(L) Cross game

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by poko-kun

Spoiler for cross game #51:

uh...oh... no CG. sorry ;__________; I still can't get used to it; Sunday without CG.

I had it in my head this morning that i'd be spending today trying to avoid spoilers for this weeks episode.

[Willen]

It was pretty interesting to see how each character handled the tragedy. I think that the fact that the older family members still have the memories of the death of Mrs. Tsukishima it must have been a bigger blow to lose Wakaba. Momiji I would assume would have been to young to remember her mother's passing.

I think I mentioned many posts back (recap episode) that when Momiji passed Wakaba in age (and swimming accomplishments), it was an interesting situation. It was like she was trying to follow in Wakaba's footsteps. Maybe in an effort to get closer to her sister? A bit like Touch in a way.

Oh, and it's starting to feel odd not having a new Cross Game episode to watch this week.

[speedpop]

I can't believe it's finally over. So much has happened throughout the year that this has been airing, for good or bad. Yet Cross Game has always been there to excite me, worry me, make me well up with emotions whenever "Wakaba moments" began, or be riddled with goosebumps when Ko ups the ante at the mound. My viewing times were varied; watching it as soon as an episode was available, to lying down in my bed on a cold night and slamming through 10 episodes at a time. Very fond memories, all of them.

I'm just glad to have been able to watch through it and to witness Adachi's characters come alive through all their highs and lows. Better yet, I am glad that Cross Game will always be around for me to go through again and enjoy it all with a smile on my face.

[Guardian Enzo]

That's to the modern miracle of EBay, Kitamura Kou as a Hanshin Tiger will soon be gracing my kitchen...

[Kirarakim]

Okay thinking about it one disappointment I did have is they never changed Momiji's hairstyle. As she got older I would have liked to see her in something other than pigtails.

[babohtea]

AHHHH. Just finished Cross Game ! Just joining this discussion, but I haven't said anything about it because I was too busy, well, watching it for all this time. So, what's going in here (forum) right now?

[Haak]

Originally Posted by babohtea

So, what's going in here (forum) right now?

We're mourning.

[babohtea]

Originally Posted by Haak

We're mourning.

Huh. I guess so.. I didn't really feel that sad that it ended. I mean, as long as it was a good ending. There has to be an ending, right?

I've gotta say my favorite character was probably Akaishi. I like all of the characters honestly (you were right, they were all very round ), but Akaishi stood out to me in many ways.

Can somebody help me understand this portion of the story? I didn't get the significance of Kou lying... I mean in general it just went straight over my head in character development. I know he was a good lier, but I don't know what this says about who he is/his interaction with the other characters.

Basically, I think it has to be more significant than what I perceived it to be, can anybody help me out?

[Willen]

I'm reminiscing.

IMO, Kou's lying is a defensive mechanism but in this case, in relation to Aoba, it's for her benefit. Up until this point, it's been unspoken that Kou likes Aoba and vice-versa. Even when Kou confesses to Aoba, he prefaces it with the "is a lie OK?" comment. My belief is that he does this to protect Aoba's feelings. If he was unable to win the game or throw a 160kmph pitch Aoba has an excuse to blame him instead of herself (i.e., she didn't train him properly, or her advice about his pitching motion was incorrect, etc.). This also allows Aoba to brush off his confession if she feels unable to reciprocate without feelings of guilt (i.e., his confession was a bad joke and not to be taken seriously so she should ignore it).

Kou's lying also plays a big role in Akaishi's on-field performance. He's able to convince Akaishi that Akane's hospital stay is no big deal so he's not distracted away from the game. His ability to deceive, or at least obscure the truth, extends to Aoba in this case also. He's able to at least soften the blow of the news about Akane to Aoba and get her to participate in the deception to Akaishi.

Not to mention the earlier covering up that he was training as a pitcher for the farm team. Poor Senda.

[Guardian Enzo]

Best exchange of episode two:

Aoba: This shirt is way too big for me!
Kou: Somehow you'll learn to live with it.

[Pellissier]

My favourite line in ep.2 is Kou saying: "where's that super kind girl that was here just a moment ago?!"

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Best exchange of episode two:

Aoba: This shirt is way too big for me!
Kou: Somehow you'll learn to live with it.

About that scene, I always felt something "odd" in the anime version because did Aoba actually undress with Kou there? The anime make it seem Kou just turns away not watching, but now that it's all over I took the manga and it's different there, and also interesting.

Leaving spoiler tags for people who wants to read the manga later.

Spoiler for that scene in the manga:

In the manga Aoba immediately takes off the shirt and washes the stain. So she remains in her bra and has absolutely no problems to be seen by Kou; Kou is a tad surprised at first but he soon returns his normal self, he gives her the big clean shirt and still she doesn't care a bit to be seen by him in her bra. The anime connects with Aoba who's putting the clean shirt while Senda comes in the room, in the manga you still see glimpses of her bra while she's dressing.

Certainly the sequence was toned down in the anime due to the fact it aired on sunday 10 AM. In the manga I think it was meant that Aoba couldn't care less of Kou to the point that even if she were seen half-naked by him she wouldn't consider it a problem.

Later in the series, as a part of her development, we'll see that she'll also care of not to be seen by Kou (example the bath scene when they were at the mountain)

On a side note, I'll also support Cross Game in some ways. I'm not usually a manga reader but I want to make an exception here, the manga is ongoing in Italy and 12 volumes out of 17 have been released so far; since usually a volume comes out every two months it should finish in a year or so. Obviously I plan to buy the whole series sooner or later, my idea is to get all the volumes just before or meanwhile the last one goes on sale.

[BetoJR]

Enjoyed my easter holiday watching this series all over again. Oh, God, I'm gonna miss this one. Thankfully, the manga is coming out and I'll be able to hold on to some sort of phisical evidence of it - because my level of japanese still hardly justifies purchasing the original DVD's or Blu-Rays...

The first and the last episodes still get to me, every single time.

[babohtea]

Originally Posted by Willen

I'm reminiscing.

IMO, Kou's lying is a defensive mechanism but in this case, in relation to Aoba, it's for her benefit. Up until this point, it's been unspoken that Kou likes Aoba and vice-versa. Even when Kou confesses to Aoba, he prefaces it with the "is a lie OK?" comment. My belief is that he does this to protect Aoba's feelings. If he was unable to win the game or throw a 160kmph pitch Aoba has an excuse to blame him instead of herself (i.e., she didn't train him properly, or her advice about his pitching motion was incorrect, etc.). This also allows Aoba to brush off his confession if she feels unable to reciprocate without feelings of guilt (i.e., his confession was a bad joke and not to be taken seriously so she should ignore it).

Kou's lying also plays a big role in Akaishi's on-field performance. He's able to convince Akaishi that Akane's hospital stay is no big deal so he's not distracted away from the game. His ability to deceive, or at least obscure the truth, extends to Aoba in this case also. He's able to at least soften the blow of the news about Akane to Aoba and get her to participate in the deception to Akaishi.

Not to mention the earlier covering up that he was training as a pitcher for the farm team. Poor Senda.

Hmm. And the part where he said "I like you too, Senda." I think what you're saying makes sense, but I still think there's more to it.

Maybe when he says "Is a lie okay?" is when he actually says the truth he's normally too embarrassed to say?

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Pellissier

My favourite line in ep.2 is Kou saying: "where's that super kind girl that was here just a moment ago?!"


About that scene, I always felt something "odd" in the anime version because did Aoba actually undress with Kou there? The anime make it seem Kou just turns away not watching, but now that it's all over I took the manga and it's different there, and also interesting.

Leaving spoiler tags for people who wants to read the manga later.

Spoiler for that scene in the manga:

In the manga Aoba immediately takes off the shirt and washes the stain. So she remains in her bra and has absolutely no problems to be seen by Kou; Kou is a tad surprised at first but he soon returns his normal self, he gives her the big clean shirt and still she doesn't care a bit to be seen by him in her bra. The anime connects with Aoba who's putting the clean shirt while Senda comes in the room, in the manga you still see glimpses of her bra while she's dressing.

Certainly the sequence was toned down in the anime due to the fact it aired on sunday 10 AM. In the manga I think it was meant that Aoba couldn't care less of Kou to the point that even if she were seen half-naked by him she wouldn't consider it a problem.

Later in the series, as a part of her development, we'll see that she'll also care of not to be seen by Kou (example the bath scene when they were at the mountain)

It is toned down, but I think the anime gives the exact same impression - at least it did for me. I never get the sense that Kou turned his head - it seemed clear to me that she took her shirt off in front of Kou, and clear that it didn't faze him one little bit. I got the exact same message out of it that you did - there's so much familiarity between them that modesty doesn't enter it and also, at this stage they're still basically little kids when the other is around. If only Aoba knew what Kou was really thinking!

[physics223]

Here was my take on the series written up about a month ago. I'm just really glad Aoba initiated the confession.

I think I have a softer impression on Aoba now that I've rewatched the show. She's a very complex character and the series is full of subtlety.

[poko-kun]

Originally Posted by physics223

I think I have a softer impression on Aoba now that I've rewatched the show. She's a very complex character and the series is full of subtlety.

I don't know why some people dislike Aoba. To me, she is wonderful and lovable character, not a plain-nadesico type. (which is kinda boring).

[Pellissier]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

It is toned down, but I think the anime gives the exact same impression - at least it did for me. I never get the sense that Kou turned his head - it seemed clear to me that she took her shirt off in front of Kou, and clear that it didn't faze him one little bit.

Probably because it was just episode 2, the first where we started to really know Aoba, I've always been quite unsure on how to decipher that scene. Because the first time I saw it I was more for thinking: she hates it so much and yet she doesn't care to undress in front of him? I mean, the scene is inside a context where she first hits him in the face then screams all of her hate for him. Consider that at point of time our knownledge of their past relationship was close to zero. Even now, I'd say I can easily read that scene in the anime just because I know the final outcome.

Originally Posted by poko-kun

I don't know why some people dislike Aoba. To me, she is wonderful and lovable character, not a plain-nadesico type. (which is kinda boring).

For what I've always read and gathered, Aoba gained several minus points in the very beginning, for her excessively rude behaviour towards Kou. I remember people saying they didn't like her for that, or other people saying Aoba was an interesting character but too outwardly mean.

I also took some time before starting to like her, around episode 5, where she's shown the first signs of "melting".

[Sackett]

Originally Posted by Willen

I'm reminiscing.

IMO, Kou's lying is a defensive mechanism but in this case, in relation to Aoba, it's for her benefit. Up until this point, it's been unspoken that Kou likes Aoba and vice-versa. Even when Kou confesses to Aoba, he prefaces it with the "is a lie OK?" comment. My belief is that he does this to protect Aoba's feelings. If he was unable to win the game or throw a 160kmph pitch Aoba has an excuse to blame him instead of herself (i.e., she didn't train him properly, or her advice about his pitching motion was incorrect, etc.). This also allows Aoba to brush off his confession if she feels unable to reciprocate without feelings of guilt (i.e., his confession was a bad joke and not to be taken seriously so she should ignore it).

Kou's lying also plays a big role in Akaishi's on-field performance. He's able to convince Akaishi that Akane's hospital stay is no big deal so he's not distracted away from the game. His ability to deceive, or at least obscure the truth, extends to Aoba in this case also. He's able to at least soften the blow of the news about Akane to Aoba and get her to participate in the deception to Akaishi.

Not to mention the earlier covering up that he was training as a pitcher for the farm team. Poor Senda.

It's also about the fact that Kou has been lying ever since Wakaba died. Acting like he's okay, when inside he's still grieving terribly.

Originally Posted by Pellissier

Probably because it was just episode 2, the first where we started to really know Aoba, I've always been quite unsure on how to decipher that scene. Because the first time I saw it I was more for thinking: she hates it so much and yet she doesn't care to undress in front of him? I mean, the scene is inside a context where she first hits him in the face then screams all of her hate for him. Consider that at point of time our knownledge of their past relationship was close to zero. Even now, I'd say I can easily read that scene in the anime just because I know the final outcome.

I just assumed it meant that Aoba might "hate" Kou but that they've known each other so long he's more like a brother that she hates then a person outside her family.

[Nosauz]

Originally Posted by Pellissier

For what I've always read and gathered, Aoba gained several minus points in the very beginning, for her excessively rude behaviour towards Kou. I remember people saying they didn't like her for that, or other people saying Aoba was an interesting character but too outwardly mean.

I also took some time before starting to like her, around episode 5, where she's shown the first signs of "melting".

But isn't Aoba's behavior quite understandable? Like guys, when you get a significant other, that person tends to usurp time that you use to have with your friends, and I'd assume the veiwers would understand Aoba's quite visible disdain for kou as being a resultant of those type of feelings, and the fact that Aoba has repressed feelings about the "fated" couple, and her place in that relationship.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by poko-kun

I don't know why some people dislike Aoba. To me, she is wonderful and lovable character, not a plain-nadesico type. (which is kinda boring).

I admit I didn't really like Aoba at first, and it probably took 10-15 eps before I really warmed up to her. Without any context as to why she acted the way she did, what was obvious was that she was being quite mean towards an extremely likable and obviously kind-hearted boy. In typical Adachi style, of course, the subtle layers of her personality are peeled away like layers of an onion and by the end, I adored her as a character (though never as much as Kou).