Manga Vol 31 - Kisaku!? Kikumaru no Singles

This volume completes the Higa arc at long last so that we can finally move on to the Hyotei arc in the Nationals! I must say that Higa gets on my nerves even more than Jousei Shonan which did not appear in the manga. I'm quite neutral towards Jousei actually but Higa makes my blood boil. They appear as barbarians on court and I think they really lack the grace of sportsmen by using tennis balls to hit people as and when they like. I guess Konomi-sensei might receive some backlash from Okinawan people since Higa is from Okinawa but I don't think he actually meant that people there behave like those bunch of idiots of Higa. Surely the school must belong to some place so it just happened that he chose that place...Anyway, this is simply my conjecture though so I don't know how Konomi-sensei actually came up with the plot. To be frank, other than Hirakoba Rin who gets into my good books, the rest of the members simply put me off. The captain, Kite Eishirou gives me the impression that he is just a pretender and I can't stand him looking like a sukebe ojisan when he should be a junior high student. I can't comprehend why Konomi-sensei gave him half opaque spectacles too so this makes Kite look even weirder. Their coach resembles that bald guy during the Karuizawa OVA and is such a scumbag. I'm just glad that we are finally done with this school and I certainly do not hope to see them again.

As for the matches, there's Singles 3 where Kikumaru took part in his first singles match against Kai Yuujirou. Kikumaru was having the upper hand initially since he had improved his stamina and used acrobatics play to his advantage. However, when Kai used Viking Horn (I couldn't see what he was trying to do and can't be bothered to examine the move), things started to change so Kikumaru did a doubles style' singles play which stunned everyone. And he won by a stroke of luck during the tiebreaker at 7-6. Doubles 2 wasn't explored in detail since Inui and Kaidou won pretty easily by 6-3. As for Singles 1, Tezuka makes his comeback against Kite and won by 6-4. That oyaji was said to be a koroshiya (yeah, right!) but against the mighty Tezuka who simply turned invincible immediately through this state of Hyakuren Jitoku no Kiwami which seems to be more powerful than Muga no Kyochi, Kite was powerless to do anything. Actually, from what it seems, Tezuka reacted by instinct and this makes him very powerful by counter-using the opponent's moves with increased power and precision. Anyway, there's no reason for our dearest bucchou to lose after being out of action for so long. I look forward to seeing this match in the OVA DVD to be released in March.

Another happy thing for me besides Tezuka winning his match was to see Rikkai again! OK, their matches were not featured though but seeing Genichirou and gang plus Yukimura back in the limelight is simply thrilling. Based on the match schedule, it will be no surprise that Rikkai will head to the finals to meet Seigaku since their block doesn't have any notable opponents.

The other block's competition will be stiffer since Fudomine will face Shitenhouji in the quarterfinals while Seigaku will face competition from Hyotei, their longtime arch rival. Well, I feel sorry for Hyotei since there's no reason Konomi-sensei will let Seigaku lose at this stage. The latest issue of Jump was just done with Doubles 1 where Shishido and Ootori won against Oishi and Kikumaru so that leaves Singles 1 which should involve Atobe vs Echizen. To think that I was looking forward to a repeat of Tezuka vs Atobe again...

With regards to Fudomine and Shitenhouji, for novelty's sake, Shitenhouji might face Seigaku in the semi-finals but if Konomi-sensei wants Fudomine to get a chance to face Seigaku again, the reverse might happen. I feel that Shitenhouji's chances are higher simply because they are a new rival school in the series and a lot of attention has been put on them. I doubt Konomi-sensei is just introducing them for the fun of it especially with regards to that 1st year Kinta who should face Echizen. Actually, I think Oshitari Yuushi facing his cousin in Shitenhouji might be a fun match too but the condition is that Hyotei must beat Seigaku or else both schools won't be playing each other. By the looks of it, this seems impossible.

In the end, we might just see a Seigaku vs Rikkai final which actually suits me perfectly. Either Genichirou or Yukimura vs Tezuka will be like a wish come true for me. I've been dying to see these guys playing against each other. I can only wait since the quarterfinals arc are not completed yet. Who knows how long the Atobe match is going to take? I like Atobe-sama but...the Hyotei arc has been dragging for too long though. Maybe it's time to move on.

Tenipuri Illustration Fanbook 30.5

Here's the cover of the illustration fanbook 30.5 as scanned above. It comes in a cardboard box to put the book into and features a picture of Seigaku members on the front and reverse. As for the book cover itself, it's white in colour with a logo at the top left hand corner. However, it is not entirely plain as there are silouhettes of various characters on both sides. As such, fans can actually try to guess which silouhette is for which character. I've identified a number of them but there are some which resemble that of a number of characters so I will have to take a closer look first. As my scanner could not capture the silouhettes, the image turns out to be a plain white sheet so I decided against putting the cover here. That is why only the box's images are posted.

As mentioned previously, a number of the pictures are actually old images but the new drawings towards the end of the book can be considered as the highlights of this title. For example, seeing Atobe Keigo in a white shirt with pants AND baring part of his chest since the shirt is unbuttoned should set a lot of fangirls drooling. My personal favourite is a picture of my favourite Genichirou in the formal Rikkai uniform (the winter version, not the summer type we see in the anime) sitting in class and Yagyuu also being featured in the same picture. Are they supposed to be in the same class? Anyway, anything with my favourite three which also includes Tezuka is enough to get me hyped up. Although I thought I had been taken for a ride when I saw familiar pictures in the beginning, I started to think that this is really worth buying when I saw the new pictures although I would have preferred the whole book to contain new images only.

I've finished Vol 31 of the manga which completes the Higa arc and will probably post my review within the next few days. Tezuka seems to be transformed into a god overnight...and Eiji is simply too fantastic to be described in a few words. ^__^

Received Vol 31 and Fanbook 30.5 today

At long last, I've finally received the above titles from Amazon Japan. Although I ordered them from HMV Japan initially, they were still unable to ship it 2 days past the release date so I decided to cancel the order and find them on Amazon since they could ship it within 24 hours. The shipping was much more expensive though so I think I'll probably refrain from buying books from them unless I can't find them from other sources. The cost savings they offer on DVDs though is sufficient to cover the additional shipping so it's still cheaper on the whole. I can't say the same for books though. I thought express shipping will result in better treatment of my stuff but this is just like what happened to my last order of the fanbooks 10.5 and 20.5 which were shipped by sea shipping. The packaging is spoilt yet again and it's evident that the box was opened in the first place. I wonder if it happened due to wear and tear during the shipping process or it was actually opened for checking at customs. Otherwise, I simply do not understand how a box made of stiff cardboard material can appear so rundown with dents at the edges and a depression on the top. I certainly hope that this will not happen to my DVDs as I don't expect such service after paying so much for it to be shipped by DHL.

I will finish the manga first before doing a feature. As for the Fanbook, I flipped through it and was pleasantly surprised to find some nice photos of my favourite trio i.e. Sanada, Tezuka and Atobe. Since this is an illustration book, there is nothing written in it except for lots of pictures. I've seen quite a number of them but there are also many new pictures in this book. And the packaging is quite nice so I'll probably scan it later on.

Tenipuri's new Christmas events

There are a number of events titled "Interchannel presents On The Talk" held by NEC Interchannel before Christmas where the seiyuus will meet fans at various locations.

First of all, Vol 1 is held in Aoze Shimin Centre at 12.30pm on 23 Dec where Minagawa Junko (Echizen), Okiayu Ryotaro (Tezuka), Onosaka Masaya (Momo), Kawamoto Naru (Taka-san) and Kiyasu Kohei will make appearances during the talk event. In order to qualify for the lucky draw, you would need to buy at least 2000 yen worth of Tenipuri CDs released so far which does not include the game and musical soundtracks though. For me, I have bought more than that amount to date ^__^ but I get the idea from their website that you will get the lucky draw coupon if you start to buy some of the CDs now since the promotion will only be held in Animate shops located at Ikebukuro, Shibuya, Kichijoji, Yokohama and Omiya. And if you happen to have pre-ordered CDs to be released after 27 Nov, I think you would have to present your receipts to get the coupon.

Vol 2 is held on the same day at the same venue at 5pm where Minagawa, Okiayu, Onosaka, Kawamoto and Kaida Yuki (Fuji Shuusuke) will make appearances. It will be a talk event for the audience.

The last event is "Interchannel presents 2005 Merry Christmas Baby - Seinaru Yoru ni Kuchibue Fuite" (Whistle on the holy night) held on Christmas eve. The venue will be at Aoze Shimin Centre and the event will be held from 5pm. Members to appear include Minagawa Junko (Echizen), Oura Fuyuka (Osakada Tomoka), Kimura Akiko (Tachibana An), Kusuda Toshiyuki (Shishido Ryo), Takahashi Mikako (Ryuuzaki Sakuno) plus singers like Shinbori Saori, UZA and Shioya Asakou. Besides the talk event, there will also be singing performances.

By the way, the price of the 30.5 illustration fanbook has been reduced to 1800 yen from the initial price of 2000 yen. The release date is this Friday so I'm really looking forward to receiving it with the Vol 31 manga soon!

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.