(CR) Giant Killing (TV)

[Kaoru Chujo]

For some reason, I didn't mind the recap parts this week as much as I did last week. Maybe I just enjoyed the rest of the episode enough to make up for it. I thought they got across Tsubaki's feelings well at the very end there, after Murakoshi spoke with him.

[KiNA]

haha.. been eaten alive by World Cup.. but still not missing any action from ETU from the last 2 episodes

So finally the match is over and ETU got their first win. TBH, I dont have any problem with the pacing .. Its justified by the story looking through Tsubaki's POV.

[kanon78]

Too bad Giant Killing won't get the same amount of episodes like captain Tsubasa.
Maybe the recent success of the Japanese team in the Worldcup (especially if they reach the quarter finals by beating Uruguay today) will keep "the illusion alive" that GK gets a longer lun/faithful adaptation.
If i recall correctly, it seems the manga does quite well in Japan.

[Blaat]

Japan is playing Paraguay today.

[kk2extreme]

Japan lost , o well, im going back from real soccer to fantasy soccer (aka back to GK catching up )

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

My guess is either 2-0 or 2-1 ETU, with their second goal coming as a result of Itagaki's recklessness.

Another winner for me!

[ddwkc]

As a Brazilian, I'm surprised of how well they handled the Brazilian Portuguese in this anime. However, I wish the VAs had better acting skills. They sounded very flat.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Originally Posted by ddwkc

As a Brazilian, I'm surprised of how well they handled the Brazilian Portuguese in this anime. However, I wish the VAs had better acting skills. They sounded very flat.

Same with every language, it seems to me (certainly the English, at least): I am delighted that they are actually going for native speakers -- even if they don't go so far as to get real actors.

By the way, I felt terrible for the guy who missed the penalty for Japan against Paraguay yesterday. The sides were more or less evenly matched, with the Japanese having more crispness and organization, and the Paraguayans a bit more invention, it seemed to me. Too bad the game was so negative. Maybe Japan's problem is a lack of players who can finish -- except from set plays.

No matter who went through, though, Spain was going to crush them. Portugal had excellent defense and good attack, and Spain still was clearly the better side. Or that's how it all looked to me, a North American who doesn't know football that well. Spain-Brazil-Germany-Netherlands-Argentina: some great teams still left in the tournament, each with their own style.

[sgwc]

Well.. In Japan, there's no penalty kicks.

[Saturn Beaver]

So, has no one watched the new episode? Maybe with the World Cup and the newest batch of summer anime, this got pushed back on everyone's schedule, I know it is in mine.

Spoiler for EP 14:

There's almost no football action in this match at all, but it focuses on the other side of ETU, parts that is rarely touched in other sports series, Yuri the PR manager and the fans. With the old fans, it seems a bit boring but it's quite possibly one of the most realistic aspect of any sports, or even any hobby. When you get older and has responsibilities and mouths to feed, you can't afford to be so enthusiastic about being a fan than you used to be. I also like the subtle touch in showing the closed shops in the neighborhood when showing the bad economy.

We also got some focus on the only girl in the club, Yuri. I really liked that she got some focus on her character, and the ending is pretty sweet too. In fact, reading this in the manga is what got me to hook up Tatsumi and Yuri, at least in my mind. The fact that she said "Such large gap? I guess it's normal nowadays" doesn't help either.

So from the preview it seems that it will now focus on Sera? And there seems to be a new player too, he seems to be replacing Sera as the sole striker. Could he be the Huntelaar for Sera's RVP in the Holland national team? Things seems to be interesting.

Oh, and one more thing. The manga hasn't got to the point where ETU faces off against Nagoya, but they already has the Yuri focus beforehand. Below spoilers are some differences between them:

Spoiler for Changes:

The main difference is the place in the timeline. In the manga, the scenes and conversation are the same, but it was before the training camp just before the game against Tokyo Victory. As such, things were worse for Yuri back then (explains her overworking a bit more) and it was snowfall instead of cherry blossoms. The game in question is a bit different as well: This time ETU was trailing 2-0 by halftime, and Tatsumi score a hat-trick for the comeback.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Yeah, pushed back a bit for me, too.

Spoiler for ep14:

But I really liked the focus on Yuri this week. Not just because I wanted to hear more Asano Masumi, and not just because I want to ship YurixTatsumi (although I do, for both their sakes), but as Saturn Beaver says, for the context in which these games are being played.

I loved the hard practice, and Tatsumi's reasoning: we're still at the bottom, so work them hard so they don't have time to feel self-satisfied.

Fascinating matches coming up tomorrow and Wednesday: will Germany miss Muller? Will they be able to exploit the Spanish back-end as well as they did England and Argentina? Will the Dutch positional play and Arjen Robben overwhelm Uruguay? Robben must be a terrible guy to have to play against: fast, smart, seems a bit nasty, and a consummate diver.

[Guardian Enzo]

Why does this series get so little post traffic? Well, screw them - I'm blogging it anyway. I know it's a soccer anime and that's not exactly a hot ticket in the otaku community, but like all good sports series this one is just as much about the people as the game. Good shows about professional sports, especially, are hard to find - and I love how GK really examines the fandom side of professional sports. The love of a sports team is a huge factor uniting communities in many countries - and the shared pain when they suck almost as much so.

[KiNA]

I think GK is unique as the perspective is not on a particular character, but on the whole team itself.. thats why in this latest episode we have a focus on the fans (well, Yuri is a fan herself with the privilege of working for the team)

For manga reader, how far is the manga itself? How about the pace of it.. For me, the current pacing are acceptable and I'm enjoying it, but I can see that some peoples prefers a faster pacing..

[Saturn Beaver]

Hmm, the manga hasn't been updated (translated) for almost three months now, they have only reached the part where they finish the match against Tokyo Victory and it took 21 chapters for that. Seeing as how complaints about the slow pace only started in the ETU vs Nagoya match, I can't really compare it yet. So far the pacing seems fine though.

[Irenicus]

Given that I'm the kind of gamer who prefers FM to Winning Eleven (FM addiction sufferer here), Giant Killing is godsend. A football show about a manager and the team he's making instead of the Totally Ace Young Genius Striker? By the gods! It's like animated FM!

Yet even my default adoration for the show is withstanding heavy pressure with the recent issues. It's not really all that slow, I think the pacing of the show itself is just fine -- though I always want more at the end of every episode. It's just...the flashbacks give me flashbacks to Inuyasha flashbacks.

[KiNA]

^ Hah.. FM addict too .. You should try Sick As A Parrot(yes, thats the name of the game) as well.. It make FM feels like well.. the current CM

I can stomach the flashback ... maybe I have a higher tolerance after watching Bleach and Naruto

[Irenicus]

Originally Posted by KiNA

^ Hah.. FM addict too .. You should try Sick As A Parrot(yes, thats the name of the game) as well.. It make FM feels like well.. the current CM

*googles right away*

Oh my.

I can stomach the flashback ... maybe I have a higher tolerance after watching Bleach and Naruto

That's exactly why I dropped those shows so early in their run. =_=

[kk2extreme]

Spain won, now going back to watch some anime football

[Guardian Enzo]

Spoiler for 15:

Our new character is quite a character. Poor Sera - a forward who isn't scoring is always a basket case. I'll be interested to see how this conflict plays out - Sera is really only starting because of Natsumi's injury, and most of ETU's goals have been coming from the midfield. Might Tatsumi switch to a 4-4-2 now that Natsumi has returned - or is Sera headed back to the bench?

[KiNA]

Heh, after peoples complaining about the extended match arc last time, we got 1 full episode devoided of any action last week, and 1 tiny snippet of action this week. Served you guys right for complaining!

Anyway, was waiting for the subs to surface before commenting, and besides, spend a lot of time sleeping to make do for the World Cup ...

Now, where was I, ah yes, the episode ..

Spoiler:

We are introduced to a new face today in a form of a player that just got back into the story. As I said before, GK is about ETU, and this arc again emphasized on another facet of team management, competition for place in the team. Since the very beginning, there are no conflict for the places in the team, yes, we have the old team and then we have Tatsumi's new team.. but it has been never been touched about in depth before.. With Natsu's addition we have a competition. No longer can the player be slacking up without fear of losing their starting place, we *did* have Tsubaki commenting it before, but without a character that provide an alternative to him, we knew that those are just thoughts, Kuro's arc as well, but its also clear that Kuro are the first choice, he can come in and take back his place easily, and he did ..but now its real.. Sera really facing a competition which might cost him in starting position. This also present a dilemma for Tatsumi, will he stick to his formation, or is he willing to tweak formation to include both ...

Anyway, can anyone who familiar with Japan's football scene explained the cup format there.. At first I thought its sudden death (similar's to England's FA Cup - you lose, you out), but Yuri's comment in this episode kinda made me go