Cross Game - I Took A Screenshot That Wasn’t Of Azuma The main thing that bothers me about Cross Game is that I hate waiting a whole week for the next episode. I guess this is why I have been marathoning Touch and various Adachi mangas during the rest of the week to give myself a koukou-yakyuu fix, which of course forces me to compare Kou to Tatsuya and Azuma to H2’s batting monster Hideo. Hideo and Azuma are effectively the same character except that Azuma’s been painted with a much darker “rival” brush (and if you read further in the manga you’ll know the reason for his more serious nature). In short, WANT, and gimme both plz now. Kou also shares a number of character traits with our boy Tacchan, many of which were highlighted in his first outing as the Prefab-gumi’s pitcher. Starting baseball extremely late, he’s long on natural talent but short on stamina and control and that’s starting to show in the later innings. Azuma still can’t believe it’s his first game, however (which of course mirrors Nitta’s intense interest in Tatsuya as a rival in the rough). Kou’s also a bit of a lazy ass (see above) and shows signs of having a brief but explosive temper after getting hit by Azuma for 3 consecutive homers. But besides that, I just don’t feel the magic from him that I get from Tatsuya and I think it might just be the voice actor. Kou sounds kind of wet, and it’s also just hard to beat Yuji Mitsuya’s epic characterization of the slacker ace. Actually I just looked up Kou’s seiyuu and it turns out he also voiced Tsubasa’s Syaoran (totally not as badass as Cardcaptor Sakura’s Syaoran) and Zaitsu Mamoru in this season’s Hatsukoi Limited who I also consider a massive wuss. Damn it. Regardless of voice actor (and the fact that he will never surpass Azuma or Tatsuya in my burning fangirl heart) Kou manages to pull off that Japanese masculinity remarkably smoothly. Like the koi fish who lies still on the chopping board and accepts his fate, you know what I’m talking about. From the manly way he grabbed Aoba’s collar that one time (before asking to borrow a nabe pot) to his calm and unspoken challenge to Azuma from the pitcher’s mount, Kou’s a master of that quiet coolness when it really counts. He might not pull it off with the same iconic brilliance as Tatsuya but hey, it’s 2009 and we’ll take what we can get.
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New Isekai no seikishi Monogatari episode 4 CM aired on PPV: HERE (Nicovideo Link, you need to log-in) Gahhhh!!! I can't wait. For those who don't understand Japanese here's the translation: Teacher: "Masaki Kenshi will be joining out class from today"..글 전체보기
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Well, the baseball matches really are like the rest of this series: very slow paced. This entire episode was simply focused on the baseball match between the good team and the bad team, and the next episode will probably see its conclusion. It was really meant to show that Kou is still inexperienced, despite his [...]
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This episode shows how intelligent and experienced Aoba is and how amateurish Kou is. Kou has a lot of uncontrolled power but he lacks a lot of experience. I'm impressed with the way Aoba pinpoints out the weakness of every player in the first team. So far, Kou has impressed everyone with his fast straight balls. However, they have only finished three innings and there are six more to go. I wonder if he has enough stamina and power to play till the end. Will he be pitching throughout the game? Usually in a real game, there are more than one pitchers pitching as it's real tiring to pitch throughout the game. As for Yuuhei, there's no doubt that he's a really good batter and I think it's his turn to shine in the next episode.Mini SummaryThe prefab team bats first. Senda surprisingly starts well and he manages to get three players out, and it's the first team's turn to bat. Kou also starts well and after he gets two players out, the Acting Principal asks Coach Daimon who he is but Coach Daimon has no idea. Yuuhei interrupts their conversation and answers that he's Kitamura Kou. The third batter manages to get a hit and it is the fourth batter, Yuuhei's turn to bat. Yuuhei asks Akaishi if he gets the batting data of all the first team players from Aoba. Akaishi feigns ignorance and the play continues. According to Aoba's data, Yuuhei has no weakness. Kou pitches. Akaishi catches the ball and immediately throws towards the first baseman and this thwarts the first team's plan to hit and run. This play is called pitchout.In the second inning, Senda gets the fourth batter out. It's finally fifth batter, Kou's turn to bat and the plan is for him to get a hit and land on first base, then the sixth batter, who is a good bunter will get him to second base, and after that, Akaishi and Nakanishi will get him home. However, things turn out better than planned as Kou gets a homerun. At the end of the second inning, the first team is down by three runs. Daimon is furious with Senda and kicks him off the first team. Since a player in the prefab team happens to be suffering from food poisoning, Maeno substitutes Senda in as a shortstop for the prefab team.It's the first team's turn to bat. First up, it's Yuuhei. According to Aoba's data, the only way to beat him is for Kou to throw low outside pitches. However, despite Akaishi's signal for low outside pitch, Kou throws right in the middle. Yuuhei manages to hit Kou's third pitch and it's a homerun. For the rest of the second inning, Senda shows off his shortstopping skills and Kou also displays his ability to throw curve balls.In the third inning, Kamikawa takes the pitcher position. Though his pitches are not especially fast, he's tough because his pitches change all the time. He lives up to his expectation and in the third inning, the prefab team makes no run. It's the first team's turn to bat again. The eighth batter is bad at curve balls. Kou manages to throw a curve ball, however, during the second pitch, Kou fails and the batter manages to get a hit. Kou is starting to feel tired but he composes himself to face ninth batter, Kamikawa. While Kou is facing Kamikawa, Yuuhei notices that Kou's control and power are both unsteady. Despite being tired, Kou pitches a fast ball and gets Kamikawa out. When Kamikawa returns to the bench, Yuuhei tells him that is the kind of straight he wants to see him throw. At the end of the third inning, Kou comments that it's tiring to be a pitcher.PicturesI wonder who this ojiisan is. I suspect he's the Real Principal of the school.Senda looks so uncool as a pitcher!Kou looks cool!!Akaishi's pitchout plan works.Kou hits a homerun! Kou should be a good batter since he has been batting at Tsukishima family's batting cages since he's 3 years old.I love to see Coach Daimon and the Acting Principal's shocked faces.Senda screws up and he's being kicked out of the first team.Kou vs YuuheiYuuhei hits a homerun.Kou can throw curve balls too but he hasn't quite fully mastered it yet.Kou's hand is bruised and he's starting to feel tired.Kou manages to get Kamikawa out.Yuuhei wants Kamikawa to throw the kind of straight Kou is throwing.Kou looks so cute when he's tired.
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Fullmetal Alchemist's TV rating this week was 5.8%, a big jump from last week's 4%. Interesting... I thought pacing was too fast in the beginning but it feels like it's just about right these days(maybe it's because I got used to the fast pacing) But I..글 전체보기
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Oh, I must say that after watching the first season of Major, it’s so delightfully refreshing to watch another baseball match in which the lead pitcher isn’t god-moded beyond belief. This episode showed the very first baseball match of this season (a practice match between the good team and the bad team), and I must [...]
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This episode is titled 'You are alike'. So who and who are alike?1. Wakaba and her younger sister, Momiji - It's obvious that among the four sisters, Wakaba and Momiji are most alike in terms of personality. They are both sweet, bubbly and cheerful. However, it has never occurred to me that they look alike, until Akaishi mentioned it. And it’s like what Akaishi said: 'It’s still hard to believe that Wakaba was such a small girl when she died.' (v.v)2. Kou and Aoba - According to Aoba, Kou is rude, reckless, untidy, and he walks around in public even if there's a big hole in his shirt. It's funny when her sister points out to her that she's exactly the same.The part I like best in this episode is the part where Kou and Akaishi spy on the first team's training. They look stupid, but I have to say it's quite a brilliant way to spy. The upcoming match should be exciting. It's interesting that Senda is actually chosen to be the pitcher for the first team. He's certainly not a good pitcher so I wonder what Coach Daimon is thinking of. Is he trying use this match to kick him out of first team? I think that's the most likely reason. I can't wait for the match to kick start next week!! Mini SummaryWhen Akaishi meets Momiji for the very first time, he is startled by her resemblance to Wakaba, who died at the age Momiji is now. Along with Kou and Akaishi, Momiji heads for the park to play catch ball with an old man who's a regular at Akaishi's family's liquor store.Meanwhile, after Aoba wakes up from her dream, which is about Wakaba not playing with her because Kou's around, Ichiyo remarks that the reason why Aoba dislikes Kou is because she really likes Wakaba and he used to monopolize Wakaba's time. Through observation, Ichiyo and Akaishi notice that Aoba and Kou are a lot alike and they have the same competitive nature.In school, Coach Daimon tells Acting Principal Shidou that he will use the upcoming practice game between first team and prefab team to demonstrate how much better the first team players are. The third-year prefab players are training very hard as it's their last summer in high school and they hope to be promoted to the first team. Two nights before the practice game, Kou asks Aoba to catch his pitches so that he can have her opinion of his pitching because he has never before played in a real game and so has no comparison. She calls it 'not bad' which pleases him, and he makes a bet that if he's able tp hold the first team players to ten runs, Aoba has to treat him to Clover's Napoletan. However, after looking at her own bruised hand, Aoba changes it to five runs. On the day of the practice match, when Aoba arrives at the stadium, the old man who played catch ball with Momiji earlier, tells her that the she can only sit and cheer on the first team side of the stadium. Meanwhile, Kou, Akaishi and Nakanishi are looking through the starting lineup of the other team and they are shocked that Senda is starting as a pitcher.PicturesAkaishi is shocked to see Wakana lookalike.Aoba also walks around in public even if there's a big hole in her shirt.Kou's home run record was broken by Yuuhei and Kou is now trying to set a new record.SmokescreenSenda is a real loser!The smokescreen works and, Kou and Akaishi can spy all they want!Kamikawa is the first team's best pitcher but Yuuhei thinks that his straight balls are not fast enough.Kou brings Aoba out to the park at night to catch his pitches.Aoba thinks that his pitching is 'not bad' and to Kou, that's the best compliment.Pu (referring to the prefab team) vs SeishuuThey are shocked that Senda is starting as a pitcher.
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The more I watch of this show, the more I’m convinced: Cross Game is bloody brilliant. It’s really hard to put to words why, but I know of very few shows hat have such a dynamic sense of storytelling as this series has. Every single scene, even the most seemingly unimportant one, feels creative and [...]
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There are poignant moments in Cross Game I feel like capturing in some way, in any way possible, such that I will NEVER EVAR forget them even for the years to come. Time is fleeting, and unless we do something to capture the momentous events in our lives (or even the mundane, taken for granted [...]
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Simply great episode! I kind of feel sorry for Aoba. I hate the way Coach Daimon treat her. He's a real jerk and he knows nothing about gentlemanly behavior and sportsmanship! Aoba is a very strong willed girl and I really admire her passion for baseball despite knowing that she will not get any chance to play competitive baseball in high school as she's a girl.As for Kou, I simply love his sense of humor. So far, he's still acting as 'secret weapon' and so he does not get much chance to show off his great pitching. However, his jokes, actions and words always put a smile on my face. This episode reveals that he has the talent of impersonating voices of other people. Not only can he impersonate the voices of vegetable stall ojiisan and fish stall Gen-san, he can also impersonate the voice of Senda and make good fun out of him. Mini SummaryCoach Daimon recruits Aoba from the Junior High team as a 'disposable' practice pitcher. He intends to use her up and then throw her away. However, he's surprised when she almost strikes Yuuhei out even after pitching too much. In the end, Yuuhei manages to get a good workout out of Aoba's pitching, but as for Aoba, she's completely exhausted. After training, on the way home, when Kou asks her to stop listening to Coach Daimon, Aoba tells Kou that it's his job to beat Yuuhei and she'll continue to pitch for the first-team players to learn their batting weaknesses. When Kou asks her why she's doing so, she says that she wants to believe in Akaishi and Waka-chan's words. According to Aoba, Waka-chan once said, 'If he gets serious, he can become Japan's best...' Aoba stops there and Kou is curious about what 'Japan's best' means but Aoba refuses to say more.PicturesCoach Daimon - a jerk!Poor Aoba is feeling exhausted after pitching too much.Nakanishi, Kou and Akaishi are watching from the side.Despite being tired, Aoba manages to strike the player out.Yuuhei gets pumped up by Aoba's pitching and decides that it's his turn to bat.Aoba is cool about that but she requests for the catcher to be changed.Her reason is she's particular about looks. (LOL! Akaishi is indeed slightly better-looking.)Her pitching is good and when Yuuhei misses, Coach Daimon is shocked.Kou impersonates Senda's voice to insult her. LOLInitially, Yuuhei deliberately uses the top half of the bat to hit the ball to foul. After seeing how exhausted Aoba is, he stops doing that and finally hits the ball.No matter how much Aoba 'hates' Kou, she believes that Waka-chan's words will come true.
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At times, it really looks like Aoba is the lead character of this series, rather than Kou. Especially when it comes to baseball, it’s her who keeps stealing the show, while Kou, who is supposed to be the main character, just keeps hiding, watching and staying in the background. Really if it wasn’t for the [...]
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Cross Game ~ep7 Episode 7 was definitely one of the best episode I've seen so far. To be honest, I was a little worried about how the actual baseball game will be like. Mostly, because I wasn't too pleased with how fast balls were animated. I just didn'..글 전체보기
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We finally know the name of the guy with garfield eyes. For some weird reasons, I still prefer calling him 'the guy with garfield eyes' to Yuuhei. He has a 'talent' of not remembering the names and faces of people who he thinks look insignificant. It's great that he remembers Kou and does not remember Senda. I think he will eventually remember people like Nakanishi and Akaishi. If I'm not mistaken, he has already remembered Aoba.It's also interesting how Akaishi, Nakanishi and Kou are trying to keep low profile. They even deliberately join the prefab team. Since the first team only has one pathetic place for first-year students, I guess Akaishi, Nakanishi and Kou reckon that they should just stick together rather than to fight for that one place. This explains why a person like Senda can get into the first team.Mini SummaryWhen Kou enters Seishuu High School, he learns that the Baseball team has a new head coach, Shugo Daimon, who has recruited good players from around the country. One of them is the guy with the garfield eyes. His name is Yuuhei Azuma. All the current players and former Head Coach Maeno have been relegated to a second 'prefab' team. Senda passes the selection test for the first team, but Kou, Akaishi, and Nakanishi feign illness and choose not to go for the selection test. Thus, they are placed on the prefab team. Before the summer tournament, the two teams will hold a scrimmage. Rumor has it that the scrimmage will determine the future of the prefab players.One day after training, Aoba and friends drop by the High School to check out the new players. Aoba is somewhat impressed with their pitcher but feels that his pitching does not resonate her heart. She seems more impressed with the batter, Yuuhei. She then checks out the prefab team and she's surprised to find Kou in the team. After school, Kou and Aoba happen to be on the same train and they walk home together. When Aoba asks Kou why he joins the Baseball team since he used to dislike Baseball, Kou answers that it's because he's inspired by someone's excellent pitching form and so he wants to become a great pitcher himself (that someone is of course Aoba).The next morning, both of Kou's alarm clocks stop moving and Kou has to rush to school. While running from the train station, he bumps into Yuuhei and urges him to run too. However, Yuuhei ignores him and continues walking slowly. Though Yuuhei is late for class, the teacher can do nothing about it as according to the class register, Yuuhei is supposed to be special. During break time, Senda brags to Kou about himself being in the first team and he also tells Kou that the prefab team is supposed to clean up the field during lunch time. When Senda tries to talk to Yuuhei, Yuuhei asks him who he is. Though they are in the first team, Yuuhei does not remember Senda at all. On the other hand, Yuuhei remembers that he has met Kou in the batting center in the previous year and earlier in the morning.After school, during training, the head coach asks Yuuhei to try to remember more faces by the summer tournament. Yuuhei claims that he can only remember four faces (including Kou's face) now and as for the others, he finds their faces hard to remember as they look too insignificant.Meanwhile, the prefab team is training in the Junior High School field. Since the 1st year and 2nd year Junior High members have activities and can't train, Aoba decides to invite the prefab team to train together with the 3rd year members. While Aoba is practicing pitching with the others, Kou is practicing pitching with Akaishi. The prefab coach then comes along and urges them to make just one good pitch. He reassures them that no one will notice since everyone's busy training. Akaishi gives the nod and Kou makes a serious pitch. At that moment, Yuuhei is walking towards them but fortunately, Nakanishi overturns the chalk marker and creates a fog in front of Yuuhei. As a result, Yuuhei did not see Kou's pitch. However, it seems like Aoba did see Kou's pitch.PicturesKou, Akaishi and Nakanishi are finally High School students!Prefab team's managerFirst team's manager (She's supposed to be pretty. I certainly don't think so.)Yuuhei AzumaAoba asks Kou why he joins the Baseball team. His reason is that he's inspired by 'someone'.Yuuhei does not have to worry about being late for school as he's 'special'.Yuuhei totally can't remember Senda but he can remember Kou.The prefab coach urges Kou to make a good pitch.As Kou is making his pitch, Yuuhei walks towards the field.The fog created by Nakanishi causes Yuuhei to miss Kou's pitch.However, it appears that Aoba did not miss Kou's pitch.
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Steve: Twenty more posts until I catch up to Koala. I can’t wait. I stole this Cross Game episode just in time then. Baseball this episode? Let’s see. Please proceed with caution. Cross Game is going to get exciting from here on out. Watch and you’ll see. This episode basically introduces us to Azuma’s personality. Out [...]
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Steve: *shakes head at Koala* That’s all. Welcome back Steve. Episode 6 will be out in a few hours. I know Episode 5 came out a while ago but I couldn’t leave this episode un-blogged so here is my really quick review for it before I move on to Episode 6. In this episode, there are [...]
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It's so easy to let loose and want to shout "OMG YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS!" when you watch an anime that's so amazing, and you want other people to share in the joy of having discovered a GEM -- like when I came across Cross Game and found it to be the BEST that Spring has to offer (I know there's also Eden of the East, but I'm pretty jaded about it atm, will pick it up again when I'm ready to TAKE IT ALL IN); it's also as easy to get disappointed when people can't seem to relate with the OH JOY you're feeling.
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Cross Game - Gratuitous Gimme ‘dat.
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And so it’s finally time for the characters to enter high-school, and this show still is as solid as a rock. As it turns out, there are two teams at the baseball club. The best one consists out of most of the older members and Azuma Yuuhei, it has as coach the daughter of the [...]
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I've been quite busy lately, so haven't written much of my impression on recent anime viewing. Right now, I am following Cross Game, FMA, and Ristorante Paradiso every week. I really don't have time nor motivation to blog each series and episode separat..글 전체보기
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Cross Game - Emotional Win Wah, I’m way late on this and too busy to blog much about anything I’m watching! But Cross Game episode 5 rates a mention, if only to let y’all know that this scene above stirred up more heartwarming, painful and bittersweet emotions in two or three words than entire seasons worth of most shows nowadays.
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