Dear Internet,
I was
right. The Cream Puff Cup was a complete
filler as far as plot went. A quick
comparison to the source reveals that pretty much everything that I sat through
today was only made for the show and did not come from the manga. Yet for some reason I am not all that
upset. Other than the Cream Puff Cup,
which was obviously an excuse to visit the United States again, the episodes in
this filler arc were still rather fun to watch.
From the Why-Why Kids and watching the Huh-Huh Brother tackle a bull to
seeing Seijuro Shin kill a bear with one hand, the episodes felt so over the
top enjoyable that it made me forget that they were non-essential. Even the obligatory school festival was
refreshing, at least to acknowledge that the cast is a group of high school
kids. There was one recap episode stuck
in there, but that is not superfluous since the last one according to my notes
was about 60 episodes before. Because
the episodes in this batch do not really say much other than that they were
made too quickly in comparison to the source, which was still being published
at the same time, all I can do is mention a few other things that I have not
yet.
Parents
make rare appearances in this show. That
is not to say that there are complete gaps.
Nearly everyone on the Devil Bats team has been shown to have a parent
or guardian. It just takes them a while
to show up. Sena's father took nearly 80
episodes before showing up. Suzuna and
Natsuhiko Taki have a mother but she has not made an appearance yet, only being
mentioned by the two of them. Hiruma is
the only one on the team that has yet to have any relative, but I would fear to
imagine what kind of parent he would have.
As far as other adults, they are marginalized. The referees are minimal even when the game
occurs, sometimes only speaking off screen.
Some teams do not even have a coach.
However, in the States adults are everywhere, except for obstetricians--they
are busy fishing.
Helmets
are a thing to be worn like a hat and to be taken off at a moment's notice.
Eyeshield was the only character to regularly keep his helmet on during a
game at all times. This aspect is so
laughable to the point that when the main quarterback for the Gunmen is seen on
the field wearing a cowboy hat in-between plays I have to pause the show because
I am laughing so hard. Where does he get
the hat, and where did his helmet go? Is
he playing the game with the hat on his belt or nearby so that he can pose or
talk in-between plays? On that point,
everyone on the Devil Bats takes off their helmets pretty regularly. They will fall to the ground catching their breath,
but their helmets are nowhere near them.
They dematerialize into thin air.
It gets even better. Players of
all types get their helmets violently knocked off. I find it hard that Japanese high school
football would have no penalty or foul rule for such excessive force, or even a
rule declaring a dead ball. Then again,
this show has had only about three fouls so far, so who is to say that the
referees are doing their job right?
Internet,
I know the next batch of episodes are going to be better since the plot is
going back to the Kanto Tournament, and with that I will have more to say about
the core of the show. I hope there are
no more filler episodes. Although, I might have just jinxed myself.
Yours in digital,
BeepBoop
No comments:
Post a Comment