Area no Kishi

[KiraYamatoFan]

Originally Posted by Toukairin

Finally, the moment that was long expected has arrived.

Spoiler for Chapter 497:

Kakeru and Nana have one last 1v1 match in that park. Some habits just keep carrying on and on.

Finally, Kakeru confesses to Nana, who then replies that Kakeru was the one she always had her eyes on ever since they were children. This confession leads to this panel:

Spoiler for big picture:

Afterwards, Kakeru and co. graduate from high school.

Next week should see the conclusion of the manga. It's a real shame that we won't be able to see a full arc on the Olympic campaign.

The wait sure has been a very long one. There are times I wished this to happen a lot earlier than this. I'm still glad that they did.

I read that the author wants to add a sequel to Get Backers, and thus why Area no Kishi is ending soon.

[KiraYamatoFan]

So, it is all over.

Chapter 498 (FINAL)

Spoiler for Chapter 498:

-Another time skip in which Kakeru has gained a few inches in height.
-Japan beats Brazil 3-2.
-The new Japan team is full of players who are either in Kakeru's age group or a little older.
-Kakeru and Nana are already engaged to be married.
-Coach Iwaki and Dr. Mine have a kid.
-The manga ends on a kickoff against Germany.

I will not lie when I say that the ending was rushed, as it is the case for several mangakas out there. The confession and the kiss are fine where they are in the timeline of the previous chapter, but those should have marked the start of a new adventure to discover.

There was plenty of time and space to create a full arc that would have covered the entire tournament the last chapter referred to. With the 2018 FIFA World Cup coming just around the corner, writing about a tournament would have been a good way to cash in with the growing interest in international men's football.

It has been a nice ride, but there could and should have been more.

[Kazu-kun]

I feel like they dropped the ball with Seven. After she lost in the world cup (to Germany I think), I thought she was gonna bounce back and have a rematch at some point, but it never happened. That was pretty disappointing.

Overall, it was a pretty mediocre manga. It wasted like 100 chapters in characters nobody cares, and neglected the ones we did care about.

[Toukairin]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

I feel like they dropped the ball with Seven. After she lost in the world cup (to Germany I think), I thought she was gonna bounce back and have a rematch at some point, but it never happened. That was pretty disappointing.

I don't think we are alone to share that feeling. Considering that the next big tournament after the Women's World Cup usually is the Olympic tournament, the window was already there for a rematch between Nana and that German duo. And whoever says Olympics also means U23 men's teams competing in their own tournament in parallel to the women's tournament. Kakeru and his friends should have seen plenty of action in there as well.

The fact that the author forgot about the Olympics is extremely disappointing. It was a missed opportunity of epic proportions. I also wanted to see Kakeru and Nana go home with gold medals around their necks at the very end.

[ImperialFlameGod8190]

I'll be honest i was into Area No Kishi early on but let's be honest soccer stories aren't exactly the most enthralling thing and the only mystery IMO was how long till he confessed and well that's that.

[Toukairin]

Originally Posted by ImperialFlameGod8190

I'll be honest i was into Area No Kishi early on but let's be honest soccer stories aren't exactly the most enthralling thing and the only mystery IMO was how long till he confessed and well that's that.

I beg to differ. Captain Tsubasa and Giant Killing did a great job depicting various aspects of soccer before Area no Kishi arrived.

When Area no Kishi arrived, a few concepts were promising though. For instance, I was interested in knowing how Kakeru would have to deal with his own personal pressure of carrying out his dead brother's dreams, how Kakeru would have to deal with the constant comparisons with his brother when virtually everyone is making those comparisons, and what kind of difference a very talented female player/protagonist would make in helping the protagonist grow.

[ImperialFlameGod8190]

Originally Posted by Toukairin

I beg to differ. Captain Tsubasa and Giant Killing did a great job depicting various aspects of soccer before Area no Kishi arrived.

When Area no Kishi arrived, a few concepts were promising though. For instance, I was interested in knowing how Kakeru would have to deal with his own personal pressure of carrying out his dead brother's dreams, how Kakeru would have to deal with the constant comparisons with his brother when virtually everyone is making those comparisons, and what kind of difference a very talented female player/protagonist would make in helping the protagonist grow.

fair enough i guess to me sports stories are just dull granted i gave P.O.T and Kuroko's basketball a chance for a while