Character Amadeus

[Kaoz]

So, Amadeus. Thinking about it, we don't really know a lot about the guy even after his match, but we've learned some potentially interesting facts about him that could be expanded upon in the future:

• Grew up in a war zone.
• Met a pro at a young age.
• Faced Byoudouin two years ago, after Japan lost against France.

One thing that's been bothering me for a while is the fact that Konomi hasn't given us a first name for Amadeus. So far he's unique in that regard. Medanore might be the same, but he hasn't been formally introduced yet and only mentioned here and there, so it's still a bit different. What I'm wondering is if Amadeus might not be his real name, but more of a "stage name" of sorts.

Pursuing this line of thought a little further, why did he start calling himself Amadeus? If this is a trait unique to him, there should be some reason for it. One potential theory that came to my mind is that Amadeus was the name of the pro he met as a kid. Maybe something happened to that pro that forced him into early retirement and now Amadeus wants to succeed him in some way.

I also wonder if Amadeus sought out Byoudouin (in which case: why? Byoudouin's performance at the WC was less than stellar after all) or if it was the other way around or maybe they met by chance. But if Amadeus initiated the confrontation, maybe Byoudouin also has some connection to that pro?

Anyway, use this thread to discuss anything related to Amadeus.

 

[ChinkyCandie]

Interesting theory. I think Amadeus and Byodoin fought at the group league. Byodoin won because of GS. Broke Amadeus' mother's racket. The racket was Amadeus' most prized tennis equipment that he had to get another one. Flew to Japan then fought Byodoin again but the conclusion of the match was never made.

 

[Kaoz]

There are a few problems with that idea. First of all, Byoudouin said that he had played Amadeus "once" before, meaning there shouldn't have been a rematch of any kind. But beyond that, he also said that their match happened around 2 years ago - this should've made it impossible for the two of them to face each other in the group league or the WC at all, really. After all, it's likely that both France and Switzerland were already seeded teams at that point and since Japan was in the same group as France that year, they couldn't have been in the same group as the Swiss too.

From the one single panel we saw of Byoudouin from that match, we can also conclude that they couldn't have faced each other in the Pre-WC since Byoudouin already had longer hair when they played.

 

[ChinkyCandie]

Maybe when Byodoin traveled to Switzerland then?

 

[Hardy]

Byoudouin travelling to Switzerland could be likely.

I got a bit too focused on Byoudouin's injury thinking about this (that perhaps Amadeus wants his revenge not only because of his defeat but the way it happenned, and it being against an injured player sounds fitting). If Amadeus had been in front of his peers against an injured player... yeah I can understand his feelings.

I can strongly get behind the pro's name being Amadeus and the current one using it as a stage name, it's very odd that Konomi intentionally chose to never mention the full name of such an important player.

 

[Kaoz]

Byoudouin traveling to Switzerland seems plausible to me, from what we know so far it makes more sense than to think Amadeus went to Japan at least.

 

[Seakay]

Do people feel that Amadeus will be the major opponent at the end of the World Cup, leading Switzerland against the Japanese in a rematch?

When we first saw the bracket and Ryoma still played with the USA, the assumed semi-finals for me were Germany vs Japan and USA vs Switzerland. Japan gets its rematch against Germany, USA proves it strength against Switzerland, then Ryoma rejoins Japan to play against Ryoga in the finals. But with both Ryoma and Ryoga leaving the USA team, what's the narrative role of Ralph, Obando, Kiko, and their teammates then? They could still be the finals opponent but without Ryoga seems a weird choice. I doubt he'd go to the Swiss, since he could still face Japan in the finals with the USA team. Maybe Ryoga rejoins Japan too but there's already too many HSers and MSers there with so few matches.

I feel Japan vs Germany will be their true test in the semi-finals but why not save it for the finals then? Germany could've easily been place on the other side of the bracket, but instead we have the #2 team as the last boss. That makes me feel something else is being planned, and there's more to Amadeus. Maybe his history with Byodoin goes deeper then a rematch.

One farfetched possibility is that the Swiss having been recruiting international talent with Amadeus's charsima and will use them in the finals. That echoes pack to the Nationals final, where I believe something similar was being planned with Nagoya but Rikkaidai returned instead because of their popularity.

 

[Kaoz]

Do people feel that Amadeus will be the major opponent at the end of the World Cup, leading Switzerland against the Japanese in a rematch?

Define "lead." If you mean as a captain, sure. If you mean as S1, personally I'd disagree.

When we first saw the bracket and Ryoma still played with the USA, the assumed semi-finals for me were Germany vs Japan and USA vs Switzerland. Japan gets its rematch against Germany, USA proves it strength against Switzerland, then Ryoma rejoins Japan to play against Ryoga in the finals. But with both Ryoma and Ryoga leaving the USA team, what's the narrative role of Ralph, Obando, Kiko, and their teammates then? They could still be the finals opponent but without Ryoga seems a weird choice. I doubt he'd go to the Swiss, since he could still face Japan in the finals with the USA team. Maybe Ryoga rejoins Japan too but there's already too many HSers and MSers there with so few matches.

There was an update to the bracket in the last chapter. Switzerland vs USA is now in the quarter finals and the winner faces Spain in the semis.

Ryoga rejoining Japan shouldn't be possible since the registration deadline for the main draw ended before the first round began and we know all the HSers on the Japanese team already. I wouldn't say there's no reason for him to pick Switzerland (or Spain) over America though. Sure, they're all on the same side of the bracket, but if the big 4 still have an edge over the US when taking Ryoga and Ryoma out of the picture, it means Switzerland and Spain are more likely to reach the finals, so why not go with the odds?

One farfetched possibility is that the Swiss having been recruiting international talent with Amadeus's charsima and will use them in the finals. That echoes pack to the Nationals final, where I believe something similar was being planned with Nagoya but Rikkaidai returned instead because of their popularity.

Correct on Nagoya. As far as I know, Konomi ultimately went with Rikkai because he thought it'd be more interesting, though popularity may have been a factor as well.

I used to think the same thing on Amadeus' charisma. I've since changed my opinion and figured it's supposed to be a synonym for talent in this case, but it's also possible that both ideas apply. If we're being very generous, we could trace the Swiss characters we saw in the group league back to a number of different countries:
- Amadeus: South African
- Federer: Swiss-German
- Lambiel: Swiss-French (I think)
- Pug: American
- Nouvel: Canadian

 

[Seakay]

Define "lead." If you mean as a captain, sure. If you mean as S1, personally I'd disagree.

I still see Amadeus as the captain/leader, yes. He's my default S1 for now until something or someone else happens. Ryoma is his obvious opponent, if it is truly the last match of the series. I believe you mentioned in another thread about Byodoin being injured during/after the Germany match, so that's one reason why Ryoma would take Byodoin's place. Someone could bump Amadeus out of S1 granted, and if it is Ryoga vs Ryoma in S1 then, who would play Amadeus in S2 then? Assuming Byodoin's out, maybe Tokugawa or Tanegashima.

There was an update to the bracket in the last chapter

Oh, I missed that then. If Spain's a semi-finalist, then I wouldn't be surprised if we saw them or just Medanore relatively soon, probably after the France match. To be honest, Switzerland vs Spain is an odd semi-final choice for me though. I preferred the original Germany vs Japan and Swizterland vs USA pairings, with Ryoma rejoining Japan for the finals.

it means Switzerland and Spain are more likely to reach the finals, so why not go with the odds?

My main problem with that is it makes all the USA characters rather pointless, doesn't it? If USA just loses in the quarter-finals to the Swiss, that doesn't accomplish much for the story. We don't need to show the strength of the Swiss, since we know they are #2 and already defeated Japan once prior. Granted, maybe a Swiss victory would allow them to show off more players for the finals. We could see the other top Singles players of the Swiss that way.

I guess we could also have Swiss and USA match ending with S1 having Ryoga defeat Ralph, just for the surprise factor.

If we're being very generous, we could trace the Swiss characters we saw in the group league back to a number of different countries:

I also think Amadeus's Charisma just refers to his talent too. Would having all the international talent been brought up before the group match? My idea is unlikely but Q.P. mentioned how much of a threat the Swiss team was, I assumed they still have ace(s) up their sleeve and we didn't see their full strength earlier, even if they did defeat japan 3-0.

 

[Kaoz]

Someone could bump Amadeus out of S1 granted, and if it is Ryoga vs Ryoma in S1 then, who would play Amadeus in S2 then?

Besides Byoudouin, Tokugawa and Kintarou are my top picks for facing Amadeus. Tokugawa because he's the next no. 1 and it'd be like passing the baton. Kintarou because we know most of the characters Japan is going to face in the semis and finals (unless Konomi ends up going with Spain over both the Swiss and Americans) and it doesn't seem like many of those have issues that Kintarou could relieve them of.

My main problem with that is it makes all the USA characters rather pointless, doesn't it? If USA just loses in the quarter-finals to the Swiss, that doesn't accomplish much for the story. We don't need to show the strength of the Swiss, since we know they are #2 and already defeated Japan once prior. Granted, maybe a Swiss victory would allow them to show off more players for the finals. We could see the other top Singles players of the Swiss that way.

I guess we could also have Swiss and USA match ending with S1 having Ryoga defeat Ralph, just for the surprise factor.

Well, kind of and kind of not? When you get down to it, during all the time Ryoma was with them, we got to somewhat know four HSers and not a single MSer. We got some more names, but those guys didn't do anything and didn't interact with Ryoma. So unfortunately they're barely more than a fancy England.

As for why Switzerland faces them, depending on what Konomi does it'd still make sense:

• We can see characters we didn't get to see in the group league.
• Even though Switzerland already defeated Japan, seeing them take down two other top 5 teams still gives them more credit for the finals, especially if they end up struggling a little. If you recall, Rikkai didn't really have any problems during the nationals and almost all the teams that the manga hyped up were on Seigaku's side, so Konomi might've wanted to balance that out a bit more this time around.
  
  You could e.g. suppose that Ralph is about as strong as Camus and Medanore about as strong as Volk and then you have a pretty even bracket. I also really like the idea of Ryoga taking on Ralph and it could give us some insight into his character.

Would having all the international talent been brought up before the group match?

Not necessarily. Unlike with Greece and Australia, we didn't even get to see Switzerland's remaining two singles, so there's clearly some things we don't know about them yet.

 

[Hardy]

Amadeus doesn't feel final boss-ish (with his personal grudge going on, you could even say he is a parallel to Sanada) and with the whole Ryoga story going on, the latter could very well be the one with that role.

I feel that the Swiss will only keep their main doubles pair and Amadeus in their line-up. The line-up could look like something like:

-New Player
-New Pair (perhaps we'll see this in Switzerland vs USA against Dodo/Kiko?)
-Amadeus
-Pair we saw
-Ryoga.

Saw a theory once that said that Amadeus could recruit players from other teams thanks to his charisma (mainly, players that had already been eliminated like JJ or Zeus), then the person went a bit overboard and added Medanore and Ralph to the mix, lol.

 

[Seakay]

so Konomi might've wanted to balance that out a bit more this time around.

That's actually a good point which I glossed over. It does feel much more of an actual tournament with strong teams we know the protagonists (Japan) won't actually face. Unlike the Nationals, where, as you mentioned, much of the focus was only on Seigaku's path to the finals.