Suffering from "withdrawal symptoms" of no Tenipuri for the week...
Suddenly, I have a premonition that the finale next week is going to sour the entire series BECAUSE Ryoma is coming back. I'm not sure for whatever reason but seems like he is going to have a match with Tezuka. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the anime does not end with Ryoma beating Tezuka because that would be SO predictable. I don't think that he's good enough to beat Tezuka given that the latter has fully recovered and he showed off his potential when he defeated Fuji. If they make Ryoma beat Tezuka, wouldn't this mean that Ryoma > Tezuka > Fuji? This is not logical to me at all and I REALLY hope that things would not come to such a stage. I know they might want to please Ryoma fans BUT if he beats every rival, wouldn't he have no targets to overcome in the future? When they showed Ryoma beat Sanada, I was already hopping mad for the illogical development of events so please leave beautiful memories for me, OK?
Anyway, to think that there would be nothing to look forward to on Wed is such a bore. Although I'm following Yakitate Japan on Tues, it sure feels weird to see Tenipuri go and leave a void in my weekly schedule. According to the TV Tokyo website, there are quite a number of animes ending this month. New beginnings for Spring 05? After I'm done with the full DVD collection, I would probably head for the manga collection next...I'm still not done with Sanada, Atobe and Tezuka...
金曜日, 3月 25, 2005
土曜日, 3月 19, 2005
Ep 176 - Climax
Eh...how should I begin? Although the title is "Climax", most of the views I read and personally, I do feel that this episode is an anti-climax as compared to the wonderful buildup from the past 2 episodes. Well, I'm terribly excited over the fact that I get to hear Tezuka speak so much in a single episode and that we find out about how he feels about his relationship with Fuji but this has made the focus shift from the match. I admit I'm rooting for Tezuka and is very happy that he won but somehow, the producers seem to be in a hurry to settle the match. I can't blame them since the last episode would be on 30 Mar. Although there are lots of other themes to explore, they can't go beyond 3 episodes for just 1 match no matter how mouth watering the line-up is. That's a pity to me though.
Tezuka was the first to notice that Fuji was not as simple as he looked. According to him, the other first year regulars were attention-grabbing and unique in their own ways but Fuji seemed very normal and just like an obedient and nice guy. However, when he saw him play on the court, Tezuka's interest in finding out how Fuji was really like made him agree to the match. Even though he would have asked Fuji to postpone the match due to his injury, Tezuka admitted that he was too anxious to see how good Fuji was at that time and forced himself to play thus making Fuji quite angry then. Anyway, for this ranking match, Tezuka was the one who asked Ryuuzaki-sensei to group Fuji together with him. In fact, even if Tezuka didn't suggest this, Ryuuzaki-sensei would have made the arrangements herself so as to show the team how good those two have become.
It was quite sad to see Fuji crying (not really crying his heart out but tears flow naturally from his eyes) but it showed how much the match meant to him and that he finally tasted the bitterness of defeat. It should be a great learning experience for him which should serve him well in the Nationals (that is if the anime does come back with OVA or the second season like Kyou Kara Maou). I'm praying hard that they come up with OVAs from time to time, it seems like a lucrative business to give up since they are still releasing character singles and the DVD release is still on. The manga is still on but as to when it will start on the Nationals, it depends whether the manga will show whatever they have in the anime i.e. the ranking matches. And I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for a summer release of the movie DVD which is more than 6 months from the theatre release.
With the end of the anime, I don't see myself stopping the updating of this blog but the frequency might not be on a weekly basis. As and when I have new thoughts, buy new Tenipuri stuff etc, I might just post when I like it.
Tezuka was the first to notice that Fuji was not as simple as he looked. According to him, the other first year regulars were attention-grabbing and unique in their own ways but Fuji seemed very normal and just like an obedient and nice guy. However, when he saw him play on the court, Tezuka's interest in finding out how Fuji was really like made him agree to the match. Even though he would have asked Fuji to postpone the match due to his injury, Tezuka admitted that he was too anxious to see how good Fuji was at that time and forced himself to play thus making Fuji quite angry then. Anyway, for this ranking match, Tezuka was the one who asked Ryuuzaki-sensei to group Fuji together with him. In fact, even if Tezuka didn't suggest this, Ryuuzaki-sensei would have made the arrangements herself so as to show the team how good those two have become.
It was quite sad to see Fuji crying (not really crying his heart out but tears flow naturally from his eyes) but it showed how much the match meant to him and that he finally tasted the bitterness of defeat. It should be a great learning experience for him which should serve him well in the Nationals (that is if the anime does come back with OVA or the second season like Kyou Kara Maou). I'm praying hard that they come up with OVAs from time to time, it seems like a lucrative business to give up since they are still releasing character singles and the DVD release is still on. The manga is still on but as to when it will start on the Nationals, it depends whether the manga will show whatever they have in the anime i.e. the ranking matches. And I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for a summer release of the movie DVD which is more than 6 months from the theatre release.
With the end of the anime, I don't see myself stopping the updating of this blog but the frequency might not be on a weekly basis. As and when I have new thoughts, buy new Tenipuri stuff etc, I might just post when I like it.
土曜日, 3月 12, 2005
Ep 175 - Sannen mei no Honki
Sugoii! Subarashii! It's been some time since I got SO excited over a Tenipuri match. Well, the last time I did should be the Atobe-Sanada match with the American Senbatsu team. Anyway, Tezuka and Fuji are so cool (Fuji opens his eyes for so long in a single episode!!!) and this episode explains more on their relationship and why Tezuka lost in that secret match back when they were in Year 1.
And they showed the 3rd year regulars when they were in Year 1. Everyone was so cute but why wasn't Eiji around when Fuji asked the rest to help Tezuka when he was bullied by the seniors? Oh...I think Eiji joined the tennis team later than the rest since Oishi and Tezuka were already around when Eiji was introduced to the team so he shouldn't have been around at the very beginning. Anyway, Tezuka was so cute when he said that he can't help it if he looked arrogant and the seniors kept picking on him since they were not his match. Fuji seemed to admire Tezuka's skills very much (more material for the yaoi fanfiction writers? ^__^) as he says that he looked up to Tezuka and respected him since they were in Year 1. And it seems like they were in the same class before (Year 2, I guess since they looked slightly more grown up as compared to the kiddy-look in Year 1). The Year 1 trio were trying to define Fuji and Tezuka's relationship as they do not behave like bitter rivals (think Momo and Kaidou) and yet they are not as chummy like Oishi and Eiji. Cool relationship, huh? ^__^ I don't think Tezuka deliberately distanced himself from Fuji but rather, he's been very cool so far that it's not strange he gives the impression that he keeps people at arm's length when he might not mean it that way.
Oh well, Tezuka lost because of his injured arm after being whacked by that senior. Actually, Fuji asked him for a friendly match before that and since Tezuka agreed to it in the first place, he didn't want to disappoint Fuji and break his promise. That's why he went ahead with the match with an injury and thus lost quite badly. However, this angered Fuji because he thought that Tezuka could have cancelled the match and Tezuka should never put his arm in jeopardy. I guess he was so upset partly because he was worried for Tezuka's injury, the other reason being that Tezuka was not in the best condition to take him on. Although Fuji said that they can have another match when Tezuka recovers (his arm was OK at one stage), both of them never brought up that matter again. Fuji feels that it is most probably because of the fact that he does not want to find out who is stronger so that's why he never mentioned the match again even though he has all along been interested to know who is the better player between him and Tezuka. It sure is conflicting because on one hand, you want to see who's stronger but yet you are scared to find out the truth. I'm not sure how Tezuka really feels about this (seems like more answers would be out next week) but he could have arranged for a rematch between them during the school practice matches and yet he seems to avoiding that too. Maybe he thought that it would be an insult to Fuji again if he were to go ahead with the match with that injured arm which was having problems since they were in Year 2. Or he may be having the same thoughts as Fuji about fearing a change in their friendship once the verdict is out.
That single play when Tezuka broke all the Triple Counters was simply so cool! Waku waku shimasu yo! Fuji first used Hakugei but Tezuka anticipated it and smashed the shot when he was at the net. In order to counter that smash, Fuji used Higuma Otoshi but seems like Tezuka was prepared for that since the shot was rendered useless when it got under the influence of Tezuka Zone. In order to break that spin, Fuji used Tsubame Gaeshi and yet it was not enough since Tezuka used Zero shiki to win that game. Wonderful play here! As mentioned last week, I am sure that Tezuka's serve is somewhat different from his past serves since it's definitely more powerful. What a difference it makes when his shoulder is fully healed! The game is currently in Tezuka's favour (4-2) and seems like Fuji wants to use all his strength to win Tezuka in the next episode aptly titled as Climax. It would sure fit the title since the match has been absolutely breathtaking so far. I'm sure the conclusion would be very exciting.
I just find it weird that although news is running around that Tenipuri will end at 178 episodes, there's nothing mentioned on the TV Tokyo's anime page nor Tenipuri's website. Although I am very reluctant to see Tenipuri go, I am looking forward to seeing the official notice on whether Tenipuri stays or goes after March.
Another matter I find interesting is the cover for the Tenipuri DVDs vol 39 due in April. That volume should consist of Sengoku, Fuji and Kirihara's matches BUT what are Niou and Marui doing on the cover with Kirihara? I know Sengoku, Fuji and Kirihara appeared a few volumes back in the Senbatsu arc and was sort of looking forward to seeing them together but this cover really surprises me. Niou and Marui didn't play any matches and yet they are on the cover. It's not that I have any issues with them appearing but it just feels kind of funny.
Vol 40 is Ryoma taking up the entire cover. Well, this can't be helped since his matches take up 3 episodes in that volume...I'm not complaining anyway except that from Vol 40 onwards, it should be hard to see the pictures of players from rival schools on the covers since the story is very Seigaku-focused after the Senbatsu arc. My Genichirou....
And they showed the 3rd year regulars when they were in Year 1. Everyone was so cute but why wasn't Eiji around when Fuji asked the rest to help Tezuka when he was bullied by the seniors? Oh...I think Eiji joined the tennis team later than the rest since Oishi and Tezuka were already around when Eiji was introduced to the team so he shouldn't have been around at the very beginning. Anyway, Tezuka was so cute when he said that he can't help it if he looked arrogant and the seniors kept picking on him since they were not his match. Fuji seemed to admire Tezuka's skills very much (more material for the yaoi fanfiction writers? ^__^) as he says that he looked up to Tezuka and respected him since they were in Year 1. And it seems like they were in the same class before (Year 2, I guess since they looked slightly more grown up as compared to the kiddy-look in Year 1). The Year 1 trio were trying to define Fuji and Tezuka's relationship as they do not behave like bitter rivals (think Momo and Kaidou) and yet they are not as chummy like Oishi and Eiji. Cool relationship, huh? ^__^ I don't think Tezuka deliberately distanced himself from Fuji but rather, he's been very cool so far that it's not strange he gives the impression that he keeps people at arm's length when he might not mean it that way.
Oh well, Tezuka lost because of his injured arm after being whacked by that senior. Actually, Fuji asked him for a friendly match before that and since Tezuka agreed to it in the first place, he didn't want to disappoint Fuji and break his promise. That's why he went ahead with the match with an injury and thus lost quite badly. However, this angered Fuji because he thought that Tezuka could have cancelled the match and Tezuka should never put his arm in jeopardy. I guess he was so upset partly because he was worried for Tezuka's injury, the other reason being that Tezuka was not in the best condition to take him on. Although Fuji said that they can have another match when Tezuka recovers (his arm was OK at one stage), both of them never brought up that matter again. Fuji feels that it is most probably because of the fact that he does not want to find out who is stronger so that's why he never mentioned the match again even though he has all along been interested to know who is the better player between him and Tezuka. It sure is conflicting because on one hand, you want to see who's stronger but yet you are scared to find out the truth. I'm not sure how Tezuka really feels about this (seems like more answers would be out next week) but he could have arranged for a rematch between them during the school practice matches and yet he seems to avoiding that too. Maybe he thought that it would be an insult to Fuji again if he were to go ahead with the match with that injured arm which was having problems since they were in Year 2. Or he may be having the same thoughts as Fuji about fearing a change in their friendship once the verdict is out.
That single play when Tezuka broke all the Triple Counters was simply so cool! Waku waku shimasu yo! Fuji first used Hakugei but Tezuka anticipated it and smashed the shot when he was at the net. In order to counter that smash, Fuji used Higuma Otoshi but seems like Tezuka was prepared for that since the shot was rendered useless when it got under the influence of Tezuka Zone. In order to break that spin, Fuji used Tsubame Gaeshi and yet it was not enough since Tezuka used Zero shiki to win that game. Wonderful play here! As mentioned last week, I am sure that Tezuka's serve is somewhat different from his past serves since it's definitely more powerful. What a difference it makes when his shoulder is fully healed! The game is currently in Tezuka's favour (4-2) and seems like Fuji wants to use all his strength to win Tezuka in the next episode aptly titled as Climax. It would sure fit the title since the match has been absolutely breathtaking so far. I'm sure the conclusion would be very exciting.
I just find it weird that although news is running around that Tenipuri will end at 178 episodes, there's nothing mentioned on the TV Tokyo's anime page nor Tenipuri's website. Although I am very reluctant to see Tenipuri go, I am looking forward to seeing the official notice on whether Tenipuri stays or goes after March.
Another matter I find interesting is the cover for the Tenipuri DVDs vol 39 due in April. That volume should consist of Sengoku, Fuji and Kirihara's matches BUT what are Niou and Marui doing on the cover with Kirihara? I know Sengoku, Fuji and Kirihara appeared a few volumes back in the Senbatsu arc and was sort of looking forward to seeing them together but this cover really surprises me. Niou and Marui didn't play any matches and yet they are on the cover. It's not that I have any issues with them appearing but it just feels kind of funny.
Vol 40 is Ryoma taking up the entire cover. Well, this can't be helped since his matches take up 3 episodes in that volume...I'm not complaining anyway except that from Vol 40 onwards, it should be hard to see the pictures of players from rival schools on the covers since the story is very Seigaku-focused after the Senbatsu arc. My Genichirou....
土曜日, 3月 05, 2005
Ep 174 - Tezuka Kunimitsu vs Fuji Shusuke
Subarashii!!! One of the best episodes and matches I've seen in Tenipuri!! This must be the best match since I saw Tezuka vs Atobe where I was gasping in admiration for the high tension and level of play exhibited in this match. I'm sure the next episode would be even more electrifying with the atmosphere in the first two games already reaching a climax. And there are some mysteries/discoveries thrown up in this episode which says a lot is going on in the background.
1) After Fuji's halfway-done match with Echizen in the rain, he actually had a talk with Tezuka where the latter asked him why he was holding back during the match. Fuji then confessed that he had problems going all out to win others and derived joy from getting his opponents to display their full potential. And Fuji really thought that this was going to be a problem in their quest for glory in the Nationals and asked Tezuka to take him off from the regulars squad if he finds someone better to take his place.
It is only until Fuji saw Tezuka going all out to win Atobe at the expense of his shoulder injury that he finally realized the meaning of playing to your full potential. He had thought that Tezuka was the same as him i.e. holding back in his play style but then he came to know the passionate side of Tezuka. Thus, Fuji's play style changed as he started to be more focused on victory. In a way, Tezuka brought about a change in Fuji's usually cool and composed play style so that's why he behaved the way he did during the Kirihara match. Under normal circumstances, he would never have been so worked up.
2) Fuji and Tezuka did have a match before when they were in Year 1 and the result was a complete victory for Fuji. However, something seems to be wrong with this as we see from the recollections that Fuji was quite upset over the result and grabbed Tezuka by his T-shirt. Did Tezuka go easy on Fuji or what was it that made him so angry? Why on earth did they have a match secretly? More and more questions are out there so I hope there's an answer by next week. Maybe that's why Fuji was so enthusiastic about this "rematch" in order to settle whatever scores they had with each other in the past. Besides, Tezuka is the one who comes up with the match schedules. Although he could have arranged for a match between him and Fuji much earlier, he might have deliberately saved this encounter for their last school ranking match as an conclusion to their junior high days in the tennis club.
3) Tezuka's serve in the second game seems quite different from his usual serves. Seems like he added a spin to the ball which resulted in the increase in spin and curving angle of the serve. Isn't he going to name this serve or something? Apparently, in the next episode, Triple Counters, Tezuka Zone and Zero-shiki drop shot are all going to be shown so it's really going to be a high-level match between the guys!!! I'm rooting for Tezuka! Ganbatte Tezuka-bucchou!
Read from some websites that there is going to be a new anime on 6 Apr in the Tenipuri slot as announced in some manga magazines so the last episode is most likely on 30 Apr. That would make it 178 episodes which does not fit very well in the DVD release schedule of 4 episodes per DVD. Why is it that sports anime usually do not make it beyond the Nationals Stage? Slam Dunk was like that (ended at 101 episodes even though the last match for Shohoku in the Nationals was with Sanou) and now Tenipuri is most likely to end before they show the Nationals arc. Maybe it's because of the fact that the anime is far ahead of the manga where vol 27 should be the match between Sanada and Echizen. Just hope that they can release the movie DVD soon and get Tenipuri back once the manga catches up to the Nationals arc. I wonder if Konomi-sensei will include the Senbatsu arc in the manga though...
1) After Fuji's halfway-done match with Echizen in the rain, he actually had a talk with Tezuka where the latter asked him why he was holding back during the match. Fuji then confessed that he had problems going all out to win others and derived joy from getting his opponents to display their full potential. And Fuji really thought that this was going to be a problem in their quest for glory in the Nationals and asked Tezuka to take him off from the regulars squad if he finds someone better to take his place.
It is only until Fuji saw Tezuka going all out to win Atobe at the expense of his shoulder injury that he finally realized the meaning of playing to your full potential. He had thought that Tezuka was the same as him i.e. holding back in his play style but then he came to know the passionate side of Tezuka. Thus, Fuji's play style changed as he started to be more focused on victory. In a way, Tezuka brought about a change in Fuji's usually cool and composed play style so that's why he behaved the way he did during the Kirihara match. Under normal circumstances, he would never have been so worked up.
2) Fuji and Tezuka did have a match before when they were in Year 1 and the result was a complete victory for Fuji. However, something seems to be wrong with this as we see from the recollections that Fuji was quite upset over the result and grabbed Tezuka by his T-shirt. Did Tezuka go easy on Fuji or what was it that made him so angry? Why on earth did they have a match secretly? More and more questions are out there so I hope there's an answer by next week. Maybe that's why Fuji was so enthusiastic about this "rematch" in order to settle whatever scores they had with each other in the past. Besides, Tezuka is the one who comes up with the match schedules. Although he could have arranged for a match between him and Fuji much earlier, he might have deliberately saved this encounter for their last school ranking match as an conclusion to their junior high days in the tennis club.
3) Tezuka's serve in the second game seems quite different from his usual serves. Seems like he added a spin to the ball which resulted in the increase in spin and curving angle of the serve. Isn't he going to name this serve or something? Apparently, in the next episode, Triple Counters, Tezuka Zone and Zero-shiki drop shot are all going to be shown so it's really going to be a high-level match between the guys!!! I'm rooting for Tezuka! Ganbatte Tezuka-bucchou!
Read from some websites that there is going to be a new anime on 6 Apr in the Tenipuri slot as announced in some manga magazines so the last episode is most likely on 30 Apr. That would make it 178 episodes which does not fit very well in the DVD release schedule of 4 episodes per DVD. Why is it that sports anime usually do not make it beyond the Nationals Stage? Slam Dunk was like that (ended at 101 episodes even though the last match for Shohoku in the Nationals was with Sanou) and now Tenipuri is most likely to end before they show the Nationals arc. Maybe it's because of the fact that the anime is far ahead of the manga where vol 27 should be the match between Sanada and Echizen. Just hope that they can release the movie DVD soon and get Tenipuri back once the manga catches up to the Nationals arc. I wonder if Konomi-sensei will include the Senbatsu arc in the manga though...
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