) and Shindō-san (Bane) are snuggling. So cute!

I really like Ikegami-san’s green shirt. He’s actually really cute. Why is he so cute? I feel manipulated. I’m supposed to hate Itsuki… Oh, well, I still hate Aoi. Those slaps weren’t even close to real.

Oh, you mean the slaps that are delivered from twenty feet away? GOSH, Carol, if you don't have problems believing in magical tennis, I don't see why you get to bitch about a couple slaps.

ACT TWO

2.1 Climax

This is very sparkly. I like Rokkaku’s choreography. As a group—possibly because there are only six of them—they’re very tight, precise dancers who are strong at dancing exactly in unison. I’m excited to see this ability being exploited.

LOL MARUI YOU’RE CRAZY. I bet Kiriyama-san hates chewing gum by this point.

You know, Arii, I don’t think Marui and Jackal really match the rest of their team, personality-wise.

They don't. They're not crazy madmen. I mean, not psychopaths and sociopaths.

2.2 Haiagare, Kaidō

This song is boring. Yanagishita-san, fix your jacket.

Wow. I mean, I know it is a gay scene when Kaidō offers Momo his bandanna to wrap his wound, but here, it is especially UST-y. I mean look at them—they’re gonna make out any second! It helps that without the bandanna, Yanagishita-san looks super-fey.

See? They're about two seconds away from a kiss so passionate and inevitable that it has to happen in the literal spotlight.

Yes.

And now it’s time for the match between Golden Pair and Rikkai’s closest equivalent.

Eiji’s cute. So cute that I wanna throw him in something sour ‘cause he’s just… too… cute!

*envisioning Seto-san in a giant bowl of sour cream*

*nosebleed*

This slow-mo effect is interesting… and not totally awful. This voiceover, though, is dumb. Takiguchi-san and Seto-san are a good Golden Pair. I am less impressed by their stand-ins, who appear to be the ichinensei wearing wigs. Whoever is pretending to be Eiji prances.

I know that Golden Pair is getting extra stage time and attention, but omg I love them and I am totally okay with that.

I’m not!

Awww, look at Takiguchi-san’s protective stance. ♥ Man, Yagyū-as-Niō is an asshole. He’s extra-mean.

Yeah, but I think Niō is okay with that.

Yeah, Yagyū kind of needs freedom to be less than perfect once in a while.

And the switch was Niō’s idea, anyway, you know it was.

2.3 Fukkatsu! Golden Pair

Shut up! They are married and they are adorable and just shut up!

I'm ready for Rikkai to come back.

2.4 Petenshi daa? Nan to demo ie

OH HAI, Rikkai's back :D

This is a cool song, not really because the song itself is anything special, but because we get to see the Switch. Not that anything this long and complicated and involving props assistants would work during a match. But Niō and Yagyū are fun, and they are married, too.

Yes. Yes they are.

2.5 Ōishi no Territory

Ōishi is the best boyfriend ever. Let’s sing about it! Because what this musical needs is yet another song during this match. Awww, the comfort. ♥

It's not Rikkai, so I'm bored.

2.6 Kore ga Shōbu to Iu Mono

A Sanada angst song, sung as the net floats away into the sky… Yeah, Kanesaki-san can’t really sing, so he’s doing this sort of half-speech thing that’s kind of like Sprechstimme, but not as cool.

*in tears* Shut up~~ It's beautiful~

2.7 Mō Mayoi wa Nai

Will this be a duet? I hope so. I love duets.

Yes. It is a duet. It's a beautiful duet.

Ah, this song could be pretty, but neither of them is taking it where it needs to go. *disappointed* Ah, well, the accompaniment is cheesy anyway.

Wow, there is a lot of heavy breathing here. And some epic use of ENGLISH. Remember, kids, things have more extra-special meaningfulness if you say them in a foreign language that has economic prestige value. *wink wink*

Why is there fog?

It’s Muga no Kyouchi or something.

I’m still marveling over the novelty of having an Echizen that can move his limbs with liquid smoothness.

Kelfin is racist against blind people and cripples.

LOL Whaaaaaaaat???!

2.8 Next

Wow, Sakurada-san, you sound acceptably good. But do not talk to not-there!Tezuka. He is just a fragmented delusion, and you should really try to ignore him.

Oooh, I just realized something. I think sometimes when Seigaku is dancing together and they look sloppy, it’s because some of them are left-handed and are holding their rackets in their left hands. That’s why they never all look like they’re doing the same thing—they aren’t, quite. Have I been unfairly hating on them the whole time?

No such thing as "unfairly hating on them". They've deserved all the hate we have inflicted upon them.

Eh... you're right. I think the only reason I noticed this phenomenon just now is because this cast is just plain better than before, so things like that are apparent.

This segues into…

2.9 Must Be Strong! 3 ~ Finalist 2

…which is a dance number that hands out solos like parade clowns hand out candy.

CURTAIN

These curtain calls are obviously not in order of who is the most important or who has the best lines…

Wow, Kanesaki-san and Yagami-san just did the most epic high touch that has ever been done.

That is because they are In Love. The more in love you are, the better your high touches. Seriously. That's why we have such great high touches, Kelfin~~

*smacking hands* HIGH TOUCH~!

2.10 On My Way

I hate how they make you think they're about to end it, and then they're like "LOL no, we have like twenty more minutes of shit to inflict on you!"

The sparkly scarves again?! And they’ve decided to dance around in the audience again, too. That’s right, Kanesaki-san, you stay onstage and try to keep your self-respect.

Has everyone learned “left” and “right” in Japanese yet? Oy, Kanesaki-san, how can you fuck that up?

Oh, Golden Pair!!!

Omfg for serious? *facepalm*

Volume 18: Ace in the Hole

2010-12-29T19:57:00.001-06:00

Chapters 150-158

Airplanes: 2

Plot Events: Tezuka's shoulder gives out, and he loses to Atobe; Ryōma defeats Hiyoshi, and Seigaku advances; Seigaku goes bowling

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

Okay, if you'd already watched four entire tennis matches, and the current tennis match had been going on for an hour and a half, and there were bleachers six inches behind you, would you still be standing? I would not.

Oh, come on. How pointless is Rondo to Destruction if we don't even get to see it work? I guess that's why we watched it in Sanada's flashback...

The part where Tezuka falls to the ground in pain is beautifully done—it makes me feel so sorry for him, I don't even feel happy to watch him lose. 3: I'm coming around to his side, I think, especially as he attempts to keep his dignity while everyone else on his team freaks out and runs onto the court.

It does Atobe credit that he's not happy to have broken Tezuka. I think he expects Tezuka to quit before he gets hurt.

I don't understand Tezuka's decision in this match. I really don't. As I asked earlier, why did he keep his elbow injury a secret in the first place? He thinks that keeping it a secret helps the team because then no one worries about him, but that's total bullshit. For one thing, how many of them (okay, besides Ōishi) are actually going to worry enough to be adversely affected? And if they know about his injury, they can plan around it. They could have helped him practice so he didn't hurt his shoulder by favoring his elbow. And I don't see why his promise to lead the team to victory at Nationals means he has to play this match against Atobe. Especially after it becomes obvious that he's going to lose anyway. Whether he loses or forfeits, it doesn't make a difference to Seigaku—but it does make a difference to Tezuka's future career. Apparently, it is really important for us to see Tezuka pushed to his limit, though—otherwise, why would the tiebreak go to thirty-five points? (By the way, thank goodness for Dan and the rest of Yamabuki, or we'd be listening to an explanation of tiebreaks from Inui and the Seigaku ichinensei again.) I guess we're supposed to be impressed with how strong and brave Tezuka is, but mostly I'm impressed by how stupid he is. No, mostly I'm disgusted.

I totally thought there was going to be an earthquake...

Echizen Ryōma, do you have to make this about you?!

Well, I guess the next match actually is about him. He's playing Hiyoshi.

I appreciate Hiyoshi. I appreciate his black shoes that match everything. I appreciate how he doesn't put up with this Shishido-being-back-on-the-team nonsense. He's really a weird kid, though. About the limit—as weird as a kid can be without being too unrealistic. I really don't think you can play tennis using martial arts forms... and gekokujō is a bit lame... and even Inui admits that Hiyoshi “has a bit of a strange side”.

Next to him, Ryōma almost seems like a non-character. He makes up for this a bit by showing off a little for Akaya, which is ridiculous, but at least it's interesting character development. Apparently Akaya is being set up as Ryōma's evil demon opponent.

Sanada: It really feels like this is the youngsters' battle that will lead into the next generation!

OMFG. How old are you?!

...Wait, the match is over? That was really abrupt.

Ōtori, seriously, are you crying?! Pathetic. (*secret wibble :3 *)

~*~

~pRiNcE oF bOwLiNg~

Oh, hey, here's another character popularity poll. The first page is uninteresting—obviously, most people like either characters who are so “perfect” they make me sick (Tezuka, Fuji) or Ryōma. (Okay, Eiji is number three, which is okay. :3 ) Anyway, what's far more interesting is to read the bottom of the list. For example, 42 people voted for “Kikumaru's older brother”. And 49 voted for Nitobe Inakichi. (Who even is that?!) Also, some people voted for things that shouldn't count: Eiji's older sister's dog, Penal Tea, Fanta (grape flavor), Monthly Pro Tennis, persons beat up by Akutsu, butterfly chased by Karupin, fish eaten by Karupin... Personally, I would also like to vote for “persons beat up by Akutsu”.

I like the colors on the Prince of Bowling opening... They remind me of a kitchen designed in the 1960s. Lime and salmon, mmmm.

I'm comforted that apparently bowling alleys look the same in Japan as in the U.S. Even down to the shape of the space-age-inspired chairs and the ugly carpeting. Their bowling shoes are cool, though, which kind of defeats the point of bowling shoes. I love those darn ugly bowling shoes—they're so cute/ugly, like Buddy Holly or dogs with enormous feet.

Ōishi is supercute. “I can try using my left hand”—so damn sneaky.

Kaidō is also cute, with his old wives' tales about black vinegar, looking so small and helpless while Inui looms over him with Aozu.

Poor kids. Aozu is scary. D:

~*~

And I guess that's the end of the Hyōtei arc!

...Right?

Volume 17: Waltzing Toward Destruction

2010-12-29T16:20:00.002-06:00

Chapters 141-149

Plot Events: Fuji S. débuts Hakugei and defeats Jirō; Atobe and Tezuka begin their match; flashback to Tezuka's past

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

W00t! Back from the crazytime that was finals~~

I'm not sure how to feel about Fuji Shūsuke in this volume. He's being childish. On the other hand, he's a child. Can I be mad at him for that? SIGH. Anyway, forgive me if I'm not falling all over myself in awe every time he steps onto a tennis court. (Jirō pretty much has that covered LOL.) Mostly, I want to smack his face. I can't stand the way he toys with his food; it's disgusting. Stop showing off and just play!!! I'm not even sure why he uses one of his counters here, since he doesn't need it to defeat his opponent; the meta-plot-reason is probably that this match would be boring without an extra-cool-super-awesome move, but the reason Fuji gives in the story is that he'd like to show it to Echizen... I know Jirō's too sweet and simple to be insulted, but I am insulted for him.

Of course, I realize that the story itself acknowledges Not Trying His Hardest to be Fuji's major flaw, so I guess the readership is supposed to be mildly annoyed with him at this point. And at least the other characters (well, not the freshmen, but the sensible people) are aware that he has done a Bad, Bad Thing. Still, I feel like I have to get extra angry at him because no one else is angry enough...

And poor Yūta! I mean, we know he hates (sort of) being Shūsuke's little brother, but he's still so proud of him. I've been binging on Intervention for the past week, so now I'm imagining this intervention scenario where people rescue Yūta from his codependency. ...This is a very satisfying fantasy. XD

Part of the reason nobody makes a big deal of the huge insult Fuji gave Jirō is that Jirō himself doesn't particularly care. He's just excited to play. I guess that puts him way up toward the top of the list of Characters Who Truly Understand Tennis. I'm pretty sure he's like the only mentally healthy person in this entire manga. 'Cause if you go any further up on that list—say, to Kintarō—they just start to get naïve and childlike in a bad way. But anyway, Jirō is confident and happy and normal except for the whole fanboying thing.

My only complaint is the blond-hair-and-black-eyebrows combo, which also annoys me about Ōtori, but now I've reached my limit. It's so gross! Are they bleaching their hair?! Why can't they bleach their eyebrows, too?! It's weird when people's hair and skin and eyebrow and eye colors don't match—it makes them inhuman somehow, like people with Boston accents, or CG characters who look real until their mouths start moving. (Things like that are terrifying.) Anyway, that's not really the point... Nonmatching eyebrows aren't that uncanny, just ugly. Like Malibu Barbie, with her tan skin and bleach-blond hair. (Doesn't she look horrifying?)


Also, I had no idea what to put in this provocative speech bubble. What could possibly do it justice?! D:

Okay, that was a digression, so...

The character-answered questions at the ends of these chapters are pretty funny, if you squint. I mean, it's not amusing so much as bizarre that Jirō allegedly plays tennis in his boxers instead of his uniform shorts. But it is funny that a fan claims to be unable to sleep at night because of it. Also, Sakaki is apparently yakuza...? Or at least a drug dealer or an alien or something... Anyway, not normal. But we guessed as much.

Inui's description of John McEnroe makes him sound like Gumby.

Apparently the best way to segue into Tezuka's match was to have Jirō ask an unnaturally stupid question and Fuji answer by bragging about Tezuka. This sets up what is going to be a long block of chapters that are all about how everyone believes that Tezuka is perfect and can do no wrong. All the other teams show up to watch his match (granted, that is probably also because it is against Atobe). I want to have some kind of magical device like the putter-outer in Harry Potter, but one that would do sound instead of light. Then I could put out the voices of all of these kids who keep whispering about how amazing Tezuka is.

I swear to God, if Yanagi doesn't open his eyes, I'm going to gouge them open with a spoon. (Not in any literal sense, though, because that's terrible. I had this Evil Boyfriend once who was really into horrifying painful things like that. Not gouging out his eyes with a spoon—just, you know, thinking about doing it to other people. One time we tried to think of the best way to torture people, and my idea was to put the person in a room with a nothing but a pair of tweezers, and refuse to give him anything but stale water and bread until every single hair was removed from his body. Evil Boyfriend's idea was to set the person's testicles in cement inside a barn, and let the cement harden, and then give the person a rusty spoon and set the barn on fire. I'm not sure what he would have done had the prisoner been female... Anyway, I'm really a very nice person in real life, and don't gouge people's eyes out with spoons! It isn't done.)

Akaya's also on my Naughty List because he is acting like a cute person, but he's actually not a cute person at all on the inside. I feel that this is very dishonest of him.

Inui (to Horio): If you watch, you will understand.

I wish he would answer every question like this. :(

Okay, I can't decide whether Atobe is Awesomely Cool or Embarrassingly Lame; maybe we can compromise on Campy and Ironic? I do appreciate Yamabuki's analysis: “All of his skills can be said to be top-class. Even his bad attitude and his narcissism.” Lmao.

Atobe is getting annoyed by Tezuka—so am I; surprise, surprise—and trying to get him to react, which is not working... because Tezuka doesn't react to things, which is what makes him annoying. Rawr. Watching Atobe and Tezuka play tennis is like watching Roadrunner cartoons. No matter how angry the Coyote gets, the Roadrunner is still serene. I want that Roadrunner to have a ROCK FALL ON HIM AND DIE. Likewise, I want Tezuka to lose at tennis. Just because he's good at it.

Apparently, I am a tennis iconoclast. I want to destroy children's dreams... D:

I'm baffled—why does Insight require putting the hand in front of the face? Doesn't that make it harder to see? At first, I thought maybe that was on purpose, as though it were saying that Insight was some kind of deep spiritual thing that didn't involve physical sight at all. But that's not the explanation that's given; in fact, it completely requires sight. I think maybe Konomi-sensei just felt that Insight needed a mudra of some kind to go with it and was like, Let's do one that draws attention to his eyes! Never mind that a hand position like that would actually decrease its effectiveness...

I'm so turned off by their giant shoulders and tiny heads. It's like looking at real people. *disturbed* By the way, though, have you noticed how much better the drawing is? I mean, they look like actual humans with actual human muscles. I think Konomi-sensei must have used athletes for models this time. Like, twenty-seven-year-old athletes...

Wow, the moment when Ōishi announces Tezuka's elbow injury to Atobe? Not one of his better moves. But, anyway, Tezuka, why are you keeping your injury a secret? Stop treating the rest of your team like they are too young to understand you. You are fourteen years old. OMFG.

And then we get the Tezuka's Tragic Past Flashback.

Now, there are several things that piss me off during this flashback. I suppose a couple of them are cultural things, and while I understand that people in different cultures do things differently, that doesn't mean I can't be mad at them when those things are, to my way of thinking, unfair.

First of all, I can't believe that Ōishi actually advises Tezuka to lose on purpose just so the older kids don't get mad at him. What good does that do anybody? I felt a little smug when it turned out that this plan backfired, and the senpai were actually pissed at Tezuka for going easy on them. I don't blame them—it's really insulting.

I also have a really big problem with Yamato-buchō—though he is generally pretty cool—making the entire team run a hundred laps because one jerk beat up on a freshman. That's not a team problem, so punishing the team won't help, and even if it did help, it's not right to do something unfair even if it brings about a good end. You can't even argue that punishing the team puts peer pressure on the offender, because any reasonable captain would have kicked the guy off the team at that moment—no excuses. Instead, Tezuka (the victim!!) is the one who tries to quit.

Also, another complaint about Ōishi. The way he tries to prevent Tezuka from quitting the team is by threatening to quit, too. How passive-aggressive is that?! I mean, it would be one thing if he were honestly going to quit because he couldn't justify being a member of a team who treated its members in a cruel and unfair way, but that's not his reasoning. He's just threatening to quit in order to make Tezuka feel guilty. Bitch! OMG, and then Yamato-buchō comes up behind them and lays it on really thick, so it's like a conspiracy! A conspiracy of passive-aggression.

What does this pillar stuff even mean, anyway? I bet Yamato-buchō just made it up on the spot.

Back to the actual game... It's nice how Sakaki gives actual coaching advice. Have we even seen Ryūzaki in this volume? It makes me facepalm to see Atobe swaggering with his false overconfidence, though. I mean, I don't really think he's overconfident. But he keeps talking like he is. (Also, please don't ever, ever refer to tennis as a dance again, Atobe. It's icky.)

It's kind of neat that Atobe can see things about Tezuka that Tezuka doesn't know about himself—it humanizes Tezuka, making him less of a Roadrunner, as it were. :3 I can root for a guy who has a personality flaw.

All right, I don't know how many of you kids know what a rondo is, but let's go over the basics: a rondo is a musical form in which the first section of musical material is brought back after each subsequent section. To illustrate, let's call the first section of the piece A. The rondo might take the form of, for example, ABACA (if B and C are also sections of musical material), or perhaps ABACABA. There are many forms of rondo; in fact, it doesn't matter what comes between the A sections as long as every other section is A. You can see how the rondo is different from verse-chorus form (ABABAB...etc.) or from strophic form (AAAAA....etc.) Rondo form is also different from ternary form (ABA); in a rondo, A has to come back more than once.

All this is to say that I have no idea why Atobe named his move Rondo to Destruction. I thought at first it was because it was a two-part hit, so the ball keeps coming back. But... it only hits twice, so it isn't really like a rondo at all! I'm afraid Atobe does not know what a rondo is and has yet again fallen victim to the desire to appear sophisticated without actually being sophisticated... That seems to be a recurring problem of his.

Whoa, Kaidō, hey! Is this the first time you've shown up in this volume?

Kaidō: Can't you cheer silently?

Dude, my thoughts exactly.

Volume 16: Super Combo

2010-11-14T01:13:00.002-06:00

Chapters 132-140

Plot Events: Shishido and Ōtori defeat Inui and Kaidō; Taka-san plays Kabaji; Fuji begins his match against Jirō

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

Example of color. (Might as well be SP, right?)

Ooooh, Chapter 132 is in color! I never realized before that Kaidō's bandanna is blue leopard print. (I think I might prefer black and white...)

It doesn't take that long to finish up the Doubles 1 match. Kaidō manages to land Boomerang Snake inside the singles court. Inui is honorable and kind and smugly talented. The Hyōtei crowd is abusive to Ōtori, but it turns out okay, since they win.

Sakaki's scarf is floral, which is dreadful, but he does give useful coaching advice. But who points with two fingers?!

It's cute how Atobe thinks that everything is part of Tezuka's Evil Plan.

Kabaji is incredibly cool, even “reasonable” (as Inui puts it), so I accept him as an opponent for Taka-san. But why does Atobe tug him around by his hair in that affectionate way? It's shockingly possessive and intimate for public viewing.

I appreciate Taka-san in this volume, mostly because he is angsty and I love angst. He could be angstier, but I'm not complaining. I mean, he already has three really great pieces of angst! 1) He's quitting tennis after this season to go and study sushi or something boring and lame like that. 2) If he loses, this is the last time the seniors will get to play. 3) He's convinced that he's the least valuable member of the team. All of this means that he has extra incentive not to lose, which is pretty much fiction gold. He gets all self-sacrificing and bleeds, and it's sexy and manly and awesome.

Fuji apparently also is appreciative of Taka-san's sexy/manly/awesome vibe. Either that, or he's unusually sentimental. Or, I suppose, unusually into blood. Honestly, any of the three works.

Will he really go all out, though? I'm eager to see. He seems to be looking forward to defeating the person who defeated Yūta, which is rapidly turning into a pattern in Yūta's life. Poor Yūta doesn't really seem like the damsel type, but boys just keep lining up to avenge him. I'm not sure whether it's better or worse for him that he came to watch.

Jirō's so cute when he wakes up. Also his eyebrows are comforting after being exposed to Ōtori's for so long.

In the next volume, I expect, we'll see whether Fuji can summon enough honesty to defeat Jirō's naturalness. What do you think, kids? ♥

Volume 15: Inui/Kaidō Pair

2010-11-13T22:12:00.003-06:00

Chapters 124-131

Plot Events: Momo-chan and Eiji defeat Oshitari and Mukahi; Inui and Kaidō start their match against Shishido and Ōtori

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First of all, I want to point out how horrifically bad the art is in this volume. I thought about copying some for you so you could see it, but then I thought, Why torture them like that? Honestly, how can you draw legs better than faces? Faces are normal things that people look at all the time! Who spends enough time staring at leg muscles to be able to draw them better than faces? I think that's creepy and kind of sketchy. Well, anyway, aside from their shapely and muscular calves—and Atobe's distractingly kissable lips—everyone is very sloppily and inconsistently drawn.

How do you justify things like this?

Oshitari and Gakuto seem to have it together, which makes me wonder how to justify their losing. Oh, here we go. Gakuto's worn out because he underestimated the enemy. By shōnen law, he now must lose.

Besides, their winning would interfere with Eiji's Personal Development Moment, in which he realizes how Ōishi supports him and decides that he's going to jump up the hierarchy one spot and support Momo, as a good senpai ought.

Disembodied Ōishi is pretty creepy, especially since Eiji reacts like he is actually physically hearing his voice. Quoting Ōishi gives them instant reserves of energy and concentration; apparently, Ōishi has magic powers, since besides this, he also somehow managed to stop time long enough to give Momo detailed instructions on how to play doubles, which Momo has written on his arm.

Inui/Kaidō pair has to rely on regular human strength. They seem to work well together, even though Inui is a bossyboots; probably this is because Kaidō is naturally a follower. So as much as he whines about wanting to fight, not strategize—he's so full of makoto—he's ultimately defeated by Inui's logic. I don't think Inui's being a jerk or anything, though; although it's definitely weird to tell someone that you'll “allow yourself to be used” by him, I think Inui's sincere, and he might even be being genuinely altruistic toward Kaidō.

Of course this is not enough to defeat Ōtori and Shishido, who are, as Ōishi (and through him, the author) tells us, “the perfect doubles pair”. This is not shocking, given that they have teleportation powers and telepathic communication and a flashback that involves nasty-looking wounds. Shishido somehow still manages to believe that he's not as special as everyone else, which is adorable.

I'm totally rooting for everyone. ♥

Volume 14: The Strongest Man in Seigaku

2010-11-03T14:06:00.005-05:00

Chapters 115-123
Fanta: 2

Plot Events: Tezuka defeats Inui; Momoshiro misses practice and drama ensues; Kantō tournament placement; Kantō tournament opens; Ōishi hurts his wrist helping a pregnant woman; Seigaku vs. Hyōtei matches begin

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For as well as Ōishi claims to know Tezuka, he actually misses a lot. He's too wrapped up in having a personal moment in which he idealizes Tezuka to actually see what's going on in Tezuka's match, which I think, on a microlevel, pretty much sums up the reality of Ōishi's feelings for Tezuka.

At about this point, during the match between Tezuka and Inui, we see Inui's carefully braided friendship bracelet fall from his wrist. After careful thought, I believe what this is showing us is that he's evolving, no longer being constrained or “tied up” by data. In this case, the bracelet represents restraint and precision. The fact that it's a friendship bracelet could be a reference to Renji, but I'm not sure whether those little braided things are actually used for friendship in Japan, or whether that's just what we use them to represent in my corner of the world. And I've never seen a boy wear one. (At any rate, Reader Response Theory says it can mean whatever I see it as meaning, so phooey on you, New Criticism.)

Isn't it better when Konomi-sensei doesn't tell us flat-out how to interpret things, and we can go ahead and figure them out by ourselves?

I don't know why Tezuka doesn't go to California to study abroad, especially if he can get a scholarship. (I wish I could have done it...) His excuse is that he has to stay around to help Seigaku win the National Tournament, but the National Tournament is in July. He could totally win it and still make it to California in time for school to start. I could chalk this up to Konomi-sensei not paying attention to the realities of school scheduling, but I prefer to think that Tezuka has some other reason he wants to stay in Japan, one he doesn't want to tell Ryūzaki-sensei.

Momoshiro has now been missing for three days, which naturally wreaks havoc on the internal structure of Seigaku's tennis team. “Wreaks havoc”, in this case, means that Ōishi and Eiji get into a fight, which is supposedly a consequence of Momo's being gone, but is pretty obviously some hasty character development to set us up for what's going to happen at the Hyōtei match. “Wreaks havoc” also means that the freshmen run around panicking, even though it has nothing to do with them and is none of their business. And since Ryōma no longer has a warm-up partner, Inui uses the opportunity to shark in on him.

Meanwhile, Momo is at the street tennis courts taking it out on Izumi and Fukawa. An, with a healthy dose of flirtatiousness and a cute school uniform—sailor dresses never look that cute on real girls—manages to convince him that he doesn't want to be a loser and that he should not underestimate people. Yes, kids, An is stronger than she looks, which is great! Too bad that, in order for this to work, she must be tiny and cute, like all girls ought to be. (*frown* I keep doing these vicious feminist readings, almost against my own will. I think I've been writing too many papers on gender identity...)

Hey, Atobe. Heyyyy, Oshitari. This is just your friendly little get-to-know-you visit from Hyōtei, who apparently hang out, doing nothing much, in the street court bleachers as a team during practice hours. OMG. Ōtori's so hot. And Gakuto's so flamboyant. And Ōtori's so hot. And look at Taki...

This is not a tennis team, you guys. This is a boyband. Think about it. You know I'm right. You can tell by their poses and they way their collars open to expose their perfect throats. Now I want to think of a boyband name for them. It should involve initials that stand for several things at once, or un-clever wordplay on something vaguely inspirational. More importantly, it should be entirely in capital letters. And most importantly, it must be in English. Hmm... How about WORLD? Or E.A.S.T.? Or STARBOIZ?

The snark, though, is hilarious—for example, Atobe imperiously declaring that at the Kantō Tournament, Hyōtei will use its “real” regulars. As if Momo and Ryōma care. Although that was probably also for Tachibana's benefit, via An.

There are also some get-to-know-you Rikkai moments, which makes sense since the Kantō Tournament placement drawing is being held at their school, and since Seigaku will face them in the tournament itself. We're supposed to be getting pumped up by how awesome they are, but I'm jaded. Psh, I say, so they can hit tennis balls at left-handed people. That's nothing. Where are the pink tornadoes? Where are the moves that make people go blind? I think Rikkai is holding out on us.

Seigaku is preparing for the tournament, too. Momo, with an attitude change that is truly admirable, is enthusiastic about helping the team. Those headbands are really cute, and so is his little sister. Momo himself is adorable as Inui; I don't blame Fuji and Eiji for giggling.

Ryūzaki-sensei is worried about her doubles teams, but she needn't be. Kaidō is spending long hours by the river training half-naked and being stalked by Inui, who gives him an adorable Kawamura Sushi towel and some remarkably helpful advice. And Eiji and Ōishi seem totally up for learning a “new formation”, whatever that means. (Ryūzaki-sensei's cryptic description of it is somewhat ominous.)

Meanwhile, Taka-san gets yelled at for doing push-ups loudly (???) (Also: HOT) and Fuji smoulders at Tezuka and asks to be allowed to play “the one who defeated Yūta”, i.e., Jirō. Tezuka wonders why Fuji is so emotionally involved in Yūta and/or feels the need to defeat everyone who beats him, but, naturally, Fuji ignores the implied question and changes the subject.

It's not just Rikkai and Seigaku who are practicing hard. Hyōtei (aka STARBOIZ) is also hard at work, by which I mean Shishido is having a personal development moment that has somehow gotten his uniform really dirty. Ōtori swears he has witnessed Shishido shed his own blood in his quest for self-improvement, which could explain some of the stains. In contrast, his coach (opponent?), Sakaki, is wearing a suit that is pristine, which makes me wonder what's being said about Sakaki's actual involvement in the tennis club. Does he know anything about tennis? Of course, there are many mysteries about Sakaki; for example, how does a man whose flamboyant cravat exactly matches his pocket square still manage to be so darn sexy?

At any rate, Sakaki clearly doesn't have the energy to deal with drama, so he lets Shishido back on the team while pinning it on Atobe so that if anyone gets pissed about it, they'll have to be pissed at Atobe instead of at him. One person I bet is pissed is Taki. If I were Taki, I wouldn't be mad at Atobe or Sakaki, though; I'd be mad at Ōtori. The manga's layout early in this volume certainly implied that they were doubles partners, and getting dumped by your doubles partner for someone else is a pretty harsh betrayal, even if you're not that close. D:

Gratuitous pic of my Other Favorite Doubles Team—looking gorgeous as usual

Finally it's time for the Kantō Tournament. There are so many people! I wish I were there. I'm feeling nostalgic for high school football games and forensics meets.

I really would like to know how fast these kids can run if Momo's expecting to get to the hospital, find out what room Ōishi is in, run up all the stairs, explain things to Ōishi, run back down the stairs, and make it back to the Tournament, all in ten minutes or less. Despite the unlikeliness of this feat, he manages it somehow, even changing jackets on the way.

The person who really should be in trouble here is Ōishi—not for breaking his wrist, of course, but for being a dumbass afterward. First of all, don't lie to Momo; broken wrists don't heal in two weeks. Actually, his wrist isn't in a cast, so maybe there's a translation issue and it's not really broken. So never mind, that isn't his bad either. But you know what is??? Not explaining earlier. When he called the first time, why didn't he tell them on the phone that his wrist was hurt and that he wouldn't be able to play? There's no possible way for him not to have known at that point. He could have saved Momo the trouble of running all the way to the hospital and back by simply telling their coach on the phone that he needed a substitute. This scene makes me want to facepalm repeatedly.

I hate how everyone that Seigaku is about to face is a MONSTER with MAD TENNIS MAGIC. We don't need exaggerations that strike fear into our hearts in order to feel invested in the story, Konomi-sensei. We only need characters about whom we can care. I'm not rooting for Taka-san because Kabaji's a MONSTER!!!!! but because I love Taka-san, and I know he works hard, and I want him to be rewarded for that.

Doubles 2 begins and will continue into the next volume. Eiji looks really nervous and cute, but I'm not worried because Momo is pretty fired up. On the other hand, Gakuto's Moonsault is pretty intimidating...

Volume 13: Akutsu's Pride, Ryōma's Courage

2010-11-03T12:29:00.005-05:00

Chapters 106-114

Plot Events: Ryōma defeats Akutsu, causing Seigaku to advance; Ryōma beats a bully at tennis/basketball; Seigaku ranking tournament; Inui defeats Momoshiro

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Ryōma of course wins this match, since he has the moral high ground on two counts: first, he clearly frames the match in terms of “revenge” for Taka-san and Arai, and secondly and more importantly, he doesn't underestimate tennis. Akutsu, on the other hand, not only despises his own sport, but is also not having “fun” playing tennis. Ergo, he is doomed.

I thought there was going to be a fight, but apparently Ryōma being a smart-mouthed bitch diffuses instead of exacerbating Akutsu's anger. Who knew?

The story tells us that the battle is one between Ryōma's bravery and Akutsu's willpower (translated variously—see the title of the volume). Taka-san points this out explicitly when he glumly wishes he could be as brave as Ryōma. Noooo! Taka-san! I think you're braver than Ryōma is! (When Taka-san compliments other people, it's like he's putting himself down at the same time...) This makes a little more sense when it becomes clear that for some reason—perhaps lack of a direct translation?—the characters in the manga see “bravery” not as the ability to overcome fear, but as the ability to avoid discouragement. This is an entirely different skill, one Ryōma does have in spades.

Banjii tells us a lot about Akutsu in this volume and the previous one. I can't stand his smiling, sarcastic face, and I hate the way he verbally (and physically O.O) feels his way around Akutsu. Unfortunately, he gives good advice. Honestly, he probably doesn't know how else to deal with Akutsu: let's face it, nobody else has gotten through to the kid. I do wish Banjii would stop layering adjectives upon each other when it comes to Akutsu's muscles, though. Come on, the kid obviously doesn't like to be touched! (I wonder if that's a hint about Akutsu's pathology. *muses*)

We are informed, via Banjii, that the reason Akutsu can't lose is that he scorns tennis and doesn't try hard. (A comparison to Fuji Shūsuke might be appropriate here.) If you give it all you have, it's not shameful to lose, but if you're too good for something, you absolutely must not lose at it. This is very true. The manga also implies, through text overlay and scene cutting, that Akutsu's reason for not losing might have something to do with his mother, but that idea doesn't go anywhere.

As for Yūki... Well. I feel sorry for any 33-year-old who can't resist the urge to tell teenage boys to call her Yūki-chan. And damn, she's flat-chested (see above right)—much less boobalicious than in the anime. No wonder everyone thought she was Taka-san's girlfriend; she looks like a middle-schooler. To be fair, this is less a function of her small chest than it is of her wardrobe and especially hairpin choice. Her hapless, slightly dazed expression adds to it, too. So while I celebrate the Konomi-sensei's decision to include a female character who doesn't have the stereotypical, um, “accoutrements” of the average woman in shōnen manga, the effect is entirely ruined by the fact that she is so childlike and lost. She's so pathetic (she doesn't even yell at her son when he dumps soda on someone!) that it's confusing and makes me think that she must be a fascinating character with a long back-story. What happened to her?! I really want to know more about her.

MOE!!!

Speaking of childlike, Dan is such a fetish character. Look at him, come on. He and Akutsu are totally in love. The crying... the whimpering of the other person's name... the begging for a commitment/promise... the sunset backdrop to the conversation of import... These are classic Prince of Tennis love relationship indicators. All this is not to mention the ENORMOUS FLASHBACK MONTAGE OF LOVE. Akutsu cares about Dan so much. *wibble* And the “end” of their story (with the pronouncement of Final Doom) is epic.

Although he's able to use his defeat to inspire someone else (Dan! ♥), Akutsu is treated as a tragic character. The tragedy of Akutsu, in Prince of Tennis terms, is his reaction to defeat. He gets angry and gives up, instead of using it to fuel his desire to improve.

This issue—how people react when they lose—is the main issue explored in this volume (as well as the next volume, which shows Shishido's reaction to defeat). Here, Akutsu is contrasted with Inui, whose loss in the last ranking match has precipitated his increase in power by spurring him to do ridiculous amounts of practicing. (Honestly, when do Inui and Kaidō do anything besides train? Do the math. They must not spend very much time on homework...)

Sexual innuendo FTW

It's this hard work that makes Inui respectable to Kaidō, which makes their partnership possible. We see Kaidō watching Inui carefully, almost as though he's evaluating him or judging his worthiness. I think this is very important to Kaidō, because when he respects a person, he tends to place himself wholly in that person's hands with absolute faith—so of course he'd want to make sure the person wouldn't let him down. Whether Kaidō ultimately decides Inui is worthy of his respect remains to be seen.

Balanced between Inui and Akutsu, in a sort of suspended destiny, is Momoshiro. Fuji's comments to the freshmen make it impossible for them (and the readership) to write Momo's defeat off as being related to his injury—no, we must accept that this time, Inui was better. But how will Momo, who must instinctively know this, react to defeat? Will he use his feelings to fuel his improvement, as Inui did, or will he become another tennis tragedy, like Akutsu?

TO BE CONTINUED...

Volume 12: Invincible Man

2010-11-02T00:49:00.004-05:00

Chapters 097-105

Plot Events: Momo vs. Sengoku; Ryōma vs. Akutsu; Akutsu's past

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Inui: Tennis is a sport greatly influenced by a player's mentality.

As opposed to other sports, like zombie basketball.

Awww, okay, Sengoku scolds himself for momentarily rejoicing in Momo's misfortune. Now I love him. But ugh, he's so overtly... overt. And this fight is so boring. I have even lost interest in contemplating the shōnen Rules of Engagement. Just being good at tennis is incredibly uninteresting. Angst plz?

Akutsu: Tennis is boring.

TOTALLY. ♥

I appreciate Kawamura's worried warnings. They inject some much needed humanity into this endless stream of tennis tennis tennis.

Ryōma preaches a bit to Akutsu about how he'll be sorry if he underestimates Tennis (as though Tennis is a great personified entity). Konomi-sensei, please stop! We get it! Don't go to the trouble of putting in subtle things if you're going to stop and explain them to us!!

Akutsu was possibly the ugliest child ever raised. Still, I like him. He shouldn't have to care about tennis, or about anything else if he doesn't want to. I mean, I realize that in real life, you can only get so far on talent—you have to actually care and be willing to work hard if you want to get to the top. But it's so tiring, and I'd like to read some kind of fictional story right now that would lie to me and tell me that I can be good enough just as I am and sort of glide on up there... I can't condemn Akutsu for feeling this way, too.

Okay, please stop describing Akutsu's body. He's not even good-looking. It's so gross. Please.

Ryōma, of course, is going to win this match. Even if he didn't always win, we would know of his imminent victory by the enormous montage upon which he is superimposed. But I don't want Dan to see Akutsu lose. :( Never mind, apparently it is good for Dan. *sigh* So many distasteful things are good for you, aren't they?

Fuji, seriously. Leave Tezuka alone.

Volume 11: Premonition of a Storm

2010-11-02T00:12:00.003-05:00

Chapters 088-096

Plot Events: more Seigaku practice; the Tokyo Prefectural Tournament; Seigaku vs. Ginka; Seigaku vs. Yamabuki (Doubles and Singles 1)

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In light of this volume's title, I wonder if we're intended to read the storm that suddenly invades Seigaku's practice session as an omen of their upcoming difficult battle against Yamabuki.

The first two chapters are finishing up Seigaku's practice from before. It's nice to be reminded that Momo is in fact not incompetent. Tezuka's dispassionate, though, and he wins their match. This is followed by Tezuka preaching to Momo about not protecting his foot; this would be a nice, subtle moment did Ōishi not appear to interpret it for us.

Ryūzaki-sensei gets Fuji and Ryōma to stop their game halfway through by reminding them that they're on the same team and can play each other whenever they want. This confuses me; didn't Tezuka have to get special permission to play against Ryōma only a few volumes ago?

Fuji, I think, is trying to get to Tezuka in a way that's very transparent and obnoxious. If he wants to know something, he should just ask, not make tricksy guesses based on cryptic “feelings”. Fuji also seems to have a troubling compulsion to flout the Gricean Maxims, demonstrated especially in his telephone conversation with his younger brother. Wow. I'm cringing. He's really embarrassing.

...But not as embarrassing as this shirt.

And now, the Tokyo Prefectural Tournament!

~*~ Interlude ~*~

Da Da Da Dan!

*squeal*

~*~

My personal hero and favorite Genpei warlord, Tachibana, willingly undergoes besmirchment of his Name in order to prevent injury to his ~~warriors~~ team. The best part is how they cringe as they hear his Name dragged through the mud on their behalf. (There's one part I don't get, though. Akutsu says that Tachibana “understands” after he steps in to stop Kamio from fighting Akutsu. What does that mean?)

Ginka viewing Seigaku is a nice moment—almost nice enough to make up for the idiocy of them all getting stomach aches at the same time—because we get to view Seigaku from the outside, which is pretty funny. (Especially the part about Momo killing a guy. :D)

Wow, Dan looks older and less sappily cute than he does in the anime. I actually think that this combination is better—it makes him more real. He has such an obsession with Akutsu.

I find it interesting that Akutsu treats Dan's compulsion to gather data as shameful. Because Akutsu's behavior clearly indicates that he cares deeply for Dan, I'm inclined to believe that we're supposed to agree with him, although we're certainly also supposed to feel sorry for Dan when Akutsu tears up his papers. Mizuki was also behaving shamefully when he collected and shared data, but Inui and Yanagi collect data, too, and are never berated for it. Maybe it's the sharing of data that is the shameful part, because it's like cheating.

Grrraaar. We just skipped a TakaFuji match? $10 says Ryōma's match gets at least three whole chapters.

We do get lots of Golden Pair attention, though, which doesn't really make up for it, but I am slightly mollified. This is the reciprocation match, in which we see that Ōishi needs Eiji, too (but mostly not as much). Their mutual staring and reverent name whispering is a little... unsubtle.

Poor Ōishi. He has so much of Teh Angst. Ōishi freaking out is adorable; I want to snuggle him. But oh, Ōishi stopping himself from freaking out is hot, and I want to... never mind.

Guess what, kids? Signplay (aka “thinking ahead”) is a good thing. You should get some. OH! Eiji does get some. :) Good work, babe.

Banjii is creepy and seems to be sporting a late 1980s California rich golfing businessman look, but at least Yamabuki has a coach, so points for realism there. Banjii's coaching advice is good, too.

Next up is Momo and Sengoku! You know, I would be pretty insulted if my opponent was disappointed to be playing me instead of Echizen Ryōma. Momo, kick Sengoku's ass!

I appreciate that the little notes from Konomi-sensei aren't inane. I'm not sure why I expected them to be inane, except that author's margin notes are almost always stupid, in my experience. Perhaps that's because I read too much shōjo. The shōnen authors that I read do seem to have less irrelevant and more coherent things to say...

Volume 10: Seize the Moment!

2010-11-01T22:17:00.000-05:00

Chapters 079-087

Plot Events: Ryōma teaches Sakuno to play tennis and rescues her from Ginka; Akutsu wreaks havoc; Ryōma and Fuji play tennis at Seigaku's practice

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

I want this AU to happen.

Thank goodness I've seen the anime and know that the weird looking thing in Karupin's dreams is a cat toy. (Note that Ryōma dreams of sending tennis balls into Mizuki's face. Malicious little thing, isn't he?)

Nanjirō's parenting fails on so many levels. For one thing, Ryōma has a terrible bedside manner. (Somehow he manages not to be a bad coach, though, which is baffling, given his teaching methods—but Sakuno actually gets better after he yells at her for a while. I don't particularly like what this says about Ryōma and Sakuno.) For another thing, is he plotting with Ryūzaki to set Ryōma and Sakuno up? They're twelve; that's so inappropriate.

I actually prefer Tomo-chan's shrieking to Sakuno's shrinking. It's far less pathetic. Tomo can actually play tennis, too, which just makes Sakuno even more useless by comparison. Is her total incapability supposed to be cute? Well... Let me consider whether it's fair for me to complain about that. I do think it's cute when boys are adorable and try really hard even when they don't succeed, but I don't like them to be a liability. Yes, I think I can complain about Sakuno; I worry about the sort of person who would find her attractive. (Oh, well, at least she's good at drawing.)

I wish Tomo-chan would go and save Sakuno herself, instead of screaming for Ryōma to do it. Tomo-chan's brawnier than Ryōma, anyway. Ryōma doesn't even approach the bullies in a reasonable manner; he only attacks.

Speaking of bullies, these bullies suck at bullying. Maybe that's so that when Akutsu shows up and shows us what a real ~~man~~ bully is like, the contrast is improved. What's the matter with Akutsu's eyes? Are we supposed to think he's on drugs? Or is he actually wearing eyeliner? I wish I could tell; it might be an important cultural point.

Akutsu is fascinating, I think because his motivations aren't entirely laid bare—at least not at first. All we know is that he seems to be bored (he goes to other schools' locker rooms “to cause trouble”), he takes a childlike glee in injuring people, and he really doesn't like to be told what to do. He seems to have an on-again, off-again relationship with almost everything he does. Aren't you dying to know why he can't commit? I know I am.

Yet again, we are shown how engaging an enemy on his own terms (i.e., violence) leads to the hero gaining respect.

This crisis results in havoc and, perhaps unsurprisingly, team-building. However, I would think that, if indeed “the wounds aren't mild”, then one might want to put something more than band-aids on them. And it is pathetic that Ōishi's biggest worry in this crisis is “Tezuka isn't available at the moment”. (Can't you take care of it by yourself?! It's band-aids!!!)

Akutsu makes another raucous appearance during Taka-san's mysterious date at the restaurant “Soej”. (It's like he has nothing to do after school except torture people.) Note the irony when Ryōma declares that appearances are deceiving.

Inui juice reappears in this volume with its typical charming irrelevance, prompting me to ponder Inui's eventual fate. I had an evil ex-boyfriend once who was similarly interested in chemistry. He fed the high school's bass drum line a concoction he made out of concentrated caffeine. He also had nightly conversations with both God and Satan and was tormented by timpani-playing demons who forced him to masturbate before he slept.

You would think that the Fuji vs. Ryōma match was Armageddon, the way people are freaking out. Even Tezuka's a little too into it—either that, or he's super excited because he always wanted to referee a match.

The rest of this volume is just Fuji worship. We do get to see the much-celebrated Higumi Otoshi for the first time; maybe I don't know much about tennis, but it seems to me that a move where you end with your back to the net leaves something to be desired. However, this, as well as certain other factors, apparently indicates that Fuji is “serious” when he plays Ryōma. As we know, “seriousness” is an important Prince of Tennis value.

If Fuji never plays “seriously”, when does he practice his good moves?

Volume 9: Take Aim!

2010-10-25T00:21:00.009-05:00

Chapters 070-078
Trains: 1

Plot Events: Ryōma vs. Yūta; Yūta's past; Seigaku beats St. Rudolph; Fudōmine beats Hyōtei (Shishido vs. Tachibana)

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Yūta just lives on Mizuki's compliments. I totally understand Mizuki's semi-creepy desire to own and control him. It would be hard not to; Yūta's compliant and sweet and needy (though not as needy as Mizuki thinks). It's natural that Mizuki frames his upcoming match against Shūsuke in terms of pledging to defeat him “for Yūta”; it's part of his I'm-your-capable-hero fantasy, and it's really cute.

Mizuki doesn't realize that he doesn't have to be perfect and all-knowing for Yūta to like him. Although Yūta appreciates that Mizuki is smart (and more importantly, good enough to beat him at tennis), for Yūta, what makes Mizuki special is that he thinks Yūta's special. ♥

Poor Yūta really isn't cut out to be as angsty as he is. He's a fighter. (“I don't have the time to be tripping up in a place like this. I have something that I need to do!”) Unfortunately, he's also very angry, which is what happens when people get so annoying that you'd rather give up something you love than subject yourself to dealing with them.

Speaking of annoying, it annoys me that the instant someone's good at tennis, he gets called a bastard or something. It also pisses me off that Ryōma knows everything. And if I can complain about one more thing... I wish people's faces were drawn as well as their tennis rackets are................

Grrrr, all this mouthing off culminates in Ryōma teaching Yūta a “lesson” about “going above”, and I'm not really sure why he—ohhhhhhhhh. I get it! It's because he's been thinking about Tezuka!

Interestingly, Yūta responds very well to taunting, bragging, and posturing. If this is what he thinks of as normal interpersonal communication, it explains a lot about why he doesn't get along with Shūsuke; it's certainly not Shūsuke's communicative style.

Whoa, Mizuki planned for Yūta to aim at Ryōma's eye and made him practice for it? I'm having visions of a Faustian reading. (Obviously Mizuki is Mephistopheles. ♥) Oooh, will Yūta do as Mizuki asks? *suspense and drama*

Nope, he very sweetly tells Mizuki that he'd like to win properly and practically asks permission to play fair.

This would be somewhat more acceptable to Mizuki, I think, had Yūta actually won. As it is, Yūta gets shunned and his apology is ignored. (At least the rest of his team thinks he did well.)

Mizuki is such a diva. Why does the team let him control them? Where is their coach?! We know they have a coach, because Mizuki specifically talks about him. He apparently doesn't care enough to show up to their matches, though... And why hasn't he told Mizuki not to deliberately injure Yūta? Why hasn't he told Yūta?!

The long and short of it is, Ryūzaki-sensei has to be the adult for once and inform Mizuki that he's risking Yūta's arm. Mizuki makes some snotty little remark about not caring, from which Ryūzaki (and, later, Fuji Shūsuke) infers that Mizuki has known the entire time that the move was dangerous and had Yūta do it anyway.

I wonder if that's actually the case, however. We know Mizuki is obsessed with making everyone think he knows everything. He would much rather pretend to have known all along about the danger to Yūta's arm than get weepy and show his guilty feelings in front of an outsider. Plus, later, when Shūsuke asks him if he knew, he again avoids directly answering the question, saying only that Yūta's easy to manipulate—an answer that may well be designed entirely to piss Shūsuke off.

On the other hand, it's not hard to believe that Mizuki would sacrifice the long-term for the short-term, especially if he thought it would guarantee a win. It's a safe bet he feels guilty, afterward, though. He genuinely likes Yūta.

Shūsuke is all, as Arii might say, “srsbzns” about this match. From the moment he ~~brags that he's going to win~~ cheekily apologizes to Tezuka for not letting him play to the final point, he's cruel. I don't like him very much at all. Mizuki's sneaky, yes, but he's not very good at it, so it's cute. Shūsuke succeeds at being sneaky, which makes me hate him. I know I'm supposed to be reading this differently—I'm supposed to root for Shūsuke because I'm supposed to think Mizuki is evil—but I can't. I just keep seeing how out of his league Mizuki is (although he must be somewhat good, if he can beat Yūta, and Yūta is a serious challenger for Ryōma) and how cruel it is of Shūsuke to taunt him.

The lesson, for Mizuki, anyway, is that people are more than their data, because people aren't static—they change and adapt.

Seriously, guys. Help me out here.

The difference between Akazawa's and Mizuki's reactions to their loss is charming. The loss is more devastating to Mizuki, I think, because it wasn't just his chance to play tennis that he lost—it was also his self-respect, his faith in his own system, and, very likely, Yūta's blind adoration.

Tachibana, go away and stop knowing everything!

Tachibana has a lot to say about makeovers, which directly references his own (literal) makeover. I'm not really sure what the big deal is, but maybe it's important because it's a metaphor for Fudōmine. I'm not sure why we need yet another metaphor, though. I think we get it. Plus, it's so overly epic, especially when Akazawa (and later, Atobe and Tezuka) suddenly REMEMBERS who he is. I'm like... who cares?!

I kind of want to know who these failface Hyōtei doubles players are. I mean, Atobe tells us their names later, but that's not what I mean. What I mean is, how could Hyōtei possibly have been this overconfident? Whose idea was it to go easy on Fudōmine? Atobe's? Sakaki's? Well, Fudōmine was unseeded, but still—weren't they paying attention to how Fudōmine had been doing in the tournament to this point? Maybe if Atobe had been actually watching the matches, he would have noticed after Doubles 2 that he needed to put some competent people in for Doubles 1.

By the time we get to the Tachibana vs. Shishido match, Hyōtei's pretty much doomed. Tachibana is having a hard time being patient, which is understandable given the fact that the crowd cannot shut up and that Shishido is being really weird, almost to the point of quasi-creepy, what with the finger-balancing and the head-tilting and the eye-winking. He's really pretty, anyway. He needs to shut up, but he is pretty.

The best part of the match is that Shishido actually facepalms when he loses.

Ooooh, Atobe does remember Kamio, and he deliberately makes a point of making sure Kamio knows that. Kamio disses him, which pisses him off. Hmm, that handful of Atobe/Kamio fics I read suddenly makes more sense.

St. Rudolph vs. Hyōtei? Yeah, I'm totally in suspense about that one.

Big Brother... Back Off!!!

Okay, so this volume ends with a cute little scene between my favorite pair. They're just so darn affectionate, and the view of Tokyo makes me homesick for the summer I lived in Moscow—I've never really lived in the city, otherwise, and the cityscape makes me all nostalgic. ♥ Anyway, that's not really why this scene is cute... I just got distracted...

LOL What?!

Volume 8: Change the Script!!

2010-10-24T22:16:00.002-05:00

Chapters 061-069
Fanta: 5
Trains: 2

Plot Events: more doubles against St. Rudolph; Ryōma begins his match against Yūta

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Ryōma's a little brat and runs off to go drink Fanta during his senpais' match. At least Fudōmine go and scold him for it. Fudōmine: now there's a nice group of well-behaved young men. ;)

Meanwhile, his senpai (Ōishi and Eiji) are getting pummeled because Eiji's worn out. Ōishi, if course, is super manly and lovable and basically kicks ass all on his own, prompting Kaneda to have this dreamy admiration for him. Obviously Eiji pops back into the game and saves him from utter annihilation at the last minute, although since it was Eiji's inadequacy that put him in the situation in the first place, we can't really call it a proper rescue.

Akazawa has suddenly become a great senpai! Apparently, all it took was one little indignant speech on Kaneda's part, and bam! their connection improved.

And then St. Rudolph wins at doubles. Apparently, Akazawa's change of heart was enough to make him and Kaneda worthy of winning the match.

Over on the other field, Mizuki uses his clever sweeping ploy to distract Momo and bitches at Inui, who responds quite well. I'm not sure I agree with Inui's idea that following advice makes you a “mindless puppet”, however. Kaidō is trying to win without using Snake, which is understandable; who wants to be a one-trick pony?

Lesson for Today

The match ends when Momo hits Yanagisawa in the face. (Everyone sighs with relief and then feels guilty, because even Yanagisawa's not annoying enough to deserve that, right? ...Right?) Apparently the referee, in a decision that seems inconsistent with the things past referees have decided, does not allow Yanagisawa to get up and play for ten more minutes while he bleeds over the court; instead, he decides that the match is over. Momo, to his credit, refuses to admit that he's won and that the match is over.

Uh-oh. Mizuki's scary when people lose. Why is he loosening his tie?! *fear* Oh, it's probably because he has to play now. (LOL. I'm gonna try not to freak out now.)

Yūta's confidence in Mizuki is so sweet. He “won't betray Mizuki-san's expectations”! And his little hope that Mizuki will avenge him by winning against Shūsuke... *wibble* I totally ship them.

Okay, it's actually a little bit screwed up, and Shūsuke's making it worse. Yūta's sensitive, and Shūsuke's trying really hard, but he's kind of inept. It's hard to watch them both be heartbroken. :(

Ryōma pumps himself up for his match with Yūta by thinking about how Tezuka kicked his ass. Weirdly, that makes total sense.