Fanbook 10.5 and 20.5

Finally received these two books from Amazon Japan after a long wait of 9 days. Well, no choice since I selected the cheaper shipping option which does not have the tracking function. It just doesn't make sense to pay 1000 yen for the shipping but the wait is quite painful. The packaging-wise is OK but aren't they wasting a bit of money with that box when it's just two manga-size (no doubt thicker at 400 pages) books? And the box was a bit torn at the edges and dented. Who knows what the package went through before reaching me? It just makes me shudder what would happen if it's just in a normal envelope package so in a way, I'm thankful they used a box for this package...I'm contradicting myself again...

Anyway, I've finished reading 10.5 which is super entertaining and informative. Lots of juicy facts and little games along the way which is somewhat like a reference book for Tenipuri. I guess I would be starting on 20.5 next week...Can't wait to read about the rival teams especially Rikkaidai and Hyotei which should be my top 2 fav rival schools.

Tezuka no Shiashin

Finally managed to put a picture in this blog...

Will post more later...

Prince of Tennis - Buddies (Part 1)

Actually, among all the various characters in Tenipuri, there are many buddy combinations which are worth discussing. Suddenly, I have the urge to talk about my thoughts about some of these groupings...

Tezuka and Oishi

Other than the fact that they knew each other since Year 1 and that Oishi knows about Tezuka's injury, I don't seem to see a lot of closeness between these two guys outside of the courts and school like Momo and Echizen going for hamburgers together. Somehow, what binds them is the common belief that they can make it to the Nationals before they graduate and that seems to be the basis of their friendship. I'm not sure how to put it but SHINNEN seems to be the core ingredient in this pairing. I think since Tezuka is not one who expresses his emotions freely, Oishi becomes the bridge between him and the other members who may not understand him as well. Honestly speaking, I'm quite touched by their friendship especially when Tezuka had to leave for Germany to treat his shoulder and Oishi promised to make it to the Nationals for Tezuka to join the team in their quest. It's just that in the few recent episodes, there seems to be minimal interaction between them.

Sanada and Yukimura (Rikkaidai)
Well, there is very little mention of Yukimura other than the fact that we know there's something wrong with his body which stops him from playing tennis. I don't even know where the problem lies since the anime didn't mention. What we can see is that Sanada and Yukimura share a strong bond with each other which seems to be somewhat similar to what Tezuka and Oishi have. I like this combination quite a bit since there's the stern Sanada with the smiley face Yukimura which is the exact opposite of Tezuka and Oishi (captain is stern, vice captain is nice). Since Yukimura's operation is already successful, maybe we will get to see how his skills are and if possible, know more about his history with Sanada.

Momoshiro and Kaidou
These two are essentially rivals who provocate each other at the slightest opportunity. However, that match with Rikkaidai made me very touched besides it being really exciting. That's because these rivals put aside their differences for the sake of their sole aim to win the match. Actually, what they were fighting over so far were really small issues like not wanting to lose out to each other but the fact that they decided to get along with each other for once as compared to the St Rudolph match where they were doing their own thing, means a lot in this match since it's the Kantou finals. They tried to create chances for each other to perform his best tricks which speaks of the great coordination they can create from the sparks in their relationship. And when Kaidou was beaten psychologically by Jackal with his impersonation of Boomerang Snake, Momo tried to cover for him until he recovered from the shock. As Inui and Fuji put it correctly, being rivals helped them to know each other's strengths and weaknesses in addition to knowing how it feels to be in that sort of situation when you start to question your ability. Momo had this problem before when his Dunk Smash was blocked so he knows best how Kaidou is feeling. Hopefully, they can appear more in Doubles since I see that they can click pretty well just like what Kaidou and Inui did during the Hyotei match.

Tezuka and Fuji
Something strange about them...Fuji seems to be able to read Tezuka's mind and constantly teases him about various things while Tezuka is able to speak his mind in front of Fuji besides Oishi. The thing binding them would probably be coined as understanding of each other. The story didn't really say how close they were in the early years but seems like Fuji is a good listening ear for Tezuka when the need arises. Fuji has never beaten Tezuka before (in fact no one has managed to do so in the whole of Seigaku) so I'm wondering if Fuji does regard defeating Tezuka as a goal to achieve in addition to treating him as a buddy. Rivals or friends? It's this ambiguous mix of emotions that makes this relationship hard to define...

Sanada Genichirou (Rikkaidai Fuzokuchuu)

After Tezuka, here comes Sanada... I wonder why but I seem to have an obsession with most of the captains in Tenipuri. Of course, Tezuka is still my No.1 choice but Sanada comes a close second these days ever since he appeared. Sugoi na ii otoko! Well, he's also stern like Tezuka but he did crack a joke very early in his appearance when Inoue and Shiba asked whether Kirihara could beat him. Sanada said that Kirihara had to wait for another 10 years before even coming close. That indignation and cannot-be-bothered attitude did strike me but not that deeply. It was only after seeing him pop up here and there that I took a closer look. And when I got to where he and Yukimura were talking about the op's prospects and winning the Kantou Championship, I guess that's where I can consider myself getting started on my Sanada obsession. Actually, the fansubs are only until 128 so far but I went ahead to download the raws from 147 onwards where there's a lot of Sanada with Atobe in their Doubles 2 match so that sort of fanned my obsession for Sanada even more. Well, Sanada was dubbed as the No.1 guy in Junior High tennis so I wonder how good Yukimura may be since he has never played before in the series but since he's the captain, there must be something even better than Sanada which we have not seen yet. Sanada's match with Ryoma was very exciting but somehow, the ending was a bit of a rush. It seems as if Ryoma turned the tide in such a short time frame that it looked really bad on Sanada who was great with his disappearing serve and swing. It just makes me wonder when the anime will get started on the Nationals because that's probably when I can finally see Tezuka back in action and of course, if Rikkaidai and Seigaku meet again, a match up between Sanada and Tezuka might just be possible. Tezuka has not really played much other than with Atobe (which he lost unfortunately)and the ranking matches which all went in his favour so there's no way of gauging who exactly is better. I wouldn't know who to support if this match really materializes...

Tenipuri (about Tezuka again?)

I've finished the parts before Tezuka went to Germany... Well, I was so sad to see him but he pops up every now and then so I can't really complain. Although I would have loved to see more of him...That would be in ep 130 onwards.

It's quite touching to see how everyone in Seigaku became more united in their promise to Tezuka so that they can make it to the Nationals. Oishi overcomes the physical pain, Eiji being so worried about him and giving assurance on faith in their strengths, Echizen refusing to give up in the face of physical injuries from that idiotic guy from Jousei Shonan, Kaidou likewise standing up to the gruelling match with that copycat Wakato. Seems like everyone grew up overnight without Tezuka as they have a promise to realise to him. No one wants to break that promise to him...That's the beauty of the story. The main attraction is not just the tennis and humour but also how their friendships are deepened with each and every incident. When they went to see the sunrise, it was somewhat like a wonderful memory for them to spend time together. I guess that's probably what made Tezuka make up his mind to go to Germany for the treatment. He knows very well that he wants to make it to the Nationals with this team and in order to do that, he has to make sure that he can survive the rest of the journey with that. If he refuses treatment, most likely he's going to end up leaving the team halfway... What a wonderful story...