Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Entry 007: "Eyeshield 21" Ep. 46-60



Dear Internet,

                "Eyeshield 21" and all that stuff.  Do I really need to tell you that it is not over yet? 

                The show continues through the Christmas Bowl, which is nice but it is moving slowly.  From episodes 46 to 60, the show goes through four and a half games.  Three of these are the Devil Bat's, one for the White Knights, and one is for the Chameleons.  Now this might seem like a lot of bang for your buck with a match completed on average every three episodes, but it actually feels a bit unnecessary and is attempting to stretch out the tournament.  


                The first match for the Devil Bats is against a team that is composed entirely of aces from the various other sport teams of the opposing school.  So, that means that none of them specialize in American football.  Needless to say that the Devil Bats beat them easily until the regular players are substituted back in, and even then they still win the game.  The one thing that I was expecting of this matchup is some sort of comparison to the earlier days of the show when the Devil Bats themselves were more composed of members from other sports teams than regular players.  There was the recognition that a team composed of regulars will always beat a mix match bag of assorted members.  But there was no realization that the Devil Bats had now become a regular team like those that they had become used to playing against.  Perhaps it is because with a lack of a kicker, the members do not wish to think of themselves as a complete team, but that would seem like a denial of their own accomplishments so far.

                What really is making this batch of episodes seem slower than the rest is the Poseidon team.  There feels like no point to have them around than to make filler or padding.  The show totes their larger than average stature as a strong point, especially against the much shorter players Monta, Eyeshield and Komusubi.  But was there a point of doing so when the White Knights are just about as tall?  If it was a matter of Eyeshield getting past a tall individual, would not have Rui of the Chameleons been just as good since he was an established character?  It would not have taken much to show some growth on his part in attempting to stop Eyeshield.  On the matter of height, this has been covered before numerous times in other matches.  When Sena played against the adult tryouts in America, there was an immediate understanding that he was small in comparison to others.  Here it feels like height is receiving too much emphasis for an entire team and arc to be made for it.  It makes me wonder how the show will try to make it seem fresh when the White Knights passing/catching combination is brought forth again, which has already been established as strong because of height as well.

                For now I will try to grin and bear it, Internet.  I suspect that this arc will only last another two or so episodes.  Perhaps then the show will try to express the more complex relationships that the characters have, like the Scorpions match which aimed to explore the capacity of the team without Hiruma guiding them.


Yours in digital,
BeepBoop
 

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