Whistle!!!!!!
Feb. 20th, 2006 12:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
insanenekoI was really tired and out of it on Friday night, so I decided some straightfoward sports anime would be just right. Thanks to the wonderful and gracious ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mitethe (THANK YOU!), I had the entire series of the anime on hand. So I watched...and kept watching...and basically ended up watching the entire series on Friday night and Saturday morning.
Wow. What a great series. I'm amazed at how nice and self-effacing and humble the main character is. And how difficult to say his last name is. "Kazamatsuri?" I laughed every time people yelled his name out during games. What a mouthful. But putting aside his name, he's so endearing. The series definitely stuck an excellent balance in portraying him. He stays true to that humble and nice quality, while still managing to shine and dazzle in a not-over-the-top-flashy way. That dogged determination is amazing. And he's just so cute.
Mizuno. When I think of him the first thing that flashes in my mind is TAREME (droopy eyes). I can't help it. He has a very nice voice. I like his development towards the end of the anime series. I love how he struggles to find his soccer, his joy. And I love how simply yet powerfully the moment when he finds it is portrayed.
It's amazing how sports manga/anime can make something that is supremely uninteresting in real life seem captivating and wonderful. I understand very little of soccer, not having been exposed to it like other sports growing up. I still don't understand anything beyond the very basics and frankly don't want to (the field is big and the games low-scoring...it's just a bunch of guys kicking a ball back and forth on the field...). And yet while I watched the anime I was glued to the screen and cheering like an insane person all by myself. When I got to the last episode I was terribly disappointed. I WANTED MORE. I actually drove to town to check the used bookstores in the hopes that I could find the manga. BUT I WAS DENIED. Neither store carried the series. I ended up buying H2 (turns out it was $2 per volume, a great price). I came close to buying Dear Boys even though I knew nothing about the series other than it was a basketball manga. I also came close to buying Captain Tsubasa because I saw two complete sets at EACH store and it's famous and it's about soccer. I haven't read H2 yet, I had to read something else to try to take the edge off my BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT at not being able to get the manga. I want more. I know the manga goes further than the anime, and I just want more. I believe this series is the one that kind of ends abruptly, which saddens me. I'd want to see these characters play soccer with all their hearts for a LONG time.
Renkei play is love. The only sports manga I've read in a while is PoT, which is for the most part one on one. It's refreshing to see passing and plays involving multiple people. It's just so satisfying when a play succeed. I love the spectators so kindly explaining what's happening, especially since the explanations aren't overdone and intrusive to the game play. It's cool to see extremely different individuals gel and become a team.
It's nice that the females, for the most part, are not beyond annoying. I like Kojima. I even like...er...what's her name. The girl that likes Shou who becomes a team manager. I don't know why she's not annoying, but she's not. She's sweet. (That kid who likes her, on the other hand, is annoying.) I even tolerate her high high HIGH voice.
Erg. It's late. I suppose I should sleep. I'm going to spent tomorrow rewatching my favorite moments of the anime, and then reading H2. Seishun dane!
mitethe (THANK YOU!), I had the entire series of the anime on hand. So I watched...and kept watching...and basically ended up watching the entire series on Friday night and Saturday morning.Wow. What a great series. I'm amazed at how nice and self-effacing and humble the main character is. And how difficult to say his last name is. "Kazamatsuri?" I laughed every time people yelled his name out during games. What a mouthful. But putting aside his name, he's so endearing. The series definitely stuck an excellent balance in portraying him. He stays true to that humble and nice quality, while still managing to shine and dazzle in a not-over-the-top-flashy way. That dogged determination is amazing. And he's just so cute.
Mizuno. When I think of him the first thing that flashes in my mind is TAREME (droopy eyes). I can't help it. He has a very nice voice. I like his development towards the end of the anime series. I love how he struggles to find his soccer, his joy. And I love how simply yet powerfully the moment when he finds it is portrayed.
It's amazing how sports manga/anime can make something that is supremely uninteresting in real life seem captivating and wonderful. I understand very little of soccer, not having been exposed to it like other sports growing up. I still don't understand anything beyond the very basics and frankly don't want to (the field is big and the games low-scoring...it's just a bunch of guys kicking a ball back and forth on the field...). And yet while I watched the anime I was glued to the screen and cheering like an insane person all by myself. When I got to the last episode I was terribly disappointed. I WANTED MORE. I actually drove to town to check the used bookstores in the hopes that I could find the manga. BUT I WAS DENIED. Neither store carried the series. I ended up buying H2 (turns out it was $2 per volume, a great price). I came close to buying Dear Boys even though I knew nothing about the series other than it was a basketball manga. I also came close to buying Captain Tsubasa because I saw two complete sets at EACH store and it's famous and it's about soccer. I haven't read H2 yet, I had to read something else to try to take the edge off my BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT at not being able to get the manga. I want more. I know the manga goes further than the anime, and I just want more. I believe this series is the one that kind of ends abruptly, which saddens me. I'd want to see these characters play soccer with all their hearts for a LONG time.
Renkei play is love. The only sports manga I've read in a while is PoT, which is for the most part one on one. It's refreshing to see passing and plays involving multiple people. It's just so satisfying when a play succeed. I love the spectators so kindly explaining what's happening, especially since the explanations aren't overdone and intrusive to the game play. It's cool to see extremely different individuals gel and become a team.
It's nice that the females, for the most part, are not beyond annoying. I like Kojima. I even like...er...what's her name. The girl that likes Shou who becomes a team manager. I don't know why she's not annoying, but she's not. She's sweet. (That kid who likes her, on the other hand, is annoying.) I even tolerate her high high HIGH voice.
Erg. It's late. I suppose I should sleep. I'm going to spent tomorrow rewatching my favorite moments of the anime, and then reading H2. Seishun dane!