2010-10-21, 14:57 | Link #3323 |
Athletic girls are sugoi!
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Texas
Age: 47
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If I had not seen this recommended in the [Girl Power] thread, I likely would have never heard of it. With 2 days off I watched it till the end because I could not stop - it was that brilliant. Its very rare for a series to have this many episodes and keep me captivated to the very last episode. There were three things about Cross Game that earned my appreciation: featured two athletes as the romantic couple; balanced Ko's and Aoba's baseball inspirations fairly equally; and offered a very likable, mature, perceptive, loyal and relevant cast.
Although an athlete, I never looked into the sports genre; and the only romance to have a sports angle I ever watched was Lovely Complex. A lot of us athletes, whether male or female, are attracted to and seek relationships with other athletes. It goes without saying that I was very pleased to notice a series that catered to that type of relationship. From reading the synopsis on ANN, I anticipated that Aoba's athleticism and inspirations would have been casually represented. On the contrary, not only did they give Aoba plenty of moments to showcase her unbelievable talents, but her involvement and influence with Ko was key to his interest in the sport and development as a pitcher. I was very delighted to see that they treated Aoba as a serious athlete. There are very few casts who I end up truly liking. Thankfully, the roles given to each supporting character really allowed them to demonstrate their most admirable qualities. The boys not only showed strong support for one another on the baseball field, but also friendship off the field. For instance, even though Yuhei confessed to Aoba, he never pursued a relationship with her out of awareness of Ko's and Aoba's real feelings for each other. Similarly, Osamu did the same thing when he felt that Akane would favor being with Ko over him. The support that the other female players gave Aoba, and the bonds they made as friends and fellow athletes, was great to see as well. In general, most of the supporting cast were introduced and used so well that they seemed just as important to the story as Ko and Aoba - a rare treat in terms of character development. Even though I'm not fond of romances that do not blossom until the final episode, I was happy with how things progressed between Ko and Aoba as it was believable. Afterall, liking two siblings is one thing, but how do you go about showing your feelings for one sibling after the other has died. Throughout most of the series, I believe this led to both Ko and Aoba not coming together out of respect for Wakaba. I suppose its up to one's interpretation as to when Aoba actually began having feelings for Ko. There are certainly a lot of scenes that could suggest several plausible time frames. To wrap things up: Because I was so impressed with Cross Game, its been added to my all-time favorite list. I'm even ordering the box set and will consider showing this to my 9yr old niece and 8yr old nephew [both play sports and love baseball] as I think it would be appropriate enough for their age.
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Last edited by Mairsile; 2010-10-21 at 15:08. |
2010-11-06, 20:47 | Link #3325 |
Seishu's Ace
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Kobe, Japan
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I've slowed down as I neared the end of my second viewing of this show - wanting to stretch it out for as long as possible, I suppose. I actually gave myself a two-week hiatus between 46 and 47 ("Is a Lie Alright?") Pretty damn funny, since that's exactly what happened live - maybe I subconsciously did it for that reason. Looking back on the posts now, I remember what torture those two weeks were after that brutal PV at the end of 46. But what a payoff - 47 was one of the most emotionally intense episodes of any series I've ever seen.
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2010-11-15, 17:57 | Link #3326 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
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Volume 1 finally showed up in my local store and I bought it today.
So far I am loving it just to hold it in my hand make me happy, I may not put it down for the rest of today problems I had with the VIZ edition... Spoiler for Volume one issues:
other than that a great read
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Last edited by GrimJack; 2010-11-22 at 17:35. |
2010-11-24, 23:52 | Link #3327 |
Seishu's Ace
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Kobe, Japan
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Well, I finished my re-airing tonight. Interestingly, it took about seven months - and that involved a lot of pacing on my part. I only rarely allowed myself the luxury of two or more episodes a week, and that mostly over the first 20 eps or so. I really wanted to make this last as long as I could - though I have no doubt I'll be watching the series again.
To my complete lack of surprise I loved it just as much the second time. In fact, I was surprised by how little my foreknowledge of future events changed my perception of the series - all the same moments hit me hard the second time around. No question, the best ep of the series? 47 - "Is a Lie Alright?" Not just the best ep of a great series, but one of the most emotionally-charged of any series I can recall. As for the ending, I still loved it - I think anything would have been a slight return to Earth after 47, but it was pretty close to just right - all the way down to the piano soundtrack and the way it was utilized. If a series I know like family can leave me feeling satisfied in knowing the finale is the last I'll see of it, that constitutes a great ending in my book. If you haven't watched this series yet, please do so immediately!
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2010-12-20, 17:11 | Link #3328 | |
Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
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Quote:
Roughly three days. Spoiler for ♥:
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2010-12-21, 03:15 | Link #3332 | |
Beautiful fighter.
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: England, UK
Age: 37
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Quote:
Interesting. Do you guys fancy doing a weekly rewatch together?
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Tags |
baseball, drama, romance, school life, shounen, sports |
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