Oh wow, there has not been a post here in 11 years now
I just realized how long that is, a decade and a year.
But I just finished reading the manga tonight, all 37 volumes, and that was.....a brilliant ride. Seriously. It is the best ever sports series I have read/come across, and I have read a fair few of them (Chihayafuru, Kuroko no Basuke etc)
So I'm just going to say a few thoughts about some things in the manga.
Best character(s):
-Kid (He is so badass, the one character I liked from the get go),
-Shin.
-Hiruma
-Mamori
-Suzuna.
Best villain(s):
-Agon (Both him and Gaou are the villains with the best character development in the series)
-Gaou
-Yamato (The real ES 21).
-Habashira.
-Marco was great too. But a bit misused, which I will get into later on.
Best matches:
-
Deimon vs Shinryuuji Naga (The single best fight in the manga. Agon was such a big threat, and I am so happy that they struggled with him right till the bitter end. The Yukimitsu stuff was also emotional
.
-
Deimon vs Teikoku Gakuen: The real Eyeshield, Monta's battles with Tama. The Christmas Bowl lived up to all the hype beforehand, and I am so glad about that. It was the one game in the manga I wanted to read all in a go because Yamato was a great antagonist. 4th dimension stuff was a bit...weird though. Also that catcher walking in mid air felt like too much
-
Deimon vs Seibu Wild Gunmans: The first time Deimon lost a major match in the manga, which caught me by surprise
. The Hiruma vs Kid, Sena vs Riku, Tetsuma vs Monta matches were also awesome. Also Monta's outrage at the referee was so well done.
-Deimon vs Oujou White Knights (Round 2)- Mostly because of Sakuraba's character development. He grew up into such a great character, from someone who was wimpy in the beginning. Also, Takami vs Hiruma
The Shin vs Sena stuff was great too. This is just one of those matches that has to be in everyone's top 5.
-Japan vs America: The last match of the manga. And boy, was it something. I thought it would be boring, since the Teikoku match was too awesome. Clifford, Panther, Don.....just all of them were awesome. And seeing the characters combine in plays was awesome as heck.
Special mentions:
-
Deimon vs Kyoushin Poseidon: Kakei is so awesome. One of the lesser villains in the manga, but his personality is way too awesome. Also he was the first one who stopped the Devil Bat Ghost, which is no easy feat.
-
Deimon vs Yuuhi Guts: Emotional pay off was worth it. They also had a nice backstory.
Least favorite matches:
-
Deimon vs Bando Spiders: This was so pointless...like? They hyped up Akari as the real Eyeshield 21, only for Yamato to show up later. So like, what was the point? It felt like a way of trying to hype up the Teikoku team, but we got this with Marco later on as well. Also they lost so easily. Like at no point in the game did they feel like a real threat to Deimon.
-
Deimon vs Hakushuu Dinosaurs: This fight, I have a problem with because it was less epic than it should have been. Also Marco, like they hyped him up pre game, but after a while he stopped being the mentalist villain that he was supposed to be. Basically after Hiruma's arm was broken in that game, it stopped being epic. Gaou vs Kurita was great but I was more interested in Marco since he was so secretive.
Overall, a very solid manga. I'd give it a 9/10. Which is the highest mark I give things I like. The manga had a bit of a slow start, and the matches in the beginning were sort of boring. Like the Chameleons stuff. Or even the Taiyou Sphinxes. But once we got to the tournament.......it picked up great. And was one hell of a ride till the end.
The slice of life stuff was great too. Like the Oujou School Festival. Or even the Death March, and stuff like the Deimon Sports Festival.
Superb read. Would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a lengthy sports series to read. Inagaki is a great author, and this makes me hyped to see how Dr Stone will proceed. All the way to the finale.
I'm not the only one who recreates the teams in Madden? haha
